Graduating to Sustainability

Steigelman started out studying information technology at RIT, but couldn’t see himself programming computers. A neighbor employed in pharmaceutical distribution suggested packaging as a focus, so he decided to reregister at RIT with a few packaging courses. Most were general packaging or science courses, and he even had a paid internship for a major food company. “I gradually got into packaging, and the professors helped,” says Steigelman. “It is easy to see how packaging affects life just by looking at the materials used for packaging in supermarkets.”

But it wasn’t until his final semester that he knew exactly what path he would pursue. He enrolled in a medical packaging course taught by Alison Tyler, technical director for Beacon Converters (Saddle Brook, NJ), almost around the time frame his father had partial knee replacement surgery. “I realized that medical device packagers have the capability to influence the devices that improve lives,” he says. Such a career could enable him to “strive for purpose and pride in my work,” he says.

Tyler’s course required Steigelman to consider the breadth of medical devices that exist today. After seeing the industry’s diversity, students were asked to choose an existing product and research its packaging needs or to develop a new product, he says. “I chose to focus on hip replacement and overcoming the biggest complaint after surgery—hip displacement. The product featured abrasive coatings for tissue adhesion.” As he developed package concepts for this device, which he called “Compatible Growth Technology,” he studied marketing, brand naming, distribution, costs, and regulations. He also focused on meeting the requirements of ISO 11607.

As he studied the science of medical device packaging, he kept hearing about sustainability in his general packaging courses. “Green packaging is huge at RIT,” says Steigelman. “It is important to understand that the class of 2008 is the first out of school with an academic focus on sustainability under their belt. We have it on our minds prior to corporate experience.”

Steigelman hopes to bring sustainability to medical packaging. “However, it is a whole new world when you consider medical packaging, given industry guidelines. In medical, you have to protect product sterility. The opportunities lie in saving materials and ultimately reducing waste.”

Steigelman expects that the emerging message of sustainability is being heard in the corporate world. “Cost can be a controlling factor over whether innovation flourishes or designs remain dormant. However, if I can save raw materials, etc., through a new design, sustainability may be possible. It may be as simple as new ways of converting or designing and bringing all suppliers together. With the rising costs of raw materials, we need to optimize packaging and processes. We need a team approach to achieve sustainability and to save costs.”

He realizes that these may be new concepts for the industry. “We need radical thinking, and I want to shake things up.” Further, “We need to innovate without constraints.”

Steigelman’s ideas include “creating a package that has same integrity while strengthening and minimizing material. Also, instead of so much individuality for thermoforms, move to a universal outer tray. You can save on tooling costs as well as manufacturing. The trick is to standardize while maintaining individuality.”

Steigelman doesn’t see packaging as a commodity. “Many consider packaging a sunk cost, but it doesn’t have to be. There are ways to make packaging work for you.”

Professor Tyler, whose own ideas about sustainability are conveyed in the sidebar on page 21, has been a mentor to Steigelman, he says. “It was unbelievable to have an industry professor with such a genuine care for students.”