With a packaging soul

40 years of Ucima: celebrations and a new logo.

UCIMA, Unione Costruttori Italiani Macchine Automatiche per il Confezionamento e l’Imballaggio (Italian Association of Automatic Packing and Packaging Machinery Manufacturers) celebrated its first 40 years with a gala event titled "L'Anima del Packaging" (The Soul of Packaging), which was held in the middle of October in the splendid setting of the Ducal Palace in Modena, seat of the Military Academy. The evening paid tribute to Italian excellence in the packaging sector, a cornerstone of the national economy with a global leadership status acquired thanks to the ability to innovate and face the challenges of the market and of sustainability.

Soul of packaging: from the product to the package
With the title "L'Anima del Packaging", the event recounted what packaging means today: identity, technology, innovation, communication: it’s only with the packaging that a loose product can reveal its true nature, transforming a wrapping into protection, functionality, information and narration.

The value of packaging and its message were also the focus of an immersive exhibition, which enabled those visiting it to see at first-hand the different passages of the raw material inside a packaging line: from loose material to the packaging. The same concept was taken up also by Mr. Savethewall, the artist who created a digital work during the evening, NFT (Non-Fungible Token) with the title “Rana o Principe Azzurro? Fidati del packaging!” (Frog or Prince Charming? Trust packaging!) making the packaging an artistic concept and a unique work, in which, thanks to “artful packaging”, the frog, the artist’s symbol, transforms into a Prince Charming with fine clothes and a crown on his head.

The new logo, a tribute to the past that looks towards the future

Talking of creativity, to mark its first 40 years, Ucima has presented its new logo, an encapsulation of the evolution of the sector with a restyling that represents not only qualities such as the propensity for technological progress and constant innovation, but also the strong link with the values of sustainability, creativity and openness towards the future, which Ucima continues to promote.

A “U” made with a softer and more essential font is the distinctive character of the new logo, which is developed from the stylized box present in the old logo. The design study has reinterpreted, in fact, the lines and structure, arriving at conceiving another type of packaging, more welcoming and linked to the tradition of the Mediterranean, the cradle of civilisation: the amphora, the ancient artifact typical of antiquity used for holding and transporting food, spices and wines. The final result therefore recalls the sense of protection typical of packaging, to which are added the concepts of welcome and union, an expression of the associative spirit underpinning Ucima.

Three essential strokes, coloured and connected to the U reflect the movement of packaging in the fast flow of machines, in this way evoking the dynamism and speed typical of production lines and their sense of continuous evolution.

«Our logo marks the beginning of a new era for Ucima - declared President Riccardo Cavanna - conceived to accompany companies along their path of technological evolution, international competition, defence of our excellence and leadership developed over time ». «We have worked hard on our new identity and we are very satisfied with the results» commented the general manager of Ucima, Gian Paolo Crasta. «This new “U”, designed with a few strokes according to the most popular trend at the moment among designers of “less is more”, manages to express a multitude of meanings in a few touches of design. That same multiplicity of meanings and intentions which is found in Ucima’s long history, this year reaching 40 years».

And, to close, the comment of the director of ItaliaImballaggio, Stefano Lavorini, who observes in the spirit of the event: «A family celebration, during which the reasons and feelings of belonging have far outweighed differences and individuality. At least for one evening».