Packaging Resource Center: Show Coverage: Taming the Octopus of Global Packaging
Published: May 30th, 2007
Summit sessions address the sprawling reach of packagers and package regulators.
Pharmaceutical packagers juggle multiple regulations and design considerations when developing and distributing a package. Coordinating a global supply chain can sometimes require a packager to outsource to other service providers to extend their capabilities. As packagers swim in the sea of these demands, they may wish they had eight arms. These challenges set the stage for this year’s Packaging Summit Exposition and Conference and one of its roundtable discussions, “Taming the Octopus of Global Packaging.” And, for the first time in more than 10 years, the World Packaging Organization (WPO) will be holding its World Packaging Conference in North America, collocating the event with the Packaging Summit.
The Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP) will be hosting the events at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL, Tuesday, May 15, through Thursday, May 17. Several of the Packaging Summit conference sessions are focused on the global market, global regulations, and sustainability.
Sustainability is the topic of at least one session every day of the conference. John Delfausse, vice president, package development, Aveda, will open the first day’s conference sessions with “Innovation…The Answer to Sustainable Packaging.” He will outline how to set goals for pursuing sustainability and benchmark progress. Tuesday afternoon will consist of a presentation and live demo of “The Wal-Mart Sustainability Scorecard,” from Matt Kistler, vice president, package and product innovations, Sam’s Club, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Kistler will review the nine weighted parameters of the scorecard and renewable energy objectives. On Wednesday, after the global packaging roundtable, Tom Blanck, manager, Adalis Corp., will target cost-reduction opportunities in his presentation, “Strategic Packaging Sustainability…Focuses on the Global Supply Chain.”
The Summit’s emphasis on thinking globally is reflected in the majority of Wednesday’s and Thursday’s sessions. Pierre Picot, senior international consultant, packaging, International Trade Center, will be discussing the impact of European Union directives for packaging as they are adopted by member states. The packaging industry is increasing its production in Asia. Rajiv Dhar, director, Indian Institute of Packaging, will present an overview of packaging in India and anticipated growth areas. Covering the risks and opportunities present in China, David Deans, CEO, Roberts Container, offers “Sourcing in the Far East,” on Thursday afternoon.
The global theme carries over in some of the outsourcing sessions taking place on Thursday. Global resources and materials that offer strategic advantages will be covered in Rich Cohen’s presentation, “Sustainable Specialty Packaging…Strategic Gains from Global Outsourcing.” Cohen is CEO of Distant Village Packaging. Pete Gray, president, Surefil LLC, and John Vono, former director of operations at Gillette Co., will cover operational flexibility and keys to working partnerships in a presentation on contract packaging.
The IoPP-sponsored AmeriStar award winners and the WPO’s WorldStar award winners will be on display in the Hall of Packaging Excellence in the Packaging Summit’s exposition hall. The WorldStar reception will be held on Tuesday and the AmeriStar reception will take place on Wednesday. Winners of the AmeriStar awards in the medical device category include a clear die-cut insert designed to replace a thermoformed tray used to package cardiovascular fabrics by Boston Scientific Corp.; Prent Corp.’s C.R. Bard ReadyLink Delivery System for packaging delicate cancer-fighting surgical instruments and its Ethicon Endo-Surgery Inc. MRI tube set package; and Sealed Air Corp.’s packaging for Spacelabs Healthcare’s patient-monitoring systems.
For more information on IoPP and the Packaging Summit, visit www.iopp.org or www.pkgsummit.com.
Printer-friendly version
