PMMI, owner and producer of PACK EXPO International 2014, is pleased to announce more than 30 leading packaging and processing professional associations from all over the world will be on hand at PACK EXPO International 2014 (McCormick Place, Chicago; Nov. 2–5) in the Association Pavilion, on the Grand Concourse at the North Hall entrance.

PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, invited the organizations to exhibit as part of the PACK EXPO Partner Program (PEPP), a program that strengthens industry connections. The co-location of Pharma EXPO strengthens the potential connections even further, notes Jim Pittas, vice president, Trade Shows, PMMI.

“The PACK EXPO trade shows are about bringing the industry together — the entire packaging and processing supply chain — to spur innovation. With 50,000 attendees expected at PACK EXPO International and Pharma EXPO, PACK EXPO Partners will enjoy the opportunity to network with packaging and processing professionals and other like-minded associations,” Pittas says.

Mark Dingley, chairman, Australian Packaging and Processing Machinery Association (APPMA), says the group is in its second year in the program, because being at PACK EXPO helps APPMA achieve its goals.

“APPMA exhibited at PACK EXPO in 2013, and it enabled our association to raise its profile on an international scale and to assist companies who are looking to establish themselves in the Australian market by connecting them to our members. The program also enables APPMA to continue our relationship with PMMI as one of our international sister associations,” Dingley says.

PMMI’s mission centers on convening the packaging and processing supply chain, Pittas notes, and PEPP is a component of achieving that mission.

“PEPP is a clear example of how the packaging and processing communities come together at the PACK EXPO shows,” says Pittas. “PMMI knows how important our association partnerships are to furthering our industries and our missions. The partnership program opens the door to building and strengthening those partnerships.”

The Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI), another PEPP association, intends to use its time at PACK EXPO to promote its messages about the viability and sustainability of the can, says CMI Vice President, Sustainability, Megan Daum.

“CMI is excited for the opportunity to interact with and learn from other members of the packaging industry, as well as share our recent work and activities. We’re proud that the can is the smart and sustainable solution, and look forward to communicating that platform at PACK EXPO,” she says.

Associations from nine countries, representing all facets of processing and packaging, will be on hand for PACK EXPO International 2014:

• Adhesive and Sealants Council (ASC)
• AMEC – ENVASGRAF
• American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
• AIMCAL — Association of International Metallizers, Coaters and Laminators
• Asociacion Mexicana de Envase y Embalaje, A.C. (AMEE)
• Australian Packaging and Processing Machinery Association (APPMA)
• Brazilian Packaging Association (ABRE)
• Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI)
• China Food & Packaging Machinery Industry Association (CFPMA)
• Flexible Packaging Association (FPA)
• Foil & Specialty Effects Association (FSEA)
• Food Marketing Institute (FMI)
• Glass Packaging Institute (GPI)
• Independent Bakers Association (IBA)
• In-Mold Decorating Association (IMDA)
• Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP)
• Instituto Argentino del Envase (IAE)
• International Molded Fiber Association (IMFA)
• International Safe Transit Association (ISTA)
• Ipack-Ima
• Italian Trade Commission
• Japan Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Association
• Michigan State University (MSU) Packaging Alumni Association
• Midwest Food Processors Association, Inc.  (MWFPA)
• Northwest Food Processors Association (NWFPA)
• The Organization for Machine Automation and Control (OMAC)
• ODVA, Inc.
• PAC, Packaging Consortium
• PLCopen
• Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE)
• SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association
• TAPPI
• UCIMA — Italian Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Association

Learn more about individual partners at PACKEXPOInternational.com.

To participate in PEPP, contact Alaina Ann Herlihy: Alaina@pmmi.org

PACK EXPO International 2014 introduces the co-location of Pharma EXPO, which PMMI is producing in partnership with the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE). PMMI and ISPE anticipate the two events together will draw 2,000 exhibitors and 50,000 attendees in 1.15 million net square feet of exhibit space, stretching across McCormick Place’s Lakeside, North, South and West Halls.

Learn more and register online at packexpointernational.com or pharmaexpo.com.

About PMMI
PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, is a trade association representing over 650 packaging and processing supply chain companies that provide a full range of packaging and processing machinery, materials, components and containers. PMMI actively brings buyers and sellers together through programs and events such as The PACK EXPO family of trade shows, packexpo.com, PMT Magazine, PACK EXPO Show Daily, networking events and educational programs.

PMMI organizes the PACK EXPO trade shows: PACK EXPO International, Pharma EXPO, co-located with PACK EXPO International and presented jointly with the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE); PACK EXPO Las Vegas, PACK EXPO East, EXPO PACK México and EXPO PACK Guadalajara, connecting participants in the packaging and processing supply chain with their customers around the world. Coming Up: EXPO PACK México 2014, June 17–20 (Mexico City, Mexico); PACK EXPO International 2014, Nov. 2–5 (McCormick Place, Chicago); Pharma EXPO, co-located with PACK EXPO International 2014; PACK EXPO East, debuting Feb. 16–18, 2015 (Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia); EXPO PACK Guadalajara 2015, March 10–12, 2015 (Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico).

Learn more about PMMI and the PACK EXPO trade shows at PMMI.org and Packexpo.com.