With Industry 4.0 driving technological innovation and automation, plastic bottle manufacturers are releasing more energy-efficient blow-molding machines that can not only produce high-quality, lightweight bottles but also keep total cost of ownership low.

Capping off a record-breaking event in the Pack Expo portfolio of Trade Shows, Pack Expo Las Vegas and Healthcare Packaging Expo 2017 welcomed nearly 1,000 more attendees than 2015, making it the largest Pack Expo Las Vegas in history.

As automation within beverage operations becomes ever more prevalent, inspection equipment suppliers have recognized the need to streamline the equipment involved in the essential process while ensuring packaging maintains its aesthetic appeal and quality standards.

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.