Unique university partnerships connect today’s packaging professionals with those of tomorrow
As millennials enter the manufacturing workforce, work style differences with their older colleagues seem to attract more attention than the innovation strides that these young professionals and students are making. That won’t be true at PACK EXPO East (Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia; Feb. 16-18, 2015). Show owner and producer, PMMI, has organized special displays and demonstrations that spotlight the achievements of packaging and engineering students from Rutgers University and Vanderbilt University.
The Future of Pneumatics (Booth #858), sponsored by Vanderbilt, the National Fluid Power Association (NFPA) and The Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power (CCEFP), will showcase advancements in pneumatic technology, including live demonstrations of the school’s pneumatic exhaust gas recovery system. The team says its system can help companies meet sustainability goals by reducing air consumption of pneumatic actuators by up to 25 percent. This system is neither commercialized nor widely used yet, and the display will offer attendees an early look into the next generation of pneumatics technology.
Rutgers’ elite Packaging Engineering Program (Booth #1067) will present The Packaging Design Studio to demonstrate the latest student-developed packaging equipment. The new technologies on display will include automated systems for loading and unloading, custom-order snack mix production machines and innovative packaging prototypes.
The contributions of students from Vanderbilt and Rutgers at PACK EXPO East represent just a few of the early manufacturing achievements of the millennial generation, fueling heightened expectations for this group. According to Inspiring the Next Generation Workforce: The 2014 Millennial Impact Report, from The Case Foundation, this group of workers is over 35 million strong, with approximately 14 million 20- to 24-year-olds and almost 32 million 25- to 34-year-olds employed in the United States as of April 20141.
“Companies must continue to adapt to the rapidly changing face of the workforce,” says Maria Ferrante, vice president, Education & Workforce Development, PMMI. “Hiring millennials can come with distinct advantages. The students who participate in the Rutgers and Vanderbilt programs exhibiting at PACK EXPO East exemplify the drive, talent and commitment to excellence that they share with so many of their counterparts in engineering programs across the country.”
PACK EXPO East will be an important destination where professionals of all levels of experience and backgrounds will discover the latest innovations in processing and packaging. Be sure to attend The Future of Pneumatics demonstration in Booth 858, it will offer attendees an illuminating glimpse into the future of packaging and processing.
To learn more and to register for PACK EXPO East, visit Packexpoeast.com.
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