You Still Have Time to Register for the Forum!

Register today and join the 175-plus attendees who will be participating in the Forum April 6-9 at the JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort and Spa! At the Forum you’ll interact and network with industry peers to discuss critical issues, share solutions and gain ideas about the latest techniques, approaches and advancements of sustainable transport packaging and the physical distribution of products. Check out the line-up of world-leading experts from the transport packaging industry who will be presenting at this year’s event. Be there and become a more knowledgeable packaging professional. Register now!

CPLP Workshop at the Forum – A terrific opportunity to achieve CPLP status under one travel expense!
Become an ISTA Certified Packaging Laboratory Professional (CPLP) while attending the Forum! Normally taken in a self-study format, the Forum offers the opportunity for you to take the "live" version - in a classroom setting and with an experienced instructor. Two levels of certification are available: both Technician and Technologist courses will be offered on Sunday, April 5th (Technician 8am to 12:30pm; Technologist 1pm to 5:30pm). The certification exam will be held Monday, April 6th from 8am to Noon. Although the Workshop is open to everyone, the exam will be administered only to ISTA members. There is an additional cost for these workshops and exam. Click here for more information and to register.

Thank You Forum Sponsors
We’d like to extend a huge thank you to our Forum Sponsors for their generous support and dedication to our educational event.

Forum Exhibitors
The evening exhibitors reception and the following morning breakfast with exhibitors provide terrific opportunities for attendees to meet with the packaging suppliers, equipment manufacturers, research institutes and laboratories on exhibit during the Forum. The following companies will be exhibiting their products and services at the Forum.

ISTA European Executive Council (IEEC) Meets in Sweden
ISTA’s European Executive Council (IEEC) recently met in Stockholm, Sweden at ITENE. The individuals in attendance were: Ed Church of ISTA, Bart Feys of Lansmont Corporation, Sam Sheppard Fidler of Pira International, Thomas Goedecke of BAM, Soren Ostergaard of Danish Technological Institute, Carmen Sanchez of ITENE, Thomas Trost of STFI-Packforsk, Greg Wood of STFI Packforsk and Javier Zabaleta of ITENE.

The council made great progress on plans to create a European Consumer Goods Test Standard for Mixed Load Distribution. The aim is to reproduce the rigors of the European supply chain from regional distribution center to the store. The council also discussed plans for the first ever ISTA-Europe Packaging Symposium to be held in Valencia, Spain this upcoming Fall. Look for more information in future ISTA publications and by visiting the ISTA website as details become available.

June CPLP Workshops in Aguascalientes, Mexico
For the third year in a row, ISTA and the Aguascalientes campus of Tecnológico de Monterrey will present Certified Packaging Laboratory Professional workshops in Mexico. The dates are June 11-13, including both Technician and Technologist classes and a hands-on laboratory experience.

The Technician class will be held on Thursday, June 11 from 08:00 to 16:30 (8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), with presentation and discussion of the material in the morning and afternoon, followed by administration of the exam from 16:35 to 18:30 (4:35 to 6:30 p.m.). On Saturday June 13, the Technologist class will follow a similar schedule. Lunch and refreshments will be provided both days.

On the day in-between, Friday June 12, both classes are invited to a tour and hands-on demonstrations at a nearby package testing laboratory. This is a completely equipped lab, and many of the topics and principles of the classroom sessions will be shown and experienced to provide valuable reinforcement of the course material. Technician participants are invited to stay the day after their class for this lab activity; Technologist participants are invited to arrive the day before their class.

The presentations, study materials, and exams are all in English, but simultaneous translation and exam assistance in Spanish will be provided. English proficiency is very helpful for successful participation. Course lesson booklets and a 2009 ISTA Resource Book will be furnished to applicants in advance of the Workshop.

Registration fee is 11,385 Mexican Pesos including IVA (US$800 including value-added tax) per class. Anyone may participate in the workshops, but only ISTA members, or employees of ISTA-member companies, may take the exams to become CPLP-Certified. Non-member applicants may pay an additional fee of 2,350 Mexican Pesos (US$165) for an individual one-year ISTA membership.

Contact Omar Palos Raymundo, (omar.palos@itesm.mx), Phone: +52 (449) 9 100 900 ext 5761 for complete information and to register for the workshops. Travel arrangements and hotel reservations must be made separately. Ask for information regarding local hotels when you register.

For a detailed description of the CPLP program, Click Here.

ISTA Project 3B Nearing Publication
The official ballot for ISTA Project 3B, the new protocol to simulate Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) distribution environments, is now out to the ISTA Test Series Group (TSG). All TSG members – please remember to vote by the March 31 deadline.

Project 3B covers standard packages, cylindrical packages, and palletized/skidded loads shipped via LTL. Test elements include atmospheric conditioning, tip/tipover, drop and impact (including rotational and hazard drops, incline and concentrated impacts), random vibration with top load, and fork lift handling.

It is anticipated that Project 3B will be passed by the TSG and given final approval by the ISTA Technical Council during its upcoming meeting at the Transport Packaging Forum. The new protocol will then be immediately published on-line. ISTA members may obtain it at no charge by going to the “Member Center” on the ISTA website and choosing “Download Test Procedures”. Non-members may purchase it from the E-Market.

Contact Bill Kipp at ISTA (bkipp@ista.org) if you’d like to know more about Project 3B.

Fall Educational Events - Mark Your Calendars
ISTA-China Packaging Symposium
Plans are well underway for the next ISTA-China Packaging Symposium to be held September 16-18 in Shenzhen, China. The CPLP Technologist Workshop will be held the day prior to the Symposium on September 15th. Keep checking the ISTA website as more details become available.

Field Data Workshop II
Plan to attend ISTA's next Field Data Workshop to be held again at the James B. Henry Center for Executive Development on the Michigan State University Campus in East Lansing, Michigan. This workshop will address the benefits, theories, and practical aspects of field measurement, data analysis and the creation of simulation tests. Tentative dates are scheduled for October 15-16.

ISTA-Europe Packaging Symposium to be held in Valencia, Spain. Tentative dates are scheduled for October 26-28.

Chester J. Mackson Executive Office
The MSU School of Packaging is creating a high level office in which to house important visitors such as speakers, dignitaries, and other individuals working with program development and implementation. Through the generosity of one of the School’s current faculty, monies have been donated to begin the renovation of an area in the building into the Chester J. Mackson Executive Office. Chet Mackson, former Director of the MSU School of Packaging, died May 21, 2008 at the age of 88. He was Director of the School from 1977 - 1986 during one of the School’s most expansive, and successful periods.

This private office space will be fully equipped with the latest in computer hardware and software, and the furnishings necessary to make it a comfortable and fully functional office for the executive away from home. MSU School of Packaging has approximately two-thirds of the funds identified, but are still looking to generous donors to help fund this office dedicated to Chet Mackson.

To contribute to the development of the Chester J. Mackson Executive Office, please send a check payable to Michigan State University, to the attention of Bruce Harte, Michigan State University, 141 Packaging Building, East Lansing, MI 48824-1223.