Last week, PACK EXPO Las Vegas – the largest and most comprehensive packaging and processing show this year – welcomed over 30,000 attendees and 20,000 exhibitor personnel for a total of 50,000 packaging and processing professionals in attendance.
PMMI
Produced by PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, the event featured over 2,300 exhibitors displaying the latest innovations across a record-breaking 1,000,000 net square feet of space – the biggest show floor since its debut 30 years ago.
According to PMMI president and CEO, Jim Pittas, the technologies on display did more than meet the needs of today’s users, rather, “they’re driving the growth, efficiency, and innovation that will define packaging and processing for the next 30 years.”
Here are some of the top highlights IEN observed on the show floor:
Eriez Advanced Inspection and Separation Solutions
Eriez (Eriez, PA) has debuted new and enhanced inspection and magnetic separation solutions, allowing PACK Expo attendees to take part in live equipment demonstrations and connect directly with Eriez product specialists to discuss their processing challenges and explore application-specific solutions. Specifically, the PrecisionGuard X8 Metal Detector provides exceptional sensitivity to detect ferrous, nonferrous, and stainless-steel contaminants, even in demanding applications. Eriez SenseGuard X-ray Inspection Systems provide high-resolution imaging and adaptable software to identify a broad range of foreign objects and product irregularities, helping processors enhance product safety and protect brand reputation.
Eriez
Fortress Icon X-Ray
Robust and easy to clean, the Icon X-ray system from Fortress Technology (Toronto, ON) significantly enhances consumer safety and contaminant detection in hygienic food processing facilities. Installed at the end of production lines, to optimize efficiency the Icon X-ray system can be fully integrated with a Fortress Raptor checkweigher module within the same equipment footprint. Other special features include the option to add internal view cameras, as well as an integrated automatic reject device to make better use of floor space.
Fortress Technology
Yaskawa, Motoman’s Next Gen Automation and Drive Systems
Yaskawa (Waukegan, IL) and partner company Motoman shared a booth bustling with leading edge automation and drive technology. Highlights included smart mixed-case handling with the GP35L robot and Mujin software, where robots could pick, sort and re-stack parcels of all shapes and sizes with speed and precision. High-speed parcel picking – using the GP12 and AI vision by Plus One Robotics – showed off the system’s speed and flexibility, and a smart demo of adaptive robotics showcased real-time inspection, testing and part handling. Uniquely, Yaskawa’s HC10 cobot served as an autonomous bartender, safely and flexibly pulling taps on the show floor.
IEN
CMCO Displays Conveyance Solutions from Dorner, Garvey
Columbus McKinnon’s (Charlotte, NC) booth featured live demonstrations from its leading conveyance brands: Dorner, Garvey and montratec. Leading off were Garvey’s accumulation and buffering solutions, with the Infinity and Bi-Flow accumulation tables moving many canned beverages showing that product can arrive at the next station on demand without any risk of downtime issues if a problem occurs further up the line. Dorner’s renowned low profile conveyance systems were also in action at PACK Expo. Leading it off was a demonstration loop highlighting the AquaGard & AquaPruf sanitary platforms. The AquaPruf family of conveyors deliver the highest level of sanitary attributes as they are designed to withstand high-pressure and chemical washes for sanitary applications. In addition to the sanitary loop, Dorner was exhibiting its newly released C3 Compact Curve Conveyor in a loop alongside the heavy-duty 3200 series retracting tail conveyor.
IEN
Encoder Products' Non-Contact Encoder
Encoder Products Company (Sagle, ID) used its PACK Expo booth to unveil the LP1 Accu-LaserPro, a non-contact encoder designed for packaging, labeling, material handling and industrial automation. Unlike traditional wheeled or shaft-mounted encoders, the LP1 Accu-LaserPro uses laser-based optical technology to measure speed and distance with no physical contact. Encoder Products also showcased its IO-Link absolute encoders.
IEN
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inspection Technology
Thermo Fisher Scientific (Waltham, MA) discussed how advances in inspection technology are helping food, consumer goods and personal care manufacturers raise the bar on both safety and quality. Products on display included the company’s NextGuard X-ray Detection Systems with Pack Division software, providing precision contaminant detection and the ability to identify missing or partial products within stacked packaging formats, solving challenges that traditional systems often miss. The new Sentinel 4000 Drop Through Metal Detector was also exhibited, featuring multiscan technology with five detection frequencies to deliver unmatched sensitivity for granular and powdered food products, cosmetics and chemicals.
