July/ Aug 2019 AICC BoxScore: Workplace Woes and Wows

A PUBLICATION OF AICC, THE INDEPENDENT PACKAGING ASSOCIATION

July/August 2019 Volume 23, No. 4

STANDING THE TEST OF TIME Converters must engage their current—and future—workforce to ensure a brighter tomorrow

ALSO INSIDE Eager to Innovate The Workforce Skills Challenge Special Section: Your New AICC President

TABLE OF CONTENTS July/August 2019 • Volume 23, Issue 4

COLUMNS

38 FEATURES

38

STANDING THE TEST OF TIME Converters must engage their current—and future—workforce to ensure a brighter tomorrow

46

EAGER TO INNOVATE One fresh industry face offers unique insight on the value of connecting with the next generation of packaging pros

50

46

THE WORKFORCE SKILLS CHALLENGE

50

Business and industry must work with educators to improve workforce development

54

SPECIAL SECTION: YOUR NEW AICC PRESIDENT Mike D’Angelo is ready to serve those who make AICC strong—its members

3

CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE

4

SCORING BOXES

8

LEGISLATIVE REPORT

12

MEMBERS MEETING

15

ASK RALPH

16

ASK TOM

18

SELLING TODAY

22

TACKLING TRENDS

24

ANDRAGOGY

26

LEADERSHIP

30

FROM FLEXO

58

THE ASSOCIATE ADVANTAGE

60

WHAT THE TECH?

62

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

68

THE FINAL SCORE

DEPARTMENTS

10

WELCOME, NEW MEMBERS

35

GOOD FOR BUSINESS

66

ICPF UPDATE

54

BoxScore is published bimonthly by AICC, The Independent Packaging Association, PO Box 25708, Alexandria, VA 22313, USA. Rates for reprints and permissions of articles printed are available upon request. The statements and opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of AICC. The publisher reserves the right to accept or reject any editorial or advertising matter at its discretion. The publisher is not responsible for claims made by advertisers. POSTMASTER: Send change of address to BoxScore, AICC, PO Box 25708, Alexandria, VA 22313, USA. ©2019 AICC. All rights reserved.

Visit www.aiccboxscore.org for Member News and even more great columns.

Scan the QR code to check them out!

BOXSCORE www.aiccbox.org

1

OFFICERS Chairman: Joseph M. Palmeri, Jamestown Container Companies First Vice Chairman: Jay Carman, StandFast Packaging Vice Chairwoman: Jana Harris, Harris Packaging/ American Carton Vice Chairman: Matt Davis, Packaging Express Immediate Past Chairman: Al Hoodwin, Michigan City Paper Box Chairman, Past Chairmen’s Council: Tony Schleich, American Packaging Corp.

President: Michael D'Angelo, AICC Secretary/General Counsel: David P. Goch, Webster Chamberlain & Bean Counsel Emeritus: Paul H. Vishny, Esq. AICC Canada Director: Jana Marmei DIRECTORS-AT-LARGE Kevin Ausburn, SMC Packaging Group Gary Brewer, Package Crafters Marco Ferrara, Cartones Sultana Finn MacDonald, Independent II Nelva Walz, Michigan City Paper Box DIRECTORS David DeLine, DeLine Box Company Ben DeSollar, Sumter Packaging Eric Elgin, Oklahoma Interpak Guy Ockerlund, OxBox Mike Schaefer, Tavens Packaging & Display Stuart Fenkel, McLean Packaging AICC Canada: Terri-Lynn Levesque, Royal Containers Ltd.

AICC México: Pedro R. Aguirre Martinez, Tecnología de Cartón Overseas Director: Kim Nelson, Royal Containers Ltd.

SUBMIT EDITORIAL IDEAS, NEWS & LETTERS TO: BoxScore@theYGSgroup.com

EMERGING LEADER BOARD DELEGATES Josh Sobel, Jamestown Container Companies Daniel Brettschneider, CST Systems

CONTRIBUTORS Maria Frustaci, Director of Administration and Director of Latin America Cindy Huber, Director of Meetings and Conventions Chelsea May, Education and Training Manager Laura Mihalick, Senior Meetings Manager Taryn Pyle, Director of Education and Leadership Development Alyce Ryan, Marketing Coordinator Patrick Moore, Member Relations Coordinator Steve Young, Ambassador-at-Large Richard M. Flaherty, President, ICPF

ASSOCIATE MEMBER DIRECTORS Chairman: Dave Burgess, JB Machinery Vice Chairman: Pat Szany, American Corrugated Machine Corp.

Secretary: Joe Morelli, Huston Patterson Printers Director: Greg Jones, SUN Automation Group Immediate Past Chairman: Ed Gargiulo, Equipment Finance Corp.

ADVISORS TO THE CHAIRMAN John Bolender, Niagara Sheets LLC North Greg Arvanigian, Arvco Container Dave Burgess, JB Machinery PUBLICATION STAFF Publisher: Michael D'Angelo, mdangelo@aiccbox.org Editor: Virginia Humphrey, vhumphrey@aiccbox.org EDITORIAL/DESIGN SERVICES The YGS Group • www.theYGSgroup.com Vice President: Jack Davidson Senior Managing Editor: Ashley Reid Senior Editor: Sam Hoffmeister Copy Editor: Steve Kennedy Creative Director: Serena L. Spiezio Art Director: Mike Vucic Account Manager: Brian Hershey

ADVERTISING Information: Virginia Humphrey, vhumphrey@aiccbox.org Opportunities: Taryn Pyle 703-535-1391 • tpyle@aiccbox.org AICC PO Box 25708 Alexandria, VA 22313 Phone 703-836-2422 Toll-free 877-836-2422 Fax 703-836-2795 www.aiccbox.org

ABOUT AICC AICC, The Independent Packaging Association, is uniting and celebrating the success of inspired, independent packaging companies. We are a growing membership association which has served independents since 1974.

WHEN YOU INVEST AND ENGAGE, AICC WILL DELIVER SUCCESS.

Chairman’s Message

Technology Is Helping Us Build a Great Independent Workforce

T

he theme of this issue of BoxScore is Workforce Wows and Woes. As I have traveled around the country in my role as AICC chairman this year, it seems I’m frequently asked the following question: Joe, how do you find and keep good workers in all your plants? Here at Jamestown, we’ve hit on what I call a three-part approach: 1) using technology to afford flexibility; 2) utilizing technology to find and recruit new talent; and 3) utilizing new technology and automation to reduce our reliance on labor. Let me elaborate.

First, we have found that for today’s professionals, flexible hours and schedules are an attractive benefit. So, we have allowed our office personnel the option to work from home several days a month. Technology makes this possible, as we are all connected now via internet and our wireless devices, so let’s take advantage of it. This can’t work for every position, of course, but for certain accounting or other office functions, it is feasible.

In addition, because we are a multiplant system, we find that good people are energized by new challenges, and so, if an opening occurs in one plant, we offer it internally to those in other locations. Thus, there are frequent opportunities for advancement or learning new skills within our company. Some of these new responsibilities can be handled remotely or with minimum travel to the new location, so again, technology allows us to do this.

Second, we are utilizing today’s technology to help in our recruiting efforts, primarily through the use of social media platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn. We find we can get the Jamestown Container Cos.’ message out faster to a far wider audience of prospective employees using these social and professional networks. To help make this possible, we recruit summer interns from local colleges—read: young people—to research, post, and distribute our message electronically. These bright students help us out, and in learning our business, they may well stay on after graduation.

Third, working with our AICC Associate members, we always look for ways to automate our plants in order to help reduce the number of workers we need. Automatic pre-feeders come to mind to help reduce the labor needed on some of our machine centers. Safety is another key attraction in our company, where our plant operations, aided by our good suppliers, provide the safest of work environments for all our associates.

Finally, in keeping with my “Invest and Engage” theme, we utilize the resources that AICC provides in training and education and even in recruiting, such as AICC’s recent partnership with JobPath (www.jobpath.com), which helps members recruit qualified military veterans. When you invest and engage, AICC delivers success—and helps you build an excellent workforce!

Joseph M. Palmeri President, Corrugated Packaging, Jamestown Container Cos. Chairman, AICC BOXSCORE www.aiccbox.org

3

Scoring Boxes

Learning About Trends in Customers’ Industries

BY DICK STORAT

4

BOXSCORE July/August 2019

% Change Year-Over-Year

Nondurable Goods Employment Growth Percent Change Year-Over-Year

2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

2017

Jul 2018

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Source: U.S. BLS

2019

Food Industries Employment Growth Percent Change Year-Over-Year

% Change Year-Over-Year

4.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May 2017

Jun

Jul 2018

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Source: U.S. BLS

2019

Food Price Inflation Percent Change Year-Over-Year Monthly and Annual Average

2.5 % Change Year-Over-Year

T

he more an independent corrugated converter can learn about customers’ industries, the better he or she will be able to anticipate and meet changing needs. While there are many ways to increase knowledge about an industry, this article will focus on two areas of employment and inflation changes using information available in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) online data.

BLS publishes data monthly for metropolitan area, state, regional, and national aggregations. The BLS website, www.bls. gov, is the place to look for this data. In this article, we will focus on national-level information and provide a few examples of how the data can be used to learn more about the employment and inflation trends in key sectors.

More than three-quarters of corrugated boxes and other corrugated materials are used to satisfy the need for packaging in the nondurable goods sector. So, understanding price and employment trends in this sector can help us understand the broad range of customers who manufacture and package these fast-moving goods.

Currently, 4.2 million workers are employed in the nondurable goods sector. Employment growth is shown as year-over-year change by month and as an average annual rate of growth in the top chart at right. First, notice that growth was continuous over the entire period. During 2018, employment grew less rapidly than in 2017, ranging between 0.7% and 1.2% during the year. During the first four months of this year, growth has held up in the narrow range of 1.0% to 1.1%. During the 2017–2019 period, total nonfarm employment growth rose

2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0

-0.5 -1.0 -1.5

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May 2017

Jun

Jul 2018

Aug

Sep 2019

Oct

Nov

Dec Annual Source: U.S. BLS

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Scoring Boxes

6

BOXSCORE July/August 2019

Processed Poultry Price Inflation Percent Change Year-Over-Year Monthly and Annual Average

6.0 4.0 2.0 % Change Year-Over-Year

at a steady rate of 1.4% to 1.9%, outpacing nondurable goods growth, which ranged between 0.7% and 1.6% over the same period.

Within the nondurable goods sector, food represents the largest single market for corrugated packaging. Employment in the food industries amounts to 1.6 million currently, which is 39% of total nondurable goods manufacturing.

Here, the employment growth trend is more favorable for growth in packaging demand. Employment grew consistently between 2017 and 2019, but at a higher rate. However, month-to-month growth has been modest since the fourth quarter of last year. This reflects the growing inventories of manufactured goods, which are slowing production growth and the need for more workers.

Another way to learn about conditions in specific industries is to look at the pace at which prices for those industries’ goods are rising. BLS publishes very detailed information monthly on price increases that are summarized into the Producer Price Index (PPI). Last year, the PPI advanced by 2.8%, and for the first quarter of this year, it has grown at an average rate of 2.0% per year.

Comparing the overall PPI growth to that of food can help us understand conditions in the food sector. The rate of inflation growth in the food industry is shown in the bottom chart on Page 4.

Food prices fell during the second half of last year and averaged only 0.2% growth on an annual basis.

Food prices stabilized by the end of last year and have picked up so far this year, averaging 0.7% growth during the first quarter. However, food prices are still

0.0 -2.0 -4.0 -6.0 -8.0

-10.0 -12.0

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

2017

growing at a slower rate than the overall 2.0% PPI growth during the first quarter.

The BLS data allows the user to zero in on the price inflation for a specific commodity. As an example, the chart above shows that price inflation growth for processed poultry follows a very different path than does the overall food sector.

Starting in September 2017, poultry prices fell substantially. That weakness continued throughout last year, dropping by as much as 10% year over year last summer. On an annual basis, the decline averaged 6.8%. Processed poultry prices have stabilized during the first quarter of this year. For the past two years, feed prices have also declined because of bountiful grain harvests. Less-expensive feed encouraged more rapid poultry growth, and that excess supply translated into lower prices for processed poultry.

Jul 2018

Aug

Sep 2019

Oct

Nov

Dec Annual Source: U.S. BLS

What is important to remember is that the BLS monthly employment and inflation data is provided at such a detailed level that users of the data can likely find a detailed product that closely matches a customer’s business focus.

That, in turn, provides an independent corrugated converter with the opportunity to learn more about a customer’s business conditions to be better prepared for customer discussions. Go to www.bls. gov to get started.

Dick Storat is president of Richard Storat & Associates.

He can be reached at 610-282-6033 or storatre@aol.com.

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Legislative Report

Association Health Plan Update

BY ERIC ELGIN

B

ack in the May/June 2018 issue of BoxScore, we introduced you to Association Health Plans (AHPs) and AICC’s efforts to make an AHP available to its U.S.-based members.

