Artificial intelligence is increasingly making its way into packaging machinery manufacturing. In Packaging People-In the podcast, Tanaro Schädler from Uhlmann Pac-Systeme discusses AI in pharma packaging, regulatory challenges and the question of how autonomous packaging machines will work in the future.
Episode 33: Tanaro Schädler: „AI is not a cure-all – but a very capable tool“
Artificial intelligence is considered one of the most important future technologies – including in mechanical engineering. But especially in highly regulated industries like pharmaceutical packaging, the question arises as to how AI can be concretely applied and where its limits lie.
In dialogue with Packaging People-Host Matthias Laux gives Tanaro Schädler, Innovation Engineer AI & Data at Uhlmann Pac-Systems, insights into current developments and challenges. In the Uhlmann Group's Future Lab, he focuses on integrating artificial intelligence along the value chain – from data-driven services to intelligent assistance systems.
„Openness is, I believe, almost the most important aspect in a field that is quite fast-paced.“
Schädler makes it clear that AI is often misunderstood in industrial environments. „The AI is not a cure-all at the moment, but it is certainly a very capable tool in certain areas of work.“, he says on the podcast. On the one hand, the technology is overestimated, for example when people talk about full automation. On the other hand, many companies underestimate the concrete potential in everyday life.".
Schädler sees enormous innovation potential, particularly in mechanical engineering. Germany is a technological leader, yet there is still significant scope for expansion in the use of data-based systems. The combination of traditional mechanical engineering expertise with modern AI models is particularly exciting.
A central theme of the episode is the use of AI in the pharmaceutical sector. There, regulatory requirements such as GMP specifications or validation obligations make the direct use of non-deterministic systems difficult. Therefore, Uhlmann is currently focusing heavily on so-called „human-in-the-loop“ approaches, where AI provides recommendations, but decisions are still reviewed by humans.
The future of autonomous packaging plants is also being discussed. Schädler does not yet foresee fully autonomous systems in the short term, but rather increasing partial automation – for example, through predictive maintenance or intelligent error correction.
Furthermore, the AI expert talks about the importance of data in mechanical engineering, about proprietary knowledge in companies, and about why openness and curiosity will be among the most important skills in engineering in the future.
„Much of what is currently deemed impossible may well be standard in the next generation of models.“
The episode shows that AI in packaging machinery engineering is long past being just a trending topic. It is increasingly developing into a strategic tool – provided that technology, data, and regulatory requirements are intelligently brought together.
packaging journal 2/2026
