tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145254802023-11-15T10:36:40.706-05:00The staff of <i>Paperboard Packaging</i> and <i>Official Board Markets</i> bring you the Paperboard Packaging Group Blog. The Paperboard group's in-print and online products serve the global board converting industry. Visit <a href="http://www.packaging-online.com">www.packaging-online.com</a> for more news and information.Paperboard Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09928502875848358715noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14525480.post-1159542885889391852006-09-29T11:12:00.000-04:002006-09-29T11:14:46.440-04:00

Wal-Mart Stores now plans to measure its 60,000 worldwide suppliers on their ability to develop packaging and conserve natural resources. The initiative, scheduled to begin in 2008, is projected to reduce overall packaging by 5 percent.In addition to preventing millions of pounds of trash from reaching landfills, this initiative is projected to save 667,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide from

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09928502875848358715noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14525480.post-1155585510325922822006-08-14T15:56:00.000-04:002006-08-15T12:38:27.656-04:00

Another independent is gone. Field Container Company, L.P. announced last week that it is combining its business with Altivity Packaging, the former consumer packaging business of Smurfit-Stone that was recently acquired by affiliates of Texas Pacific Group. The new company will be named Altivity Packaging, LLC. Founded in 1942, Field Container Company, L.P. is the fifth-largest folding

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09928502875848358715noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14525480.post-1151946478519992882006-07-03T13:07:00.000-04:002006-07-05T11:45:11.586-04:00

Posted by Tom AndelWe’ve entered the season the kid inside us anticipates with joy but the disaster-fatigued business person on the outside dreads. Summer. Meteorologists and Al Gore predict an active hurricane season. We’ve already seen non-hurricane-related flooding in several parts of the country. However, while developing a story on disaster recovery for Official Board Markets, I came across

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09928502875848358715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14525480.post-1150908912267490072006-06-21T12:53:00.000-04:002006-06-21T12:59:09.063-04:00

Posted by Mark Arzoumanian Late last month I received an email from Bill Wong with Rigel Ltd. I don&rsquo;t know how he obtained my address. Perhaps a packaging directory or maybe he subscribes to one of our trade publications. Anyway, the headline stated &ldquo;China&rsquo;s custom folding cartons delivered in five days.&rdquo; What? Rigel, based in Shenzen, China, is going

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14525480.post-1149877393191819882006-06-09T14:21:00.000-04:002006-06-12T09:44:45.756-04:00

Posted By Tom Andel, editor at largeSick of all the RFID hype surrounding the Wal-Mart mandates? As I learned at TAPPI’s RFID Symposium held in Atlanta recently, there are other reasons to care about RFID. Selfish reasons. Like, maybe you can improve data collection and communications in your plant.Maybe you can bridge those islands of information that use sensors to measure critical plant data.

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14525480.post-1149112976106483462006-05-31T18:02:00.000-04:002006-05-31T18:02:56.513-04:00

Posted by Esther DurkalskiDo you know a great young leader that deserves some recognition? Well, Paperboard Packaging is seeking nominations for the great young leaders preparing to blaze packaging's trail to the future. Will they come out of sales, accounting, marketing &mdash; maybe even directly off the plant floor? We want your help identifying the next generation of talent under 40 years

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09928502875848358715noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14525480.post-1148309212770153072006-05-22T10:44:00.000-04:002006-05-22T10:46:53.076-04:00

Posted by Mark ArzoumanianEarlier this month the Treasury Department pooh-poohed the claims of U.S. manufacturers that China was manipulating its currency value to gain an unfair trade advantage. These manufacturers claim that the yuan&rsquo;s value is set artificially low, so low that American firms can&rsquo;t match the prices of Chinese-made goods. Of course the ebbs and flows of U.S.

