Packaging Summit matures as integrated event

The Packaging Summit introduces a slightly different look into 2007, its third year. The multifaceted event has adopted the name Packaging Summit Expo and Conference (PSEC). The event will be May 15-17, 2007, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL.

Show organizer Tarsus Group plc has dropped the industry-specific sub-show titles Packaging Services Expo and Packaging Containers & Materials Expo in order to more effectively integrate the show’s various components. However, the Packaging Summit will continue to focus on contract-packaging services and the materials and containers industries. At the 2006 show, contract packagers and materials and containers exhibitors were located in separate halls. This year, they will be combined all under one roof in order to make the show easier to navigate. In addition, conference attendees will have more time to walk the show floor and not miss the conference program.

The Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP) will sponsor the PSEC. According to Howard Leary, CCP, IoPP president, the PSEC is the ideal venue where packaging professionals can learn about the central issues influencing packaging today. Attendees will be able to partner with contract packagers and manufacturers, packaging consultants, research firms, package designers and marketing agencies, packaging-testing labs, logistics companies, warehouse and distribution companies, package prototype developers, and quality assurance and compliance specialists.

Jane Chase, CPP, IoPP executive vice president-education, adds that the educational and networking components of the show make it a “must-attend” packaging event. “It’s the perfect setting for keeping up with leading-edge packaging innovation and making valuable, productive connections,” she says.

Attendees of this year’s expo will be able to discuss packaging containers and materials, as well as packaging components, with the exhibitors. The expo is of interest to professionals who manage and influence how products are packaged.

In addition, contract packagers will showcase their capabilities to consumer packaged goods companies interested in qualifying and purchasing co-packing services, and to product manufacturers who want to become grounded in the industry.

PSEC will exclude machinery, machinery components, and systems.

Packaging Summit has also modified its highly successful conference. Last year, the conference ran throughout the show, but in 2007, the conference will be held for only part of each day so attendees can take what they have learned in the “classroom” onto the show floor. The conference will focus on four broad areas: innovation and sustainability (May 15), the global perspective (May 16), and outsourcing (May 17). Tracks will feature concurrent breakout sessions. Following are a few speakers scheduled to appear:

•           Matt Kistler, vice president of packaging and product development at Wal-Mart, will walk attendees through the retailer’s new sustainability scorecard and provide a hands-on demonstration of how it works.

•           Krista Schwartz, global upstream design manager at Procter & Gamble, will explore how the company restaged its Herbal Essences brand through innovation that addresses the entire value chain.

•           Rajiv Dahr, director of the Indian Institute of Packaging, will discuss “Packaging in India … South Asia’s Giant Emerges.”

Two other developments highlight the Packaging Summit Expo and Conference. The show is the new home for IoPP’s AmeriStar Packaging Awards reception, scheduled for May 15 in Rosemont. The 2006 AmeriStar award-winning packages will be displayed at the show’s Hall of Packaging Excellence inside the convention center.

In addition, the World Packaging Organisation (WPO) will hold its World Packaging Conference and WorldStar Package Awards Ceremony May 16 in conjunction with the PSEC. This will mark the first time in more than 10 years that the WPO has held its World Packaging Conference in the United States.

Expo exhibit hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday. Conference hours are 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday and 8 a.m. to noon Wednesday and Thursday.

For information on the Packaging Summit Expo and Conference, contact Don Browne, marketing director, at 262/782-1900, don@pkgsummit.com. Or visit www.pkgsummit.com.