iNews June 2006

ISTA Gets Around
ISTA Staff and Officers are always participating in industry-related shows, conferences, technical meetings, and the like. But this last month or so has been particularly busy with Packaging Services Expo, a Forest Products Society seminar, Poly Pack, an ASTM meeting, and the NIPHLE Annual Conference.

Packaging Services Expo
ISTA was a sponsor and exhibitor at Packaging Services Expo, held in May at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL. The ISTA booth was a gathering point for members (several of whom participated in the show as exhibitors), and was visited by people interested in learning how ISTA helps control costs, damage, and resources during distribution.

                                      ISTA Secretary Leon Venech of SGS U.S. Testing (center, in brown shirt and tie),
                                      ISTA Executive Director Ed Church (2nd from right), and Larry Dull of Syngenta
                                     Crop Protection (to Leon’s right, ISTA VP-Operations and IoPP President) help
                                      representatives from sponsoring organizations and other dignitaries cut the
                                      ribbon to open Packaging Summit 2006.

Ed Church and Meredith Young of ISTA staff were on hand to promote the Association and answer questions about our many programs. ISTA also hosted a luncheon on Tuesday, where Joan Pierce of Colgate-Palmolive (and ISTA's recently elected President) spoke to the attendees about "The Logistics Side of the Equation".

Packaging Services Expo is a part of The Packaging Summit, which also includes the Packaging Containers & Materials Expo and the Packaging Summit Conference. Next year’s version will be held May 15-17, 2007, again in Rosemont. ISTA members interested in participating should contact Show Director Angel Roloff at angel@pkgsummit.com.

Forest Products Society Seminar
Meredith Young, ISTA Director of Member Services, ISTA Officers Dan Hill (ABF Freight Systems) and Dennis Young (Dennis Young & Associates), as well as ISTA member Suzanne Fisher of Herman Miller, recently spoke at a seminar in East Lansing presented by the Great Lakes Section of the Forest Products Society. The event, “Innovative Packaging and Transportation of Wood”, focused on issues relevant to wood products, especially furniture.

Over 40 people attended the seminar, some from as far away as North Carolina. Case studies were presented and the basics of packaging were discussed during the morning session. Meredith's presentation consisted of a detailed review of testing procedures, especially those dealing with furniture, and the best method for selecting that "Just Right Test". Attendees were also treated to a tour of Michigan State’s packaging laboratory facility in the afternoon.

PDF copies of Meredith's presentation are available by request — Click Here!

Poly Pack 2006
Bill Armstrong of Sealed Air (ISTA Past President), ISTA Executive Director Ed Church, Paul Russell of HP (ISTA Director), and Herb Schueneman of San Jose State (ISTA Dave LeButt Award recipient), all spoke at Poly Pack 2006. Poly Pack is a three-day packaging symposium which brings industry together with education for learning and the exploring of mutual opportunities.

ASTM D10 Meeting
The fall meeting of ASTM International’s Committee D10 on Packaging took place in Toronto last month, with ISTA Executive Director Ed Church, Sealed Air’s Bill Armstrong (ISTA Past President), and Paul Singh of Michigan State (ISTA VP of Testing & Certification) in attendance. Subcommittee, task group, and other meetings were held on a variety of issues; items of particular interest to ISTA members included:

     • Small Parcel Task Group Meeting
       This effort continues, with the meeting devoted to a detailed review of the current draft and a
       discussion of the drop heights and impact orientations.

     • Vibration Test Method, D 999
       There was discussion that the Repetitive Shock Tests of Methods A1 and A2 might be too
       severe for large containers and IBCs. It was suggested that the requirement to pass the
       indicating shim under an entire length of the package be changed to only a corner. This might
       apply to all packages or only to certain types of packages.

     • ISO 4180 Revision
       Apparently ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is working on a revision to their
       package performance test standard, 4180. A first draft document has been written.

     • ASTM D 4169 Temperature Tolerance
       D 4169, “Performance Testing of Shipping Containers and Systems” requires a conditioning
       temperature tolerance of ± 1° C. There was general agreement in the meeting that this is a
       difficult accuracy to achieve.

NIPHLE Conference
The National Institute of Packaging Handling and Logistics Engineers (NIPHLE) held its 50th Anniversary Training Conference last week in Baltimore. ISTA Dimensions.06 speakers Mike Bacior of FedEx Ground, Eric Joneson of Lansmont (ISTA Executive VP), and Paul Singh of Michigan State (ISTA VP of Testing and Certification) were on the program. ISTA Executive Director Ed Church and Bill Armstrong of Sealed Air (ISTA Past President) also attended. Congratulations to Paul Singh, who received NIPHLE’s 2006 Achievement Award in Logistics.

