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One Last Look at 2022, With an Eye Towards 2023

PMMI President and CEO Jim Pittas reviews a successful 2022, with one eye focused on the future.

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I hate to start another column with a line I’m sure you have heard throughout 2022. Still, after the triumphant return of PACK EXPO International in October, it bears repeating. Although our industry has been slowing down a bit from unprecedented highs the past couple of years, our members continue to tell us that they have never been busier, yet familiar challenges remain.

The supply chain continues to be an issue, and experts from Bloomberg to economic forecasters at our Executive Leadership Conference indicate that will be the case through at least the end of 2023. PMMI provided two Town Halls addressing the issue, one from the manufacturers’ perspective and one offering a point of view from suppliers.

The workforce issue we have noted for years was reaching crisis levels has, unfortunately, come to fruition. This, coupled with record inflation, continues to challenge the packaging and processing industry and drive change. As we look back at 2022, I see our industry rising to these challenges, old and new.

As I mentioned, after four years, the industry came together in a big way at PACK EXPO International. As the largest packaging and processing event in 2022, the show attracted over 44,000 attendees, surpassing the 2018 event. Like PACK EXPO International, EXPO PACK México 2022 also returned after a four-year hiatus and provided nearly 19,000 attendees a place to meet and experience the best and newest packaging and processing technologies in the dynamic Latin American market.

Before those two one-of-a-kind events returned, PACK EXPO East in Philadelphia was the largest since its inception, serving as the premier packaging and processing event in the Northeast. Since producing world-class tradeshows is one of our most important jobs, in 2025, PMMI will launch PACK EXPO Southeast in Atlanta. 

Conveying Innovations Report
Editors report on distinguishing characteristics that define each new product and collected video demonstrating the equipment or materials as displayed at the show. This topical report, winnowed from nearly 300 PACK EXPO collective booth visits, represents a categorized, organized account of individual items that were selected based on whether they were deemed to be both new, and truly innovative, based on decades of combined editorial experience in experiencing and evaluating PACK EXPO products.
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Conveying Innovations Report
Annual Outlook Report: Workforce
Hiring remains a major challenge in packaging, with 78% struggling to fill unskilled roles and 84% lacking experienced workers. As automation grows, companies must rethink hiring and training. Download the full report for key insights.
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Annual Outlook Report: Workforce