The metal packaging industry faces the challenge of becoming more sustainable and efficient. The Metpack Innovation Awards 2026 have now recognised three outstanding solutions that pursue precisely these goals. MW Lak Solutions, Koenig & Bauer MetalPrint, and Sun Chemical have been honoured for their innovative technologies, which offer both ecological and economic advantages.
MW Lak Solutions: UV-LED Technology
MW Lak Solutions received a gold medal for developing a UV-LED curable white exterior base coat. This technology replaces traditional thermally dried coatings with a system that cures almost instantly. The high solid content of the coating significantly reduces VOC emissions, energy consumption, and the CO₂ footprint. The result is a more efficient and sustainable production of metal packaging, as coating consumption and film weight are also reduced.
Koenig & Bauer MetalPrint: Automated Coating Inspection
Silver went to Koenig & Bauer MetalPrint for their „Closed-Loop Inline Coating Thickness Control“ system. This fully automatic inline control measures the lacquer layer thickness in real-time and adjusts the machine control accordingly. The automatic correction of deviations keeps the desired application weight stable, which reduces lacquer consumption and waste. This solution improves process safety and enables resource-efficient production, which is suitable for both new and existing systems.
Sun Chemical: AI-assisted colour matching
Sun Chemical received the Bronze award for its AI-powered colour matching and digital direct-to-can proofing solution. In collaboration with CMA Imaging, Sun Chemical developed an objective, serialized colour target that uniquely defines brand colours for metal packaging. The AI technology enables more precise adjustment of hue, opacity, and film weight, supporting a first-time-right approach in the proofing and approval process. This avoids repeat colour adjustments, waste, and unnecessary ink consumption.
SourceMesse Essen