What’s an AHP? To refresh, in early 2018, President Donald Trump, through an executive order, tasked the Department of Labor (DoL) with modifying existing rules in order to make it easier for small employers to offer their employees better health coverage at lower rates and to avoid some of the regulatory burdens that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) puts on small employers. The new rules took effect in September 2018.

So, where’s the AHP program offered

by AICC to its members? Shortly after the new DoL rules took effect, 11 states and the District of Columbia sued the federal government, alleging that the new rules “sabotage our health care system and gut consumer protections. …” On March 28, 2019, Senior Judge John D. Bates of the Federal Court for the District of Columbia found for the plaintiffs. The rule, stated the judge, “is clearly an end run around the ACA.” The DoL is expected to appeal the ruling.

We have opined in these pages that changing rules by executive order is never preferable to legislation. Bills were recently introduced in both the House and the Senate that would ensure that small businesses and self-employed individuals will still have access to AHPs. Sens. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) introduced a bill shortly after the judge’s action in the D.C. court. The Enzi-Alexander bill would codify the AHP rules as they went into

8

BOXSCORE July/August 2019

effect in September, allowing access to the same lower-cost health insurance with the same patient protections as those plans offered by larger employers. A companion bill was introduced in the House by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.).

“Association Health Plans work for small businesses,” Enzi said in April.

“They provide coverage to people who would not otherwise have it, and they provide comprehensive health benefits at an affordable price the same way larger employers do—the same way most folks get insurance. One family shoe store probably cannot get an insurance company to play ball, but 1,000 family shoe stores probably could.”

Both bills have been endorsed by the Coalition to Protect and Promote Association Health Plans, which pointed out that AHPs formed under the DoL rule are subject to the same coverage requirements that apply to ACA-compliant plans, contrary to some claims made by opponents of AHPs. The coalition includes the American Society of Association Executives, of which AICC

is a member, and nearly two dozen other national and state-level associations.

“Importantly, all AHPs are voluntarily covering all or virtually all of the ACA’s ‘essential health benefits,’ ” the coalition said in a statement in April. “The bottom line is that AHPs are not an ‘end run’ around any federal or state law, despite recent assertions.”

AICC will continue to monitor developments and advocate for its membership. Preliminary work has been done with a large insurer to be prepared once legislation passes or the appeals process is complete. Should you have the opportunity to speak with your House member and/or your U.S. senators, please inform them of your support for this legislation.

Eric Elgin is owner of Oklahoma Interpak and chairman of AICC’s Government Affairs Subcommittee. He can be reached at 918-687-1681 or eric@okinterpak.com.

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AMERICAN BOX & RECYCLING CO. LEV DAVIDSON President 3900 N. 10th St. Philadelphia, PA 19140 Phone: 800-970-3777 www.amboxco.com

KPI INCORPORATED MAX VON HILLEBRANDT Project Manager 3909 N. College Ave. Indianapolis, IN 46205 Phone: 317-288-0470 www.kpiincorporated.com

CHICKASAW CONTAINER TRAVIS DAVIS JR. Owner P.O. Box 49 219 S. Carter St. Okolona, MS 38860 Phone: 662-447-3339 www.chickasawboxes.com

CORRUGATED CHEMICALS JOHN STEIN Corporate Sales Manager 3865 Virginia Ave. Cincinnati, OH 45227 Phone: 513-561-7773 www.corrugatedchemicals.com

TRENTON CORRUGATED IAN BERNSTEIN President 17 Chelten Way Trenton, NJ 08638 Phone: 609-695-0808 www.trentoncorrugated.com

PRECISION INDUSTRIAL CONTRACTORS TIFFANY MARTELL Director of Operations 1555 Down River Dr. Woodland, WA 98674 Phone: 360-225-7955 www.picateam.com

PATRIOT PACKAGING ELI BROWN President P.O. Box 131 North Vernon, IN 47265 Phone: 812-346-0700 www.patriotpkg.com

BOXSCORE July/August 2019

VERSO CORP. BARRY CHAPMAN Vice President, Containerboard & Kraft Paper 8540 Gander Creek Drive Miamisburg, OH 45342 Phone: 901-530-4494 www.versoco.com

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Members Meeting

AICC Mexico Meeting & Trade Fair

12

BOXSCORE July/August 2019

Photos courtesy of AICC.

T

he Grand Fiesta Americana Hotel in Querétaro, Mexico, beckoned more than 175 AICC members to gather for the AICC Mexico Annual Meeting & Trade Fair, May 15–17.

The meeting began with two seminars: • Psychology and Great Package Design, led by R. Andrew Hurley, Ph.D., associate professor of packaging science at Clemson University, discussed how to measure the efficiency of packaging design in retail markets and in e-commerce. Hurley also explained the psychology of human factors. The session focused on the perceptions, cognitions, attractiveness, and decision-making of buyers and consumers.

By the end of the seminar, participants were able to better understand what drives human behavior and how to advise, evaluate, and develop more effective packaging designs.

• Production Leadership, moderated

by Scott Ellis, Ed.D., principal of Working Well LLC, helped attendees grow as leaders and analyze the tools and practices necessary to measure the production of machinery, create parameters, track improvements, and achieve success in the fields of both production and finance. Attendees learned process optimization tools and expanded their knowledge of various strategies to engage employees and encourage analytical reasoning.

Through these strategies, employees can take on more responsibilities pertaining to the daily optimization of products and services.

The reception and trade fair opening followed, with 32 exhibitors sharing their latest innovations.

More than 175 members participated in the AICC Mexico Meeting & Trade Fair. From left: Norma Arteaga of Central National Gottesman, Mileva Cohen of Canusa Corp., Rafael Carmona of CESCO, and Pedro Aguirre of Tecnología de Cartón and AICC Mexico President.

The following day, the general session featured Ron Sasine, principal of Hudson Windsor, who gave an update about the North American containerboard industry, which was prepared by Bank of Montreal; Duncan Wood, director of Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute, who talked about the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) from a Mexico prospective; and Hurley, who discussed reaching customers and looking for new opportunities. Later that day, Sasine returned to the stage and spoke about packaging requirements in Mexico and the T-MEC (how Mexico refers to the USMCA) impact on the packaging industry. Finally, attendees heard from keynote speaker Dr. María de

Attendees were invited to tour Artigraf in San Juan del R ío, QRO. From left: Rodolfo Espinosa of ICASA, Regina Galindo of Carton Machinery, and Carlos Cartu of ICASA.

Members Meeting

Lourdes Dieck-Assad, vice president of hemispheric and global affairs at the University of Miami, about Mexico in the World – Economic and Global Perspectives.

That evening, after more time on the trade fair floor, attendees enjoyed a cocktail reception and a dinner to celebrate Juan Javier Gonzalez, CEO of Cartró, S.A.P.I. de C.V., the 2019 inductee into the AICC Mexico Hall of Fame.

On the last day, attendees participated in a tour of Artigraf, S.A. de C.V., in San Juan del Río.

The AICC Mexico Emerging Leaders also learned and networked during the annual meeting. The program offered a training from Juan Gerardo Mata, principal of Kathedra Consulting Group, and Ellis on The New Industrial Revolution.

The event also featured a tour of Querétaro, a cocktail reception, and a dinner.

AICC Mexico thanks all of the exhibitors who participated in the trade fair and appreciates the support of the sponsors who made the event possible: Platinum sponsor, Policart; Gold sponsor,

BHS; Silver sponsor, KOLBUS; and Bronze sponsors Alliance Machine Systems, Amtech Software, Corrugados y Especialidades, S.A. de C.V., SUN Automation Group, ARC International, EAM-Mosca, ALHU International, BCM Inks, RapidBond Inc., Serra, Carton. com, Goettsch International Inc., and Ingenieros Consultores Asociados, S.A. For more information about AICC Mexico, contact Maria Frustaci, AICC’s director of Latin America, at 703-8362422 or mfrustaci@aiccbox.org.

Juan Javier Gonzalez of CARTRO (left), who was inducted into the 2019 Hall of Fame, with AICC Mexico President Pedro Aguirre, and Luis Alonzo Gonzalez of CARTRO. BOXSCORE www.aiccbox.org

13

Ask Ralph

Foreign Ownership of Domestic Containerboard

BY RALPH YOUNG

I

n April 2019, Palm in Germany announced a recovered-fiber containerboard mill producing linerboard grades in the 13#/MSF to 21#/MSF range. We here in North America are a long way off from following this leading example of rightweighting. While mill assets are one thing, converting is another, and the England-based company DS Smith is an excellent recent example of box design creativity that has served this organization in Europe and taken a foothold here in the U.S. We wrote about this in a recent BoxScore article titled “The European Invasion.” Actually, the British, specifically, were here in the early 1990s, when Lin Pac built a paper mill in Cowpens, S.C., and bought converting plants on the East Coast.

If you wish to review the domestic corrugated history over the last 50 years here, you will find a three-part series on this consolidation in the archives at www. aiccbox.org.

With a recent webinar by our network associate Fisher International, we thought it might be a good time to share the current trends of offshore investments in the U.S. space. While the big three domestic producers—International Paper, WestRock, and Georgia-Pacific—have overseas ownerships, it is the other global players that are coming here. Foreign ownership in pulp and paper has doubled in capacity and risen in entities from nine to 13 in the last 12 years. While the majority of this is in grades other than containerboard, we thought we would briefly mention all the countries that have interests here.

So, we have seen that companies from South Africa, India, Finland, Sweden, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, and Italy have invested in noncontainerboard products such as specialties, tissue, printing and writing, and market pulp; Mexico, Great Britain, Ireland, Australia, and China have positions in containerboard production. China, via Nine Dragons’ America Chung Nam operation, have been on the East and West Coasts since 1990, buying various grades of recovered papers for shipments into China. In the last two years, 15 mills have been acquired. One Chinese company has even announced a greenfield virgin kraft mill in Arkansas. While Southern pine fiber won’t be a concern, getting environmental permits will be a challenge. How much will be consumed here, and how much is likely to be exported?

Foreign ownership has large positions in tissue and printing and writing grades, but this is not the case in containerboard—less than 5% of the total 40 million tons per year. Without converting facilities and professional sales structures for these new entrants, we assume that the tonnage will be sold through brokers. North America remains a safe haven for others, as we are a sizable and mature market (second to China) and are stable, rather concentrated, easy to enter, and have high EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) margins and a low-risk business environment. However, with every new occupant in a rather defined space, disruptions can occur, such as the tolerance for lower margins.

With continuing domestic mergers and acquisitions and somewhat of an ease of entry with repurposing existing newsprint and printing and writing mills to containerboard, this view of the U.S. as a safe haven for investments means both of these trends are likely to endure. The industry is on pause right now, as we have an overcapacity issue, dropping through the floor pricing on OCC and mixed waste, a tariff war with China, a slowdown in the global economy, overemployment, a rising awareness of rightweight packaging, and e-commerce and Amazon initiatives.

With the plastic industry under attack via the awareness of ocean dumping and its impact on marine life and our beaches, opportunities exist for paper substitutions.

Municipalities and states are banning various plastic packing materials. Plastic straws, single-use bags, and food service containers are already transitioning. As a friend once said, the first piece of plastic produced is still with us! New biodegradable coatings and barriers for fiber-based products are being announced often. Fisher International expects either a domestic or foreign company to convert a facility to folding box board, or FBB, a replacement for the more expensive solid bleached sulfite.

Ralph Young is the principal of Alternative Paper Solutions and is AICC’s technical advisor.

Contact Ralph directly about technical issues that impact our industry at askralph@aiccbox.org.

BOXSCORE www.aiccbox.org

15

Ask Tom

The Folding Carton Industry: From a Former Insider

BY TOM WEBER

A

s some of you may know, I spent the bulk of my career in the folding carton industry with several majors and a relatively minor player.

Although one might think the major and minor businesses were distinctly different, they truly were not. My objective was always to serve the customer, first and foremost. As many would say, the customers of any company pay all of us.

And as I observe today’s activities in the industry I have dearly loved for so many years, I am rather chagrined at the rate of change for what appears to be no good customer reason.

The majors are definitely getting bigger through acquisition and consolidation, and the pool of minors is shrinking at an alarming rate. My advice to the many wonderful independent folding carton companies out there is to stay and fight and not give up—better times are ahead for you. These majors are acquiring great independent companies at a staggering rate and then trying to “synergize” their purchases to create some quick value by cutting heads, as they refer to the fine folks that built the very assets they just paid handsomely for. This does not make much sense to me. The folks running the company are the company! I am not talking about hands and backs, but heads and hearts—the soul of the company.

At the end of the day, these majors are in a fight for their lives as they decimate many of their acquisitions with too little regard for the carnage they leave behind.

The one truth in the equation is that the customer still gets to vote on their supply source, and many will not be bullied. I strongly believe that any independent

16

BOXSCORE July/August 2019

that still treats its people well and its customers even better will ultimately carry the day when it comes to getting new opportunities, which as we all know are the lifeblood of any business.

The majors are “losing the ball in the sun” when it comes to customer services and an attitude of gratitude, as well.

These days, they seem to think they are the only game in town, and that is absolutely not the case. The new world order is beginning to emerge as independents are beating the devil out of the big guys when it comes to lead times and quality, leading to better value. If something is too good to be true, it usually is, so cost is rarely the most significant factor in a customer’s decision matrix. If that’s the case, run,

don’t walk away, for this year anyway, but try again in 2020.

