PACK EXPO 2018 Review

11 December, 2018

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The 2018 PACK EXPO hosted in Chicago brought up some very interesting solutions to problems the ever-changing automation industry faces. Two different obstacles which were common among PACK EXPO talk consisted of cyber security and increasing SKU counts. Smart Packaging machines were the basis of solutions found by vendors through the exposition center. Vendors explained that smart machines allowed for flexible operations to shorten production times and produce greater varieties of products. Many solutions involve turning physical machines in simple computer software profiles, making transitions between the manufacture of different widgets easy and efficient. New IoT options are becoming available to help prevent down time and fast repair turnarounds. Steve Mulder, a prominent packaging and segment line professional, noted that new scalable analytics allows servicers to great machine control while still offering affordable and reliable service to customers. All vendors at PACK EXPO took into consideration the ISA/IEC and Cyber security standards relied upon by all major players in the packaging world. Finding ways to keep companies connected to their operations was a big goal in all options presented at the EXPO. Overall, PACK EXPO offered some great new innovative options for companies looking to overall haul their packaging operations. Not only was PACK EXPO full of new products to better automation in the future, it also offered new thoughts and ideas about how automation will shape packaging in the future. There a big things happening in the automation industry which will shape how the world looks in the years to come.

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