March/ April 2018 BoxScore by AICC, The Independent Packaging Association

Mar/Apr 2018 Vol. 22 Issue 2

New accessory for our fastest EVOL ever! Meet the EVOL 100/400 ®

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A PUBLICATION OF AICC, THE INDEPENDENT PACKAGING ASSOCIATION

March/April 2018 Volume 22, Issue 2

Adaptation in the

DIGITAL LANDSCAPE INVESTING IN TECHNOLOGY— OR AT LEAST PREPARING TO INVEST—IS A MUST TO AVOID FALLING BEHIND

ALSO INSIDE Selling Digital What Happened to My Dot?

TABLE OF CONTENTS March/April 2018 • Volume 22, Issue 2

COLUMNS

CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE

SCORING BOXES

LEGISLATIVE REPORT

MEMBERS MEETING

ASK RALPH

SELLING TODAY

TACKLING TRENDS

ANDRAGOGY

LEADERSHIP

MARKETING MIX

DESIGN SPACE

THE ASSOCIATE ADVANTAGE

WHAT THE TECH?

FEATURES

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

THE FINAL SCORE

46 ADAPTATION IN THE DIGITAL LANDSCAPE Investing in technology—or at least preparing to invest—is a must to avoid falling behind

SELLING DIGITAL From strategy to sales, digital printing offers real solutions

WHAT HAPPENED TO MY DOT? Considerations of quality are essential when you go digital

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. ©2018 AICC. All rights reserved.

DEPARTMENTS

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

GOOD FOR BUSINESS

MEMBER PROFILE

ICPF UPDATE

Visit www.aiccboxscore.org for Member News and even more great columns. Scan the QR code to check them out! BOXSCORE www.aiccbox.org

OFFICERS Chairman: Al Hoodwin, Michigan City Paper Box Co. First Vice Chairman: Joe Palmeri, Jamestown Container Companies Vice Chairman: Jay Carman, StandFast Packaging Vice Chairman: John Forrey, Specialty Industries/Krafcor/ NuPack Printing Vice Chairwoman: Jana Harris, Harris Packaging/ American Carton DIRECTORS-AT-LARGE Kevin Ausburn, SMC Packaging Group Matt Davis, Packaging Express Eric Elgin, Oklahoma Interpak Marco Ferrara, Cartones Sultana Finn MacDonald, Independent II Nelva Walz, Elegant Packaging DIRECTORS Doug Rawson, Superior Lithographics David DeLine, Deline Box Company Justin Mathes, Vanguard Companies Mike Schaefer, Tavens Packaging & Display Gary Brewer, Package Crafters Inc. Guy Ockerland, OxBox Pedro R. Aguirre, Tecnología de Cartón Joe Hodges, Mid-Atlantic Packaging Larry Grossbard, President Container Group Peter Hamilton, Rand-Whitney Corporation John Franciosa, McLeish Corr-A-Box, Coyle Packaging Group Kim Nelson, Royal Containers Ltd. President: A. Steven Young, AICC Immediate Past Chairman: Tony Schleich, Lawrence Paper Company, American Packaging Division Chairman, Past Chairmen’s Council: Mark Williams, Richmond Corrugated

Secretary/General Counsel: David P. Goch, Webster, Chamberlain, and Bean Counsel Emeritus: Paul H. Vishny, Esq.

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

EMERGING LEADER BOARD DELEGATES Josh Sobel, Jamestown Container Companies Terri-Lynn Levesque, Royal Containers Ltd.

CONTRIBUTORS Mike D'Angelo, Vice President Maria Frustaci, Director of Administration and Director of Latin America Cindy Huber, Director of Meetings and Conventions Chelsea May, Member Services Coordinator Laura Mihalick, Senior Meetings Manager Taryn Pyle, Director of Training, Education and Professional Development Alyce Ryan, Marketing Associate Richard M. Flaherty, President, ICPF

ASSOCIATE MEMBER DIRECTORS Chairman: Ed Gargiulo, Equipment Finance Corp. Vice Chairman: David Burgess, JB Machinery Secretary: Pat Szany, American Corrugated Machine Corp. Director: Joe Morelli, Huston Patterson Printers Immediate Past Chairman: Jeff Pallini, Fosber America ADVISORS TO THE CHAIRMAN Kim Nelson, Royal Containers Ltd. Ed Gargiulo, Equipment Finance Corp. Jim Akers, Akers Packaging PUBLICATION STAFF Publisher: A. Steven Young, syoung@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 Associate Editor: Drew Bankert Creative Director: Serena L. Spiezio Art Director: Jason Deller Account Manager: Brian Hershey

ADVERTISING Information: Virginia Humphrey, vhumphrey@aiccbox.org Opportunities: Howard Neft, InTheKnow Inc. 847-899-7104 • thneft@aol.com 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. AICC SERVES: Passionate professionals; The independent and united; The responsive and agile. AICC WILL: Connect and cultivate; Deliver success.

Chairman’s Message

DISRUPTION

“D

isruption” will be a big topic at our 2018 Spring Meeting, April 16–18 in Phoenix, Ariz. It is the word we are hearing about everywhere. CNBC, which now has a 2017 list of the top 50 disruptor companies (http://cnb.cx/2s1zEBq) describes disruptive companies as “startups [that] have identified unexploited niches in the marketplace that have the potential to become billion-dollar businesses—and they rushed to fill them.” Some companies on the list include No. 1 Airbnb, which has disrupted the hotel industry, and No. 47 Warby Parker, which sells glasses direct to consumers—in beautiful corrugated boxes—and is disrupting the near monopoly that Luxottica has had in the market for years. I believe, as independent packaging manufacturers, we should all be interested in disruption for three reasons. First, we have disruptive technologies in our own industry. Our customers now have the ability to make their own glued and printed (labeled) corrugated cartons on demand. While early machines required people to glue and label cartons, new machines do the work automatically—my CSR can now go to the network, define the carton they want, push a button, and the machine takes it from there—cartons are suddenly produced with lightning speed. The second reason we should be interested in disruption is that it gives us the opportunity to redefine our companies. In late November, we had the opportunity to tour Yuto, a large packaging company in Asia that manufactures smartphone boxes, including the iPhone box, for leading Asian phone manufacturers—like Huawei. I was astonished to see how automated and well-engineered their production floor was. Lastly, the third reason why we should be interested in disruption is that we see it as a great opportunity. AICC members are agile and entrepreneurial, and they embrace change. These are the same three characteristics that describe many of the companies on CNBC’s top 50 disruptors list. We are the packaging companies that are best-suited to serve the needs of these disruptors. Most disruptors start small. I can tell you that as a company with a website, I get multiple inquiries each day from startups that want high-end packaging, but in small quantities. What are you doing as a business owner to help satisfy these needs? Associates: What technologies are you bringing your manufacturers to help them respond to these needs? Digital print is definitely helping all of us with these types of orders and is a technology you need to embrace. So, don’t just delete those small inquiries that come to you. Explore the opportunities that are viable, and figure out how to help these disruptors create the best packaging for their product. Because you never know when your smallest customer may become your biggest customer in just a matter of years.