I have seen it from 30,000 feet for the past four years, and if I were younger, I would purchase a carton business tomorrow and beat the big guys at their own game. I have never had more ex-customers call me in my industry consultant role to ask me how best to find and qualify better supply sources than the majors. These ex-customers are exasperated at what has happened to them in recent years, and they feel as though they are trapped by heavy-handed leadership that announces they have purchased their good folding carton supply partner, then immediately announces a new cast of characters to call on them when

Ask Tom

all of the known ones are dismissed.

Lastly, six months later they announce to the customer via an email that their “supply-chain-approved” carton plant of choice has now been closed permanently and consolidated into another already full-capacity facility. If this does not spell opportunity to all of you independents out there, then I don’t know what does.

This is the time to market and sell with all of the energy and resources you can muster. There are hundreds of prospects and ex-customers out there that need you desperately and would love to know

you’re still alive and kicking. The folding carton lead times have been getting stretched further and further as people, quality, and customer service have been cut once, twice, and cut some more. The time to strike is now ! These customers may not pick up the phone and call you, but they will definitely take your call and set up an appointment to hear that you may have a plan to help them end the pain they are incurring daily. Yes, they will not want to hear that it may cost a little more, but at the end of the day, they will be encouraged that someone

has given them a great pathway back to normalcy and a robust supply chain that can allow them to once again meet their cherished customers’ needs with trust and confidence.

Here’s to a great second half of 2019, the year of the independents.

Tom Weber is folding carton advisor for AICC. Do you have any questions?

Ask Tom at 440-221-3103 or tweber@aiccbox.org.

BOXSCORE www.aiccbox.org

17

Selling Today

How to Find the Right Type of Salesperson to Fit Your Needs

BY TODD M. ZIELINSKI AND LISA BENSON

I

f you’ve ever hired a salesperson who looked great on paper, only to find out they couldn’t perform to your expectations, you are not alone. However, the issue might not be the person’s résumé, or your expectations for that matter. The issue may be that your hiring practices, team structure, and compensation plan may be working against the company’s success.

Manufacturing employers tend to ask these same few questions when evaluating someone for a sales position: “Do you know the industry?” “Do you know our market?” “Are you experienced?”

There is a considerable emphasis placed on the answers to these questions, but these should be secondary to the skills required of the individual, which will depend on the function the salesperson is performing.

What Type of Salesperson Do You Need?

There are two types of salespeople: those who can find and build new relationships and opportunities with people they have never done business with, the hunters; and those who can retain and grow the current customer base, the farmers.

Hunters and farmers have different skill sets. Both types are valuable and necessary, but you must first determine which is the best fit for your needs. It is rare to find someone who can do both equally well long-term.

Hunters: Relationship Creators Often, companies will look for a salesperson with a list of contacts, commonly referred to as the Rolodex. There is too much emphasis placed on individuals

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BOXSCORE July/August 2019

who come with what appears to be a Rolodex of qualified connections. Will their connection list convert into new accounts? Maybe. However, a Rolodex is not a skill. What happens when that list of contacts runs out?

The list of contacts is a nice additional perk on top of having the skill set needed for the job. For example, if you are looking for a hunter, do they have hunting communication skills, the ability to identify and articulate value, the stamina to take repeated rejection without giving up, and the ability to build a whole new relationship from scratch? These skills are particularly valuable if the individual is coming into a business where there are no house accounts or there is no book of business to transfer, and they have to start from scratch.

Farmers: Relationship Nurturers Placement for someone in an account management, or farmer, role requires

a different skill set. Farmers are more focused on building and nurturing longterm relationships. They connect with the customer’s team and build relationships with them. They take a new customer and create the level of trust needed to continually grow that business.

That’s not to say that hunters don’t build trust or create relationships.

Farmers excel at nurturing current relationships, and hunters excel at finding and creating relationships where none existed previously.

How to Tell the Difference The key is to dig into the detail. If someone says that they maintained a book of business worth $5 million, the first question should be: “How much was transferred or inherited?” If you are looking for a hunter, follow up with: “How many were new accounts that you developed, and what is the revenue associated with them out of that $5 million?”

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Selling Today

If you are looking for a farmer, follow up with: “What is the longest relationship you have managed, and how have you grown it?” and “What is your customer retention rate year to year?”

Also, ask your interviewee about their selling or account management processes.

What are the activities they do each week and month to develop new business or further engage existing customers? How do they measure and track their progress and achievements related to their process and activities? By asking this, you are trying to understand whether there is a structure or a repetitive process that they execute regularly that will consistently bring in new business or grow current customers.

Using Personality Profile Tests Another way to determine where your potential employee will fit best in your organization is through personality profile tests. Many types of personality profile tests can effectively help you determine whether your potential hire is a hunter or farmer type based on their behavior. The one that our company uses is by PXT Select, called “The Profile Sales Assessment™.” What is unique about this test is that it enables you to assess an individual relative to the qualities required for a specific sales job.

We received two assessment reports based on one candidate and one position: a performance model report and a sales individual feedback report. The performance model report provides information to help you understand how your interviewee matches with the position concerning thinking style (e.g., problem-solving, verbal skills, numerical reasoning) and behavior traits (e.g.,

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BOXSCORE July/August 2019

assertiveness, manageability, attitude, independence). The sales individual feedback report provides behavioral and management considerations for the individual based on their rankings within the performance model.

One of the benefits of this type of test is that it provides an acceptable range for the job based on a 1–10 scale. For example, one of our positions required that the individual rank between 5 and 8 for independence—independence may be a desirable behavior trait for a hunter, but someone who is too independent may have problems seeking input from others when needed.

Do Your Hiring Practices and Policies Match Your Company’s Needs?

It’s likely your company’s strategic plan includes requirements for both client retention and growth as well as new business development. It will be easier to meet your revenue objectives with both hunters and farmers in the correct positions. When you expect one person to fill both roles, problems can occur if that individual does not excel or have the required skill set to perform those activities.

At some point, the hunter should hand off the new customer to the farmer. A perfect example of expecting a farmer to do a hunter’s job is when engineers, who are exceptional at listening to a customer’s problem and have the expertise to help solve it, are expected to hunt for new business. The individual chosen to hunt must understand how the sales cycle works, understand how long it takes to cultivate a relationship and have the patience for it, and have the willingness to do it. The hunter has to be willing to pick

up a phone, get on a plane, or get in a car and spend time with someone who might not buy for a year or longer.

Another issue that often occurs when the two positions are combined involves compensation. The company’s compensation plan may turn hunters into farmers. Over time, as the salesperson builds a large book of business that they receive commissions on, the incentive to put in the time and work to find new business becomes diluted. Earning steady commissions for renewals with a company you have a relationship with can be much more appealing than trying to earn sporadic commissions for bringing in new accounts with long sales cycles.

If you are finding that your sales team is not meeting your expectations, you may need to evaluate whether your company has structured its sales team for success and whether it has the right people in the right positions.

If you are interested in learning more about the assessment we use, you can find more information, as well as one of their many certified partners, at www.pxtselect.com.

Todd M. Zielinski is managing director and CEO at Athena SWC LLC. He can be reached at 716-250-5547 or tzielinski@athenaswc.com.

Lisa Benson is senior marketing content consultant at Athena SWC LLC. She can be reached at lbenson@athenaswc.com.

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Tackling Trends

Workforce Wows and Woes

BY JOHN CLARK

M

ost of us spend more time with co-workers than anyone outside our immediate family. How we spend that time and how we profit from the experience is key to the success of individuals and the companies that employ us.

Both worlds are subject to great acts of generosity and openness, as well as pettiness and dark palace intrigue. The major challenge for any leader is to harness the energy, intelligence, and initiative of staff and not stifle creativity and experimentation. Every company’s self-generated culture must be adaptable to management’s demands and market realities.

Highlighted below are some of the wows—and woes—for any company.

These are things that can add to a company’s success, and there are challenges companies face in ever-​evolving environments.

One great way to recruit candidates is through employee referrals. Who knows the company, its culture, and the work better than current employees?

Many companies have referral programs through which the employees who refer candidates receive monetary compensation after a referral has been hired.

ANNUAL REVIEWS AND DEVELOPMENT

Everyone wants to know how they are doing. While real-time feedback should be given, it is good to have formal yearly reviews. To make them successful, set expectations ahead of time. What will an employee be reviewed on? What are the yearly objectives? Make it collaborative.

Opportunities should flow naturally from reviews. What is next for the employee? How do they get there? Again, the more collaborative your reviews, the more successful. When employees feel empowered, positive results follow.

Wows

Woes COMMUNICATION

It is vital to any company’s success to have open lines of communication. Today’s technology has, in some ways, made communication harder. It is easier to send an email to someone close by than it is to walk over and have a dialogue.

Tone is more difficult to gauge, though, and so much gets lost in translation.

Companies need to learn the best ways to communicate with employees, even overcommunicate. It can be better to hear the same message three times than zero.

With communication come vision and strategy, which every company needs.

It is important to ensure all employees understand them, can articulate them, and believe in them. Keep them simple and relatable. Post them in common areas.

Repeat them in meetings and emails.

Have open dialogue about them. Relate key company decisions back to employees.

WORK-LIFE BAL ANCE RECRUITING

The core of any workplace is its people.

Therefore, the recruitment process is fundamental. Before recruitment begins, clearly define the position, skill set, years of experience, etc. necessary for the role.

While recruiting, companies need to be organized. Ask yourself who should be interviewing candidates. Is it better to have individual interviews or a panel interview? If there are individual interviews, does each interviewer have a specific area to discuss, or is everyone asking the same questions? Set expectations ahead of time with the candidate. With whom will they be meeting? How long will it take? After the interview, capture feedback. Prove you’re interested in them.

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BOXSCORE July/August 2019

Work-life balance can be different for each employee. Managers need to understand what it means to each person on their team. Employees often struggle with it.

How can your company work with its employees to create the right balance?

VALUE

Management needs to gauge what matters to its employees. Outside of pay increases, title changes, and bonuses, what can you do to make people feel valued? Everyone wants to be recognized for helping the company succeed. Team lunches, team-building exercises, employee of the month programs, and thank-you notes are just some ways to show employees they matter.

WORK FROM HOME

One of the byproducts of today’s technology is working from home. Companies need to determine how they can leverage technology to make it work. Does there need to be a shift in culture with regard to having a remote workforce? That needs to start at the top; senior management buy-in is crucial. The workforce is constantly changing. It is the organization’s responsibility to step up.

John Clark is director of analytics at Amtech Software. He can be reached at jclark@ amtechsoftware.com.

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Andragogy

Bridge the Valley of Death

BY R. ANDREW HURLEY, PH.D.

S

am, a senior graphic design student—from a school I’m not affiliated with—came to our office the other day asking for support on his capstone project. The task was to create a branded package, so he came with a visual design for a paperboard packaging concept that he created on a digital art file. While guiding him through the process of creating a physical printed and converted sample, we learned the following about this soon-to-be-employed college senior: • He was unaware of how to organize design elements within their appropriate layers or how to properly construct a dieline.

• He lacked a working vocabulary of packaging production terminology (score, crease, registration, etc.).

• He was confused about how the 2D design ultimately converted to a 3D package. His confusion began at the digital level and extended through the physical blank crafted on a sample table.

Sam graduated a week later from an accredited program with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He was a smart kid and, based on our interaction with him, a good designer, but he had no practical, physical knowledge of packaging design or prototyping. This story may sound familiar to you; you have a need for a new entry-level designer (graphic and/or structural), so you hire someone out of a design-focused program, only to quickly find they are not prepared to hit the ground running within your packaging workflow.

It’s not that this designer was a slacker in the classroom—quite the contrary.

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BOXSCORE July/August 2019

It is not unusual for super smart folks to find it difficult to translate theory or great ideas into real applications without applied training—a paradox commonly referred to as the “Valley of Death.” Many companies face these obstacles within their own internal development processes, and it is the case for much of corporate research and development—theory is clearly understood on paper, but the bridge doesn’t always exist when it’s time to apply it in practice.

Sam, upon wrapping up four years of design theory, found himself in that Valley of Death, not having the applied technical training or experience required to bridge his classroom lessons into what is required at the office. So, the team at Package InSight and the Packaging School took it upon itself to give him a few last lessons before he headed out into the big world.

In just a few hours, we taught him how to create production-ready digital files, how to communicate his needs to a local printer, the difference between paperboard types, how those same digital files translated to a sampling table, and how to convert his flat cut-and-creased dieline into a 3D package.

They were steps in the process that he literally didn’t even know existed.

At PackagingSchool.com, we create onboarding education for new employees like Sam, showing them how to translate theories into practical packaging applications and providing them with the confidence to be effective and powerful employees for you right out of the gate.

We have more than 2,000 lectures that can be curated to create minicourses, and we work with many AICC members to develop training and onboarding customized to their internal processes.

