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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Features for the Flexible Packaging Industry
Find in-depth stories about all the most relevant issues facing flexible packaging today. Digital-expanded and digital-exclusive features offer a deeper look at some of these topics to give you an even fuller view.
Vaccine Mandates Stir Debate
Business Group Expresses Concern About Long-Term Precedents
Jan/Feb 2022
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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From Acceptance to Ownership
Peter Sheahan: Transforming Your Company Starts at the Top
Jan/Feb 2022
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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Sheahan: “Brutal Honesty” Needed to Transform Your Company
CEO of Karrikins Group Discusses Path to His Transformation
January 3, 2022
Peter Sheahan spends a lot of time advising other executives on how to manage corporate transformation. The recipe includes what he describes as a dose of “brutal honesty.” It sounds painful. But it’s something that Sheahan has experienced during his own growth as a company leader. The experience also helped cement his belief that corporate change […]
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Flexible Packaging Company Finds Workers Through Second Chance Program
January 3, 2022
As companies struggle to find workers, many of them turned to alternative programs that can offer a pool of available workers. In the January/February edition of FlexPack VOICE®, we explore some of those ideas, which include hiring former prison inmates. (The digital version of the magazine also can be found online). Here is a closer […]
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‘Shopportunities’ Abound for E-Commerce
Flexible Packaging Provides Best Options, Expert Says
December 20, 2021
The pandemic brought disruptions, but with them came what John Wilson, director of marketing and sustainability for Amcor, calls “shopportunities.”
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Federal Infrastructure Law Includes Some Recycling Funding
More Support for National Plan Could Come Later
December 6, 2021
The federal infrastructure measures signed by President Joe Biden last month include some welcome funds for recycling and environmental programs.
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Plastics Recycling Plant Will Be Fully Operational in Pennsylvania Early in 2022
Facility Will Convert Hard-to-Recycle Plastics Into Building Materials
November 18, 2021
A Pennsylvania recycling plant that will convert plastic waste into construction materials should be fully operational early next year.
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Milestones: A Glimpse at Loyal FPA Members
28 Companies Celebrate Anniversaries with FPA in 2021
November 5, 2021
Each year, FPA recognizes members who are celebrating anniversaries with the organization in five-year increments. In 2021, 28 companies reached one of those milestones. Some of the companies recently responded to surveys that give a glimpse at what they do in the flexible packaging industry. 5 Years: 2016 CleanPlanet Chemical, Inc.: CleanPlanet was formed in […]
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Seminars Touch on Circularity Worldwide
Different Countries Face Similar Issues Reaching Goals
November 5, 2021
As companies and elected officials in the United States continue to debate plastic waste and a circular economy, they often look toward other nations that are farther ahead in their planning and designs. That focus was behind part of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition’s SPC Engage online forum held July 20–21, where experts from the European […]
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A Conversation With David M. Staker
CEO and President, Plastic Packaging Technologies (PPT)
November 4, 2021
Each issue, as well as occasionally in a digital exclusive, FlexPack VOICE® hosts a Q&A segment with an industry leader. Here, we hear from David M. Staker of PPT.
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Watching the States
Recycling Proposals Alarm Observers
Nov/Dec 2021
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.
Milestones: FPA Members Weigh In
Companies Celebrating Anniversaries Discuss Trends, Concerns
Nov/Dec 2021
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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Sudden Storms: Turbulence Defined 2021
Industry Leaders Seek Stability in 2022
Nov/Dec 2021
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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Interns and Opportunities
FPA Program Connects Industry Interns With Each Other and Mentors
October 18, 2021
This summer and fall, FlexPack VOICE® has been taking a closer look at some of the 35 interns who were part of FPA’s summer internship program. Here is a look at two more profiles: Bradley Reinhart and Abid Shafiullah
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Meet the FPA Staff
A Conversation With Ram K. Singhal, FPA Vice President, Technology and Environmental Strategy
October 4, 2021
Continuing the Meet the FPA Staff series, FlexPack VOICE® catches up with Ram K. Singhal, FPA’s vice president of technology and environmental strategy.
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Emerging Leaders Discuss Careers
Members of the FPA Emerging Leadership Council See Vast Opportunities
September 2, 2021
The industry doesn’t have to look far when it comes to showing career development and interest. Several members of the FPA Emerging Leadership Council (ELC) discuss what got them into the industry and how their careers have gone so far.
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Tapping Tech Schools
Worker Shortages Prompt Proactive Steps
Sept/Oct 2021
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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Finding Workers
Experts: Problems Will Linger Long After Pandemic
Sept/Oct 2021
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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Exploring Automation
Challenges Abound For Packagers
Sept/Oct 2021
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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