Report engagement, cutting-edge automation and AI improvements, and high-demand training periods drive present momentum.
(Herndon, Virginia, Feb. 20, 2026) Celebrating its tenth 12 months, PACK EXPO East returned to Philadelphia, drawing greater than 7,300 attendees and a pair of,700 exhibitor personnel — totaling over 10,000 packaging and processing professionals — for 3 dynamic days of innovation, training, and business-building connections. Produced by PMMI, The Affiliation for Packaging and Processing Applied sciences, the occasion (Feb. 17-19; Pennsylvania Conference Middle) showcased the most recent developments in automation, sensible manufacturing, sustainable supplies, and AI-driven options shaping the business’s future.
“The power all through the present was distinctive,” says Jim Pittas, president and CEO, PMMI. “PACK EXPO East brings collectively superior applied sciences and decision-makers prepared to take a position. The extent of engagement this 12 months underscores the power of our business and the demand for progressive, automation-driven options.”
The regional occasion offered attendees with three high-energy days to discover cutting-edge equipment, breakthrough supplies, superior automation, and sensible manufacturing applied sciences remodeling the business. This setting facilitated significant discussions, enabling exhibitors to higher perceive attendees’ wants and ship tailor-made improvements. Attendees loved seeing new applied sciences, improvements, supplies, and dealing equipment on the present flooring. Exhibitors had been happy with the standard of the leads they generated through the present.
“That is my second time at PACK EXPO East, and it is unbelievable to see how a lot the present has grown — from the variety of exhibitors to the quantity of kit working dwell on the ground. As an exhibitor, the expertise has been great. We have related with many high-value prospects who might not have identified about us earlier than, and we have generated sturdy leads,” says Suzanne Bakiewicz, senior enterprise growth consultant, SourceAmerica.
Moreover, attendees got here with tasks in hand, able to supply options. “We have participated in PACK EXPO East since its launch, and this 12 months has been particularly sturdy for us. Visitors has been regular, and what’s most enjoyable is that clients are arriving with lively purposes, even bringing pattern elements, so we will begin creating options immediately. Past the exhibit flooring, the training periods, MaX Advertising Breakfast, and Packaging & Processing Girls’s Management Community Reception add actual worth to the general expertise,” says Stacy Johnson, vice chairman of enterprise growth, Hoosier Feeder.
Having decision-makers on-site made the distinction for a lot of exhibitors. “PACK EXPO East delivered precisely what we had been hoping for. The foot visitors was sturdy all through the present, and extra importantly, the appropriate patrons had been right here. We met our lead objectives, which speaks to the standard of attendees. From move-in to sales space companies and general exhibitor facilities, the whole expertise was seamless,” says Travis Nelson, gross sales engineer, ParityFactory, an Advantive Firm.
PACK EXPO veteran and producer of conveyor elements Lisa Khoury, president, POBCO, Inc., agrees: “We have had nice foot visitors. The conversations have been spot-on. We’re speaking to the appropriate folks. They’re bringing their issues, and we’re trying ahead to offering them an answer.”
Options for among the business’s prime tendencies crammed the exhibit corridor. Packaging and processing professionals witnessed the advantages that applied sciences resembling AI, automation, and versatile equipment can ship, together with improved effectivity, lowered downtime, and assist for long-term development.
Attendees got here to PACK EXPO East in search of options. “A couple of of the challenges I am trying to clear up right here at PACK EXPO East contain sanitation and automating our processes, since handbook operations have grow to be a bottleneck. It is solely day one, and we have already discovered an answer that I want we may reduce a PO for as we speak. We’re coordinating a website go to after the present and are excited in regards to the subsequent steps. I used to be genuinely offered on what I noticed and actually appreciated the presentation at PACK EXPO East,” says Ijon Stewart, upkeep engineer supervisor, Complete Meals Market. “PACK EXPO East is native, which makes it a lot simpler for our staff to attend. For our engineers and manufacturing managers, we’ve got to be strategic about time away from the amenities, and PACK EXPO East provides us a transparent view into what the business has to supply and the way we will deliver these improvements again to our staff.”