Al Hoodwin CEO, Michigan City Paper Box Co. Chairman, AICC

BOXSCORE www.aiccbox.org

Scoring Boxes

2017 RETAIL SALES REACH $5.8 TRILLION BY DICK STORAT

etail sales is how consumer spending is measured at stores, restaurants, and websites. It reached $5.8 trillion last year, a rise of 4.2 percent, its fastest annual growth rate since 2014. The year ended with an exceptionally strong finish, with gains posted in each of the last four months of 2017. Last year’s holiday season was the strongest since 2010, as strong labor markets and elevated levels of consumer confidence resulted in robust

spending. Retail sales for last November and December combined outpaced 2016’s by 5.7 percent and rose at an even faster 6.1 percent rate, excluding spending at eating and drinking establishments. As expected, nonstore retailers (mainly online retailers) grew the fastest, advancing at 12.8 percent, while sales at general merchandise stores grew, but only at 3 percent. Aided in part by post-hurricane rebuilding, sales at building supply stores

Select Shares of 2017 Retail Sales Data MOTOR VEHICLE & PARTS DEALERS FOOD & BEVERAGE STORES GENERAL MERCHANDISE STORES FOOD SERVICES & DRINKING PLACES NONSTORE RETAILERS BUILDING MATERIAL STORES CLOTHING STORES

20.6% 12.5% 12% 11.8% 10.9% 6.6% 4.5%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

2017 Retail & Food Service Sales Growth by Sector Data SPORTING GOODS, HOBBY, AND BOOKSTORES ELECTRONICS & APPLIANCE STORES CLOTHING STORES GENERAL MERCHANDISE STORES FOOD & BEVERAGE STORES RESTAURANTS & TAVERNS MOTOR VEHICLE & PARTS DEALERS TOTAL RETAIL LESS FOOD SVC FURNITURE & FURNISHINGS STORES BUILDING MATERIAL STORES NONSTORE RETAILERS Source: U.S. Census Bureau

BOXSCORE March/April 2018

(3.4) 0.5 1.1 2.4 2.5 2.8 4.0 4.8 4.8 8.0 10.4

showed a 10 percent holiday growth spurt. Holiday sales lagged at book stores, sporting goods stores, and hobby stores, with the combined total sales of all three showing only 0.8 percent growth during the last two months of 2017. The chart below shows select shares of last year’s retail sales by category. Americans’ ongoing love affair with autos is obvious from the 21 percent of total retail spending allocated to cars, trucks, and parts. Retail customer purchases at grocery stores accounted for 12.5 percent of last year’s purchases, a very important segment because of both its size and the high concentration of corrugated containers and point-ofpurchase displays in stores selling food and beverages. Right behind groceries are general merchandise stores, including big-box stores and traditional department stores, which make up 12 percent of retail sales. Sales at food service establishments—including fast food and traditional restaurants as well as bars and taverns—climbed rapidly after the last recession and accounted for 11.8 percent of total retail spending, almost equaling outlays for food and beverages at grocery stores. And, not far behind, nonstore retail sales. While these include catalog purchases, the largest and most rapidly growing component is sales by online retailers, led by Amazon.com. Last year, online sales accounted for 11.8 percent of retail sales—almost as much as spending in grocery stores or general merchandise stores. Retail sales growth varied considerably from one sector to another last year and may have had a significant impact on independent corrugated and paperboard manufacturers’ volumes last year,

Scoring Boxes

depending on which of these sectors boxmakers supplied. The chart on Page 4 shows 2017 annual growth rates for 11 important retail sectors. As it did during each year since the end of the last recession, the nonstore retailers sector grew most rapidly last year, advancing at 10.4 percent—more than twice as fast as overall retail and food service sales rose. Building material stores notched the second-fastest growth rate last year. Benefiting from low interest rates since the last recession, as well as repairs needed following last summer’s storms and funded by insurance claims, growth last year reached 8 percent, on the heels of a 5.9 percent year-earlier gain. Furniture and other home furnishings require a goodly amount of corrugated packaging to protect them from damage in transit. Retail sales in that sector grew faster than did overall retail sales last year, advancing at 4.8 percent, a pace double that recorded in 2016. Last year’s holiday sales spurt of 8.7 percent helped attain annual superior growth. Independent converters who shipped boxes primarily into the food service industries may have seen less rapid growth last year than a year earlier. Spending in bars and eateries last year slowed considerably from the 6 percent growth rate posted in 2016. 2017 saw growth of only 2.8 percent, narrowly edging out the 2.5 percent annual growth rate at grocery and beverage stores, which compete for share of food spending. Last year’s growth in the off-premises food and beverage market stayed close to its 2.4 percent growth of 2016. Although general merchandise, clothing, electronics, and bookstores continued

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to lose sales volume to online retailers, last year showed some improvement over 2016 results, in part from increased online sales by “brick-and-mortar” retailers. Traditional general merchandisers’ sales rose 2.4 percent last year, compared to a 0.8 percent decline a year earlier. Helped by a 6.7 percent increase in last year’s holiday sales, electronics and appliance stores managed to eke out 0.5 percent positive sales, compared to the 3.2 percent decline in 2016. One final thought to keep in mind when evaluating retail sales is that these

data can be volatile from month to month. Also, they do not include spending on most services such as housing and health care, nor are they adjusted for inflation, which would discount the headline results by some 2 percent. Dick Storat is president of Richard Storat & Associates. He can be reached at 610-282-6033 or storatre@aol.com.

