Each issue, FlexPack VOICE™ hosts a question-and-answer segment with an industry leader. In this issue, we interview Kathy Bolhous, CEO of Charter Next Generation and the 2021–2022 chair of the Flexible Packaging Association. Bolhous was born in Mishawaka, Indiana—the ninth of 10 children in a blue-collar family. She has more than three decades of experience […]
Read MoreJohn Smith
Digital Exclusive
Experts Offer Sustainability Updates
Global Pouch Forum Provided an Opportunity to Gain Insights
January 4, 2021
At Mondelēz International, the company has been setting sustainability goals for years and has every intention of reaching its next major milestone.
Read MoreSIEGWERK PROVIDES MEALS
Jan/Feb 2021
At the flexible packaging headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa, Siegwerk employees normally participate in Meals from the Heartland, a nonprofit organization composed of volunteers who package meals for delivery to feed people around the world, as well as in the U.S. The meals include rice, soy protein, dried vegetables, and vitamins. During the pandemic, Siegwerk […]
Read MoreNovolex Donates Materials to Create Face Shields
Jan/Feb 2021
In April, Novolex donated plastic sheets needed to make face shields to protect health care workers and other first responders as they tackled the COVID-19 pandemic. Individual face shields were cut from up to one-ton rolls of transparent polyethylene produced at Novolex manufacturing centers and then were affixed onto head harnesses at assembly points across […]
Read MoreMICHELMAN HOLDS ANNUAL DAY OF SERVICE
Jan/Feb 2021
Michelman held its ninth Annual Commitment to Community Day in September, with more than 400 associates joining in to help during the pandemic. Staff safely volunteered their time at various charitable and nonprofit organizations throughout the U.S., Belgium, Luxembourg, Japan, Singapore, and China, the company says. Many volunteer activities were conducted outdoors while wearing masks […]
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Liquibox Opens Factory in Madrid
December 29, 2020
Liquibox has opened a 140,000-square-foot flexible packaging “super-factory” in Madrid, Spain, which they’ve been working on since February. The new factory will more than triple the bag-making capacity for the company in continental Europe, while also expanding the types and sizes of flexible bags the company can bring to market. This new capacity is well […]
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Amcor Talks Sustainability at PACK EXPO
Fabio Peyer describes new efforts to enhance quality and recyclability
December 28, 2020
Fabio Peyer, director of sustainability at Amcor Flexibles North America, recently gave a presentation on innovations made at the company to reach milestones in sustainability goals. “The packaging of the future needs to be developed with the end in mind and contribute to the circular economy, while still continuing to meet productivity, product protection, and […]
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Graham Partners Buys Converting Operations
December 22, 2020
Graham Partners has purchased Berry Global Group’s flexible packaging converting business, according to news release from Graham. The acquisition includes six printing and laminating flexible packaging facilities, formerly a part of Berry Global’s North American extrusion, converting and coating business. The business will be combined with Graham Partners’ flexible packaging portfolio company, Advanced Barrier Extrusions […]
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Canadian Supplier to Close Plant
December 15, 2020
Cascades Inc. has announced that its Laval plant in Canada will be closing on June 30, 2021, because of problems faced during the pandemic, according to a company news release. The plant specializes in the manufacture of napkins for the away-from-home market. The Nov. 25 news release says that the plant, which has 54 workers, […]
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A Conversation With Dhuanne Dodrill
CEO, PAXXUS
December 14, 2020
In this expanded FlexFocus interview, PAXXUS CEO Dhuanne Dodrill shares a glimpse into her 30-plus-year career journey.
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Ship & Shore Expands Into India
December 8, 2020
Ship & Shore Environmental Inc., based in Long Beach, California, is expanding its overseas operations into India with engineering services specifically designed for the Indian market, as well as with a team that includes sales, marketing, and business development, the company said in a news release. The company, which specializes in air pollution capture and […]
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Duravant to Buy Cloud Packaging Solutions
December 1, 2020
Duravant LLC has agreed to buy Cloud Packaging Solutions from its parent company, Hearthside Food Solutions LLC. Cloud makes high-speed horizontal flexible packaging equipment. Cloud’s patented rotary soluble pod equipment and ultra-high-speed packet, pouch, and sachet machines will extend Duravant’s reach into new markets, the company said in a news release. Duravant is a global […]
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A Conversation With Paul Frantz
Chief Commercial Officer, Novolex
November 30, 2020
In this Q&A with Novolex Chief Commercial Officer Paul Frantz, we learn about his path from packaging to logistics and back to packaging, as well as some valuable career advice.
Read MorePAC Worldwide Names New Procurement VP
Nov/Dec 2020
PAC Worldwide has named Nellie Perry as vice president of global sourcing and procurement. Perry will oversee the procurement of all resins, prints, coatings, tapes, composites, and related materials used in PAC’s flexible and sustainable packaging, the company said in a news release. The company produces a wide assortment of mailers, pouches, cold chain packaging, and […]
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Polyplex USA to Expand Alabama Facility
November 17, 2020
Polyplex USA will spend more than $100 million at its Decatur, AL, facility to expand its existing operations by adding a second Thin BOPET film line and increasing capacity for captive resin, the company says in a news release. Construction is scheduled to begin in the first half of 2021 and production is expected to […]
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Brook & Whittle Announces New Partnership
November 10, 2020
Brook & Whittle Holding Corp. is now partnering with Tri Print LLC based in Huntington Beach, California. Tri Print provides packaging solutions to brands and customers in consumer markets, including personal care, health and beauty, natural products, nutraceuticals, and celebrity branding, while Brook & Whittle provides sustainable pressure sensitive and shrink sleeve prime labels, according […]
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Spartech Names New CEO
November 3, 2020
Spartech has named John Inks CEO after he had been serving as chief operating officer for the manufacturer of engineered thermoplastics and custom packaging solutions that is based in St. Louis, Missouri. “As chief operating officer for the past 18 months, John has demonstrated exceptional leadership while at the same time driving improvements in a […]
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Advocacy in a Time of Unknowns
Planning will be difficult
Nov/Dec 2020
November is the month of the great unknowns. Questions abound, including how will the elections turn out? Who will be the president come January? Will the Senate flip to the Democrats’ control? Where will we be in fighting the pandemic and will some type of normalcy return, or will we be in the grip of new COVID-19 breakouts and […]
Read MoreCharity Work Goes Digital Because of Virus
Nov/Dec 2020
American Packaging Corp. (APC) and its owners—the Schottland family—have long been involved with The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, founded by the late film star and philanthropist Paul Newman in Ashford, Connecticut.
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Trade Policies in 2021
Election Could Shift Priorities
Nov/Dec 2020
Catty Corp. has been buying light-gauge aluminum foil for more than 80 years. So, after the U.S. began cracking down on imports from China in 2017, the flexible-packaging firm began to further lean on longstanding relationships around the world to ensure a consistent supply. But that didn’t mean it was an easy transition, says Bruce […]
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