Meet the On the Rise Awards Winners

A Tribute to 2022

In this issue of OEM magazine, we highlight the awardwinning projects and people that made 2022 so memorable for the packaging and processing community.

The first recognition goes to PMMI for the production of PACK EXPO International in October. The exhibit aisles were packed with attendees and there were some major milestones, like the debut of the Emerging Brands Summit, and a record-breaking audience at the Packaging & Processing Women’s Leadership Network (PPWLN) breakfast. About 1,000 people came to hear PPWLN keynote speaker Dawn Hudson, former CEO of Pepsi N.A. and former CMO for the NFL. An interview with Hudson can be found on pg. 44, including a link to the full UnPACKed podcast.

Also in this issue we spotlight the 2022 Emerging Leaders On the Rise winners. The awards recognize 10 young professionals who have demonstrated leadership potential in packaging and processing. Turn to pg. 10 for a quick introduction to each winner with a link in their short bio to the full interviews on the OEM website. Another PPWLN achievement is the introduction of the “Voices of Women in Packaging and Processing” digital resource done in collaboration with the OpX Leadership Network. This tool outlines five core characteristics that will help women navigate a career in manufacturing. Learn more on pg. 16.

As part of this “Best of 2022” issue, we also introduce you to the PMMI 2022 Technology Excellence Awards winners (pg. 32) and the winners of the ProFood World Sustainable Excellence in Manufacturing awards (pg. 34).

In addition to these accolades, I thought it would be nice to recognize an OEM that represents the greatest achievement of all: The American dream. PDC was founded in 1968 by Anatole Konstantin, who immigrated to the U.S. after World War II. The maker of shrink sleeve labeling and tamper evident banding has a fascinating history and now, under the leadership of Konstantin’s son, Neal, an exciting new future (pg. 18). Lastly, a big thank you to every machine builder out there. You’re all winners in my book!!

Stephanie Neil is the Editor-in-Chief of OEM Magazine. She may be reached at sneil@oemmagazine.org or at www.linkedin.com/in/ stephaniesneil.

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BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE

Robot Applications and Markets: Current Advancements and Future Predictions

Robot technology is more advanced and applicable than ever with the help of machine learning, washdown capability, and safety improvements, but there is still plenty of room for innovation.

Casey Flanagan, Editorial Assistant, PMMI Media Group

Industrial robots have come a long way since their initial introduction in the automotive industry. In the last few years, robots have become smaller, more affordable, and more widely available. Their capabilities have steadily expanded through improvements to machine vision, EoAT technology, AI/machine learning, durability, and safety, according to PMMI Business Intelligence’s 2022 report “Robots and Cobots—An Automated Future.”

Robots have also become simpler to program and operate, reducing the level of technical skill needed for successful deployment. As these robot capabilities progress, robots are steadily expanding into new applications and even entirely new industries. To that end, robots have become more readily accessible in recent years, with availability increasing and cost decreasing. In addition, robots are steadily moving toward simple, intuitive programming that does not require a highly specialized skill set to configure and operate. These advancements have enabled small and medium sized enterprises across industries to more readily add robotics to their operations.

Additional features of the robot evolution include:

Washdown capable

Robots that adhere to IP69k washdown standards are now common, enabling their use in the pharmaceutical, food, and beverage industries. These robots are able to withstand the harsh chemicals required for washdown and are designed to eliminate any dead spots where liquid could collect. The most advanced of these robots can even wash down their own work cell themselves, all without the need for human intervention.

Smarter robots: AI and machine learning

AI and machine learning have been key developments in robotics that are continually expanding the realm of possibility for robot applications. Closely intertwined, AI and

machine learning allow robots to adapt to new scenarios by building on a constantly increasing volume of relevant data. These technologies have opened up a world of complicated tasks for robots, from dynamically picking items the robot has never encountered before to rapidly and accurately inspecting incoming and outgoing products on a line.

A safer robot

Improvements to safety design and proximity sensing have steadily broken down the barrier between robot and human tasks. While the early days of robotics required large cordoned off safety cells for robots to operate in, the newest modern class of cobots can safely and efficiently work alongside human employees. These cobots are increasingly compact, modular, and mobile, enabling their deployment to virtually any part of a manufacturing operation.

Picking with precision

Advancements in EoAT technology have dramatically expanded the picking capabilities of robots, enabling their use in a much wider variety of markets than ever before. Tactile sensing allows robots to pick delicate and oddshaped items like baked goods and fragile electronic wafers without sacrificing speed and accuracy. Modern robots can even pack multiple cases at once, holding up to three dozen items at the same time and accurately placing them into separate cases.

Future predictions

Despite this amazing growth, advancing technology still stands to carry robotics to entirely new frontiers of possibility. While the following examples are by no means certainties that will come to pass, the robotics industry is awash in visionary speculation of what robots of the future will be able to accomplish.

The seventh axis: AMRs everywhere

While seven-axis robots already exist through solutions such as attaching a six-axis robot to a tracked, linear gantry, the future of seven-axis robots could be even more dynamic. There are already some rudimentary deployments of robotic arms attached to mobile, wheeled platforms. As AMR technology improves in the next decade to the point where AMRs can reactively navigate their environment and then spontaneously plot and resume a new course in real time, they could be mounted with six-axis arms to enable fully autonomous redeployment of robotic units to all areas of an operation.

Next-level intelligence

The horizon for AI and machine learning applications of the future is wide open. Tools such as elaborate, deeplearning neural networks may soon be available for standard manufacturing robotics, with the potential to drastically expand the intelligence of robots. It is not impossible that robots of the future will be able to evaluate a new task, assess the environment the task will be conducted in, and then formulate a process to accomplish that task—all without any human intervention.

