Packaging is a billion dollar industry in the United States and includes the science, art and technology of protecting products for distribution, storage, sale and use, and Academies of Racine (AoR) students recently got to check out the latest trends in the industry thanks to Spee-Dee Packaging and the Racine County Economic Development Corp. (RCEDC). More than 100 manufacturing, engineering and marketing pathways students took a trip to the PMMI Pack Expo in Chicago where they were able to explore the packaging industry from different career lenses.
"It was really cool to see the processing for all the packaging and how different product bags needed so much pressure with the machines to be closed well,” said Andrew Clemons, a sophomore in the engineering pathway at the Academies of Racine - Horlick. “The trip to the PACK Expo was a great engineering experience too because we got to see the machines for packaging and how they work to make the packaging we see every day."
The experience was also beneficial to the Academies staff who accompanied the students. The marketing teacher at Case said the experience not only aligned with his curriculum, but also made him rethink how he’ll instruct students on certain projects.