February 2005

The big event is only 18 days away and counting – there’s still time to register but you need to hurry! Dimensions.05 kicks off Tuesday evening, March 8th with a welcome reception on Sunset Boulevard at Disney-MGM Studios. You also will not want to miss the Exhibitors reception Thursday evening, March 10th. Click here to view current Exhibitors list.

Presented by ISTA and IoPP, Dimensions is the perfect combination of learning, networking, business, and fun! Presentations will cover a wide range of topics, including case studies, the global supply-chain, hazmat and RFID. Click Here for complete information, and be sure to check out the FAQ Section for answers to almost any question about the event.

Make your hotel reservations at Coronado Springs Resort by calling the hotel directly at 407-939-1020. Please make sure you mention Dimensions.05 to receive the group rate.

The Certified Packaging Laboratory Professional (CPLP) Workshop will be held on Monday, March 7th, with the exams Tuesday morning. Click Here for more information and to register. 
   

The “China Symposium” is shaping up as a world-class event. Presented by ISTA and our Chinese partner Ivy Management, in cooperation with the China Packaging Technology Association, the Symposium is scheduled for April 7-9 in Chengdu, China. Current U.S. sponsors are FedEx, Sealed Air Corporation, Lansmont Corporation, and L.A.B. Equipment.

The Symposium combines a technical conference featuring both U.S. and Chinese speakers, an exhibition with table-top displays, an evening reception, and (optionally) a CPLP Technician-level Workshop. About 125 attendees are expected, including representatives from large- and medium-scale product manufacturers and shippers, package and packaging material suppliers, service providers, testing lab personnel, carriers, enterprises dealing with any aspect of transit packaging, and national organizations in the transit packaging field

Up-to-date information on the Symposium has been posted to the ISTA website. Click Here to read all about it.

Sponsorship and exhibiting opportunities are still available. For $2000, Sponsors will receive recognition in all pre-Symposium publicity, at the Symposium itself, and in the Proceedings. Publicity will be by print, e-mail, and on the ISTA and Ivy websites, where sponsor websites will be linked. In addition, all Sponsors will receive one free exhibit space and one free Symposium attendance. Click Here for details.

Table-top exhibit spaces are $500 each, including recognition in all pre-Symposium publicity (with website links as appropriate) and in the Proceedings. Each exhibitor will be invited to make a short presentation during the Symposium on their company, products, or services, and the content of their exhibit. Click Here for details.

Please support our Symposium Sponsors: 

Testing and Certification Council Meeting

The inaugural meeting of the ISTA Testing & Certification Council was held in Addison, IL on February 8th, with 10 of the current 13 seated Council members present.

The Council, which is made up of representatives of all ISTA member classes, is responsible for the review and approval of all newly proposed ISTA testing Projects, the process of upgrading Projects to established Procedures, and issues that arise pertaining to ISTA’s certification programs (labs, packages and people).

This first meeting, hosted and chaired by Chad Thompson of UPS, ISTA’s Vice President of Testing and Certification, finalized the operating policies of the Council as well as the roles the Council members will play. Details of proposed Project 3B for the less-than-truckload (LTL) environment, and its development, were discussed in detail. The new Procedure 3A (for the small parcel delivery environment) was also discussed, with clarifications given in several areas. Procedure 3A will be included in the upcoming 2005 ISTA Resource Book and is currently available to all ISTA members online.

The concluding discussion concerned the Council’s activities in relation to the current 3-Year Plan developed by the Board of Directors. Two task groups were formed: the first, for the creation and validation of Project 3B. This task group will be exclusively responsible for writing the standard, including all hazards to be tested and the levels for those tests. They will also be responsible for validating the standard once they’ve finalized the details. Validation will entail a number of tests being run by several laboratories. The other task group will start a comprehensive review of Procedure 3A, focusing on editorial concerns and the Procedure’s ease of understanding.

Volunteers are needed for both task groups and all member representatives are welcome to participate. If you are interested in helping, please contact Meredith Young.

The next meeting of the Council will take place in late spring of 2005, exact time and place to be determined.  

Meeting attendees were (left to right): Colvin Allen of Sealed Air, Manny Rosa of Pro-Pack, Richard Nyce of Sauder Woodworking, Ed Church (ISTA Executive Director), Dave Powers of Copeland Corporation, Eric Joneson of Lansmont, Rich Thomas of Smurfit-Stone, Perry Hock of gh Package and Product Testing & Consulting, Rick Roberti of SGS U.S. Testing, and Chad Thompson of UPS. Also attending was Meredith Young of the ISTA staff, who took this picture. Council members unable to attend were Andy Saviano of Codman, Pal Khangaldy of Westpak, and Shawn Drager of Springs Window Fashions.                

CPLP Workshop at Cal Poly’s “Poly Pack”
                             

“Poly Pack” is California Polytechnic State University’s annual three-day packaging get-together for industry and education. This year's event will be held May 11-13. On Tuesday May 10, the day before Poly Pack officially starts, ISTA and Cal Poly are cooperating to present a Technician-level CPLP Workshop.

This Workshop will be similar to the one described above in the Dimensions article, but for the Technician CPLP level only. The class will be taught by Chad Thompson of UPS Professional Services, ISTA’s VP of Testing and Certification. Attendees will receive the appropriate study materials in advance for familiarization, then the Workshop will present all subjects in detail and answer questions. After a break the exam will be administered. Click Here for a full description of the CPLP program.

Complete Workshop information and registration details should be available soon on the Poly Pack website, or e-mail Dr. Jay Singh, Packaging Program Coordinator.
 

Packaging Services Expo
Packaging Services Expo, sponsored by IoPP, the Contract Packagers Association, and Packaging World Magazine, will be held May 10-12, in Chicago. This new event combines a trade show and technical conference. ISTA is producing the conference track “Testing, Distribution, and Quality Control”.

The ISTA speakers are:
     • Rick Roberti of SGS U.S. Testing
     • Lejo Brana of Packaging Technology Center
     • Paul Singh of Michigan State University
     • Jay Singh of Cal Poly State University
     • Bob Fiedler of Adalis Corporation
     • Patricia Patrick of Pira International
     • Dick Sheehan of 3M
     • Eric Joneson of Lansmont Corporation
     • Pat Nolan of DDL, Inc.
     • Ed Church and Bill Kipp of ISTA

This conference has a couple of unique aspects. First, it is only held in the mornings, to allow both attendance at the conference and ample time to see the show. Second, a person may register for only the individual sessions which are of specific interest, making attendance not only efficient but economical.

Click Here for more information on the Expo, conference, registration, and exhibit space reservation.