Packaging Equipment

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With its glow-in-dark and LED race car, THE AS Seen on TV brand Magic Tracks, as its ad slogan states, has the ability to “bend it, flex it, curve it to the max” to create a custom speedway for any home.

Like a car being made in an automotive assembly plant, the technology and equipment used to make and fill aluminum cans has been perfected with time.

The shows offered several guidepost destinations, including The Beverage Cooler Lounge, The Materials and Containers Pavilion, The Processing Zone, The Reusable Packaging Pavilion, The Food Safety Summit Resource Center and the largest ever Innovation Stage program, the show producer says.

In its July 2015 report titled “Beverage Containers,” The Freedonia Group, Cleveland, forecasted that plastic beverage container demands will account for 148.8 billion units by 2019 in comparison to the 124.9 billion units in 2014, which equates to a 3.6 percent annual growth rate from 2014 to 2019.

Trends come and go, a fact that many beverage manufacturers know all too well. Determining which trends will stick can be difficult — especially when it comes to trends within operations. Historically, ink jet coding technology has been the top solution in coding, however, the beverage industry increasingly is embracing laser technology, recognizing that the technology is more than a passing trend, experts say.

PMMI, the Reston, Va.-based Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, and owner and producer of the Pack Expo Portfolio of Trade Shows, is gearing up for Pack Expo International 2016, which will take place Nov. 6-9 at McCormick Place in Chicago. The event will be co-located with Pharma Expo, a joint venture with the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE).

An increasing number of SKUs, changing packaging formats and sizes, and a growing interest in personalization are driving a constant need for faster production. Labeling equipment is one area that has felt the pressure from these trends, and the industry continues to innovate to provide beverage manufacturers with the fastest, most flexible machinery, experts say.

Packaging experts note that advancements in optical technology, software algorithms that are effective at high line speeds and the ability to inspect materials across the bottling process are essential for today’s modern bottling facilities.

Like the steady drops of rain drumming on a windowpane, the filling of beverages also dictates a steady pace to keep the production line running smoothly. However, it is imperative that the correct filler is used.