This week, Legacy’s Robotics Team, Wired Up – 8516, headed to Chicago for the PACK EXPO International Event. “Back after four years, the industry came together in a big way at PACK EXPO International (Oct. 23-26, 2022). The show convened over 44,000 attendees, surpassing the 2018 event. With  2,200 exhibitors showcasing groundbreaking packaging and processing innovations over 1.2 million net square feet at McCormick Place in Chicago, PACK EXPO International was the one and only time the entire industry came together this year.

The show opened its doors with the industry ready to do business after years of consistent growth, reported show owner and producer PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies. In 2019, the market for packaging machinery was $10.8 billion, this year the industry broke the $15 billion mark, a growth of 40%, according to PMMI’s State of the Industry U.S. Packaging Machinery report.

Developing the future packaging and processing workforce was a top priority at PACK EXPO International with the largest number of students in attendance in history of the event. More than 1,500 students attended the show and participated in many opportunities to get them excited about careers in this industry. In addition to the prestigious Future Innovators Robotics Showcase, educational Amazing Packaging Race sponsored by Emerson, and Students PACK the Expo programs, this year six teams faced off in a brand-new machine building PACK Challenge, sponsored by PepsiCo.

With robust education offerings, the focus on developing our industry went beyond students. PACK EXPO International held over 120 education sessions, beginning with the one-day Emerging Brands Summit, making its debut at the show. The education continued throughout the show on various on-floor stages, offering educational sessions such as the Innovation Stage, Processing Innovation Stage, PACK to the Future Stage, The Forum, and Reusable Packaging Learning Center.

Additionally, the PACK EXPO Association Partner Program connected attendees to leading associations from all segments of packaging and processing. This year’s program was the largest in PACK EXPO history with 50 partners.”*

LCA’s Robotics Coach, Todd Kruse explains, “The students are on cloud nine from this experience. We are very blessed with the opportunities and I am thrilled to be a part of this experience for these students. This will be in their top three highlights of the year for these students this year. [It is a] Unique experience that most students will never experience…even at most colleges.”

*Excerpt from PACK EXPO Press Release. Read the entire PR here.