Printing SA hosted the first Business Leaders Conference 2026 at the CTICC on 28 October. The conference brought industry leaders together under the theme ‘From Survival to Strategy’, focusing on reshaping the print and packaging industries for the next decade. Africa Print was a media partner and is proud to support initiatives that encourage collaboration, innovation and growth across the printing sector.
The print and packaging industry is at a defining moment with global disruption, shifting markets, new technologies and changing customer expectations. The conference was attended by print and packaging company owners, operations and production directors, brand owners, suppliers, converters and government. The decisions made in this room will influence the industry.
Key note speakers and panelists across the three panels shared insights, discussing the future of the industry. Michael Avery, host of Classic Business, was the programme director. Delegates were welcomed by Rakesh Lutchman, President of Printing SA and Jermaine Naicker, MD of Printing SA.
Ciaran Little, Vice President of Smithers Consulting delivered a sobering report on the global and African outlook for print and packaging. Globally, printing will grow from $864 billion and will reach $969 billion by 2030, and the growth is driven by Asia. Packaging is the largest end use representing $595 billion, and the fastest growth rate. Publications like newspapers continue to decline, but books continue to offer growth potential. Globally printers are responding to declining demand in commercial print by consolidating and automating.
In terms of the African market outlook, the region saw strong growth in 2021-25 which is forecast to continue at a similar rate through 2031. Offset is the dominant print process in the region. Flexo has a larger share in South Africa. Packaging is the major demand driver for printing in the African region. South African print demand, excluding packaging, will decline from $1.65 billion to $1.46 billion over the next five years. The number of employees and establishments in South Africa fell in 2021, and is slowly recovering.
Musa Kalenga delivered an online keynote on why Africa’s AI opportunity lies in its complexity, which unfortunately did not play until the end due to technical issues.
Michael Avery moderated three thought-provoking panel discussions:
Panel 1: Innovation, Automation and Digital Transformation in Print
The panelists were Phil Walsh former Vice President of Sales at Kodak; Grant Hubbard MD of Shave & Gibson Security Print; Stuart Baylis, COO of Polyflex Premedia Group; Thinus Dixon, Print Executive at Novus Holdings; and Alinah Fosi, CEO of Government Print Works.
Panel 2: Brand Owners Perspective on Sustainability
The panelists were Sinethemba Kameni, Group Packaging Executive Lead at RCL Foods; Linka Geustyn, CEO and founder of Catalynx Consulting; and Balan Naidoo, Global Procurement Flexibles Lead at PepsiCo.
Panel 3: Future Skills and Next Generation
The Panelists were PK Naidoo, FP&M Seta; Monica Lekay, False Bay TVET College; Tertius Van Heerden, founder and CEO of Print On Demand SA; and Jermaine Naicker, MD of Printing SA.
Simon Downes, chairman of Shave & Gibson Group, delivered the closing keynote. One could hear a pin drop as everyone listened to his wisdom and shared experiences on his address entitled ‘Leading Through Change: Resilient Businesses in Uncertain Times.’ Shave & Gibson Group is based in Kwa-Zulu Natal and has had to endure civil unrest in 2021, catastrophic floods and severe weather from 2022 to 2025, violent strikes, a fire, failing energy infrastructure and legal battles. Despite the immense challenges, he left the room with optimism, encouragement, and practical advice. On AI he had this to say, ‘Get your hands dirty while the tool is cheap to learn.’
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