Advances in all areas of automation technology continue to enable packaging operations to do more with less. New mechatronic solutions, which combine the principles of mechanical and electronic engineering for more flexible and adaptable machinery, take the next step.

OMAC and OPC Foundation jointly released a PackML OPC UA Companion Specification in 2018 — a nearly two-year effort to standardize how PackML information should be modeled in OPC UA. Since its release, technical solution providers have started to create real implementations of the specification.

Packaging Strategies had a conversation with Romaco's Nicola Orsini about track & trace challenges, solutions and the future.

There are a wide range of solutions that can be used to increase the shelf life of capsules, tablets, pills and other pharma products. Among these are PVC, PCTFE, PVDC and thermoform blisters for less sensitive products or Alu-Alu cold form blisters for APIs that are more sensitive.

Advances in the global nutraceuticals market are being driven by an established, growing middle class with disposable income to spend on filling nutritional gaps, according to "A New Day Dawns for Nutraceuticals" infographic by PMMI.

The LEONI B-Flex P³ by LEONI offers a flexible, slip-resistant attachment solution for industrial robots especially for the food and beverage, pharmaceutical, serving picking, packing and palletizing applications.

The global pharmaceutical packaging market is set to grow over 5% year-over-year in 2019, and bottles will remain highly sought after, followed by blisters, vials and ampoules.

Clariant announced a new flat-profile molecular-sieve desiccant, ADP Plate, along with an expanded line of Dri-Card laminated-film desiccant cards. Both products are FDA compliant.

While the growth in online purchasing drives changes from product design, to package changes, picking, fulfilling and shipping, product protection stands alone as the main issue, according to the E-Commerce: Think Inside the Box report by PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies.

Allied Electronics & Automation has announced the addition of the new TM Series of Collaborative Robot (Cobot) from Omron to its product portfolio.