PACK EXPO Las Vegas SHOW DAILY—Tuesday, Sept. 28th by PMMIMediaGroup

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TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

SHOW DAILY

PACK TO THE FUTURE P.22 | INNOVATION STAGE P.26 | FORUM P.42

NEWS BRIEF Masks required at the show

In accordance with statewide requirements in Nevada, everyone (including fully vaccinated individuals) must wear a mask indoors at PACK EXPO Las Vegas and Healthcare Packaging EXPO 2021 and on all public transportation, including show shuttle buses, taxis and monorail. The show’s PACK Ready health and safety commitment also requires all attendees, exhibitors, vendors and staff to complete a self-screening each day prior to entering the venue regardless of vaccination status. SD

Multi-lane augers adjust

Multiple spindle auger systems from All-Fill (Booth C-2203) dispense product across three to 12+ lanes on fill/seal, form/fill/seal and strip/pouch machines. Individual servo drives enable independent adjustment of each auger. Mounting configurations include baseplate, cantilever or overhead gantry. Options include 360-degree agitation. SD

Need project advice?

Industry veterans at the “Ask the Experts” Station (Central Lobby) stand ready to answer packaging and processing questions. Attendees can stop by for guidance on narrowing their search for suppliers and navigating the show. SD

NCA hosts lounge

The Candy Bar Lounge (Booth SU-7201), sponsored by Syntegon Packaging Technology (Booth C-2800) and hosted by the National Confectioners Association (Booth SU-7201), provides a spot for confectionery industry attendees to network, gain insights and recharge during the show and at a reception today from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. SD

Heat-sealing basics

Heat Sealing-Art or Science? white paper written by Charles Trillich, co-founder of TOSS Machine Components (Booth SL-6410), describes heat-sealing technologies and the evolution of precision heat-sealing. SD

JOIN US FOR THE NEXT SHOW PACKEXPOEAST.COM

Syntegon PACK EXPO 2021 Show Daily Cover Corner Ad 1.indd 1

Go PACK to the Future Curated exhibit showcases historical machines and looks ahead.

ee the past, present and future of packaging all under one roof at PACK to the Future (Booth N-11030), a special new exhibit presented in the North Hall. PACK to the Future celebrates the role of packaging and processing through history and the impact it is poised to have on our future. Take a journey through time and experience the eras of technological evolution. The curated exhibit includes nearly 30 pieces of historical equipment, materials and photographs spanning 250 years, journeying through the evolution of packaging and processing, highlighting how it developed alongside civilization, through the rapid innovations driven by the industrial and scientific

revolutions and the digital age. PACK to the Future also pays tribute to PMMI members’ response to COVID-19. Present-day advancements are on display across the show floor. Get a first-hand look at how the packaging and processing industry adjusts by seeing evolutions in areas such as eCommerce, sustainability, remote access and healthcare packaging. While journeying through the evolution of our industry, be sure to visit the brand-new PACK to the Future Stage (Booth N-9830) featuring free presentations by industry experts on advancements in pharmaceutical and cannabis packaging, wireless factory automation, sustainable alternatives, smart

Contest honors new products

Rockwell sponsors high school students

Best debuts earn TEAs.

t every PACK EXPO and Healthcare Packaging EXPO, exhibitors bring products that are displayed on the show floor for the first time. This year is no different, and new products may be found in almost every aisle. To honor these newcomers, PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies (Central Lobby), has established the Technology Excellence Awards (TEAs). Attendees select the winners in each category by voting for their favorites online, onsite or via the Mobile App. There are four categories—Food/Beverage, General Packaging, General Processing and Personal Care/ Pharmaceutical—and three finalists in each category. A panel of industry professionals narrowed the field of entries submitted by exhibitors. Voting closes today at noon and winners will be announced later in the day. For more info, visit www.PACKEXPOlasvegas.com. SD

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Future leaders demo robots.

tudent teams from greater Las Vegas are traveling to PACK EXPO each day to demonstrate their robotic creations in the Future Innovators – Robotics Showcase (Booth N-11030), which is part of the interactive PACK to the Future Exhibit. During their visit, the students also tour the show floor to learn more about packaging and processing. In addition to being the exclusive sponsor for the event, Rockwell Automation (Booth C-4742) has donated $10,000 to the PMMI Foundation (Central Lobby) to provide a grant to each team and funds for travel expenses and food and beverage during their visit. (See story, p. 18.) For more info, visit www.PACKEXPOlasvegas.com, www.rockwellautomation.com. SD

Scan to get the app: Sponsored by: Booth C-3220

TAKE A JOURNEY

through the evolution of packaging and processing NORTH HALL, Booth N-11030

Intelligence, beyond the mark. Imagine marking and coding hardware, software and services that tell you exactly where goods came from, where they went and how well they were received by customers. Gain fresh insights from farm to fork.

Printer Intelligence. Packaging Intelligence. Brand Intelligence.

Visit us in Booth #2232 markem-imaje.com

Bottle Filling Systems

FILLING

CAPPING

LABELING

T R AY PA C K I N G

V I S I T U S AT

BOOTH

C-1823

T U R N K E Y C O N TA I N E R F I L L I N G S Y S T E M

Our Other Packaging Solutions 1 . 8 3 3 . 4 PA X I O M

PA X I O M .C O M Bagging • Wrapping • Cartoning • Erecting • Packing • Palletizing

NEWS BRIEF NEWS BRIEF Placon marks 55 years

Placon (Booth N-9314), a second-generation, family-owned company, led by Chairman and CEO Dan Mohs, was founded in 1966. A designer and manufacturer of stock and custom thermoformed and injection-molded packaging, the company supplies products for the food, medical and retail markets. Milestones include establishing an onsite recycling center in 2011 that converts post-consumer-recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) bottles and thermoforms into EcoStar rPET sheet. SD

Sorting moves to Cloud

The Cloud Series color sorter from Anysort USA (Booth N-26005) applies 10 technologies to the sorting process, including one-button operation, infrared scanning and Cloudbased image capture and analysis. SD

Vote by noon for People’s Choice Award winner

Voting closes at noon today for the People’s Choice Award. To vote, simply select your favorite AmeriStar award winner and scan its QR code. AmeriStar winners are displayed at The Showcase of Packaging Innovations® (Booth N-9720), sponsored by WestRock (Booth C-2023), and at the Institute of Packaging Professionals (Booth C-1253). The winner will be announced at 3 p.m. today. SD

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SHOW DAILY SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

(Go PACK to the Future continued from page 1)

packaging and artificial intelligence. (See story, p. 22.) Sustainability, eCommerce and automation will be the key players in the future of packaging. Discover sustainable packaging options at the PACK to the Future Exhibit and the Showcase of Packaging Innovations® (Booth N-9720), sponsored by WestRock (Booth C-2023). (See story, p. 25.)

The PACK to the Future journey ends with a stop at the Future Innovators - Robotics Showcase (Booth N-9820), sponsored by Rockwell Automation (Booth C-4742). Stop by to see the robots these bright students have built, watch demonstrations and ask questions. (See story, see p. 18.) For more info, visit www.PACKEXPOlasvegas.com. SD

Recruit, train, retain

here’s probably never been a more challenging time to recruit, train and retain personnel than today. The PMMI Workforce Development Pavilion (Central Lobby) serves as a one-stop-shop for resources to strengthen and grow your workforce. Stop by to see what partner schools are doing in mechatronics, packaging and processing and meet students interested in careers in the industry. PMMI U offerings include popular training workshops such as Risk Assessment and Certified Trainer and Fundamentals of Field Service, which

were held in conjunction with PACK EXPO Las Vegas and Healthcare Packaging EXPO and typically are scheduled periodically throughout the year. Other educational opportunities include mechatronics certification and TechEd 365 to keep operators, technicians and maintenance staff up-to-date on basic skills. A Career Toolkit provides resources to help your company address the critical shortage of skilled employees and help promote awareness of careers in the packaging and processing industry. For more info, visit www.PMMI.org/pmmiu. SD

Goya Foods inks deal for case packer

ORBIS ranks 8th Somic will supply retail-ready end-of-line packaging machine.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has named ORBIS® (Booth SU-8001) as a Top Workplace among midsize companies (150-499 employees) in the five-county area around Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This year’s eighth place ranking is the seventh consecutive year ORBIS has received Top Workplace honors. Recognition is based on employee surveys. SD

Closing the gap

SpiralConnect unit, an option on most SpiralVeyors from AmbaFlex (Booth C-4340), can extend both infeed and outfeed tracks to the next machine in the line. This eliminates the need for transfers when a line upgrade causes a gap between conveyors. The flexible nature of the slat technology allows belt length to be stretched in any three-dimensional direction for many meters. SD

Machine vision 101

Introduction to Machine Vision white paper from Cognex (Booth SL-6156) explains how the technology works and what it can accomplish on the packaging line. The paper also provides guidance for specifying a system and describes applications in the food, beverage, pharmaceutical and medical device industries. SD

OMIC America (Booth SL-6460) has reached an agreement to provide GOYA Foods with a proprietary, retail-ready end-ofline packaging machine. The deal was announced yesterday at PACK EXPO Las Vegas. On the show floor, SOMIC is demonstrating the newest version of the SOMIC ReadyPack case packer with GOYA products packed in stand-up pouches. The new machine GOYA has ordered is SOMIC’s 424 T2+ case packer, which rivals the ReadyPack case packer’s performance but on a slightly larger platform, reports Peter Fox, SOMIC’s senior vice president of Sales. The machine is being designed to handle wraparound case packing of both stand-up pouches and cartons and is scheduled to be installed in the first quarter of 2022. Disney Arrubla, executive plant engineer at GOYA’s manufacturing facility in Secaucus, New Jersey, has worked for GOYA for seven years. He says compact design, speed, packaging flexibility and future considerations factored into his decision. He recalls, “I met Peter Fox a couple of years ago at PACK EXPO in Chicago. I was attracted by the machine’s compact and smart design. “I did consider three other vendors but none could deliver a small footprint machine and meet our specifications. It provides the speed and type of

package we need, and offers the flexibility for other packaging designs in the future. The biggest challenge was to accommodate all of the equipment in a small room. SOMIC’s case packer is the last piece of the puzzle to fit into the layout.” GOYA Foods is the largest Hispanic-owned food company in the U.S. As the premier source for authentic Latin cuisine, it produces more than 2,500 products from the Caribbean, Mexico, Spain and Central and South America. Award-winning olive oils, beverages, confections, marinades, organic products, frozen items and other delicacies are prepared and shipped to stores in bottles and jars, cans and flexible packaging. For more info, visit www.somic.us. SD

Case packer demo features stand-up pouches from GOYA.

Bagging & Wrapping

V I S I T U S AT

BOOTH

C-1823

VERTICAL FORM & SEAL

PREMADE POUCH FILLING

O R I E N TAT E D P R O D U C T S

F LO W W R A P P I N G

H O R I Z O N TA L F O R M & S E A L

PICK & PLACE

Our Other Packaging Solutions 1 . 8 3 3 . 4 PA X I O M

PA X I O M .C O M Weighing • Filling • Capping • Labeling • Cartoning • Erecting • Packing • Palletizing

NEWS BRIEF

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SHOW DAILY SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

Anritsu moves operations

Increases product assembly, testing and demo space.

Loop shows off sanitary transfer conveyor

Conveyor loop demo at Multi-Conveyor (Booth C-2300) features pre-engineered, hygienic Slim-Fit low-profile transfer conveyors for small products. Toolless pin-pull design allows the operator to remove the belt in seconds for routine maintenance. Made of 100% stainless steel, unit features three-ply washdown belting. The demo also showcases ModSort® roller-top belting to divert on the fly or use as a designated vector angle, left or right, plus modular, quick-ship Success Line conveyors designed to run 24/7. SD

E-PAK expands

Indiana-based E-PAK Machinery (Booth C-4629a) plans to nearly double the size of its operation with a 30,000-sq.-ft. addition. The expansion supports rising demand for liquid fillers for hand sanitizers, disinfectants, foods and beverages. Construction is expected to conclude by the end of 2021. SD

Air stream cleans

Specially designed, four-position nozzle on Cleanflex Easy Gun from Simco-Ion (Booth C-4314) cleans electrostatically charged surfaces with compact air stream. Built-in 24V DC power supply eliminates cumbersome high-voltage cables and separate power supply unit. Ergonomic, full-hand trigger reduces finger strain. Ionization begins only when the trigger is active and enough air pressure has been measured by an internal sensor. This enhances safety, lowers energy consumption and extends ionization emitter life. SD

Pick-and-place system packs, unpacks, repacks

BMS UNIPACK 2.0 combination packer, unpacker and repacker from Standard-Knapp (Booth C-3800) picks and places products on brewing, beverage, dairy and food packaging lines. Portal design offers maximum flexibility, short retooling times and high investment security due to easy retrofits if requirements change. SD

nritsu - Product Inspection & Detection (Booth SL-6319), a manufacturer of product inspection and detection systems for the food and pharmaceutical industries, has moved into a new, state-of-the-art facility in the Elk Grove Technology Park in Elk Grove, Illinios. The 60,000-sq.-ft. site provides multiple operational and competitive efficiencies for Anritsu including more space overall, as well as the ability to expand its product assembly program in the U.S. “Our new building is in a premier location for our employees, and its proximity to O’Hare International Airport makes it convenient for our visiting customers and guests,” says Erik Brainard, president and CEO of Anritsu. “It also doubles our former space, which is necessary to continue the rapid growth fueled by our loyal customers. And its location in a world-class technology park means we are in the center of a remarkable hub for technological innovation and growth.” The Elk Grove facility houses several operations: • Excellence Center: Flagship location for North America supports global growth with state-of-the-art product inspection, testing, demonstration and training. • Expanded Service Department: Designed to ensure end users have everything they need to optimize operations and keep equipment running at peak performance.

• Equipment Demonstration and Training: An enhanced area with more machines gives customers an opportunity for “hands-on” testing as well as training on all technologies to find the best solution for their application. • Product Assembly: The facility houses an expanded assembly program. Products such as the popular XR75 x-ray model and M6 metal detectors are assembled onsite, enabling expedited delivery. The facility will support other product lines in the future, including checkweighers and combination systems. • Employee-Focused Design: In keeping with Anritsu’s “Team for Family” value, the facility’s environment supports collaboration among departments and offers amenities such as a fitness center, café and wellness room. “Anritsu strives for “PACE,” or a Positive Anritsu Customer Experience, which empowers employees to exceed customer expectations,” Brainard explains, noting, “The new facility will achieve that while also positioning the company for growth. We are committed to going the ‘extra mile’ for our employees and customers. This new site is focused on providing the best solutions for today’s inspection and detection requirements, as well as innovating to ensure that our technology continues to be the best solution for our customers in the future.” For more info, visit www.anritsu.com/infivis. SD

SHOW DAILY 2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas Publisher PMMI Media Group Editorial Director Hallie Forcinio Associate Editors Kari Moosmann and Barbara Rook Production Manager Mary Thorne Art Director Debi Friedmann IT/Production Support Manny Dominguez Photographers Miles Boone and George Burns Advertising Sales Management Joseph Angel, President, PMMI Media Group Wendy Sawtell, Vice President, Sales, PMMI Media Group

Weighing Bagging Flow Wrapping

(929)-353-7511 (647)323-4797 www.planitpackaging.com

BEST IN ITS CLASS

Visit

BOOTH C-4343

Plan IT Packaging Systems offers leading technology in weighing, bagging and wrapping. Let us automate your packaging process economically and efficiently. From east coast to west coast, we got you covered!

to learn more about our machines

Weighing

Multi-Head Weighers Plan IT Packaging offers entry level to high speed weighing systems to go along with your packaging machines.10, 14 and 20 head Multi-Head Weighers are available for quick delivery. It can be integrated to any packaging machinery such as VFFS, HFFS, Pre-made pouch machine, Automatic baggers, Jar line etc.

Bagging

Vertical Form Fill and Seal Machines Our line of VFFS includes Compak, Intermittent and Rapid high speed continuous motion machines that are flexible with different bag sizes and bag types. We can offer machines that can produce pillow, quattro and stand up “Doy” with speeds up to 200ppm.

Pre-Made Pouch Machines The Neptune Series Pre Made Pouch Machines are designed for automatically opening, filling and sealing pre-made pouches, which can operate on a variety of bag styles including 3 or 4 side sealed, pillow, stand up DOY, gusseted, quad sealed and square bottom bags with zipper or without.

Flow Wrapping

Flow Wrappers Plan IT offers the best flow wrappers. From entry level to fully automated flow wrapping. Designed to be employed in automatic lines.Plan IT Packaging also offers fully automated feeding and flow wrapping systems up to 1000ppm.

PILLOW

STAND UP DOY

FLAT BOTTOM

4 SIDE SEAL

FLOW WRAP PILLOW

WEIGHING – BAGGING – WRAPPING – CARTONING – CASE PACKING – PALLETIZING

Right Machines Right Results

QUAD SEAL

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas 8

SHOW DAILY SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

Partners simplify robot integration efforts

Unified tools help design, deploy and manage robots more productively.

We’re serving up delicious, affordable lunches daily. Tasty favorites for less, right on the show floor. Where: In the North Hall near PACK to the Future When: 11:30 am – 2:30 pm, Daily Sponsored by:

Booth N-26005

C O M P L I M E N TA R Y

SHUTTLE BUS SERVICE SCHEDULE View shuttle routes on packexpolasvegas.com, or in the official show app.

ROUTES 1–8 Shuttles run every 15-20 minutes Inbound

Return

Monday, 9/27

7:00 am – 11:00 am

2:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Tuesday, 9/28

7:00 am – 11:00 am

2:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Wednesday, 9/29

7:00 am – 11:00 am

2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

A courtesy drop off will be provided at the South Hall between 7:00 am-11:00 am. All boarding will take place in the North/Central Bus Loading Area.

SPECIAL SERVICE TO THE AIRPORT Direct Service from LVCC North/Central Hall to McCarran Airport Every 30 minutes Monday, 9/27

NO SERVICE

Tuesday, 9/28

12:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Wednesday, 9/29

12:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Official Transportation Sponsor Booth N-26005

ockwell Automation (Booth C-4742) and Comau, a global leader in industrial automation and robot manufacturer, are joining forces to provide tools to maximize manufacturing efficiencies through unified robot control solutions. The partnership is a collaborative development and selling model that offers the unified robot control product to both companies’ customers. “Industrial companies are looking for efficient ways to integrate robotics into their operations for process optimization and agility,” says Rockwell Automation Chairman and CEO Blake Moret. “Rockwell Automation’s collaboration with Comau will simplify programming and lifecycle management, accelerating time to value for our customers.” Engineers will be able to program their entire machine in one environment, including Comau robot arms directly controlled through Rockwell Automation’s Logix-based controllers. Rockwell Automation’s Studio 5000® automation system design software provides relief from the time-consuming, often-difficult task of coordinating traditionally separate machine control and robot systems to work together using two different software tools. Machine builders, system integrators and others will gain development and deployment efficiencies through the use of digital engineering tools like Rockwell’s Emulate3D™ Digital Twin software, which creates digital models of production lines, auto-generates machine control code and has built-in capabilities for Comau robots. The combined technologies also offer benefits beyond enhanced integration. For example, end users can use analytics and Digital Twin tools to gain deeper insights into machine performance and potential production optimization. They also can use safety and security solutions to reduce business risks. Operators on the manufacturing floor who use Rockwell’s FactoryTalk® software suite will benefit from being able to see both line and robot control systems on a single interface. In-plant and remote technicians will need to learn and maintain only one architecture to monitor both systems. They also can leverage Rockwell’s augmented reality (AR) tools to improve life cycle and service cycle maintenance. Rockwell products and technology that will be key to robotics integration include the following: • Allen-Bradley ControlLogix® control systems • Kinetix® 5700 servo drive platform • Studio 5000® automation system design software • FactoryTalk® View human/machine interface software • FactoryTalk® InnovationSuite™, powered by PTC digital transformation software suite • Emulate3D™ Digital Twin software • PTC Vuforia AR tools for remote collaboration and information capture. For more info, visit www.rockwellautomation.com. SD

For hotel shuttle information or ADA transportation, please call 725-777-5998. Accessible equipment is available during scheduled shuttle hours. Please request ADA service at least 20 minutes in advance of desired pick up time.

Comau’s comprehensive robot range includes this Rebel-S model.

Vertical Conveying Simplified

Ryson makes a full line of spiral conveyors that can satisfy most vertical conveying needs. Ryson Spirals need less floor space than conventional conveyors and are faster and more reliable than any elevator or lift. Unit Load Spirals convey cases, totes and packaged goods smoothly on our slat style belts and come in 9 standard slat widths ranging from 6” to 30”. Available in powder coated carbon steel, stainless steel, washdown and freezer versions Mass Flow Spirals handle full and empty bottles, cans and jars in mass up to 2000 units per minute. Available in 4 different slat widths ranging from 6” to 20”. Narrow Trak Spirals are super compact and designed to handle your smaller loads. Our new 6” and 9” wide nesting slats can end-transfer small cartons and packages or side-transfer small bottles and containers in a single file or in mass at speeds in excess of 200 FPM.

High Capacity Spirals are in response to our customers need to go higher and handle more weight. They can handle double the weight capacity of our regular spirals at speeds up to 200 FPM. The new WT Model comes in a slat width of 30” and 36” and can provide an elevation change of up to 35 feet with only one drive. Multiple Entry and Exit Spirals allow loads to enter or exit the High Capacity Spirals at intermediate elevations. New special induction and divert conveyors have individually adjustable conveying surfaces to match the spiral pitch, assuring a smooth and reliable operation. Quality and service come first at Ryson. We are the number one spiral manufacturer in the USA. For application assistance or more information, give us a call or visit www.ryson.com.

RYSON INTERNATIONAL, INC.

Visit us in Booth C-4540

A MEMBER OF APOLLO GROUP

www.ryson.com 3 0 0 N ew s o m e D r i ve • Yo r k t o w n , VA 2 3 6 9 2 • P h o ne : ( 757 ) 8 9 8 - 1530 • F a x : ( 7 57 ) 8 9 8 - 15 8 0

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2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas

SHOW DAILY

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

Packaging machinery shipments rise Despite pandemic constraints, shipments increase 14.7%.

he value of domestic shipments rose 14.7% to $9.4 billion in 2020, according to 2021 State of the Industry U.S. Packaging Machinery, a report published by PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies (Central Lobby). Domestic shipments of converting machinery experienced even stronger growth, rising 15.5% to $972 million. “This is an historic growth rate,” reported Jorge Izquierdo, vice president of Market Development at PMMI, during a media briefing yesterday. He noted

growth years typically fall in the 4–5% range. Exports of packaging machinery accounted for $693 million of the $972 million, an 11% increase over 2019. Imports also increased, rising 13.4% to $2.9 billion. Izquierdo said the order backlog also set a record, $3.14 million at the end of 2020. The positive trend is expected to continue with double-digit growth this year and a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7% through 2026. For this year, the strongest performance is expected from the household, industrial and agricultural chemicals

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sector with a CAGR of 8.6% through 2026, followed closely by pharmaceuticals at a CAGR of 8%. The favorable outlook stems from economic trends, particularly the expected post-pandemic expansion in GDP. Another factor at play is the dominance of millennials in the U.S. population and their divergent preferences with other generations, particularly baby boomers, the next largest group. These diverging tastes encourage adoption of new and flexible packaging machinery. Packaging machinery purchases also are being driven by workforce challenges, a need for automation, demands for more sustainable packaging and growth in eCommerce. “Workforce challenges are here to stay,” said Izquierdo. As a result, brand owners are looking for intuitive equipment that “someone off the street could run,” he explained. Automation is an imperative. The need for automation encourages adoption of robotics, machine vision, artificial intelligence, the Industrial Internet of Things, wireless connectivity and remote services and training yet spurs concerns about cybersecurity. Sustainability initiatives are fostering more holistic views of the value-chain and optimization of materials and machinery. This is prompting a shift to lightweight flexible packaging, innovations in packaging materials, specification of more energy-efficient packaging machines and the need to optimize equipment to efficiently run the more sustainable materials. Continued growth in eCommerce will prompt more redesigns of packaging and equipment innovations to accommodate the increased touchpoints between manufacturer and consumer. For more info, visit www.PMMI.org. SD

Colgate strives for net zero

olgate-Palmolive wants to achieve net zero carbon emissions in operations by 2040 and is working with Emerson (Booth SL-6201) to accomplish this goal. The project, part of Colgate’s digital transformation program, relies on specialized AVENTICS™ pneumatic sensors and IIoT-enabled software architecture to precisely monitor compressed air flow in real time to identify leaks, optimize pneumatic processes and improve air flow efficiency. Colgate already has seen a 15% reduction in energy usage and expects savings to grow as the technology is rolled out more widely. For more information, visit www.emerson.com. SD

Less Effort, More Control

An automation platform that adapts to you, not the other way around. Visit us at booth #N-16002

MPERIA® MAKES INTEGRATION EASY: + + + +

No expensive middleware or servers No 3rd party integrators No changes to your existing equipment or process Data security without the IT headache

matthewsmarking.com/mperia

888.662.7183

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas 12

SHOW DAILY SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

Flexible machines

Meet productivity, sustainability goals.