BOXSCORE www.aiccbox.org

Legislative Report

THE 2018 PRINT & PACKAGING LEGISLATIVE SUMMIT: ‘THE YEAR OF THE MANUFACTURER’ BY ERIC ELGIN

am pleased to chair AICC’s Government Affairs Subcommittee for this 2018 membership year. In taking on this role, I am indebted to my predecessor, John Forrey of Specialty Industries, who led this committee for three years and served as the voice for the independent in matters governmental. Thank you, John. From my perspective as the owner of Oklahoma Interpak, I see this subject of government affairs not just from a national perspective, but from a local one as well. Who among us owners of small companies has not had to deal with a county zoning board, the building code inspector, or even the local sewer authority when doing a plant expansion or installing equipment? We comply daily with safety regulations—good ones, I might add—to protect our workers, with environmental laws to protect the environment, and with labor laws in fairness to our employees. All these things are decreed by government— local, state, and federal—and we in the business community abide. With this in mind, I want to use these pages in the coming year to help

BOXSCORE March/April 2018

educate us all about the issues facing manufacturers in general, and those of us in the corrugated and paperboard industries in particular. I also want to encourage action on the part of AICC members when we see legislative proposals that can benefit, or those that can harm, our ability to provide jobs, grow our companies, and serve our customers most efficiently. We hear much of “activists” in the news lately, but to me so much of the activism demonstrated by these practitioners is inimical to our interests. This is why, in my view, it’s critical that we in the business community create our own kind of activism, an activism informed by facts, practiced with reason, and backed by integrity. The manufacturing community has made great strides in the past year in advancing its legislative agenda. Some, like Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), have gone as far as to call it “the year of the manufacturer.” With a friendly administration and sympathetic Congress, the business community’s

needs are being heard and heeded. But we’re not finished. There is still much work to be done, and we still need our voice—local, state, and federal—to be heard. On the federal level, we have an opportunity to do this June 19–20, when AICC will again host and join forces with other print- and packagingrelated groups in the 2018 Print & Packaging Legislative Summit. It’s your opportunity to visit with your legislators—to become an activist for your company and your industry. Plan on joining me and the members of AICC’s Government Affairs team when we gather in Washington in June. In this “year of the manufacturer,” it is sure to be a memorable event. 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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WORKING WELL LLC SCOTT ELLIS, ED.D. Principal P.O. Box 578097 Modesto, CA 578097 Phone: 425-985-8508 Fax: 425-873-5453 scott@workingwell.bz WEXLER PACKAGING PRODUCTS, INC. TARA UTAIN Vice President, Sales & Marketing 777-M Schwab Rd. Hatfield, PA 19440 Phone: 215-631-9700 www.wexlerpackaging.com tara@wexlerpackaging.com VALUE ADDED PACKAGING MICHAEL J. BUDDE CEO44 Lau Parkway Clayton, OH 45315 Phone: 937-832-9595 www.vapmanaged.com mbudde@vapmanaged.com

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Members Meeting

DIGITAL ENLIGHTENMENT AT SUN

through 2022. David Carmichael, in his opening presentation, discussed “Print Quality Variables” as a way of setting the stage for the two days of the seminar. “It’s important to understand digital print standards and control expectations,” Carmichael noted, showing several examples of print quality. He discussed trouble-shooting techniques and added that it’s important that converters ensure that their facilities and people can support the digital print process.

group of 23 enthusiastic industry executives, all eager to learn about digital printing technology, application, and marketing, gathered at SUN Automation February 7–8, for AICC’s Digital Printing in the Packaging Industry Workshop and Seminar. The two-day program was held at SUN’s 183,000-square-foot manufacturing headquarters in Glen Arm, Md. Paul Aliprando, director of digital technology; David Carmichael, technical manager; and Ron Diedeman, president, welcomed the group and introduced the program and instructors. In addition to Aliprando and Carmichael—whose opening presentations asked the group, “What are you trying to do with digital?”—eight other instructors from distinct segments of the printing supply chain shared their knowledge over the course of the two days. They were: Allie O’Brien of KemiArt on substrates; Troy Hewgly of DS Smith on corrugated sheet structure; Jerry Fitch of Sensient Color on characteristics of digital inks; Brad Albright of ColorHub on types

of digital printers; Josh McNaughton of Xante on designing artwork for digital printing; Darin Boling of SUN Automation on digital printer maintenance systems; Ray Weiss of Specialty Graphics Imaging Association (SGIA) on artwork and color tools; and Mark Bibo of Gerber Innovations on digital print finishing, covering cutting, and creasing for digital samples and displays. As an added bonus for the attendees, live print demonstrations were conducted by Darin Boling on SUN Automation’s CorrStream and by Josh McNaughton on Xante’s Excelagraphix single-pass digital printers. As structured, the course followed a logical progression of print and production considerations. Paul Aliprando reviewed the current state of the printed packaging marketplace, quoting data from Smithers Pira. For corrugated and folding cartons, both segments have experienced growth in the digital print category of 32 percent and 45 percent, respectively, in the past five years. According to Smithers Pira, this growth will continue at the same pace or greater

Brad Albright of ColorHub explains properties of gloss in a digitally printed piece.

Josh McNaughton of Xante demonstrates the Xante Excelgraphix machine for seminar attendees.

Photos courtesy of AICC.

Substrates and Sheet Quality Allie O’Brien followed with a primer on “Paper Compositions for Digital Liners,” wherein she reviewed paper grades and appearance, asking what she called “The Big Question: Is there a difference between brightness and whiteness in substrates?” Brightness, she explained, is a reflection of a very specific wavelength of blue in the spectrum, while whiteness is a reflection of all wavelengths of light across the entire visual spectrum. She also explained in her presentation that the leading paper characteristics for digital

BOXSCORE March/April 2018

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Members Meeting

Photos courtesy of AICC.

printing do not differ that much from analog printing methods. All substrates must possess runability, printability, toner and ink adhesion qualities, and dimensional stability. Following on O’Brien’s theme, Troy Hewgly of DS Smith presented “Digital Printing and Corrugated Sheets,” in which he talked about flute structure and ensuring the best sheet quality for digital printing jobs. The most important aspects of these, he said, are managing warp and the sheet storage environment.

Darin Boling of SUN Automation starts up the CorrStream digital printer for a demonstration.

Allie O'Brien of KemiArt gives a primer on paper and substrate qualities.

