If you are regular reader of this column, you are likely aware of the competitive advantages provided by PackML in August’s “Get Ready for IIoT: 5 Reasons to Implement PackML Now.” Your company may even be planning to implement PackML. So where do you start?

Packaging is constantly changing, and to keep up with consumer and retail/CPG demand, we have to look at the future as "now." Thinking ahead in order to make trend predictions and how machines and materials can be used is one way to help stay ahead in the ever-changing market.

When the pace of sales overwhelms the pace of production, the immediate response is often to increase packaging line speed, usually by buying the latest machinery. But before investing in high-speed tablet counters, desiccant inserters, cappers and neck banders, consider how a faster machine may affect the other steps in the packaging line. Here are some tips before deciding to invest in the latest automated machinery. 

Specialist company Theegarten-Pactec presents its latest developments for packaging chocolate products: CFW-D, the high-performance packaging machine for overwrapping chocolate products with a top performance capability of up to 1,400 products per minute.

Allied Electronics will begin operating under a new trade name and will be known as Allied Electronics & Automation, effective immediately. The company’s ownership and staff have not changed. 

Wildeck Inc., has earned the prestigious Most Valuable Supplier Award for 2018. The MVS Award is granted by the industry’s trade association, Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association (MHEDA).  

A Q&A with Natalie Schmid, product market manager, thermoforming at Multivac. She weighs in about today’s food packaging and the consumer trends that are shaping the marketplace.

Motion Controls Robotics, a leading provider of custom robotic integration solutions with 24/7 service & support, will wxhibit  at the one-day 2018 Converters Expo South, held in the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, February 6, 2018.