TAKE A JOURNEY THROUGH THE EVOLUTION OF PACKAGING AND PROCESSING We are going PACK to the Future in the North Hall, Booth N-11030 This curated exhibit includes nearly 30 pieces of historical equipment, materials and photographs spanning 250 years. Jump into the future by attending riveting sessions on advancements in the industry on the PACK to the Future Stage:

g The latest trends in pharmaceutical and cannabis packaging

g Wireless factory automation communication g Innovative sustainability initiatives g Smart packaging g Artificial intelligence and more!

wo new machines and one redesigned system on display at WestRock (Booth C-2023) help brand owners meet goals for both productivity and sustainability. The compact CP eMerge® Combo machine combines sustainable secondary and tertiary packaging into one system. The single operator, end-of-line solution manages multiple stock keeping units and minimizes downtime by enabling quick changeover between a range of bowls and trays. The integrated combo design is uniquely suitable for those with footprint constraints. Another new machine, the PFS 500 small-format tray former, is engineered to provide flexibility and consistent handling of corrugate and solid board materials to produce self-locking trays, tills and punnets with leak-proof corners. The system combines compact footprint, quick size changeover and design flexibility. Options include vertical and tapered walls, four- and eight-sided designs and hinged lid trays. The newly redesigned Pak On Demand™ pouch system, serves eCommerce needs by producing and sealing custom, fiber-based pouches on-demand from proprietary KD-fold™ fanfold material. The KD-fold material ships on compact pallets that are The Pak On Demand pouch system produces and seals custom, easy to store and handle and contains fiber-based pouches from proprietary KD-fold™ fanfold materienough material to make more than al, which can be printed in a continuous pattern. 1,300 pouches three-dimensional scanning of incoming product enables the custom sizing of each pouch. The result is a perfectly dimensioned protective package that is completely curbside recyclable. The one-operator machine not only reduces labor costs, but also increases packing rates up to six times over manual operations. For more info, visit www.westrock.com/automation. SD

How important are standards?

ntroduction to Standards Development, a free course crafted by PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies (Central Lobby), walks participants through the importance of standards engagement, what a standard is and does, the main players in the field and the development process. Course modules cover essential definitions; the fundamentals and importance of standards, including their purpose; the processes that contribute to their publication; and associated organizations and their responsibilities. The course is not industry-specific, but does feature examples of standards related directly to packaging and processing machinery and reflects the necessity of standards work within packaging and processing. With knowledge of standards development, participants can ensure machinery is properly designed, operated and maintained and that exports aren’t rejected because equipment doesn’t meet the standards in force at its destination. The course was developed with financial support PMMI received in October 2020 from a Market Development Cooperator Program Award from the U.S. Department of Commerce. The partnership funding creates or sustains U.S. jobs by increasing or maintaining the export of American goods. To learn more or register for the free course, contact PMMI Industry Services Coordinator Devon Colianni, dcolianni@pmmi.org. For more info, visit www.PMMI.org. SD

REPACKAGING THE FUTURE ONE INNOVATION AT A TIME

From engineered fiber-based primary, secondary and tertiary packaging, to automation that optimizes your supply chain, our innovations are reshaping the future of packaging and enabling you to meet your operational goals without compromising productivity.

Thanks to these industry leaders for their support helping to make 2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas better for everyone.

Michelle Johnson (left) and Cassie Leung of Anysort USA (Booth N-26005), sponsor of Good Eats and show transportation.

Ashley Bates models the lanyards, sponsored by Cognex (Booth SL-6156).

Syntegon Packaging Technology (Booth C-2800), sponsored the PACK EXPO column wraps and Candy Bar Lounge this year. Stop by and meet the team!

Andrea Admana, market development coordinator at PMMI, greets first-time attendees at their special lounge in Room S-224, sponsored by ProMach (Booth C-3220).

WestRock (Booth C-2023) helps keep everyone safe with hand sanitizer stations located throughout the show floor, (l-r) Britt Staley, Nickie Parker and Kim Wetter.

If you need a ride between the North/Central and South Halls, the golf carts, sponsored by Specright (Booth SU-7356), take you there quickly.

FIRST RECYCLABLE

BARRIER MATERIAL

INTRODUCING

™

PA C K A G I N G E X P E RT S • AT B O O T H # N 9 3 1 4 •

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas 16

SHOW DAILY SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

THE SHOWCASE OF INSPIRATION See award-winning packaging from around the world—the next great idea for your brand may well be on display!

PMMI launches ProSource Online directory speeds search for suppliers.

he new PMMI ProSource, a leading North American online directory of packaging and processing suppliers connects buyers with verified machinery, material and service suppliers. Based on input from end user experts in packaging, the directory offers buyers an unparalleled, seamless user experience. PMMI ProSource saves times as it helps quickly zero in on packaging and processing technology suppliers, eliminating the need to shop around supplier websites. Directory listings from all PMMI members have been vetted and validated by a full-time industry expert, ensuring the most consistent and accurate supplier results. Standardized categories make it easier and less confusing to find the right machinery, materials and supplies. In addition, search, filter and visual tools help narrow focus and enhance ease-of-use. Features include: • Plain-language filters make it easy for novice users who may not be schooled in the various packaging technologies to find what they need • Type-ahead keyword search • Visual navigation by machine or desired package type • Packaging-specific filters that are tailored to each product category. For more info, visit www.pmmi.org/prosource. SD

ABRE—Brazilian Packaging Association AIMCAL—Association of International Metallizers, Coaters and Laminators AMEE—Asociación Mexicana de Envase y Embalaje FPA—Flexible Packaging Association FSEA—Foil and Specialty Effects Association IMDA—In-Mold Decorating Association IoPP—Institute of Packaging Professionals PPC—Paperboard Packaging Council ProFood World’s Sustainability Excellence in Manufacturing Awards RPA—Reusable Packaging Association The Tube Council WPO—World Packaging Organisation

Visit our sponsor, WestRock in booth C-2023.

Glenroy introduces TruRenu brand

Sustainable flexible packaging portfolio includes several formats.

lenroy® (Booth SU-7925) launches the TruRenu brand name for its sustainable flex- Glenroy adopts the TruRenu brand name for its growing family of sustainable flexible packaging products. . ible packaging portfolio. The product line consists of recyclable pouches and film laminations that qualify for the How2Recycle® store-drop-off label program, post-consumer-recycled (PCR) pouches and film laminations with up to 53% recycled content, the award-winning pre-made STANDCAP pouch in a PCR format with up to 48% recycled content, and the new recycle-ready pre-made STANDCAP pouch, an innovative, 100%-polyethylene structure that meets the technical recycling guidelines from the Association of Plastic Recyclers. “As an active participant in the Circular Economy, Glenroy is focused more than ever on delivering sustainable flexible packaging solutions for our customers, retailers and consumers,” says Evan Arnold, vice president of Business Development at Glenroy. “The TruRenu sustainable flexible packaging portfolio represents our commitment to help brands meet their stated sustainability goals, and our dedication to providing sustainable flexible packaging solutions that protect products and the environment.” As a sustainable flexible packaging company, Glenroy works with brand owners, partners, retailers and vendors to reduce the environmental impact of flexible packaging. The TruRenu sustainable flexible packaging portfolio is poised to enable the Circular Economy and provides another step to significantly reduce plastic waste. Glenroy’s development pipeline includes industry-focused, sustainable flexible-packaging innovations that will be added to the TruRenu portfolio. For more info, visit www.glenroy.com/eco. SD

Wherever you are and whatever your industry, there’s a PACK EXPO event to provide solutions you need today and the inspiration for tomorrow.

March 21–23, 2022 Philadelphia, USA

June 14–17, 2022 Mexico City, Mex.

Oct. 23–26, 2022 Chicago, USA

packexpoeast.com

expopackmexico.com.mx

packexpointernational.com

June 13–15, 2023 Guadalajara, Mex.

Sept. 11–13, 2023 Las Vegas, USA

expopackguadalajara.com.mx

packexpolasvegas.com

Visit the PMMI Booth in the Central Hall Lobby or the Future Trade Shows Booth in the South Upper Lobby for more information or to reserve your booth today!

Produced by:

Visit packexpo.com

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas

SHOW DAILY

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

Association partners support show Groups provide unmatched expertise in many specialities.

he Association Partner Program returns to PACK EXPO Las Vegas and co-located Healthcare Packaging EXPO with many familiar faces and some new key organizations. The program connects leading associations dedicated to advancing the packaging and processing industry with PACK EXPO attendees and exhibitors, bringing significant resources, insights and expertise to the most comprehensive packaging event in the world this year. “The PACK EXPO Partner Program connects our attendees to leading associations from all segments of the packaging and processing industry,” says Laura Thompson, vice president of Trade Shows, at PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies (Central Lobby), the organizer of the PACK EXPO family of shows. “With more than 30 partners this year, making it our largest partner program to date, the breadth

and depth of industry knowledge brought by these partners is unrivaled and is an invaluable resource to attendees and exhibitors participating in the show.” This support is a sign of the industry’s excitement to reunite with the more than 1,500 exhibitors that are spread across four expansive halls at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

INTERNATIONAL PAVILIONS

• Adepta (France) (Booth SU-7846) • Confederation of Danish Industry (Denmark) (Booth SU-7716) • Expotim International Fair Organizations (Turkey) (Booth SU-8220) • Italian Trade Agency (Italy) (Booth SU-8159)

Students show off robot creations Rockwell support gives students the PACK EXPO experience.

t the Future Innovators – Robotics Showcase (Booth N-9820), FIRST robotics teams from Las Vegas area high schools demonstrate the robots they have designed and built. Forming part of the new, interactive PACK to the Future Exhibit (Booth N-11030) in the North Hall, demonstrations take place daily at the event sponsored exclusively by Rockwell Automation (Booth C-4742).

For more info, visit www.PACKEXPOlasvegas.com, www.HCPElasvegas.com. SD

2021 ASSOCIATION PARTNERS Adhesive and Sealant Council (Booth C-1243)

Flexible Packaging Association (Booth C-1341)

AIM North America (Booth C-1247)

Foil & Specialty Effects Association (Booth C-1344)

AIMCAL – Association of International Metallizers, Coaters, and Laminators (Booth C-1347) AIPIA, the Smart Packaging Association Australian Institute of Packaging Australian Packaging and Processing Machinery Association CANAINCA Cold Pressure Council (Booth C-1354) Composite Can & Tube Institute (Booth C-1351) CPA, The Association for Contract Packaging and Manufacturing (Booth C-1255)

Foundation for Supply Chain Solutions (Booth C-1252) Independent Bakers Association (Booth C-1248) In-Mold Decorating Association (Booth C-1346) Institute of Packaging Professionals (Booth C-1253) Instituto Argentino del Envase (Booth C-1146) International Dairy Foods Association (Booth C-1352) International Society of Beverage Technologists (Booth C1251) Koelnmesse

National Confectioners Association (Booth SU-7201) OMAC – The Organization for Machine Automation & Control (Booth C-1152) OPC Foundation (Booth C-1149) Paperboard Packaging Council PLCopen (Booth C-1150) Processing & Packaging Machinery Association Reusable Packaging Association (Booth SU-8201) SNAC International (Booth C-1349) Start Up CPG The Tube Council World Packaging Organisation (Booth C-1141)

Show attendees have a chance to meet students and discuss their robot creations.

This year more than 50 students, aged 14 to 18, are participating. Students not only have the opportunity to display their robotic creations, but also tour the show floor to learn about the breadth and innovation within processing and packaging. “We are excited to be the exclusive sponsor of the Future Innovators - Robotics Showcase and to continue our contributions to the PMMI Foundation this year,” says Steve Deitzer, vice president Consumer Products Industry, Rockwell Automation. “To be able to contribute to and support the development of future generations for this essential industry has always been the driving force behind our sponsorships during the PACK EXPO shows. . . . we look forward to continue supporting the industry for years to come.” In addition to its exclusive sponsorship of the Future Innovators - Robotics Showcase, Rockwell Automation also made a $10,000 direct donation to the PMMI Foundation (Central Lobby), earmarked for additional support for the participating teams. Each team receives grant money as well as travel assistance and food and beverage during their visit to the show. For more info, visit www.PACKEXPOlasvegas.com, www.rockwellautomation.com. SD

Accelerate Your IIoT Development Securely and Seamlessly Digitally transforming your operations is no small endeavor. Choosing the wrong approach can drive up costs and only delay your results. Emerson’s PACEdge is a complete and easy-to-use IIoT platform that helps simplify IIoT development by bringing together all components necessary in the IIoT application life cycle. PACEdge delivers flexibility, scalability and open connectivity with data access from the machine level to enterprise, providing a unified solution for secure and accelerated digital transformation. Visit booth SL-6307 to learn more about PACEdge Software and Computer Devices. www.Emerson.com/Packaging

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas 20

SHOW DAILY SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

PPWLN names Executive Council

Group establishes scholarship for women, adds online resource.

X-Series Stainless Steel Platform The X-series design follows a proactive approach to increase cleanliness, minimizing dirt pockets and maximizing rounded surfaces for better drainage. Extensive research and development results in a very robust and stable conveyor system that includes a complete range of guide rails and supports. Every component in the new platforms has been carefully designed to give maximum sturdiness. In addition, the components are highly modular to make the new stainless steel conveyors flexible and support easy engineering. Standardization also simplifies assembly and installation, cutting start-up time and allowing quick and easy line modifications. Standard conveyor chain widths range from 68 mm up to 295 mm, for product widths up to 400 mm. Suited for items with a weight up to 15 kg. Conveyor product lines: X70X, X85X, X180X, X300X Email us at info.us@ȋexlink.com or visit us at ȋexlink.com to find out more about the X-Series.

Visit FlexLink at

Booth #4400

he Packaging & Processing Women’s Leadership Network (PPWLN) added new members to its Executive Council in mid-2021. The Executive Council now consists of • Patty Andersen, vice president of Human Resources & Training, Delkor Systems (Booth C-3814) • Lisa Barrieau, banding & sales manager-Food, Felins USA (Booth SU-7264) • Dee Brewer, director of Packaging, Mission Foods • Jada Britto, senior global design manager, Colgate-Palmolive • Alana Brown, global trade show leader, BW Packaging Systems (Booth C-1800) • Montserrat Cerf, international sales director, Polypack (Booth C-2041) • Jane Chase, executive director, Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP) (Booth C-1253) • Charlotte Edwards, senior packaging engineer, Just Born • Mallory Geigle, packaging engineer, Innovation, Sargento • Sharron Gilbert (co-chair), president and CEO, Septimatech Group (Booth C-4236) • Marisa Henry, senior project engineer, Snacks Engineering, Campbell Soup • Lisa Hunt, CEO, Plexpack (Booth C-2936) • Joyce Longfield, R&D, principal of HPP Applications, Good Foods Group • Lisa Propati, vice president and GM, WLS, a ProMach product brand (Booth C-3518, SL-6501) • Lisa Rathburn, vice president, Engineering and Continuous Improvement, T. Marzetti • Jan Tharp (co-chair), president and CEO, Bumble Bee Seafood • Rachael Tomasello, director of Commercial Capability and Engagement, Mars • Cimberly Weir, instructor, School of Packaging, Michigan State (Booth N-8706) • Nancy Wilson, CEO, Morrison CHS (Booth C-1851) • Eleni Yianas, vice president, Marketing, Duravant (Booth C-4230) In addition to attending networking events and participating in the group’s social media pages, PPWLN encourages members to take advantage of a free community forum for women in packaging, newly organized by IoPP as part of its PackChat forum. The Women’s Leadership Network PackChat community is designed as a place to share experiences, discuss challenges and benchmark with peers. TO PARTICIPATE: Join IoPP for FREE at iopp.org/join and start taking advantage of PackChat. Under Payment Details, enter the Coupon Code PMMIELWL2021 2 and click Apply. 3 Access PackChat from IoPP’s Home page (member login required). Locate the Community you would like to join (via the homepage 4 Communities tab on the navigation bar) and click Join. Enter an email address and designate how to receive messages, then click 5 on “Yes, Join the Community.”

In another new development, PPWLN has established a $5,000 scholarship. The first one has been awarded to Elaine Marshall, a packaging engineering technology student at Indiana State. Scholarship candidates must be planning to pursue a career in packaging or processing, possess a GPA of 3.0 or higher, demonstrate leadership qualities and be studying engineering, packaging, processing, mechatronics or a related field. Convened by show organizer PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies (Central Lobby), PPWLN works to recruit, retain and advance women’s careers in packaging and processing through online and in-person events, information sharing and networking. For more info, visit www.PMMI.org/ppwln. SD

Filling & Sealing Automation

End-of-Line Packaging Automation

Complete Automation Solutions

BOOTH: C-5222

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas

SHOW DAILY

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

PACK to the Future debuts

New show feature takes a look forward and back.

he look forward comes on the PACK to the Future Stage (Booth N-9830). Daily sessions focus on future advancements such as sustainable solutions, smart packaging, artificial intelligence, digital heat-sealing and wireless automation communication. The nearby PACK to the Future Exhibit (Booth N-11030) takes a look back, exploring how packaging developed as civilizations and trade evolved and how industrial and scientific revolutions led to rapid innovations and mass production. Nearly 30 historic packaging machines dating from the 1890s to the 1990s are on display, surrounded by imagery supplied by consumer packaged goods companies, museums and packaging equipment companies, including one-of-akind displays, packages, photographs and videos. Highlights of the PACK to the Future Exhibit include: • Roby the Robot, the first dedicated packaging robot invented by Gerhard Schubert, courtesy of Schubert Group, parent company of Schubert North America (Booth SU-7651). Roby was introduced to the market in 1981 and used to package pralines and chocolates. • Omron (Booth SU-7537) has played a role in the evolution of the programmable logic controller (PLC), an increasingly vital component in packaging machines since Modicon introduced the first PLC in 1968. • One of the first liquid filling machines, dating from the early 1900s, courtesy of Septimatech Group (Booth C-4236). • An historic auger filler from All-Fill (Booth C-2203).

• An early cartoning machine built in 1922 by R.A Jones (Booth C-4400) to package crayons. • One of the first automated glue labelers for the pharmaceutical industry manufactured by NJM, a ProMach product brand (Booth C-3514, SL6501) and sold to Abbott Labs in 1937. • An early checkweigher/x-ray inspection combo from Anritsu Product Inspection (Booth SL-6319). • Early examples of the digital revolution in packaging machinery, including a carton former from Kliklok-Woodman, now Syntegon Packaging Technology (Booth C-2800), and an Ishida multihead weigher from Heat and Control (Booth C-1623). This area of the show floor also features the Showcase of Packaging Innovations® (Booth N-9720), sponsored by WestRock (Booth C-2023), and the Future Innovators–Robotics Showcase (Booth N-9820). The session schedule for the PACK to the Future Stage is outlined below. Other educational opportunities on the show floor include: the long-running Innovation Stage (Booth C-2051, C-2058, C-2151) program, including the first Processing Innovation Stage (Booth N-24020) sessions (see schedule, p. 26); and The Forum at PACK EXPO (Booth C-2158) (see schedule, p. 42). Updated schedules may be found on the show website or via the PACK EXPO Las Vegas/Healthcare Packaging EXPO App. For more info, visit www.PACKEXPOlasvegas.com, www:HCPElasvegas.com. SD

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2021 REPOSITION PACKAGING AS THE ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTION

10:30–11:00 AM

As concerns about the environmental impact of packaging increase, consumers, governments and some in industry see packaging as part of the problem. The industry is responding. Changes are starting to occur with R&D teams innovating in overdrive, industry partnering in new ways and relationships with governments and consumers adapting in real time. Here’s a look at ways to minimize packaging waste and help consumers recycle more and recycle better. David Clark VP, Sustainability Amcor

HOW CAN THE INDUSTRIAL EDGE DELIVER NEW INSIGHTS FOR PACKAGING MACHINES?

11:30–12:00 PM

Edge computing brings performance opportunities to packaging machine operations. Learn how Digital-Twin simulation during machine runtime can make real-time predictions with artificial intelligence and generate insightful operation data with a Live-Twin. Colm Gavin Portfolio Development Mgr Siemens Digital Industries Software Siemens Digital Industries

TRANSITION TO A DIGITAL WORLD THROUGH DATA

1:30–2:00 PM

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2021 NEXT GENERATION INDUSTRIAL LIDAR SENSING TECHNOLOGIES COMING TO PACKAGING

Increasing consumer demands, eCommerce and, of course, COVID-19 are just a few reasons packaging professionals are looking to “go digital.” Products are changing fast, so companies are looking to technology to help them go faster and work remotely to quickly prototype designs and reduce the development cycle from months to weeks. According to research, packaging and supply chain digitization is a burning platform for executives—and the longer you wait to start a digital transformation, the more challenging it is. Matthew Wright Founder & CEO Specright

10:30–11:00 AM

2:30–3:00 PM

11:30–12:00 PM

THE ROBOTS ARE COMING! PACKAGING DESIGN FOR AN AUTOMATED ECOM WORLD

Rapid eCommerce growth in combination with labor shortages and sustainability pressure has led to increased automation and demands on packaging. Here’s a look at eCommerce packaging guidelines as well as automation considerations for your next packaging project! Brent Lindberg Principal & Founder Fusenoe

The packaging industry has used photo sensors and camera technology for years, but there are many applications where the technology doesn’t work well due to insufficient area coverage, measurement accuracy or lighting. Next generation LiDAR technologies, derived from self-driving cars, are now available to the industrial market. This will allow more applications to be solved with simple LiDAR sensors, which can cover a large area and work in any environment. Tony Rigoni Dir, Industrial Mkt Development & Alliances Quanergy

SEEING THROUGH WALLS: HARNESSING AR FOR MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR

Augmented reality (AR) was once a Hollywood fantasy. Now, it’s enabling industrial operators to peer inside machines and diagnose issues from a safe distance. Discover how one innovative machine builder uses AR to cut maintenance time by up to 50% and maintenance costs by up to 20%. Chanakya Gupta EcoStruxure Mktg Mgr John Partin Packaging Segment Business Development Mgr Schneider Electric SD

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas

SHOW DAILY

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021 This unscambler from Omega Design (Booth C-3836) dates from 1980.

One of the oldest machines on display, the string tying machine from Felins USA (Booth SU-7264), was invented by Fred E. Lins, who transitioned from sausage making to packaging machinery manufacturing.

R.A Jones (Booth C-4400) made soap before it began building packaging machines like this 1922 cartoner for crayons.

Stencil machines, an early advance in coding and marking, are still sold today by MSSC (Booth C-3736).