It’s not just new hires who find themselves on the wrong side of the valley. Our courses will give your current employees a step up in their knowledge, allowing them to rise to the challenges dynamic companies face each day. For you, that may mean incorporating updated technology and new operations into their day-to-day workflow or giving them the creative means to brush up on existing processes and policies to ensure consistent achievement for your business.

Is it time to rejuvenate your training program? PackagingSchool.com already offers an extensive library of courses guaranteed to bridge the knowledge gap for new employees and seasoned veterans.

Or, if you’re ready to invest in customized training, our Ph.D.-guided team of experts and creatives excels in designing courses that empower company growth and tackle ever-expanding industry demands. They stand ready to visit your facility and film your crews in action in order to create the best custom-designed training lessons and courses available. Get in touch today for a consultation, and we’ll work with you to instruct the best path forward.

Editors’ note: AICC partners with The Packaging School to offer online education, a free benefit to AICC members.

R. Andrew Hurley, Ph.D., is an associate professor of packaging science at Clemson University. He can be reached at me@ drandrewhurley.com.

Leadership

Equipped and Engaged

BY SCOTT ELLIS, ED.D.

Unwilling and Incapable You will not need to worry much about this group. They are unlikely to approach you for a job. Their lack of capability may also be due to various factors. These will not concern you unless the employee or applicant is a family member.

Willing and Capable Of course, you will employ this person immediately and develop a plan to keep them engaged. Is the individual ambitious? Do they have something to prove? Understanding their motivation and providing opportunity to move up or at least around the company may be important. Perhaps they want to belong to a team and stay in one assignment for some time. The point is that we need to work as much at developing and keeping these people as we do at finding them.

While your investment in people may pay dividends for another employer, it is still worth the risk. If you do not invest, you

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BOXSCORE July/August 2019

guarantee that they will either lose their Willing but Incapable Willing and Capable willingness or take Limited capacity? it elsewhere.

You are hired!

Specific capacity?

Now, let's keep you A mainstream Inexperienced? engaged ...

50% Conversion example for manufacturing is the person who becomes a team Unwilling and Incapable Unwilling but Capable member right out of high school. By Why try?

Motivation? applying herself, she 5% Conversion 20% Conversion can achieve a livable wage presently. The person does a stellar job in her assigned Capability position and puts her plans for further • “I just don’t see myself working in training or education manufacturing.” If this person is aside. When marriage or children raise already in your employ, then they the level of required income, this team see it as provisional. Promoting from member may determine that it is time within, providing career path help, to move on. This would be too late to and investing in continuing education express your belief in her potential, too can help to change this perception. late to roll out the tuition reimbursement • “Other than the paycheck, what is and development plan. the point?” Understanding the why behind the business is a key to engageUnwilling and Capable ment. Knowing what the product will This group includes many of the be used for, what the company does temporary workers who disappear at the for the community, and what is in it first break. The phenomenon happens for the employee can convert some to often enough that I have requested that the ranks of the willing. the employment agency require potential • Rewards and recognition. True placements to view a video of people gainsharing plans can provide doing actual packaging industry jobs. motivation for individual and This will keep the unwilling candidates team productivity. While carefully out of your plant. You can use the time deployed financial incentives have a you save to focus on the unwilling people place, recognition is not to be underalready in your employ. rated. A simple and sincere thank-you What makes capable people unwilling is a powerful motivator. to engage their minds along with their • “I don’t have a voice in the company.” backs? Space does not allow for all the Capable people who are asked to potential answers, but a brief list must participate in problem-solving often include these four: Willingness

A

recent poll narrowed the characteristics of a model employee. It says that our ideal employee is dependable, self-motivated, positive, collaborative, and adaptive—all delivered with effective communication. Now, most manufacturers I am aware of would accept a prospective employee with a much shorter list. My list has only two items: willing and capable. I believe that the advantage goes to the manufacturer that attracts and retains team workers with these two characteristics in mind.

Strategy focused on these factors is easier to deploy. We must maximize the effectiveness of our current and future workforce. Each group brings its own set of trials.

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Leadership

become more engaged. Getting on the same side of a problem together, listening, and giving credit for good ideas will often lead to increased willingness.

Willing but Incapable Inexperience, immaturity, and low or very specific aptitude are just a few of the reasons for incapability. This group constitutes most recruits and even seasoned team members moving into a new area. Assessing, enhancing, and matching aptitude to experiences will lead to increased capability. Even the most

gifted operator, supervisor, or salesperson was once willing but incapable.

Investing time involving teams in process improvement pays dividends. Individuals gain understanding of problems from additional perspectives, including the owner’s. Team members find that they have a voice in the process. The capability of the entire team is improved when they practice disciplined observation of processes and use proven tools to search for root causes of their problems. Minds are engaged, problems are eliminated, and critical-thinking skills are improved.

Scott Ellis, Ed.D., provides the brutal facts with a kind and actionable delivery when a leader, a team, or a company needs an objective, data-based assessment of the current state of operations and culture. Training, coaching, and resources develop the ability to eliminate obstacles and sustain more effective and profitable results. Working Well exists to get you unstuck and accelerate effective work. He can be reached at 425-985-8508 or scott@workingwell.bz.

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From FLEXO

Find Your Path: A Conversation Between FLEXO Magazine and DuPont’s Brad Gasque

B

and observations, how they informed the rad Gasque didn’t exactly expect to road he’s traveled so far, and what young land in the career he did. A techpeople can bring to companies today. nical service consultant at DuPont FLEXO magazine: Where do you Advanced Printing, all he knew at an early work, and what’s your title? What was age was that he liked problem-solving. your career path to where you are today?

En route to DuPont, Gasque transBrad Gasque: I work for DuPont ferred from another school to Clemson Advanced Printing as a technical service University, interned at sgsco and RR consultant. My career path started back Donnelley, and worked at the Sonoco in high school when I realized I was a Institute for Packaging Design and “gear head” and enjoyed problem-solving Graphics. Along the way, he found an anything with a motor. There is someapplication for that childhood desire to thing about the challenge to finding a fix things—a predilection many young solution to a problem that I really enjoy. people have and one that can be used I originally started college as a just about anywhere—in the flexo­ mechanical engineering major, as I was graphic industry. told that would be the best fit for a “When a customer is having issues and problem-solving kind of mindset. After the plate seems to be the source, I come shadowing a group of engineers for a in and help them resolve the problem,” few days at a Michelin plant, I quickly Gasque says of his 9-to-5. “There is realized it was more number crunching something about the challenge to finding a solution to a problem that I really enjoy.” in a cubicle than it was problem-solving.

I ended up transferring from North Here, Gasque talks to FLEXO magaCarolina State University to Clemson zine about his career path, his experiences

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BOXSCORE July/August 2019

University, where I received my B.S. in graphic communications.

While at Clemson, I was fortunate to have two internships. The first was at sgsco in Atlanta, where I enjoyed learning more about flexo and color management.

The second was at an RR Donnelley offset-litho plant in Durham, N.C., where I learned a ton about prepress and that I did not like sitting in front of a computer all day. After graduation, I was hired

by Clemson to manage the Advanced Flexography Lab in the Sonoco Institute for Packaging Design and Graphics, where I taught labs and industry seminars, and conducted R&D projects.

After working at Clemson for 4½ years, I left to pursue a job with DuPont. I have been with DuPont for three years and continue to learn more and more about this exciting industry.

FLEXO: What does “technical service consultant” actually mean? What does a typical workday look like?

Gasque: It means that I support the DuPont Cyrel product line, including plates and equipment. In North America, DuPont has seven members on the technical service team. When a customer is having issues and the plate seems to be the source, I come in and help them resolve the problem. I also host training sessions with customers to teach them anything from plate handling to press optimization. Something else that has kept me busy over the past few years is converting customers over to the new EASY plates.

FLEXO: Going to school to study a field and actually working in that field are always two very different things. When you were in school, how did you envision working in the flexographic industry would be, and how has it been different?

Gasque: Many of the faculty members in the graphics communications program at Clemson came from the flexographic industry, so they teach from their experiences, giving the students insight into the industry. I also had two internships, which allowed me to get a glimpse of the industry. However, working in production is very different than school.

In school, you learn all the theories and processes that should be followed, but sometimes production throws all of that to the side.

FLEXO: After graduating, you worked for a time at Clemson as a research associate. What was that like, working closely with students?

Gasque: My time at Clemson was nothing but great. The students give off an energy that you don’t find in many workplaces, so it was an enjoyable environment. Every student with whom

I worked, I wondered what they might accomplish in their career. Maybe they would develop a technology that changes the industry forever. It is exciting to see many of them in the flexographic industry today doing big things. I thoroughly enjoyed working alongside the undergraduate and graduate students who worked as lab assistants at the Sonoco Institute. They made long days in the lab so much fun, and I will forever be grateful for those times.

FLEXO: What’s something that has surprised you—good or bad—about working in the flexographic industry?

Gasque: Hopefully this doesn’t sound too bad. I walk onto some pressroom floors and stand amazed that they can get any acceptable product out the door.

With all the resources and tools this industry has for process control, there are still some facilities that do not even try to control their processes. I often see tools and devices for process control hidden in drawers or covered in dust because they are not used. I think that since flexography was more of an art for so long, it is difficult for some facilities to transform it into a science. The great thing about these facilities is that they have major room for improvement.

I am also amazed that with a massive industry like package printing, the core of it is like a small family. It is cool to walk through stores and see all the print around me and know that I get to rub shoulders at industry gatherings with everyone who makes it happen. This is a special industry with great people.

FLEXO: You work with plates.

What drove you to that specific part of the industry?

Gasque: I really love a good challenge, and I feel that plates are one of the biggest challenges in flexography. They have so many variables directly around them from screening to polymer formulation to their fragile handling. My internship at sgsco also started me off right by getting me addicted to the smell of photopolymer.

FLEXO: One of the biggest takeaways from the FTA (Flexographic Technical Association) Generational Study was a large majority of students studying package printing—83%—felt completely unprepared for a job. How did you feel when you started at your first job?

Gasque: Even though my degree did a great job preparing me, I still felt unprepared when starting my full-time position at Clemson five days after graduation. You feel like you must retain all the knowledge taught to you in classes, but you know you aren’t even close to having it all down. I soon realized after college that the purpose behind many classes isn’t necessarily to make you memorize a bunch of knowledge, but to train your brain in a certain way. With the advent of the internet and the advancements in technology we have today, knowledge is right at our fingertips at a moment’s notice. So even though I felt unprepared, I was ready to rock and roll.

FLEXO: What do you think is the biggest misconception about young people in this industry?

Gasque: I think the biggest misconception is that young people are lazy.

Yes, many young people are lazy, but if they are investing themselves into this industry, I know they are not of the lazy kind. This is not an industry that has the most attractive appearance to it, so if they

BOXSCORE www.aiccbox.org

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From FLEXO

“The young people are eager to learn and help this industry become even better than what it already is today.” are here, then they want to be here. The young people are eager to learn and help this industry become even better than what it already is today.

FLEXO: Much is made of the age gap in the workforce, and the friction between younger and more veteran workers. Is there any truth to that?

Gasque: Yes, I have seen this firsthand.

Young people are not here to take jobs away from the more veteran workers.

We want to work with and learn from them. The veteran workers have so much experience that younger generations won’t have the chance to absorb because of the advancements of technology.

I also believe that young people coming out of school bring fresh ideas that veteran workers might not have because of the demands of their jobs. If we can bridge this age gap and work together, we will have a workforce that can handle anything thrown at it.

FLEXO: What can human resources managers and company executives do better to attract young talent to their organizations?

Gasque: A fear that young talent has when looking at jobs is that they will get stuck in a job where they are bored. Let them know the exciting

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challenges they will face working in your organization. Create work environments that are inviting and new. I walk into many manufacturing facilities where the workplace hasn’t been updated in 30 years, or it doesn’t have any windows, or it just looks blah. This is not an environment that young talent is going to desire to come work in every day. Show them the opportunities, the different positions they could hold within your organization.

Most of the young people I have worked with do not like staying still for too long. You don’t want them leaving your organization after a few years, so have them change positions every so often to keep them excited about their work—if that’s what they want.

FLEXO: Why is it important for young people to stay connected to peers of a similar age through groups like the FTA Emerging Leaders Committee?

Gasque: When you go to industry events, you quickly realize that there is indeed an age gap. You will look around and feel alone as a young person, but fear not—we are here! It can be very intimidating working alongside people with more years of flexography experience than years you’ve been on Earth. These experienced flexographers have built an amazing industry, and we are forever grateful.

The FTA Emerging Leaders Committee is here for its members to support each other, but more importantly to make sure the industry has a bright and successful future as we “emerge” as leaders.

FLEXO: Any advice or words of wisdom for any young flexographers reading, or students studying flexography and package printing?

Gasque: You will be amazed at how much this industry needs you and the knowledge you bring. Life is full of

different seasons, from highs to lows. The low seasons are the ones that shape you and mold you into the strong, wise person you are meant to be. Don’t complain of difficulties or struggles during the low seasons, but take advantage of the opportunity to learn. I look back at my college years, my career path, and even the past few weeks, and I can see how every season has shaped me into the person God designed me to be. So, embrace whatever season you are in right now, knowing that you will come out a strong and wise person, which is what the industry needs.

