The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) will partner with the Packing Machinery Manufacturers Institute (PMMI) and host GMA's first "Manufacturing Excellence Conference" during this fall’s PACK EXPO International 2010.

Officials say the Manufacturing Excellence Conference will feature two days of education on topics including product safety, sustainability and operational reliability. The event will be held Monday, November 1 and Tuesday, November 2, as part of the four-day PACK EXPO International tradeshow being held October 31-November 3, 2010 in Chicago, IL at McCormick Place.

“We are extremely pleased to have the leading trade association that represents the world’s food, beverage and consumer packaged goods companies to co-locate this important event during PACK EXPO International,” says Charles Yuska, President and CEO of PMMI. “GMA member companies such as Kraft, Georgia Pacific, Coca-Cola, Unilever and The Hershey Company attend PACK EXPO International to find the latest in processing and packaging solutions, and now can benefit from world class education from GMA’s Manufacturing Excellence Conference.”

“GMA is pleased to be working with PMMI to co-locate the Manufacturing Excellence Conference with PMMI PACK EXPO International," adds Pamela Bailey, GMA president and CEO. "The PMMI PACK EXPO International Trade Show, with more than 1,600 exhibitions and over 45,000 attendees, is the prefect venue to host a comprehensive manufacturing conference that will deliver new and innovative solutions for our industry’s most pressing issues.

“By partnering with PMMI, our goal is to provide GMA members and all of our industry partners a forum where we can work to align manufacturing, engi neering, and plant management problem solving in the critical areas of product safety, sustainability and operational reliability.”