I recently attended PACK EXPO International, considered North America’s largest event for the packaging and processing sectors, which took place October 18-21, 2026.

This biannual event has become a favorite not only for the chance to learn about the technologies and trends shaping an important customer market for many of Power & Motion’s readers but also to have the opportunity to see pneumatics in action.  

And pneumatics solutions could be seen throughout the show floor at PACK EXPO 2026.

Even as automation and electric alternatives become more prevalent, it was evident from walking around the event and my discussions with companies that there is still a strong reliance on pneumatics in packaging and processing.

As one subject matter expert from Festo told me during our discussion at the show, you can see a lot more electric actuation at the event but there is still a need for so-called dumb air.

Festo’s new soft gripper technology on display at the show, the HPSX adaptive gripper, is a perfect example of this. It utilizes vacuum to provide a soft grip on delicate objects that would not be possible with other technologies.

There were also plenty of examples of “smart” pneumatics on display at PACK EXPO as well. For instance, OEM Wexxar Bel demonstrated its new IPAK FS100 automatic flange sealer which pairs servo motors and pneumatics to quickly seal corrugated trays.

Emerson included at its booth a demonstration of how it can help bring together electric and pneumatic technologies as well.

“These days, we see a lot of customers electrifying, moving towards electric actuation,” Jonathan Mitchell, part of Emerson’s application engineering team, told me during a visit to the company’s booth at PACK EXPO. “But electric actuation isn't a one size fits all solution.”

“For example, if you're handling very delicate parts, electric actuators move to a set position every time, repeatedly. But if for some reason your part is off center [or] it's moved it'll very easily [be crushed],” he said. “That's just how [electric actuators] work. They're high speed, high precision, but there's no forgiveness.

“Pneumatic systems, on the other hand, are driven entirely by whatever pressure you give them,” he continued. “So, if you're using them for grippers, you control exactly how much force is going on that part. And if there's a little variability from part to part, that doesn't matter because the pneumatics don't know, they just know what force they are, they know what pressure they're at, [and] they're going to maintain that pressure.”

Bringing electric and pneumatic together, end users get the best of both technologies which can enable to achieve performance, efficiency and other operational goals.

These are of course just a couple of examples of the pneumatics technologies that were on display at PACK EXPO this year. Flip through the media gallery at the top of this page to see these and other demonstrations of pneumatics in packaging and processing.