Pack Expo: Center for Trends &amp; Technology focuses on solutions

Educational exhibit makes Chicago debut at PACK EXPO International.

Building on its success at PACK EXPO Las Vegas last year, the Center for Trends & Technology (CTT) – Improving Production through Innovation? (sponsored by Rockwell Automation and its PartnerNetwork Program) is making its PACK EXPO International debut.

Located in the South Hall (booth 3097), the exhibit will be more than twice the size of last year’s and will offer attendees a variety of educational opportunities. Cutting-edge learning sessions and dynamic displays will showcase trends, remote solutions, line integration technologies, cloud computing, track-and-trace technologies and manufacturing convergence.

“The CTT provides an action-oriented PACK EXPO experience for attendees,” says Mike Wagner, global packaging business manager, Rockwell Automation. “Our goal is for attendees to leave with solutions that will start solving their manufacturing challenges right away, and help them anticipate future needs.”

Topics for the 30-minute seminars include:

Anticipate and Take Advantage of the Internet of Things
Build a Secure Network Infrastructure and Enable Secure Remote Support
Collaborate with OEMs on Machinery Safety and Productivity
Anticipate the Impact of the Food Safety Modernization Act on Manufacturing and Supply-Chain Operations
Use Serialization Solutions to Reduce Risk
Use Line-Integration Techniques to Get Actionable Data Out of Machinery
Improve Network Security for Control Systems
Gather and Share Machinery Data throughout an Organization and Supply Chain via the Cloud

Representatives of PMMI’s Alliance for Innovation and Operational Excellence will also bring their collective voice to the agenda, discussing top-of-mind issues and best practices.

The CTT is one of several hubs on the PACK EXPO International show floor where attendees can sit in on free seminars, ask questions and network with peers, OEMs and industry leaders. It will include an interactive, virtual display of a baked-goods line, “ask-the-expert” kiosks, and speakers from companies including Cisco, Grantek Systems Integration, Interstates Control Systems Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Rockwell Automation and Stone Technologies Inc.

Readers can view a complete schedule under the “Education” tab on www.PACKEXPOInternational.com.

With more than 30 years experience in B-to-B reporting, writing and editing — the bulk of which was dedicated to covering the bakery, confectionery and snack industries — Pacyniak has chronicled changes within the food industry since the early 1980s. A Boston University journalism degree graduate, he worked for a variety of publications before joining BNP Media in 1994 as editor of Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery magazine. In 2001, he took over as editor-in-chief of Candy Industry until 2018.