Hygiene and sanitation get a lot of airtime in food manufacturing, but there’s another layer of protection that every product relies on: the tiny codes and marks that carry the story of where it came from, how it was made, and whether it can be trusted. In a world of tighter regulation, complex supply chains, and instant social scrutiny, traceability is no longer a checkbox. It’s central to risk management, brand protection, and the ability to respond quickly when something goes wrong.
That’s the space where Hitachi has been operating for decades. As Associate Director – The Americas at Hitachi Industrial Equipment & Solutions America, Garan Myers works with food and beverage manufacturers who see marking and coding not as an afterthought, but as a critical part of quality, safety, and line performance. From uptime and worker safety to sustainability and smart factory integration, he thinks about codes as data-carrying assets that have to be right every time.
In this conversation at EATS, Myers talks about the trends he’s seeing — from rising expectations around traceability and worker safety, to the push for brand-agnostic, connected systems, to how Hitachi’s founding principles still shape the way they design, support, and future-proof their solutions.
Q. At EATS, the energy is all about smarter, cleaner, and more consistent production. What trends are you seeing among food and beverage manufacturers when it comes to traceability and quality assurance?
Garan Myers: The trend that I’m seeing is that food and beverage manufacturers don’t just talk about traceability anymore — it’s now a requirement. In addition, we’re seeing that worker safety is a critical component as we move into the 2026 calendar year.
There’s so much risk involved with the traceability and quality of a final package that the emphasis on traceability is there, and it’s not going away — it’s increasing.
Q. Marking and coding systems may not always grab attention, but they’re at the heart of consistency, compliance, and trust. How do they directly impact efficiency, product integrity, and brand reputation?
GM: Marking and coding equipment — especially on primary packaging — is always behind the scenes, but the technology has a tendency to be the biggest source of downtime. We’re seeing a tremendous surge in making sure we can maintain that uptime, while keeping in mind traceability, which is hugely important, worker safety, efficiency of production, and lowering hazardous chemicals involved in the manufacturing process in general.
Q. Do you find that reliability in these systems has become even more critical as production speeds increase?
GM: We’re asked to do more with less. As factories become larger and production demands increase, the reliability aspect of any equipment going into a food and beverage facility is extremely important. We, as an engineering company ourselves, understand the importance of making sure we keep production demands on schedule. That gives us a unique position in the market, because we’re so manufacturing-heavy in our history that we understand the ramifications of not meeting a production deadline — and we take that to heart when we design products.
Q. Hitachi has been refining printing and coding technology for decades — from continuous inkjet systems to laser marking — all built for clarity and uptime. What’s driving the next wave of innovation in marking and coding, and how is it helping manufacturers keep production consistent and compliant?
GM: All those technologies you just mentioned traditionally were standalone devices that you would plug into an end-of-line packaging or production system. However, now there is an increased demand to integrate that equipment so we can really measure OEE and also tie in the equipment with validation equipment such as vision systems.
That allows us to ensure that when producers package a product and apply a code, when it reaches the store shelves we can be assured that the information is correctly printed — for the purposes of recall, but also to protect brand integrity. We’re measured by the quality of the code that we put on the products, and it really shows through to the consumer when they open that food package.
Q. You’re highlighting a new vision system that can read codes across different printer brands. Why is that kind of flexibility important for food manufacturers?
GM: To realize the true vision of Industry 4.0 and to connect a smart factory, buyers and producers of food products need to make purchasing decisions based on the existing equipment they may have that’s brand-agnostic. We’ve taken that into account when developing systems such as our vision system, which does not rely on a patented protocol and can read any brand or any technology of code to ensure that traceability is met throughout, connecting the factory floor to the data layer that customers are really pushing for.
Q. Do you think we’re moving toward an era where connected systems are the standard, not the exception?
GM: I think you’ll see companies that are investing in that now will still be here in five years, and companies that are not will be struggling in the next five years.
Q. How are sustainability goals influencing product design and materials — whether it’s ink usage, energy efficiency, or waste reduction?
GM: All those points are exactly it. First, with energy consumption, there is a huge demand in the next two years — and it’s happening right now — for more energy. We have more demand for energy globally than we ever have. Taking that into consideration when we develop a product, making sure that it’s consuming as little electricity as possible, is our foundation.
Also, when we develop fluids for both our inkjet and other technologies, we’re taking into consideration low VOC-emitting inks and consumable items such as makeup.
Lastly, we’ve invested heavily in laser technology, which completely removes the consumable aspect of your marking and coding equipment.
Q. Downtime can ripple through an entire production schedule, and that makes reliability more valuable than ever. How are you helping manufacturers build greater reliability into their operations?
GM: It’s a couple of things we do to address the reliability aspect. One thing we look at is making sure the equipment is easy to maintain, because the biggest downtime events related to the use of this equipment are the periodic maintenance activities.
We’ve developed systems that automate some of the preventive-maintenance exercises that you would need to do, so the amount of time associated with cleaning a head or replacing consumable items such as filters is greatly reduced.
We’ve also made the operation, from the operator standpoint, much more intuitive so that mistakes — which are often one of the contributors to either rework or downtime — are significantly reduced.
And then lastly, the core components that we manufacture at Hitachi are built to extend the life of the product. These are no longer considered in just a five-year window of usable life. We’re extending the life expectancy of the product in general.
Q. Hitachi’s founding principles — harmony, sincerity, and pioneering spirit — have guided the company for more than a century. How do they influence the way you approach innovation and customer relationships today?
GM: Harmony, sincerity, and pioneering spirit — they’re not just the motto of our company; they’re truly our identity. Part of the way we realize those founding principles is to listen deeply to what our customers’ expectations are today, but also looking forward into the next five or 10 years. We take that into account when developing new technology and ensuring that the founding principles we have as an operating company match those with our customers.
Q. If you could leave one message with food manufacturing leaders, what should they be thinking about as they plan their next wave of investment in quality and precision?
GM: As you build your next investment, think beyond just today’s needs. Think about those future traceability, reliability, and sustainability goals. Because what we plan for today impacts the future greatly.
