| February
2008
Transport
Packaging Forum: Final Countdown
ISTA’s
2008 Transport Packaging Forum begins March 17 at Walt Disney World
in Florida. It’s time to make those plans and reservations!
An outstanding combination of educational content, networking, business
opportunities, recreational and social events, great food, and just
plain FUN, the Forum is a must for anyone involved with transport
packaging and related industries.
Check out the Forum
Website for complete information on registration, hotel, program,
travel, speakers, events, exhibitors, sponsors, and a great FAQ
Section with even further details.
Forum Registration, Hotel Reservations, Airport Transportation
Easy online registration for the Forum is available by Clicking
Here, or call ISTA Headquarters at 517-333-3437. You can also
mail in the registration sheet from the printed brochure which went
out in December. Discounts apply for ISTA, IoPP, and ASTM D-10 members,
multiple attendees from the same company, and educators.
Please notice the “Activities/Information”
section of the registration form. This is where you sign up for
the additional educational, networking, and social events and activities.
Some of these are free, some are extra charge, some are free to
Forum attendees but extra charge for guests – all described
on the form and on the website. Even if an event is free,
you must still sign up to reserve your space. Please help
avoid disappointments by carefully filling out this part of the
form.
You
need to make your hotel reservations separately, either online (Click
Here) or by calling Group Reservations at Coronado Springs Resort,
(407) 939-1020. March is a very busy time of year at Disney, so
don’t delay! Mention the Transport Packaging Forum (Group
Code G0494881) for our room block and special rate.
 Transportation
to/from Orlando International Airport includes the usual taxi, rental
car, shuttle bus, etc. But if you take advantage of Disney’s
Magical Express Service, you’ll receive complimentary round
trip transportation from the airport to Coronado Springs Resort.
If you wish, you can completely bypass baggage claim and have your
luggage delivered directly to your resort room! A Disney's Magical
Express reservation is required 30 days in advance to use the service
– Click
Here for information and reservations or call 407-827-6777.
Exceptional Education
The Forum’s core feature is, of course, the educational content.
This year’s lineup of speakers is outstanding, with topics
in the following areas and more:
• Laboratory testing –
presentations focusing on specific hazard elements and overall
testing protocols
• Observation and measurement
of the distribution environment – speakers on a variety
of aspects
• Packaging historical perspectives
• Temperature-controlled packaging,
studies of temperature profiles during distribution
• Sustainability – several
speakers on various aspects of this important subject
• Packaging design, usability
• Rail industry trends and challenges
• Packaging management, environmental
aspects
Click
Here to view all the speakers, their topics/abstracts, and short
biographies.
CPLP Workshops
  These
workshops are an optional extra event at the Forum, providing a
fast-track approach to becoming an ISTA Certified Packaging Laboratory
Professional. Held before the conference officially starts, the
Workshops can lead to certification as a CPLP Technician, Technologist,
or both. The classes are held on Sunday March 16, and the exams
are given on Monday morning March 17. Click
Here for details on the Workshops and on the CPLP program.
You can register (at extra charge) for the CPLP Workshops when you
register for the Forum, or sign up for them separately. Click
Here or call ISTA at 517-333-3437.
Networking, recreational, and social
activities
There’s always something going on at the Forum. Click
Here for all Event details.
• Sunday, March 16 – Certified
Packaging Laboratory Professional Workshops, see above.
• Monday morning/afternoon,
March 17 – Golf at the Lake Buena Vista course, to benefit
ISTA’s
Educational Foundation. Extra charge, registration required.
• Monday afternoon – “All
About the Forum and ISTA”. Especially informative for new
members, this session provides
an introduction to the Forum and the Association. No charge for
Forum attendees, but advance
registration is required.
• Monday evening – St.
Patrick’s Day Celebration, meet & greet, and volleyball
tournament.
No charge for Forum attendees
and their guests, but advance registration is required.
• Tuesday morning, March 18
– Fun for Families and Guests. Crafts, gifts, fun, and a
“special visitor”
for families, children, and guests (only) of Forum attendees. No
charge
for participants, but advance
registration is definitely required for this very popular event.
• Tuesday evening – the
gala “Welcome Night”. The exact venue and details are
a secret, but
you won’t want to miss
this one! Free for Forum attendees, guest tickets are available
at extra
charge, registration required.
