Pack Expo 2026 Drew 43,000 Attendees and 2,700 Exhibitors to Chicago

More than 43,000 attendees packed Chicago's McCormick Place for Pack Expo International from Oct. 18-21, 2026, alongside 29,000 exhibitor personnel. The show featured more than 2,700 exhibitors, making it the biggest packaging gathering on the continent this cycle.

Show producer PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, called Pack Expo the "largest, most comprehensive packaging and processing event in North America." The event centers on the industry's emerging technologies and innovations.

Attendees discussed packaging regulations, M&A activity, material shifts, artificial intelligence and more across the four-day program.

What did exhibitors announce at the show?

Several storylines from the show floor stand out for packaging and processing marketers tracking material and regulatory trends.

• UFP Packaging introduced its All Boxed Up brand. The name relates to a 2022 acquisition that first got the company into corrugated. UFP Packaging aims for the brand to spotlight customer-centric changes it's bringing to the corrugated realm, a VP said in an interview.
• Charter Next Generation reported a 30% year-over-year increase in its use of post-consumer recycled (PCR) content in films. The company views food-grade PCR use as possible, but it's "one of the most challenging applications," a sustainability VP said in an interview.
• Packaging machinery shipments continue to grow even as states increasingly grapple with packaging legislation, according to Pack Expo speakers from Ameripen, the Flexible Packaging Association and PMMI.
• The Fibre Box Association said trade, lightweighting and extended producer responsibility laws are changing certain dynamics within the U.S. corrugated box industry.

Who is driving the M&A and AI talk?

Peter Wells discussed his company's broader M&A strategy and its approach to AI in an on-site interview. He also previewed an upcoming advancement from cold chain to what he calls a "warm chain," and explained why he's excited to get a "B."

The breadth of topics reflects where the packaging value chain is heading. Regulatory pressure, recycled-content targets and consolidation conversations now share the stage with machinery and materials on the Pack Expo floor.

The next cycle will test whether PCR adoption, EPR compliance and corrugated lightweighting translate from show-floor discussion into measurable market shifts.