KHS Sustainable Packaging Delivers Breakthrough Gains at PACK EXPO
KHS Sustainable Packaging Delivers Breakthrough Gains at PACK EXPO
KHS USA is preparing to put lower-material packaging, product protection and digital production support at the center of its PACK EXPO International 2026 presentation in Chicago. The beverage filling and packaging specialist says its exhibit will address a difficult industry equation: use fewer resources without sacrificing line performance, product quality or operating flexibility.
The company is due to exhibit at Booth S-2114 from October 18 through 21 at McCormick Place. PACK EXPO’s official event information lists the same dates and says the show will bring together 2,600 exhibitors serving more than 40 industries. KHS sustainable packaging
Key facts
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KHS USA plans to exhibit at Booth S-2114 from October 18–21, 2026.
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Plasmax applies a very thin, glass-like internal barrier to PET bottles.
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KHS says the barrier can extend shelf life by up to ten times for suitable oxygen-sensitive products while leaving the bottle recyclable.
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Nature MultiPack uses adhesive dots and a handle instead of conventional secondary packaging.
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KHS reports consumables savings of up to 85% compared with conventional secondary packs.
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The Virtual Training Center and KHS ConnectApp are designed to support training, documentation and faster service response.
Plasmax targets shelf life and bottle circularity
One of the main technologies in the KHS presentation will be Plasmax. The process places a wafer-thin, glass-like coating on the inside of a PET bottle to create a barrier for oxygen-sensitive beverages.
According to KHS, the technology can extend shelf life by a factor of up to ten in suitable applications. The company also says treated bottles remain 100% recyclable. Those are manufacturer performance claims, and the result for an individual beverage will depend on its formulation, bottle design, production conditions and local recycling system.
For producers, the commercial appeal goes beyond a longer best-before period. Better product protection may help reduce losses, smooth seasonal production schedules and preserve the low weight of PET. The underlying goal is to make product protection and circular design work together rather than treating them as competing priorities.
Nature MultiPack cuts secondary material
KHS will also feature Nature MultiPack, which connects cans or PET bottles with small adhesive dots and a carrying handle. By removing much of the film or board used in a conventional multipack, the system is intended to create a stable, consumer-friendly unit with less secondary material.
KHS reports that the solution can reduce consumables by up to 85% compared with conventional secondary packaging. The figure is significant, but producers evaluating the system will still need to compare like-for-like pack formats and account for line configuration, transport performance, retail handling and the availability of local recovery routes.
Material reduction is becoming increasingly relevant as extended producer responsibility programs develop across the United States. A packaging EPR update verified on August 10 points to active rulemaking and implementation work in several states, including collection-list consultation in Washington and producer-fee scrutiny in Oregon. The direction of travel is clear: packaging choices are increasingly being assessed for both their physical performance and their end-of-life cost. KHS sustainable packaging
Digital services address workforce pressure
The PACK EXPO display will not be limited to containers and multipacks. KHS USA is also presenting digital services intended to help beverage plants build skills, locate technical information and respond to production issues more quickly.
Its Virtual Training Center gives operators and engineers remote access to practical learning and process guidance. KHS positions the platform as a way to support continuous training regardless of location, an important consideration for manufacturers dealing with limited technical staffing.
The KHS ConnectApp brings machine information, technical documents and service resources into one access point. The company says this can improve transparency, shorten reaction times and support workforce planning. These benefits will depend on implementation and staff adoption, but the strategy reflects a wider shift toward pairing packaging machinery with accessible operational knowledge.
A local service strategy for North America
KHS USA operates from Waukesha, Wisconsin, and says it is investing in regional production, logistics and service infrastructure. That local presence matters when manufacturers need spare parts, technical support or line changes without long delays.
The company’s PACK EXPO message combines three ideas: eliminate avoidable packaging material, protect the product with recyclable formats where possible, and improve the productivity of the installed line. For North American beverage producers facing cost pressure and evolving packaging rules, the value of the proposition will ultimately be measured in plant-level data: material use per saleable unit, product losses, uptime, energy demand and total operating cost.
PACK EXPO will give visitors an opportunity to examine how those claims translate into a complete production environment. KHS’s exhibit is therefore less about a single machine than about whether coordinated packaging and digital systems can deliver measurable resource and efficiency gains at the same time.
Sources
KHS SUPREME Elevates Aseptic PET Packaging With Powerful Barrier Innovation for Oxygen-Sensitive Beverages and Fully Recyclable High-Performance Bottle Protection
