PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2011: The Choice for Processing & Innovation

Consumer packaged goods companies attending PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2011 (Las Vegas Convention Center, Sept. 26–28) will be balancing consumer demands with efficiency and productivity, according to PACK EXPO producer PMMI’s findings from Vision 2015 focus groups.

PMMI most recently conducted the Vision 2015 focus groups at last year’s PACK EXPO show. Consumer and industry trends impacting the entire production line, from processing to packaging, include increased attention to food-, employee-, and environmental-safety issues, sustainability issues, and packaging and products considered ‘unique’ by consumers.

“Consumers demand and reward innovations in products and packages—especially those that deliver convenience, value and safety,” says Charles D. Yuska, president & CEO, PMMI. “In September, PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2011 will be home to technologies and concepts from processing and packaging suppliers committed to helping their customers find new ways to address consumer demands and to improve efficiency and productivity—from processing to packaging to warehousing.”

The September 2011 show marks the first appearance of processing equipment on the PACK EXPO Las Vegas show floor.

“We’re excited about bringing processing to PACK EXPO Las Vegas. Attendees at last year’s PACK EXPO International let us know they were pleased to come to PACK EXPO and find total systems solutions. I am certain PACK EXPO Las Vegas attendees will have the same reaction,” Yuska says.

For Nestlé Global Technician Procurement Manager Stephane Boubee, the expanded show meant widening his sourcing horizons.

“The show allowed me to initiate some commercial relationships with suppliers I didn’t know before. PACK EXPO is definitely a ‘must-be-at’ show,” Boubee says.

Attendees at PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2011 will also find the solutions they need up and down the line. The food industry (42 percent of attendees) is well-represented, but is only one of many industries sending decision makers to PACK EXPO. Regardless of the products an attendee manufactures — food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, and the like—PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2011 will deliver solutions from robotics and automation to food safety, filling, and palletizing.

To help attendees focus their efforts, PMMI is introducing several new exhibit areas at PACK EXPO Las Vegas, including the brand-new Pharmaceutical Pavilion.

“Once we expanded PACK EXPO to include processing equipment, pharmaceutical solutions providers approached PMMI and requested a concentrated presence at the show, starting in Las Vegas in 2011. As we explored the concept, we found their customers were just as enthusiastic. With its location in the Central Hall, The Pharmaceutical Pavilion will be an ideal spot for attendees looking for total systems solutions to support their processing and packaging of pharmaceutical products,” Yuska says.

2011 marks the 55th anniversary of PACK EXPO, first launched in 1956, and the 16th year since PMMI launched PACK EXPO Las Vegas.

“Since 1956, PACK EXPO shows have mirrored the industries they serve, and today’s CPG companies see production as a single, continuous function,” Yuska says. “Our goal is a PACK EXPO experience that allows attendees to get the seed of a branding idea, and find sources for it all, from the drawing board to production to the store shelves.”

In addition to The Pharmaceutical Pavilion, special features like The Brand Zone, the Confectionery Pavilion, sponsored by the National Confectioners Association, and the Processing Zone will showcase the suppliers attendees like Jeff J. Strong, director, global engineering, Starbucks Coffee, need to see to have that experience:

“PACK EXPO is the best way for us to meet with [our suppliers] and learn about new technologies,” Strong says. “PACK EXPO will be in the lead as new trends emerge throughout the year,” Yuska notes, “and will address them with an assortment of exhibitors and displays that offer greater variety and more potential to inspire innovation."