FIRST IMPRESSION

-- Converting Magazine, 4/1/2001

To face the challenges of profitability and growth, the Alexandria, Va.-based Paperboard Packaging Council and National Paperbox Assn. talk of "inventing" a new industry group.

The groups "feel good about the prospects of coming together," says PPC president Jerry Van de Water during the PPC annual meeting March 18-20 in Chicago. However, it will take time to design a new organization and have the board and members review the structure. Van de Water expects that proposals will be ready when the PPC and NPA meet jointly this fall.

"As our numbers dwindle from consolidations and business closures, we're less able to counter market forces and remain competitive. We lack the necessary 'critical mass' as an association to have a major impact on forces driving change," says Nicholas George, executive vp and gm of Rock-Tenn Co., during his PPC chairman's report. "It no longer makes sense for there to be multiple associations representing the paperboard packaging industry."

Also during the PPC meeting, Inland Consumer Packaging, Leominster, Mass., whisks away the President's Award for its "Infusion Basketball" entry in the group's annual design competition. The converter combines holographic foil and vivid-color printing to reflect the product's uniqueness. See our May 2001 issue for more information on the competition's winners.