Mastery of human senses

Robots can already see and touch at levels fast-approaching human capability, but that may soon expand to other human senses. Robots capable of hearing—and most importantly—understanding unscripted, spontaneous verbal commands are a possibility. Robots of the future could even be equipped with olfactory capabilities, enabling them to detect dangerous emissions or contamination long before they would ever register in a human nose.

Self-healing robots

New materials are currently under development that have the ability to self-repair tears and breaks. With the support of future AI networks, these materials could be applied to robots, enabling a robot to detect damage in its “skin” and initiate a repair sequence. Advancements in sensor technology could even enable robots to repair and replace their own hardware proactively, such as detecting a loosening screw and independently tightening it before damage occurs. ➲ Download the PMMI Business Intelligence report, 2022 Robots and Cobots: An Automated Future here: oemgo. to/2022futureofrobots

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EMERGING LEADERS

Introducing the 2022 On the Rise Awards Winners

These up-and-coming professionals are leading eff orts within their respective organizations that are making a diff erence in business as well as addressing industry issues.

Sean Riley, Senior News Director

PMMI’s On the Rise Awards began in 2018 as a way to recognize young talent making their mark on the packaging and processing industries. Developed by PMMI’s Emerging Leaders Committee, the awards recognize 10 young professionals who have demonstrated leadership potential in packaging and processing while also showcasing the accomplishments that made them worthy of recognition. OEM interviewed each of the winners and their individual stories are available online (see oemgo.to/ links). Here is a summary of why each of the winners deserved the distinction, but you would be remiss not to give these young upstarts their due by reading the longer digital articles!

Alison Zitzke

Senior Product Manager ORBIS Corporation

Alison Zitzke’s most recent achievement spearheaded the development and launch of ORBIS’ fl agship 40x48 pallet, the Odyssey, bringing ORBIS’ pallet portfolio into new manufacturing applications and markets within the reusable packaging space. Alison is no stranger to breaking barriers as she continues to challenge the status quo in the industry to support the conversion from wood pallets prevalent in the marketplace to a sustainable, reusable plastic pallet solution. Alison is passionate about promoting the circular economy and experimenting with incorporating post-consumer and post-industrial recycled materials back into manufacturing new products. (oemgo.to/ alisonzitzke)

Allison Wagner

Business Development Manager Morrison Container Handling Solutions

In just six months, Allison Wagner grew the Morrison communications manager role into a full-fl edged marketing department. Aligning with sales, Allison helped Morrison achieve over 20% year-over-year growth for three consecutive years. She cultivated the brand story, “Innovative Container Handling, Expert Design, and Support Built-In,” bringing the customer’s needs front and center. During COVID, Allison took it upon herself to transform the company digitally by overhauling the SEO and social media. This led to an average website traffi c improvement of over 120% per product page, and lead generation form fi lls went up 200% annually. (oemgo.to/allisonwagner)

Caitlin Eargood

Service Project Manager Mettler Toledo

Caitlin Eargood helped transform the project management role into a more efficient, structured process to better support the field service team and improve the customer experience while maintaining the required KPI data. Caitlin thoroughly tested the installation performance & acceptance sign-off criteria and new tools for enhanced visibility, accountability, and overall customer experience. She was instrumental in developing new software tools to professionalize and harmonize the XR process. On top of being a new mother, Caitlin is currently enrolled in college to obtain her master’s degree, having just completed PMP certification in March 2022. (oemgo.to/caitlineargood)

Eric Andersen

Marketing Manager Delkor Systems, Inc.

Eric Andersen is a pace-setting, performance-driven team player. He is a fearless change agent who is unafraid of disrupting the status quo and continuously exceeds expectations. Eric is a leader of Delkor’s brand strategy and has focused on implementing a branding campaign that ensures each interaction with Delkor provides a consistent experience. Eric’s marketing leadership has delivered some of the most successful sales years in recent company history. He partnered with executive leadership, sales, and engineering teams to create and execute significant sales strategies to help grow and diversify the customer base. Eric has continued his education by taking an assortment of advanced classes in videography, which has ushered in a new era for Delkor and significantly advanced the company’s marketing capabilities. (oemgo.to/ericandersen)

Nancy Garza–Castaneda

Administrative Manager Formers International

Nancy Garza–Castaneda performs the accounting and procurement functions for Formers International. She is unbelievably resourceful and has streamlined the process for securing consumable gases used in Formers International’s manufacturing process. Nancy established providers of telemetry services that have dropped changeover times by 30% and have reduced costs by 72%, which resulted in over $100k in savings annually. Additionally, she played a massive role in implementing ISO 9001:2015 in 2021. She obtained an internal auditor certification and was a primary member of the team that increased on-time delivery by 63% over 12 months. Nancy is currently pursuing a business degree and enjoyed networking at the PMMI Young Professionals Conference in 2022. (oemgo.to/garzacastaneda)

Ravi Patel

Controls Engineering Manager ID Technology / ProMach, Inc.

Ravi Patel was promoted to controls engineering manager in 2021 based on his strong technical and leadership skills. His extraordinary efforts and ingenuity have enabled ID Technology / ProMach, Inc. to keep up with customer demands, including complex overseas installations. Ravi’s leadership and communication abilities also help attract, retain, and develop new engineers and technicians. He has introduced improved documentation processes and procedures, which have reduced six hours of work for each project. Ravi is currently working toward his Certified Automation Professional (CAP) certification through the International Society of Automation and is also a Six Sigma White Belt. (oemgo.to/ravipatel)