The FTA Emerging Leaders Committee brings together young flexographers to participate in problem-solving work groups, tackle unique projects on an as-needed basis, network with peers, gain an inside look into FTA structure, and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity in the near future. To join, contact FTA Content Manager & Digital Strategist Brad Pareso at bpareso@flexography.org.

Editors’ note: This article originally ran in the October 2018 issue of FLEXO magazine, the Flexographic Technical Association’s flagship member publication, and has been edited to fit BoxScore’s style.

At the time of this interview, Gasque was a technical service consultant. His title has since changed to flexo application specialist.

Brad Gasque is a flexo application specialist at DuPont Advanced Printing.

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BOXSCORE TIPS, TRICKS, AND SOLUTIONS TO BETTER BUSINESS

AICC Toolbox

So Many Courses, All the Time You Need

A

ICC has released eight new online courses in the last quarter, including Rightweighting, created in collaboration between the AICC Packaging School and Kruger Inc. All courses are free to employees at AICC member companies and are self-paced, so everyone can learn at their own speed.

Rightweighting Rightweighting can be used to find substrates that optimize the performance of the box and appeal to both the end users and box manufacturers in terms of cost, sustainability, and efficiency. The shift to rightweighting did not happen overnight. This course will dive into the origin of rightweighting, its application today, the technology, and where rightweighting is headed. Created with

the support of AICC Education Investor Kruger Packaging.

Rotary Die-Cutting Operations Rotary die cutters represent an excellent solution for flexographic printing and die cutting in-line, providing enhanced productivity, superior registration-and-print quality, increased flexibility, and a lower total cost of ownership. Rotary die cutters are used mainly in two industries: the manufacture of corrugated packaging with high printing and die-cutting requirements, and the production of in-store displays from corrugated board.

As these industries continue to grow, we must follow suit, and this course is the perfect place to begin that journey! This course, created with the support of AICC Education Investor SUN Automation,

covers the fundamentals of rotary die-​ cutting operations, major sections of the machine, and housekeeping and maintenance procedures for your machine.

How to Spec a Corrugated Box In this course, participants will learn how to determine what type of box will be measured, determine the box construction material, prepare the box for accurate measurement, and finally determine the inside length and width of the carton.

This course is taught by AICC member Mike Schaefer of Tavens Packaging & Display Solutions.

Warp and How to Control It Taught by AICC Corrugated Technical Advisor Ralph Young, participants learn how paper or combined board

BOXSCORE www.aiccbox.org

35

Good for Business

reacts to moisture or tension and how operator adjustments can correct warp.

Participants will increase their working knowledge of a corrugator moisture control process while keeping bond integrity intact.

Standardized Work Standardized work is built through documentation, teamwork, and practice to accomplish continuous improvement in any important process.

This course teaches the creation of standard operating procedures, onepoint lessons, decision trees, checklists, and more. Templates and guidelines will equip you to provide clear procedures for important tasks that will improve productivity and speed of training.

Maximizing Training ROI This course addresses proven methods of effective employee engagement, planning, and application of training.

Best practices for use of the AICC Packaging School, destination classes, or any other learning experience show how to check the learners’ knowledge and get the benefit of application right away.

The planning process is explained, and resources are provided. Finally, a plan for overcoming cultural resistance to training and implementation is shared.

Benefits of ERP Software Solutions for the Packaging Industry This course focuses on how enterprise resource planning, or ERP, software solutions can help your company with financials, operations and logistics,

At C&M Conveyor, we’ve enhanced our ability to meet the demands of today’s corrugated marketplace by adding products and manufacturing capability. The benefit to you: maximum throughput with the flexibility to meet your customers’ ever-changing needs. Our project management approach means we’ll identify your requirements, manufacture to your specs and install on time. Contact us today; let us solve your toughest problem.

Leading supplier to the corrugated box industry 4598 State Rd. 37 • Mitchell, IN 47446 812-558-7960 • 800-551-3195 www.cmconveyor.com

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BOXSCORE July/August 2019

sales and marketing, and customer satisfaction—told through firsthand accounts of professionals in the packaging industry.

How to Help an Upset Customer Even the best companies occasionally have upset customers. Terri-Lynn Levesque offers a strategy that will assist anyone with managing their own emotions while helping to find a solution for the customer. This very brief course uses the acronym SPAA to equip you to calmly manage these difficult conversations.

More information about these courses and all AICC online education can be found at www.aiccbox.org/ packagingschool.

Good for Business

AICC nnovation

Looking for Qualified Employees?

L

aunched in 2013, JobPath, the first employment engine in the market designed for military veterans and their families, provides companies with a platform that uses advanced technology to help employers understand and connect with the most qualified veteran candidates.

Since November 2018, AICC has partnered with JobPath, an innovative online job portal designed to connect military veterans with employers and to

help members solve their ongoing need for qualified candidates.

JobPath features multiple tools to bring veterans and employers together, including a job board, candidate database, candidate matching (an automated matching tool that connects employers with candidates whose skills meet the company’s requirements), and a military skills translator, which allows companies to fully understand what job a veteran held in the

military and how those skills may apply to open positions. The platform will link to certain AICC Packaging School courses so that candidates can get an understanding of the packaging industry—another step to ensuring a good match.

AICC members can post jobs (for free!) or purchase a package to promote and match the jobs with the best candidates.

More information is available at www.aiccbox.org/jobs.

BOXSCORE www.aiccbox.org

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BOXSCORE July/August 2019

STANDING THE TEST OF TIME Converters must engage their current—and future—workforce to ensure a brighter tomorrow

By Lin Grensing-Pophal

I

f you have any doubt that employee engagement is a big deal these days, you have only to do a quick Google search to find more than 400 million results.

In an economy in which the unemployment rate is hovering at or below 4%, employers are understandably concerned not only about finding and hiring talented workers, but also about keeping those workers for the long term. It’s a competitive hiring environment, and employees, now more than ever, have options. Fail to effectively engage your employees, and they’ll go away.

So, what are manufacturers doing to boost engagement and minimize the risks of employee exodus? A number of things, starting with the hiring and onboarding process. Savvy employers are leaving nothing to chance when it comes to laying the foundation for a long-term, loyal, and productive relationship.

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Best Practice Examples In 1904, Albert K. Hoodwin started manufacturing paper boxes in Michigan City, Ind. After Albert tragically passed, his wife, Lillian, took over as president of Michigan City Paper Box Co. until their sons—Lou and Fred Hoodwin—were ready to join the firm in the 1940s. Lou sold the company to his son, Al, in 1993.

Today, the company serves accounts such as Walmart, Gap, Coldwater Creek, and others, and it is the premier world manufacturer of cotton-filled jewelry boxes. At Michigan City Paper Box, Human Resources Specialist Brian Strauss understands the importance of building a staff of engaged employees, defining engagement as “taking an active interest in the company—understanding what it does, why it does it, and how it can be successful at doing it.”

Employees play an integral role in helping Michigan City Paper Box remain successful. “We measure our employees’ production on a daily basis,” Strauss says.

“If we see production drop, we know we need to engage them.” Things have changed over the past century from both a technology and management standpoint. “Nowadays, management must take a more active role in keeping their employees engaged,” says Strauss.

Companies such as Michigan City Paper Box and Landaal Packaging Systems, the latter established in 1959, have stood the test of time and have successfully navigated and capitalized on a shifting terrain in terms of technology and consumer demand. They’re clearly doing something right. Landaal Packaging employs 210 people at a corrugated sheet plant in Bay City, Mich., and a fulfillment facility in Burton, Mich.,

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just outside of Flint—the operations are 55 miles apart.

Landaal’s customer base is diverse, covering the automotive industry, agriculture, consumer packaged goods, foods, beverages, and nonautomotive manufacturing. The sheet plant employs machine operators, maintenance workers, and customer service staff. The fulfillment facility is staffed primarily by general laborers. Each facility has its own demographics and culture, says Landaal’s president, Steve Landaal, the third generation in this family-owned enterprise created by his grandparents.

Landaal’s sheet plant needs individuals with machine aptitude, creative thinking, and the willingness to learn, Landaal says.

It’s “blessed” with a stable workforce and a business that is in a growth mode. “The fulfillment facility is more of a challenge in terms of the workforce,” Landaal says.

Turnover is an issue. “In the first four months of 2019, about 65 to 70 temporary workers have come and gone,” he says. “We’ve had some people say, ‘This is not the job for me.’ With others, it’s been attendance issues.”

At Royal Containers, with locations in Brampton and London, Ontario, Office Manager Terri-Lynn Levesque is an example of an employee who has been effectively engaged by the company. She’s been with the company for 21 years, has worked on the machines and in customer service, basically working in all the departments she now manages. Levesque also sits on AICC’s international board of directors. Since 2018, she has represented Canada on the board.

Royal Containers, also a family-run business, has been in operation since 1980. The company operates a sheet plant in both locations. To ensure competitiveness, it holds shares in a sheet-feeder facility and a mill.

Levesque is well familiar with the challenges of finding and engaging competent workers in the competitive hiring environment companies now find themselves in. “In a recent article, I read the term ‘candidate-driven market,’” she says. “They have more ability to say no if the job is not the right fit.” Creating and maintaining a strong employer brand is an important first step for

bringing the right people on board, she says.

Hiring Finding the right people at the outset—in terms of both skill set and culture fit—is a critical first step in engagement. Today, more than ever, that requires a strong employer brand, says Levesque. “All candidates seem to have an awareness of brand; they check us out on social media and seem to understand our company before interviewing with us.”

The candidate-driven market, she says, “has created a situation in which it’s all about inbound recruiting.” She’s found that maintaining a steady stream of candidates is critical to filling positions.

“That means we need to maintain brand awareness, social recruiting, keep up with blogging and our focus on LinkedIn and other social sites. We want people to get to know us and want to come work for us.”

Understanding what drives and motivates potential employees is important in terms of connecting with them and offering an employment experience that meets their professional—and personal—needs.

Royal, says Levesque, understands that today’s job seekers increasingly value technology. They’ve grown up with it, and they’re attracted to companies that are able to stay up to date with, or in front of, new technology. “Our best draw is that we have invested a lot in technology, which appeals to many candidates,” she says. “It’s an Amazon world.”

Work-life needs are also changing for today’s employees, with many requiring balance and flexibility to meet personal requirements. Landaal is recognizing this, and he says: “We’re changing our recruitment practices by looking at potential employees who have children in school and may only be able to work a four-hour shift and shifts for college students. We’re trying to be creative.”

Some of those creative efforts include partnerships with potential sources of new employees.

“At our box plant, we use an association with Michigan State University to connect with students who want to stay local after graduation,” Landaal says. “And, we’ve opened a design and innovation center in downtown Flint.

Those things have definitely helped to ensure great staffing, along with our attractive fringe benefits and competitive salaries.”

Hiring right also requires cultural fit. At Royal, says Levesque, “we don’t hire anyone who doesn’t align with our core values: We respond. We care. We perform. We lead.” These core values are used as a measuring stick when considering new hires. “We apply these core values with every decision,” she says. “We want employees with the same mindset, people who will understand our mission: We build

“A simple thankyou note can be powerful. I have saved notes in my desk. Some are from five or more years ago, but they are thoughtful, worth reading and rereading.”

— Terri-Lynn Levesque, office manager, Royal Containers

partnerships in packaging.” Finding that alignment is a critical first step in long-term engagement.

Another must-do in the hiring process is acting quickly. “We need to take the time to weed through candidates, but if that process takes more than two weeks, we know our candidates will get antsy,” Levesque says. “It’s a fine line. You can’t jump to make hiring decisions, but you need to understand that candidates don’t want to wait.” And, again, they don’t have to. There are other options.

Onboarding The onboarding process can make or break a successful long-term relationship. Those first few weeks, days, and months on the job are critical.

Employers must start engaging from day one, says Strauss. “The onboarding process will set the tone for an employee.”

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41

Today’s employees, says Levesque, are far less likely to stay with an employer for 10 years. “Today, when you find a candidate and make a hire, you may only have that person for two to five years. My view is that you need to get maximum value from that employee for whatever length of time you have them.”

After employees are hired, says Landaal, a concerted effort is spent on engagement. “With tours and showing them different types of work, we try to help them envision themselves in the next job,” he says. “Next, we work on training the job orders and setting expectations. On the floor, they’re placed with a seasoned employee.”

Maintaining Engagement As companies grow and time goes by, long-term employees may begin to feel “less than,” especially as company efforts focus on bringing in new talent.

That doesn’t have to be the case. Taking a mindful approach to ensuring that long-term employees feel valued is an important strategy.

Landaal, for instance, is “looking at developing programs to reward longevity and raise wages.” Wages are a big piece of the puzzle when it comes to engagement, he says. “At our box plant, it’s pretty competitive—that has helped us.” At the fulfillment plant, though, it’s a different story. There, minimum wages prevail, which makes staffing a challenge, he says.

“Although we’re looking at wages, we struggle with what that rate needs to be.”

