"JAPAN PACK 2025," the Japan Packaging Industry Exhibition, showcasing the latest machinery and materials related to "packaging," began on October 7th at Halls 4-8 of the East Exhibition Hall at Tokyo Big Sight (Ariake, Koto-ku).
Organized by the Japan Packaging Machinery Manufacturers' Association, the event runs until the 10th. This 35th edition will feature 572 companies and organizations from Japan and abroad exhibiting in 2024 booths, exceeding the number from the previous event, and is expected to attract 4 visitors.
<A bustling venue>
"JAPAN PACK" showcases packaging machinery, packing machinery, packaging materials and containers, as well as related logistics equipment and services. This year's tagline is "BEYOND | Creating the Future of Packaging Together," focusing on DX (Digital Transformation) and GX (Green Transformation).
In recent years, with growing interest in issues such as population decline, labor shortages, and environmental protection, every booth has been promoting "labor-saving and efficiency improvements," "reduction in plastic usage," and "reduction in food waste and extension of food shelf life."
<Ishida's Auto Case Maker reduces the need for manual labor in box packing>
In particular, Ishida's booth highlighted "improved loading efficiency" alongside keywords such as "reducing resource costs" and "extending shelf life."
Calbee has recreated Ishida's automatic candy dispenser at the venue. Two types of heads, which use a suction mechanism similar to a claw machine, automatically stack three bags of candy at a time, then pack them into boxes in batches of 12.
<Slimmed-down box (left) and the previous box (right). Both contain 12 bags.>
This solution came about after Calbee consulted with Ishida about wanting to "reduce the height of the boxes and increase the number of boxes that can be stacked on a pallet." Ishida's auto-casing system can be configured in various patterns to accommodate different packing methods and box sizes. In Calbee's case, the slimming down of the boxes resulted in a 1.5 to 1.7 times increase in pallet stacking efficiency.
According to an Ishida representative, "Until three or four years ago, even when we proposed ways to improve packaging efficiency, it was often difficult to get customers to agree. However, in recent years, we have been receiving more inquiries due to rising raw material and logistics costs, legal changes, and the shortage of truck drivers. Manufacturers are also changing their approach, realizing that they must work together across production and logistics departments, and we believe that cases like this will spread to other companies in the future."
<Special corner for DX and GX>
The venue will feature special corners showcasing case studies of companies tackling challenges through "packaging x DX" and "packaging x GX," as well as areas for proposals from startup companies and other organizations, research results presentation corners from various universities, and "highlights tours" of noteworthy booths, along with seminars.
■JAPAN PACK 2025 (Pre-registration required)
https://www.japanpack.jp/