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Inks and Presses From substrates, the discussion flowed to digital inks, with Jerry Fitch from Sensient Inks. He outlined the different kinds of digital inks. He discussed UV, electronic beam, and aqueous inks, and their pros and cons. Printer technology followed. Brad Albright of ColorHub talked about the operational basics of multipass and single-pass presses, including initial investment, setup, speed, and return on investment. He told members to “understand the technology and to make sure they have the infrastructure in place to support the asset.” To that end, Darin Boling of SUN Automation added a segment on digital printer systems and maintenance, in which he talked about print heads, ink delivery, and the belt transport system. Artwork, Color and Image Management, and Finishing In addition to experts on digital machinery, the seminar also covered the aspects of artwork and color management. Josh McNaughton covered designing artwork for digital printing, providing pointers and samples of artwork that minimize the use of costly digital inks. Ray Weiss provided a discussion on artwork

Members Meeting

considerations, explaining the differences between raster and vector images, the nuances of file size and resolution, and color settings in graphics software packages. Mark Bibo of Gerber Innovations discussed the various finishing methods now available for digitally printed sheets, including static and dynamic tables and feeder options for both. Digital Advantage While all speakers addressed the various points in the digital supply chain, Albright summed up the presentations best in his analysis of the benefits of digital printing and its niche among current corrugated or folding carton print options. He noted the continuing

necessity of litho-lam and direct print flexo for most corrugated quantities and production efficiencies in the current environment. Digital, he noted, has a special place within a company’s mix; for those applications where it fits, digital offers the advantage of no labels or print plates, no-crush printing, and reduced waste. One of its greatest advantages, he said, was that it improves speed-tomarket, which, for independents, is a differentiator in the corrugated and folding carton marketplaces. Attendees at the program gave it high praise. Said one, “The presenters did an excellent job and provided the information I need to talk about digital printing with my customers.”

SUN Automation hosts, from left, Paul Aliprando, Ron Diedeman, and David Carmichael, pose before the session begins.

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THE EUROPEAN INVASION BY RALPH YOUNG

S Smith, the European company, now joins the Canadians, Irish, Australians, Mexicans, and Japanese as having operations in the U.S. While these operations are not currently widespread throughout all regions of the country, that may change: Security analysts state that DS Smith may want to grow their North American footprint by as much as three times. They purchased a majority stake in an AICC Associate Member, Interstate Resources, which includes two container board mills and six converting facilities. They have also recently announced the building of two greenfield plants. These are most likely near the U.S. operations of their global customers, which they serve elsewhere. This is not a case of reshoring, but of foreign investment in multinational companies. Seventeen of their top 20 customers have operations here.

E-Commerce A recent interview that appeared in the Telegraph in the U.K. states that DS Smith is coming to America because of their success in 37 other countries with e-commerce. Their boss believes that the average weight of a box here is 50 percent more than in Europe, and his customers want better solutions. They are the largest recycler in Europe and fully understand the manufacturing of different strength levels of test liners and recycled mediums. But they also have the virgin technology that came from their acquisition of Sweden’s SCA. This has been a seven-year turnaround company that is not slowing down in its investments and innovation. Keep your eyes open for new announcements.

Optimizing Packaging Design DS Smith’s direction of utilizing optimum packaging design and fiber utilization is driven in part by their customers, the consumer products goods (CPG) and packaged food companies. With actual declining CPG sales in food and beverage against a growing global population, packaging must change, and sometimes more rapidly than in the past. A corrugated supplier must be nimble to serve changing customers’ needs. DS Smith in Europe has taken an active lead in reduced packaging and leading customers to the best packaging through their PackRight Centres. And with WestRock’s recent announcement of its acquisition of Plymouth Packaging and its Box-on-Demand system, along with being a major supplier of fan fold to Packsize, they have made an impressive penetration into the custom packaging market. Packsize has been a major supplier to e-commerce shipper Amazon; Amazon is not done right-sizing yet! Be aware of creativity in packaging design and innovative use of very low-grammage substrates. I was personally very impressed by the openness of the company in its transparency of publishing its containerboard specifications for all to see. They report on more physical properties than is common for containerboard suppliers here. The report of MD/CD tensile strength and tensile stiffness are good indicators of combined board bending stiffness and flexural stiffness that, along with ECT, lead to box compression performance. It has been reported that they equip these local plants with combined board-testing technology used in all their

other converting facilities, and import right-weight containerboards, which are not universally produced in North America (i.e., 18#/MSF and below). You may want to do your own investigation of this advanced testing methodology in Dr. Roman Popil’s new book, Physical Testing of Paper. Refibering in North America On something of a side note, but still relevant to the DS Smith invasion, is the continued conversion and complete renewal of some domestic mills. The security analysts and the industry media and press releases still talk about tons, and what we really want to know is grade structure. We sell in MSF, not tons! So, the recent announcements by IP, PCA, Green Bay Packaging, Bio PAPPEL, WestRock, and Pratt don’t do much for us when they refer to tons. Realize that a ton of 29# has 21 percent more MSF than a ton of 35#. As we follow these developments, stay with us at AICC and Ask Ralph. Also, challenge your sheet suppliers to look at alternatives and developments globally. Get to know and build a path to a third-party lab if you are not internally equipped. Read! R alph 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

Selling Today

OUTBOUND VS. INBOUND MARKETING: WHY DO YOU HAVE TO CHOOSE?

First There Was Marketing At one time, before the pervasiveness of the internet, marketing efforts were all outbound. Marketers pushed messaging out through various channels—buying advertising, attending trade shows, making cold calls using directories or phone books, etc. It was more of a “sprayand-pray” approach. A company would send its message out to as many people as possible and hope they needed what was being sold. The term outbound marketing didn’t exist; it was just called marketing.

reach out to them; search engines brought them directly to their websites. With the right content, blogs, e-books, videos, and podcasts posted on their website and pushed through social media—all created with keywords and phrases intended to maximize search engine optimization (SEO)—leads could come directly to them. Suddenly outbound marketing was looked at as old-school, outdated, and costly. The new kid on the block, inbound, was being touted as the most effective way to bring in leads. A great divide was created: inbound vs. outbound. Agencies that specialized in inbound marketing pushed the message online, and companies started sinking more and more money into it. Some with great success, some not. However, the rise of the internet didn’t just create this new way of marketing— inbound. It also provided a means to modernize and optimize the approach to outbound marketing and bring with it a more substantial ROI. Today, outbound marketing is no longer taking a “spray-and-pray” approach, but instead allows companies to create a tightly focused approach, and when paired with refined processes that are consistently followed, the results can be very successful. However, similarly to the inbound marketing folks, outbound marketing agencies often claim that their method is the best.

