Normally I’m allergic to feel-good stories about the food industry, partly because most of them come from people with specific agendas, but mostly because I’m a sourpuss.
But even I couldn’t fail to be impressed by Pack Expo Las Vegas, which concluded Sept. 29. There was an air of optimism throughout the show that could penetrate the armor of the most hardened cynic.
It starts with raw numbers. The show had 22,500 registered attendees, which is not as good as previous years but better than expected.
More important is the quality of the leads those people generated. The exhibitors I spoke with almost universally raved about what great leads they were getting. It’s like no one goes to a show anymore unless they’re ready to buy something.
PMMI, which puts on Pack Expo, has the numbers to back that up. According to a presentation by Jorge Izquierdo, vice president for market development, the market for packaging and process equipment went up 14.4% last year, to $12.3 billion, compared with maybe 6% in a normal good year.
It’s not all sweetness and light, though. Machinery manufacturers are struggling to meet the surge in demand: Izquierdo said there’s a backlog of equipment, ordered but not yet delivered, of $3.14 billion.
That struggle was reflected on the show floor. Several manufacturers had to settle for video demonstrations of their new equipment, because it was in so much demand that every available machine was being shipped. “I can’t make a customer wait so I can show something here,” one of them told me.
In many cases, they have to compete for basic materials with other users, in other industries. I was absolutely astonished when a manufacturer of motors and gearboxes told me that they were making some of their equipment out of specially treated aluminum because they couldn’t get enough stainless steel. That shortage of stainless cropped up in conversations again and again.
Proof, I suppose, that every silver lining has a stainless steel cloud.
