AUTOMATE UK has told Packaging Scotland that the organisation is ramping up work to ensure its members can stay competitive amidst the increasingly challenging economic climate, with the team ready to build on a hugely successful PPMA Total Show 2025, which saw a raft of sales signed inside Birmingham’s NEC.
“The feedback we’ve had from our exhibitors is they’re seeing really big companies who are ready to buy right now and do deals with our exhibitors, and that’s why they continue to come back year on year,” said Scott McKenna, chief operating officer of Automate UK, organisers of PPMA Total Show. “A lot of business gets done off the back of this show.”
Pointing to an already busy floorplan for next year’s event, Scott highlighted that companies are continuing to return to the show on the back of a positive return on investment.
Reeco, winner of an Automate UK Award this year, told Packaging Scotland that the firm received its first break after exhibiting at a previous PPMA show, while Autopack – which sold its largest piece of machinery at the event – said that giving buyers intricate, physical inspections of innovations is ‘what PPMA is all about’.
Amidst increasing pressures on businesses, calls were made via Packaging Scotland by exhibitors for the UK to adopt a model similar to that of Germany, whereby the government subsidies trade events to help provide a platform for innovators to compete on a global stage. Scott heralded this as a ‘wonderful idea’ but revealed he doesn’t anticipate the UK adopting such a model. However, lobbying government for the benefit of members and the wider industry remains a key part of Automate UK’s short, medium, and long-term strategy.
“We are doing more work with government than ever before,” Scottadded, revealing that Automate UK CEO Peter Williamson was en-route to Downing Street at the time of interview to meet with chancellor Rachel Reeves. “The pavilions that we organise, overseas trade shows, and getting more of our members selling machinery in other parts of the world is something we’re working on.”
Also on the agenda for Automate UK is securing the future of the industry. Day Three of the PPMA Total Show 2025 was dedicated to youngsters, with students and young people given the floor to lead the dialogue at the Innovations Eleven theatre, with Scott praising the desire of the youths who spent the day taking in the various seminars.
Entrepreneur and celebrity chef Levi Roots’ keynote speech attracted particular attention from youngsters, with Scott revealing that he had been keen on getting him to PPMA for several years to tell his story of how he evolved from creating and bottling his famous sauce in his garage to the shelves of Sainsbury’s.
“I think he’s such an inspirational person. I look at Levi as the benchmark for small producers within our industry.”
Work is already underway ahead of the PPMA Show 2026, which will be held from September 22-24 at the same venue.
“I’m very proud of what we have done as a team,” Scott stated.“We’ve been running this show now for nearly 40 years. It’s an annual event but we strive every year to do the basics of what we’re expected as a show organiser – to bring buyers through the door, but also to improve the experience of everyone involved and make them want to continue to come back year on year.”
As an annual show, Scott conceded one of the biggest challenges for the organisers is to ensure that what’s on offer is enough to justify visitors taking time out from their busy schedules to attend.
“It’s a tough economy out there so it’s incumbent on us to prove to them it’s a worthwhile visit to come to the PPMA show and I think we’ve achieved that,” he concluded.
