Reston, Va.; May 20, 2011— PMMI has announced that ASCO Numatics (Florham Park, NJ), a division of Emerson, will be the official sponsor of PMMI U's Amazing Packaging Race at PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2011 (Sept. 26–28; Las Vegas Convention Center). The competition, held on the final day of PACK EXPO, sends teams of packaging students around the show floor to earn points from exhibitors by completing packaging and processing related tasks. Each member of the winning team will receive an Apple iPad 2.

ASCO Numatics' sponsorship will help fund prizes and support the PMMI Education and Training Foundation, which provides scholarships to packaging students from PMMI partner schools.

"Education is a corporate priority for ASCO Numatics and our parent company, Emerson, and that makes sponsoring the Amazing Packaging Race a natural fit for us. It's an excellent way to give students a firsthand understanding of the world of packaging and processing. With its combination of breadth, depth and sheer size, PACK EXPO could be the world's largest packaging and processing classroom," says Robert W. Kemple Jr.; executive vice president, sales and marketing–Americas, ASCO Numatics.

Challenges at each booth can range from changing patterns on a case packer to feeding shrink wrap through a shrink wrapper or finding specific locations on the PACK EXPO show floor. The objective of the race, says Maria Ferrante, PMMI vice president of education & workforce development, is to get the students talking to each other and the exhibitors.

"The biggest benefits to participating students are the exposure to new and different technologies in all aspects of packaging and processing as well as professional  networking. Every exhibitor they meet is a potential employer. Also, the teams are made up of students from different schools so each participant can expand his or her circle," Ferrante says.

In addition to sponsoring the Amazing Packaging Race at PACK EXPO, ASCO Numatics will present its 2011 Industrial Automation Engineering Scholarships to two U.S. engineering students pursuing careers in industrial-automation related disciplines.  The deadline to apply for the scholarship is May 31, 2011. Applications can be found at www.asconumatics.com/scholarship.

ASCO Numatics will assess applicants for the annual $5,000 merit-based awards on their potential for leadership and for making significant contributions to engineering, instrumentation, systems and automation, particularly as they relate to the application of fluid control and fluid power technologies. Additionally, ASCO Numatics will make $1,000 grants to the engineering departments of the colleges in which the winners are enrolled.

PMMI U is actively recruiting exhibitors to participate in this year's Amazing Packaging Race. To learn more and get involved, contact Maria Ferrante, vice president of education & workforce development, PMMI: 703.243.8555 or mferrante@pmmi.org.

Learn more about the ASCO Numatics Industrial Automation Engineering Scholarships at the ASCO Numatics website www.asconumatics.com/scholarship

Resource Links
Scholarship Information: http://www.asconumatics.com/scholarship
http://www.packexpo.com

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Engineering Scholarships, ASCO Numatics, Engineering Scholarships for College Students, Amazing Packaging Race, Pack Expo

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Quick Facts

• ASCO Numatics Sponsors Amazing Packaging Race
• PACK Expo, Las Vegas, September 26-28, 2011
• Challenges at each booth can range from changing patterns on a case packer to feeding shrink wrap through a shrink wrapper or finding specific locations on the PACK EXPO show floor

About PMMI
Editors please note: PMMI has moved! Our new address is 11911 Freedom Dr., Suite 600, Reston, Va. 20190.

PMMI is a trade association of 560-plus member companies that manufacture packaging, processing and related converting machinery in the United States or Canada; machinery components and packaging containers and materials. PMMI's vision is to be the leading global resource for packaging, and its mission is to improve and promote members' abilities to meet the needs of their customers.

PMMI organizes the PACK EXPO trade shows: PACK EXPO International, PACK EXPO Las Vegas and EXPO PACK México, connecting participants in the packaging and processing supply chain with their customers around the world. Coming Up: EXPO PACK México at Mexico City's Centro Banamex, June 21–24, 2011, and PACK EXPO Las Vegas at the Las Vegas Convention Center Sept. 26–28, 2011.

Learn more about PMMI and the PACK EXPO trade shows at PMMI.org and Packexpo.com.

About Emerson
Emerson (NYSE: EMR), based in St. Louis, Missouri (USA), is a global leader in bringing technology and engineering together to provide innovative solutions for customers in industrial, commercial, and consumer markets through its network power, process management, industrial automation, climate technologies, and tools and storage businesses. Sales in fiscal 2010 were $21 billion. For more information, visit www.Emerson.com.