Nearly 50,000 packaging professionals met at Pack Expo

By Staff -- Modern Materials Handling, 12/1/2000

Packaging solutions, equipment, and supplies were among the products displayed at this year's Pack Expo. The 2000 edition of the nation's fourth largest trade show featured some 1,700 exhibitors jammed into nearly every conceivable space within Chicago's McCormick Place.

"We showcased machinery, materials, containers, and components," says Matt Croson of the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute, the show's sponsor. "Presented was the world of packaging technology."

Packaging is a $6 billion a year industry that has seen steady growth within a booming economy. The industry grew 2-3% in 2000, but estimates expect an even greater growth rate in 2001-as much as 7%.

Nearly 50,000 show attendees saw the latest in packaging designs, palletizers, shrink wrap devices, carton conveyors, plastic containers, and packaging machinery. Crosen says that this year's show occupied about 1.3 million sq. ft. of exhibit space, about 13% more than the 1998 show.

Croson says that a leading machinery trend represented at the show was the push toward super packaging machines that offer a wide range of features and high flexibility, but that occupy a smaller footprint within the factory. The use of robotics is also increasing as controls are improving and a tight labor market has promoted a greater use of automation.