Packaging trails the networked future (sidebar)

This Web-based survey, which drew 185 responses, was conducted on Packworld.com from June 14 to July 26, 2001, and was open to all visitors. Only responses from packaging end users were tabulated; nonqualified responses were discarded. Respondents work in a variety of industries, including food (34%), beverage (4%), medical/pharmaceutical (13%), cosmetics/personal care (12%), industrial products (12%), and consumer products (11%). A variety of company sizes were represented, including small (1 to 100 employees, 29%), medium (101 to 500, 28%), large (500 to 2ꯠ, 23%), and extra large (more than 2ꯠ employees, 20%). The survey included a large percentage of respondents from the Midwest (30%), as well as the West Coast (13%), Southeast (13%), and Northeast (13%), with a few respondents from other parts of the U.S., as well as Canada, Mexico, and other nations. Job duties of respondents included engineering (30%), packaging (16%), plant management (12%), and production (10%). The rest were divided among titles such as marketing, R&D, purchasing, quality assurance, and maintenance. Respondents filled out the survey in exchange for a chance to win a Handspring Visor or Palm personal digital assistant, which was awarded to a recipient chosen at random.