NJM’s (Booth C-3514) Model 86MLX Pony Label Rite® labeler (shown in a 33% scale model) applied a microfine coating of adhesive to the label and precisely applied it. The microfine coating prevented glue from oozing from the sides of the label and eliminated the need to manually inspect the finished product packaging. The full-size machine featured a one-piece cast-iron frame, measured 41 in. long by 30 in. deep and weighed 975 lb. The original selling price was $500. Photo: Courtesy of NJM

SEE US AT

BOOTH

#SL-6359

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas

SHOW DAILY

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

Moving toward 4.0 connectivity

End users continue to automate processes, lines and plants.

dvancements in automation, both machine and software, are moving manufacturing toward a smarter factory. With this expansion comes such challenges as determining return on investment and finding skilled labor and internal resources to assess automation needs, according to the Automation Timeline: The Drive Toward 4.0 Connectivity in Packaging and Processing, an infographic and white paper published by PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies (Central Lobby). Many consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies rely on original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and technology provider partners for troubleshooting, maintenance training, design and modification, installation and startup, staff training and overall expertise. As this automation timeline advances, CPG companies and OEMs need to foster strong partnerships in order to overcome automation challenges, implement low-maintenance design and improve the reliability of packaging and processing machines. Current automation levels in the packaging and processing industries are at 64% for automated equipment and 21% for semi-automated. The white paper findings show that, although COVID-19 has impacted automation plans, manufacturers recognize that they can improve operations and the broader enterprise by expanding automation strategies and components. Some of the tools driving the future of automation include the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and integration as more machines have data-acquisition

TOOLS DRIVING THE FUTURE WITHIN 10 YEARS, EXCEPT ROBOTICS

IIoT AND INTEGRATION CPGs: 85% Machines Capable of Data Acquisition

SMEs: 71%

ROBOTICS CPGs: 33%

MOVING ALO

TIMEL

End User Reli OEMs and Te Providers:

• Troubleshootin • Maintenance t • Design and mo • Installation and • Staff training • Expertise

Expansion in Secondary Packaging

SMEs: 38% CPGs: 20% Expansion in Palletizing

SMEs: 23%

A SCALE FOR ANY APPLICATION

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CPGs: 45.5% Predict Incorporation

SMEs: 7%

OEMs Fosteri Partnerships

• Understand ch • Low maintena • High reliability

PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS CPGs: 57%

Inspection Systems

Usage for Maintenance

SMEs: 54% As the Automation Timeline infographic shows, end users of all sizes plan to substantially increase their use of automation during the next decade.

PMMI connects consumer goods companies with manufacturing solutions through the wo

Tray Filling Solutions

Gentle Handling Options

Automatic Weighing Solutions Booth SL-5949

Always the best way to weigh.

Find your scale at YamatoAmericas.com

21.07.46 Pack Expo Las Vegas Daily Show Ad 4.5x6.25.indd 1

capabilities and the expansion of robotics in areas such as secondary packaging PACK EXPO portfolio of trade shows, PMMI Media Group and PMMI Business Drivers. and palletizing. Additional drivers include incorporating artificial intelligence more at pmmi.org and packexpo.com and pmmimediagroup.com. and predictive analysis used Learn for maintenance. As manufacturers continue to adopt greater levels of technology and connectivity, a robust cybersecurity strategy is essential. Trends such as remote access and IIoT connectivity make manufacturing more efficient, but also create points of vulnerability that bad actors can exploit, as highlighted in PMMI’s 2021 Cybersecurity: Assess Your Risk white paper. Given the rise in remote working, these compounding vulnerabilities can leave the manufacturing industry at greater risk of devastating cyberattacks. Solutions to improve cybersecurity, combat cyberattacks, navigate the automation timeline and safely add connectivity to operations may be found throughout the show floor and are the subject of many educational sessions (see schedules on p. 22, 26 and 42). For more info, visit www.PMMI.org, www.PACKEXPOlasvegas.com, www.HCPElasvegas.com. SD

8/5/21 10:45 AM

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas

SHOW DAILY SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

Showcase presents winning packs

12 groups participate in 2021 edition of popular gathering spot.

he 2021 edition of The Showcase of Packaging Innovations® (Booth N-9720), sponsored by WestRock (Booth C-2023), offers an opportunity to see award-winning innovations from around the world, including the honorees in the Sustainability Excellence in Manufacturing Awards, sponsored by ProFood World (Central Lobby). In the AmeriStar section of the Showcase, attendees may help choose the People’s Choice Award. To vote, simply select your favorite AmeriStar award winner and scan a QR code before noon today. Attendees also may vote at the Institute of Packaging Professionals (Booth C-1253). The winner will be announced at 3 p.m. today. Located in the Containers and Materials Pavilion in the North Hall, The Showcase of Packaging Innovations features award winners from 10 other organizations. “At WestRock, we connect people to products through deep partnerships built to solve customer challenges,” says Patrick Lindner, chief innovation officer and president of Consumer Packaging for Showcase sponsor WestRock.

PARTICIPANTS IN THE 2021 SHOWCASE OF PACKAGING INNOVATIONS ABRE (Brazilian Packaging Association) Asociación Mexicana de Envase y Embalaje Association of International Metallizers, Coaters and Laminators (Booth C-1347) Flexible Packaging Association (Booth C-1341) Foil and Specialty Effects Association (Booth C-1344) In-Mold Decorating Association (Booth C-1346) Institute of Packaging Professionals (Booth C-1253) Paperboard Packaging Council ProFood World (Central Lobby)

The Digital Application of the Year honored Mars M&M’s NFL package for the Green Bay Packers. As part of a series of packages sent The Digital to stores during the Application of the Year 16-week NFL season, winner combines digital printing and AR technology to provide an the carton featured interactive experience for consumers digitally printed prior and a turnaround time that allowed packs and current game sta- printed with Sunday’s football scores to arrive in stores on Wednesday. tistics as well as the Packers’ record that week within the division. Highlights of the 65th annual Flexible Packaging Achievement Awards competition, organized by the Flexible Packaging Association (FPA) (Booth C-1341), include the Shield Pack® clear, high-barrier aseptic IBC (industrial bulk container) liner from Amcor Flexibles North America (Booth SU-7244, SU-7254), which captured a Gold Award for Technical Innovation. Another noteworthy winner in the FPA competition earned a Gold Award–Sustainability for an industrial compostable coffee pod lidding and mother bag for Maxwell House Coffee Canada. For more info, visit www.PACKEXPOlasvegas.com, www.westrock.com, www.placon.com, www. www. amcor.com/afna. SD

Reusable Packaging Association (Booth SU-8201) The Tube Council World Packaging Organisation (Booth C-1141) Custom medical package from Placon, a WorldStar winner, protects product sterility and handles easily, yet meets all operating room protocols.

One winning package on display is a custom design from Placon (Booth N-9314). It received a WorldStar award in the Medical and Pharmaceutical category from the World Packaging Organisation (Booth C-1141). The sterile sealed inner and outer tray features a Tyvek® lid, which can be peeled back to access a sterile tube. The outer and inner sterile barriers have a unique grip feature on the edges for more secure handling when wearing medical gloves. The sterile tube uses Placon’s non-abrasive BargerGard® polyurethane to create a secure package for medical screw implants and other implant/instrument assemblies.

The tube design allows medical personnel to hold the tube without product contact prior to when the implant is needed during the surgical procedure. Each tube has an open-and-close top that allows access to the screw or device instrument inside. The sterile polyurethane tube prevents puncture or abrasion of the sterile barrier. Also on display are winners of the 77th Annual North American Paperboard Packaging Competition, sponsored by the Paperboard Packaging Council. In that contest, WestRock received 18 awards, including Rigid Box of the Year and Digital Application of the Year. The Rigid Box of the Year award honored a carton for Jung & Wulff Luxury Rums. The premium package features a perfectly flat foldover face panel and is designed to highlight and securely display the craft spirits. Winner of Rigid Box of the Year honors, this carton for premium rum is designed to prevent a 12-in. face panel from bowing. It features a pull-out handle, antique map graphics, gold stamping and engraving to highlight the brand’s 1883 origins.

The multilayer Shield Pack structure safeguards contents against moisture, oxygen and environmental contamination, while extending distribution range, reducing transit failures, improving product quality and maintaining product color and vitamin retention.

The Gold Award–Sustainability from FPA recognizes the circular design for coffee pod packaging. Sustainable elements include renewable inputs, a no-separation pod design to ensure easy consumer disposal into the organics collection and compostable lidding film and barrier structure of mother bag.

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas

SHOW DAILY

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

Innovation Stage adds processing sessions

ducational opportunities, a central tenet of the PACK EXPO family of shows, take the form of several show-floor programs, including the ever-popular Innovation Stage (Booth C-2051, C-2058, C-2151, N-24020). The multi-track schedule features more than 50, 30-min. sessions focused on breakthrough technologies, best practices and case studies. Nearly one-third of the sessions are devoted to sustainability topics. New this year is the Processing Innovation Stage (Booth N-24020) with about a dozen sessions organized by the editors of ProFood World. Presenters rank as subject matter experts and represent a cross-section of exhibitors such as Beckhoff Automation (Booth SL-6149), Emerson (Booth

SL-6307), Markem-Imaje (Booth C-2232), Mettler-Toledo (Booth C-1814), nVenia, A Duravant Company (Booth C-4425), Siemens Digital Industries US (Booth SL-6356), Specright (Booth SL-7356), Syntegon Packaging Technology (Booth C-2800) and WestRock (Booth C-2023). Session descriptions, times and locations are listed on the following pages. Updated schedules may be found on the show website or via the PACK EXPO Las Vegas/Healthcare Packaging EXPO App. Other educational opportunities on the show floor include the first PACK to the Future Stage (Booth N-9830) (see schedule, p. 22) and another popular program, The Forum at PACK EXPO (Booth C-2158) (see schedule, p. 42). For more info, visit www.PACKEXPOlasvegas.com, www:HCPElasvegas.com. SD

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

VINYL-FREE, FULLY RECYCLABLE BLISTER

10:00–10:30 AM Innovation Stage 1 | C-2051

Imagine a vinyl-free, fully recyclable blister that is completely compatible on all standard equipment, delivering optimal performance in health protection and environmental safety. Daniel Stagnaro Head of Technology Klöckner Pentaplast

GUIDE RAIL SYSTEM TACKLES SAFETY CONCERNS AND PRODUCT GUIDANCE ISSUES

10:00–10:30 AM Innovation Stage 2 | C-2058

Learn about a product guidance system with new and unique features that eliminate bulkiness, costly changeover time and safety hazards present in today’s standard guide rail systems. Steve Fye VP, Research & Design Span Tech

A LOOK BACK AT TRACK: THE EVOLUTION OF INTELLIGENT TRANSPORT TECHNOLOGY

10:00–10:30 AM Innovation Stage 3 | C-2151

10:30–11:00 AM Processing Innovation Stage | N-24020

A review of the technology and methodology of a spiral immersion system for chilling, freezing, cooking, pasteurizing and sous-vide food processing applications and how this revolutionary technology improves product quality and reduces energy consumption and labor costs. Steve Kelley Dir, Spiral Immersion System FPS Food Process Solutions

IMPROVING PACKAGING AND LINE EFFICIENCY FOR FOOD BOWL AND TRAY APPLICATIONS

11:00–11:30 AM Innovation Stage 1 | C-2051

Hear about the newest automation technology for food bowls and tray applications that combine sustainable primary, secondary and tertiary packaging into one system. This innovative end-of-line solutionincreases line efficiency and lowers total cost through material and labor savings. John Perkins VP, Global Packaging Systems WestRock

COMBAT COUNTERFEITS WITH AMAZON AND DOMINO

11:00–11:30 AM Innovation Stage 2 | C-2058

Counterfeit products have risen during the last few years and now account for 3.3% of global trade. This has an impact on your brand and reputation. Be in the know. We here at Domino believe in transparency as a means to proactively prevent counterfeits from

reaching customers. It’s why we are teaming up with Amazon as part of its Transparency program. Adem Kulauzovic Dir, Coding Automation Domino Amjet

SUSTAINABILITY IN HEALTHCARE PACKAGING: OPPORTUNITIES VS. CHALLENGES

11:00–11:30 AM Innovation Stage 3 | C-2151

Everywhere you turn you hear the buzzwords: recyclable, post-consumer recycled (PCR) content, biodegradable, compostable. Consumers are demanding sustainable packaging and making purchasing decisions accordingly. What about healthcare packaging? In this space, these words evoke thoughts of risk and compromise to patient safety. However, this is not necessarily true. Explore opportunities for designing packaging with sustainability as a critical-to-quality element without compromising the rigorous standards required for patient and product protection. Learn about how to overcome key challenges designing and implementing sustainable packaging. Brian Ingraham Sr R&D Dir Amcor

LATEST TRENDS IN HPP

11:30–12:00 PM Processing Innovation Stage | N-24020

Discover the latest trends in high-pressure processing (HPP) including packaging, plant-based foods, pet food and red meat. Dr. Errol Raghubeer VP, HPP Microbiology & HPP Science JBT

Explore how packaging operations can boost machine throughput, flexibility and adaptability using the latest linear transport systems. Packaging application best practices will be covered to demonstrate how you can ensure success by implementing intelligent track technologies. Rick Forsgren Packaging Industry Specialist Beckhoff USA

IMPROVE PERFORMANCE WITH SPIRAL IMMERSION PROCESSING

Las Vegas - Sept. 27-29

Booth #C-3514

Technological Excellence for Vial Fill & Finish Dara NFL/2-RDL Filling & Closing for Vials in Nest and RDL Caps. Output 4,800uph

Automatic filling and closing for liquid or powder products in vials or bottles. Highly customizable with a variety of options suitable for pharmaceuticals, biotech, cosmetics and other industries.

NJMPackaging.com / 800-811-6990 NJM, part of ProMach Pharma Solutions, is the exclusive sales agent for Dara in the USA and Canada.

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas 28

SHOW DAILY SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2021 (CONT’D) SOLVING MANUFACTURING CHALLENGES THROUGH ADVANCED DIGITAL SOLUTIONS

12:00–12:30 PM Innovation Stage 1 | C-2051

Join this session to hear from Mike Wagner, Kevin Roach and Peter Barrie, who will discuss solving manufacturing challenges through advanced digital solutions. Mike Wagner OEM Segment Mgr, Rockwell Automation Kevin Roach President Harpak-ULMA Packaging Peter Barrie Product Management Dir Sani-Matic

TRAYLESS GROUND MEAT IS NEXT FRONTIER IN SUSTAINABILITY

12:00–12:30 PM Innovation Stage 2 | C-2058

Discuss the multi-faceted impact of trayless ground meat packaging. Gain insights into the current state of the technology and logistics, the range of sustainability benefits delivered and the substantial cost advantages producers stand to realize. Hugh Crouch Flow Wrap Product Mgr Harpak-ULMA

BOTTLING 101: ARE YOU GETTING MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE?

12:00–12:30 PM Innovation Stage 3 | C-2151

Many of us forget during our continuous day-to-day production operations the many basics for proper application of design theory. Relearn best practices for adhering to basic design applications to improve overall line performance and line efficiency. Calvin Blake Sr Packaging Project Mgr POWER Engineers

NEW AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS

1:00–1:30 PM Innovation Stage 1 | C-2051

Today, the need for automation is more relevant than ever. When it comes to fully automated systems, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Learn about key technologies to take automation in packaging to new levels. Andreas Schildknecht Global Product Mgr, Robotics Syntegon Technology

HOW HAS COVID-19 CHANGED HOW WE AUDIT OUR SUPPLIERS?

1:00–1:30 PM Innovation Stage 3 | C-2151

COVID-19 has dramatically changed the way we deal with food safety audits. It eliminated face-to-face audits with suppliers and forced us to use methods like virtual audits and Zoom calls. What were the key learnings from this process, and how will it change the way we audit going forward? Brian Stegmann Exec Dir International Society of Beverage Technologists

MANUFACTURING 2022 AND BEYOND – WHY AUTOMATION ALONE IS NOT ENOUGH

1:30–2:00 PM Processing Innovation Stage | N-24020

Manufacturing in 2022 needs to look beyond automation. Diane Wolf Operations & Engineering Consultant Board Level Food & Beverage Exec

SUSTAINABLE LABEL OPTIONS CAN HELP ACHIEVE GOALS

2:00–2:30 PM Innovation Stage 1 | C-2051

This comprehensive overview of sustainable label options covers inks, coatings and materials for cut-andstack, in-mold, pressure-sensitive, roll-fed and shrink/ stretch sleeve labels. Discussion includes recommendations for materials that facilitate recycling for various container types. Tim Nicholson Sr VP, Technical Services Fort Dearborn

SMART INNOVATIONS FOR FOOD AND BEVERAGE

2:00–2:30 PM Innovation Stage 2 | C-2058

Industry 4.0 offers food and beverage manufacturers the agility to rapidly adapt to changing needs with high-quality products produced in a smarter way. Learn how to leverage innovations made possible by integrating the virtual and physical worlds with a digital thread. Nina Verstandig Digital Enterprise Industry Mgr, CP&R Siemens Siemens Digital Industries

ROBOTIC VALVE PLACERS FOR SAFE, CONSISTENT PRODUCTION

2:00–2:30 PM Innovation Stage 3 | C-2151

THE POWER OF SYSTEMATIC PROCESS IMPROVEMENT

2:30–3:00 PM Processing Innovation Stage | N-24020

The typical “isolated but related” approach to improvement projects is that it’s either time consuming for processing companies handling everything in-house, or expensive for those subbing out the work to engineering or consulting companies. Learn how equipment manufacturers can serve the food industry by implementing a systematic approach to projects instead of handling requests for proposals (RFPs) isolated from the broader system. Then explore how food processors substantially reduce costs by partnering with equipment and software suppliers to handle their RFPs as an extension of their team through a holistic and systematic approach to process improvement. Nehemiah White Mkt Mgr Deville Technologies

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

3:00–3:30 PM Innovation Stage 2 | C-2058

The fourth industrial revolution is changing our world. Intelligent sensors not only collect data but also prepare and process it to provide information. With the beginnings of digitization, sensors are starting to “think.” The transmission of information produced in this way is becoming a key technology. The success of networked value creation chains depends on the successful integration of sensors. Divya Prakash Dir, Business Consulting Industry 4.0 SICK

REQUIREMENTS TO CONSIDER FOR CODE VERIFICATION

3:00–3:30 PM Innovation Stage 3 | C-2151

Product-specific codes—alphanumeric, 1D or 2D barcodes—serve a variety of functions, for example, inventory purposes, supply chain security and facilitation of recalls. It is critical that codes are present and correct to avoid unnecessary rework and product returns, potential fines or even lawsuits and brand damage. Cover the four Cs of reliable code verification and learn about code contrast, character spacing, character size and consistency of print and background. Robert Rogers Sr Advisor, Food Safety & Regulation METTLER TOLEDO

Placing valve bags on filler spouts is a highly repetitive, labor-intensive task often performed in challenging environments. Review the benefits of using

robotics to safely automate this process and learn how to maximize uptime and increase throughput. Todd Alford Dir, Product Management nVenia

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PACK EXPO Sept 27-29, 2021 Las Vegas Booth C-2800

Booth Exhibits: arton former • New: Kliklok ACE topload carton former c pick-and-place with Pack Syntegon 403HERPP wrapper robotic andpick-and-place Kliklok ITC integrated with Pack topload 403HE cartoner wrapper and Kliklok ITC integrated topload cartoner • New: ystem, standalone horizontal Bag-in-box wrapper, packaging and bag system, sealer standalone horizontal wrapper, and bag sealer • Plus: uid, Case Packing, And Pharma, more: Confectionary, and Service info Liquid, stations Case Packing, Pharma, and Service info stations •

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2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas 30

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SHOW DAILY SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2021 (CONT’D) MANUFACTURING INNOVATION AWARDS

3:30–4:30 PM Processing Innovation Stage | N-24020

Manufacturing Innovation Awards featuring MWC, CTI Foods and Kraft Heinz. Meet the winners and learn about their state-of-the-art manufacturing technologies.

SUSTAINABLE BUNDLING FOR ECOMMERCE

4:00–4:30 PM Innovation Stage 1 | C-2051

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As eCommerce continues to boom, every layer of the supply chain is being reevaluated. Common factors driving innovations include improving the unboxing experience, maintaining brand consistency through all channels, identifying how to fulfill orders faster and reducing freight costs, all while providing sustainable packaging that protects the product in transit. Explore how ultrasonic banding can reduce void fill, unitize uniquely shaped products prior to auto-box systems and eliminate corrugate damage associated with strapping, while utilizing various banding materials (from paper and plastic to pre-printed and compostable). Gina Barrieau Banding Sales Mgr, eCommerce Felins

NOT BUSINESS AS USUAL AUTOMATION

4:00–4:30 PM Innovation Stage 2 | C-2058

Current industrial automation has done a good job of advancing industry, but to make step-change progress, we need universal automation. Kaishi Zhang Global Dir, Product Management Schneider Electric

LIGHTWEIGHTING AND BEYOND

4:00–4:30 PM Innovation Stage 3 | C-2151

Explore technologies that enable and unlock a more sustainable bottle, finish to base. Dan Witham Dir, Product Development Amcor Rigid Packaging

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2021 USING QUANTITATIVE LEAK TEST DATA TO ENHANCE CERTAINTY OF SHELF LIFE

10:00–10:30 AM Innovation Stage 1 | C-2051

See how simple it is to leak-test packages (even compostable packages) nondestructively and create quantitative leak-rate data, which can be combined with a simple, fast, comprehensive, quantitative gas concentration analysis to calculate real shelf-life projections. Bill Burnard Package Integrity Sales & Business Development Mgr, North America INFICON

ENABLING FREEDOM OF DESIGN BY LEVERAGING WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES

10:00–10:30 AM Innovation Stage 2 | C-2058

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Rethinking traditional design methods and constructs for unconstrained concepts that leverage effective machine design is challenging and can involve some risk. Learn how to overcome some of those challenges and mitigate risk with well-tried and proven non-traditional technologies like wireless IO and machine pneumatics. Nathan Eisel National Product Development Mgr SMC

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas

SHOW DAILY

BOO VISIT TH US US- AT 834 6

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2021 (CONT’D) MARKET FORCES RESHAPE THE CONTRACT PACKAGING/MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY

10:00–10:30 AM Innovation Stage 3 | C-2151

In the rapidly evolving contract packaging (co-pack) and manufacturing (co-man) industries, labor trends have accelerated or altered views on automation. Discuss how consolidation, acquisition and internal investments are changing the industry. Gain a perspective on the evolving innovation needs of brands and how they are being fulfilled by co-man and co-pack services. See how supply chains and sourcing are morphing to meet challenges with strategic co-man and co-pack partnerships. Ron Puvak Exec Dir Contract Packaging Association

THE TIME HAS COME TO TURN THE INDUSTRY UPSIDE DOWN!

