Packaging Possibilities

The US will be competitive again in manufacturing. It's a bold claim, made by Tom Kelly, Executive Director and CEO of Automation Alley, a nonprofit focused on helping Michigan businesses succeed by embracing innovation and automation. “You know how you beat China?” he prods. “You make products of one.”Kelly spoke at the 2023 Advanced Manufacturing Minneapolis event on Tuesday, October 10. Packaging Digest talked with Kelly for a few minutes after his presentation to ask specific questions about possible implications for packaging. In this quick Q&A, Kelly addresses:• How companies should rethink their core competency, which should be satisfying customers (not making product);• What budget will replace the typical capital expenditures (it's not what you might think);• How critical it is to protect intellectual property; and• How to address packaging machine warranties as they relate to user-3D-printed replacement parts.

Packaging engineer Michael Johnston taps into his personal experience as a patient to spread awareness of how noisy medical packaging is and how traumatic that can be.

The food and beverage giant doubles down on packaging compostability, driving knowledge, technology, education, and (ultimately?) acceptance.

Data-driven decisions are far more successful than “going with your gut” when choosing the best packaging design for your brand.

Packaging departments for medical device manufacturers can now help save months of development time and up to a million dollars in development costs with the new PATH pre-validated package and process from Eagle Medical.

The label design for International Delight's new limited-edition Manhattan Hazelnut Mocha coffee creamer is “hilariously relatable” for fans of this popular TV show.

Having blazed a trail filled with packaging innovation, Michael Okoroafor looks back over the factors that have shaped his career so far, weighs in on being a proud black man for Black History Month, and projects what must happen to ensure the sustainable trajectory of packaging.

More new ideas from the inventive and passionate people of packaging energize our final Packaging Possibilities podcast recorded on-site at Pack Expo 2022.

Artificial intelligence and small-footprint automated packaging systems meet up with an engaged workforce and sustainable shipping at Pack Expo 2022, as Day 3 concludes. Oh, plus a couple of happy robots.

A busy Day 2 at Pack Expo 2022 nets digital printing news, notable machine designs, and impressive educational opportunities.

As Day 1 of Pack Expo 2022 wrapped up, we chatted about some standouts that we saw.

In this Packaging Possibilities podcast, Meaghan Ziemba, Principal of Mavens of Manufacturing, talks about the current state of engineering talent in the US and how packaging operations can rethink their personnel needs.

How do sustainability pledges made by brands align with the changing culture about the environment? What should package designers be doing differently?

In his “exit interview,” trailblazer Rich Hollander of Pfizer fame challenges pharmaceutical packaging professionals for the future and sets up shop to give back to the industry.

Spurred by a challenge from an ex-Pfizer packaging executive, let's figure out how to speed up delivery of your next packaging machine.

Here's what some packaging machinery partners are doing to ensure delivery of the systems, parts, or solutions you need to keep your packaging line running as it should.

In a gutsy move, Nestlé totally eliminated plastic packaging from its popular Smarties candies portfolio, more than 400 stock-keeping units. Adjusting production lines to run paper packaging — at the same speeds — was key to the project's success.

A medical-market first, the new ProMax OnDemand tray sealer prints, places, and seals lids at up to 14 cycles per minute.

Through a co-creation process with packaging machinery manufacturer R.A Jones, Bumble Bee Foods introduced a new paperboard multipack for tuna cans that is win-win: curbside recyclable for consumers and offers retailers a more-flexible in-store display.

What will innovation in medical packaging look like? Inventor Nick Webb sees a connected, traceable, intuitive outlook that's dummied down.

Global foodservice manufacturer Golden State Foods shares helpful advice on how best to source packaging today.

We can't solve the plastics packaging pollution issue by reducing or eliminating material, but we can innovate our way out of it, says a Mars executive. In this Earth Day 2022 Packaging Possibilities podcast, Anders Bering, Vice President, Global Public Affairs of Mars Inc., explains: • Why Mars supports this treaty; • How we think about the plastic pollution problem in different ways in different parts of the world; • The promise of advanced/molecular/chemical recycling, especially for flexible packaging; • How the treaty will impact plastic packaging.

In caring for COVID-19 and other patients, Nurse Vanessa Warner relies on sterile packaging to keep critical medical products safe for use. And, for that, she'd like to thank you. But she also has an ask.

