Modified Packaging Summit spotlights contract packaging

The Packaging Summit will have a new look as it enters its third year in 2007. The multifaceted event now goes by the name of Packaging Summit Expo and Conference. The event will be May 15-17 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL.

Show organizer Tarsus Group plc has dropped the individual show names Packaging Services Expo and Packaging Containers & Materials Expo in order to more effectively integrate the various components of the conference. But Packaging Summit will still bring together buyers and sellers of both contract packaging services and materials and containers. At the 2006 show, contract packagers and materials and containers exhibitors were located in separate halls. This year, they will be integrated under one roof in order to make the show easier to navigate.

The Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP) will sponsor the Packaging Summit Expo and Conference. According to Howard Leary, CCP, IoPP president, the Packaging Summit Expo and Conference 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.

A ‘must-attend’ event

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.

Many contract packagers will showcase their capabilities to consumer packaged goods companies interested in qualifying and purchasing co-packing services, or to product manufacturers who are unfamiliar with contract packaging and want to become grounded in the industry.

As in past years, the show will exclude machinery, machinery components, and systems.

Besides contract packaging services, the Packaging Summit will feature exhibitors in the materials and containers arena. Companies will discuss packaging containers and materials, as well as packaging components. This segment of the show should interest professionals who manage and influence how products are packaged.

The 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 in order to give attendees ample time to take what they have learned in the “classroom” onto the show floor. This year’s conference will focus on four broad areas: contract packaging, sustainability, innovation, and global perspectives. Following are a few
of the speakers that will appear:

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

• Donald Tham, president of Nulogy Corp., will talk about software solutions that can cut lead-time and cost while
improving quality.

Two other new 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 Organization (WPO) will hold its World Packaging Conference and WorldStar package awards ceremony in conjunction with the Packaging Summit Expo and Conference. 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, [email protected]. Or visit www.pkgsummit.com.