Pack Expo, one of the largest trade shows in North America, will team up with Process Expo in Las Vegas, scheduled for Oct. 5-7 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Converting & Package Printing Expo will co-locate with Pack Expo, which will showcase the latest in printing, coating, slitting and other modern finishing processes.

Andrew Abraham, vice president of Our Own Brands for Supervalu stores, will be this year’s keynote speaker at Pack Expo, taking over for Mike Witynski, who was named president of Shaw’s Osco and Star Market. Abraham will challenge packaging suppliers, contract packagers and designers to bring innovative technologies and concepts to the private label sector.

Additionally, Doug Palmer, vice president, Own Brands of The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., will provide insight into the evolution of store brands and examine evolving consumer perceptions of the market.

Palmer’s Oct. 5 address, “Future of Retailer Packaging and Branding: the A&P Story,” will explore key elements needed to launch and sustain a strong retail brand, such as quality product, innovative packaging and the brand itself. Several case studies will be cited, including the introduction of Atlantic & Pacific’s Via Roma product line, to demonstrate how to build value into a private brand.

“The ‘A&P Story’ will offer a first-hand account of how one retailer is changing consumer perception of private label with the implementation of sound branding strategy that not only differentiates the product but also attracts people to the store,” says Charles Yuska, president and chief executive officer of the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute, sponsor and producer of Pack Expo.

Closing the keynote programming on Oct. 7 will be Steve Ryder, store design and planning director, Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market, and Kevin O’Donnell, founder, Thread Collaborative. The duo will provide a behind-the-scenes look at how Fresh & Easy has established itself in the United States and its commitment to engage consumers in new ways.

A sampling of the conference, which will be held in five concurrent tracks on Oct. 5-6 and three concurrent sessions on Oct. 7, includes digital package printing, sustainability, economics, the legal landscape, coding and material alternatives. Additionally, there will be 52 individual presentation sessions covering a broad spectrum of packaging market topics from design and branding to emerging technologies and operational issues.

Pack Expo will deliver an audience of more than 21,000 purchasing decision makers representing a wide range of industry end-users, including food and beverage/wine, bakery and snack, cosmetics and toiletries, dairy, drugs and pharmaceutical/medical, chemical, candy and confection, raw materials, paper and textiles, electronics/parts, computer hardware/software, entertainment, soaps and detergents, and more.

Packagers can register for the keynote addresses and the entire conference at www.packexpo.com. Registrants who submit forms before Sept. 24 will be charged $55 per session; after that date and on-site, the fee is $75.


New equipment, solutions

Today’s food safety issues are raising several eyebrows as to how to prepare, plan and execute when faced with recalled products.

This and many other reasons are why interested participants should register for Process Expo, a must-attend show that is complete with the newest developments in processing technology to meet the challenges faced by the industry’s food and beverage manufacturers.

For example, companies can learn how to increase production time while lowering cost, reduce packaging without compromising safety, lower turnover time, discover new developments in “green” and sustainable equipment and find additional sources of revenue or business-to-business contacts. Furthermore, the trade show, located at the upper south hall of the convention center, will demonstrate state-of-the-art equipment in the bakery, beverage, confectionEry, dairy, fruit and vegetable, meat and pharmaceutical sectors.

Additionally, it will attract buyers representing every market segment of the food industry from the United States and more than 75 countries. Visitors come to see and purchase the latest in food processing equipment, air and liquid handling, engineering/architectural design services, cooling/freezing and instrumentation/controls.

The convention will open with a keynote speech from Jeff Wooster, senior value chain manager at Dow Chemical Co., discussing the hidden sustainability benefits of plastic packaging.

Other topics include how digital printing plays a role in brand packaging; sustainability package case studies; introductions of high-barrier, biodegradable packaging; value-added facts; and what the future has in store for the packaging industry.

Scott Lucas, executive director of packaging, North America for Interbrand, will close the convention with a discussion on building recession-proof store brands.

Interested participants will be able to visit more than 1,200 exhibitors, learn from industry experts in more than 50 conference sessions, view working demonstrations and industry innovations and attend all three shows for the price of one.

Packagers can register for the show at www.myprocessexpo.com. Registrants who submit forms before Sept. 24 will be charged $30; after that date and on-site, the fee is $60.

Go towww.dairyfoods.comto receive updates on seminar information.


PMMI space maxed out

PMMI’s Brand Zone is sold out, with 160 materials and container suppliers taking more than 45,000 square feet of space. The size and scope of the Brand Zone will direct brand owners and marketers to leading, innovative solutions providers during the event. Pack Expo currently boasts a roster of more than 1,000 exhibitors in more than 500,000 net square feet.

“Demand to exhibit in The Brand Zone exceeded our expectations - clearly the market is strongly focused on brand management and how packaging can grow sales, protect products and meet sustainability efforts,” Yuska says. “We’re pleased that so many companies have approached PMMI to exhibit at Pack Expo Las Vegas and take advantage of the Western Hemisphere’s largest packaging event in 2009.”    

Participants can contact PMMI’s Show Department at 703/243-8555 or expo@pmmi.org.