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14525480.post-1147700945863523762006-05-15T09:47:00.000-04:002006-05-17T15:15:46.903-04:00

Posted by Tom AndelWhat do you think when you see a freshly-cut slice of pizza being separated from a hot, cheesey pie, strings of mozzarella elongating as the delicacy begins its journey to someone’s watering mouth?How about a barcode? Yeah, I guess if you’re hungry enough even bar codes could look like pizza. You could actually make a bar code look like pretty much anything. That’s what the

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14525480.post-1147120189356342232006-05-08T16:29:00.000-04:002006-05-10T13:26:47.446-04:00

Posted by Esther Durkalski The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) estimates that there are six million U.S. workers injured per year at a total cost of more than $125 billion.  "Focusing on safety and health programs is the right thing to do; it saves money and adds value to the organization," said John Henshaw, assistant secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09928502875848358715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14525480.post-1145891539948396662006-05-01T11:11:00.000-04:002006-05-02T09:42:15.043-04:00

Posted by Tom AndelI just wrote a letter to Jack Welch — you know, the former ceo of General Electric. I was actually responding to a column he and his wife Suzy wrote for the May 1 edition of Business Week. In it, they make the case for "What's Right about Wal-Mart." One of the things they say is right about Wal-Mart is that it forces its suppliers to be better.Suzy writes that Jack negotiated

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14525480.post-1145970669630516922006-04-25T09:09:00.000-04:002006-04-25T09:15:06.643-04:00

Posted by Mark Arzoumanian Wal-Mart is in love with business sustainability. What's that, you say? Wal-Mart defines it as economic benefits derived from improve environmental and social outcomes. So why should you care? Well, as a paperboard package maker you already know that Wal-Mart purchases a HUGE amount of corrugated containers and folding cartons. But in the next three years it wants to

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09928502875848358715noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14525480.post-1145288011296946332006-04-17T11:31:00.000-04:002006-04-17T13:12:19.073-04:00

Posted by Esther Durkalski Energy has traditionally been in the top five cost categories for the forest products industry, according to the American Forest and Paper Association (AF&amp;PA). Energy costs as a percent of operating costs have continued to increase dramatically. This past winter a million BTUs of natural gas ran as high $14.50. Four years ago that same amount cost $4.

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09928502875848358715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14525480.post-1144147918019416852006-04-04T06:51:00.000-04:002006-04-05T10:51:00.883-04:00

Posted by Tom AndelI had an interesting series of conversations with principals of the Material Handling Industry of America (www.MHIA.org) last week when attending NA2006, the association’s biennial trade show held at Cleveland’s I-X Center. The topic was the huge increase in the market valuation depicted in MHIA’s 2006-2007 annual report. $125 billion was the figure quoted. I can remember only

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09928502875848358715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14525480.post-1143660464263129582006-03-29T14:24:00.000-05:002006-03-29T14:27:44.276-05:00

Posted by Mark ArzoumanianNo, you say? Why not? Ashamed of what you're making? I hope you believe your cartons and boxes HAVE value. If not, find a new job.Assuming you believe what you sell has value, the challenge is to convey that value to your customers and have them pay for it. Unfortunately, all too often nowadays you find yourself sitting in a room with a 20-something (on the job less than

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09928502875848358715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14525480.post-1142892011548576602006-03-20T16:41:00.000-05:002006-03-22T15:33:07.816-05:00

Posted by Marisa PalmieriThis industry cares about what goes on in Washington, I know it does.And it should -- converters (and all U.S. manufacturers, really) need all the help they can get to stay afloat. The National Association of Manufacturers has some neat tools to help you carry out your civic duties in just a few mouse clicks.One of them is an elected official finder, which allows you to

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09928502875848358715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14525480.post-1142349038012670702006-03-14T09:58:00.000-05:002006-03-15T12:02:46.743-05:00

Posted by Esther DurkalskiAt CeBIT, the world's largest tech and telecoms fair, held last week in Germany, RFID was a hot topic. Firms from around the world exhibiting at the fair showed how they have been using RFID to increase efficiency. Metro, Germany's biggest retailer, said it saved 8.5 million euros (U.S.$10.1 million) in its German operations last year by using the technology to track

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09928502875848358715noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14525480.post-1141919291710744622006-03-09T10:46:00.000-05:002006-03-09T10:48:11.736-05:00

