TAPPI’s Corrugated Packaging Council Elects Two New Members

Danny Lopez, VP, New Machinery Sales, The Haire Group, and Tom Staal, Director of Management Systems, Coastal Containers, have been elected to TAPPI’s Corrugated Packaging Council (CPC). The CPC acts as the governing body of TAPPI’s Corrugated Packaging Division, developing strategic plans, press products and events. 

As part of his responsibilities, Lopez collaborates with Haire’s global customers to develop new products. He has worked his entire career in the corrugated packaging industry, beginning in 2006 as an application engineer for Alliance Machine Systems International where he designed corrugated plant layouts in North, Central and South America before switching to sales, management and product support for all Alliance customers in the western U.S. and Canada.

Thomas StaalStaal used his experience as a plant floor supervisor, quality management professional, and now member of the organization’s management team to help Coastal transition from a sheet plant start-up to a full-line corrugated plant. A 30-year TAPPI member, he has been a long-time member of both the Corrugated Board Technical Service Committee (CORBOTEC) and the Fiberboard Shipping Container Testing Committee (FISCOTEC). Staal served as Chair of FISCOTEC and is currently serving as the Vice Chair of CORBOTEC. He previously served as an elected member of the CPC as well as an appointed member. He has served as working group chair on numerous TAPPI Test Methods and TIPs and on the Standards Advisory Review Group (SARG). Staal was awarded the Division Technical Award in 2019.

The current CPC includes appointed members from International Paper, The Haire Group, Menasha Packaging, WestRock, Packaging Corporation of America, Pratt Industries, Arvco Container, Advance Packaging, SMC Packaging, and Greif. The elected positions include members from BW Papersystems, Kohler Coating, Niagara Sheets, and Fosber. The Chairs of the Corrugated Division Technical Committees, the YP Division Liaison to Corrugated and the Supplier Advisory Committee Chair complete the council. Each position is for a three-year term. Lopez and Staal will serve as Member-at-Large.

TAPPI’s Corrugated Packaging Division focuses on the manufacture and use of corrugated containers and associated packaging materials and products and serves as a forum for knowledge sharing in the industry. The Division is comprised of members who work for converters, suppliers, consulting companies, and others in the converting industry.