Yesterday, the AIFEC Annual Meeting of Partner Suppliers and Manufacturers at the ONCE headquarters in Barcelona, which had more than 110 attendees.
José Carrasquer, president of AIFEC, He welcomed them and summarized the association's activities: representation and advice, studies and publications, working groups, events, communication, training and the QAIFEC seal.
AIFEC has 191 members, of which 119 are manufacturers and 72 are suppliers. “We are the leading association of continuous label manufacturers in Spain and Portugal. Every year we grow in number and increase our presence in all markets,” stated the president of AIFEC.
AIFEC has participated in trade fairs and conferences (Empack, LabelExpo) and collaborates with Cartón Circular (consultations on the Royal Decree on packaging and waste, etc.), the Paper Forum, FINAT, and other entities (FIAB, SDDR-AECOC, STANPA…), especially in providing advice on legislative matters. “We are working on creating a legislative guide that is as clear as possible,” explained Carrasquer. “We need to join forces to defend our sector,” he asserted.
Regarding the studies, the president of AIFEC highlighted their high representativeness, which guarantees their reliability. They conduct a quarterly survey of the label market, a benchmarking study of the sector, and a study of non-conformity indicators.
AIFEC has next-generation working groups, comprised of quality and environmental managers, and research and reporting teams. It organizes two events: the Annual Members' Meeting and the Annual Congress. The 2025 Congress, held in Tenerife, had 254 attendees (186 delegates and 68 accompanying persons; 76 manufacturers and 94 suppliers).
In terms of training, they participate in various courses with INSCO and webinars. Finally, José Carrasquer emphasized that the QAIFEC seal is “the new standard of excellence,” to which they have added carbon footprint calculation.
Pablo Serrano / José Carrasquer.
AIFEC Congress 2026 in Granada
Then Pablo Serrano, Secretary General of AIFECHe spoke about the AIFEC 2026 Congress, which will be held in Granada from May 14 to 17. During the Congress, there will be technical and sponsored presentations, as well as technical workshops and a product exhibition area. The AIFEC Awards will also be presented during the gala dinner.
Finally, Sergio de la Calle“A professional who gives lectures,” as he defines himself, gave an interesting talk entitled “Managing Human Talent in the Age of Artificial Talent,” in which he answered two questions: “What is talent made of?” and “Can it be managed?” To answer the first, he explained that it is based on three Cs (Capabilities, Commitment, and Context).
“The greatness of a talent is not equivalent to the gifts received; you can receive little and have given back much,” and “to the one who produces the most, the more resources are entrusted” are two of the conclusions of a parable he told. He also commented that nowadays talent is said to be the new currency (“skills are the new currency”) and the importance of discipline in achieving commitment (“when talent doesn’t work hard, hard work beats talent”), among many other premises and anecdotes. Finally, he spoke about contextual intelligence, which, according to Robert Sternberg, is “the ability to select the contexts where we can excel and to shape the environment to suit our abilities.”
Sergio de la Calle.
The label manufacturing sector maintains its dynamism
AIFEC has presented the results of its quarterly survey of the sector.
Label manufacturing for the Iberian market, corresponding to the period from April to June
of 2025. The data generally show a positive trend, with
representing 23% of the companies in the sector and accounting for 52% of the
total revenue of the Iberian market.
In this second quarter, the sector registered a slight drop of 1,1% in turnover and
of 0,7% in square meters processed. However, when analyzing the cumulative total of
In the first half of the year compared to the same period of the previous year, the trend continues
Favorable: turnover grows by 0,9% and the volume processed increases by 2,2%.
These results align with the European picture presented by FINAT, which identifies
that, during the first half of 2025, the European label industry is in
A critical point marked by resilience, adaptation, and cautious optimism. Despite
From macroeconomic uncertainty and geopolitical disruptions, the European sector
It continues to readjust, innovate, and plan for the future, with sustained demand.
in key segments such as e-commerce, household products and healthcare, while
Food and beverages show more moderate growth.
Regarding the Iberian sector's perception of the second's economic activity
In the quarter, 50% of respondents believe the situation will remain stable.
during the coming months, while 23% expect an improvement, reflecting a
cautious but positive outlook.
Overall, the sector data shows a stable evolution within an environment
complex economics, and confirm the trend observed at the European level: a sector that,
Despite external pressures, it continues to adapt, invest and move forward with a
vision of the future.
