At the 2007 Packaging Automation Forum, keynote speaker Gregg Stedronsky, VP of engineering for General Mills, spoke on the topic of “between the vision and the plant floor,” identifying the gaps between technologies and standards.

Explaining the need for innovation, Stedronsky simply said “You can’t shrink to greatness.” Because while cost cutting can account for 20% of productivity increases, the other 80% has to come from innovation.

His presentation covered the role of “information everywhere,” the impact of the Pillsbury acquisition, and how packaging equipment that’s “worth it” can contribute to the vision. He also sought a “true north,” a guide to closing the gap between today’s factory floor and the future by taking a systems and enterprise perspective, aligning company strategies to industry working groups such as OMAC, supporting industry initiatives and embracing a philosophy of modular software “assembly” vs. “custom code.”

The General Mills keynote launched a day’s worth of presentations by Nestlé, Eli Lilly, Odom’s Tennessee Pride Sausage, Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals Germany, Frito-Lay, Tropicana and Make2Pack.

The event was sponsored again by charter sponsor and packaging automation specialist ELAU, packaging performance specialist Zarpac, plus a number of general purpose controls and HMI vendors.

Look for more reports on the second annual Packaging Automation Forum in future issues of Packaging Automation.

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