Morrison Container Handling Solutions Hosts Build Day to Kick Off Student Mentorships for PACK Challenge

GLENWOOD, Ill. – PACK Challenge, a real-world, end-to-end competition at PMMI produced PACK EXPO International 2022 (Oct. 23-26; McCormick Place, Chicago), continued momentum with a Build Day hosted at Morrison Container Handling Solutions on July 12, 2022.

Nancy Wilson, CEO of Morrison Container Handling Solutions, is the chair of PMMI’s Future Workforce Committee which developed this program for PACK EXPO International 2022. The program stemmed from the committee’s work to expand the future workforce in the packaging and processing industries.

PACK Challenge brings together local high schools in the greater Chicago area to participate in this pilot program that requires creativity and collaboration for designing, building, programming, debugging, and marketing a real-world piece of packaging equipment.

“We are excited to introduce this first-of-its-kind competition and watch the students roll up their sleeves in a real-world application while they learn,” says Jim Pittas, president and CEO, PMMI. “One of our main priorities is getting students involved at a young age and showing them the doors the manufacturing industry can open. This competition will give them first-hand experience of what a career in manufacturing could look like.”

In this competition, the students are challenged to develop a filling machine that will place marbles into jars. Students were provided with basic base frames and safety guarding packages, along with the challenge and constraints to design and build a filling machine. The teams were hosted at Morrison as they began the assembly process.

As one of the founding strategic partners of PACK Challenge, Morrison was pleased to open its doors to the students, giving them a taste of life in the manufacturing world. 

“Build Day was a positive way to turn over the base equipment and help provide some guidance as the students began to assemble their project,” Wilson said. “The students brought a contagious energy, and it was fun to watch their skills develop and excitement as they began the hands-on build of their machine. Programs like these are needed to grow interest for young people in the packaging industry.”

Spee-Dee Packaging Machinery and Siemens also supported build day. Spee-Dee is sharing their expertise in the filling industry and assisted the teams with their filling design ideas while Siemens aided in the controls side of things by supporting the equipment they have donated, providing training to the teams so they would have a solid foundation to start.

“Programs like PACK Challenge are critical to the future success of the packaging industry,” Wilson said. “Manufacturers and end users alike need to continue to team up together to find creative ways to engage students at the high school and college levels so they begin to consider a career in packaging early and understand the boundless opportunities packaging can provide to them.”

To learn more about the PACK Challenge or get involved, visit https://www.packexpointernational.com/education/student-opportunities/pack-challenge or contact Kate Fiorianti at kfiorianti@pmmi.org.

ABOUT MORRISON CONTAINER HANDLING SOLUTIONS

Morrison Container Handling Solutions celebrated its 51th anniversary on May 1, 2022. Since 1971, the company has prided itself on providing the best solutions in container handling and is excited to mark this momentous occasion in its history.

 Founded by President Nick Wilson, Morrison Container Handling Solutions is well known in the packaging industry for developing customer-focused, simple and innovative solutions for container handling needs. The company was started by Wilson to provide superior bottle handling parts and timing screws and has now grown to be recognized as the source for innovative container-focused handling solutions, even for the most difficult rigid or semi-rigid containers. Since its inception, Morrison has provided solutions for companies within the United States and internationally.  Morrison is well-known industry-wide for attentive service to a wide variety of customers’ container handling needs – always with Support Built In®, the company’s promise to deliver quality products and support them 24/7, from initial concept to years after installation.

Continuing the legacy Nick’s son, Chris Wilson, has been with Morrison for more than 30 years and is now President.  In 2011, Nick recruited his wife, Nancy Wilson, to bring her 25 years of Ford Motor Company corporate marketing and leadership experience to the team. In 2013, Nancy became owner and CEO of Morrison and oversees daily operations.

At Morrison Container Handling Solutions, we believe in every human’s right to be treated with respect and equality, and the right to live without fear.

About PMMI

PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, represents more than 950 North American manufacturers and suppliers of equipment, components and materials as well as providers of related equipment and services to the packaging and processing industry. We work to advance a variety of industries by connecting consumer goods companies with manufacturing solutions through the world-class PACK EXPO portfolio of trade shows, leading trade media and a wide range of resources to empower our members. The PACK EXPO trade shows unite the world of packaging and processing to advance the industries they serve: PACK EXPO International, PACK EXPO Las Vegas, PACK EXPO East, EXPO PACK México and EXPO PACK Guadalajara. PMMI Media Group connects manufacturers to the latest solutions, trends and innovations in packaging and processing year-round through brands including Packaging World, Automation World, Healthcare Packaging, Contract Packaging, ProFood World, Mundo PMMI and OEM. PMMI Business Drivers assist members in pursuing operational excellence through workforce development initiatives, deliver actionable business intelligence on economic, market and industry trends to support members' growth strategies and actively connect the supply chain throughout the year.

Learn more at pmmi.org and packexpo.com and pmmimediagroup.com.