IEN
Oriental Motor Demonstrates Material Handling Automation
Oriental Motor (Elk Grove Village, IL) displayed several motion control products, including a material handling demo. According to the company, this consists of two OVR robots, one 5-Axis articulated robot and one 4-Axis palletizer robot and two conveyors. In the picking station, a vision system capture the image of the target and recognize its location, and send then to the MRC robot controller through Ethernet IP communication. The MRC robot controller use its build-in function to calibrate the vision coordinate to the robot coordinate, and command the robot to pick the target and place the target into the shipping box using parallelizing command. After the packing is done, the conveyor carry/ship the package to the receiving station.
IEN
Kardex SnapVac and AutoStore 3D Engine
Attendees gathered to see the Kardex (Westbrook, ME) SnapVac automated grid cleaning solution, mounted on an AutoStore Red Line robot in a mini AutoStore Grid. SnapVac has been designed to keep the AutoStore Grid free from dirt and debris before it becomes a problem without interrupting operations. It maximizes uptime, reduces labor and maintenance costs, improves workplace safety by reducing the need for grid access, and extends the lifespan of robots.
IEN
Regal Rexnord's End-to-End Solutions
Material handling and packaging experts from Regal Rexnord (Milwaukee, WI) highlighted how to implement customized, end-to-end powertrain solutions to address challenges and increase overall equipment effectiveness. On display were the ModSort Divert and Transfer Modules for factory automation; IIoT connected conveyors, powered by Perceptiv Intelligent Reliability Solutions; and Kollmorgen AKMH and AKMA servo motors featuring IP69K-rated washdown-ready construction. The booth also featured the PriorityPal High Level Case Palletizer. The modular layout runs up to 10 layers per minute and easily switches patterns using an interactive HMI system, allowing the user to choose from 50 patterns.
IEN
Ashworth Plastic Spiral Belt
Ashworth Bros., Inc. (Winchester, VA) has introduced its new Plastic PosiDrive Spiral belt. Like their metal counterpart, Ashworth’s Plastic PosiDrive Spiral belt, all plastic design, delivers strength, consistency and versatility for bakeries and frozen food producers, said company leaders. With its smooth, no-snag edge, this belt offers a universal solution for lotension and direct drive systems alike, helping reduce waste, maintain product orientation and simplify cleaning. Ashworth is the only conveyor belt company that manufactures and services both metal and plastic belting for straight running, turn-curve, lo-tension and self-stacking spirals.
Ashworth
Matthews Marking Systems Proprietary XIJ Marking Tech
Matthews Marking Systems (Cranberry Twp, PA) unveiled its proprietary Axian Inkjet (XIJ) printing technology, a breakthrough innovation redefining high-speed, high-resolution product marking for consumer-packaged goods (CPG) and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industries. Utilizing XIJ, the new MPERIA Axian XIJ AX1000 Series printer merges the best attributes of Continuous Inkjet (CIJ) and Thermal Inkjet (TIJ) into a single, high-performance platform. As a closed-loop system, there are no solvent fumes or emissions; a compact design and easy maintenance have led the company to dub Axian a “game-changer.”
IEN
QAD Redzone’s Champion AI for Plant Problem-Solving
Redzone (Miami, FL) has introduced Champion AI, its latest suite of capabilities focused on enabling plant teams with AI-generated assistance. Champion AI delivers predictions and recommendations while also using agentic AI to carry out tasks on behalf of employees, to free up their time to work on solving problems. With Champion AI, users can proactively tackle real-world problems that occur in factories daily, including lowering costs for changeovers with predictions on run completion and changeover times; predicting run problems and receiving prescriptive recommendations to avoid them; and improving productivity and outcomes through agents that create work orders for fixing a top loss or triggering a safety incident form for a near miss.
QAD Redzone
Rite Hite’s One Digital Control Tower
Rite-Hite (Milwaukee, WI) displayed its One Digital Platform, a control tower that enables users to optimize facility throughput, prioritize maintenance, help mitigate safety incidents and act on meaningful analytics. The company hopes to address inefficiencies at the loading dock, such as extended trailer dwell times and unsafe working conditions.
IEN
NORD Motors, Drives and Gears
With over 20,000,000 standard configurations to choose from, NORD (Waunakee, WI) delivers precisely configured drive systems for end-of-line packaging applications, such as pick-and-place, labeling, filling, sealing, wrapping, strapping, and palletizing machines. Among the displayed products were the company's NORDBLOC.1 Helical Gear Units, UNIVERSAL SI/SMI Worm Gear Units and IE5+ Synchronous Motors, and the complete LogiDrive solution, which provides a standardized, service-friendly drive system that is ideal for high-volume packaging systems.
NORD
PACK Expo 2026 will take place in Chicago, Oct 18-21. For more information, visit www.packexpo.com.
