UAE packaging industry mixes greater automation with sustainability themes

Dubai: A lot of automation packed with some help from emerging AI solutions. But the packaging industry will still need a human touch to make it all work seamlessly.

That’s the sentiment expressed by industry insiders at the Prime Packaging Summit 2023 in Dubai, with the UAE packaging market size estimated at 12.1 billion units in 2022 and expected to grow at 3 per cent or thereabouts.

Sonya Kayani is regional Communications Director at Tetra Pak, and she is absolutely sure that even with further advances in automation, human resources are vital in the industry. “AI is definitely something worth looking at - it can design according to certain peripheries but it cannot bring that human judgement into packaging design, which is something we specialise in,” she said. “We cannot discount the role of the human resource that brings a world of knowledge and expertise.”

Sustainability theme

The other concept that keeps getting the attention of the packaging industry and of its clients is more sustainability inputs. “Seventy per cent of participants (in a recent Tetra Pak survey) say that products should not harm the environment,” said Kayani, adding that an average carton produced by the company is made of about 70 per cent paperboard, 25 per cent plastic and 5 per cent aluminium to protect its contents.

It recently launched an ‘aseptic’ beverage carton featuring a paper-based barrier. “This is part of a large-scale technology validation, involving around 25 million packages,” she said. “All this means that our industry should continue to innovate and improve our approach to sustainability to come up with packaging solutions that are made of renewable or recycled materials, fully recyclable, and carbon neutral.”

Aseptic packaging relates to processes by which micro-organisms are prevented during and after the packaging. It is part and parcel of an industry that is adopting cutting-edge solutions to help secure what’s inside.

“Owing to the complex nature of the kind of packaging e, the role of digital evolution, artificial intelligence and automation is critical,” said Romeo Bandini, General Manager of ipack. “We involve a number of automation processes to ensure human intervention is minimised. Beside, these systems also ensure quality inspections of the materials we produce.”

Automation and more of it

“Right from design to printing the end product, automation has well seeped into our industry,” said Bandini. “We have developed a whole system of accepting digital orders from customers. AI is also pushing our production numbers.”

3D comes in handy

Ranesh Bajaj, Director at Vinsak, is another who rates a combo featuring high-tech coupled with human dexterity as central to the packaging industry’s future.

“Digital evolution has played a key role in product designs - we use AI to create a design. We then use a 3 D printer to actually create a prototype and show to clients.

“Having said, the human element is equally critical in feeding the data for the technology to deliver. So while AI and automation is the way forward, the human element cannot be taken away.”