AICC Members Gather in Kansas City - An Xperience Like No Other

AICC Members Gather in Kansas City - An Xperience Like No Other

AICC President Mike D’Angelo opened the meeting on the morning of Wednesday, March 2, by noting the dramatic growth in demand for corrugated packaging in the past two years and the industry’s continuing strain to meet it. Working smarter, understanding customers’ response to changing consumer behavior and leveraging technology will help members maintain their standards of service and long-term customer loyalty, he said.

Gene Marino, Executive Vice President of Akers Packaging Service Group, Middletown, Ohio, and current Chairman of AICC, set the tone for the program by discussing the challenges facing box plant personnel in the current pace of demand. His presentation described a “Strategy for Success” rewarding knowledge, experience, and consistency in processes across all business operations. In other words, to have everyone in the right seat. Marino was followed by Mark Roberts, CEO of OTB Solutions, who asked attendees, “How do you make your company more data-driven?” Citing surveys of buyers in different industries as well as those who purchase corrugated and paperboard products, Roberts made the case that increasing sales will rely on understanding how and why your customer makes purchasing decisions and understanding their challenges in their markets.

A four-member panel of AICC member boxmakers followed, featuring Chris Stoler, CEO of Vanguard Companies, Kansas City; Jana Harris, President of Harris Packaging, Haltom City, Texas; Ed Nusslein, General Manager of McLean Packaging in Pennsauken, N.J.; and Mark McNay, Sr. Vice President and General Manager, SMC Packaging Group, Springfield, Mo. Panelists answered questions posed by Mike D’Angelo and the audience, especially around hiring practices, employee engagement, paper supply, lead-time challenges, and capital equipment purchasing plans.

Adam Peek of Myers Printing, Minneapolis, presented the subject of blockchain and cryptocurrency and their potential for business operations. He explained why this technology is important for the corrugated and folding carton industries to watch and he outlined several areas of the business process where it could be useful, namely on receiving timely price estimates based on real-time production factors, order tracking and proofing and quality control.

The continuing raw material supply issue was the subject of a three-speaker segment on the afternoon of Wednesday, March 2. Pete Butier, President of Evergreen Fibres, reported on the North American containerboard market; Joe Cali of Price and Pierce offered a global perspective, and Ryan Fox of Green Markets, a Bloomberg Company publication, presented a retrospective and analysis of box demand over the past two years.

The program also featured several representatives from corrugated end-users, namely, those in the direct-to-consumer market. Blake Brown, Vice President of Brand and Creative for the Kizik shoe company discussed his company’s experience as a start-up company in finding packaging suppliers. Sephan Ango of the online packaging design marketplace Lumi offered ways that boxmakers can promote themselves to smaller, start-up internet sellers.

On Thursday, March 3, the program continued with the end-user viewpoint with Evelio Mattos, of Package Design Unboxd who recommended ways that box makers can evaluate smaller startups for their potential success.

Turning to the production process and ensuring the quality of the packaging that members are providing their customers, Les Pickering, principal of Quadrant 5, took an in-depth look at factory maintenance procedures, showing best-in-class examples of organized and structured maintenance departments from box plants in the UK, the US and Japan. John Kelley, CEO of Dusobox Creative Packaging Group, Orlando, Fla., then presented an overview of hybrid flexographic and digital printing presses now coming to the market. These presses can offer boxmakers and their customers versatility in addressing graphics and printing solutions, especially for the growing e-commerce segment.

Closing out the speaking portion of the program was Kim Alexis Newton, founder of Alexis Enterprises, LLC, a manufacturer of custom-made quilts. She recounted the start of her company and how she has successfully worked with AICC member Vanguard Packaging in creating their online packaging solutions.

After the program closed, members traveled to tour Lawrence Paper Company in Lawrence, Kan., followed by SMC Packaging Group’s Arrowhead Containers Division in Kansas City, Mo. Justin Hill, President, and Russ Packard, Vice President, of Lawrence Paper welcomed the group to their plant, and in Kansas City, SMC Packaging Group CEO Kevin Ausburn and Arrowhead Containers General Manager Vern Bennett hosted members there.

Sponsors of the Packaging XPerience were Equipment Finance Corp.; SUN Automation Group; Pamarco; Poteet Printing Systems and tour hosts Lawrence Paper Company and Arrowhead Containers. For more information about AICC’s Packaging XPerience or any other AICC educational programs, contact Taryn Pyle at tpyle@aiccbox.org, or Chelsea May at cmay@aiccbox.org.