The 30,000m² show will run from 16 to 19 March 2027
APPEX 2027 will bring the processing and packaging industry to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from 16 to 19 March 2027, with AI, robotics and automation among the main technologies on show.
Presented by the Australian Packaging and Processing Machinery Association, the event will spread across 20 bays of MCEC and cover 30,000m². Organisers say the exhibition will include hundreds of exhibitors, working machinery and end-to-end applications aimed at business problems on factory floors.
Manufacturers in the sector are under pressure to lift output, improve efficiency and stay competitive. APPMA says AI, machine vision, robotics and automation are now being used directly in production to address labour and skills shortages, downtime, product quality and productivity, while also providing real-time production data.
Michael Moran, APPMA’s chief executive, said the technology available in 2027 would look very different from what visitors saw at APPEX 2024. “The conversation around AI and robotics is moving very quickly from what might be possible in the future to what manufacturers can implement today.”
Alongside AI, robotics and automation, APPEX 2027 will feature thousands of solutions across four dedicated zones: Materials & Packaging, Packaging Machinery, IT and Services, as well as Processing and Packaging Machinery, giving visitors the opportunity to explore technologies and solutions relevant to their operations. Alongside the exhibition floor, APPEX 2027 will host expert-led sessions and industry events on issues affecting processing and packaging businesses.
Those sessions include the returning Food Industry Solution Series, focused on challenges and opportunities for food manufacturers, and Meat Industry Day, led by the Australian Meat Processor Corporation.
ABB, Beckhoff and Motoman NEXT
Among the exhibitors, ABB Robotics is set to appear at Stand B075. The company was recently acquired by SoftBank Group, which APPMA says creates new opportunities where robotics and AI overlap.
The anticipated line-up including the IRB 460 palletising robot, PoWa CRB 1920 collaborative palletiser, IRB 360 FlexPicker, IRB 1100 and ABB Autonomous Mobile Robots, alongside its SafeMove safety technology.
Peter Bradbury, ABB Robotics channel manager for Australia and New Zealand, said AI-enabled vision was already widening the ways manufacturers could improve quality and productivity. He said the company’s OmniCore EyeMotion vision system, when paired with automatic collision-free path planning, can cut commissioning time by up to 90% and reduce cycle time by 50%.
Beckhoff Automation will use the show to demonstrate how AI, machine learning and robotics can be built directly into real-time control through its TwinCAT platform. APPMA describes Beckhoff as a supplier of open, PC-based control technology and TwinCAT software.
Yousuf Saleem, Beckhoff Automation’s national sales manager, said manufacturers were moving toward more intelligent, connected and software-defined machines, with robotics, machine vision and AI integrated into the automation platform. He also said businesses wanted open automation platforms that could add new technologies while keeping production control secure, reliable and deterministic.
Saleem pointed to production examples already in use. One pharmaceutical packaging system using Beckhoff’s XTS intelligent transport system reached 450 vials a minute. Another XTS-based packaging application lifted speed from 120 to 150 bottles a minute, a 25% increase in cycle rate.
RA Group will also use APPEX 2027 to showcase Motoman NEXT, a Yaskawa robot platform designed for applications where robots need to respond to changing production conditions. APPMA says that setup is intended to help manufacturers improve flexibility, productivity and operational efficiency.
Peter Martin, RA Group’s marketing manager, said visitors would see live demonstrations of MiR autonomous mobile robots, Robotize autonomous mobile robots and the MAXAGV FX08 automated guided vehicle. He said those systems automate the movement of raw materials, work-in-progress and finished goods between production, storage and dispatch.
APPMA links that equipment push to a broader debate about Australian manufacturing capability. According to Australian Bureau of Statistics data, machinery and industrial equipment imports reached about $9.4 billion in Q4 2025, up 4.6% on the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, Australia’s National Robotics Strategy says the country ranks 32nd globally for industrial robot adoption despite its strengths in robotics research and development. The strategy suggests a 1% rise in robotics adoption could lift economy-wide productivity by 0.8%.
It also estimates automation and robotics could increase Australia’s annual productivity growth by between 50% and 150%, with the potential to add between $170 billion and $600 billion a year to GDP by 2030.
Moran said those figures underlined the value of connecting manufacturers with technology developers, machinery suppliers and integrators. “With three years of development since the industry last came together at APPEX 2024, our 2027 exhibition provides an opportunity to see what has changed, what is available now and where AI, robotics and automation could take manufacturing next.”
