Packaging Equipment

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The right labels and packaging can attract new customers and position the product for wider success. However, manufacturers often find it difficult to meet emerging demands because of the time and expense involved in designing a new label and having label runs produced by a printing house. Printing technology can change that model.

In The Walt Disney Co.’s 2003 feature film “Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl,” lawless groups of sailors often remind each other to “keep to the code,” referring to the set of societal guidelines handed down by their pirate forefathers.

The product name has been trademarked; the formulation has been perfected and patented; the packaging is unique and shelfworthy; yet, this product might never make it to retail because the owner forgot about one vital step: inspection.

Modex 2014 showed the strength of the manufacturing and supply chain industries as it attracted approximately 23,000 attendees to Atlanta’s World Congress Center, March 17-20.

In boxing, a TKO indicates a technical knockout that officially ends the fight. For beverage manufacturers competing “in the ring,” it’s the TCO that drives much of the battle in regard to filling equipment.

As a proliferation of new brands and flavors continues to hit the market, the beverage industry also has experienced an influx of new package styles and designs to help those products stand out on the shelf.

As Disney’s “Toy Story 3” movie portrays, children’s interests in toys change as they grow up. Similarly, as the beverage can industry matures, its interest in packaging sizes changes. These changes have a domino effect on the equipment that fills and seams these cans.

Approximately 55 percent of the plastic bottles manufactured in the United States are used for beverage bottling, and half of the plastic bottle manufacturing industry’s revenue comes from carbonated soft drink bottles, according to Santa Monica, Calif.-based IBISWorld’s Sept. 2013 report “Plastic Bottle Manufacturing in the US.”

Pack Expo International 2013, which took place Sept. 23-25 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, was the trade show’s largest event in Las Vegas yet, according to PMMI, the Reston, Va.-based host of the event. In fact, in early estimates, the association for packaging and processing technologies reported an attendance increase of 7.4 percent to 27,759 attendees, a 15.5 percent increase in exhibitors to 1,788 companies, and a 14.7 percent increase in net square footage to 722,437 net square feet, all compared with the 2011 show, which also set event records.

Experiencing strong growth since its 2011 show, Process Expo, taking place Nov. 3-6 at McCormick Place in Chicago, will feature more than 200,000 feet of exhibit space dedicated to showcasing the latest in food processing technology from more than 500 equipment suppliers.