Dawn of Internet Marketing And then came the internet, and inbound marketing was born. Prospects could use the internet to find products and services they needed. Marketers didn’t need to

You Don’t Have to Choose Companies have many reasons for choosing one way of marketing over the other. For example, some may have had a bad experience with one method or heard

eciding how to invest your marketing dollars to receive the best return on investment (ROI) can be challenging. Should you invest in outbound marketing or inbound marketing? Which is a better fit for your business? Which will be most effective? There are predominantly two schools of thought, each with strong opinions on the matter. As you do your research, you start to feel like a tennis ball being volleyed back and forth: People practically live online, so inbound is the way to reach them; people prefer to speak to a person, so outbound is the way to reach them; inbound marketing brings leads to you; targeted outbound marketing delivers highly qualified leads that convert … and so on. How do you effectively choose between the two? Well, the simple answer is: You don’t have to.

BOXSCORE March/April 2018

of someone else’s bad experience. You may have heard statements like “no one comes to my website” or “direct mail doesn’t work.” The problem with statements such as these are that they are looking at singular components, whereas marketing should be looked at as a system with strong component interrelationships. To isolate one component from a system and then suggest the system didn’t work isn’t giving it a fair chance. By implementing both inbound and outbound, you create a system that allows you to extend your reach in a customizable manner. When it comes down to it, people, not companies, are buying products and services. In most industries, the decision-makers and influencers you are trying to reach will be a mix of personalities (introverted and extroverted), age groups, life stages, and demographics, and each will have their own way of finding the solution they need. Some will get an email and pick up the phone, others will head straight to a search engine or social media to quietly do research, and some need to see hard copy information that they can read and pass on. By choosing one type of marketing over the other, you risk alienating potential customers. For a complete approach, companies should be doing both, including a mix of SEO optimization, pay-per-click, phone calls, emails, direct mail, social media, blogging, etc., depending on their business models. The key to success is ensuring you have a clearly defined strategy around your inbound and outbound marketing practices, and they are not working independently of each other. Your strategy must include goals, an execution plan, and follow-through.

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When you build your strategy around sales goals and monitor it consistently to measure against those goals—making process corrections when needed—you will have greater success. There are a few key components to consider when creating your strategy: • Tight target profiling — industry, position, company size, geographic region, etc. • Compelling messaging — specific to the target’s needs, including educational and industry information. • Technologies — email and social media automation software, CRM, etc. • Processes — both inbound and outbound processes that detail what you are doing and the frequency, including a nurturing process.

BOXSCORE March/April 2018

• Goals — should be measurable and realistic. • Tracking — an imperative component used to gauge success and drive process improvement. • Process improvement — often overlooked; it is critical to know where you are falling short and when to make adjustments to messaging, targets, followthrough, etc. The ideal marketing strategy includes both inbound and outbound marketing and will deliver with comprehensive reach your targeted message, which drives results. There is no need to pit outbound marketing against inbound marketing or view them as two separate strategies. The two should be looked at as

components that dovetail to create an optimized plan for increasing qualified leads and boosting revenue. 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

TRANSFORMING YOUR BUSINESS ONE BYTE AT A TIME BY JOHN CLARK

ince the earliest days of the packaging industry, as in most any enterprise, progress was incremental and evolutionary. Radical change was not on anyone’s cathode-ray radar screen. In the world of packaging, the plant of 50 years ago is not too far removed from the plant of today. Printers have become more sophisticated, and quality is far superior to that of older machines, but at the end of the day, you are still using a print plate to position and deposit ink on a sheet of paper. Box No. 1 off the machine looks no different from box No. 1,000. Gutenberg would understand the process, though the magic of electricity would likely be beyond his comprehension. The plant of tomorrow will be a wildly different beast altogether. The combination of digital printing technology merged with reams of data, microflutes, and outside-the-box thinking will be game-changing—equivalent to the big asteroid that killed all the dinosaurs around 65 million years ago. The world as we have known it will be forever changed, and these changes are as irrevocable as was the introduction of electricity more than a century ago. Promotional items, point-of-purchase displays, and unlimited print customization will allow marketers to create eye-catching and focused solutions that can be targeted to an audience as small as one. Imagine a national campaign for a fast-food chain using local celebrities. In the past, you would need hundreds if not thousands of print

BOXSCORE March/April 2018

plates and mountains of make-ready time to complete the job. Now you just need a slightly larger hard drive and a software solution that seamlessly flow information back and forth to facilitate the production process. For those who understand this transition, the opportunities are plentiful. This change is a major opportunity to rethink what you do, how you do it, and who you do it with. For Those Who Think Young Those of a certain age, the above subtitle could remind you of a Pepsi Cola ad campaign. At the time, Pepsi had this roster of products: Pepsi Cola. Now, of course, Pepsi has dozens and dozens of soft drinks, and when you include the derivatives—diet, lite, cherry, etc.—there are dozens more. Traditional packaging requires expensive tooling and time-change to produce. With digital technology, with no print tooling and no make-ready time, you can literally switch from print form A to print form B in an instant, opening new avenues to experiment and explore without risking large amounts of capital, time, and resources. Digital technology will allow companies such as Birchbox that curate and distribute monthly grooming kits to not only update the packaging on a monthly basis, but also to customize the inside of the box with grooming tips specifically for the recipient. The possibilities are endless. The opportunity this affords the packaging industry should not be overlooked. The

young and creative people in the world are going to be targeting consumers in new and exciting ways to acquire and retain clients. The Revolution Starts Now Production software products now become “Lego blocks” of functionality that fit together to transfer information to and from business systems with ease. Imagine having a customer on your website submit their two-sided graphical package design that flows immediately into your business system. The structure is nested and laid out on the proper substrate, while the scheduling systems then sequence this job into the schedule, then deliver the needed graphics and cutting information directly to the printer and cutting tables. Touchless order entry has now made its way directly to the machine. The fundamental way you run your business, and how you think about your business, will have to expand as well. Long-standing conventions will be kicked aside, traditional methods of managing your business and responding to your customers will change radically, and what was once extraordinary will become commonplace. As a final thought, I offer you this apocryphal Chinese curse: “May you live in interesting times.” John Clark is director of analytics at Amtech Software. He can be reached at jclark@ amtechsoftware.com.

