Taunton, MA, September 22, 2026 - Harpak-ULMA will showcase a broad cross-section of packaging equipment and automation at PACK EXPO International 2026, October 18-21 at McCormick Place in Chicago. Visitors can see live demonstrations in Booth S-2939 in the South Hall and meet with Harpak-ULMA’s healthcare packaging team in Booth W-20098 in the West Hall.

Built around flexibility, the exhibit will show how processors can adapt to changing products, package formats, sanitation requirements and production demands using equipment that can scale from individual machines to complete integrated lines. The main booth will bring together vertical bagging, horizontal flow wrapping, tray sealing, multi-head weighing and product distribution, alongside robotic handling and secondary automation demonstrations.

Next-Generation Washdown Bagging Makes North American Debut

The VTC 840 WD washdown vertical form-fill-seal system will make its North American trade show debut in the South Hall exhibit. Designed for demanding fresh-food environments, the next-generation VFFS platform combines full 360-degree IP66 washdown protection with smart recipe management, assisted setup, automated machine adjustments, and real-time production, OEE and utility reporting. Its redesigned mechanical and pneumatic systems are engineered to reduce electrical and compressed-air consumption while simplifying sanitation and operation. The VTC 840 WD will be showcased with multi-head weighing. Together, these technologies demonstrate how accurate portioning can be integrated directly with downstream packaging equipment. The booth will also include hygienic, scalable robotic cells supporting infeed and secondary operations, demonstrating how robotic handling can complement the packaging equipment on display.

Flow Wrapping Built for Changing Products and Applications

For horizontal flow wrapping, Harpak-ULMA will demonstrate the FM 305 and SIENNA. The FM 305 is designed for fresh-food flow wrapping, including modified-atmosphere packaging applications. With its sanitary stainless-steel architecture, emphasis on cleanability, reliable sealing and flexible product changeover, the FM 305 is also used in a range of medical device applications. The SIENNA provides a versatile HFFS option for multi-product environments, including irregular or difficult-to-drag products, and is compatible with modified atmosphere packaging. Independent motor control and an intuitive touchscreen simplify operation. Together, the systems demonstrate flexible flow-wrapping options for both food and medical device producers.

Tray Sealing Built to Scale and Adapt

Mondini tray-sealing technology will be represented by the Cigno, Trave 1000 and Trave Sinfonia. The compact Cigno is designed for smaller production batches and operations looking to scale automated tray sealing, combining a hygienic, accessible design with quick, tool-free format changes. The Trave 1000 combines G. Mondini Platform Technology with the ability to support multiple packaging formats on a single tray-sealing platform, giving processors a flexible foundation for changing products and retail requirements. Trave Sinfonia takes a different approach to tray movement, using software-controlled independent nests on a magnetic transport system to precisely manage tray position, speed and acceleration. The design reduces mechanical transfer points and supports flexible, modular loading and sealing configurations.

Medical & Healthcare Packaging Takes Center Stage in the West Hall

In the West Hall, Booth W-20098 will provide a dedicated setting for healthcare packaging. The booth will feature the TFS 300 medical thermoformer and give medical and healthcare manufacturers an opportunity to discuss thermoforming, flow wrapping, inspection and automation requirements with Harpak-ULMA’s healthcare packaging team.

PACK EXPO International 2026 takes place October 18-21 at McCormick Place in Chicago. Harpak-ULMA’s main exhibit is Booth S-2939 in the South Hall, with healthcare packaging in Booth W-20098 in the West Hall. Attendees can use registration code 50H14 for complimentary registration. Show details: https://www.harpak-ulma.com/harpak-ulma-at-pack-expo-chicago-26/

Regina, Saskatchewan, Sept. 24, 2026 – Tariffs and trade disruption are shifting the outlook for Canada’s food and beverage manufacturers from resilience to risk management, according to a mid-year update from Farm Credit Canada (FCC) Economics. Sales rose four per cent in the first half of 2026, but new U.S. trade restrictions, Canadian counter-tariffs and renewed energy and freight volatility are putting pressure on margins.

Canadian food and beverage manufacturing sales reached $88.1 billion in the first half of 2026, with the gain driven largely by higher prices rather than stronger volumes, the update shows. After adjusting prices, real sales were flat compared to the same period last year.

“The first half of 2026 shows the sector remains resilient, but the headline sales number does not tell the whole story. For manufacturers, the key issue is not just whether sales are growing, but what is driving that growth,” said Craig Johnston, vice-president and chief economist at FCC. “When gains are tied more to prices than volumes, it can signal that companies are still operating in a cautious demand environment while also managing higher and less predictable costs.”

Results varied significantly across the sector. Grain and oilseed milling, fruit and vegetable processing and animal food manufacturing recorded some of the strongest gains, while sugar and confectionery manufacturing, breweries and distilleries posted declines.

The operating environment has also become more challenging. Energy and freight volatility, higher input costs, U.S. trade restrictions and Canadian counter-tariffs are creating additional uncertainty around production costs, export opportunities and margins.

Margins are expected to improve modestly in 2026 after a difficult year, but the recovery is expected to remain fragile as trade and cost pressures build later in the year. FCC Economics’ estimates suggest the direct impact of the new trade measures will be limited in 2026 because most take effect only in September.

