Industrial robot sales in the Americas are estimated at $3.5 billion, with the market for industrial robots sold into the food, beverage and personal care industry projected at $456.1 million, or 13 percent of all industrial robot sales in the Americas

Reston, Va.; Feb. 22, 2019 — Industrial robot sales in the food and beverage processing market continue to grow and now represent the second largest growth sector behind automotive, according to the new Rapid Growth Ahead for Industrial Robots in Food and Beverage Processing infographic released by PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies.

Industrial robot sales in the Americas are estimated at $3.5 billion, with the market for industrial robots sold into the food, beverage and personal care industry projected at $456.1 million, or 13 percent of all industrial robot sales in the Americas.

Applications for industrial robots are moving into meat processing, fruit and vegetable handling and pick and place for processed foods. This expansion is due to technology advances such as end of arm tooling or gripping technology, robots being able to withstand hygienic and harsh conditions, the introduction of collaborative robots, easy programming and set-up, flexibility and the advances in artificial intelligence.

Robot selection varies upon application. Processors looking to add robots to their manufacturing lines are looking at payload, working envelope, footprint, speed, accuracy and repeatability. For full details, download the complete white paper.

The upcoming ProFood Tech (March 26-28, 2019, McCormick Place, Chicago) will showcase the latest advances in robots for food and beverage processing. As the only processing trade show in North America addressing all market sectors, ProFood Tech will bring together 7,000 professionals from all food and beverage processing markets.

Produced by three of the world's trade show leaders, PACK EXPO, Koelnmesse (organizer of Anuga) and the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), the three-day event will showcase cutting-edge crossover technologies and innovative solutions from 400 exhibitors over 125,000 net square feet of exhibit space.

ProFood Tech's free educational program, the Knowledge Hub, produced by IDFA, will offer a targeted range of learning experiences in three venues on the show floor. The program will address pressing business challenges with fresh ideas and strategies from respected leaders in the food and beverage industry, discussions on best practices and deep dives into consumer trends that are changing the food and beverage landscape.
• The Impact Zone will encourage interactive discussions and offer opportunities to learn from the experiences and successes of industry colleagues.
• The Innovation Zone will feature breakthrough technologies, ideas and formulations designed to spark creativity, help find solutions and uncover fresh opportunities.
• The Disruption Zone will deliver a line-up of sessions for professionals to learn more about implementing disruptive technologies to meet consumer demands.
PMMI's Packaging & Processing Women's Leadership Network will present "Leading Change," an interactive breakfast on Wednesday, March 27 from 8:00 to 9:45 a.m. Featured speakers, Diane Wolf, a former VP at Kraft Foods turned consultant, and Karen Norheim, EVP at American Crane and Equipment Corporation, will share how they navigated the manufacturing business to become a leader within their companies. Register here.

ProFood Tech registration is $30 until March 1 after which the price will increase to $100. Register online at profoodtech.com.


About the Producers of ProFood Tech
ProFood Tech is produced in partnership by PMMI, Koelnmesse (organizer of Anuga) and the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA).

PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, represents more than 850 North American manufacturers and suppliers of equipment, components and materials as well as providers of related equipment and services to the packaging and processing industry. It works to advance a variety of industries by connecting consumer goods companies with manufacturing solutions through leading trade media, as well as the world-class PACK EXPO portfolio of trade shows - PACK EXPO International, PACK EXPO Las Vegas, Healthcare Packaging EXPO, PACK EXPO East, EXPO PACK México and EXPO PACK Guadalajara.

Koelnmesse GmbH - Global Competence in Food and FoodTec: Koelnmesse is an international leader in organizing food fairs and events regarding food and beverage processing. Trade fairs such as the Anuga, ISM and Anuga FoodTec are established world leaders. Koelnmesse not only organizes food trade fairs in Cologne, Germany, but also in further growth markets around the globe, for example, in Brazil, China, Colombia, India, Italy, Japan, Thailand, the United States and the United Arab Emirates, which have different focuses and contents. These global activities enable us to offer our customers a network of events, which in turn grant access to different markets and thus create a basis for sustainable and stable international business. The events regularly organized by Koelnmesse take place at different intervals and attract more than 53,500 exhibiting companies from 122 countries, as well as approximately 3 million visitors from 221 countries.

The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, D.C., represents the nation's dairy manufacturing and marketing industry, which supports nearly 3 million jobs that generate more than $161 billion in wages and has an overall economic impact of more than $628 billion. IDFA members range from multinational organizations to single-plant companies. Together they represent approximately 90 percent of the milk, cultured products, cheese, ice cream and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States and sold throughout the world. The diverse membership includes numerous food retailers, suppliers and companies that offer infant formula


Learn more about ProFood Tech by visiting profoodtech.com.