Emerson Demonstrates Floor-to-Cloud Solutions at PACK EXPO

At PACK EXPO 2025, Emerson provided an exciting glimpse into the future of packaging automation that extends from the shop floor to the cloud, and everything in between. The main thread throughout the exhibit was the Floor-to-Cloud automation architecture, a vision that connects operational and information technology (OT/IT) to improve productivity, performance, and sustainability.

Monitoring Machine Performance

Although the emphasis is on Industry 4.0 solutions, Emerson’s booth displayed real-world technologies and live demonstrations, which are always an excellent way to bring clarity to difficult concepts. One interesting display was an operations control tower, a (simulated) system of energy and asset monitoring. It provided a visual representation of how Emerson can produce real action items from the factory floor to decision-makers.

Monitoring air consumption is one of the best examples of analytics for predictive maintenance.

The display shows how packaging facilities can collect real-time data about performance, energy consumption, asset health, and production efficiency. Using custom dashboards and analytics, software can provide insights into moving from reactive problem-solving to predictive decision-making. Although predictive maintenance is a common talking point, the ability to increase efficiency is a major benefit that comes from data analysis.

The Entire Automation Process

Another Emerson highlight was a component assembly demonstration, meant to offer a closer look at what a fully integrated automation system looks like in action. The demo pulled together an improved line of technology from the Branson brand, a machine used for ultrasonic welding of plastic components.

Emerson Branson’s ultrasonic welding machine, on display at PACK EXPO cutting food products.

The machine featured a newly-added touch screen operator panel that provides not only feedback about the operating parameters of the device, but can also allow input of batch recipes and other interactive elements that are far more difficult when only knobs and buttons are available.

High-Speed Control

Control and motion fit together like a glove in Emerson’s high-speed pick-and-place demo, which focused on energy efficiency and throughput optimization. In this booth example, a robotic set of grippers was used to pick and place products from an indexing rotary table, all at a very high speed.

This motion system showed Emerson’s advanced motion control technologies, but also demonstrated how motion systems can be integrated into the Floor-to-Cloud concept as well. Compared with more conventional pick-and-place setups, this demo highlighted a few key examples of reduced air consumption, fewer wear components, and optimized control algorithms.

A rotary indexing motion control demonstration.

Emerson’s Solutions for all Organizational Levels

All of the booth demos were brought together by Emerson’s Floor-to-Cloud architecture, a vision of pulling all operations and assets into one platform that can achieve better results for any industrial operation. Through this connected approach, OEMs and end users can monitor every level of their production process, reducing waste, increasing uptime and efficiency, all while aligning with corporate sustainability goals. Emerson’s booth of exciting demos at PACK EXPO reinforced the company’s strong commitment to helping packaging operations become more connected into the future.

All images used courtesy of the author.