The packaging industry is among the most dynamic industries in the world and mainly packaging associated with food products. This industry is known to undergo transformation almost every day, with new technologies replacing old ones on a daily basis. The consumer behavior, product demand and current level of global production status all have an impact on the development of packaging equipment technology.
Packaging Industry Composition
This industry is composed of two major components which are namely the supply side which comprises of packing and filling machine manufactures and the demand side comprising of the end users. There has been very high growth stimuli on both ends of the industry each driven by the growth stimuli in each of the sectors.
Packaging Machinery
Packaging machinery and equipment are central to products processing and marketing. They serve various functions such as canning, container cleaning, filling, forming, bagging, packing bottling, sealing wrapping, labeling and many other operations. Special machines have been developed for these tasks such as;
The list of upcoming packaging machines is endless and more innovations are still coming up.
Packaging Solutions in Developing Countries
The packaging industry in developing countries is rapidly developing .With the ongoing industrialization and economic developments; the population in these countries is gradually shifting to consumption of processed foods as opposed to the traditional diet systems
Packaging Technology Drivers and Trends
This trend to consume more, which is a reflection of rising incomes, creates a demand that drives producers to offer products in a ready to go packages. There are known to have longer shelf life and likely to be purchased in bigger volumes. With the knowledge that meal preparation takes time, and both family members are working, packaged foods become extremely popular and subsequently a demand pull is created in for the various types of filling machines.
Role of the Packaging Machines
Liquid filling machines such as the Product oil filling machine and sauce filling machines are used for packaging of various products which mainly include liquid foods, pharmaceuticals, edible oils, cosmetic fluids and even machine lubricants. Actual products may include shampoos, liquid soap, body lotions, honey, fruit juice, sauces, agricultural chemicals, disinfectants, polishes, paints, adhesives and many more products. With the use of these filling machines for bottles and vials, manufactures have been able to achieve very high output capacities and achieving distribution to very wide areas.
Challenges in Packaging Machines Marketing and Utilization
While the technological advancements are still ongoing, certain factors may have checked the usage of these machines in developing countries. These include;
- Availability of after sales service and maintenance services for imported equipments. This can be overcome by introducing in country after sales service units and spare part stores in these countries.
- Smaller scale manufacturers with the best machines for these developing countries may not have adequate access to the international markets or experience in exporting these machines and offering after sales services.
- Filling machine manufacturers only consider the developing countries as marginal markets which are only important when the traditional markets have low demand. This marketing gap must me suitably addressed.