Next Generation of Workers Explores Packaging and Processing

Mike Richmond, a PACK Challenge judge and co-founder of packaging consultancy PTIS, said students might just need to be shown that packaging is an option.

Richmond says students can learn unique skills in engineering through their own interests, with roller coasters as a prime example. These students can bring that expertise and new thinking to innovate packaging technologies, and even learn from packaging to bring new ideas to other fields.

Thinking green could also help companies attract young talent, as “it’s important for them to be able to leave their footprint better than they started with,” Richmond says. “If [companies] don’t have a sustainability program, kids just don’t want to go to it.”

Richmond was tasked with judging each team’s marketing and design plan, and says he was impressed with their ingenuity and ability to identify what differentiated them.

“I thought the presenters were succinct, they were clear, they had a lot of novel little things that they added into it,” he says. “I couldn’t have been more proud of what they’re learning and what they put together.”

Packaging and Processing Crash Course at the Amazing Packaging Race

PMMIPerhaps the most noticeable students on the show floor were those participating in the Amazing Packaging Race, marked by their bright colored competition T-shirts as they rushed through the aisles.

These students were engineering majors from universities across the U.S., racing in groups to solve problems and complete tasks at participating booths.

“Each booth had a wide variety of tasks; one was programming a robot to go to certain points, some were answering questions, some were just listening to them talk and taking a picture with them,” explained junior Virginia Tech engineering student Noah Madel after the race.Amazing Packaging Race participants complete tasks on the show floor.PMMI

Madel joined his school’s packaging program last spring after touring the packaging lab, and “it just kind of exploded,” he says. “You can just do so much with it; there are so many applications for packaging.” 

Growth opportunities are top priority as Madel eyes the industry. He says he would like to see companies “demonstrate what their workplace environment is like, how much freedom you have and how much growth is available once you get there.”

Madel says he also looks for engaging and impactful work, hoping to “really put your mind to work and see your projects come to fruition.”

Race participant Jessie Imorde, also from Virginia Tech, picked up an interest in packaging through her school’s majors fair. She says getting attention from young engineers like her might be as simple as “explaining how things work,” as she had been introduced to several unfamiliar products at the show. 

Imorde stresses the importance of “making the industry more well-known, because people don’t really know what packaging is.”

Aidyn Voeltz, a sophomore at Northwood Tech in New Richmond, Wis., first entered engineering to learn about wiring and mechanics, but became fascinated by robotics in his time at school. 

Stepping onto the floor at PACK EXPO, “It’s almost overwhelming how much stuff is here, it’s unreal what you can learn just by connecting with companies, talking with people, and even just seeing most of this stuff,” says Voeltz. 

Packaging appeals to Voeltz for the variety of technologies and disciplines involved, with a chance to focus on wiring panels, programming, mechanical engineering, and more. 

“The room for growth, the different opportunities, obviously all the different directions you can go, it’s really amazing,” he says. “I never thought anything of it until I got into the program, and now it’s bigger and better than I could ever imagine.” Amazing Packaging Race participants head toward the show floor.PMMI

Zachary Weston, a Virginia Tech senior in the race, was drawn to packaging for the opportunity to have an impact on the environment. 

“I want to be able to make something that contributes to the world,” Weston says. “With packaging, the ability to cut down on these single-use plastics, or at least reduce their lifespan on this earth, is making a tremendous difference. Even if you’re just altering a few SKUs for a company, that’s thousands and thousands of pounds of plastic.”

Packaging design is what drew Virginia Tech student Joy Mendoza to the race. Packaging appeals to her in that it is “so interdisciplinary, from engineering, supply chain, to graphic arts.”

While packaging struck Mendoza as a great career option, “I think a lot of people aren’t aware that going into the package industry is possible,” she says.

Sustainability should also be at the forefront for brands, Mendoza says. She sees her generation focusing on environmentally friendly solutions, and more companies following suit with green innovations.