Engagement requires ongoing feedback, Levesque notes. But, it’s not yesterday’s form of feedback. In addition to periodic performance reviews, she says, “regular feedback for this generation of employees

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“We measure our employees’ production on a daily basis. If we see production drop, we know we need to engage them.”

— Brian Strauss, human resources specialist, Michigan City Paper Box

is more important than ever.” That feedback needs to be ongoing. Royal has a “Shout-Out” program, a peer-topeer recognition initiative they started two years ago. “We use a ballot box for nominations and draw a name each month. People are hungry for this; they look forward to it and are happy for their peers when they are recognized.”

At Michigan City Paper Box, Strauss says, “we meet regularly with our employees to keep them engaged. These meetings work well for us.” It’s all about ongoing communication, support, recognition, and affirmation that employees’ efforts are making a difference and contributing to the company’s success.

Importantly, Levesque notes, recognition doesn’t just have to be monetary to be effective. “A simple thank-you note can be powerful,” she says. “I have saved

notes in my desk. Some are from five or more years ago, but they are thoughtful, worth reading and rereading.” Sending written notes may seem like a dying art, which is sad, says Levesque, “because it’s so meaningful at the end of the day.”

Organizations should also periodically review their policies to be sure they’re staying up to date with employee expectations. “It’s not only important in light of the #MeToo movement, but also because millennials and others entering the workforce have personal brands of conduct. Your company policies need to align with the current workforce’s set of expectations.”

Increasingly, those expectations are spanning what used to be a strict divide between work and personal lives. There’s a role for companies here, too, and that role can both help to support employees

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who need a leg up, and create long-term, loyal relationships. Life can be tough for some employees, and Landaal has not only recognized this but has also taken proactive steps to provide resources to help those who may have fallen on hard times.

“We partner with a local church that runs a new life center for people who have hit rock bottom due to criminal issues or substance abuse,” he says. “The church helps them build skills that prepare them to handle aspects of life and maintain a job by preparing for interviews and having access to reliable transportation. We have a state grant for hiring, so for any hire through the center, our grant money goes to the center.” This kind of support can go a long way toward boosting loyalty and engagement.

Increasingly, today’s manufacturers—and other employers—are recognizing that engagement is a process that begins well before the hiring process through the establishment of a strong brand and extends throughout an employee’s life cycle. It requires communication, commitment, and a concerted effort to ensure that employees’ needs—professional and personal—are met, and that they recognize the value they bring to the organization and how valued they are in return.

Lin Grensing-Pophal is a writer based in Wisconsin. She is a frequent contributor to BoxScore.

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BOXSCORE July/August 2019

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EAGER TO INNOVATE

One fresh industry face offers unique insight on the value of connecting with the next generation of packaging pros

By Amanda Rapp

I

have had the pleasure of working in the packaging industry for just under a year now. My Bachelor of Science degree was completed in May 2018 through Illinois State University’s (ISU) graphic communications program. From there, I was immediately hired on with Quantum Ink Co., an ink manufacturer based out of Louisville, Ky. I am forever indebted to the graphic communications program at ISU for giving me a wealth of knowledge and experience before I even began my career. Programs such as these help to mold talent while job applications have yet to be submitted, and they are vital in keeping the industry relevant.

In my short time being a part of this industry, I have noticed a pretty significant talent shortage when it comes to the younger generation and students emerging from apprenticeships and universities. Baby boomers are beginning to retire, and there are very few people in a position to take their place. Knowing that the packaging industry will require a substantial amount of new talent in the next decade, this begs the questions:

What are some ways to capture students’ attention within this industry? How can we help to create a culture that aims to cultivate young talent? Hopefully, I can shed a little bit of light on how organizations within the packaging industry can recruit students, having been a recent graduate and employee.

classroom lectures, job fairs, and project or competition donations are just a few.

Efforts of this nature are so important in building a rapport and were a huge deciding factor for me in my accepting a job with Quantum Ink. The company helped ISU during the Phoenix Challenge Competition, organized through the

I am a firm believer that a positive and dedicated work culture will always lend itself to employees who want to go above and beyond.

Connect With Local Community Colleges and Universities First and foremost, linking up with universities in your region will help organizations promote their vision before the onboarding process even begins. This link could be in many forms, but scholarship donations, training opportunities,

Flexographic Technical Association. Had that not transpired, not only would I not have known what Quantum Ink is, but I wouldn’t have had an opportunity to see how dedicated they are to continuing education. A couple of other organizations in our region would give a presentation every semester to

BOXSCORE www.aiccbox.org

47

discuss their companies and cultures and to explain their job and internship opportunities. They had even gone so far as setting up interviews in the classroom post-presentation. This process not only benefits the students, but the hiring organizations as well. The companies are guaranteed a pool of qualified applicants readily searching for a job. I guarantee that if you invest in your local universities or institutions long-term, your organization will reap the benefits.

Create Internship Opportunities My time with Quantum Ink began through a six-month internship during my last semester of college. I was able to noninvasively help their operation while they were acclimating me to their corporate structure before I even graduated.

Genius! Internships are intended to create a mutualistic relationship. They help to train a new potential employee while simultaneously allowing an employer to evaluate how said employee would fare in the actual workplace.

Implement Certification Training The overall manufacturing industry is so vast, and I think that so often, its scope can be missed in a classroom. This is where companies can come along and help to shape the way that the industry is viewed from the bottom up. This might even start as early as high school.

Organizations can help schools implement certification training and testing.

This will not only create a curriculum aid for high schools and universities, but it will also assure that the talent pool coming into the field will be adequately prepared. Without industry engagement

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BOXSCORE July/August 2019

early on, we will not be able to help students and incoming talent meet the changing technology requirements, leaving companies to hire people who are unqualified and underprepared.

Build and Register an Apprenticeship Program A common theme I have noticed throughout the printing and packaging industry since I have begun my career is the evident lack of press operators.

Companies are hungry for them, and the turnover in those types of positions are incredibly high. Facilities, everywhere I go, express a significant lack of applicants.

Four-year universities are not necessarily grooming their students to be press operators, so something to consider as an alternative would be an extended apprenticeship program. Apprenticeships are set up by the U.S. Department of Labor. Companies looking to hire skilled workers can register their apprenticeship program, and the government will issue a nationally recognized certificate. These programs would require the company to invest their time, money, and resources, but I firmly believe that the apprenticeships will pay for themselves with qualified, dedicated employees. What is the younger generation looking for in an apprenticeship? While I was never a part of one, I can say for sure that they are looking for employers that highlight the high-tech skills associated with operating positions, as well as flexibility and advancement opportunities. We should also work as an industry to create more viable apprenticeships and to make it common knowledge that these programs exist for those who don’t

want to—or can’t—pay the money for a four-year degree.

Reevaluate Your Job Posting What are students looking for when applying for a job? While I can’t speak for all students, I know what was important to me, and my life, post-graduation.

While salary will always play a crucial role, work culture is ultimately going to be the determining factor. This means career advancement, innovation, collaborative opportunities, specific deliverables, social opportunities, etc. Consider highlighting potential advancement opportunities or presenting a career road map—the more opportunities for growth you can outline, the easier it becomes to recruit new hires. These seemingly minor offerings will be essential for the generations to come. I am a firm believer that a positive and dedicated work culture will always lend itself to employees who want to go above and beyond.

Capitalize on the Millennial Mindset After being asked to write this article, I have had a chance to reflect on the packaging industry as a whole. I feel that upper management has a responsibility to view incoming employees as an advantage, not a hindrance. Part of the reason that I have been so thankful for my position within Quantum Ink is the fact that, despite my age, they put so much trust in me early on. Instead of talking down a lack of experience, they mentored me.

The students on the verge of graduation grew up in the age of rapidly advancing technology. They have the ability to transform the way that the industry is marketed—hence, an ability to increase

interest in the packaging industry, if leveraged. The millennial generation (myself included) may be young, but they are full of innovative ideas, and they are more than willing to learn. Use them to your advantage.

Amanda Rapp is a sales representative for Quantum Ink Co. She can be reached at 815-5438858 or arapp@ quantumink.com.

We should also work as an industry to create more viable apprenticeships and to make it common knowledge that these programs exist for those who don’t want to—or can’t—pay the money for a fouryear degree.

To promote internship and job opportunities to students at more than 30 institutions nationwide, visit ICPF’s Career Portal at www.icpfbox.org/career_portal.

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BOXSCORE www.aiccbox.org

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BOXSCORE July/August 2019

THE WORKFORCE SKILLS CHALLENGE Business and industry must work with educators to improve workforce development

By Stephen DeWitt

I

f you are like many business and industry leaders, you are struggling to secure the talent required to move your company forward. According to the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) report The Global Skills Shortage, 7 million jobs were open in December 2018, but only 6.3 million unemployed people were looking for work (https://tinyurl.com/shrmskillsgap).

While the number of individuals entering the workforce is a mostly static issue, couple that statistic with the skills needed by employers versus what students and graduates possess; the result is a challenge that must be addressed.

Not enough students are proactively considering the breadth of available career options and the commensurate education and credentials that are needed to reach their goals. More education alignment with local economic needs, transparency in the information about careers in sectors not as well known to the general public, and a deliberate focus on helping students prepare for these opportunities would improve this scenario. Quality

career and technical education (CTE) programs are in a position to address the issue but need your partnership. There are some great opportunities on the horizon to consider.

The recent passage of the federal Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act provides one opportunity to bring business leaders to the table with educators. The law, known to educators as Perkins V, was reauthorized by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump nearly a year ago. State CTE leaders are currently working on their plans required by the federal government to guide how the law will be implemented at the state and local levels.

Local recipients of Perkins V funds are required to consult with stakeholder groups as they develop their own implementation plans, and states are developing guidelines and support measures to help them meet this objective. If you are an industry with locations and employees throughout a state, make sure that you have reached out to CTE leaders within

If your industry has never been contacted by a CTE program, make sure they know you exist. the state agency responsible for oversight.

You can find that information on the website managed by the U.S. Department of Education: cte.ed.gov/grants/state-profiles.

Perhaps more important to your company’s hiring needs, reach out to the local CTE programs in your community if you have not already. The new Perkins law includes a needs assessment process that will drive development of the local Perkins application that local CTE leaders will be submitting to states for approval.

Business and industry representatives are specifically named as an important stakeholder, and local CTE programs

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Quality CTE programs are in a position to address the issue but need your partnership.

There are some great opportunities on the horizon to consider.

will be required to reach out to industry leaders to participate in this process. If your industry has never been contacted by a CTE program, make sure they know you exist.

Introduce yourself and determine whether there are ways to work collaboratively to address workforce development issues you are facing. The new focus of the Perkins V law includes strengthening consideration of the economic drivers in communities and regions where CTE programs reside and designing programs that help educate and prepare students for those opportunities. Collaboration must be meaningful in order to be successful.

This means more than an hourlong meeting once per quarter. It might mean providing work-based learning opportunities to students so they can experience the real-world environment of your business, or providing mentors from your company to help guide these students on what it means to be part of your productive workforce.

This is not usually “easy” work, but strong educator-employer connections can be powerful, and there are many leaders who have found local CTE

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programs to be an outstanding feeder of their workforce pipeline. One example is the International Sign Association (ISA), a national trade organization representing many different manufacturing companies and other leaders who are working in sectors supporting signage and display information. ISA has developed a national campaign that connects their members with educational organizations in their local area and has produced resources to assist them in their conversations to build partnerships.

The Association for Career & Technical Education (ACTE) has created a primer document, “A Guide to Understanding CTE” (https://tinyurl.com/acteguide), which helps explain some of the basics regarding CTE, such as the Career Clusters Framework, which organizes workforce sectors into 16 groups, and the terminology used by the educators who teach the programs. A good place to begin a conversation with a local education program is learning to speak each other’s language, and the guide may help with that conversation.

ACTE understands that local business leaders are seeking solutions to their

workforce challenges and that CTE can and should be a support for these issues.

We at ACTE held the first Workforce Development Through CTE Summit in December 2018, with more than 30 national trade associations, federal government leaders, and representatives from national foundations. We have developed a set of four scenarios—solutions to help bridge CTE with the business and industry community. Our goal is to ensure that more students consider and enter CTE programs that are helping to drive the American economy.

To find out more about the Workforce Development Through CTE initiative, visit www.acteonline.org/wfd-cte. ACTE will be hosting the second summit December 3–4 in Anaheim, Calif., and we would love to have you join us to continue the pursuit of solutions. Finding a way to work together to solve today’s workforce skills challenges is good for students, and it’s good for business!

Stephen DeWitt is deputy executive director of ACTE and has led the organization’s efforts in content development, partnerships, and outreach since 2013.

AD Name of Ad

Mike D'Angelo (left) and Steve Young (center left) of AICC congratulate Kim Nelson (center right) of Royal Containers on her induction into the AICC/ RISI Hall of Fame, with Al Hoodwin of Michigan City Paper Box Company.

YOUR NEW AICC PRESIDENT Mike D’Angelo is ready to serve those who make AICC strong—its members

I

n 2016, after decades serving the corrugated and folding carton industries at an AICC Associate member company, Michael D’Angelo joined the AICC staff.

