On the first day of Interpack 2008, hordes of still bushy tailed journalists joined the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute (PMMI) to hear its views on the current and future condition of the packaging market in the US and beyond.

The trade association has more than 500 members who manufacture packaging and packaging-related converting machinery in the USA and Canada.

Charles Yuska, president and CEO of PMMI, started on a sombre note, declaring that there had been no growth in the US packaging market in 2008, and that it was also a slow year for manufacturing in the region. However, on a brighter note, it would appear that the food market was one of only a few industries which had shown a modest increase.

The PMMI has identified a continuing trend towards packaging automation. Yuska said that 85% of PMMI member's customers had reported a desire to improve their productivity to help achieve better results. This is leading to the increasing use of robotics for pick-and-place applications to help improve productivity, and would indicate that, in the US at least, packagers are still intending to purchase new packaging machinery to replace older equipment; to accommodate new product lines; to help increase production; to enable packaging automation; and to improve uptime, reliability and maintenance costs.

"Even with difficult economic conditions triggering fewer decisions to buy, we expect companies will see the value in replacing older equipment to ensure they maximise production capacity and ultimately lower costs." said Yuska.

A report undertaken by the PMMI found that 22% of its member's customers currently use robots, with three or more axis, while an additional 21% expect to use robotics on their packaging lines in the next five years - of these figures, 34% were from the food and food preparation markets, giving a strong indication that automation of packaging lines in the confectionery market should be a consideration for all confectionery manufacturers to ensure that they stay ahead of the competition. Robotics and automation technology can also play a big role in helping to meet another trend identified by the PMMI - a reduction of packaging materials.

www.pmmi.org