Posted by Tom AndelCustomers are getting smarter about doing business with paperboard packaging suppliers. That’s a mixed blessing. On one hand they’re more knowledgeable about the industry’s cost structure. On the other hand, many use that knowledge to ratchet prices down. I just came back from the Canadian Corrugated Case Association’s annual conference in Toronto, and the keynoter was James

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09928502875848358715noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14525480.post-1141241869482982982006-03-01T14:26:00.000-05:002006-03-02T09:54:08.416-05:00

Posted by Marisa PalmieriLast week I wrote about Fortune magazines's Most Admired Companies Report. I said no integrated paperboard packaging company made the list of 303. I was wrong. I also said that no paperboard players topped the "Packaging, Containers" segment, which is true. However, I overlooked the Forest & Paper Products category entirely, which lists International Paper, Weyerhaeuser,

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09928502875848358715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14525480.post-1140814989556320742006-02-24T15:59:00.000-05:002006-02-27T09:21:10.680-05:00

Posted by Mark ArzoumanianDo you remember going out to trick and treat on Halloween evening? My parents weren't big candy fans, which cut down on the dentist bills. Instead my dad would buy boxes of donuts Halloween day. We'd then put them into plastic bags and distribute them until we ran out. We became a popular destination on Carlson Parkway but always had to watch out for repeat visitors!

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14525480.post-1140806922667830772006-02-24T13:27:00.000-05:002006-02-24T16:07:16.126-05:00

Our friends at the National Association of Manufacturers' blog tipped us off to a fast-approaching deadline for forward-thinking manufacturers, like yourself (we hope!).Managing Automation magazine sponsors the Progressive Manufacturer Awards. If your organization has a progressive project or strategic initiative that falls within one of the six disciplines (Business Model Mastery, Innovation

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09928502875848358715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14525480.post-1140726924709961912006-02-23T14:59:00.000-05:002006-02-23T15:38:18.953-05:00

Posted by Esther DurkalskiYesterday NAM released a new report about the role of small and medium manufacturers in the economy. It's an update and expansion of the first such report that the organization did five years ago. The report can be found here. The report defines the small and medium manufacturers (SMM) profile as small manufacturers are companies with fewer than 500 employees and

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09928502875848358715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14525480.post-1140620648244179972006-02-22T09:22:00.000-05:002006-02-22T11:06:52.366-05:00

Posted by Marisa PalmieriFortune magazine recently published its "America's Most Admired Companies" report. No paperboard packaging company appears on the list of 303. To determine the list, the magazine asks businesspeople to vote for companies they admire from any industry. The eight key indicators considered include: innovation, employee talent, use of corporate assets, social responsibility,

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09928502875848358715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14525480.post-1140532549724064592006-02-21T09:26:00.000-05:002006-02-21T13:39:43.156-05:00

Posted by Tom AndelA couple weeks ago, Business Week’s cover story was about “The Future of Outsourcing.” Guess whose industry was featured in the lead. Yours.Actually it was one of your industry’s equipment suppliers that’s outsourcing a lot of its design engineering to India. The Paper Converting Machine Co., Green Bay, Wis., purchased last year by Barry-Wehmiller Cos., is shifting 160 of these

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14525480.post-1139847672024372992006-02-13T11:18:00.000-05:002006-02-15T15:09:00.270-05:00

Posted by Lee ShillitoPresident of Triad Containers, Bristol, Tenn.Immediate Past President of the Association of Independent Corrugated ConvertersWhat an eye-opener to go to Washington amidst all the hustle and bustle and hear about "The New Economy,” last week during the NAM Fly-In. We heard from our leadership that we are in a transition period. (Click here for OBM's coverage of the event and

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14525480.post-1139601668377612472006-02-10T14:53:00.000-05:002006-02-10T15:01:08.390-05:00

Posted by Marisa PalmieriWe've talked before about the benefits of hiring veterans. Now the National Association of Manufacturers is holding a free webinar for its members in conjunction with its veteran hiring initiative and RecruitMilitary.com.The event takes place Tuesday, Feb. 14 at 1:00 EST (what better day to show your love). Register here.

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