Project 3B Basic Test Elements Being Defined

The development of Project 3B, a new ISTA test to simulate the Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) environment, is underway. The 3B Task Group has reviewed results of a carrier survey, and is currently defining the basic test elements to be included in the protocol.

The 3B Task Group board on the ISTA website Discussion Forum has been very active, with members contributing a number of good comments and suggestions. These include possible test variations to accommodate flat or long packages and pallets, inclusion of concentrated impacts and hazard drops/impacts, the advisability of horizontal and vertical compression tests, effectiveness of lift truck handling tests, tip/tipover considerations for tall and top-heavy packages, increased severity edge drops, atmospheric conditioning, and other issues. Once all inputs have been received and resolved, writing of a first draft can begin.

The 3B discussion board is only open to Task Group members. If you have something to contribute or would like to be in the Group, contact Meredith Young at ISTA Headquarters.

Promote Your Company in the ISTA Booth at Pack Expo!

PackExpo, billed as “North America’s Most Complete Packaging Show”, will be held October 29 - November 2, 2006, in Chicago, IL. ISTA will be on hand with a booth again this year – and we are offering a unique opportunity for our members to "exhibit without being there" or to supplement their show presence.

ISTA has secured a 20' x 10' booth for this year’s show, and we will be using the extra space to not only promote ISTA activities and programs, but also to offer promotion to our laboratory and supplier members. This is a great chance to target the over 50,000 attendees from every segment of packaging without the expense of travel and exhibit space. If you're already exhibiting you can use this chance to expand your visibility even more, as we'll publicize your booth number and additional information for you! The ISTA booth, located in the Packaging Education Pavilion, is situated in a high-traffic location – right at the entrance to the North Hall and next to the PackExpo.com informational booth.

Showcase your products and services to professionals that are looking specifically for what you have to offer! For a nominal $350 fee you will receive:
     • Display of your company literature in the booth
     • Signage with your company logo in color, company name, and website address – plus your
       PackExpo booth number if your company is at the show!
     • Promotion in a targeted email that will be sent to over 2,000 packaging professionals in
       September (this email will again show your company logo and link to your website)
     • Promotion in the August and September issues of iNews

To arrange your participation, please contact Meredith Young at ISTA Headquarters.
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Register Now for Packaging Summit Europe

Packaging Summit Europe is dedicated to bringing brand owners, packaging services, and materials companies together under one roof for a two day high level conference and exhibition. To be held July 4 & 5 in Amsterdam, the event focuses on contract packaging services across the entire spectrum from product concepts through fulfillment and distribution.

The Summit features speakers from Europe’s leading organizations, including Unilever, Beiersdorf AG, Avery Dennison, Nestlé, Procter & Gamble, Cardinal Health, SCA Packaging Europe, Tetra Pak, HP Speciality Printing Systems, and others. Over 20 exhibitors will be displaying the latest in services, design, software, products, components, and materials.

Click Here for complete information and to register.
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Want to be a Speaker at Dimensions.07?

No, that headline is not a misprint. Sure, Dimensions.06 was held less than two months ago, and Dimensions.07 is still over nine months away – but obtaining outstanding presenters is so important that the process is started very early.

Dimensions.07, The International Forum on Transport Packaging, will be held March 27-30, 2007, at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, FL. This annual conference has become the most highly-regarded and best-attended event of its type in the world. See last month’s iNews for a brief wrap-up of the 2006 version.

If you have an interesting and informative topic related to transport packaging, the transportation/distribution environment, product protection, testing, packaging innovations, or related subjects and would like to be a speaker, we want to hear from you! Contact Lisa Bonsignore at ISTA Headquarters and tell her you’d like to be considered.

The 2006 speakers and topics are posted on the Dimensions website. Click Here for an idea of the range of subjects and areas of interest which are appropriate.

Remember that all presentations must be strictly non-commercial in nature. If your company has a product or service that you’d like to promote, consider being a Dimensions exhibitor, it’s an effective way to showcase your products or services to a very targeted audience.

Check the Dimensions website for basic information on Dimensions.07, for a great 2006 event photo gallery, and for the 2006 speakers, sponsors, and exhibitors.