Two years later, in April 2018, the AICC board of directors unanimously approved a transition plan that named Michael D’Angelo president of the Association as of July 2019.

Though many AICC members have known D’Angelo for years, as he begins his tenure as president, we wanted to learn a little more about how he got here and where AICC is going under his leadership.

BoxScore: How did you first get involved in the industry?

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Michael D’Angelo: I was soon to be graduating from Villanova University with a degree geared toward urban and regional planning and absolutely zero job prospects. I was at a neighborhood barbecue in Sparta, N.J. Chuck Krueger, then vice president of sales at Bobst and a friend of the family, asked me about my job hunt. After I gave him the dismal update, he suggested I stop by Bobst, as they were looking for a sales administrator, an entry-level position that required “only” a college degree. I interviewed for the position, the 10th person to do so.

The two people I interviewed with did not want to hire me because they were afraid I’d be “Chuck’s boy,” but I must have

made an impression. They took a chance, and I began in Bobst’s folding carton business. Mind you, I was only going to work for Bobst until I found work in my chosen field. It’s a great industry—I spent the next 33 years at Bobst.

BoxScore: You spent a large portion of your career at an AICC member company. How has having that perspective impacted what you do now or what you think AICC should do in the coming years?

D’Angelo: Having worked for an AICC Associate member company has given me two insights with which to serve the membership. The first is just that: service. There is not a big difference

between a customer and a member.

Members need honest partners to assist them in growing their businesses and succeeding. They need their Association to be one of those partners, to know and understand their business, the markets they serve, and the environment in which that business is occurring. They need a partner that protects them, advocates for them, educates them, and fosters the paper-based packaging industries.

The second is to be a good listener. To be an effective partner, one must be a good listener—AICC’s activities are very much member-driven. AICC’s business is our members’ business, and we, therefore, have to meet our members’ needs each and every day. If we don’t, someone else will. So we must listen well. Being a good listener also means being able to discern how members’ needs may differ—from a large multiplant boxmaking company to a single plant operation, from a large multinational capital equipment supplier to a regional ink manufacturer, and everything in between. Each member needs AICC to serve them in a way that suits them. We can never lose sight of that.

BoxScore: What do you hope to do in your first year as president?

D’Angelo: Spend time with members.

Get to know in some way each member

Hixon Boyd, Poteet Printing Systems, with Mike during the 2017 Annual Meeting in Las Vegas.

that does not already know me. After 2½ years on the AICC staff, I know that it’s no small undertaking. As part of that, I also hope to drive AICC’s value proposition, especially as it relates to industry education, deeper into our member companies. We have had tremendous growth in member utilization of education, especially The Packaging School.

I’m especially pleased with how members are turning to AICC and The Packaging School for recruitment and onboarding and having AICC help them to customize experiences. Despite all that, we are barely scratching the surface of all the member company employees we could be reaching.

So, we need to find a way to take a deeper dive into our members’ plants. I hope to focus on working with our members and committees to make that happen.

BoxScore: Is there any particular issue that you think will touch members in the coming year, and what will AICC do to help them?

D’Angelo: Determining what is the new normal with regard to pulp and containerboard, OCC pricing, operating rates, and scheduled new capacity coming online. Paper and supply are the common denominator for each converting member of AICC. The Paperboard, Regulations, and Sheet Supply Committee and AICC

Photos courtesy of AICC.

Mike connecting with AICC members during the 2017 Annual Meeting in Las Vegas.

Mike pitches in to help set up the 2017 Independent Package Design Competition.

are working diligently to ensure that we are understanding how things are evolving and relating them to our members’ needs. Each converter needs to make its own decisions, and AICC’s role is to provide relevant and timely information to put them in the best position to do so.

BoxScore: What is the one thing that you want to tell AICC members?

D’Angelo: If you’re not already doing so, please make AICC a trusted partner in your business. Your Association has been assembled to assist in your successes.

BOXSCORE www.aiccbox.org

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If you’re not already doing so, please make AICC a trusted partner in your business. Your Association has been assembled to assist in your successes.

Chairman Joe Palmeri’s theme is simple, but it rings loudly: When you invest and engage, AICC will deliver success. I think it’s apparent when you go to The Packaging School, national meetings, seminars, summits, and other programs.

What we have the benefit of seeing at headquarters in Alexandria (Va.) is the

daily engagement, how the staff interacts with members and responds to inquiries that come in by email and phone—dayto-day realities in your business life with which AICC can assist. AICC works for its members each and every day, not just at the events you find in the calendar.

We’re here to serve you.

Mike welcomed attendees to the Digital Xperience conference this past year in Charlotte, N.C.

Software looked good on paper?

Has it kept pace with your evolving business? You have invested in new machines. Customers have more challenging requirements (more orders, less volume, shorter lead times and more last minute changes). Products are more complex and yet you want to manage working capital effectively. In this new world, you need to efficiently manage your assets to deliver the perfect order. The OMP solution supports your ever changing business aligning your strategy & operations with your customer’s demand.

SUPPLY CHAIN DESIGN •SALES & OPERATIONS PLANNING•ORDER PROMISING•MASTER PLANNING•CORRUGATOR OPTIMIZATION•PRODUCTION SCHEDULING•SHOP FLOOR INTEGRATION•TRANSPORTATION PLANNING Optimize your supply chain management.

For Excellence in Supply Chain Software: www.ompartners.com

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BOXSCORE July/August 2019

ENGAGE IN YOUR FUTURE

AD Name of Ad

WESTIN HARBOUR CASTLE HOTEL SEPTEMBER 16-18, 2019 TORONTO, CANADA Make sure your passport is current!

Registration Opens June 2019 AICCbox.org/Meeting

AICC 2019 ANNUAL MEETING & PACKAGE DESIGN COMPETITION

The Associate Advantage

Working Toward Longevity

BY PAT SZANY

PAT SZANY AMERICAN CORRUGATED MACHINE CORP. VICE CHAIRMAN PSZANY@ACM-CORP.COM

DAVE BURGESS JB MACHINERY CHAIRMAN DBURGESS@JBMACHINERY.COM

JOE MORELLI HUSTON PATTERSON PRINTERS SECRETARY JMORELLI@HUSTONPATTERSON.COM

GREG JONES SUN AUTOMATION GROUP DIRECTOR GREG.JONES@SUNAUTOMATION.COM

ED GARGIULO EQUIPMENT FINANCE CORP. IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIRMAN EGARGIULO@EFC-FINANCE.COM

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BOXSCORE July/August 2019

I

have seen two and three generations of families working the line at some of my customers’ plants, and that longevity is to be admired. It shows that these companies are taking care of their employees and that the employees are satisfied with their jobs and their working environment.

On the other hand, turnover is something everyone sees in their company.

Although expected, it can be painful, stressful, and expensive to lose qualified employees. Reasons for a high turnover rate are varied. However, recognizing people for the good work they do can go a long way in making them want to stay.

I asked fellow Associate board members what they do to recognize their employees.

Here is what they said: Employees Like a Good Party Several companies host summer picnics and holiday parties for employees and families. Some also recognize their employees on their birthdays and bring in cake.

Longevity Most companies will recognize employees for a certain length of tenure. Five years seems to be the most common anniversary to start with and the normal interval between recognition, so five years, 10 years, etc. For many companies, a plaque and a bonus are given to recognize the occasion. At SUN Automation Group, time-honored employees can choose a gift from a special reward catalog—one of their 15-years-of-service award winners recently received a 65-inch curved television.

Health and Wellness On their own or in collaboration with their health care providers, several companies give awards or prizes for participating in a health and wellness program. Two benefits in one, as healthy employees naturally feel better!

I am sure you have your own ways to engage your employees. But no matter what a company does, there will be people who leave. To help members find qualified people to fill positions, AICC has recently started a partnership with JobPath, an online job portal that helps to match veterans with jobs that use skills they learned and honed during their military service.

Pat Szany is president of American Corrugated Machine Corp. and vice chairman of AICC’s Associate Board.

Thank you Education Investors These companies are making a significant contribution to the online education available to all AICC members.

For more information, contact Mike D’Angelo, Vice President, 703.535.1386 or mdangelo@aiccbox.org.

What the Tech?

Lessons From Software and Fast-Food Giants

BY CHUCK DELANEY

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efore we get to these two common complaints: “Man, if my salespeople would just get out there and see more people, most of our problems would be solved,” or, “If all of my salespeople were as good as Frank [another salesperson], we’d be in good shape” …

Let’s step out of the box business for a minute for an example with which everyone is familiar. At last count, Microsoft has about 135,000 employees. Of those, I’ve got to believe that up to 20,000 of them are acting as salespeople calling on corporate and educational customers.

That is a ton of salespeople, on the road or on the phone every day. I’ll bet that you either know one or more of them personally or have had the opportunity to be “sold” by them at some point. Even if you haven’t, consider the following statements about that sales staff: • All or most of Bill Gates’ salespeople were born in Lake Wobegon. (For those of you who don’t listen to public radio, they are all above average.)

• All or most operate in the same way as Bill Gates or Steve Ballmer (or for that matter, the same way as each other). Microsoft is successful because their sales force is one of the best in the world.

If you don’t like this software example, consider fast food for a minute. The last time you went into a McDonald’s, I’ll bet you looked around at their sales staff (that’s what they are) and said to yourself, “Man, look at all these above-average employees. I wish mine were just like them! We could sell a whole lot more packaging if that were the case.” Of course you didn’t!

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A Very Brief History of Microsoft and McDonald’s Think back now to the mid-1950s and the mid-1970s. (I know, most of us aren’t that old, but give it a shot anyhow.)

These time periods were just a few years after each company was started (McDonald’s in the ’50s, Microsoft in the ’70s). Each of these companies was very small, and each was getting prepared for massive growth and ready to embark on a huge profit track.

Yet, oddly enough, the following statements accurately describe both of them: • Their products were not necessarily better than their competitors’.

• Neither of them was bragging about producing their product on the latest, greatest equipment.

• Neither was the first to make an operating system or to grill a hamburger.

• Neither told their customers about how great their employees were or what a beautiful building they had in order to sell their products.

So, what were they doing that led to their success? Both of these companies saw an opportunity to occupy a position in the customer’s mind that made sense to the customer. So, they took full advantage of trends in the market, the changing face of customer behavior, and new technology to set themselves apart: You wanted an easy-to-use interface or software for this new thing called a computer? Microsoft was the best choice.

You wanted a good hamburger fast and consistently just about anywhere you went? The Golden Arches were for you!

Fast-forward to 2019: • Neither of them objectively has the best product on the market.

• Neither counts on getting customers based on the fact that they create their products on the latest and greatest equipment.

• Rarely is either first to the market with anything.

• Neither has better employees on average than their competitors.

• And, neither is in markets with no competition.

Yet, both Microsoft and McDonald’s continue to dominate their markets the way nobody in recent history has been able to do. They do it solely by getting their customers to believe that they have the best solution to the problem that the customer is trying to solve. Need pretty good, pretty reliable software at a good price that will probably run on a decent PC? Microsoft. Need pretty good-tasting food that is pretty much the same everywhere at a reasonable price? McDonald’s.

Now, you may not want to be Microsoft or McDonald’s for many reasons. I know that I don’t want to be that big or have that many employees.

But, regardless of your aspirations as a businessperson, there are some very basic, very important lessons to learn from them.

Chuck Delaney is managing director of GROW Retail Technologies.

He can be reached at 708-491-5090 or cdelaney@growrt.com.

Do you want to grow your business year over year?

Renew Your Company’s Membership.

Contact Virginia Humphrey at vhumphrey@AICCbox.org or 703.836.2422.

FREE ONLINE EDUCATION Over 60 courses are available and the catalogue is growing every month! Many are in English & Spanish.

Courses include: • Build a Visual Workplace with 7S • Corrugated Basics 101, 102, 103 • How to Spec a Box • Introduction to Polymers • Keeping Score: How to Read a Financial Statement • Maintenance Mapping • Overall Equipment Effectiveness • Packaging Foundations • Paperboard Cartons • Sustainable Packaging Learn more at www.aiccbox.org/packagingschool.

MEETINGS, WEBINARS, & SEMINARS Check out our calendar for upcoming meetings, webinars, seminars, and summits throughout North America to receive the best industry training and the chance to network with others in the packaging industry. View AICC’s upcoming courses and events at www.aiccbox.org/calendar.

ASK THE EXPERTS - Ralph Young, Corrugated Technical Advisor - Tom Weber, Folding Carton Technical Advisor - Doug Friel, Safety & Risk management Advisor Start asking your industry questions today at www.aiccexperts.org.

When you invest and engage, AICC will deliver success.

Strength in Numbers

Implementing Employee Incentive Compensation

BY MITCH KLINGHER

E

veryone appreciates a pat on the back or a “job well done” from their employers. Employee performance reviews are an essential part of managing your workforce, and hopefully they give your employees the essential feedback that they need to improve their job performance. But is this enough to really motivate people to strive to improve?

Over my 40 or so years in public accounting, I have seen many employee incentive programs. Some of them pay additional compensation for achieving specific goals, and others rely on things like employee awards, cookouts, etc. I have seen many programs that are based upon company profits, some that pay the profit-sharing bonus out on a discretionary basis, and some that have a formula for how to allocate it.

