As noted in the previous article, there is a trend away from rigid control specifications to give OEMs more freedom to work with the best control platform for their design, fostering innovation and cost savings.

This lets OEMs become a full partner in more of their customers’ packaging automation strategies.

This is possible because international standards have matured and packagers are realizing both cost savings and productivity advances when they accept the best engineering advice of trusted machinery suppliers.

Of course, packagers aren’t throwing the doors wide open, rather, they are accepting a short list of preferred suppliers that meet their business and technical criteria. Automation suppliers first need to demonstrate a global presence, financial and platform stability, conformance to international standards in programming and communications—and of course, a demonstrable performance advantage.

With platform independence, machine builders suddenly have more options. That includes embracing automation technology that’s widely adopted outside the United States—technology that U.S. machine builders are anxious to leverage.

For packagers, it’s about not forcing major redesigns that can inadvertently impair performance, add hardware and engineering costs, impact delivery and commissioning schedules, and stifle innovation.

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