“Skills gap is worsening in U.S. manufacturing industry” paints a rather dire view on the state of manufacturing for the glass half-empty people, whereas the headline: “Addressing the skills gap in manufacturing” indicates that a more proactive problem-solving approach is occurring for the glass half-full crowd.

Could you afford to lose 31.2 million working days? According to The Labor Force Survey, this figure illustrates the volume of unplanned worker absence due to non-fatal workplace injuries. Industry leader in apparel distribution, Ralawise, believes automation could be the solution.

JBT has signed an agreement to acquire the company, subject to regulatory approvals. The deal will allow Proseal to further expand its business by providing access to JBT’s global sales and service network. 

ProSeal's new ProTest solution allows users to create the best seal each time, combining effective protection of the contents with the right level of ‘peelability’ that ensures maximum consumer convenience.

While vacuum skin packaging has been available for the past several years, the technology seems to be gaining momentum as a preferred package of choice for more premium food options. This shift toward greater acceptance is due in large part to newer films that can accommodate products of different shapes, high protrusions and sharp edges.

The RPX-SW series of modular robotic palletizers integrated with an Orion automatic stretch wrapper allows small- to medium-sized businesses to quickly and easily advance from manual to automated robotic palletizing and stretch wrapping.

Piab has introduced piLIFT SMART, a more energy-efficient, quieter, ergonomic vacuum lifter that uses the same principles of physics as all vacuum lifters and is the market’s first Industry 4.0-ready vacuum lifter. 

The ability to custom design corrugated packaging for specific use underlies its versatility and performance in a wide variety of product and distribution scenarios. To design and engineer an efficient and cost-effective package, it is important to understand the package performance requirements of the environment.

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.

Curcio has over 20 years of field sales experience in the packaging industry; most notably with Hartness International, Hoppmann and Mettler Toledo.