Collaborative multi-vendor ecosystem shows end‑to‑end virtual cookie production line demonstrating how digital twins, AI and connected data architectures enable next-generation food manufacturing

DUSSELDORF, Germany, April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK), the world's largest company dedicated to industrial automation and digital transformation, today announced its presence at Interpack 2026, where it will highlight how digital twin technology enables manufacturers to design, integrate and optimize end‑to‑end food and beverage operations.

Using a fully virtualized cookie production and packaging line, the company will demonstrate how processing and packaging systems can be engineered as a single, digitally connected operation to improve performance, flexibility and lifecycle outcomes. The digitally connected, multi‑vendor production line spans the full cookie lifecycle – from dough preparation and forming through baking, cooling, primary and secondary packaging to palletizing, reflecting a realistic, continuous manufacturing process. The experience shows how processing and packaging can be integrated into a single, data‑enabled operation, highlighting the role of open, scalable architectures in enabling collaboration between OEMs, system integrators and end users.

The demonstration combines systems from leading OEMs in a single digital environment, using Emulate3D™ digital twin software to model real machines and production assets leveraging innovative Rockwell technologies such as iTRAK® intelligent track systems.

By replacing physical equipment with virtualized assets, manufacturers can execute engineering activities in parallel and validate mechanical, electrical and automation designs earlier in the process — reducing risk, improving line performance, and enabling more effective collaboration across engineering, operations and maintenance teams before commissioning.

Delivered in collaboration with Rockwell's PartnerNetwork™ ecosystem, the virtual cookie production and packaging line is supported by leading OEMs and solution providers across the manufacturing value chain, including:

• Royal Kaak – processing (dough mixing)
• GEA – processing (depositing, oven, and cooling)
• Mespack – primary packaging
• Vimco – secondary packaging
• Cetec Industrie – end‑of‑line palletizing 

"With the virtual cookie production line, we are demonstrating how manufacturers can connect processing and packaging into a single intelligent solution," said Ashkan Ashouriha, senior global enterprise solution architect. "By integrating digital twins based on real OEM machines and real engineering data into one production line, manufacturers can reduce risks, accelerate time to value, and ensure that production systems perform as expected from day one."

Visitors can explore how unified, open, scalable data architectures enable the integration of machines from different vendors into a single operational environment.  This is achieved by establishing a consistent data layer across processing and packaging systems, wrapped in layered cybersecurity protections through solutions such as the SecureOT™ platform.

The end‑to‑end virtual production line is built on a connected data architecture that enables machines, systems and applications from different vendors to work together seamlessly. Using technologies such as the FactoryTalk Optix software platform, manufacturers can create a shared data foundation that acts as a single source of truth across processing and packaging operations, enabling digital twins, performance and quality monitoring, product traceability, and the use of AI and machine learning to function reliably across the entire production line.

Those capabilities allow multi‑vendor systems to be designed and deployed as cohesive, high‑performing production environments, helping manufacturers move beyond siloed assets toward more scalable and data‑driven operations.

Visitors interested in exploring Rockwell Automation's technologies and those of its PartnerNetwork ecosystem at Interpack 2026 can find more information online and plan their visit to Rockwell's Interpack location at booth C40 in hall 6.

About Rockwell Automation
Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK), is a global leader in industrial automation and digital transformation. We connect the imaginations of people with the potential of technology to expand what is humanly possible, making the world more productive and more sustainable. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rockwell Automation employs approximately 26,000 problem solvers dedicated to our customers in more than 100 countries as of fiscal year end 2025. To learn more about how we are bringing the Connected Enterprise to life across industrial enterprises, visit www.rockwellautomation.com

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