中文In a wide-ranging interview with The Packman, Pratip Samanta — regional managing director for Southern & Eastern Asia at ABB’s Machine Automation Division (B&R Industrial Automation) — laid out a vision in which open, software-defined automation, AI and advanced mechatronics let packaging machine builders slash changeover times, lift productivity and cut waste while staying ready for fast-shifting market demand.
Returning to ABB at “such a transformative time” excites Samanta, who sees manufacturers looking beyond basic automation toward intelligent, connected production. His immediate priority is to help customers accelerate that transition by combining B&R’s open automation, mechatronics expertise and AI-driven engineering, while deepening the partner ecosystem across the region.
On the next five years, Samanta names adaptive manufacturing as the future. He expects rapid uptake of software-defined automation, modular machine architectures, digital twins, AI-assisted engineering and integrated robotics. B&R’s flexible transport systems — ACOPOStrak and SuperTrak — together with intelligent machine vision and data-driven optimisation, let manufacturers run multiple SKUs with minimal changeover, responding quickly to evolving consumer demand.
Pressed on sustainability versus profitability, Samanta points to B&R’s integrated mechatronics approach, which fuses motion, control, software and safety into one architecture, lowering engineering complexity while raising machine performance. Intelligent motion control, energy-efficient servos and adaptive production minimise material waste and energy use and maximise overall equipment effectiveness. Flexible transport also reduces mechanical complexity, enabling faster format changes and more efficient resource use.
India’s rise as a manufacturing hub reframes the automation question. Samanta argues the country has moved beyond labour arbitrage to compete on quality, speed and innovation, with machine automation a strategic differentiator. Open, scalable platforms let Indian machine builders develop globally competitive machines, shorten development cycles and cut lifecycle cost — a thesis reinforced by “Make in India” and growing exports.
Interoperability is central. B&R’s open philosophy, built on its Automation Studio environment and open standards such as OPC UA, OPC UA FX and POWERLINK, lets manufacturers integrate software, controls, robotics and vision without proprietary lock-in. The built-in security of UAFX further simplifies architecture and compliance. Software-defined automation (SDA) then lets customers adapt machine functionality through software rather than fixed hardware, protecting long-term investment.
On AI, Samanta highlights the Automation Studio Agentic Bridge, which moves AI from passive coding assistance to active, autonomous engineering participation — agents that execute workflows, validate results and engage in real projects. Combined with machine learning, predictive maintenance, quality analytics and digital twins, AI yields self-optimising machines with higher uptime and less waste. B&R deliberately lets customers choose their own AI models, from frontier to lightweight.
For high-growth segments — flexible packaging, labels, corrugated, food & beverage, pharma and FMCG — Samanta sees mass personalisation, sustainability and regulation as the drivers. Food, pharma and FMCG will lead automation investment on the back of stringent quality and volume; flexible packaging demands efficient small-batch, sustainable printing. All require modular automation, robotics and intelligent transport for shorter runs and faster changeovers.
His closing advice to manufacturers is pointed: treat automation as a strategic enabler of long-term growth, not merely a productivity line item, and choose technologies that are open, scalable and software-centric. Tomorrow’s automation engineers, he adds, must blend PLC skills with software, AI, edge computing, cybersecurity and domain knowledge. For packaging machinery, B&R’s wager is that adaptive, open and AI-enabled systems will define the next generation of production.
Source: The Packman (thepackman.in), interview “Pratip Samanta on AI, openness and the future of machine automation,” published 1 September 2026.
Samanta’s remarks arrive as labour shortages and shorter run lengths squeeze traditional packaging lines. His bet is that vendors offering open, upgradeable platforms — not locked silos — will win the next decade of machine builds, because converters cannot forecast which AI model, robot or vision tool they will need three years out. That philosophy, he argues, is what turns automation from a cost into strategic insurance.
The practical edge is flexibility under uncertainty. Packaging buyers now expect frequent format changes, smaller batches and faster launches; machines built on modular, software-defined architectures absorb that volatility far better than rigid, purpose-built lines. By letting functionality shift through software rather than hardware overhauls, B&R’s approach aims to protect the converter’s capital and keep pace with markets that simply will not sit still.
Samanta’s closing advice is pointed: treat automation as a strategic enabler of long-term growth, not merely a productivity line item, and choose technologies that are open, scalable and software-centric. Those who embrace flexible, digital-first architectures, he argues, will be best positioned to lead the next generation of packaging manufacturing.
Underlying Samanta’s message is a wager on openness as a moat. Where closed automation locks customers in, B&R is betting that letting users choose models, robots and vision tools freely builds longer loyalty. It is a counter-intuitive strategy in a sector addicted to proprietary lock-in, and one worth watching as packaging buyers demand flexibility.
