in this issue...

To view the iNews archives, click here.

(advertisements)

July 2007

                                 

An outstanding group of educational speakers will be on hand for this year’s Symposium, September 25-26 in Shanghai. The event also includes exhibits and optional CPLP Workshops, golf, and a business visit tour. See the Symposium webpage for full details and registration. The page will be updated frequently, so please check back often.

Program
The program will include topics related to transport packaging, testing, the distribution environment, sustainability, logistics, case studies, and more. For example: 
 


CHINA DISTRIBUTION ENVIRONMENT INFLUENCES NEW CRITERIA
FOR LASER PRINTER PACKAGE DESIGN AND TEST

Terry Baird
Senior Test Engineer
Hewlett-Packard Information Technology R&D (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.


This presentation reviews findings regarding the package handling and vibration environments in China. These are compared with previous assumptions about North American and Europe distribution environments. The resulting impact on internal design and test practices in HP’s LaserJet business is discussed. Finally, selection criteria and considerations in finding acceptable outsourced test laboratories for the new Shanghai LaserJet design business are reviewed. 
 

SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES IN DISTRIBUTION PACKAGING OPERATIONS 
 

Bill Armstrong
Technical Director
Sealed Air Corporation 
 

Sustainable Packaging within an organization should be viewed in the context of overall Sustainable Practices encompassing the entire business enterprise. For Distribution Packaging specifically, Sustainability should start with packaging performance objectives and then address more global issues such as materials, processes, metrics and standards. The selection of appropriate performance criteria then becomes crucial to the overall success of more holistic considerations of Enterprise Sustainability. This presentation will deal with both real-life examples and proposed processes for setting and working toward Sustainability objectives in Distribution Packaging operations. 
 

TEMPERATURE AND AIR CHANGE RATES IN FREIGHT CONTAINERS
DURING TRANSPORT BETWEEN EUROPE AND DESTINATIONS IN
ASIA AND AUSTRALIA

Dr. Thomas Goedecke, Working Group Leader
Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (Germany)
VP of the International Association of Packaging Research Institutes (IAPRI)

The presentation will give an overview of the air change rates of different freight containers such as ventilated, refrigerated and other standard freight containers. A container fully equipped with measurement instruments was used to measure temperatures on trips from Europe to Singapore and Australia. The GPS monitored container was equipped with a 27 channel temperature measurement system, GPS data logger and a temperature/humidity data logger. Companies which export goods from China to Europe can estimate the temperature level in the containers and their products with these results.

Sponsors/Exhibitors
Leading U.S. and Chinese organizations are sponsoring and exhibiting at the Symposium. Dedicated exhibit times during the day and an evening buffet with open exhibits will ensure ample opportunities for business networking. Special recognition goes to Lansmont Corporation, the Symposium’s first Gold sponsor/exhibitor.

                                      Click logo for Lansmont website  

Click Here for information on Sponsoring and Exhibiting

                                                              

CPLP Workshops
Optional ISTA Certified Packaging Laboratory Professional (CPLP) Workshops will be held on September 24, the day before the Symposium officially starts. Both Technician and Technologist level classes are available, conducted by Han Xueshan of CPRTC and Bill Kipp of ISTA. This is a fast and convenient way to achieve CPLP certification with the help of a qualified instructor.

  [Note: the classes are open to anyone, but only ISTA members can be CPLP-Certified]

For a detailed description of the CPLP program, Click Here.
Click Here for complete information on the Symposium Workshops.

Special Events
Golf will be available at extra charge the afternoon of Monday, September 24.

An optional free business visit to Dongling Testing Instrument Factory, a manufacturer of vibration systems in Suzhou, will be offered on Thursday September 27, the day after the Symposium officially concludes. After the visit, attendees will be taken sightseeing in the beautiful city of Suzhou, returning to Shanghai around 5 p.m.

REGISTER NOW!
If received before August 15, registration fees are US$500 [3800 CNY] for ISTA members and US$550 [4200 CNY] for non-members. This includes accommodations.

Click Here to go to on-line registration.
For more information and registration options, Click Here.

Speaking Opportunities Still Available
Click Here for more information.
 
                                                                                                                                Back to top 

CPLP Fall Workshop in Mexico
Preliminary planning is underway to present a Technician-level CPLP Workshop (Certified Packaging Laboratory Professional) in Aguascalientes, Mexico. Tentative time frame is mid-October 2007.

Aguascalientes is roughly in the center of Mexico, and is one of the fastest growing cities in the country. Industry includes the largest Nissan plant outside of Japan, two Texas Instruments plants, a Flextronics plant, and several robotics companies.

The CPLP Workshop will combine a classroom session with laboratory demos to reinforce the material. Presentation will be primarily in English, with appropriate Spanish translation. Anyone can take the class, but ISTA Certification is only available to ISTA members.

Click Here for details or to express interest in this Workshop (no obligation).
For a detailed description of the CPLP program, Click Here.

                                                                                                                                Back to top

Everything Old Is New Again: ISTA Procedure 2F

ISTA “Procedure 5”, essentially a re-print of NMFC Item 180, was originally published in 1994 as a convenience for ISTA members. It has recently been re-released, but this time in the ISTA “mapped” format and given the designation “Procedure 2F”.

Users of other ISTA Procedures will find the organization and layout of Procedure 2F very familiar, and this may be an aid to understanding and performing the various test element alternatives.

2F contains the following statement: “National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) Item 180 is copyrighted by the National Motor Freight Traffic Association, Inc. (NMFTA) and its inclusion in Procedure 2F is with expressed permission of the NMFTA. To be certified under NMFC Item 180, the testing laboratory must register with the National Classification Committee (NCC). Test reports must be submitted to the NCC’s Packaging Engineer with the required information as specified in the NMFC. Successful completion of ISTA Procedure 2F will not imply automatic approval or certification under NMFC Item 180.”

ISTA members can download Procedure 2F at no charge by logging in to the Members Only section of the ISTA website, selecting Procedure Search, and entering 2F. Non-members may purchase Procedures through the ISTA E-Market.
                                                                                                                                Back to top