PACK EXPO East supplies native model homeowners with the chance to find out about key applied sciences and improvements. “We’re a startup in search of concepts on secondary packaging options which might be value environment friendly and provide extra automation than what we’re at the moment doing. We heard about PACK EXPO by an e mail from one of many exhibitors, and because the present is true in our yard, it made sense to attend. That is our first PACK EXPO, and there are a ton of distributors to community with, together with nice training alternatives,” says Colleen Nestler, undertaking engineer/COO, GMP Liquid Components.
Schooling periods are a key a part of the PACK EXPO East expertise. “My function is concentrated on sustainability, so I am in search of alternatives to scale back supplies, particularly with EPR [extended producer responsibility] laws in thoughts. That is my first PACK EXPO occasion. Whereas gear is not my focus, it has been attention-grabbing to see how the fabric and automation components match collectively. We plan to attend a number of Innovation Stage periods to be taught extra, and we have additionally been utilizing the PACK EXPO app to navigate the present,” says Amelia Flintrop, senior buying supervisor, sustainability & innovation, Saint-Gobain.
“It is my first time at PACK EXPO East, and I used to be blown away by the machine demonstrations — particularly in robotics. I got here in assuming these options could be far exterior the finances for a small batch facility, however after talking with the representatives, it is clear there are alternatives for everybody. It was completely definitely worth the drive, particularly with the present being so shut,” says Abdiel Sanchez, assistant distiller, Trippy Goat Distillery.
A number of new options efficiently debuted on the present flooring, together with the Containers and Supplies Pavilion — a devoted vacation spot for paperboard, glass, metallic, versatile, and resealable packaging improvements supporting model refreshes and sustainability initiatives. The Incubator Hub, introduced in partnership with Ben Franklin Know-how Companions, spotlighted Pennsylvania-based startups and rising applied sciences shaping the following wave of business development. The SMB FastTrack Program continued to assist small and medium-sized producers by figuring out exhibitors providing versatile financing, reductions, and value-added companies tailor-made to smaller enterprises.
Schooling periods had been in excessive demand all through PACK EXPO East, as attendees packed theaters to realize insights into the business’s most urgent tendencies and challenges. Among the many most well-attended was Developments and Challenges Shaping the Way forward for Pharmaceutical Manufacturing. Primarily based on PMMI’s newest business report, the session examined the operational hurdles dealing with producers and highlighted the increasing function of automation, connectivity, and data-driven gear in driving effectivity, compliance, and long-term development.
Two standout periods targeted on getting ready the packaging business for the swap from conventional 1D barcodes to 2D barcodes by the GS1 Dawn 2027 deadline. One session defined how Amazon Transparency and GS1 are working collectively to assist manufacturers use one barcode for product monitoring, anti-counterfeiting safety, and buyer engagement. The second session lined the sensible steps corporations must take now to verify the change occurs easily throughout the availability chain.
Networking receptions gave key teams the chance to calm down and join. Each the Younger Professionals Networking Reception and the PPWLN Reception introduced collectively report numbers of execs.
“The engagement we witnessed at PACK EXPO East confirms that the business is actively investing in new expertise resembling automation, digitalization, and smarter manufacturing methods,” says Laura Thompson, vice chairman, commerce exhibits, PMMI. “Our purpose is to create an setting the place innovation is accessible, conversations flip into partnerships, and concepts translate into actual operational progress.”
An Abundance of Options
Up subsequent, probably the most complete packaging and processing present within the Americas this 12 months, PACK EXPO Worldwide 2026, supplies in-person interplay with dwell equipment, supplies, and different merchandise associated to pharmaceutical packaging and processing. With attendees from 40+ vertical industries and a pair of,600 exhibitors convening, the chances for connection and innovation are limitless.
Held Oct. 18-21, 2026, at Chicago’s McCormick Place, PACK EXPO Worldwide brings collectively 48,000 attendees from across the globe and affords quite a few networking and academic alternatives in addition to seven present flooring locations just like the Healthcare Packaging Pavilion, Meals & Beverage Processing Zone, and the Containers and Supplies Pavilion, showcasing cutting-edge applied sciences.
The present additionally presents a mess of free instructional levels with greater than 150 periods on the present flooring, the place attendees can dive into specialised subjects and be taught from international business leaders. Matters vary from automation and AI to laws and provide chain administration.
Be taught extra about PACK EXPO Worldwide 2026.
