2017 The Evolution of Automation, published by PMMI – The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, examines automation advancements across food, beverage, pharmaceutical, and personal care sectors using industry interviews and multi‑year market data while benchmarking adoption and integration patterns. The analysis indicates three focus areas: workforce and knowledge capture—training, documentation, and intuitive HMIs; digital transformation—data acquisition, IIoT/edge-to-cloud analytics, cybersecurity, and evolving standards; and machine integration and design—retrofits versus new purchases, modular flexible equipment, and robotics-enabled changeover. Emerging patterns show gradual, uneven adoption across company size and legacy assets, and charts highlight gaps in data utilization. The report reveals where engineering teams are prioritizing investments to strengthen operational resilience.
Published by PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies (Jorge Izquierdo, Paula Feldman) in August 2017; based on 61 interviews of end users, OEMs, technology suppliers, PMMI and industry surveys, and secondary analysis of ~125 articles, reports, and government data collected 2016–2017.
