As professionals in the packaging industry return from their well-deserved summer vacations, they will be able to kick-off the fall by finding the newest technologies at PROCESS EXPO. The show will take place on September 15-18, 2015 in Chicago’s McCormick Place and be the best place this year for food and beverage manufacturers to find the newest packaging applications.

Our show, which is co-located with the Dairy Show and InterBev Process, is designed so that food and beverage packaging professionals can navigate the show floor and easily find new technologies. With more than 300,000 square feet and over 1,000 solution providers that build machinery exclusively for food and beverage companies, attendees will find the best machinery that meets their needs.

As attendees get ready for their trip to Chicago, here are three exciting programs that should not be missed at PROCESS EXPO:

PROCESS EXPO University

PROCESS EXPO features one of the packaging industry’s most innovative educational programs with sessions throughout the four-day event focusing on the most pressing issues that food and beverage professionals face everyday.

This year’s PROCESS EXPO University will feature more than 35 hours of educational sessions put on by academics at fifteen of North America’s leading universities. These educational sessions take place on the trade show floor and are free of charge for all registered attendees. These session topics will include:

• Innovative Developments in Food Packaging
• Packaging Trends and Their Impact on In-Package Atmosphere
• The Role of Packaging in Food Fraud Prevention
• Advancement in Aseptic Processing and Packaging
• Dynamic Testing Packaged Food Products to Minimize Supply Chain Risk

Coming together to Defeat Hunger

At this year’s show, PROCESS EXPO is partnering with the Greater Chicago Food Depository to continue the Defeat Hunger campaign, a biennial food drive that aims to collect donations and food from the food manufacturing industry to feed Chicago’s hungry.

There will be an on-site food drive at McCormick Place during the show and attendees should come prepared to donate food or money. For more information on the Defeat Hunger campaign, visit fpsa.org and click on the Defeat Hunger button.

Strong partner in Europe

PROCESS EXPO partners with Messe Dusseldorf and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FOA) of the United Nations to implement and promote the Save Food initiative, which fights global food loss. The shared goal is to limit food waste globally and use that excess to defeat hunger worldwide. US food processing and packaging companies can play influential roles in this campaign by identifying and improving efficiencies in the food supply chain and communicating the value of saving food to the consumer.

The SAVE FOOD exhibit will be located at the entrance to East Hall during PROCESS EXPO. The interactive display will focus on the issue of food waste and presents solutions for consideration.

To sign up for PROCESS EXPO, visit myprocessexpo.com and, special to Packaging Strategies readers, enter packstrategies in the promo code section for your free pass. See you at the show!