We just returned from an action-packed week across Las Vegas and Chicago: two cornerstone shows where industrial innovation, sustainability, and connectivity took center stage. Between PACK EXPO (packaging, processing, automation) and WEFTEC (water, wastewater, utilities), we walked dozens of aisles, sat in on technical sessions, and connected with customers and thought leaders exploring the future of connected products.
PACK EXPO 2025: Packaging & Processing
This year’s PACK EXPO Las Vegas was the largest in history with 1 million square feet, 2,300 exhibitors, and 40+ vertical markets represented. Mesh Account Executive Rob Stein was on the floor in Vegas and shared the following trends from his conversations throughout the week:
Predictive over preventive maintenance. Packaging lines are capital-intensive, and every minute of downtime hits margins. Exhibitors spotlighted systems that use real-time data to forecast failures before they happen, allowing operators to schedule service windows and avoid catastrophic breakdowns.
Sustainability as a business driver. From recyclable materials to energy-efficient drives, sustainability was everywhere. Brands are under pressure to reduce plastics, energy use, and emissions, and connected systems provide the proof points and reporting backbone to measure real progress.
Unified visibility across systems. Many plants still operate multiple siloed automation platforms. New IoT overlays are helping integrate legacy PLCs and equipment, creating one view for faster decisions and scalable performance across facilities.
Flexibility for SKU proliferation. Compact, configurable machinery is rising in demand as product lines multiply. Quick changeovers and small-footprint machines are essential, but they also need instrumentation and connectivity to deliver data-driven insights.
Rob also represented Mesh at the PMMI golf outing, where his team placed third! Proof that great conversations happen both on and off the expo floor … thanks to Rob for making the most of both!
WEFTEC 2025: Water, Wastewater & Utilities
WEFTEC in Chicago brought together the water sector’s largest gathering to focus on resilience, digital transformation, and sustainability.
Key trends from the conference:
Resilient infrastructure. Utilities are prioritizing redundancies and condition monitoring for aging assets. With many pumping systems decades old, proactive asset management helps avoid outages, service disruptions, and compliance penalties.
AI and digital adoption. Operators are moving from raw sensor data to predictive insights. Artificial intelligence and edge intelligence are increasingly being used to forecast flows, detect anomalies, and guide dosing decisions essential for handling rising data volumes.
Circular water economy. Sessions emphasized reusing water, recovering energy, and reducing waste. This “recover and reuse” model aligns with tightening regulations and sustainability mandates, pushing utilities toward integrated platforms that can track and optimize resources.
Cybersecurity for connected operations. As utilities adopt IoT and AI, cyber risk has become a central concern. Protecting distributed assets, managing firmware updates, and isolating threats are now operational necessities.
While the show floors were full of energy, our highlight was the Connected Products Leadership Dinner at Miru, which Mesh co-hosted with Microsoft. More than 30 executives and IoT leaders joined us for candid conversation, collaboration, and riverside views.
We had representation from companies including ABB, CNH Industrial, Danfoss, Eversys, Johnson Controls, Middleby, Pregis, Rheem, Trillium Flow Technologies, and Xylem — a remarkable mix of voices shaping the future of connected products.
It was an unforgettable evening that underscored just how much momentum is building across industries to connect assets, unify data, and unlock new value from connected solutions.
Why It Matters
Across both shows, the message was clear:
Downtime is avoidable with predictive insights.
Sustainability and compliance require connected systems to measure and prove progress.
Unified data unlocks better decisions and scalable performance.
Cybersecurity is as critical to operations as pumps or packaging machines themselves.
At Mesh Systems, we partner with OEMs and operators to turn these trends into results — connecting assets, unifying data, and scaling solutions that deliver measurable outcomes. If you’d like to explore what this means for your business, our team is here to talk.