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.
Watching the States

Watching the States

Recycling Proposals Alarm Observers

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.

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Milestones: FPA Members Weigh In

Milestones: FPA Members Weigh In

Companies Celebrating Anniversaries Discuss Trends, Concerns

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

Sudden Storms: Turbulence Defined 2021

Industry Leaders Seek Stability in 2022

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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Digital Exclusive
Interns and Opportunities

Interns and Opportunities

FPA Program Connects Industry Interns With Each Other and Mentors

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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Digital Exclusive
Meet the FPA Staff

Meet the FPA Staff

A Conversation With Ram K. Singhal, FPA Vice President, Technology and Environmental Strategy

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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Digital Exclusive
Emerging Leaders Discuss Careers

Emerging Leaders Discuss Careers

Members of the FPA Emerging Leadership Council See Vast Opportunities

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

Tapping Tech Schools

Worker Shortages Prompt Proactive Steps

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

Finding Workers

Experts: Problems Will Linger Long After Pandemic

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

Exploring Automation

Challenges Abound For Packagers

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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Digital Exclusive
Expanded Interview With Catherine Heckman

Expanded Interview With Catherine Heckman

Business Unit Director, Ashland

In this segment, we interview Catherine Heckman, business unit director—North America, laminating, adhesives and coatings at Ashland, a global specialty materials company.

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Digital Exclusive
Interns and Opportunities

Interns and Opportunities

FPA Program Connects Industry Interns With Each Other and Mentors

This summer, the Flexible Packaging Association (FPA) coordinated a program that brought together approximately 35 interns from across various companies in the packaging and flexible packaging industries.

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Digital Exclusive
Milestones: EarthFirst® Films by PSI

Milestones: EarthFirst® Films by PSI

25 Years as an FPA Member

EarthFirst® Films by PSI (Plastic Suppliers, Inc.) has been a member of the Flexible Packaging Association for 25 years, making it one of the longest-serving members of the trade association based in Annapolis, Maryland.

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Digital Exclusive
FPA Summer Intern Program Starts

FPA Summer Intern Program Starts

Program Formed by the Emerging Leadership Council Recruitment Committee

The recruitment committee of the FPA Emerging Leadership Council (ELC) launched its first program this summer, with 35 students participating from about 16 companies, large and small, across FPA’s membership.

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Digital Exclusive
Biden Administration Highlights Environmental Justice While Changing Trump Policies

Biden Administration Highlights Environmental Justice While Changing Trump Policies

FPA Committee and Staff Track Developments Through Periodic Reports

Each quarter, FPA’s Environmental, Health, and Safety Committee (EHS) reports to members on federal environmental regulatory and court developments, capturing the significant policy changes that can affect the industry. After a new administration takes over, the changes can be significant and numerous.

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Infrastructure and Recycling Debate Accelerates

Infrastructure and Recycling Debate Accelerates

FPA Monitors Biden Administration Stances on Sustainability, Trade, Taxes, and Environmental Justice

The definition of “infrastructure” has been a flashpoint for policymakers in Washington, D.C., ever since President Joseph R. Biden Jr. unveiled a $2.3 trillion spending bill to bolster infrastructure in the United States. Roads, bridges, and broadband internet service make the cut on nearly every list.

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Moving Ahead On Recycling

Moving Ahead On Recycling

Advocates: 2021 May Be the Year for National Decisions

Recycling issues in the U.S. are not new, but the ability to get a coordinated response hasn’t been easy. So, last year, various stakeholders along the supply chain organized a group to see if they could create actionable ideas.

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Trade Shows Going Live

Trade Shows Going Live

Organizers Prepared With New Safety Guidelines

In a vastly altered globe since last year, flexible packaging converters and suppliers seize innovations as they reinvent for a refashioned, post-pandemic economy.

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Digital Exclusive
Oregon Moves Fast on EPR Legislation

Oregon Moves Fast on EPR Legislation

Several Lessons Found in Actions in Various States, FPA Lobbyists Say

Legislators in Oregon hammered out an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) bill this spring, expecting to sign into law a measure that puts much of the responsibility for handling waste on the companies that make products.

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Digital Exclusive

Automation Dominates Manufacturing Landscape

PMMI’s PACK EXPO in September to Highlight Issues

Years before the pandemic, manufacturers were struggling to find new workers, leading to innovative ways of using automation to replace jobs where it made sense.

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