A key question in incentive compensation is whether giving employees the chance to earn more money motivates them to excel. This has been a hotly debated topic for many years among psychologists, sociologists, economists, and others, and no one really knows for sure. I have seen incentive compensation programs that work fabulously, and I have seen programs that were dismal failures. The devil is always in the design of the program and in understanding your employees. What motivates a flexo operator or a general helper may be very different from what motivates your customer service, design, and other office personnel or your senior managers.

Another key question is whether company profitability should be a key factor in the size of the potential incentives. My opinion on this is that, as the fictional

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character Gordon Gekko said in the movie Wall Street, “Greed is good,” and therefore, most people want a chance to earn additional compensation. I also believe in creating the right incentive for the right class of employee.

If you do decide to go down the incentive compensation path, the first thing that you must institute is performance measurement at all levels. Most of you are pretty good at looking at machine efficiencies such as setup times and run speeds on equipment. Some of you have begun focusing on machine uptime and availability. But there are lots of other plant measurements that need to be taken into account, such as safety, waste, attendance, preventative maintenance done in a timely fashion, cleanliness of the facility, and others. But what about other classes of employees, such as customer service design, maintenance, shipping and delivery, etc.? What can you measure among these employees?

The answer is that you need to measure things that directly contribute to company profitability and those that measure employee performance, and tie them into your regular financial reporting.

There are certainly some things that are common to all converters, but not every statistic or measurement is important to all converters. If you are going to go down the path of employee incentives, you need to decide what to measure and begin to measure it every day (every shift for the plant). The daily information must be summed up by weeks and by months and be given to the appropriate personnel so that they can act. So, the first step to developing an incentive compensation

plan is to determine the key performance indicators (KPIs) for the overall business and for each major cost center within it.

The next step involves integrating these KPIs into your regular financial reporting, which will validate their effect on your company. Most financial reporting in the converting business expresses costs as either a percentage of sales, per ton, or per MSF. All the columns add down neatly, and everything crossfoots, just the way we accountants like things. But these statistics are often irrelevant. Why not consider integrating your KPIs right into your financial reporting? If you do this, then you may be evaluating your customer service department based upon head counts and number of orders processed instead of as a percentage of sales or per MSF shipped. Each cost center should be evaluated based upon its own criteria and not simply looked at as a percentage of sales.

If you decide to implement an incentive compensation program and you are satisfied that you have the correct KPIs for the overall company, the plant, and each major cost center, then the question becomes: What should you offer the employees for excellent performance? I can tell you from experience that if you put too much money on the table, they will get used to it and start to view it as part of their basic compensation. When they don’t hit their marks, it will be viewed as a “takeaway,” and you will have some very disappointed employees.

Another fundamental issue is whether you can afford to pay employee incentive compensation when profits are flat or down. Everyone can be hitting their

g n i n i a r T t h g i R e Th e c n e r e ff i D e h t l l A s e k ugust 29 a A s d M n E 1295 ate of $ R d r i B y Earl

Best Practices for Corrugator & Maintenance Operations October 9-10, 2019 | De Pere & Phillips, WI

Two Plants.

Two Cities.

Two Days of Training.

Day One: Green Bay Packaging De Pere Division

Day Two: BW Papersystems Corrugator Headquarters

Attendees will see everything from the process for optimal splicing at the wet end to the methods of consistent stack quality at the dry end at Green Bay Packaging.

Controls for temperature, adhesive, steam and air use will receive special focus.

At the BW Papersystems Four Seasons Learning and Manufacturing Facility, attendees can observe and explore the how and why of maintenance including machine alignment, vibration control, and tooling calibration.

Learning

s

Objective

Corrugator Specific: • Maintaining the optimal splicing process • Singlefacer preventative maintenance best practices • Maintaining slitter scorer slit quality and tooling calibration • Maintaining cut length accuracy • Stacker stack quality Overall: • Establishing a daily corrugator “route.

• “Go to Gemba” organizing your work place • Vibration analysis/IR survey • Machine alignment • Steam/air best practices • Plant lighting best practices

Strength in Numbers

marks, but sales have been down. I think you must differentiate between your senior management team and your other employees. Senior management should have the ability to affect profits, and some sort of profit-sharing bonus might be appropriate for them. The rest of your employees contribute mainly by being efficient at their jobs and should probably be rewarded for their own hard work and efficiency.

In my opinion, the overall upside to each employee should be in the 5%–10%

range of their salaries. For example, a plant employee who makes $40,000 who can earn an extra $2,000–$4,000 per year will be motivated if the goals are not unreasonable. It should also be paid regularly throughout the year (monthly or quarterly) and not at year-end if it is to have any real impact. Incentive compensation, if implemented properly, can have a profound effect on overall company efficiencies. It should help you maximize throughput, minimize downtime and waste, and help you run with as few

employees as possible. However, it must be implemented cautiously, and the goals for each category of employee must be thought out carefully to create a program that gives you the desired results.

Mitch Klingher is a partner at Klingher Nadler LLP. He can be reached at 201-731-3025 or mitch@ klinghernadler.com.

improve productivity and reduce downtime with the most intuitive and user-friendly gluing and QA software for your gluers

W. H. Leary Company www.whleary.com

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BOXSCORE July/August 2019

Upcoming AICC Events A well trained workforce increases your productivity.

August

AICC Northeast Summit 8/7 - 8/8 Atlantic City, New Jersey AICC Southeast Summit 8/20 - 8/22 Jacksonville, Florida

September

AICC 2019 Annual Meeting & Independent Package Design Competition 9/16 - 9/18 Toronto, Ontario

October

AICC 2019 West Coast Golf Tournament & Business Meeting 10/1 - 10/2 Irvine, California

Best Practices for Corrugator & Maintenance Operations 10/9 - 10/10 Phillips & De Pere, Wisconsin AICC 2019 Southwest Summit 10/22 - 10/24 Dallas, Texas Customer Service Workshop 10/23 - 10/24 Chicago, Illinois

Learn more at AICCbox.org/calendar When you invest and engage, AICC will deliver success.

International Corrugated Packaging Foundation I N T E R N AT I O N A L

PACKAGING

CORRUGATED

F O U N D AT I O N

R

egistration is open for ICPF’s 2019 Holiday Weekend in New York, scheduled for Friday through Sunday, December 13–15. Bring your spouse or guest for holiday shopping, sightseeing, dining, Broadway plays, and enjoying New York’s holiday season—all while supporting ICPF’s educational mission.

This year’s event will begin with a Friday evening reception, sponsored by Pratt Industries, at the historic Barbetta restaurant. ICPF guests will view a Saturday Broadway matinee of one of the Tony Award-winning musical “Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times

of The Temptations,” sponsored by BW Papersystems. Saturday night, participants will be treated to a reception and dinner at the renowned Chazz Palminteri restaurant. The reception is sponsored by Fosber America, and the dinner is sponsored by Bobst North America. Gerber Innovations and Greif also are sponsors of the weekend.

ICPF’s Holiday Weekend in New York event always sells out early. Space is limited to a first-come, first-served basis! We recommend you register no later than August 31 to ensure participation. Request a registration

Photo courtesy of the Imperial Theatre.

2019 Holiday Weekend in New York – Registration Is Open!

Holiday Weekend in New York attendees will be treated to “Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of The Temptations” on Broadway.

form by emailing registration@icpfbox. org, or visit www.careersincorrugated. org to download.

The next generation WANTS to grow.

Help them.

Emerging Leaders, those roughly 35 years of age or younger, meet regularly at AICC’s National Meetings in sessions specific to their needs; they participate in active industry training programs; and they provide valuable input to the future of our industry. We develop at least 3 EL programs per year and occasionally offer ELs exclusive discounts on programs that we think are most relevant to them. Employees of AICC General and Associate Member companies are invited to apply. AICCbox.org/ Leaders When You Invest & Engage AICC Will Deliver Success.

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International Corrugated Packaging Foundation I N T E R N AT I O N A L

PACKAGING

CORRUGATED

F O U N D AT I O N

ICPF Provides Award to Expand University of Texas at Arlington’s Corrugated Packaging Program

Photo courtesy of ICPF.

S

ix years ago, ICPF installed a DT 3000 CAD sample table (donated to ICPF by Vanguard Packaging) and Artios software (donated by Esko) to initiate a partnership and packaging design program for the University of Texas at Arlington (UT–A) graphic design students within the university’s art and art history departments. That same year, Jana Harris of Harris Packaging, whose firm is an ICPF Corporate Partner, was recruited by ICPF to serve as ICPF’s representative to UT–A’s new corrugated packaging advisory board. Like the ICPF representatives who have been appointed to the advisory boards established at its 25 partner universities, Jana has donated extensive time to provide input on UT–A’s corrugated packaging program, to mentor corrugated packaging faculty and students, to hire student interns and new graduates, and to promote the hiring of student interns by other ICPF Corporate Partners with operations in the region. Most recently, Harris Packaging donated an additional 2002 Kongsberg CAD table to the UT–A program.

This past year, UT–A also applied to ICPF’s university packaging award program to expand its program. UT–A will be provided with up to $124,350 in donations of equipment and funding over three years to enhance its corrugated packaging curriculum to eight separate courses, to create a new minor in corrugated packaging design, to hire two adjunct professors from the industry, and to place a large-scale flatbed printer, as well as 20 computers, desks, and chairs to upgrade UT–A’s packaging design lab.

Millersville University (MU) students receive corrugated testing instruction with new TMI equipment that was provided this past year through ICPF’s Corrugated Packaging Awards program.

In 2008, ICPF installed a CAD table and Artios design software at Millersville University that launched the packaging design program for graphic design students within MU’s Department of Applied Engineering, Safety & Technology. Each year, a majority of MU’s packaging design and graphic design graduates are hired by the region’s corrugated packaging and display industry.

The assistance provided to UT–A is part of ICPF’s 2018–2021 Corrugated Packaging University Endowment Awards program, through which ICPF’s 25 partner universities, as well as other colleges around the country, were invited to submit proposals to expand or create new corrugated curricula. Eleven campuses that submitted proposals were selected to sign partnership/asset placement agreements to receive ICPF-purchased equipment, donated design software, and funding for up to three years. As an

extension of this program, universities across the nation will be invited each fall to submit additional corrugated packaging curricula proposals that will be considered to receive ICPF’s university packaging award assistance.

Richard Flaherty is president of the International Corrugated Packaging Foundation.

BOXSCORE www.aiccbox.org

67

The Final Score

A High Bar

I

t is with great honor and humility that I “pen” the first Final Score column that does not have a Steve Young byline since BoxScore debuted in March/April 1984. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Mike D’Angelo, and after serving for nearly three years on the AICC staff (and for close to 20 years before that as an AICC Associate member), I have succeeded Steve Young as the president of this great Association. I am grateful to the AICC board of directors for their confidence and to the membership for their support. You can learn more about me elsewhere in this issue of BoxScore (see Page 54).

At AICC headquarters in Alexandria, Va., there are two plaques on the wall outside the conference room. One contains the names of the members of the AICC Hall of Fame, and the other contains the names of the International Corrugated Packaging Foundation’s Circle of Distinguished Leaders.

These men and women have been or are visionaries, trendsetters, disruptors, and shapers of the paperbased packaging industries and this very Association. From time to time I stop, take a moment, and look at the names. I have had the pleasure of personally knowing and working with many of these luminaries and have heard many stories about the others. We’re lucky indeed to have so many of them still contributing today to their companies and to AICC. A high bar for accomplishment.

AICC is very much a member-driven organization, primarily through the activities of its board of directors and the activities of the various committees on which members serve. This keeps the programs and initiatives of AICC timely and relevant to the needs and the goals of the membership, both boxmakers and suppliers. I am constantly impressed by the amount of time these volunteers share through their participation on conference calls and at meetings. They are confident and not at all shy. They are filled with ideas, encouragement, and challenges to the status quo and have kept AICC innovative and moving forward for decades. A high bar for engagement.

Throughout my years in the industry, there was always a notable difference between AICC and other associations: The members were so open and willing to share with each other, opening up their plants, talking about best practices, thinking with the best interests of the industry at heart. This always impressed me. During the past three years on staff, I have been an even closer witness to this remarkable and unique trait. A high bar for altruism.

For the past three years, I’ve gotten to know well the AICC staff that serves you, the members. Their knowledge of how to best accomplish their work, their willingness to listen and be open-minded, their constant seeking to improve the operations and the deliverables of AICC, their spirit of teamwork in helping each other in getting the task completed and moving on to the next thing, and the commitment they make to assist any member is inspirational. Please know that they work extremely hard for you. A high bar for responsibility.

One man who has made such an indelible mark on AICC, the respect that it has, what it is, and what it represents is Steve Young. A high bar for excellence.

These are all in my thoughts as I embark on the journey as the third chief executive of AICC. They will guide my activities and my service to the membership, to the board, to the committees, to the staff, to other associations, and to this great industry. So much has been accomplished through the efforts of so many through AICC, and there is so much yet for us to do.

A high bar indeed.

Michael D’Angelo AICC President

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