The Oct. 29-Nov. 2 Pack Expo International 2006 show also saw exhibitor personnel rise from 25,289 in 2004 to 25,666 this year, resulting in total attendance up 930 to 71,407. International attendance increased by 260 people to 6,057, with the number of exhibiting companies also up by 260 to 2,302. Net sq' of space rose by 21,494 sq'. Other show highlights included the following:
• Induction ceremonies for the Packaging Hall of Fame Class of 2006, including Edward Bauer, retired from Bausch & Lomb, Edward Church, International Safe Transit Assn., Dr. Bruce Harte, Michigan State University, School of Packaging, and the late Mark Garvey, Garvey Corp. Rita Garvey, Mark's wife, and Chuck Yuska, PMMI president and CEO, offered moving presentations during the Oct. 31 event.
PMMI also announced the creation of a $2,500 Mark C. Garvey Scholarship to be awarded to a student at a packaging curriculum school who demonstrates a commitment to excellence in packaging.
• PMMI and Pack Expo exhibitors raised $127,050 to support packaging education, surpassing the announced goal of $100,000. The campaign was designed to provide U.S. and Canadian packaging schools with financial grant. PMMI created two Pack Expo Scholarship Funds to which companies and individuals could donate funds:
A. Pack Expo Scholarship General Fund. Contributions to this fund were distributed evenly among schools that have a packaging curriculum focus and exhibit at Pack Expo. The schools will be asked to name a student recipient. This year, 19 packaging schools divided up $107,050, with $35,000 designated to two-year technical schools through the Claude Breeden and C. Glenn Davis Scholarship programs. Three Platinum donors, MG America, Inc., PMT Magazine, and WeighPack Systems, Inc., contributed to this fund.
B. Pack Expo Scholarship Designated Gift Fund. Companies or individuals who donate $5,000 or more were able to designate a specific school to which the funds they provided would be directed. Twenty thousand dollars was designated to specific schools from four sponsor companies. The following schools received designated gifts: Virginia Polytechnic Institute—BluePrint Automation Inc.; University of Wisconsin, Stout—Bosch Packaging Technology; University of Illinois at Urbana—Morrison Container Handling Solutions; Michigan State University—PPi Technologies.
• Beneful Prepared Meals was voted as the winner of the inaugural Pack Expo Selects™ awards program. Pack Expo Selects was the newest addition to The Showcase of Packaging Innovations, a special pavilion sponsored by The Dow Chemical Co. The Beneful Prepared Meals dog food package, says PMMI, "was designed to create a distinctive product that would appeal to pet owners, incorporate barriers needed for extended shelf stability, and provide the performance needed to withstand the high temperatures and pressure of the retort process." Alcoa Packaging, Hans Rychiger AG, PDC International Corp., and Printpack Inc., exhibited at Pack Expo and contributed to the packaging.
• The next Pack Expo International will be held Nov. 9-13, 2008 at Chicago's McCormick Place. Pack Expo Las Vegas will take place Oct. 15-17, 2007 at the Las Vegas Convention Center .