Andragogy

FINDING AND CREATING QUALIFIED CANDIDATES BY R. ANDREW HURLEY, PH.D.

was recently browsing LinkedIn, and I searched for the job title “packaging engineer,” just to see what would come up. The results astounded me. Only about 4,500 people with that job title appeared. When I think about all the ways packaging touches products worldwide, it just doesn’t compute that there are only 4,500 packaging engineers out there. So I decided to do a little more digging. A quick search on Indeed.com came up with more than 80,000 open positions for packaging engineers. I guess that means it’s a great time to be graduating from one of the nation’s few packaging programs, but maybe not a great time if

you’re trying to hire a packaging engineer to launch a new product and get it into consumer hands safely and quickly. At a time when people have more consumer product choices than ever before, these are concerning statistics. As demand for packaging engineers continues to grow, this educational chasm will only get deeper. So, to help visualize this issue, I created a graphic to understand the current skills gap in our industry (see Page 26). That’s a gap of 75,500 job openings as of January 2018. As the graphic dramatically illustrates, the number of packaging engineers in the world barely

covers a fraction of the employment opportunities that are out there. What most people don’t realize is that many of the job openings for a packaging engineer require only a bachelor’s degree—any bachelor’s degree—mainly because there are only a few schools that offer a formal packaging science degree. And according to our friends over at Indeed.com, 100 percent of those open jobs pay $60,000 per year or higher, and 20 percent pay more than $90,000. Why is there such a large skills gap in an industry that pays so well? Employers need another layer of confidence—proof that candidates understand the business

INDEED.COM SALARY RANGES FOR OVER 80,000 PACKAGING ENGINEER OPPORTUNITIES Statistics from Indeed.com show burgeoning salary opportunities for packaging engineers.

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60K 32.2%

85K 20.5% 75K 26.5%

BOXSCORE March/April 2018

Source: www.indeed.com

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acumen of the packaging industry. A packaging science degree was the de facto standard, followed by years of hardearned experience—until now. If we haven’t met yet, please allow a moment of introduction. I graduated from Clemson University in South Carolina three times and was recently made a tenured professor there. In my professional network, Clemson is known for two things—a burgeoning football dynasty and an excellent packaging science program that graduates highly sought-after packaging engineers. I’m also an entrepreneur with two relatively new packaging businesses, one of which helps the AICC education team ensure online packaging education is available to all its members. Over a decade of working in the packaging industry and in the packaging academic space, I began to see the need for more accessible packaging education options. There are a myriad of reasons why the traditional higher education path isn’t a good fit for everyone, so I set out to build a brand-new curriculum in an exciting new way. After logging seven years of hard work, conducting 400 professional interviews, and hiring a full-time staff of 12 creatives and instructional designers, the Certificate of Packaging Science was created and licensed through the Research Foundation at Clemson University. The result is a highly interactive, modern, enjoyable, 100 percent online program to give professionals the tools they need to be successful in their packaging career, whether they’re just starting

BOXSCORE March/April 2018

Image courtesy of The Packaging School.

Andragogy

Increasing demand for packaging engineers and few degree opportunities are contributing to a growing skills gap in the industry.

or experienced and need a quick refresher. A portion of tuition goes back to Clemson to support their continuing efforts to raise the tides of packaging for everyone. Heck, the program is even licensed by the state of South Carolina’s Commission on Higher Education. All courses required for the certificate are free to AICC members. Employers are seeking hires who meet minimum HR requirements—typically a bachelor’s degree and relevant experience in packaging—and the Certificate of Packaging Science covers the topics in depth. It’s an easy-to-use online system that is comprehensive across packaging industries, providing quickly digestible

microlessons that are less than 10 minutes apiece. We are at a point where we know there is an issue when an astounding 80,000 real jobs exist, and only a handful of folks have the educational credential to fill them. If you can’t find qualified candidates, maybe it’s time to invest in creating qualified candidates. AICC and The Packaging School are here to help. R. Andrew Hurley, Ph.D., is an associate professor of packaging science at Clemson University. He can be reached at me@ drandrewhurley.com.

Leadership

AGGRESSIVE LEARNING BY SCOTT ELLIS, ED.D.

e yelled it as if he had discovered gold: “We need to fail faster!” That was the moment another manufacturing leader had the eureka experience of finding the value in failure. Nothing creates a teachable moment more quickly than a failed sales quota, a missed delivery, or shutting down a customer’s line. The

man I am quoting had realized how much his team had learned from a customer catastrophe. With this revelation, he determined that they would make a habit of studying failures, large and small, to continually improve their processes. What of success? We can just as readily learn from victory, but we regularly just

Lessons Learned Ask Why, Not Who

What was our intent?

What happened?

What was supposed to happen?

Just the facts.

What differences, both positive and negative, can be seen between the goal and the outcome?

What changes can be made to the process to improve our performance?

Action Items ACTION ITEM

BOXSCORE March/April 2018

WHO

WHEN

celebrate our brilliance and move on. That is my personal tendency, and it’s the same for most of the companies I encounter. Failure drives me to my knees in prayer and introspection. In victory I pump my fist, humbly take credit, and tackle the next job. I am convinced that what separates the companies that increase and sustain profitability year after year from the rest is aggressive learning. This is the discipline of squeezing the lessons to be learned out of each success, each failure, and each near miss. While reactive learners settle on survival of a crisis, their aggressive competitors aim to make lasting changes. They hate to solve the same problem twice. We can all recall the dark days when we experienced a customer catastrophe, and we tell the story because we learned our lessons, worked the hours, changed the process, and used the experience to grow the business. What if we developed the discipline to exert that same level of attention, if not angst, to aggressive learning every day? Long before Jim Collins shared the “Autopsy Without Blame” in Good to Great, there were those who adopted the discipline of aggressive learning. For as long as there has been football, savvy coaches have gathered the team to study game footage. As far back as when it was known as the Army Air Corps, pilots have debriefed each mission. At times the process is highly defined as in a formal safety investigation, or a root cause analysis, or it may be a casual Monday morning quarterback conversation. What they all have in common are a few simple steps and conditions; they compare the plan with the outcome and search for ways to do better.

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Leadership

The Conditions The first step to cooperative problem-solving is to set ground rules. The pilots go so far as to remove the bars on their uniforms. While no one forgets who the colonel is, this move reminds everyone present of the ground rule that this is a no-rank discussion. The second imperative is that assignment of blame is not an objective of the meeting. The priority is to determine the facts about what, when, and how it happened. If the same who comes up repeatedly, then adjustments will be made, but this is about what, not who, influenced the outcome. The Process A screen or a whiteboard can help to get everyone on the same side facing the issue. I use a dry erase board set aside for this process. was our intent? What was 1 What supposed to happen?

2 What happened? Just the facts. What differences, both positive and 3 negative, can be seen between the goal and the outcome? What changes can be made to the 4 process to improve our performance?

