PACK EXPO 2025 Highlights

How AI and Automation Are Reshaping Food & Beverage Manufacturing

At PACK EXPO 2025, one thing was clear: manufacturing is entering a new era: one defined by science-led AI, adaptive automation, and measurable sustainability.

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to travel to Las Vegas to represent Laminar at PACK EXPO 2025. The event showcased a variety of innovations across the food and beverage manufacturing, processing, and packaging sectors, united by a single truth: the industry is evolving faster than ever.

Walking the show and speaking with visitors, I gained insight into how automation, sustainability, and AI are converging to reshape the manufacturing landscape. Here are my four key takeaways from the show:

#1: AI/ML-Powered Manufacturing: From Data Collection to Decision Automation

AI in manufacturing is no longer a buzzword of the future, but now a crucial tool in business. PACK EXPO 2025 showcased various examples of AI-powered process optimization, including ML models that detect defects faster and more accurately than any human, autonomous adjustments and corrections of operations based on real-time data, and predictive maintenance.

This generation of digital transformation isn’t about collecting more data. Advancing technology is about converting data into decisions in real-time.

Companies are moving beyond traditional dashboards focused on historical data toward AI-powered systems that can learn from patterns, predict future outcomes, and automatically adjust operations to prevent inefficiencies or errors.

What this means:

• Expect tighter integration between sensors, AI, and PLCs.

• Decision automation is replacing static timers and dashboards.

• Real-time learning will define factory performance.

At Laminar, we’re helping manufacturers put science-led AI into motion, transforming data from every pipe and batch into real-time optimization. Explore how.

#2: Building Agility Into Manufacturing: Competing at the Speed of Change

If one message was taken from the show, it was that the pace of change in manufacturing is accelerating. Regulatory shifts, consumer demands, and technological advancements are all occurring in parallel, challenging companies to keep pace.

Those that thrive will be the ones who build agility into their operations through adaptable automation, sustainable system design, and autonomous correction. Agility becomes a strategic advantage, enabling manufacturers to meet market demands while balancing efficiency, sustainability, and innovation.

What this means:

• Agility is now a measurable competitive edge.

• Adaptive, closed-loop automation beats reactive operations.

• Fast changeovers and flexible systems drive growth.

Watch how Laminar helps manufacturers build agility through closed-loop automation in our latest video. Watch here.

#3: Smarter Automation: From Faster Machines to Adaptive Systems

Automation has long been at the heart of manufacturing, but at PACK EXPO 2025, the conversation shifted to closed-loop automation, marking the change from speed to intelligence AND adaptability.

The new generation of automation is about agility and responsiveness, machines and systems that learn, adapt, and optimize in real time. Across the show, exhibitors showcased systems capable of real-time adjustments, predictive maintenance, and modularity.

Flexible and proactive automation is becoming the new standard, paving the way for more resilient operations. Systems must handle dynamic production needs without significant downtime to keep up with ever-changing consumer demand. 

Closed-loop automation for F&B manufacturing is the gap between insights and throughput. 

As Laminar’s Head of Go-to-Market Sanjay puts it: “Operations teams don’t need another chart; they need automatic, real-time actions at the exact moment conditions change in the pipe. That’s the promise of closed-loop automation. Take closed-loop clean-in-place: detect the true state of the liquid, decide with confidence, and act directly on the recipe — safely, repeatably, and fast.”

What this means:

• Intelligence, not just speed, defines next-gen automation.

• Closed-loop systems turn insights into instant action.

• Predictive systems reduce downtime and waste.

#4: Sustainability Becomes a Strategic Imperative...and an ROI Driver

Sustainability didn’t just have its own pavilion this year; sustainable production was a business priority embedded into nearly every product demo and conversation. Materials and processes must be designed with a focus on resource efficiency and circularity. Companies have moved beyond reframing sustainability as merely a competitive advantage to now recognizing it as mission–critical.

In today's world, manufacturers must produce less waste while meeting consumer demand and maintaining quality expectations. The solution to staying ahead is in innovative, integrated automation that not only unlocks capacity but also reduces wasted product and utilities (water, energy, chemicals). 

It’s not enough to be sustainable. Sustainability has evolved from a value statement to a value driver, shaping priorities, profits, and long-term resilience. 

What this means:

• Sustainability must now drive efficiency and ROI.

• Reducing waste = higher margins and resilience.

• Green operations are now smart operations.

What’s Next: Laminar and The Faster Factory

PACK EXPO 2025 trends demonstrated how far food and beverage manufacturing has come and the opportunity for how far there is to go in the future.

The message from this year’s show was clear: the future of manufacturing demands both performance and sustainability, two principles that are no longer mutually exclusive.

It’s thrilling to represent Laminar as manufacturing enters a new era of possibilities. We’re leading and pushing boundaries to develop new solutions that help factories stay intelligent, agile, sustainable, and prepared for the future. 

Next up, our team headed to EATS in Chicago. Be sure to check out what we’re keeping an eye on at EATS 2025 here.

The future factory won’t just be faster. It will be smarter, more sustainable, and continuously improving itself. Laminar is helping manufacturers unlock that future today. 

Ready to see the ROI for yourself? Let’s chat.

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