THE FUTURE OF SNACK PACKAGING

11:00–11:30 AM Innovation Stage 1 | C-2051

COVID-19 changed the way consumers shop for snacks, including shifts in package size preference and how they buy snacks. Changing demand has increased the need for automation at the end of the line. Snack makers can double performance with a single system. Teri Johnson VP, North America TNA North America

OEMS CAN USE MACHINE DATA TO ADD SERVICES

11:00–11:30 AM Innovation Stage 2 | C-2058

Data from any machine source, used in conjunction with a rules-based system, provides machine monitoring and predictive machine performance management for the OEM. Adding this capability to an OEM’s smart machine initiative provides a platform for additional revenue streams or Machine-as-a-Service models. Ed Garibian CEO LLumin

FORTECH INTRODUCES

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PACKAGING FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

11:00–11:30 AM Innovation Stage 3 | C-2151

Discover the 2021 trends in flexible packaging. Learn about technological achievements that will lead in the future and prepare for the challenges facing the industry. Dimitris Gkinosatis Group Business Development Dir Flexopack

CURBSIDE-RECYCLABLE MAILER

12:00–12:30 PM Innovation Stage 2 | C-2058

Discuss the current sustainability landscape from the perspective of a diverse set of stakeholders and learn about a curbside-recyclable mailer. David Brabham Mgr, Sustainability Strategy Adam Ganz VP, Commercial Development Georgia-Pacific Corrugated

PACKAGING AUTOMATION TAKES FLIGHT WITH FLYING MOTION TECHNOLOGY

MES SUITE

The Least Expensive, Most Accurate Overall Equipment Efficiency Tool in the World! Three Line Measurements: (1) Availability – Affected by Unplanned Stops (2) Performance – Running Rate and Target Rate (3) Quality – Affected by Producing Bad Product

Investment Fee Includes: • Plant License • Unlimited Number of Lines • One-time Fixed Cost • First Year Support • Installation Guide, Support • Configuration Guide, Support

46,20000 TOTAL

Simple Installation. No Integrators Needed.

12:00–12:30 PM Innovation Stage 3 | C-2151

Explore how controls engineers and plant managers can use flying motion technologies to enable Lot-Size-1 production. Learn from real-world examples how these technologies transform packaging machines and lines with adaptive manufacturing concepts that deliver groundbreaking levels of flexibility and throughput. Jeff Johnson Mechatronics Product Mgr Beckhoff Automation SD

LLC

PROVEN RESULTS – PERSONAL DEDICATION

For Additional Information: solutions@fortech-usa.com www.fortech-usa.com

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas

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ProMach displays integrated line

Matrix, Quest, Wexxar Bel join forces for mint packaging line.

n the Central Hall, showgoers can view an integrated line packaging mints. The fully functional line showcases ProMach’s ability to merge two or more of its product brands to create one streamlined system. The integrated packaging line features multiple ProMach product brands, including Wexxar Bel (Booth C-3031) and ID Technology (Booth C-3214) and spans two booths: Matrix (Booth C-2829) and Quest (Booth C-2825).

Mints are weighed on a scale from Yamato (Booth SL-5949) and released through a forming tube into a pillow bag created from rollstock film on a Matrix Morpheus vertical/form/fill/seal machine. The Morpheus machine is paired with a Compact 53C thermal-transfer printer from ID Technology to code the packages. A conveyor then moves packages, each containing five to six mints, to a Matrix EC-E checkweigher for a final weight check before action by a Quest Quik Pick QP200 robotic case packer, which relies on two Delta-style robots from FANUC America (Booth C-1441). The robots pick packages from the convey-

ors and top-load the mints into cases. Case are fed by a Wexxar Bel WF 20 fully automatic case former. The cases continue their journey to a Wexxar Bel 250 fully automatic case sealer for sealing and then move to the final step of the live demonstration: robotic palletizing with a Quest Box Bot. The Box Bot is a space-saving robotic palletizer that allows an operator to quickly and easily design and produce exact pallet patterns for bags, boxes and other product types. Show attendees will notice the small footprint of this integrated line; it does not take up a lot of space and it can be made more compact, if necessary. Projects like this allow customers to have one point of contact that serves as a one-stop, full-service provider by connecting all the ProMach brands together. This level of project management greatly streamlines the planning process, installation and start-up curve for packaging lines. ProMach consists of 42 packaging and automation-focused companies in multiple categories, including systems & integration, filling, bottling & capping, decorative labeling, flexibles & trays, handling & sterilization, labeling & coding, robotics & end of line and pharma. For more info, visit www.idtechnology.com, www.matrixpm.com, www.wexxar.com, www.questindustrial.com, www.yamatoamericas.com, www.fanucamerica.com. SD

An integrated line to package mints spans two booths in the Central Hall, C-2829 and C-2825; both are part of the ProMach family of brands.

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas

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Flexible machines boost output 30% Family business combines craftsmanship with modern machines.

ndulgent moments for connoisseurs all over the world, the Echte Reber Mozart Kugeln are as popular and famous today as their namesake, the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Reber’s closely guarded family recipe conceals a filling of the finest nougat and fine marzipan with almonds and fresh pistachios, double-coated in alpine milk and dark chocolate. For the 150-year-old German market leader from Bad Reichenhall, tradition and quality are values that are upheld even in these fast-moving times: The family-owned company, now in its fifth generation, still produces its complete range of Mozart Kugeln, confectionery pastries and confectionery chocolate at its headquarters. Well-known beyond Germany, half a million Mozart Kugeln ship every day to more than 50 countries. This turnover would not be possible without highly efficient processes, excellent quality control and agile, reliable packaging equipment. In order to be able to integrate a high-performance packaging system into its highly efficient processes, the company again turned to Gerhard Schubert, parent company of Schubert North America (Booth SU-7651) with confidence as part of a comprehensive production optimization project.

Products feed into the Schubert system via lateral belts.

FLEXIBILITY AND RELIABILITY

Like the industry as a whole, the confectionery market is subject to the current trend toward smaller batch sizes and increasingly diverse, short-lived packaging types. For traditional, medium-sized manufacturers such as Reber, future-proofing and machine availability are especially important when investing in a new packaging line. For this reason, flexible formats and a fail-safe system were at the top of the requirements list for Reber Operations Manager Reinhold Kaiser. The new packaging machine had to be able to address all market trends for at least 10 years. At the same time, the manufacturer wanted to retain the tried-and-tested, high-quality packaging for its Mozart Kugeln. It consists of carded boxes with separate bases and lids that are erected without glue. Different trays, in formats of six-packs, 12-packs or other variants, hold the products. To protect the fine marzipan balls, a cushioning paper is placed on top. Lovers of the sweet treats also find a guarantee card in each box, with which Reber attests to the authenticity of the product. All these process steps needed to be integrated into the system—as well as quality control and the possibility of aligning the balls in each tray so that the portraits of the world-famous namesake on the printed gold foils are oriented in the same manner.

CUSTOMIZED DUAL SYSTEM

The Transmodul transport robot seamlessly connects the packaging steps.

These are demanding requirements which Schubert was able to meet thanks to its extremely flexible modular machine concept. Markus Vogelmann, sales account manager at Gerhard Schubert, explains: “The solution consists of two separate packaging machines—one to put the products into the trays and one to make the cartons. This means that our customer can not only process its current product range, but is already equipped for all conceivable future formats.” Schubert has designed a combination

The pick-and-place robots rotate the products so the Mozart portraits are perfectly aligned.

of a picker line and a packing line for primary packaging. If single-sort formats are to be packed, the picker line operates. If mixed boxes are to be packed, the lateral infeed belts are utilized and the system is changed over to a packing line operation. For the secondary packaging, i.e., the praline cartons, Reber uses a Schubert cartoner. It is located as a separate system in the production area, but is directly connected to the upstream pick-and-place machine from Schubert. Depending on the format, the filled trays either run into the new cartoner or to existing equipment. “The availability of the packaging solution is exceptionally high due to the separate systems, which can be integrated into the overall production in various ways,” says Vogelmann. “The picker line can also handle special tray formats such as Christmas editions. If one of the lines comes to a standstill for maintenance or the like, production can still continue on the other packaging machine.”

PICKING AND PACKING

The combined picker and packing line consists of six machine frames, and the products arrive directly from wrapping machines via feed belts. Several incident-light scanners check the quality of the Mozart Kugeln already wrapped in foil. The Schubert image processing system also detects the film

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas

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SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

imprint on the wrapping paper and passes the information to the robots. Eight robots then pick up product from the product belt or from the side belts, orient each piece and place it in the trays in correct alignment. The robots’ individually adapted suction tools ensure exceptionally gentle product handling. For Reber, the machine builders chose the F4 robots from Schubert’s system components.

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The cartoner erects the traditional cartons without glue.

With their wide working area at right angles to the belt, the SCARA [selective compliance articulated robot arm] robots are especially suitable for this special machine layout and for switching between the picker line and the packing line. Vogelmann adds: “During the planning process, we worked with Reber and the tray supplier to convert the existing trays to automatically destackable variants.”

P PDC BLADES BL LAST MONTHS, NOT DAYS MONTH M The cutting systems on PDC’s Shrink Sleeve Labelers and Tamper Evident Banders are uniquely tough and durable. Unlike the competition’s tiny spinning knives that dull quickly, often in days, PDC’s blades are built to deliver clean cuts for months. Rugged, resharpenable blades mean reduced downtime and longer intervals between replacement. PDC’s solid blade assemblies reflect our commitment to build tough, durable machines for ultimate productivity and your perfect package.

MORE THAN JUST CARTONING

Following the pick-and-place machine, filled trays move into the cartoner. In the compact system consisting of just four TLM frames, the carton bases are erected, the trays are inserted, the padding paper and warranty card are inserted and the erected lids are applied. Schubert’s Transmodul transport robot connects all process steps without the need for any interfaces. Up to seven cartons can be filled at the same time. “All packaging steps now run fully automatically and with a significant increase in performance of more than 30%,” reports Vogelmann. Kaiser is pleased: “This will not only enable us to package our core competence of Kugeln very efficiently, in the future we will also be able to produce assortments with up to four different products as well as other innovations. Furthermore, we are very flexible with the tray formats, so that the investment in the improved automation will also pay off in the medium term. The stage is set for further innovation with the new overall system.” For more info, visit www.schubert.group. SD

Call PDC at 203-853-1516 or visit us at

PDC’s robust mechanical blade assemblies are built like tanks to save you downtime and make your package look perfect.

www.pdc-corp.com. VISIT US AT PACK EXPO LAS VEGAS BOOTH #C-4614

PDC’s Shrinksleeve Labelers apply heat shrinkable labels at speeds up to 600 bpm and can also be used to multi-pack products.

S H R I N K S L E E V E L A B E L E R S • TA M P E R E V I D E N T N E C K B A N D E R S M U LT I PAC K E R S • S H R I N K T U N N E L S • S T R E T C H S L E E V I N G • C O N T R AC T S L E E V I N G

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas

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Packaging applications take flight

XPlanar Flying Motion helps revolutionize machine design.

oday’s packaging machine builders and consumer packaged goods manufacturers need new solutions that boost throughput and uptime while enabling greater customization. Consumer demands for more personalized products, down to Lot Size 1, are driving this trend. However, this requires additional tooling, processing stations and packaging options to accommodate different sizes, product types and graphic designs. In a traditional inline setup, either the product would have to pass every processing station, including many that are not required for that custom product, or operators would have to perform constant changeovers to swap out different tools. For these complex processing, packaging and material-handling applications, new mechatronic solutions offer revolutionary capabilities, allowing engineers to completely rethink what’s possible in machine design. XPlanar from Beckhoff Automation (Booth SL-6149) is one such innovation. This “Flying Motion” system consists of XPlanar motor tiles and passive planar movers that levitate magnetically and move with six degrees of motion: X, Y, Z (lift), rotate and tilt in X and Y. Of course, the movers don’t stop with mere levitation—they literally fly without any contact above the planar tiles. This intelligent transport system from Beckhoff enables machines to instantly adapt no matter what is happening in the process.

XPlanar enables adaptive packaging machines with six degrees of motion: X, Y, Z (lift), rotate and tilt in X and Y.

HOW DOES XPLANAR DEFY GRAVITY?

The XPlanar motor tiles can be arranged in any configuration to create flexible track layouts for free and dynamic movement. The movers offer jerk-free and contact-free motion in two dimensions at up to 2 m/sec. with 1g acceleration and 50µm positioning repeatability—completing movements without any friction. As such, the system can offer multiple lanes and parking spaces while easily diverting rejects. Rather than a standard linear transport system or conveyor, XPlanar offers multiple tracks on the same surface from infeed to outfeed. This nonlinear approach means total freedom in customization. XPlanar is completely integrated into the standard TwinCAT 3 programming environment and runtime. TwinCAT 3 software supports flexible programming and fully automated changeovers.

The easy-to-use toolkit includes a graphical layout wizard, automated jerk, pitch and yaw control, collision avoidance and six degrees of motion freedom. Anti-slosh capabilities are built in for transporting liquids and other sensitive products. You can use 360-degree rotation or advanced kinematics to mix products or rotate for machine vision inspections. And it’s worth noting: All of these capabilities are possible with the standard tiles and movers—no special add-ons are required to spin or complete other advanced functions. For communication, XPlanar systems are networked via the standard EtherCAT G protocol, which itself is fully compatible with the entire 100 Mbit/s EtherCAT ecosystem. Networking via EtherCAT G provides real-time synchronization of servo technology, robotics, machine vision and other systems, along with the openness to communicate with more than 30 other fieldbuses and protocols.

FLYING MOTION: THE NEXT BREAKTHROUGH IN PACKAGING MACHINE DESIGN

XPlanar supports a variety of modern machine design concepts and production layouts, but also enables exciting new ones, such as a processing bridge that sets up batches of movers for filling, capping, assembly and buffering. After packaging is complete, the system’s 360-degree continuous rotation enhances on-the-fly inspection capabilities, and the movers can easily reject imperfect products or send them to rework stations as needed. Consider the traditional approach vs. XPlanar with the following examples. With the continuing craft beer boom, a large brewing company may want to allow customers to mix and match their own freshly bottled six-pack. Once the customer selects their chosen brews, bottle sizes, etc., the XPlanar movers could pick up a bottle, carry it to the right filling station, and then take it to the appropriate labeling and capping areas before it is loaded into the six-pack with the other customer-specific beers. Want to allow your customer to make their own custom labels for a wedding, corporate event or just because? The flexibility of this system makes it possible even in smaller batch sizes. Likewise, a shampoo brand might offer dozens of optional scents and additives that consumers can choose from online in the size they want. Maybe someone only wants a small bottle with tea tree oil, but another person wants a large bottle with lavender, coconut and specific vitamins. In the inline process, the bottle would have to pass every filling station, and an operator would have to adjust the machine for smaller or larger bottles. With XPlanar, multiple bottle sizes and recipes can be processed at once. The system’s built-in path planning and collision avoidance

XPlanar adds new degrees of freedom to packaging applications, allowing engineers to completely rethink what’s possible.

algorithms ensure that the bottle moves to only the needed filling stations as quickly as possible.

MECHATRONICS PROVIDE A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

XPlanar is highly adaptable to demanding environmental conditions, such as those found in washdown areas, cleanrooms, vacuums, etc. The planar motor tiles can be covered with glass, stainless steel or other hygienic materials to suit applications in pharma, food and beverage, etc. The levitating and flying movers create no wear, which eliminates contamination that is common with conveyors, belts and other standard material-handling components. These advantages make this mechatronic solution ideal for wide-ranging packaging operations from infeed to end-of-line. This includes emerging micro-fulfillment and eCommerce applications, as well as traditional packaging functions. However, XPlanar also supports maximum traceability, which makes it optimal for pharma and other healthcare applications. Each mover is mapped to a unique ID in TwinCAT, so once a product goes onto a mover, you have constant visibility until it is offloaded. Above all, XPlanar allows engineers to fundamentally rethink machine designs and retire all kinds of outdated mechanical and electronic systems. As with the eXtended Transport System (XTS) from Beckhoff, it is important to build machines around the features and benefits of the system. XPlanar can do much more than simply replace conveyor technologies, and to make sense from a cost perspective, it must. To achieve unprecedented flexibility and throughput, engineers must implement this new technology with intention and strategic consideration. As a system that immediately maximizes competitiveness, XPlanar can support adaptive and modular production concepts, reduce floor space and combine multiple machines into one. For more info, visit www.beckhoff.com/xplanar. SD Editor’s Note: This article was written by Jeff Johnson, U.S. mechatronics product manager at Beckhoff Automation.

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P-S labelers gain human element

Nita Labeling adds sentient traits to the science of labeling.

hen you think about packaging machinery, do the words, “living, breathing, humanlike” come up? For Quebec-based labeling equipment manufacturer, Nita Labeling Systems (Booth C-5406), the answer is simply yes. That’s because Nita’s XP Series and Joust Series label applicators were designed with “human” characteristics in mind. In 2002, Normand Lord purchased Nita, a small manufacturing company. In 2005, Luc Harvey, the company’s current chief engineer, joined as a minority owner. After being in the printing plate business for a decade, Lord was able to launch Nita’s offering of automatic inline pressure-sensitive labelers by replacing older technology with newer innovations like servo motors and software-managed programmable drives. “When I found Nita, I saw a diamond in the rough,” Lord says. “I was a senior vice president at Bell Canada, managing 1,500 employees. But my entrepreneurial spirit was calling, and Nita presented an opportunity to take a vastly underperforming company, which I could transform into a leader. We are currently one of the largest inline pressure-sensitive label applicator manufacturers in the world. My dreams to be the best are being fulfilled every day.” Now, the company creates self-diagnosing, fully automatic 100% servo labelers to handle a range of containers, including jugs, tapered tubs, pails, bottles, clamshells, trays, boxes and flat bags. But what’s unique is that the system actually identifies when parts need changing or servicing and

notifies users. The users can then order those parts directly from the machine via the Windows 10 IoT Enterprise software-based personal computer (PC) control screen. The labeling system also provides users with daily, weekly and monthly preventative maintenance schedules and reminders, as well as an extensive problem-solving video library. A SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) platform provides real-time overall equipment effectiveness and performance reporting, with live video tech support built into the screen. Ken Hubscher, the company’s vice president of Sales and Marketing and minority owner, joined Nita in 2012 with a mission to unveil the company’s voice and story. At that time, Nita labelers were operating on the original Nita 1.0 platform, which featured the first fully synchronized all-servo labeling systems made in North America. In 2015, Nita graduated to the “smart and intuitive” 3.0 platform, with software capabilities that enabled users to increase production rates with quick changeovers and operational simplicity. But in 2018, an even more innovative suite arrived with the launch of the Nita 4.0 platform, which took the Nita labelers from smart to humanlike with built-in predictive maintenance features.

LABELERS THAT CAN FEEL

When Nita launched the 4.0 platform, Hubscher centered around the term “sentient” to describe what Nita 4.0 brought to the company’s labelers. Defined, “sentient” means the ability to feel or perceive— and it’s rarely used to describe a machine. But

Three years ago, in response to strong growth and anticipation of expanding into European markets, the company doubled the footprint of its Terrebonne facility.

with Nita 4.0, features like predictive maintenance, speed-synchronized servo technology, total replication changeovers and open-source SCADA software enabled this machine to self-diagnose.

Nita relies on lean production techniques to maximize shop floor efficiency.

But how do these technological advances relate to the term “sentient?” “One of the features on our systems is the self-diagnosing properties that we’ve built in,” Hubscher says. “This technology actually monitors the motor loads, sensors and cycles and advises plant floor operators when something isn’t right. It literally prevents a problem from happening. The term sentient is the ability to perceive or feel, which in a sense is what our machines are doing now.” For example, if too much pressure is being put on the servo motor in the head of the label applicator, the machine prompts the operator through the labeler’s human/machine interface (HMI), which is a PC computer with videos and flowcharts that show the operator where to reduce pressure. “And once the operator hits the sweet spot, the machine will tell them that they are back in a happy zone,” Hubscher says. “It’s actually feeling itself and telling you what it’s feeling. Sentient may be a little bit tongue in cheek, but it’s mechanically direct.” The Nita 4.0 platform also offers 3D-mapped, color-coded and ruled changeovers, on-screen parts ordering, preventative maintenance schedules and video tutorials, as well as the self-monitoring and diagnosing capabilities. The company doesn’t use programmable logic controllers (PLCs) or proprietary microprocessor boards for its labelers as it opts for PC-based controls working in tandem with smart servo drives, because it allows the labelers to adapt to changes and different products faster. “There are no PLCs, microprocessor boards or proprietary electronics in our systems,” Hubscher says. “All of the drives dictate what everything on the machine needs to do in relation to the individual speed signal. When you’re running our labelers, if you were to change the speed of the conveyor, everything on the machine would automatically adjust. It knows exactly where the container is, the speed and the distance at all times. You don’t have to do any

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas

SHOW DAILY SEPTEMBER 28, 2021 calculations, mechanical adjustments or guessing. The software system we created automatically adjusts and calculates everything on-the-fly, regardless of speed.” Hubscher says Nita’s completely closed servo software system that automatically calculates to the speed of the conveyor has been a large contributor to the company’s growth.

SUSTAINING GROWTH

Since 2013, Nita has grown 1,700% because of its intuitive label applicators. In 2015, Nita began incorporating lean manufacturing techniques to overhaul the production environment. With annual 40% growth year-over-year, this was essential. The current Nita manufacturing process is now lean and ultra-efficient, Hubscher says. Everything at the company is computerized—from the quote that is submitted to the client to the shipping of the finished machine. Every detail flows through custom enterprise resource planning (ERP) and materials requirements planning (MRP) systems that tie into all accounting, engineering, assembly and post-care activities. On the shop floor, Nita’s people who build the machines are guided by terminals with live AutoCAD feeds that can be modified, ensuring that any floor-level changes are recorded and standardized in the machine’s blueprints. The assembly line flow on Nita’s floor ensures that production efficiency is maximized without wasting time and resources, Hubscher says.

In 2020 alone, Nita grew 35% while also being able to aid its core customer base—companies that deal with hand sanitizer applications—by narrowing lead times 25%. This resulted in their customers being able to churn out more product to answer to supply chain and consumer demands during the COVID-19 pandemic. A testament to its investment in lean techniques. And while automation and computers handle the flow of important details throughout the company, the human approach—beyond the sentient labelers—is what has kept business coming back and growing, Hubscher says. “A big part of our growth is because of the culture we create with our customers,” Hubscher says. “We are extremely hands-on when it comes to the planning of a project. We listen to our clients, send in local reps when applicable, gather all relevant information, and produce a tailor-made proposal.”

CULTURE AT THE CORE

Since the inception of Nita, the company has always offered “forever-free” customer support. Hubscher coins it “NitaCare.” “Our customers have to be running,” Hubscher says. “It doesn’t matter what your job title is, at our company, everybody’s job is to ask the question, ‘Is what I am doing right now conducive to making sure the customer is running?’ And NitaCare is really just an extension of that.” NitaCare comes standard—and at no extra charge—with every machine. Nita customers can get service and support through Nita’s video App, phone calls or Internet login to the inherently connected Wi-Fi PC HMIs for the entire lifetime of the machine. “Sure, customers can call us on FaceTime or WhatsApp, but through our App, they can scan the barcode on the machine, and it will automatically pull up their machine. Then, they can connect directly with one of our technicians to resolve the issue on the spot,” Hubscher says. Nita also has built in the capability to conduct remote maintenance so technicians can get inside the machine to diagnose the problem, if needed. And because of the App, coupled with the equipment’s intuitiveness, Nita can perform maintenance and

The combination of software, PC-based controls and smart servo drives minimizes wiring.

“When I joined Nita in 2005, Normand shared his dream of becoming the biggest and best labeling machine manufacturer in the world,” Harvey says. “From the first line of code I wrote when I arrived to the incredible levels of technology infused into every Nita [labeler] that leaves our shop today, I feel such an immense level of pride in everything we have accomplished. As an engineer, mine and my partners’ commitment to never stop innovating is a dream come true.”

Since 2013, Nita has grown 1,700% due to its intuitive label applicators.

As COVID limited travel, Nita shifted to personalized content creation, search engine optimization and production of informative videos that have garnered thousands of views.

service almost exclusively remotely. To offer services like NitaCare, Hubscher says the people at the center of their company need to be on board, too. And not only does the company’s culture and reputation speak to customers, but it also transcends to Nita’s shop floor. “Nita’s success truly does rely on the strength of our people. We promote a culture of innovation and commitment that values teamwork, accountability, integrity, honor, humility and results,” Hubscher says. “Inclusiveness and incentive are what our culture is all about. I include everyone from every department in discussions about our goals and our mission. We take time to help them understand what’s going on in the industry and how it aligns with our customers and equipment. It creates engagement beyond just showing up to do a job.” As for incentives, every employee at Nita is a part of the company’s profit-sharing program, he says. Nita has grown from 12 employees to more than 50 during the past couple of years. But Hubscher says there are still moments where the company feels like a small, tight-knit family. For example, Lord, the company’s president, holds routine meetings on the shop floor where everyone gathers around to learn about the latest innovations and to recognize each other’s achievements. “We have employees who have been here since Nita opened, and that speaks to the culture that we have created here,” Hubscher says. “Working with people who actually love what they do for a living changes the entire supplier and client experience. We all love what we do and that resonates in the product and in the brand.”