5 Action items As a sales manager, you might develop the habit of exploring the lessons to be learned for one victory and one problem in each meeting. The first few times you may want to complete this one-on-one before sharing it with the group. As a member of the safety council, you could

BOXSCORE March/April 2018

discuss near misses to increase prevention, and examples of good safety habits to increase their frequency. As a production leader, you might debrief after a difficult batch of rework or a particularly quick changeover. A maintenance manager could do the same logging notes on machine downtime recovery and prevention. The opportunities are everywhere, and the companies that learn aggressively find value in solving small problems and studying even nominal wins. It starts with a commitment to see problems in a different light. Every time we stop to focus on the process, we will make it better. The most successful companies are set apart less by the frequency of failure

than by their ability to recover quickly and learn aggressively. Fail faster. 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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Marketing Mix

BRINGING PAPER AND PACKAGING TO LIFE

Image courtesy of the Paper & Packaging Board.

BY JOAN SAHLGREN

n February 14, the “Paper & Packaging – How Life Unfolds®” campaign revealed two new animated characters to further strengthen the consumer connection established by the campaign over the past three years. These new industry brand ambassadors are a springboard for inspiring creativity, connection, and achievement—qualities consumers around the world appreciate when using paper and paper-based packaging products. “Paper and packaging products are prevalent in our lives, and it was our goal to create highly relatable characters to represent the vital roles that paper and packaging play for each and every one of us,” shares Mary Anne Hansan, president of the Paper and Packaging Board. “We launched the “Paper & Packaging – How Life Unfolds®” campaign in 2015, and we are thrilled to introduce these new characters to help consumers nationwide recognize and remember the value of paper in their everyday lives.” When the campaign launched in 2015, the print and TV advertising used a

BOXSCORE March/April 2018

visually and emotionally rich storytelling approach to highlight the importance of paper and packaging in daily life. The widely viewed “Letters to Dad” commercial became the most popular and iconic commercial in the campaign. Following that success, campaign research showed that while the campaign was memorable and emotional, brand awareness of the paper and packaging it represented was a little lower among consumers than predicted. Further research revealed that featuring paper and packaging as the heroes of a story could maximize consumer recall of the message and help increase brand recognition. Many characters were tested to find animations that could best represent the core values that people appreciate when they use and choose our industry’s products. “We literally brought paper and packaging to life as animated characters to highlight paper’s timeless power and relevance in our increasingly digital world,” said Todd Stone, group creative director at Cramer-Krasselt, the advertising agency that created the campaign.

“Paper remains one of the most effective ways to learn, communicate, and share ideas. And nothing keeps the items you care about safe during transit better than corrugated packaging.” The characters are presented in photo- realistic scenarios, such as in a library, an orchard, on a graduation stage, and next to an award show podium and will be able to interact with a wide variety of industry products in stories that appear in commercials and in print. Consumers will see the new animated characters on TV, in magazines such as US Weekly, Forbes, Delta Sky, ESPN, HGTV Magazine, and Parents, via digital ads on platforms such as Hulu, and across more digital and social media channels. To learn more about the 2018 campaign, visit www.howlifeunfolds.com. Joan Sahlgren is senior director of public relations at the Paper and Packaging Board. She can be reached at jsahlgren@paperand packaging.org.

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Design Space

GETTING YOUR COLOR RIGHT BY PEGGY M. UNDERWOOD

efore writing this article, I perused an issue of a magazine dedicated to color and specifically flexo printing. But to my dismay, their flexo was not my flexo. Flexo printing on corrugated is a whole different beast than flexo printing on a web press. All the rage right now seems to be color consistency of the brand among all forms of the product in packaging, on a display, on the web, in print, and with the product itself. The interesting thing is that the degree of color accuracy that is routinely achievable in most forms of printing can be quite challenging for flexo on corrugated. As a graphic designer for (far too?) many years and having come from the advertising agency side of the industry, I found that I had to adjust my way of thinking about what it means to be color- accurate and consistent. In the offset litho world, achieving a color variance of Delta 2 E is the norm for acceptable color throughout a run and among different press runs. But when it comes to flexo direct to board, we have to deal with many more variables to achieve consistent color than with other printing methods. The theory is that flexo ink is mixed, based on a given formula, to simulate a PMS color for a particular substrate, and it should be good to go. The reality is that even though the ink drawdown was done on the type of liner that will be used in the actual run, there are differences in color among paper mills and batches of board. Though mottled white is a standard board type and the color has gotten much more consistent over the

BOXSCORE March/April 2018

years, there still can be some variation. In comparison to a nice white piece of paper, MTW can be a bit green, which gives a color cast to any ink colors applied. It can really throw off a blue because it cancels out the red in the formula. Kraft board has an even wider variation in color that makes it unsuitable for color-critical work. Other variables that can affect the color are the warp of the board, the hold out of the board, the pressure needed to get a good print, the length of the run, etc. Being out at press-side, it is humbling to see your perfectly matched-to-the-PMSbook ink drawdown actually print out on the corrugated sheet looking completely different. It can be too dark, too light, splotchy, have uneven coverage, etc. So, now what? You gather your ink person and press operators together to brainstorm on what to do to get the color right. Add a little water, maybe some more vehicle, add some base—these are some of the adjustments that can be made to the ink. The pH and dryer temperatures can also be adjusted. Every change needs to be made in small steps and has to be meticulously recorded so it is repeatable for the next run. Plus, the ink can get lighter or darker throughout the run as the board sucks the moisture from the ink, making the base stronger. Then there are the viscosity changes through the run, especially with vacuum transfer, which can change two to three times faster and needs to be checked every 10–15 minutes. Physical changes may come into play as well—maybe back off on the plate pressure or add more pressure to board, adjust

the doctor blade to change the ink film thickness, or maybe go with skip feed. Once the color is good, you spot-check it with a photospectrometer to make sure your color stays within the Delta 2 range, making adjustments as needed—and then your shift ends. The next day you get out that same bucket of ink, same batch of board, get the press up and running again, and lo and behold, the color is different! Getting color consistency for a brand is possible but challenging when printing direct to corrugated board. The packaging or display may be the first piece a consumer sees before getting their hands on the actual product, so the color needs to be “right” in their eyes. The designer of the packaging or display needs to work with sales to manage client expectations and anticipate the realities of flexo print on corrugated. Get the production team involved early in the process to identify areas of concern, and adapt the design to the strengths and limitations of manufacturing. If the color of the branding will be affected by the board type, then use that color as an accent, not on a really large area that will be difficult to hold on press. Design to the strength of flexo, not its weaknesses, and know that you can basically get consistent color. Peggy M. Underwood is graphic design manager at Corrugated Container Corporation in Roanoke, Va. She can be reached at peggy.underwood@ cccbox.com.

