I was not only blown away by the size of Pack Expo, but also by the thought of how many opportunities the packaging industry will have to offer me. Now, entering my fifth year at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, I have followed up my first experience with two more trips to the Chicago show. Yet it never ceases to amaze me when I meander down the walkways and around the pavilions how huge an impact our “little known” industry has: cutting edge technology driving sustainability, whole packaging lines designed to run any product on the market today, new types of materials constructed to meet the toughest consumer need. These are just a few examples of the many exciting exhibits one can see.
As a student, the Pack Expo show breathes new life into our academic studies. Classes such as Packaging Machinery, Materials, and Package Development begin to add up when theories in the classroom are put into action right in front of your eyes. The ability for a student to walk down an aisle and see five of the same type of machines, to compare and contrast them, to fully understand the unique characteristics of them, is priceless. And interacting with the manufacturers of these machines allows an exclusive insight into why certain machinery is designed a particular way.