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas

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SEPTEMBER 28, 2021 NITA 5.0?

Three years ago, the company doubled the size of its Terrebonne, Quebec, Canada, facility’s footprint with its sights set on big future plans to expand into the European markets. “We didn’t want to jump into the European arena until we were manufacturing there, but the demand is so large that we’re actually being pulled in,” Hubscher says. As Nita embarks on the European market, the team also is developing its Nita 5.0 platform, which is currently top secret. But Hubscher tells us, “The next generation of Nita is underway. And it’s a game changer.”

GROWING BUSINESS DIGITALLY DURING COVID-19

For a whole year now, the entire industry has been at a standstill when it comes to meeting with potential business connections or making routine sales trips to meet with customers. So how has Nita continued to foster and nurture the very relationships that contribute to its bottom line? Hubscher says not being able to meet with customers at tradeshows or during normal meetings has been a big adjustment. “I can’t get out there and show our partners and customers how much I love them and show them the excitement I have about where we’re going,” Hubscher says. “So as a result, we are leaning heavier on content creation

Your Global Automation Partner

that creates a personalized narrative for people.” Leveraging content that positions original equipment manufacturers as thought leaders is a marketing strategy that has long existed but is even more effective today, as Hubscher points out. And while Hubscher can’t be out on the road making sales calls, he says one of Nita’s greatest selling tools is its website. The company puts a lot of time, effort and money into search engine optimization (SEO) techniques that help position the manufacturer in front of its customers and potential users online. SEO keywords—when applied correctly—can help manufacturers have a favorable position on Google so customers can find the manufacturers they are looking for quickly and more efficiently. Nita also has leveraged YouTube with informative and visually appealing videos that convey what their technology and equipment can do, which is also a great sales technique, Hubscher says, noting that some of their videos have garnered thousands of views. For more info, visit www.nitalabeling.com. SD Editor’s Note: The original version of this article was published in March 2021 by OEM.

WeighPack opens product development unit

Optimize Your Packaging Machines and Lines Let Turck tackle whatever packaging automation challenges you are facing. Our wide range of reliable automation solutions – including sensors, industrial cordsets, distributed I/O products, and RFID stand up to the toughest packaging and processing environments. From improving highspeed cap and can detection to cost-effective machine control with a combined HMI/PLC, or more rugged washdown-rated cables, Turck has a solution. Can’t find what you are looking for? Choose from our wide range of custom options.

eighPack Systems (Booth C-1823) opened a facility dedicated to the design of new packaging solutions. The New Product Unit (NPU) houses an ever-expanding team of engineers, automation technicians and project management personnel responsible for developing products to automate the packaging process. Located near the company’s headquarters in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, personnel at this standalone operation design and engineer new packaging machines, features and options. “We felt it was necessary to provide our team with an environment conducive to creativity and experimentation where they could choose their own work schedule, focus on specific goals and ultimately enhance our portfolio of products,” notes James Taraborelli, vice president of Development at WeighPack Systems. For more info, visit www.weighpack.com. SD

Visit us at Booth #SU-7629

SENSORS | CONNECTIVITY | FIELDBUS TECHNOLOGY

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WeighPack’s NPU team focuses on creating new business opportunities through innovative R&D practices.

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Pandemic impacts beverage market Interest in health, product safety is likely to be long term.

he COVID-19 pandemic has made consumers much more aware of the general hygiene and safety of the products they purchase. With most beverage packaging designed to be consumed in its original format and consumers touching a part of the package with their lips, purchasing habits are changing. Consumers now prefer beverage packaging that protects critical contact surfaces, according to 2021 Beverage Trends Driving Change, a report published by PMMI Business Intelligence (Central Lobby). Consumption surfaces that are exposed to the environment, such as the metal closure on cans, are currently less attractive than closures that are fully enclosed. Although this preference may abate as the pandemic recedes, it is an important consideration for beverage and machine manufacturers short-term.

HEALTH MANAGEMENT

health consciousness: 77% of consumers have stated that they are actively seeking to live a healthier lifestyle than before the pandemic, and beverage choices now play a more central role in those goals. For more info, visit www.PMMI.org. SD

Health consciousness has been a growing consumer trend in the beverage industry since before COVID-19, but it has taken on a new urgency, as consumers now are taking more immediate steps to actively manage their health goals. The data surrounding consumer health management during the pandemic exhibit this accelerating

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in July 2021 by ProFood World.

Partner With the Product Inspection Experts

HYGIENIC PRODUCTION

The pandemic also has placed new emphasis on the need for safe and hygienic production practices at beverage manufacturers. Consumers are much more concerned with how their products are being handled during production, and this has pushed beverage manufacturers to demonstrate that proper precautions are being taken, especially when it comes to cleaning and human contact. These new procedures have created additional considerations for beverage manufacturers and machine builders alike. To accommodate new hygiene practices, many beverage manufacturers have increased or amended cleaning protocols by placing greater emphasis on more frequent equipment washdowns. This has spurred interest in quick clean-in-place equipment. In addition, beverage companies are striving to decrease human contact during production by automating and digitizing operations to reduce the need for human labor. “We are looking for more autonomous equipment and robotics that require less user interface,” reports one director of Operations.

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2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas

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The Forum returns to Las Vegas ‘PMMI ProSource’ online directory debuts.

he Forum at PACK EXPO (Booth C-2158), a three-day program of interactive 45-min. sessions, combines educational presentations from industry experts with small group discussions and question-and-answer time. Some sessions offer a hands-on experience. This year’s schedule features the introduction of PMMI ProSource, an online directory and research tool that quickly matches an end-user application to the most relevant packaging and processing technology suppliers. The session shows end users how to use the directory and PMMI members how to place

their listings. Other featured topics at The Forum include packaging line performance, risk assessment (physical and virtual), automation implementation, cybersecurity, food and beverage manufacturing, contract manufacturing, post-COVID food packaging trends and robotics. Session leaders represent the OpX Leadership Network (Central Lobby), CPA, The Association for Contract Packaging and Manufacturing (Booth C-1255), OMAC-The Organization for Machine Automation and Control (Booth C-1152) and PMMI Business Intelligence (Central Lobby).

Session descriptions and times are listed on the following pages. Other educational opportunities on the show floor include the first PACK to the Future Stage (Booth N-9830) (see schedule, p. 22). In addition, the inaugural Processing Innovation Stage (Booth N-24020) joins the long-running Innovation Stage (Booth C-2051, C-2058, C-2151) program (see schedule, p. 26). Updated schedules may be found on the show website or via the PACK EXPO Las Vegas/ Healthcare Packaging EXPO App. For more info, visit www.PACKEXPOlasvegas.com, www.HCPElasvegas.com. SD

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

risk assessment on a machine that does not yet exist. Discussion centers on methods of identifying potential safety issues when the design still can be modified easily. Participants will gain a better understanding of how to move their risk assessment efforts upstream during design. Bruce Main President Design Safety Engineering

organization from startups to established companies. Creating a culture within your company that engages team members across traditional functions drives better decisions. Leveraging knowledge, people and information within your company, the OpX network and PMMI members provide strength in numbers. Jill Costelow Co-CEO & Co-Founder Cultivate Group

CYBERSECURITY: KNOW WHERE TO LOOK FOR VULNERABILITIES

10:30-11:15 AM

To confidently harness emerging technology in manufacturing, companies need to place renewed focus on operational technology and information technology cybersecurity. To properly address cybersecurity concerns, manufacturers first need to gain a comprehensive understanding of their operations, particularly those areas that are most vulnerable to cyberattack. In an interactive peer exchange workshop, industry professionals will gain knowledge about where to look for vulnerabilities in their operations, as well as learn what next steps should be considered to better safeguard those operations from a cyberattack. Donna Ritson President DDR Communications

RISK ASSESSMENT OF A 3D MODEL MACHINE

11:30-12:15 PM

Doing a risk assessment of a machine on the floor is one thing. Can it be done on a 3D model? We briefly review the risk assessment process and then start a

THE WEAK LINK: WILL YOUR END USERS PREVENT OR CAUSE A CYBERATTACK?

1:30-2:15 PM

Time and time again, employees prove to be a weak point in cybersecurity prevention plans. Are you prepared? Are your colleagues prepared? Find out as we dive into the keys for success for end-user security awareness. Ben Spencer IT Coordinator PMMI

GO BIG OR GO HOME– LEVERAGING RESOURCES IN TODAY’S WORLD OF CHALLENGING FOOD AND BEVERAGE MANUFACTURING

2:30-3:15 PM

THE NEW PMMI PROSOURCE ONLINE DIRECTORY

3:30-4:15 PM

Whether you are a packaging end user or PMMI member, you’ll want to learn about PMMI ProSource, a groundbreaking online directory and research tool. End users will learn how the tool is optimized to quickly zero in on packaging and processing technology suppliers relevant to specific application needs. The session also covers how and why this directory is different and far more accurate than any other online resource. PMMI members will learn how easy it is to submit their listing and ensure that it will be found under relevant categories and keywords. David Newcorn Exec VP PMMI Media Group SD

Cash flow and resource constraints exist in every

CPC holds annual meeting here

or the first time, the Cold Pressure Council (CPC) (Booth C-1354) co-locates its annual conference with PACK EXPO Las Vegas and Healthcare Packaging EXPO. Scheduled for all day today and tomorrow morning (Wednesday, Sept. 29), the Cold Pressure Council Annual Conference presents sessions about high-pressure processing (HPP) best practices, nav-

igating HPP product development and launch, market trends, social media influence related to HPP products, sustainability and material developments. Three companies from outside North America plan to describe their experiences with HPP. Each conference day begins at 7:00 a.m. with a networking breakfast. Sessions begin at 8:30 a.m. Today’s agenda includes a lunch before sessions resume

at 1:30 p.m. and concludes with a networking reception from 4:30-6:00 p.m. The CPC leads, facilitates and promotes industry standardization, user education and consumer awareness of HPP via its membership of suppliers and consumer packaged goods companies who use and advocate for the technology. For more info, visit www.coldpressurecouncil.org. SD

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XPlanar enables new dimensions of freedom in product and material handling: Levitating planar movers fly over flexibly arranged planar tiles accommodating nearly any track layout and path planning. Individual 2D transport at up to 2 m/s Processing with up to 6 degrees of freedom Transport and processing in one system Wear-free, hygienic and easy to clean Free arrangement of planar tiles enabling totally customized machine and process layouts Multi-mover control enables parallel and individual product handling Fully integrated into the powerful and standardized PC-based Beckhoff control system (TwinCAT, PLC IEC 61131, Motion, Measurement, Machine Learning, Vision, Communication, HMI) For use across all industries: assembly, packaging, food/bev, pharma, laboratory, entertainment, …

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See XPlanar live! Booth SL-6149 Innovation Stage 3 | C2151 Wednesday, 9.29 | 12:00 PM

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas

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Candy maker upgrades in two phases

More efficient primary packaging spurs purchase of case packers.

fter four scale/bagger systems produced welcome results on primary packaging efficiency, some impressively versatile and compact case packers were added to the mix. Chicago-based Ferrara Candy, a company related to Ferrero Group, recently completed a two-phase upgrade of the packaging operations for two of its best-selling candies, Trolli Sour Brite Worms and Black Forest Gummy Bears. The new equipment was installed at the firm’s facility in the Chicago suburb of Bellwood.

Phase I in 2018 consisted of the installation of four MP-22-1000/400-H combination weighers from MULTIPOND America (Booth SL-5969), each paired with a SmartPacker CX250 low-drop vertical/ form/fill/seal (V/F/F/S) bagger from GEA (Booth SL-6314). Also essential was the installation of hundreds of feet of mezzanine-level conveyor connections, supplied by Dorner (Booth C-1455), that move the freshly made candy to the four weighers.

“Fines removal” system on combination scale minimizes the amount of unsightly sugar that would otherwise collect in the bottom of each bag.

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Phase II addressed secondary packaging. Four automatic case packers from Somic America (Booth SL-6460) were installed, as well as four spiral conveyors from Ryson International (Booth C-4540) that take finished cases back up to the mezzanine level and then to palletizing. Each of the four wraparound case packers feeds a spiral conveyor that takes cases to an overhead level and on to palletizing. Prior to these upgrades, the confectionery products made in Bellwood were bulk packed and shipped to a Ferrara facility in a nearby Chicago suburb for primary and secondary packaging. Lack of space in the Bellwood plant was the key driver behind this bulk-pack-and-transfer arrangement. But eventually the Ferrara operations team saw an opportunity to increase efficiency. Perhaps even more important, the team was able to identify automated packaging equipment that would fit where it needed to fit in the Bellwood plant once some modest reconfiguring, involving the removal of a wall, had been completed. Ferrara Project Engineer Rafal Nagorzanski says each of the four Somic 424 T2D case packers runs at 23 to 25 cases/min. He emphasizes how important it was that both the primary and secondary packaging equipment selected be capable of keeping up with the upstream candy-making system, which produces 127 lb. of Trolli Sour Brite Worms every minute. But he also points out that the footprint of the case

Each of the four wraparound case packers feeds a spiral conveyor, which takes cases to an overhead level and on to palletizing.

packers was of paramount importance. In addition to conventional wraparound cases and a tear-apart wraparound case with perforations, each case packer can also produce this retail-ready paperboard trayplus-lid format. “We evaluated a number of case-packing systems, and what we found was that some have a pretty sizeable footprint,” says Nagorzanski. “We did not have the space for that. What Somic has been able to do is condense things so that multiple functions take place in a very tight space. Consequently, you don’t need much floor space to fit their machines in.” One additional requirement that the Ferrara team

had is format flexibility. “In addition to conventional wraparound cases, we also do two other formats,” says Nagorzanski. The formats he refers to are both Retail-Ready Packages (RRP), and there are two varieties. One is a tear-apart wraparound case, with perforations, that turns into an RRP in the store. No tools are needed by store personnel. They just break the perforations along the sides and pull off the top. The other RRP produced at Ferrara is a two-part tray-plus-lid format, and the tray is a brightly decorated paperboard. Any one of the four case packers could be called upon to produce this two-part format. That’s why all of the case packers are equipped with a

One of four case packers that receive bags and then discharge finished cases into a spiral conveyor takeaway.

Belt conveyor drops candy into diverter bucket that swings back and forth to feed belt conveyors that run in opposite directions, each feeding a pair of baggers.

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas 46

SHOW DAILY SEPTEMBER 28, 2021 second magazine feed from which corrugated lids can be picked. According to Somic’s Peter Fox, this trayplus-lid format has some rather noteworthy features. “Most notable is the way we tuck the corrugated cover inside the paperboard tray,” says Fox. “We then glue that tab to the inside of the paperboard tray so that there’s no adhesive to spoil the graphics on the outside of the tray. Also, the person in the store can easily push their thumbs into the two thumb holes on opposite sides to break the adhesive bond and easily pull the corrugated cover off. It’s much easier than the tear-apart wraparound case with perfs.” A belt conveyor drops candy into a diverter bucket that swings back and forth to feed belt conveyors that run in opposite directions, each feeding a pair of baggers.

‘GREAT SOLUTION’

“These case packers proved to be a great solution,” says Nagorzanski. Director of Project Engineering Jim Tandy adds, “When Somic made a presentation to our marketing team, that’s when the Somic machines became the leading candidates, because our marketing team had never seen equipment capable of handling so many formats at such speeds in such a small footprint. We worked very closely with Somic on the case, tray and tray cover designs. That collaborative element was a big part of what made this installation such a winner.” According to Fox, it’s largely because Somic embraced servo technology and mechatronics so long ago—and then continued to optimize their deployment of these technologies—that the firm is able to design machines having a small footprint, impressive speeds and the ability to handle multiple case formats. The machines at Ferrara, he notes, use controls from Schneider Electric (Booth C-5422), including PacDrive-3 for motion control.

“We’ll use other controls technology if a customer requires it, but our standard is Schneider,” says Fox. “It’s very decentralized, which means, for example, that our electrical enclosure can be very small because there are no drives housed in that enclosure. The drives are all integrated out on the servo motors wherever they are on the machine. In this case, that’s something like 40 servo motors. With servo motor and drive in one form factor, you greatly reduce the amount of cabling needed going in and out of the electrical enclosure. It also simplifies troubleshooting.” The other impressive characteristic of Somic’s equipment is the response time. “It’s all the more critical when you’re combining all these functions together,” says Fox. “If you’re going to layer all these different functional groups on top of one another, everything has to be precise and fast when it comes to sending and receiving signals.” Also from Schneider is the case packer’s industrial personal computer. “That’s where we store all our format recipes and case parameters, and it’s where operators interface with the machine,” says Fox. “You don’t have to go into the programmable logic controller ever on our machine. That’s all done through the human/machine interface. No plugging a laptop into the controls cabinet.” At least one, and often all four, of the lines are in production practically 24/7—except, of course, during scheduled maintenance and sanitation. All four lines—each consisting of a combination scale over a V/F/F/S bagger, a case packer, and a spiral takeaway conveyor—receive candy directly from the cooler, which is the last piece of processing equipment. A

Each case packer can produce conventional wraparound cases, a tear-apart wraparound case with perfs and this retail-ready paperboard tray-plus-lid.

Wraparound case packers rely on hot-melt adhesive.

bucket conveyor from Deamco brings product from the ground-floor discharge of the cooling unit up to the mezzanine level. Eventually the product reaches an impressively efficient array of Dorner belt conveyors that split the flow of product twice. This is how the product eventually reaches the vibratory infeed conveyors of the four Multipond combination weighers.

FINES REMOVAL

Primary packs produced on the line can range from 4 to 8 oz. On the day of our visit, the primary pack in production on all four baggers was an 8-oz. bag of Trolli Sour Brite Crawlers, and all four case packers were set up for the same case format: a 12-count wraparound corrugated. We’ll focus on just one of the four lines, beginning with the Multipond 22-head weigher. Like all such machines, it uses load cells to weigh product and then picks the best combination of weighments to drop into the bagger below. But one rather unique feature offered by Multipond is what’s called “fines removal.”

Fines are the fine-grained substances that occur during the manufacturing and processing of products, including not only confectionery but also sugared gum sweets, salted crackers and nuts. If too much of this substance makes its way into the bag, the package simply doesn’t look as attractive. Also, fines can cause problems with seal integrity if they interfere with the heat-seal jaws that need to close as cleanly as possible on the flexible film. Multipond’s machine removes fines through a patented design. Product is vibrated from the center cone and down into the 22 vibratory cross-head feeders. Each feeder has a very small slit cut into it. The product pieces are much too big to pass through these slits, but the fines slide right through and into a funnel that leads to a circular trough of sorts. The contents of the trough are constantly removed by vacuum. This greatly minimizes the amount of fines that make it into the scales below or, ultimately, into the bags. “Ferrara has had a long relationship with Multipond,” says Tandy, “and they have demonstrated that they are the best when it comes to handling the gummies and sticky kinds of products that we produce. Their fines removal technology is definitely one of the things that makes them stand out.”

As bags are formed and filled on the GEA bagger, they pass an inkjet from Markem-Imaje (Booth C-2232) for imprinting date codes. The bags then drop onto the belt conveyor that is the first component of the Somic case packer. It includes a product conditioner that vibrates and applies top-load compression to smooth out each bag and keep product from clumping in the bottom. “If this clumping is allowed,” says Fox, “you need to oversize your case to account for the ‘thicker’ bag.”

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Just ahead of the actual case packer infeed, bags pass through a metal detector from METTLER TOLEDO (Booth C-1814) and an Ishida checkweigher from Heat and Control (Booth C-1623). Then a servo-driven smart belt feeds bags with the proper spacing onto an independent servo-driven pivot belt that pivots up slightly as it drops bags into one pocket of a two-pocket collation device. Then, once the collator indexes slightly at a right angle so that its second pocket can be filled, the pivot belt returns down to its start position and again pivots in an upward direction as it neatly stacks another six bags into the second pocket. Once the collation device has all 12 bags, it strokes a short distance perpendicular from the direction of the pivot belt to a position from which two overhead paddles take turns sweeping 12 bags at a time at another right angle onto a flat corrugated blank that has been picked from the magazine feed by vacuum cups.

from Heat and Control. Then cases enter a roller conveyor and move to a spiral conveyor from Ryson leading to an overhead conveyor and eventually to palletizing. So far, palletizing is done manually, as once again space constraints make it difficult to fit an automated system. But considering how efficiently the Ferrara team found a way to automate case packing in a tight space, it’s possible this also could change before too terribly long.

For more info, visit www.dorner.com, www.gea.com, www.heatandcontrol.com, www.markem-imaje.us/, www.mt.com/pi, www.multipond.com/en/, www.nordsonadhesive.com, www.ryson.com, www.se.com/us/en/work/solutions/ for-business/food-and-beverage/, www.somic.us. SD Editor’s Note: The original version of this article was published in September 2020 by Packaging World.

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BAG ORIENTATION VARIES

It’s important to note that for the conventional wraparound case, bags simply lie flat as they are fed onto the corrugated blank. But when either of the Retail-Ready Packages are in production, specialized tooling is used to first tilt the bags into a standing position before they’re pushed onto the flat blank. One other design detail Fox points out is the “forming cassette” that positions itself around the bags the instant they’re in place on the flat corrugated blank. The single-wall B-flute corrugated (or the 30-pt. solid unbleached sulfate in the case of the tray-plus-lid format), is thus formed around this sturdy steel frame rather than around the comparatively shapeless bags. This produces a much sturdier case. It’s while the corrugated is being pushed against the forming cassette that the hot-melt adhesive, applied by a Pro Blue Liberty 14 adhesive applicator from Nordson (Booth C-3000), sets up. Then a hold-down device comes down and keeps the bags in position while the forming cassette is extracted. At this point, the container is indexed at a right angle to a station where hot-melt adhesive is applied to the top flap and the case can be closed. Or, in the case of the paperboard tray-plus-lid format, a corrugated top is picked from a secondary magazine feed and placed over the tray. All that remains are finished case discharge around a turn, a Markem-Imaje coder that inkjets the date code information, and an Ishida checkweigher, also

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Cannabis supplier automates

Weighing and filling machines deliver consistency, speed.

ince it was founded in 2011, Harvest Health and Recreation has grown steadily to become one of the leading growers and producers of cannabis products in the U.S. Headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, it currently grows approximately 80% of the cannabis it sells, and has production facilities and retail outlets in eight states, with plans to expand to 13 states. This strong performance has coincided with dramatic changes that have taken place in the cannabis products industry. What is now viewed as a significant industry grew out of what was essentially a widespread loose collection of informal businesses. The industry now seems to stand at a turning point, waiting for federal regulatory approval on one hand and even more consistent social acceptance of both its medical and recreational products on the other. Meanwhile, as happens when markets change dramatically, some companies rise faster than others, often due to their commitment to meeting the demand of the changing marketplace. Growing rather quickly from a small to a large operation meant Harvest had to make critical decisions, including about integrating automated systems to benefit from the advantages the new equipment could offer. Investments predicated on continuing growth can be risky. Harvest based its investment on considerable research into getting the equipment that would do exactly what it needed given the challenges of the products it was processing and packaging.

