Marla Donahue

The 2011 TAPPI PLACE Flexible Packaging Symposium is being held in Orlando  on April 5, 2011—one day before ICE USA.

Join industry colleagues in Orlando on April 5, 2011—one day before the ICE USA  Show begins—at the 2011 TAPPI PLACE Flexible Packaging Symposium.

The Flexible Packaging Association announced its 2009 Board of Directors. Directors are elected by FPA voting members through mail ballot. Directors are elected for a term of one year and assume their directorship at the FPA Annual Meeting.

With favorable trends in the use of plastics and pouches, flexible packaging converters are set for success. FLEXIBLE PACKAGING CONTINUES to cast a shining glow over the package-printing landscape. The category has at least two very positive forces filling up its sails (could be spelled "sales"). One is the continuing industry trend toward the use of plastic materials and, along with this, the growth of pouches as a preferred packaging method. In a study released last October titled "Paper versus Plastic in Packaging to 2008," The Freedonia Group projected plastic materials used in packaging to increase 3.1 percent annually through 2008. At

Continued economic strength, new end-use market opportunities and better production strategies all paint a bright picture for this once over-shadowed segment. By David Luttenberger By most accounts, the U.S. folding carton industry had a banner year in 1998. According to Gary Stanley of the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC), segment records were set for both quantity and value of product shipments. DoC figures estimate the value of shipments at $9.7 billion. That's a 3.5 percent increase over '97. Much of the good news for the paperboard carton segment can be directly attributed to the strength of the national economy and a better-than-expected export climate.