Pack Expo International 2024, held last week in Chicago, brought together packaging and processing industry leaders and innovators from around the world. This year’s event showcased groundbreaking advancements in packaging technology, environmentally friendly materials and automation solutions. Two of the hubs that hosted Pack Expo’s educational sessions were the Innovation Stage and Sustainability Central; these sessions spanned many topics, but the names of these stages truly exemplified what the packaging and processing industries are prioritizing: manufacturing innovations and sustainability efforts.
Automation and AI drive efficiency
Like every industry in today’s market, the packaging and processing market is concerned about how technological advancements are helping manufacturers become more efficient and competitive. Companies such as Evolabel, Rockwell Automation, Oxipital AI and ProMach showcased their innovations in print-and-apply methods, AI-enabled machine vision, filling technology and more.
As labor shortages continue to affect the industry, automation and AI will only become more essential for manufacturers to deploy.
“You need to make new investments on equipment, on technology that will allow you to keep growing with the current workforce [because] there’s no expectation that the workforce situation will be improving significantly in the near future,” said Jorge Izquierdo, vice president of market development at PMMI.
Exhibitors and presenters highlighted advanced robotics and AI-driven systems that can handle complex packaging tasks with minimal human intervention, addressing both labor shortages and rising costs. While automation streamlines operations, it also creates a demand for skilled technicians to manage and maintain these sophisticated systems.
Pack Expo also revealed a growing relationship between sustainability and automation, as the two trends complement and reinforce one another. Sustainable packaging materials and methods are often more complex to manufacture, making automation essential to ensure that these eco-friendly options remain cost-effective. Automated systems also aid companies in minimizing waste by reducing overproduction and resource use, aligning with sustainability goals.
How can sustainability efforts go further?
Experts from across industries highlighted how companies are adapting to meet evolving consumer demands and regulatory standards for sustainability. An array of solutions were presented aimed at reducing waste, lowering carbon emissions and promoting circularity. Nearly every company has addressed the need to cut down on single-use plastic, but more businesses are prioritizing how to think about sustainability efforts that go beyond recycling plastic materials. Many manufacturers stressed that circular economies are key to achieving sustainability goals. Representatives from Dow, Conagra Brands and many others shared how their businesses are focusing on reducing carbon emissions through their water and energy consumption as well as establishing reuse and refill systems.
“There’s clarity that’s forming about reusable packaging and the reuse of the products that we produce, taking the resources and the capital and making sure that we can leverage what we’ve made over and over again and put it into a continuous function of utility for reusable packaging that’s driving value in our case, in the supply chain,” shared Tim Debus, president and CEO of the Reusable Packaging Association.
Darcy Shiber-Knowles, vice president of operational sustainability and innovation for Dr. Bronner’s, shared how the natural soap brand made the leap to paper-based cartons for its flagship product and the introduction of pilot bulk refill stations at select Whole Foods Market locations and other retailers. After a life cycle assessment of several different packaging options, the brand found that cartons had the lowest environmental impact and would have 90% less plastic than an rPET bottle.
Shiber-Knowles shared that Dr. Bronner’s has had refill stations at mom-and-pop co-ops for six decades, but these bulk containers were then recycled by retailers, meaning that the systems aren’t entirely circular. But these already existing partnerships helped the company launch the first truly circular refill station by enabling itself and its distributor to recollect empty containers to be refilled, rather than just consumers.
“It’s not a plastic-free system, but it is single-use plastic-free,” said Shiber-Knowles. “We’re looking for partners in logistics to be able to scale this. The distribution and reverse distribution are key to circularity. … We dream of a world where all products can be sold in bulk, in a circular fashion, in a way that works for brands, for consumers and for retailers alike.”
Transparency is essential
Several speakers during Pack Expo emphasized the need for increased transparency, both across the industry and with consumers. Brands are increasingly embracing tools to meet consumer demand for clear information on ingredients, packaging materials and environmental impact.
The Consumer Brands Association’s SmartLabel tool is one of the leaders in the consumer packaged goods industry at giving customers all of this information within one QR code on products’ packaging. Rishi Banerjee, senior director of SmartLabel at Consumer Brands—who also spoke with SmartBrief earlier this year about the smart packaging program—demonstrated SmartLabel’s capabilities and shared the benefits that CPG manufacturers are experiencing as a result of participating.
SmartLabel “really provides context to consumers and grows trust through transparency,” said Banerjee, adding that the QR code-enabled system gives users knowledge about ingredients, location-specific recycling instructions and even potential product recalls. All of this information can be updated in real time, allowing manufacturers and retailers to provide up-to-date information efficiently.
The packaging and processing industries are making enormous environmental and technological strides, and the speakers at Pack Expo International 2024 exemplified how businesses are making that progress and educating fellow manufacturers and consumers.
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