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES

Cannabis plants present specific handling challenges. The full plants come directly from growing fields or greenhouses. A high moisture content prevents immediate processing, so the first stage is drying the plants. This is done much the way it was done at earlier home-based cannabis operations, by hanging the plants by their roots. After some degree of drying, the flowers, also called buds, are harvested and placed in food-grade 5-gal. buckets. They are kept in a dry environment to dry further, until they reach an acceptable level of moisture content. The first step following harvesting the buds is to pass them through a trimming process to remove small leaves and create a more attractive-looking bud. Depending on product quality, volume and other factors, this may be done by hand. But for the volume of buds that will be machine-packaged, Harvest uses a trimming machine. Trimmed buds go through an additional drying process, called a “perfing” step, once again in 5-gallon drums in a humidity-controlled room to achieve the exact desired level of moisture. It is at this point that another challenge arises: the dried buds are very light in weight and, as natural products often do, vary widely in size from plant to plant and even within each plant. Now, Harvest has to prepare them to be packaged in consistent weights from package to package. The “processing” of the cannabis buds consists of sorting by size and weight, and, when necessary,

The multihead Ishida weigher accurately weighs buds before dropping them to the pouch filler.

trimming the larger buds to obtain package consistency both in weight and number of buds. Once this is done, buds are packaged in pre-labeled transparent flexible plastic pouches, which means the buds will be visible to the customer and must look fresh and appealing, like any packaged natural product.

REPLACING HAND SORTING, FILLING

The packaging process begins with adding cannabis buds to the Eriez infeed conveyor to the weigher.

Until 2019, these parts of the operation–sorting and weighing the buds, then packaging them in pouches–was done manually. Nine to 12 employees sitting around a large table would sort the buds, handling them gently, then weigh and place them in pre-labeled flexible pouches for sealing and case packing. This process would go on five days a week to meet market demand. As demand varied, the number of workers might vary, but only slightly. As the wider packaging industry had experienced early in its own development, manual labor has two critical limitations: It is slow and produces inconsistent packaging results. Over the years it was in business, the cannabis industry began to evolve from a diverse, small-producer collection of operations into a more centralized industry. This has magnified manual labor’s limitations for Harvest. New forces came into play as demand grew and productivity became more essential.

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It became clear, for example, that a mature cannabis industry would face stricter regulation, especially with potential federal involvement. In the summer of 2019, Shawn Sabo, vice president of Manufacturing at Harvest, began putting the company’s plan to automate its production operation into action by exploring equipment options for parts or all of its sorting and packaging process. “We shared a detailed brief of what we wanted to accomplish with Denver-based equipment supplier and integrator Right Stuff Equipment, who we had worked with previously and who knows our operation well. They researched a variety of the types of equipment we would need and identified the systems they thought would offer the most effective solutions. Then we visited a number of packaging facilities where we could see that equipment in real-time action. From those systems, we chose what we felt would work best for our specific needs.”

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AUTOMATING POUCHING

The resulting automated system, now operating at the Harvest facility in Flagstaff, Arizona, consists of an infeed conveyor from Eriez (Booth SL-5901) and an Ishida multihead weighing system from Heat and Control (Booth C-1623) positioned on a mezzanine above a General Packer GP-M3000 automatic pouch filling The mezzanine above the GP-M3000 machine is designed to and sealing system provided by Mass- be wide enough to also weigh and deliver product to a future adjacent jar-filling line. man Automation Designs (Booth C-2400), General Packer’s exclusive distributor in the U.S. “The advantage that the Ishida weigher gives us,” says Dennis Schum, senior director of Extractions at Harvest, “is that its 14 weighing heads can handle the variability of the bud weights more quickly and more accurately than our manual workers and deliver more consistent weights to each pouch, all while handling the buds gently.” Once weighed, the buds are dropped into open pouches held in the GP-M3000 system below, which indexes through 10 steps as it fills and seals the pouches. “This is the heart of the system,” Sabo says. “The GP-M3000 packages the buds smoothly and quickly, and gives us the package weight consistency we need.” Preprinted branded pouches enter the system, are opened, filled and shook by vibrators to settle the lightweight buds into the pouches. In the final steps, pouches are nitrogen-flushed, heat-sealed, cooled and discharged from the system. The 10 stages of the GP-M3000 include several “spare” steps that provide for future production expansion or the addition of new functions. The filling system can fill from 15–65 pouches/min, depending on bag size and product volume. A full-color Harvest brand label is applied to each pouch before it enters the system. It covers the front face of the pouch and carries the brand identity, product flavor and weight. As Arizona regulations allow, the back of the pouch remains clear, letting shoppers see the buds.

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Pre-labeled pouches with transparent backs are opened and filled on the GP-M3000 machine before being vibrated to settle the buds, then heat-sealed.

Once filled, pouches move to an offline case packer from ADCO Manufacturing (Booth C-2638), and are packed in paperboard cartons that are pre-labeled with brand identity and have windows that enable the product pouches to be seen. Cartons then go into corrugated cases that convert to displays in Harvest’s retail outlets. This automated operation has now been operating successfully at the Harvest Flagstaff facility for approximately six months. Sabo has been doing a comparative analysis to determine the benefit of investing in the machine system vs. continuing to fill pouches by hand. “I am continuing to weigh the relative costs,” he says, “but what the numbers show so far is that running the automated system only one day a week with three employees is more cost-effective than doing manual filling with an average of nine people working five days a week, even when we include machine operating costs and maintenance.” “And,” he adds, “while the investment in the machinery is a finite cost, the labor cost is open-ended and would be likely to increase as volume increases.”

FUTURE GROWTH

The efficiency of the automated production line operating in Flagstaff provides significant room for increased production. In addition, Schum points out that the system was designed with an oversized mezzanine, allowing space to fill a future jar packaging line that would sit beside the current GP-M3000, increasing the capacity for jar packaging. Harvest has installed a similar GP-M3000 pouch filling line at its Maryland facility to replicate the Flagstaff packaging benefits there. That line was expected to be commissioned before the end of 2020. The cannabis products industry is still early in its evolution into an established, thriving industry. There is an air of expectancy in the plans and investments that many companies are making. Should federal regulatory approval be forthcoming, for example, the entire industry structure could change virtually overnight. But in the meantime, as with Harvest, individual companies in the industry cannot stand idle as current product demand increases and more efficient automated product handling and packaging systems are clearly going to be required to meet new production quotas. Those that will thrive in this changing industry will likely be those that decide to invest in equipment that will both enable them to meet current demand and simultaneously lay the groundwork for a successful future in a mature industry. For more info, visit www.eriez.com, www.heatandcontrol.com, www.massmanllc.com, www.adcomfg.com. SD Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in June 2020 by Packaging World.

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Future Innovators SHOWCASE THE ‘BOTS ARE TAKING OVER PACK EXPO Las Vegas and Healthcare Packaging EXPO! Come see high school students showcase their “bot skills”. You can: • Ask about their robot design • Inquire about the competition • Check out their innovations Located in the PACK to the Future exhibit, meet these talented teens and see their creations in action.

Assess value of robot investments

The value of a robot depends most heavily on TCO.

recent survey about robotics use among Automation World readers indicates that just under half of respondents (45%) report that their assembly and manufacturing facilities currently use robots as an integral part of their operations. More specifically, of those facilities using robots, 35% have adopted collaborative robots (cobots), while the remaining 65% use only industrial robots. As widely adopted as robots have become over the past several years, there remains plenty of potential upside for robot investment. And that’s why it’s a good time to assess the value determination of investment in such technology. “The calculation of total life-cycle cost of a piece of equipment, such as a robot, is an effective approach that takes into account not only the purchase price, but also potential production output and all other costs associated with maintaining that robot to arrive at its actual cost,” says Kevin Gavin of KUKA (Booth C-5046). As part of this total cost of ownership (TCO) assessment, Gavin advises getting input from onsite production managers, maintenance managers, programmers and any other personnel who will help determine specifics of the robotic application. Getting these varied insights is important in determining TCO based on capabilities of the robot. Gavin and KUKA are highlighting the need for applying TCO to robot purchases, as they see many companies overlooking TCO and, instead, choosing robots based strictly on price. “Less expensive robots may not provide the necessary capabilities in terms of throughput, payload or reach, while higher-quality ones will,” says Gavin. “But sacrificing core capabilities is a bad way to save money. Any type of robot that fails to meet all of a company’s needs will always end up costing more in the long run.”

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Understand labeler limits

What is an automatic labeler’s load capability?

n any industry, consumers look to labels to be applied in a neat and orderly fashion. Otherwise, the product could come across as unprofessional or untrustworthy. Labeling by hand can be slow and imprecise with high overhead costs in workers’ benefits and salaries. An automated labeling process not only increases productivity but gives more consistent results. When investing in an automatic label applicator, load capability is an important quality to consider.

WHAT IS LOAD CAPABILITY? Load capability refers to the maximum weight and size of the label roll. This feature is sometimes overlooked, but is important because it affects placement accuracy. An overworked labeler is harder to start and stop for accurate label application. Overworking also reduces the lifespan of the machine’s motor and other parts. But investing in maximum load capacity is expensive. Labelers with higher load capacities are more complex to use and

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install and larger in size to compensate for the energy and strength needed for heavier loads.

FACTORS AFFECTING LOAD CAPABILITY Like any machine, the motor or motors of an automatic label applicator directly affect performance. With a more powerful motor, a labeler can handle a larger load and the motor is less likely to burn out. More motors can increase a labeler’s load capability as the motors divide the work to avoid burnout. Having more motors can help distribute the burden of the different labeler functions. Each motor can be focused on a function and therefore won’t exhaust itself running all the needed functions on its own. The machine and its electrical components must be able to tolerate a high electrical current. With a heavier load, the electric current increases. If it increases beyond rated tolerances, heat can damage the electrical components or the motor itself. The structure of the machine also is important. The labeler’s drive mechanics must have strong belts and pulleys to be constantly pulling and feeding heavy rolls of labels. The frame of the labeler must be able to handle the weight of the roll without sagging or bending.

MACHINE OPTIONS

Multifeeder (Booth C-1741) offers a range of labelers with load capabilities to fit virtually any application. For example, on its HSM high-speed modular labeler, three motors handle large loads while maintaining speed and accuracy. Each motor controls a function: unwind, drive and rewind. The unwind motor focuses on unwinding the roll of labels in response to the drive function. The drive motor only has to accurately pull the liner and place the label. Then the rewind motor takes up the waste liner so there’s no slack. With three motors, the electrical load is divided among three electrical drives in the motors, creating less electrical load per drive. Having a three-axis (three-motor) system also enables the unwind and rewind web tension to be set individually. The HSM 103 labeler handles cross-wound or ultra-high-capacity roll labels, potentially with more than 100,000 labels/roll. Multifeeder’s Impresso labeler, one of its newest models, features a compact feeder with a powerful 1,000-watt servo motor and durable stainless steel shafts that handle large loads in comparison to its size. With its small footprint, the label applicator fits into the tightest of production areas or integrates into many pieces of equipment including extended content labeling, direct mail tabbing, gap-less magnet applications and gift card applications. For more info, visit www.multifeeder.com. SD Editor’s Note: This article is based on a blog by Micah Collins, application specialist at Multifeeder, posted on May 13, 2021, on www.multifeeder.com.

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Dairies conserve floor space

Overhead bridges move product safely, improve access to lines.

or most dairy operations, there’s never enough floor space. Fitting in new lines or machines often requires looking up. But moving product overhead can pose a safety hazard and block access to other parts of the line and plant floor. When one of New Zealand’s top dairy companies needed to maintain accessibility while safely transporting packaged cheese, it opted to install a compact Portal ONE system from AmbaFlex (Booth C-4340). The system, which consists of an incline, a decline and interconnecting bridge, prevents the delicate flow packs from being damaged and provides a safe walk-through portal. One continuous belt minimizes the number of transfers and the chance of product toppling. Designed to withstand the dairy processing environment and cleaning regimen, the washdown-compatible spiral conveyors use an FDA food-grade belt

and are constructed of stainless steel without any hidden soft metals that would corrode easily. Even the base chain is made of a stainless steel. In another application, a U.S.-based producer of dairy products chose a Portal ONE system as part of a new line. In this situation, the most practical line layout meant moving packages of ice cream across a busy

walkway. The incline and decline spirals are sized to stably move the product up and down and the interconnecting overhead bridge maintains access to the walkway. The one-belt system eliminates transfers at elevated heights, maximizes product stability and ensures the safety of the people and supplies passing through the portal. For more info, visit www.ambaflex.com. SD

Evolve Your Packaging

Lenze Americas sponsors lounges

Custom full color inkjet printing system

nce again, Lenze Americas (Booth C-1602) is sponsoring lounges for exhibitors and PMMI members at PACK EXPO Las Vegas and the co-located Healthcare Packaging EXPO. The lounges provide seating, coffee and a chance to take a break away from the show floor. “Lenze recognizes how important it is for members and exhibitors to have a space to recharge between networking with attendees in their booths, and we are proud that we are able to sponsor these lounges again this year,” says Susan Duval, senior marketing communications manager, Lenze Americas. Exhibitor Lounges are located in rooms N-114 and S-222, and PMMI Member Lounges may be found in rooms N-101 and S-221. The lounges are open today from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. and tomorrow from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. For more info, visit www.lenze.com, www.PACKEXPOlasvegas.com, www.HCPElasvegas.com. SD

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Cybersecurity requires vigilance

OEMs must consider internal and customer vulnerabilities.

uch of the focus on cybersecurity looks at what manufacturers can do to better protect themselves, but original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and other suppliers also are targets for cyberattack: They are a repository of valuable data; they have significant information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) operations; and they often lack the internal resources needed to adequately address cybersecurity. Like brand manufacturers, OEMs need to thoroughly assess their own cybersecurity vulnerabilities, properly segment networks and manage access, create and test recovery plans and properly train personnel. Since OEMs serve manufacturing clients, they must mitigate the risks not only for themselves but also for their customers. According to 2021 Cybersecurity: Assess Your Risk, an industry report from PMMI Business Intelligence (Central Lobby), OEMs should consider partnering with a third-party cybersecurity firm to ensure safeguards are adequate and employees are properly informed. Since one of the biggest concerns is shielding client data and client lists from outside observers, a third-party expert can help an OEM avoid being compromised and can quickly implement damage-mitigating measures should a data breach occur. With the securing and segmenting of networks, OEMs have additional responsibility to safeguard external connections, which could potentially be used as a bridge to reach targets within client networks. According to brand owners, OEMs need to safeguard both software and hardware by: • Risk assessment of supplier operations • Implementing dual authentication for equipment log-in

• Isolating equipment for data/registration codes and inputs/outputs • Assured security for remote connectivity • Backup and recovery systems • Protected updates for hardware and software. Cybersecurity should be included in the earliest phases of equipment design with consideration given to how the equipment connects to a network, what components connect to the machine itself and how those components can be made more secure, as well as how equipment will be integrated into operations and whether remote service will be used.

SECURE CHAIN OF CUSTODY

OEMs that make components or equipment that is modified by third-party OEMs or suppliers have a unique set of cybersecurity considerations to manage; while an OEM can do its best to ensure its products are secure and all cybersecurity precautions have been taken, they have little control over what happens once the product is sold. An OEM’s product might be modified in a way that makes builtin security features less effective, it could be loaded with compromised software or it could simply be out-of-date on patches, all of which could fatally compromise the security of the product. Therefore, OEMs should seek to establish a clear chain of custody for products and work closely with distributors, other OEMs and component suppliers to monitor their products in the supply chain and determine if they are being modified and kept upto-date. OEMs also should immediately inform all partners of any product vulnerabilities to ensure third-party actions do not exacerbate a weakness. This goes for updates and patches, too.

SECURE DEVICES

OEMs must consider all devices and technology components their employees utilize when onsite at a client’s location. Like a connected internal network, OEM employee devices used onsite can potentially serve as a bridge to infiltrate the larger network. This applies to technology that has no external connection capability; even “dumb” devices like a USB stick can hide malicious code that can upload when plugged in. If the infection is not noticed right away, an OEM could accidentally infect a large number of clients before anyone realizes there’s a problem.

Cybersecurity should be included in the earliest phases of equipment design. OEMs should enforce rules such as banning personal devices, regularly updating devices and eliminating unnecessary programs/data, installing robust security programs and routinely cleaning “dumb” data repositories such as USB sticks. Employees also need to be thoroughly trained on best practices for devices, such as not using work devices for anything other than work (especially on the Internet) and limiting direct connections into clients’ networks during a visit or project as much as possible. For more info, visit www.PMMI.org. SD Editor’s Note: This is a condensed version of an article published in May 2021 by OEM.

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ÒÒ ϭ ÖÛ Booth C-5046 for fast, ÝßÒÐÖàÒ àÜÙâáÖÜÛà áÕÎá ÖÛÐßÒÎàÒ æÜâß ÜâáÝâáˑ äääˑØâØÎˑÐÜÚ

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas

SHOW DAILY

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

Markem-Imaje acquires Blue Bite

Deal adds consumer engagement tools to software portfolio.

arkem-Imaje (Booth C-2232), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dover, boosts its digital consumer engagement capabilities with the acquisition of Blue Bite. Founded in 2007, Blue Bite is headquartered in New York City. Its 26 employees develop robust, easy-to-use consumer engagement software tools that enable brands to create custom consumer digi-

tal experiences through mobile phones. “Growing our portfolio of software solutions to cater to the growing and more sophisticated needs of our customers around product identification, traceability and authentication is a top strategic priority for Markem-Imaje,” says company CEO Vincent Vanderpoel. “We are excited to integrate Blue Bite into our portfolio of Markem-Imaje and Systech

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software solutions and provide our global clients the necessary tools to drive efficiency, compliance, brand loyalty and incremental sales. Additionally, we see an exciting opportunity to adapt Blue Bite solutions to industrial applications and plan to collaborate with other Dover operating companies on this initiative.” Blue Bite has experienced rapid growth. Several global fast-moving consumer goods brands have adopted its software to easily communicate with their customers, gain consumer purchasing insights and rapidly build product loyalty. Blue Bite’s tools use product and consumer information to provide product authentication, traceability, brand storytelling and other value-added functionalities that drive incremental sales, provide valuable consumer information and connection and deliver a more convenient and safe consumer experience. For more info, visit www.markem-imaje.us. SD

’22 show adds Logistics Pavilion

ACK EXPO International (Central Lobby) returns to Chicago, Oct. 23–26, 2022. The show will welcome a new Logistics Pavilion in the North Building at McCormick Place. The Logistics Pavilion will display products and services targeted toward moving product smoothly through the supply chain, including warehousing, fulfillment, distribution logistics services and transportation providers, particularly for eCommerce needs. Many popular PACK EXPO features will return for the ’22 edition, including The Processing Zone (Lakeside Center) where an array of front-of-the line technologies will be displayed, including coating/enrobing, conveying, cooling, filling/depositing, forming/sizing, heat treating, homogenizing, mixing and blending, pasteurizing and pumps. Other PACK EXPO favorites to be found on the show floor include The Healthcare Packaging Pavilion (West Building), The PACKage Printing Pavilion (South Building), The Containers and Materials Pavilion (West Building), The Confectionery Pavilion with its Candy Bar Lounge (South Building), the Reusable Packaging Pavilion and its Learning Center (Lakeside Center) and free educational sessions on the Innovation Stage and at The Forum. For more info, visit www.PACKEXPOinternational.com. SD

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas

SHOW DAILY SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

ABB acquires mobile robotics firm Deal adds mobile robots to flexible automation portfolio.

BB Robotics & Discrete Automation (Booth C-4609) has added autonomous mobile robot (AMR) technology to its product portfolio and expanded its international footprint with the acqusition of ASTI Mobile Robotics Group. Founded in 1982, ASTI is headquartered in Burgos, Spain, and employs more than 300 people in Spain, France and Germany. It is majority owned by Veronica Pascual Boé, CEO. Other shareholders include European Growth Buyout investor Keensight Capital. Today it supports one of Europe’s largest installed fleets of AMRs and has a broad customer base in automotive, logistics, food and beverage and pharmaceuticals in 20 countries. Since 2015, the company has enjoyed close to 30% growth on an annual basis and is targeting approximately $50 million in revenue in 2021.

project value chain, continuing at ASTI’s facilities. ABB intends to significantly expand production capacity at the AMR business headquarters to support the planned sales expansion in Europe and the Americas. To facilitate the growth potential for AMRs in China and Asia, ABB will establish an Asia AMR hub, including full value chain and manufacturing, at its new robotics factory, which will

open in 2022 in Shanghai. China, the world’s largest robotics market, is projected to account for $1.8 billion of AMR sales annually by 2025. For more info, visit www.new.abb.com/products/robotics. SD Editor’s Note: The original version of this article was published in July 2021 by Packaging World.

Sami Atiya, president, ABB’s Robotics & Discrete Automation business and Veronica Pascual Boé, ASTI CEO.

“With their industry-leading portfolio, comprehensive suite of software and deep domain expertise across growth segments, ASTI is the perfect choice for us as we support our customers with the next generation of flexible automation,” says Sami Atiya, president of ABB’s Robotics & Discrete Automation business. “With this acquisition, ABB will be the only company to offer a full automation portfolio of AMRs, robots and machine automation solutions, from production to logistics to point of consumption. This is a game changer for our customers as they adapt to the individualized consumer and seize opportunities presented by significant changes in consumer demand.” “ABB’s vision is a perfect match for us, as we both support our customers’ flexibility and competitiveness through accelerating automation in the workplace,” says Pascual Boé. “This is the next exciting stage of our journey and together we will accelerate our innovation plans, expand our global customer service, partner network, production and execution capacity and leverage ABB’s market access globally and particularly in China. I am delighted to join the extended robotics management team and lead the AMR business to deliver this ambitious growth plan.” ASTI’s headquarters will become ABB’s AMR business headquarters, led by Pascual Boé, with core functions, including R&D, engineering, product and

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas

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SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

Updated printers retrofit easily

Programmable shaft encoder solves engineers’ dilemma.

tlanta-based Kirk-Rudy (Booth SU-7433) has been providing innovative systems for the direct mail, printing, newspaper and card industries since 1967. The company engineers and manufactures cost-effective systems for addressing and paper handling. Kirk-Rudy has been at the forefront of innovation in its field, developing equipment to meet customers’ needs as postal regulations and technology advanced. It even sold a system to the White House in the 1970s. When inkjet technology took off in the 1990s, Kirk-Rudy was at the forefront of incorporating it into its addressing systems. Its products quickly became known for dependability and ease of operation.

THE PROBLEM

Although known for innovation, Kirk-Rudy is careful to not “reinvent the wheel.” That is, as it innovates in one area, it still maximizes the use of existing systems that meet customer needs. So when it developed the latest generation of inkjet printers, it needed to find a way to retrofit them into their systems. “Our engineers would constantly have to re-engineer drive pulleys and shafts in order to incorporate our newest generation of inkjet printers into existing systems,” explains Tim Geary, director of Inkjet Technology at Kirk-Rudy. “The engineers were forced to waste valuable time engineering and retrofitting to get everything to work together.”

Kirk-Rudy needed a Size 25 shaft encoder that was rugged yet versatile enough to work in different applications. The specification list included: • Shaft encoder • Standard size 2.5-in. package • 3/8-in. shaft • Flange mounting face • Heavy-duty and rugged enough to work with existing systems • Line driver output option • 8-pin, M12 connector • IP66 sealing • Option of varying resolutions, so it could be used on multiple different systems.