“As margins remain tight, diversification will become an increasingly important long-term strategy for food and beverage manufacturers,” Johnston said. “Reducing interprovincial trade barriers and expanding internationally can help open broader market opportunities. Helping the food and beverage manufacturing sector to achieve 3 per cent growth over the next decade could contribute an additional $40 billion to Canadian GDP over the next decade, while supporting 217,000 new jobs, $16 billion in wages and benefits and $1.3 billion in tax revenues.”

The mid-year update follows FCC Economics’ annual food and beverage report and examines how sales, costs and margins are evolving across Canada’s food and beverage manufacturing sector.

By sharing economic knowledge and forecasts, FCC provides insight and expertise to help those in the business of agriculture and food achieve their goals. For more economic insights and analysis, visit FCC Economics at fcc.ca/Economics.

Shibuya Hoppmann, a global leader in aseptic filling and automation systems, will exhibit at PACK EXPO International 2026, taking place October 18–21 at McCormick Place in Chicago. At Booth 2845, the company will debut its patent-pending FS-70-HS High-Speed Feeder, demonstrating a new high-throughput feeding solution operating at speeds of up to 800 parts per minute (bpm).

PACK EXPO visitors will have the opportunity to see the FS-70-HS in operation and speak directly with Shibuya Hoppmann’s technical team about high-speed part-handling requirements. The feeder will be displayed as a standard unit, allowing attendees to explore its capabilities and discuss how it may be applied within their own packaging, assembly, labeling, and processing operations.

Attendees are encouraged to bring their parts to Booth 2845 for testing during the show. This hands-on opportunity will enable manufacturers to evaluate potential part-handling performance and discuss the feasibility of a Shibuya Hoppmann feeding solution for their specific application.

The debut of the FS-70-HS underscores Shibuya Hoppmann’s continued focus on helping manufacturers improve efficiency, reduce manual intervention, and support consistent performance in demanding production environments. In addition to the new feeder, visitors can learn about the company’s broader portfolio of automation solutions engineered to support a range of industries and product-handling challenges.

To see the FS-70-HS High-Speed Feeder in action and discuss part-testing opportunities, visit Shibuya Hoppmann at Booth 2845 during PACK EXPO International 2026.

Siemens and Procter & Gamble (P&G), one of the world’s largest consumer goods manufacturers, are expanding the deployment of an AI-based quality inspection solution across P&G’s manufacturing operations worldwide. The system inspects products in real time during production, delivers comprehensive inspection coverage at full line speed and helps improve quality consistency. Depending on the product, scrap rates have been reduced by 10 to 20 percent.

The Visual Inspection Cockpit (VIC) is used in high-speed consumer goods manufacturing, where products consist of delicate, textured materials that naturally shift, stretch or wrinkle at high production speeds. Traditional vision systems often require extensive reconfiguration when materials, packaging designs or production environments change. By using Industrial AI, VIC can adapt more effectively to these variations and maintain inspection performance across a broad range of products.

Developed jointly by Siemens and P&G, the solution combines P&G’s deep learning models with Siemens’ Industrial Edge computing platform, industrial PCs powered by Nvidia GPUs and AI hardware and software. Siemens supports the industrial computing infrastructure, software scaling capabilities and long-term operation of the system across production sites.

"Our Industrial AI and Industrial Edge capabilities deliver what high-speed production demands: full inspection accuracy for thousands of products per minute, scalable from a single line to a global footprint. This collaboration demonstrates what we mean when we say we’re making industrial AI real," said Rainer Brehm, COO for automation and CTO at Siemens Digital Industries.

"We engineered this solution to solve a myriad of industry challenges traditional vision systems couldn't touch: accurate characterization of overlapping components, the subtlety of low-contrast defects, the complexity of highly decorated products and packaging, tight time coordination, real-time PLC integration with single product reject at high production rates with continuous inspection," said Paul Thomas, Director of Machine Vision and Applied AI at Procter & Gamble.

The Visual Inspection Cockpit (VIC) analyzes live camera images in real time and inspects every product passing through the production line. Unlike conventional rule-based vision systems, the AI-based approach can handle a wide range of product variations without the need for frequent reprogramming. The solution includes the Visual Inspection Engineering Tool, which enables plant engineers to configure, train and update inspection models directly, without requiring dedicated data science resources. This makes quality control more flexible and easier to maintain in complex production environments.

Inspection results are processed close to the production equipment on Siemens’ Industrial Edge and integrated directly into manufacturing operations. The system can automatically trigger actions such as alerts or the removal of defective products from the production line. Quality data can also be collected and analyzed over time, helping production teams identify trends and support continuous improvement efforts.

VIC is part of Siemens' broader machine vision and industrial AI portfolio, which includes the Industrial AI Suite. These solutions are delivered as standardized applications on the Industrial Edge platform. Together, they provide a consistent framework for deploying AI-based solutions at scale, regardless of whether the AI model is a custom development or Siemens-owned.

Because VIC is delivered as a reusable Industrial Edge application, new deployments can be commissioned five to ten times faster than traditional bespoke vision systems. With established infrastructure, DevOps processes and integration patterns, P&G can replicate the solution across plants, products and inspection scenarios with minimal overhead. The inspection data feeds into P&G's broader digital manufacturing ecosystem, providing real-time visibility into process stability and continuous improvement opportunities.