- PACK EXPO Southeast
- 12 to 14 April 2027, Atlanta
- PACK EXPO Las Vegas
- 27 to 29 September 2027
- Organiser
- PMMI
- Las Vegas size
- About 2,300 exhibitors, 30,000+ attendees
- Southeast 2025
- 504 exhibitors, about 9,500 people
- PACK EXPO International
- 5 to 8 November 2028, Chicago
Sources: PACK EXPO Las Vegas show stats, TSNN on PACK EXPO Southeast 2025, PMMI.
PMMI runs two PACK EXPO shows in 2027. PACK EXPO Southeast returns to the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta from 12 to 14 April 2027, after a first edition in 2025 that drew 504 exhibitors and close to 9,500 people. PACK EXPO Las Vegas follows from 27 to 29 September 2027 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, with roughly 2,300 exhibitors and more than 30,000 attendees from over 40 industries according to the organiser.
For packaging machine builders, both shows share the same challenge. Visitors walk past hundreds of machines in polycarbonate guarding, most of them standing still. This guide covers how to use 3D animation and renders built from your CAD to make your machine the one people stop for, with a production timeline for both 2027 dates.
The PACK EXPO rotation, explained
PACK EXPO International in Chicago runs in even years (the next is 5 to 8 November 2028). PACK EXPO Las Vegas runs in odd years. PACK EXPO East (Philadelphia, next 21 to 23 March 2028) and PACK EXPO Southeast (Atlanta) alternate in the spring. For a machine builder this means there is a PACK EXPO every year, and a good set of visuals can serve two or three shows before the machine changes.
Why packaging machines need animation at a show
Packaging machinery sells on speed, format flexibility and uptime. A running machine on the stand shows speed, but it hides almost everything else:
- Format changeover is the question every buyer asks. Showing it live takes 20 minutes and a technician. Animated, it takes 20 seconds.
- Product path. Infeed, collation, erecting, loading, closing and coding happen too fast and too deep inside the guarding to follow.
- Line context. A case erector or cartoner is only one machine. Buyers want to see it in the line with the filler, the checkweigher and the palletiser.
- Options. You can ship one configuration. You can render all of them.
The asset set for a PACK EXPO stand
| Asset | Where it is used | Starting price |
|---|---|---|
| Booth loop, 30 to 60 s | LED wall or main screen, all day | From $3,900 |
| Changeover feature film | Sales screen, LinkedIn, follow-up emails | From $3,900 |
| Line film, 60 s | Meetings, website, distributor training | From $7,900 |
| Machine render set (5 views) | Booth graphics, show directory, press | $2,900 |
| Interactive 3D model | Touch screen at the stand, website | From $6,400 |
Rendering the machine once and using the same prepared model for all five assets is what keeps the total down. The second asset from a prepared machine typically costs 20 to 40 per cent less than the first.
Timeline for PACK EXPO Southeast (April 2027)
| Asset | Production time | Send CAD by |
|---|---|---|
| Process or line film (60 to 120 s) | 8 to 10 weeks | 18 January 2027 |
| Cinematic launch film | 8 to 12 weeks | 4 January 2027 |
| Feature highlight film (20 to 45 s) | 2 to 4 weeks | 22 February 2027 |
| Booth wall prints from renders | 5 to 10 working days, plus print | 1 March 2027 |
| Renders for pre-show emails and press | 5 to 10 working days | 8 February 2027 |
Timeline for PACK EXPO Las Vegas (September 2027)
| Asset | Production time | Send CAD by |
|---|---|---|
| Process or line film (60 to 120 s) | 8 to 10 weeks | 5 July 2027 |
| Cinematic launch film | 8 to 12 weeks | 21 June 2027 |
| Feature highlight film (20 to 45 s) | 2 to 4 weeks | 9 August 2027 |
| Booth wall prints from renders | 5 to 10 working days, plus print | 16 August 2027 |
| Renders for pre-show emails and press | 5 to 10 working days | 26 July 2027 |
Las Vegas falls in late September, after the European summer break. If your engineering team is in Europe, plan to send CAD before the end of June so nothing waits on approvals during August.
Sustainable packaging is the 2027 conversation
Brand owners in the US and Europe are moving from plastics to paper-based and mono-material packs, and they arrive at PACK EXPO asking whether your machine can run them. Paper-based formats behave differently: they are less forgiving in folding, gluing and sealing, and changeover settings matter more.
If your machine handles both conventional and paper-based materials, show both in the film. A split sequence, the same station running a plastic tray and then a fibre tray, answers the question before it is asked and gives your sales team an obvious opening.
Before and after the show
PMMI opens attendee registration months before each show, and buyers plan their stand visits in advance. A short clip of your machine, sent with a meeting invitation four to six weeks before opening, fills the calendar better than a generic invitation. After the show, the same clip goes into every follow-up email, so the visitor can show colleagues what they saw.
Three rules for packaging machine animation
- Show the product, not just the machine. Cartons, pouches, bottles and trays moving through the stations are what make the film readable.
- Count the cycle. A film that shows 120 cartons per minute should actually run at a rate that looks like 120 per minute. Packaging engineers notice.
- Make the changeover the hero. If you can only afford one short film, make it the changeover.
More examples are on our packaging machinery visualization page. For the European calendar, see our guide to FachPack 2027.
Written by Bilal Naseem, mechanical engineer and founder of 3DEnginuity. Questions about your own machine? Write to [email protected].
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