THE SOLUTION

Kirk-Rudy has been purchasing encoders from Encoder Products (Booth SL-6440) through AA Electric for more than 20 years. Bill Faison, southeastern regional sales manager for Encoder Products, works closely with AA Electric, so he was well aware of the challenges Kirk-Rudy was facing. Programmable Model 25SP with cable and programming interface. When the programmable Model 25SP Accu-CoderPro encoder debuted, he knew it was the right solution. He says, “Mechanically, . . . it’s incredibly versatile, offering shaft sizes from 3/8 in. to 10mm. There are three different mounting faces and eight different connector types to choose from. Electronically, it was also the obvious choice because the electronics are programmable.” Key features include: • Industry standard 2.25-in. package • Fully programmable with optional USB module or factory-configured • Optical technology for high accuracy • Servo and flange mounting • IP67 sealing available. Using EP’s optional programming module with the Model 25SP, users can: • Choose from six different output types • Choose from 32 waveforms • Program any resolution from 1–65,536 CPR—that’s 262,144 counts using 4x quadrature counting. These programming features allow a single encoder to be configured for multiple applications. “Programming the encoder was surprisingly easy,” says Geary. “The programmable encoder simplifies integration and avoids wasted time and resources.” “Each of Kirk-Rudy’s machines is built to order,” explains Faison. “So each application needs its own resolution. Having the flexibility of the programmable unit has allowed Kirk-Rudy to save machining time because it used to have to custom-make parts to retrofit each application.” Geary concludes, “After testing the Model 25SP shaft encoder for several months on all our machines, we were amazed with the performance and ease of use. We now have the flexibility to add our new printer technology to older bases and existing systems.” For more info, visit www.kirkrudy.com, www.encoder.com. SD

THE LIGHTLINE PICKERLINE

NO MORE REASON TO PUT DECISIONS ON ICE.

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SEPTEMBER 27 – 29, 2021 UPPER SOUTH HALL

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The lightline machines from Schubert can be delivered quickly and are extremely attractive in terms of price. With the preconfigured machines, customers can adapt more flexibly to market trends and significantly shorten their time-to-market.

TO PICK UP AND PLACE PRODUCTS INTO TRAYS.

The LIGHTLINE PICKERLINE consists of pick & place robots as well as one or more several tray inserters, and packs products into trays made of plastic or cardboard. It offers an affordable and highly flexible possibility to automate packaging processes with the most efficient technology on the market while ensuring the highest availability and packaging quality. The world’s leading FMCG and private label manufacturers rely on Schubert. www.schubert.group

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24.08.21 10:50

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas

SHOW DAILY

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

Vote for most innovative technology TEA competition recognizes products making show debut.

how attendees are encouraged to visit the finalists in the Technology Excellence Awards (TEA) competition and vote for the best-ofthe-best. Voting is open to all attendees and accessible three ways: online, onsite and via the mobile

App. Voting closes today at noon. The awards recognize innovative technology that has not previously been shown at a PACK EXPO or Healthcare Packaging EXPO. “Our aim is that these awards drive the industry

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to keep innovating to meet the ever-growing needs of consumer packaged goods companies,” says Laura Thompson, vice president, Trade Shows, PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing (Central Lobby). “We are excited to see all of the new technology at this year’s show and find out which company garners the most votes to win each category.” The TEA finalists are:

FOOD/BEVERAGE

• CanReseal Beverage, Canovation (Booth N-9612) • High-speed Case Packer for Thermoformed Trays, Delkor Systems (Booth C-3814) • KeelClip™1600, Graphic Packaging International (Booth C-2442)

GENERAL PACKAGING

• Simpl-Cut®, P.E. Labellers (Booth C-3122) • XPlanar Flying Motion System, Beckhoff Automation (Booth SL-6149) • Partbox, Schubert North America (Booth SU-7651)

GENERAL PROCESSING

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• HPP In-Bulk Technology, Hiperbaric (Booth SL-6271) • Hygienic Spiral Conveyors, SideDrive Conveyor, an NCC Automated Systems Company (Booth SL-6127) • Rocket Rack, Rocket Rack, a Unit of Robroy Industries (Booth SU-7122)

PERSONAL CARE/PHARMA

• AmSky™ Recycle-Ready Pharma Blister Package, Amcor Healthcare Packaging (Booth SL-6631) • CanReseal Personal Care/Cannabis, Canovation (Booth N-9612) • Mono-material Flowpack Flexible Pouch, Zacros America (Booth SU-7955)

A panel of industry professionals narrowed the field of entries submitted by exhibitors to three finalists in each category. Members of the panel included: Ronald Puvak, executive director, CPA, The Association for Contract Packaging and Manufacturing (CPA) (Booth C-1255); Matt Reynolds, editor, Packaging World (Central Lobby); Jane Chase, executive director, Institute of Packaging Professionals (Booth C-1253); Tim Koers, packaging consultant; and Pat Reynolds, vice president, editor emeritus, Packaging World. For more info, visit www.PACKEXPOlasvegas.com, www.HCPElasvegas.com. SD

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas

SHOW DAILY SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

Side-load bagger orients product

he reimagined Swifty Bagger Side Load automatic bagging machine from WeighPack Systems (Booth C-1823) accommodates products that require orientation within a premade pouch. Suitable for single items or products that stand up “soldier style,” the automated machine handles a wide range of products including food packaging, consumer goods, healthcare, cosmetics, personal hygiene and hardware. “From pet treats and beef jerky sticks to face masks and diabetic syringes, and for products that cannot be gravity-fed, this machine allows precise control over how the product will be viewed within the bag,” says James Morris, lead technician at Paxiom Automation. The compact machine loads pillow and gusseted bags ranging in length from 150–350mm and widths from 120–260mm, with or without zippers. Options include nitrogen gas flush for increased product shelf life as well as expiration date printing. The Swifty Bagger Side Load machine is eco-

nomical and easy to clean. Its straight-flow design provides easy accessibility while allowing the operator to monitor the entire filling process from the front of the machine. An accumulation table can be positioned before manual case packing or be fully integrated with complete end-of-line systems such as case erectors, pick-and-place case packers, drop packers, case sealers and palletizers. For more info, visit www.weighpack.com. SD

Swifty Bagger Side Load machine orients products in pre-made pouches.

RFQ tool adds European suppliers

PA, The Association for Contract Packaging and Manufacturing (CPA) (Booth C-1255), is joining forces with the European Contract Packaging Association (ECPA) to expand the capabilities of CPA’s free request for quote (RFQ) tool. The joint effort provides global brand owners with access to contract packaging (co-pack) and contract manufacturing (co-man) services in Europe as well as in North America. “We have seen great success with the RFQ tool within the North American market,” reports Ron Puvak, executive director, CPA. “In today’s global economy, we are excited to be able to expand the reach of consumer brands beyond North America.” CPA’s RFQ tool is currently used by brands to match their needs to the services provided by CPA members by completing an online form. CPA dispatches these submissions directly to CPA members, which offer services that match the outlined requirements. With the partnership, ECPA’s network of members are included on the list of co-pack/co-man providers that receive project submissions. To securely submit an RFQ, visit www.contractpackaging.org/RFQ and complete the form, providing as much information as possible. To submit an RFQ to ECPA members, visit www.contractpackaging.org/ECPA. Responses are typically received in five to seven days. For more info, visit www.contractpackaging.org. SD

SEE US AT BOOTH C-4422

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas 70

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Eriez expands service center

Added floorspace and updated equipment cut turnaround time.

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he newly expanded Service and Repair Center at Eriez (Booth SL5901) doubles the footprint of the previous space to cut turnaround time for in-house repair and rebuilds. This capability helps customers be proactive about scheduled maintenance and save up to 40% when comparing rebuilding equipment to buying new. Located at the company’s Wager Road plant near its corporate headquarters in Erie, Pennsylvania, the enhanced Service and Repair Center is part of a recently completed 38,000-sq.-ft. expansion at the facility. The new space also houses a larger research and development area to support global product development programs, a state-of-the-art electronics lab and an advanced Recycling Test Center. The company made significant investments in updating equipment, including high-capacity cranes, controls, lifting assets and hand tools. “With our supersized facility, we can repair even the biggest manufacturing equipment, like giant suspended electromagnets,” reports John Klinge, director of Strategic SalesAftermarket at Eriez. “It all comes down to turnaround speed,” Klinge says. “Better equipment and more space allow us to complete maintenance and repair work more quickly. Customers are assured their equipment will be back in operation in minimal time. We always emphasize that customers complete critical routine service in a proactive fashion. We can predict when equipment parts require repair or replacement. While repairs can often be done in the field, sometimes that is not a feasible option.” He adds, “Proactive equipment repair practices are essential for workplace safety and optimal productivity.” The fully staffed center employs trained technicians and the machining, fabricating and welding capabilities necessary to rebuild all Eriez equipment. Once remanufactured, the equipment receives an “as new” warranty. Factory-made repair parts are readily available off-the-shelf, according to Klinge. The Service Center repairs eddy current separators, drum magnets, wet drum separators, suspended electromagnets and fluid recycling systems for a range of industries such as food processing and recycling. For more info, www.eriez.com. SD

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2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas

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SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

X-ray system checks pet food

Pinpointing contaminants encourages suppliers to boost quality.

arth Animal is elevating standards in the pet food industry. For the past 42 years, it has pursued the highest product quality when processing and packaging all-natural chews, treats, dog food and other products. In addition to using the best ingredients from reputable suppliers, Earth Animal

relies on world-class inspection equipment including an X33 x-ray inspection system from Mettler-Toledo Safeline (Booth C-1814), installed last year at its “Riverstone” facility in Westminster, Maryland. “We recently completed a big, facility-wide renovation and updated our lines with the latest tech-

Visit us today at Booth #C1851.

nology,” reports Kelly Raiser, GM and co-owner of the Riverstone facility. “It was our sales rep, Dick DeNenno at Reliant Packaging Machinery, who encouraged us to go with x-ray inspection instead of a traditional metal detector. X-ray systems identify and remove stones, shells, glass, rubber and other foreign bodies, in addition to detecting metal. Our pet foods are made with real, fresh ingredients, which means that natural foreign materials like pebbles are not uncommon. With our X33, we can be sure no foreign bodies make their way into the final product—we’re protecting our customers and their pets, as well as our brand.” “Our new X33 x-ray system helped us see that our primary vulnerability comes from incoming raw ingredients, not from any issues inside our plant,” says Nick Stalder, production manager at Riverstone. “Knowing this, we went to our ingredient suppliers and asked them to put in more safeguards. Now we can hold our suppliers accountable if it looks like foreign material came in with their raw product. Honestly, our X33 has already paid for itself with that process improvement alone.” Earth Animal’s Riverstone facility produces its Dr. Bob Goldstein’s Wisdom® brand dog food, which is packaged in four-sided, gusseted stand-up bags weighing 1, 3 or 10 lb. and made from a sustainable, bio-based material formulated from sugarcane. This facility also produces pet treats in conventional stand-up pouches weighing between 4 and 7 oz. A movable conveying system allows either of Riverstone’s two primary packaging lines to feed into one inline X33 x-ray system at a rate of 18 to 20 bags/min. Packages that don’t pass inspection are automatically removed from the line with a pneumatic reject device, also from the Mettler-Toledo Product Inspection Group.

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Earth Animal relies on an X33 x-ray system from Mettler-Toledo Safeline to help ensure final product quality.

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2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas

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and then a sanitizer on the conveyor. The design improves equipment hygiene and reduces downtime, which supports our overall operating efficiency.” Raiser concludes, “Overall, this is an extremely reliable piece of equipment. We’ve had 100% uptime with our X33 to date and haven’t had a single test standard rejected—it works perfectly. The biggest

The X33 x-ray inspection system identifies and removes packages with stones, shells and other foreign material.

“Think of our dog food like a trail mix. It’s made up of dried meats, fruits, veggies and other ingredients, which all have different densities and moistures. That variability would be challenging for most x-ray systems but not the X33. It’s able to adjust for all those tiny differences,” says Claire Farrell, quality assurance–quality control manager at Riverstone. “You can actually see each of the ingredients on the screen as the X33 inspects them. Its accuracy and sensitivity are impressive.” Mettler-Toledo’s X33 x-ray system uses a 20-watt generator that consumes one-fifth of the power of its SmartChek and AdvanChek predecessors, while achieving the same outstanding detection sensitivity. “We love that this system is so energy efficient,” says Raiser. “Sustainability is a huge part of every decision we make here at Earth Animal. It’s important that our x-ray system fits into our environmental pledge.” “Sanitation is another one of our top priorities,” adds Carl Hammond, facility engineer at Riverstone. “We always look for systems that are engineered for easy cleaning and maintenance. Since our X33 is inspecting packaged product, it needs only a dry clean

thing for us as a company is knowing that our final product is up to our high food-safety and quality requirements. Given our experiences with Safeline’s X33, I never want to run another packaging line without this technology. The level of confidence and security it provides us is invaluable.” For more info, visit www.mt.com/pi. SD

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas

SHOW DAILY

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

Processing Zone returns

Zone in North Hall hosts exhibitors, Innovation Stage sessions.

he Processing Zone returns to PACK EXPO Las Vegas and Healthcare Packaging EXPO to showcase front-of-line solutions from food processing/systems, food safety, engineering, design and construction services. “Many of the technologies in packaging and processing work in unison, and PMMI learned from attendees at previous shows that the ability to find complete solutions from the beginning through the end-of-line was a priority,” says Laura Thompson, vice president, Trade Shows at PMMI, the Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies (Central Lobby). The Processing Zone displays technologies for baking and snack, beverage, meat and poultry, dairy and produce applications. It also offers targeted education via its dedicated Processing Innovation Stage (Booth N-24020). Session topics include high-pressure processing, process improvement, spiral immersion processing and the Manufacturing Innovation Awards. Processing Inno- Mixer handles highly viscous products. vation Stage sessions begin at 10:30 a.m. today and conclude this afternoon. A complete schedule may be found on p. 26. Exhibitors in the Processing Zone offer many new and upgraded products and services. Highlights include a cuber from Deville Technologies (Booth N-26008), a powder mixer from Fristam Pumps USA (Booth N-23000) and

NEW TO THE SHOW? YOU’RE INVITED TO THE

cleaning software from Sani-Matic (Booth N-23012). The Deville two-way cuber reduces 40-lb. cheese blocks into size-specific cubes to feed dicers, centrifugal shredders and other equipment. Constructed with 304 stainless steel and FDA-approved plastics, the cuber consists of pneumatic cylinders, hinged covers, Allen-Bradley Safeguard safety switches from Rockwell Automation (Booth C-4742), fixed catch pans and adjustable castors. The Fristam PM-FDS powder mixer combines highly concentrated, viscous, wet or dry ingredients into a fluid stream. The tabletop unit includes a Fristam shear blender that devours lumps and clumps and provides consistent blending, while the suction of a Fristam twin screw pump mixes products with viscosities as high as 1 million centipoise. The powder mixer maintains consistent suction on products whose viscosities start at a lower level but climb past the point where traditional pumps fail. Sani-Matic offers its SaniTrend Cloud online data acquisition and management system with any of its new automated cleaning systems controlled by a programmable logic controller (PLC). It also can be retrofitted on any existing Sani-Matic automated cleaning system that has an Allen-Bradley CompactLogix or higher PLC processor. The software-as-a-service provides automated, secure data acquisition and reporting of critical cleaning cycle information for any automated cleaning system. Additional features, such as live-view dashboards, overall equipment effectiveness trends, analog value and event history, documentation access and alerts provide actionable insights into cleaning system operation. Other exhibitors displaying processing-related products and services may be found throughout the show floor, particularly in the Containers and Materials Pavilion in the North Hall and on the upper and lower levels of the South Hall. For more info, visit www.PACKEXPOlasvegas.com, www.devilletechnologies.com, www.fristam.com, www.sanimatic.com . SD

If your badge says, “First-Time Attendee” visit this exclusive resource center where you can: i Ask questions from show staff and industry experts

i Access tools to find products and exhibitors i Attend special sessions

Mon. 8:30 a.m. PACK EXPO 101: Navigate the Show Like a Pro 1:00 p.m.

How To Make Your Product’s Packaging Environmentally Friendly

Tues. 8:30 a.m. PACK EXPO 101: Navigate the Show Like a Pro 1:00 p.m.

Automation and Robots for Beginners

Wed. 8:30 a.m. PACK EXPO 101: Navigate the Show Like a Pro

SOUTH UPPER HALL ROOM S-224 Lounge Hours Sept. 27 – 28: 8:00 am – 5:00 pm Sept. 29: 8:00 am – 3:00 pm

Sponsored by:

Booth C-3220 The Deville two-way cheese cuber processes up to 15,000 lb./hr., including full blocks and trims.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF NITA 4.0 LABELING.

i The 100% SERVO Sentient Labeling System that puts a world of efficiencies AT YOUR FINGERTIPS. Pro-Active Self-Diagnosing System In-Screen Parts Ordering One-Touch In-Panel Tech Support Freakishly Fast Changeovers Real-Time O.E.E. Production Stats Built-In PM Schedules It Is Not Just A Labeling Machine...

IT’S A

Come Visit Nita Sentient Labeling Systems In Central Hall At Pack Expo In Las Vegas, Booth 5406 Or Enjoy Our Very Compelling Website At WWW.NITALABELING.COM Or Just Call Us At 1.855.668.6482 We Can’t Wait To Hear From You!

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PRODUCTS-PROCESSING ZONE Back by popular demand and located in the North Hall, The Processing Zone (Booth N-19000–N-26015) displays front-of-the-line systems that help increase efficiency, ensure safety and seamlessly integrate with the packaging function. Exhibitors specialize in homogenizing, heat treating, form-

ing/sizing, coating and other processing technologies. The Processing Zone also is home to the Processing Innovation Stage (N-24020), where educational sessions begin at 10:30 a.m. today (see schedule, p. 26).

SANITARY TWIN SCREW PUMP HEAT EXCHANGERS

The Heat Exchangers I Series system de-packs, crushes and melts (re-melts) frozen fruit juice for high-quality, not-from-concentrate products. Handling up to 60 drums (3,170 gal.) of frozen product/hr., the IC Series features a roller conveyor, which feeds lined 200L drums into a tipper that empties into a crusher. A spiked roller crushes the solid ice into an icy slush, which is transferred to the IM Series re-melting device that melts the frozen product, raising the juice temperature to approximately 39 F in 90 sec. HRS Heat Exchangers Booth N-20002 www.hrs-heatexchangers.com

The Axi-Auger sanitary twin screw pump is suitable for any large suspended-solids transfer, high-viscosity applications. It incorporates a large hopper and augers that extend to the twin feed screws. The design allows for the feed screws to be stuffed by the augers, which makes mixing and product transfer more linear and consistent. Axiflow Technologies Booth N-20013 www.axiflowtechnologies.com

THE CANDY BAR LOUNGE In the Confectionery Pavilion SOUTH UPPER HALL Booth SU-7201

SOLID LIQUID MIXER

This comfortable area sets the stage for making confectionery industry connections and learning from peers.

CONFECTIONERY INDUSTRY NETWORKING RECEPTION Booth SU-7201 Tuesday, September 28 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm Hosted by:

Sponsored by:

Booth C-2800

The DLM/FS inline solid liquid mixer gently blends multiple solid and liquid ingredient streams. Each ingredient stream is metered into the mixing chamber at the appropriate ratio to ensure single-pass accuracy. The result is a consistent, highly repeatable finished product with little to no product damage or loss of integrity. Ideal for late-stage differentiation applications, it allows a final ingredient (or set of ingredients), such as delicate inclusions, fragrances or coloring, to be added to the primary liquid at the end of the process or at the filler. Infini-Mix Process Solutions Booth N-23007 www.wemixstuff.com

ROTARY LOBE PUMP

Compact and with a dead-spacefree design, the rotary lobe pump has an oil-free belt drive and a rotor mounting outside the pump chamber. The certified pump (compliant with 3-A Standard and European Hygienic Engineering and Design Group requirements) has clean-in-place capability. It also features FSIP (full-service-in-place). The entire front can be opened for quick, easy access to the pump chamber right up to the flange connection. Netzsch Pumps North America Booth N-19000 www.netzsch.com

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas

SHOW DAILY

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

PRODUCTS-PROCESSING ZONE

USDA DAIRY-ACCEPTED AIRLOCK

The global hygienic airlock (GHA) is for hygienic applications where dry, raw or finished products are handled and inspection or system clean out is required. The USDA Dairy-accepted, dismountable airlock has a rail system that simplifies removal and provides access to the internal valve, cavity, rotor pockets and other product contact areas for quick and easy cleaning. A valve interference detection system protects the airlock from damage and prevents product contamination due to interference between the valve rotor and housing. Schenck Process Booth N-24012 www.schenckprocess.com

CUTTER & DISCHARGE CONVEYOR

The E TranSlicer (ETRS) cutter features a built-in discharge conveyor for dispensing the cut product into totes. The built-in conveyor also assists with the effective capture of slivered, small cuts of leeks, onions or peppers to promote complete discharge from the machine. Engineered for elongated food products, the belt-fed unit employs different styles of 20-in.-diameter cutting wheels to create flat or crinkle slices and julienne cuts. Urschel Laboratories Booth N-22013 www.urschel.com

Wednesday, Sept. 29

THE PARTI IPANT Packaging students from across the country.

THE M

Tour the PACK EXPO show floor, visit participating exhibitor booths and complete challenges.

THE GOAL Learn about new technologies and interact with industry professionals, while earning points for packaging-related challenges. Members of the winning team each receive $500, courtesy of Emerson. HIGH-SPEED MIXER

DESIGN-BUILD APPROACH

Engage early utilizing a progressive design-build contracting approach. Minimal capital investments provide initial scope development, drawings and schedules necessary for preliminary project approvals. Content experts provide customized development and execution plans to optimize business needs and requirements. Strategic information generated through this proven methodology allows owners to evaluate risk and the funding commitments required to further deliver a successful project. Hansen-Rice Booth N-20008 www.hansen-rice.com

Working according to an innovative wetting principle as a pre-mixer, the DymoMix high-speed mixer has a nozzle in the rotating shaft that builds up a fine, continuous liquid screen. Powdery components are wetted with water or oil when passing through the liquid screen, immediately generating fully hydrated, homogenous dough. Able to process very firm to almost liquid doughs, the mixer can be incorporated on batch or continuous mixers, or used as a standalone system. Typical applications include noodle, bread and roll doughs, as well as doughs for pastries. Zeppelin Systems USA Booth N-28006 www.zeppelin-systems.us

Brought to you by:

Booth SL-6307

For more information, visit pmmi.org/pmmiu-packexpo

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PRODUCTS DISTRIBUTED DRIVE SYSTEM

Consisting of a drive, motor and gear box, the Sinamics G115D drive system works in motor- and wall-mounted horizontal motion-control conveyor applications and is designed for harsh environments with a rating up to IP66/UL Type 4X. With compact dimensions, it is easily installed in confined areas. Power ranges 0.37–7.5 kW (1/2–10 hp) for wall-mount applications and 0.37–4 kW (1/2–5 hp) for motor-mounted applications. An operating

October 23-26, 2022

temperature range of -30–55 C (-22–131 F) enables operation in deep freezing applications. Siemens Booth SL-6356 www.usa.siemens.com/packaging

Chicago, IL, USA

VERSATILE VALVES

Produced by:

The manually operated VHEF and the mechanically operated VMEF pneumatic valves are small, durable, versatile and guaranteed to ship within 24 hours. Manual and mechanical valves are the most direct way to control a process. They do not require energy conversion, additional reaction time or long cables. The actuated plunger simply switches the valve and triggers the next step in the process. Each style of valve offers multiple configurations to satisfy a wide range of applications. Festo Booth SL-6132 www.festo.com/us

OPPORTUNITY IS BACK Registration opens March 2022! PACK EXPO International returns to Chicago for the first time in 4 years offering you new connections and expanded possibilities. Don’t miss a single year – technology changes so fast, but all you need to do to keep up is attend PACK EXPO every year. Join us next October!