• Wednesday evening, March 19
– Exhibitor Reception. Meet with leading packaging suppliers,
equipment manufacturers, research
institutes and testing laboratories while enjoying an
incredible spread of food and
drinks. Free for Forum attendees, guest tickets are available at
extra charge, registration
required. There will also be a “Breakfast with the Exhibitors”
on
Thursday morning.
Exhibitors
Nearly 40 exhibitors will be at the Forum representing a wide variety
of products and services for the transport packaging and related
industries. The relaxed, congenial atmosphere of the Exhibitor Reception
and the following morning’s Breakfast is perfect for business
discussions of all kinds. Click
Here for complete Exhibitor information, with links to their
individual web sites.
Forum Sponsors and Supporters
ISTA’s sincere appreciation to the following organizations
for their support of the Transport Packaging Forum. Click on the
logos below to visit each web site.
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Sam’s
Club Program Underway
The Sam’s Club distribution environment study and test development
program is now underway, with several initial visits to Distribution
Centers accomplished and more scheduled for the near future. Corporate
sponsorships for this important endeavor are still available.
As described
in previous iNews, the project calls for ISTA to observe and measure
the Sam’s Club distribution environment, analyze the data,
develop simulation packaged-product testing protocols, and provide
Sam’s Club suppliers with technical and educational support.
At this point, observations and photos/videos are being collected
at several Distribution Centers; subsequently, quantitative measurements
will be made. This phase will continue for several months.
With a clearer understanding of the hazards of their distribution
system, and by utilizing tailored simulation laboratory tests, Wal-Mart
partners can better design packages that provide neither too much
nor too little protection. This program will assist Wal-Mart in
reaching the goal of reducing packaging by 5 percent throughout
its supply chain by 2013
Corporate sponsors currently are Bureau Veritas, CHEP, Colgate-Palmolive,
ConAgra Foods, General Mills, Hershey’s, Kraft, and Smart
Packaging Systems. Sponsors will be invited to Data Review sessions,
have the opportunity to test their products in the Protocol Validation
phase, participate in a Symposium on packaging development to meet
Wal-Mart sustainability goals, receive one free registration to
ISTA’s Transport Packaging Forum, and enjoy other benefits
as well.
To learn more about the program and how to become a sponsor, Click
Here.
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RFID
Pharmaceutical Course Held at University of Florida
A
two-day training course entitled “RFID for Pharmaceutical
Applications” was recently held at the University of Florida
in Gainesville. It was presented by the University of Florida Research
Center for Food Distribution and Retailing, and sponsored by Blueye,
Franwell and Motorola.
  Ed
Church, ISTA’s Executive Director, attended the event. The
first day consisted of presentations on “RFID Today”,
“RFID Trials for Pharmaceutical and Blood Products”,
“Using RFID to Monitor Temper-ature”, “Transportation
System for Pharmaceutical Products Using RFID”, “Best
Practices and Processes for RFID Deployment”, and “RFID
Market Trends and Products”. The second day was hands-on experience
in the University’s RFID Lab, with each participant conducting
RFID testing at the case and item levels, and exploring the use
of RFID in Cold Chain Monitoring.
For information about packaging and related disciplines at the University
of Florida, contact Dr. Jean-Pierre Émond, jpemond@ufl.edu.
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ISTA-China
to Hold CPLP Workshop
A Certified Packaging Laboratory Professional (CPLP) Technician-level
workshop will be held March 29, 2008 in Tianjin, China. Presentation
and discussion of the material will be in the morning and early
afternoon, followed by administration of the exam. The lecture/discussion
and exam are in Chinese.
The instructor will be Mr. Han Xueshan of China Packaging Research
& Test Center (CPRTC), who is the only CPLP-Professional in
China. The workshop will be held at CPRTC, No.2 Haichuan Avenue,
Huanghai Road, TEDA, Tianjin, and lodging will be at the Tianjin
East Harbor Hotel.
Registration fee for the Workshop is RMB 2600 Yuan including lunch,
and hotel rates are RMB 400 Yuan per night including breakfast.
Contact Lu
Binglin at CPRTC for complete Workshop and hotel information.
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Upcoming
Industry Conferences and Seminars
Educational
opportunities in the next few months include Healthpack March 4-6
in San Antonio, Cold Chain Summit February 25-27 in Toronto, and
Unit Load Design Short Course at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA.
 
HealthPack
is dedicated to trends in medical device packaging.
This
conference is focused on the packaging and distribution
of temperature sensitive pharmaceuticals.
The Unit Load Design Short Course is subtitled “How to Reduce
the Cost of Shipping Units”.
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