This year's conference, organised by Packaging Valley member company SMC Deutschland GmbH in Egelsbach, offered around 60 participants from the packaging industry an exclusive platform to discuss the latest trends in mechanical engineering. Phillipp Bittermann (neue verpackung) and Martin Buchwitz (Packaging Valley Germany e. V.) hosted the conference.

In particular, modular machine concepts and the increasing importance of targeted digitalisation for machine manufacturers and users were highlighted.

After the welcome and introduction by representatives of SMC, Packaging Valley and neue verpackung, Jörg Dahlhoff, Strategic Market Manager at SMC Deutschland GmbH, opened the programme with a presentation on ‘New approaches & technologies for modular machines’. He focussed on communication between machine modules and electric drive technologies. "Our developments focus on flexible and efficient production that meets the current requirements of the market," he emphasised.

Ben Bessert, Managing Director of Zebra Engineering GmbH, presented his company's modular ecosystem, which enables machines to quickly adapt to different packaging requirements. In a dynamic industry that increasingly relies on customised packaging, modular systems are essential to ensure high adaptability and efficiency. "Our ecosystem shortens the time to market and ensures increased system availability with low complexity," explained Bessert.

The second part focused on digitalisation. Ingo Hamel, CTO of Rovema GmbH, explained how digitalisation in mechanical engineering is changing the design and functionality of flow-wrapping machines and end-of-line packaging systems.

The event concluded with a discussion panel in which all speakers once again addressed the industry's pressing issues. It became clear during the discussion that caution continues to prevail with regard to data transparency, particularly in the pharmaceutical sector. Understanding the added value and security of data sharing is crucial here. "The concerns are understandable, but in fact production data alone is not very meaningful for outsiders in most cases," was one of the comments here. However, the discussion showed that the protection provided by patents and the specific expertise of employees often offer sufficient security so that the opportunities of data utilisation outweigh the risks. It is important here to reduce fears and promote a culture that sees targeted data availability as an advantage always taking into account the high standards and requirements that the packaging and, in particular, the pharmaceutical industry places on its production processes.

The event offered space for networking and intensive dialogue between experts who want to actively shape the future of packaging machinery manufacturing. Martin Buchwitz was also very satisfied: "The great interest and positive response from participants showed that the topic, speakers, content and format struck a chord. The Packaging Machinery Day format has proved its worth and will certainly be continued."