45,000 ATTENDEES

2,500 EXHIBITORS

1.2 MILLION NET SQUARE FEET

PACKEXPOINTERNATIONAL.COM

LOW-VOLUME BLISTER MACHINE

Built for simplicity and economy, the TF1 blister machine requires minimal training and maintenance. Entry-level unit produces blisters up to 90 x 165mm with a maximum draw depth of 25mm, thermoforms many types of material and can be configured to cold form. A simple operator interface makes the machine easy to set up, operate and change over, with changeovers routinely taking less than 10 min. Other features include contact heating, motor-driven stations and servo indexing with print registration. Pharmaworks Booth C-3414, SL-6501 www.pharmaworks.com

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas

SHOW DAILY

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

PRODUCTS FILLING, COUNTING, CAPPING

The Compact 12 monobloc fills and caps bottles for pills, tablets or capsules. The machine accommodates operator protection (restricted access barrier systems) or product protection (laminar flow systems) and supports screw-on, press-on and crimped capping systems. A HarleNIR vision system with a near-infrared hyperspectral camera chemically identifies pharmaceutical products by analyzing the ac-

SEMI-AUTOMATIC COMBO SCALE

The TSD-N3 semi-automatic combination scale increases production speed while reducing labor costs and product overweights for fixed-weight food packaging. Products are hand-loaded onto the TSD-N3. The scale automatically dispenses the best weight combination based on customer specifications. Can be configured for a variety of packaging applications and is ideal for weighing fragile products. TSD-N3 features toolless belt removal and the stainless-steel, IP65-rated design is easy to clean. Yamato Booth SL-5949 www.yamatoamericas.com

Precision Motor Feedback Designed for Servo Labeling Applications

Model 15T/H thru- or blind hollow bore encoders for high performance in a low-profile Ø1.5” x 1.0” package.

COVID-19 VACCINE LABELER

The VR-72 labeler is designed for COVID-19 vaccine packaging applications. Fully servo-driven with a modular design, this continuous-motion, pressure-sensitive system applies wraparound labels to vials and other cylindrical products at speeds in excess of 600 vials/min. The VR-72 labeler is ideal for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products including solid doses, vitamins and injectables, as well as medical devices. It applies paper or film pressure-sensitive labels to vials, bottles, syringes, auto-injector devices and other cylindrical packages. WLS Booth C-3518, SL-6501 www.weilerls.com

12-pole commutation & high temp options for brushless servo motors ensure proper label positioning every time. Visit us online or at Booth SL-6440 to find out more:

1-800-366-5412 | encoder.com

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8/9/2021 9:14:15 AM

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas

SHOW DAILY

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

PRODUCTS

Industry Training

tive ingredient. Multivision Valida technology checks the shape, size and color of each pill and rejects any faulty product before it goes into the bottle, thereby eliminating the need to reject and rework filled bottles. Marchesini Group Booth SL-6535 www.marchesini.com

Elevate your talent through PMMI’s convenient training and development opportunities.

Certified Trainer Workshops Develop your team’s training skills.

Fundamentals of Field Service (for PMMI members only) Give your technicians the non-technical skills they need to provide great customer service.

Mechatronic Certifications Identify multi-skilled workers to troubleshoot and repair automated equipment on the plant floor.

Risk Assessment Workshops

MULTIPACK SLEEVER

The StackAlign™ Stacking & Sleeving Multipacker system allows a number of individual units to be grouped, or multipacked, through stacking and then shrink sleeving. It takes individual products from an infeed conveyor, counts and stacks them, placing them onto fixed pedestals on a servo-controlled indexing conveyor. The product stacks are then centered and aligned prior to sleeve application. Capable of running 200 parts/min., stacks can be made from two to 10 products depending on package height. PDC International Booth C-4814 www.pdc-corp.com

Improve productivity and ensure worker safety.

TechEd 365 Take advantage of cost-effective online training.

ROBOTIC CASE PACKER

Learn more at pmmi.org/industry-training

The second generation, vision-based LSP Series robotic case packer picks and packs pouches up to 10 lb. into Cabrio Cases®, stackable club store trays and standard cases with a quick changeover. Latest model includes a scalable, modular frame design to accommodate single or multiple robots to precisely meet production requirements. Delkor Systems Booth C-3814 www.delkorsystems.com

PROCESSING AND PACKAGING SOLUTIONS • • • • • • • •

Food processing systems On-machine and process area seasoning application Conveying and product handling 1YPXMLIEH GSQFMREXMSR WGEPI [IMKLMRK ERH Ƽ PPMRK Snack bagmaking and case packing Metal detection and x-ray Check weighing and seal checking Controls and information systems

Helping you bring your best products to market. Delivering Results. With Heat and Control, you have a partner with the scale to support your success, the innovation to advance your operations, and a commitment to quality that will help you offer better products for consumers.

We are successful when you are successful. That’s why we apply creativity, engineering excellence, and determined perseverance to every project to help our customers get the performance their business demands—whether measured by ƽ EZSV Iƾ GMIRGMIW WYWXEMREFMPMX] MQTVSZIQIRX SV MRRSZEXMSR

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info@heatandcontrol.com | heatandcontrol.com

20 LOOKING BACK. PRESSING FORWARD. ALWAYS INNOVATING.

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PRODUCTS

VERTICAL/FORM/FILL/SEAL

Servo-controlled Mars vertical/form/fill/seal machines serve a range of food and non-food packaging sectors. Portfolio includes intermittent- and continuous-motion models, which combine precision with accessibility. Rated at up to 200 pouches/min., systems are compatible with a variety of pouches such as pillow, Doy, quad-seal and flat-bottom. Other features include stainless steel frame, touchscreen, automatic film unwinding and centering, servo-controlled film and jaw motion and easy film loading. Plan IT Packaging Systems Booth C-4343 www.planitpackaging.com

REMOTE MONITORING

The X4 remote access and condition monitor supports remote maintenance, allowing original equipment manufacturers to monitor machines in real time, create high-quality data reports and analyze machine data. The system integrates the X4 platform and X500 IoT gateways so end users can put plant and machinery data in the Cloud without any special knowledge. The combination allows access to the data and the condition of machines anywhere via any Internet-enabled device. Lenze Americas Booth C-1602 www.lenze.com

DRUM MOTOR

Built for reliability, efficiency and longevity, the IntelliDrive drum motor features variable belt speed without torque reduction and a permanent magnet electric motor that is enclosed inside the drum, along with the gear reducer and gears. For sanitary food belt conveyor applications, the all-316-stainless-steel motor is available with the belt profile machined onto the drum that drives the modular belts without the use of sprockets. VDG (Van der Graaf ) Booth SU-7462 www.vandergraaf.com

Our Automated Gripping Solutions are Revolutionizing the Food and CPG Industry. And we’re just getting started. Contact us at softroboticsinc.com/sri_sales/

Visit us in our Partner booths to see how Soft Robotics can help grow your business

SU-7155/7156

C-1441

SL-6101

C-2825/2829

C-5233

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas

SHOW DAILY

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

PRODUCTS

ENHANCED LABELING SYSTEM PALLETIZING CELL

TRACK-AND-TRACE CASE PACKER

The semi-open palletizing cell with an industrial robot arm simplifies complex processes. The RI20 palletizer is suitable for palletizing closed boxes within fast-moving consumer goods industries. The unit includes enhanced safety features that allow a safe coexistence between the robot and operators on the production floor. The presence of operators in the safety area dynamically adjusts the speed of the robot instead of stopping it, reducing unnecessary downtime. FlexLink Systems Booth C-4400 www.flexlink.com

A track-and-trace-ready version of the MG2 side-load case packer, the Model GSL10 machine is engineered to insert products with regular shapes into shipping cases. Servo motors control main machine movements so pneumatics only are used for secondary movements, increasing reliability and ease of operation. No part changes are needed for different case sizes, and precise adjustments can be made via hand wheels. Cases can be closed with tape or hot-melt glue. MG America Booth SL-6614 www.mgamerica.com

The Contract Packager Series labelers feature stepper- and servo-driven technologies along with AC drive motors and an expansive touchscreen. CP2000 and CP1000 front-and-back multipurpose labeling systems offer four-axis label applicator adjustments, built-in Z-axis adjustments and password protection. System includes a multi-level menu; synchronous electronic controls; a wide, servo-driven, synchronous, overhead hold-down belt; servo-driven synchronous product positioning without change parts; extra-heavy-duty welded framework; and variable label dispense speeds of up to 3,000 in./min. Universal Labeling Systems Booth C-1614 www.universal1.com

Long Overhang, High Capacity

Vibratory Feeders With 100% more capacity (45 tph) and twice the available tray size/mass than our next largest feeder, Eriez high capacity 76 Series Electromagnetic Vibratory Feeders are designed for packaging applications with high head loads or needing exceptionally long overhang. •Handles high head loads •Exceptionally long overhang •Up to 45 tph •High speed and high deflection drives

See us at Booth SL-5901

Vibratory Feeders, Conveyors & Screeners

Eriez.com | 814.835.6000

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas

SHOW DAILY

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

TARGETED

PRODUCTS

SOLUTIONS FOR PHARMACEUTICAL, MEDICAL DEVICE, NUTRACEUTICALS, AND BIOLOGICS

MANDREL-FORMING TECHNOLOGY

Precision mandrel-forming technology of the Meta® Duo machine transitions among four-sided, eight-sided and half-slotted cases and one- and two-piece shelf-ready designs with minimal changeover. With Meta Systems technology for gluing and forming shelf- and retail-ready packaging, one small-footprint machine can streamline operations while meeting multiple channel requirements. This automation technology eliminates the need for co-packers or third-party logistics providers and the associated packaging and freight redundancy. WestRock Booth C-2023 www.westrock.com/aps

LOCATED IN

SOUTH LOWER HALL The widest range of equipment and technology solutions for life sciences.

RUGGED CASE ERECTOR

The HPE NS case erector delivers perfectly formed cases 24/7 under the toughest conditions. An easy-load bundle hopper can be loaded continuously to maintain non-stop operation. An extended hopper option makes loading even easier. Optional Automatic Quick Change expedites changeover and cuts downtime. Multiple frame sizes are available, as well as two-piece, half-slotted case lidder and Tablock versions. MARQ Packaging Systems Booth C-2603 www.marq.net

STATIC NEUTRALIZING BLOWER

IQ Power Fantom™ wide-format blower adds a lower fan speed to the adjustable knob and redesigns optional tilt bracket. Ionization delivery is improved from moving webs to injection-molded plastic parts. It can be mounted at a close range to blow across unsupported thin film, thin-cut sheets of film or light, small plastic parts without interference. The tilt bracket enables a variety of mounting positions and angles to target an object. Simco-Ion Booth C-4314 www.simco-ion.com/industrial

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas

SHOW DAILY

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

PRODUCTS

PNEUMATIC GRIPPER SYSTEM

Cam-activated high gripping force allows the pneumatic gripper system to handle large and heavy objects. Key features include: gripping forces up to 450 lb. at 80 psi; rapid actuation time with a 0.05-sec. close, 0.09-sec. open at 425 cycles/ min.; interchangeable pads for maximum application flexibility; and a compact size to fit into tight work envelopes. Bimba Manufacturing Booth SL-6153 www.bimba.com www.shopfloorconnect.com

INKJET PRINTER

The UX Series inkjet printer provides ideal markings on products for food and beverage, health and beauty and a variety of containers from lip balm tubes to bag printing and oversized polyvinyl chloride piping. It offers efficient ink recovery, intuitive print control, intelligent fluid cartridges, a durable printhead, reliable circulation system and simple fluid management. The UX Series features an intuitive 10.4-in. touchscreen, a replaceable diaphragm pump, mess-free, mistake-proof fluid refills, accurate viscometer and an IP65 rating. Hitachi Industrial Equipment & Solutions America Booth N-9810 www.hitachi-iesa.com

SEE IT IN ACTION: PACK EXPO BOOTH C-3800 Stop by our booth! Standard-Knapp will be showcasing our TriWraptor™ Bundler and Pic-N-Place Case Packer in Booth #C-3800. Featuring modular construction and a high-efficiency heat tunnel, the TriWraptor™ arranges and neatly wraps bundles of product, producing outstanding bull’s eyes to ensure that your message gets conveyed properly every time. The robotic Pic-N-Place offers field-proven reliability and is the perfect solution for both partitioned and partitionless case packing. Also on display at Pack Expo will be the UNIPACK 2.0 from our sister company, BMS. Versatile and compact, the UNIPACK 2.0 is a multifunctional combination packer, unpacker and repacker designed for pick-and-place applications across the brewing, beverage, dairy and food industries.

BLISTER PACKAGING

Sustainable, customized blister packaging designs now reside under the useKOCH brand (U–Unique and Universal, S–Smart and Safe, E–Eco and Effective). One example, mono-material, fully recyclable cyclePac packaging, runs on several of the company’s blister machines, including the KDT, KS-PT, KS-PL, KBS-PT and KBS-PL models. Changeover to a cyclePac format from a conventional blister can be completed within 15 min. cyclePac options include both classic plastic-formed face seal blisters and paperboard packages. KOCH Packaging Systems Booth SL-6364, SL-6601 www.kochpackaging.com

Pic-N-Place Case Packer Standard-Knapp, Inc. 63 Pickering Street, Portland, CT info@standard-knapp.com www.standard-knapp.com

To learn more visit www.tossheatseal.com or www.packworldusa.com

heat sealing Impulse Temperature Controllers

Here’s WALDO!

PackworldUSA Medical Sealers

TOSS Technology delivers perfect impulse heat seals every time. The PIREG heatseal temperature controllers are designed specifically for controlling the heat sealing operations performed in a wide range of applications including: vertical and horizontal form, fill, and seal; pouch filling and sealing; film wrapping, and pouch making. The PIREG impulse temperature controllers are universally adaptable to almost any application, and do not require the use of thermocouples or RTD’s. The PIREG temperature controllers are designed for “in cabinet” and “panel mount” uses and also available with EtherNet communication capabilities. www.tossheatseal.com

Booth SL-6410

What sets PackworldUSA apart from all the rest is its use of the high response, state-of-art, TOSS Technology. All PackworldUSA machines come equipped with the advanced PIREG temperature controller. Only TOSS uses Variable Resistance Controlled (VRC) heat sealing technology to monitor and adjust temperature precisely over the full length and width of the heat sealing element, accurate, up to 500C. www.packworldusa.com

Waldo Packaging Machinery is a manufacturer of fully automated vertical form-fill-seal packaging machines for packaging liquids, slurries and high viscosity products. Servicing businesses of all sizes in a range of markets that include food/beverage, cosmetics, and cleaning fluids, their complete line of machines are compact, user friendly and cost efficient. www.waldo.com.mx

CONTOURED BANDS

Impulse Heat Seal Controls & Components

TOSS Alloy-20 and Norex Heat Seal Bands ®

TOSS Alloy-20 and Norex Heatseal Bands are available in over 350 styles, shapes and sizes. Custom designed for any application, new or existing, TOSS Alloy-20 Heatseal Band are longer lasting and provide for effective sealing at optimum speeds. When used in conjunction with the PIREG Temperature Controllers, the TOSS Alloy-20 heatseal bands provide instant thermostatic feedback eliminating the need for thermocouples. STRAIGHT BANDS This instant feedback assures precise, repeatable results on each and every seal. www.tossheatseal.com ®

available worldwide

5 Star Rating Truly are the EXPERTS AT IMPULSE HEAT SEALING! 15 minutes with a TOSS engineer and I learned more about impulse heat sealing than I have in my 30 years of designing V/F/F/S machines... THANKS TOSS!!

Technology is simply Fantastic. The PIREG® Temperature Controller controls the time and temperature of the impulse heat seal band flawlessly on every cycle. TOSS Technology truly performs as advertised…

Alloy-20 Impulse Heat Seal Bands are far Superior. TOSS designed custom impulse heat seal bands for me to replace my current NiChrome bands. Now I’m getting longer life and cleaner seals. I’m a true believer! Only GENUINE TOSS Alloy-20 impulse heat seal bands from now on.

Look for the uTu to assure you’re using GENUINE TOSS Alloy-20 impulse heat seal bands.

33 Years 1988 - 2021

TOSS Heat Seal Cover Materials In the optimum sealing set up, the heatseal band must be electrically and thermally insulated from the jaw bar. TOSS offers a wide selection of PTFE cover cloths and tapes that are available in standard and custom sizes. Other insulating materials available from TOSS include Silicone Rubber, Durit and Siglaha . www.tossheatseal.com ®

BOOTH SL-6410 September 27- 29, 2021

Las Vegas Convention Center PIREG ® is a Registered Trademark of TOSS VERPACKUNGSSYSTEME GMBH & CO. KG The TOSS ® logo, The Optimum Sealing System ®, and TOSS Alloy20 ® are Registered Trademarks of TOSS Machine Components, Inc., USA

Las Vegas, NV USA

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas

SHOW DAILY

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

HIGH SPEED LINES

See us at Booth LS-5969

HIGH ACCURACY AUTO CALIBRATION SUGAR REMOVAL SYSTEM PATENTED SOLUTIONS GERMAN MANUFACTURED On opening day of PACK EXPO Las Vegas and Healthcare Packaging EXPO, everyone is ready to be together again.

MULTIPOND OUR CONTRIBUTION TO YOUR SUCCESS 920-490-8249 WWW.MULTIPOND.COM

INTRODUCING THE Meet the team at ProMach Pharma Solutions (Booth C-3514) and learn about its four brands.

THE WORLD’S BEST SHORT-RUN, FOUR COLOR, PACKAGING PRESS UTILIZING THE HP FIXED IMAGER 1000.

Patty Anderson displays a high-speed case packer for thermoformed trays at Delkor Systems (Booth C-3814).

Scan the QR code to upload your logo and stop by Booth #10005 to receive your FREE, personalized sample!

VISIT WWW.IJETCOLOR.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION

Jason Leitzman (left) and Jim Paulsen explain the Slim-Fit conveyor at Multi-Conveyor (Booth C-2300).

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Judy Smith (left) and Michael Woehl at Standard-Knapp (Booth C-3800) show a Tito’s vodka box packed by the 949 PicN-Place tandem case packer.

Develop Your Training Skills Become an effective and successful trainer with PMMI’s Certified Trainer Workshop. At KOCH Packaging Systems (Booths SL-6364, SL-6601) view the KBS-C medplus blister machine.

This two-day trainer workshop provides your company with the strategies and tactics to train across all employee skill levels.

Benefits: • Provide better machinery training for your customers • Maximize your customer’s productivity while enhancing safety • Increase customer satisfaction

Stop by Encoder Products (Booth SL-6440) and chat with Kyle Schreiber (left) and Kenny Kovalchum about the Model LCX draw wire.

For more information, visit the PMMI U booth, N8701.

To learn more, go to pmmi.org/certified

Festo (Booth SL-6132) combines pneumatics with the advantages of electric automation in the Simplified Motion Series.

Thank You FUNDRAISING GOLF TOURNAMENT

Gold Sponsor:

For more information about the PMMI Foundation contact PMMI at 1-888-ASK-PMMI

To our sponsors for making the PMMI Foundation’s fourteenth Fundraiser Golf Tournament a great success. Funds raised enhance the Foundation’s support to the future of the packaging and processing industry through scholarships, student manufacturing camps, education trainings, and program development.

Luncheon Sponsor:

Sponsors as of August 2, 2021.

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas

SHOW DAILY SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

Bruce Johnson (left) and Kent Forsythe are at Fortech (Booth SU-8346) to tell you about manu-FACT OEE+3.

GO BEYOND THE BROWN BOX WITH GP HUMMINGBIRD® DIGITAL PRINT FOR PACKAGING

(l-r) John Kuhnz, Cat Wagner and Matt Jones are at Dorner (Booth C-1455) with the AquaPruf series conveyor.

No need for lithographic labels or flexographic plates – with the flexibility of digital, you can print what you want, when you want it. GP Hummingbird enables you to expand and enhance your brand experiences while reducing obsolescence, optimizing your supply chain, and getting products to market faster.

Visit us at Booth #9708 to learn more

gphummingbird.com

9/8/21 2:29 PM

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas

SHOW DAILY

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

At LineSpex (Booth SU-8347), (l-r) Brett Hirada, Chris Bettencourt, Juliam Shea, Steve Marion and Marion Kiwan are share their expertise about industrial vision systems.

Andy Monica of Emerson Industrial Automation (Booth SL-6307), shows augmented reality with a wearable device.

At Universal Labeling Systems (Booth C-1614), chat with Charles Lesnak and view the custom automated printer/applicator.

The staff at Packworld USA (Booth SL-6410) are experts at heat sealing and ready to show you TOSS technology.

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Meet the team at NJM Packaging, a ProMach product brand (Booth C-3514, SL-6501).

Eric Confer (right) at Eriez (Booth SL-5901) discusses separation technology.

NAVIGATE THE SHOW LIKE A PRO! Download the Mobile App to: Search exhibitors, products and educational sessions

Access Your My Show Planner and add to your personal agenda

Navigate from booth to booth using the interactive map

Relax at the Candy Bar Lounge (Booth SU-7201), sponsored by Syntegon Packaging Technology (Booth C-2800).

about demos, giveaways and more

Vote in the 2021 Technology Excellence Awards

Search “PACK EXPO” in the App Store or Google Play, or

visit packexpolasvegas.com/app

Or, scan here to

get the app:

Sponsored by:

Booth C-3220

A.B. Sealer (Booth SL-5818) displays case erectors, case sealers and tape heads.

THANK YOU TO OUR

PARTNERS ² 0 §À 0 w 0 ª ׂ ᑹ ِ ׂ ᒁ LAS VEGAS, NEVADA

These organizations are an integral part of PACK EXPO Las Vegas and Healthcare Packaging EXPO 2021 and played a pivotal role in bringing the entire packaging and processing industry together for this event.

Agri-Agro Pôle

*As of August 02, 2021

2021 PACK EXPO Las Vegas 94

SHOW DAILY SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

At NJM Packaging, a ProMach product brand (Booth C-3514, SL-6501), Thomas Kessler discusses the compact Dara NFL/2RDL aseptic fill/finish machine.

Are You a Sales Agent? The crew from BW Packaging Systems (Booth C-1800) stands ready to help locate packaging solutions.

When Leading OEMs Look for Agents, Make Sure They Find You. A PMMI Directory of Agents listing brings successful partnerships to you. PMMI members are North America’s leading packaging and processing OEMs, and they’re looking for sales agents. Make sure they find you with your free listing in the PMMI Directory of Agents.

Michael Schaefer of Rohrer, Rob Van Gilse of Starview Packaging Machinery with the Show Daily’s own Manny Dominguez and Mario Carlomusto of Starview (Booth C-3436) show off the All-Paper Blister sustainable packaging solutions part of Rohrer’s ezComboTM program.

The Directory matches you with OEMs based on your areas of expertise and their target markets.

To learn more and include your free listing in the Directory of Agents, visit pmmi.org/agents.

At Heat and Control (Booth C-1623), (l-r) William “BJ” Holden, Patrick Bundra, Kevin Nareja and Caleb Reyes demo the ACP-700 Series case packer.

Stronger.

Together.

Arpac. Fischbein. Hamer. Ohlson. Four Duravant brands, long synonymous with quality, durability, innovation and service in packaging equipment. Now joined together for the next level of integrated, innovative solutions,all under one name: nVenia. September 27-29, 2021 >ĂƐ sĞŐĂƐ ŽŶǀĞŶƟŽŶ ĞŶƚĞƌ >ĂƐ sĞŐĂƐ EĞǀĂĚĂ h^

Duravant Booth:

# C4425

www.nVenia.com

nVeniaPrintAd_PW Show_Daily_10.5x13.75_Aug_2021_r0.indd 1

HEADQUARTERS

750 N. Wood Dale Road

info@nVenia.com

Wood Dale, IL 60191

800.253.5103

8/13/2021 5:13:02 PM

See Us at Booth #SL6614

MG2 CAPSULE FILLERS R&D to High-Speed Production European-crafted equipment with more than 55 years of global leadership in capsule filling technology, we proudly offer solutions for combination products, low-dose applications, containment applications, and 100% NET weight control systems. • • • •

Premium equipment Superior customer service Industry 4.0 Continuous manufacturing

MG America | Fairfield, New Jersey 973-808-8185 | 866-962-3090 | mgamerica.com