Four members of FPA’s Emerging Leadership Council, volunteered one afternoon in May to judge the association’s annual Student Flexible Packaging Design Challenge.
Read MoreMore than two years after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted traditional methods of training workers, flexible packaging companies continue fine-tuning their approaches that rely on technology to limit face-to-face contact.
Read MoreCybersecurity trends have led FPA to offer its members a cyber risk mitigation and insurance package program, developed by NAM, to help prevent cyberattacks.
Read MoreFlexible packaging companies may have been hoping this year would bring relief to a stubborn shortage of aluminum foil. However, relief does not appear likely anytime soon.
Read MorePrivate investors want to turn one of the largest curbside recyclers in the U.S. into a test bed for building up infrastructure that will be vital to the success of the circular economy.
Read MoreInnovators showcased their top packages at the 66th Annual Flexible Packaging Achievement Awards Competition.
Read MoreSustainability is more than a buzzword for flexible packaging companies. It is spurring a rush to create products that are reusable, recyclable, made entirely from recycled materials, or all of the above. But for many consumers, sustainability is an abstract concept that fails to resonate.
Read MoreThe explosion of e-commerce over the last two years fueled a burst of creativity that will leave a lasting mark on flexible packaging, even if online sales retreat from their pandemic-era highs.
Read MoreThe Women’s Bakery in Rwanda, Africa, represents a microcosm of the packaging industry’s drive for continuous innovation in sustainability and the universal challenge of keeping pace with recycling mandates.
Read MoreLike so much else in the economy, corporate deal-making roared back to life in 2021 as COVID-19 vaccines blunted the worst effects of the pandemic and companies adapted to the risks that remained.
Read MoreThis year, flexible packaging companies will have a new source of polyethylene: A major petrochemical plant erected by Shell along the banks of the Ohio River in Beaver County, Pennsylvania—about 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. The plant is expected to produce 1.6 million tons of polyethylene per year.
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Executives in the flexible packaging industry grasp the challenges in front of them. The hard work lies in moving from understanding to action—or, as Peter Sheahan puts it, from acceptance to ownership.
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As the pandemic entered its 18th month in September, the federal government prepared new rules that would require businesses with 100 or more employees to ensure workers were vaccinated. For some observers, the process underway indicated an overreach that raised flags about whether precedents were being set that would undermine the autonomy of businesses for years.
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To fill job gaps, manufacturers are seeking employees from nontraditional or largely untapped fields. Veterans, women, re-entrants, and refugees constitute a rich supply of motivated, reliable workers.
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From inflation to labor shortages to pinched supply chains, flexible packaging has been going along with the general roller-coaster ride. But the industry has experienced its own unique dynamics based on the diversity of packaged products.
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In recent interviews, some company managers offered insights into the state of the industry and what needs to be done to ensure its vitality, with several of them offering tips on how FPA and the industry can do better.
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The long value chain of plastics packaging, from manufacturers to converters to brand owners, is turning a wary eye to state-level recycling developments. Those developments include new laws labeled as extended producer responsibility (EPR), but they fall short of serving as models.
However, the industry hopes to bring about a workable national policy that brings consistency, a steady and inclusive supply of materials, and innovative infrastructure to recycling.
In the post-pandemic age, automation is more than a solution for labor shortages. It’s the future in a quest for efficiencies, agility, and competitiveness.
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After an FPA Emerging Leadership Council (ELC) committee on recruitment was formed last year, its members quickly determined that they would need to branch out beyond traditional internship programs.
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Openings at American Packaging Corp. run the gamut from entry-level production jobs to engineering positions, says Jeff Fuller, the Columbus, Ohio-based company’s manager of organizational development.
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