Think of it. The virtual world opens up new scenarios for customized packaging experiences, virtual unboxing, and testing new designs. Packaging Digest noodled on this concept with Brent Lindberg, Head of Curiosity at packaging design firm https://www.fuseneo.com/ (Fuseneo). In our conversation, we jumped into the rabbit hole headfirst to unpack the challenges of designing for a new reality.

Frito-Lay will debut new commercially compostable packaging — made from 85% renewable plant materials — at a popular music and art festival this April.

I wanted to talk about shelf-life performance, and we did. But Absolut's Director of Future Packaging veered into marketing and manufacturing — because they're all connected.

How can we solve today's manufacturing and packaging challenges, the likes of which we haven't seen since the Great Depression? Here are some surprising ideas.

The Loop reusable packaging concept, which started as an ecommerce shopping platform, continues its quest to an in-store retail model with its launch in select US stores.

A Texas company's intricate reusable containers keep Team USA's delicate luge sleds safe on their way to and from the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

You can boost the overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) of your packaging machines and packaging lines in a low-lift/high-return kind of way.

It's time to rethink what packaging sustainability departments do and why. Sustainability leader Bob Lilienfeld and I explore two core shifts led by https://www.packagingdigest.com/sustainability/what-spring-and-why-it-needed-packaging-now (SPRING), the new Sustainable Packaging Research, Information, and Networking Group. Lilienfeld is founder, Executive Director, and ombudsman for this virtual think tank designed to help all stakeholders make effective decisions about sustainable packaging development. In this Packaging Possibilities podcast, Lilienfeld explains why SPRING: 1. Advocates changing Reduce, Reuse, Recycle to Reduce, Reuse, and Recover. 2. Believes the goal of waste reduction is really greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction. Does this mean in the near future there might be a single carbon-footprint measurement for products and packages that can be https://www.carbontrust.com/what-we-do/assurance-and-certification/product-carbon-footprint-label (communicated simply on-pack) to consumers? What predictions does Lilienfeld make for packaging sustainability in 2022? http://www.springpack.net/ (http://www.springpack.net/) https://www.linkedin.com/in/boblilienfeld/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/boblilienfeld/)

LiquiGlide CEO Dave Smith reveals exciting developments for the super-slippery coating including Colgate's next-generation, recyclable toothpaste squeeze bottle; turnkey, ready-to-use LiquiGlide-optimized packaging developed by a renowned industrial designer; emerging categories and applications including viscous, high-value medicines and vaccines; dramatic yield-loss reductions in processing operations; consumer feedback finds the coating greatly increases loyalty.

Instead of fighting over graduates from packaging schools, you might do better to recruit your next hire from Google. Find out why in this podcast.

Packaging operations have benefitted from robotics, improvements in vision technology, and motion control. In some cases, adding artificial intelligence (AI) as another layer could exponentially boost flexibility and profitability.

To Come

Packaging ecommerce expert John Blake sees Amazon's new push for more Frustration-Free Packaging as an opportunity for brands to optimize their ecommerce packaging in three areas: boosting consumer delight, lowering costs, and meeting sustainability goals.

Innovative Ways Packaging Can Reduce Food Waste

Sustainability visionary Nina Goodrich expounds on insights from Earth Day founder Denis Hayes, the implications of the US rejoining The Paris Agreement on climate change, using carbon as a uniform measurement (or not), and an exciting program for SPC Impact 2021, happening now.

Lisa Pierce, executive editor of Packaging Digest, talks about remote machine servicing with John Henry, changeover wizard at Changeover.com. Like telemedicine visits, remote servicing for packaging machines and packaging lines skyrocketed during this past pandemic-year. What's the likelihood that this will become the new normal?

Lisa Pierce, executive editor of Packaging Digest, talks about reusable packaging — specifically, reusable primary packaging — with Jason Foster, founder and chief reuser of Replenish. No longer the red-headed stepchild of sustainable packaging, reusable packages shine in the spotlight now. As well they should. They've earned it. But it's just the beginning of awesome.

A look at macro trends in trucking, IT, and banking reveals areas where minor packaging shifts could make major contributions to a company's profitability in what will be a difficult year financially.

Dan Felton, executive director of https://www.ameripen.org/ (AMERIPEN), talks with http://www.packagingdigest.com (Packaging Digest) executive editor Lisa McTigue Pierce, about predictions for 2021 about packaging producer responsibility policies.