November 2004

Bill Armstrong Achieves CPLP Professional  Status

Bill Armstrong of Sealed Air Corporation has become the fourth person certified as a CPLP “Professional”, the highest level in ISTA’s Certified Packaging Laboratory Professional program.

Bill clearly epitomizes the concept of “packaging professional”. A 1968 graduate of Michigan State University’s School of Packaging and now a life member of the MSU Packaging Alumni Association, he has compiled an impressive list of industry accomplishments, activities, and awards.

He is currently Technical Development Manager for Sealed Air, where he has staff responsibility for all global labs and for the corporate dynamics lab, as well as providing support for R&D, sales, marketing, and new product development. He also represents the corporation on many technical and professional associations, including ASTM International, ISTA, IoPP, and NIPHLE. Prior to Sealed Air, he was a Technical Editor for Package Engineering Magazine, in sales/marketing management for Tenneco’s Foam and Plastics Division, and a packaging engineer for Monterey Research Laboratory. He holds several patents relating to protective packaging designs.

Bill has always “given back” to the industry, including active participation and leadership in a number of organizations, for example:
     • Past President of ISTA (2002-2004)
     • First President of IoPP (1989)
     • Former Chair of IoPP’s Ameristar Packaging Design Competition, and long-time
       competition judge
     • Participation in fundraising efforts for the IoPP Student Chapters, his local IoPP chapter,
       and the MSU Packaging Alumni Association
     • Past or current member of advisory groups for MSU, Rochester Institute of Technology,
       Indiana State, and California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly)
     • Over twenty-five years of active participation in both ISTA and ASTM standards writing groups
     • Active NIPHLE member since 1981

Bill’s list of recognitions and awards includes:
     • IoPP Lifetime Certified Packaging Professional and a member of the IoPP College of Fellows
     • Michigan State University National Alumni Service Award, 1989
     • NIPHLE Annual Achievement Award in Packaging, 1992
     • MSU School of Packaging Hall of Fame, 1997
     • NIPHLE Military Packaging Hall of Fame, 2002
     • PEF Hall of Fame, 2003

Congratulations to Bill Armstrong for his latest achievement, certification as a CPLP Professional!
Click Here for complete information on the CPLP program and a list of all recipients. 

THIS JUST IN! Bill and his wife Pat were very excited to welcome their first grandchild, Isabella Rose, on November 17, 2004. Isabella is the daughter of Dr's Melanie and Ruben Acosta. She weighed in at 8 pounds, 3 ounces and was 21 inches long. Congrats to everyone! 
 

The ISTA Survey: Results In, T-Shirts Going Out

Response to the recent membership survey was tremendous, with almost a 30% return! Our sincere appreciation to all who participated – your “thank you” T-shirts are on their way.

The survey was quite extensive, with sections on membership, certification, education, test procedures, publications, the website, Dimensions, and much more. The results are being carefully analyzed, but here are a few highlights:
     • 96% of respondents are “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with ISTA overall
     • 92% were “likely” or “very likely” to recommend ISTA membership to others
     • New types of test procedures most requested were for LTL transport, mixed loads,
       and medical device packaging
     • A third of the respondents visit ISTA’s website (www.ista.org) at least once a month

The survey results will have a significant influence on future ISTA operations and activities. Look for a comprehensive report in the upcoming PreShipment Testing Newsletter. 

ISTA at Pack Expo

ISTA’s booth at Pack Expo in Chicago earlier this month was a gathering place for members, prospective members, and friends. New graphics and a pro-active approach made it possibly our most successful show ever.


The emphasis this year was on projecting a clear image of what ISTA is and does, promoting the benefits, and encouraging increased membership. Kathy Joneson designed booth graphics with the catchphrase “We help companies reduce damage and costs during distribution”, along with an explanation and promotion of the Transit Tested Program. Membership applications, the new membership brochure, and the new Dimensions.05 brochure were a part of the booth literature, and the response was quite favorable.


The photograph below shows a visiting group of ISTA members from the China Packaging Research and Test Center in Shanghai.
                

ISTA Fall Board of Directors Meeting
The fall Board meeting was held during Pack Expo, with 17 Officers, Directors, and staff in attendance. Topics discussed (among others) included a new organization chart, the new ISTA database, testing and certification activities, planned educational events, and membership development.

The new organization reflects implementation of the major planning objectives established in November 2003, with Vice Presidents of Operations, Member Services, Testing and Certification, and Education. These are in addition to the Executive VP, VP-Finance, and the Executive VP-International. Click Here for information on all Officers and Directors.

The consolidated ISTA database will combine several separate record-keeping operations for better coordination and functionality. It will support a number of website and other functions used by members, and it was suggested that an introduction be given during Dimensions.05. It was agreed that this could be incorporated into the “All About Dimensions, ISTA & IoPP” session on Tuesday afternoon. Click Here for the Dimensions.05 website.

In the Testing and Certification discussion, the current status of Project 4AB and the Data Depot was presented. It was decided to form a task group to establish a business plan under which the program and information would be made available to members, sponsors, and the public in general.

A Testing and Certification Council has been established, with 8 members. Its function is to implement the review, validation and approval process for new projects and/or changes that was adopted at the recent Technical Committee meeting. A meeting of the Council will be set by the end of the year.

ISTA currently has 3 requests for “company-specific” test procedures – modifications or variations of ISTA Procedures which suit the purposes of specific organizations, and which they would like to be approved and formally adopted by ISTA. It was agreed to set up the policies and act quickly on these requests.

Plans for the ISTA Asian Symposium, now tentatively scheduled for the spring of 2005, were discussed. Negotiations are underway with an organization in China which could provide both promotion and administration. Also, ISTA has agreed to produce the “Testing, Distribution and Quality Control” track at the new Packaging Services Expo to be held in 2005.

The membership development discussion centered on results from the recent survey. More analysis needs to be done, but clearly the survey will indicate how to better serve members, and will influence future membership development activities.

A more thorough report of this meeting will be published in the upcoming PreShipment Testing Newsletter. The next Board meeting will be held at Dimensions.05 in March, 2005. 

CPLPs Given “Members Only” Website Access
ISTA member company Delegates and Alternates are allowed online access through the Members Only website section. Recently, we’ve extended that access to CPLP Technician, Technologist and Professional recipients.

Exclusive access through the ISTA website allows members to view and download current procedures, edit contact information, pay dues, search for other members, and more. Click Here for complete information.

As an extra benefit for achieving certification status through the CPLP program, we’ve recently sent CPLP recipients who are not Delegates and Alternates their own login information. If you did not receive this email, and you’ve obtained CPLP certification, please contact Meredith Young. 

ISTA to Participate in Packaging Services Expo
                                           
Packaging Services Expo is a new exhibition and conference showcasing service providers in contract packaging, package design, package testing, and related areas. ISTA will be producing a conference track entitled “Testing, Distribution and Quality Control”.

Sponsored by IoPP, the Contract Packagers Association, and Packaging World Magazine, the event will be held May 10-12, 2005 in Chicago. It combines an exhibit and a technical conference, with scheduling to permit convenient attendance at both. ISTA’s track will present package performance testing, the various approaches and benefits, how to work with a contract testing lab, how to use test results, and case studies of successful test programs. Anyone interested in being a speaker should contact Bill Kipp at ISTA.

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