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AICC TOOLBOX.. ................................................ 37 AICC INNOVATION ........................................ 38

BOXSCORE TIPS, TRICKS, AND SOLUTIONS TO BETTER BUSINESS

AICC TOOLBOX

YOUR PEOPLE. YOUR PLACE.

Photos courtesy of The Packaging School.

s your partner in education, AICC, The Independent Packaging Association, offers regular webinars and seminars around the country. Now AICC will bring the trainers to you, with AICC In-house Training. When you want to train your team, AICC will develop a course based on your needs, create course materials, and bring industry trainers to your plant on your schedule. All courses include four quarterly check-ins, a class assessment, and a report one year after the training, showing where you were vs. where you are now, and highlighting quantifiable results. Course prices begin at $2,500 per day of training and vary based on your needs and the trainers required to help your team excel. Contact Taryn Pyle at 703-836-2422 or tpyle@aiccbox.org, for more information.

AICC now offers education and training at member plants.

BOXSCORE www.aiccbox.org

Good for Business

AICC NNOVATION

FREE RESEARCH

ix research papers can now be found in the AICC store, www.aiccbox.org/store, free to all members.

Eye Tracking Report: Clamshells vs. Paperboard Boxes Different packaging options can make an enormous difference to the bottom line, both through manufacturing costs and influencing a customer’s point-ofsale decision. A study was conducted at Clemson University’s Sonoco Institute in the CUshop™, a re-creation of a shopping environment, to examine the differences in how customers shop for products when they have the option for either a clamshell package or a printed paperboard box. An Initial Study on the Impact of High-Visibility Enhancements on Shelf Presence Thousands of successful product launches, introductory offers, changes in market position, and responses to offers can be associated with the use of a high-visibility enhancement. Validation of physical and emotional responses to these enhancements would offer strategies as a tool to support the decision to incorporate high-visibility enhancement within the brand development plan. Eye Tracking Report: Plastic Thermoformed vs. Plastic Flexible Pouch Package Different packaging options can make an enormous difference to the bottom line, both through manufacturing costs and influencing a customer’s point-of-sale decision. Klöckner Pentaplast worked with Package InSight, LLC, at Clemson

BOXSCORE March/April 2018

University, conducting a study to examine the effects of different substrates on cheese, specifically a rigid thermoformed package and a flexible cheese four-sided pouch. The study was conducted in CUshop™ at Clemson, a research lab with space to customize immersive shopping environments. Measuring the Impact of Label Materials on Craft Beer Purchase Decisions The product label can attract consumer attention and drive purchase intent, according to a new study conducted by Package InSight, and sponsored by Avery Dennison. Visual Attention to In-Store Marketing: Secondary Packaging in Brand Awareness This white paper reports on a study conducted by Rehrig Pacific Company and Clemson University to investigate this hypothesis: A unique secondary package design with on-message,

brand-building color and graphics can lift brand awareness and increase purchase intent when integrated into in-store marketing campaigns. Consumers’ Emotional Response to Protective Materials in Parcel Packaging The type of protective packaging selected for parcel delivery has a significant impact on the consumer experience. A breakthrough independent study conducted by Package InSight used a facial camera apparatus to capture emotional response when parcels were opened. One hundred twenty-three participants evaluated traditional protective package material types (loose-fill “peanuts,” paper, square-pattern bubble cushioning, and air pillows). Peanuts caused the greatest amount of consumer frustration, with approximately 18 percent of the participants showing irritation with the material type. The papers were developed by Clemson University.

Member Profile

CUSTOM PACKAGING BY VIRGINIA HUMPHREY

COMPANY: Custom Packaging, LP ESTABLISHED: 1968 JOINED AICC: 1977 PHONE: 615-444-6025

Photos courtesy of Custom Packaging.

WEBSITE: www.custompack.com LOCATIONS: Lebanon, Tenn.; Arden, N.C. OWNER, PRESIDENT, AND CEO: Gary West Custom Packaging’s plant in Lebanon, Tenn.

t’s a year to celebrate for Custom Packaging, and they’re going to be pulling out all the stops. 2018 marks the 50th anniversary of this family-owned, two-plant independent corrugated company, founded in 1968 with a 20,000-square-foot building in Lebanon, Tenn. Since then, they’ve expanded that building seven times and, in 1971, bought a second building in Arden, N.C., which has expanded four times. Their Tennessee plant is a little more than 200,000 square feet, and their North Carolina plant is around 150,000 square feet. Total employment is approximately 180 employees in both plants.

BOXSCORE March/April 2018

Custom Packaging will celebrate 50 years with an open house on June 9 with food, entertainment, and speakers. They are making sure their commemorative celebrations involve looking forward as well as looking back, according to Denny Lemon, the company’s chief operating officer (COO). They are excited about their future. This year, they’ve purchased and installed the Bobst 1636NT and a digital high-speed six-color Barberán Jetmaster 1680. These machines are taking them into the next phase of their story and being designated as 50th anniversary machines. They will both display the specially designed 50th anniversary logo.

From Then to Now Custom Packaging was founded by three gentlemen: Dick Lindsey, Bob Werckle, and Lawrence West. All had worked for Container Corp. With finance, sales, and production as each founder’s respective strong point, they were off like a tidal wave. Pinpointing an old biscuit factory in Lebanon, Tenn., they dug in and transformed it into Custom Packaging. The two locations operate autonomously, according to Lemon. The Tennessee plant serves as the corporate headquarters with the bulk of the accounting and administration, but each plant has its own design capability, full production, and customer service.

Member Profile

At its founding, Custom Packaging was primarily industrial packaging—the traditional brown box. In 1988, they purchased a three-color Ward that moved Custom Packaging into the display and graphic business. “Clearly this was a significant milestone for the company that really accelerated our growth,” Lemon says. “To this day, graphic and display products represent the largest segment of our mix.” Custom Packaging has a wide array of equipment designed to serve whatever customer needs come their way. They’ve made large capital investments in equipment. Custom Packaging Now “If you’re looking at our business overall,” says Lemon, “we serve all customers from graphics, displays to brown box.” As they’ve grown, they’ve come to serve a diverse customer base across industry segments, including manufacturing, services, and wholesale trade. Lemon says if you walk into a large national retailer and see a point-of-purchase display for DVD’s, Custom Packaging likely manufactured it. “You’re probably looking at 60 percent of our overall footage through the plant serves a broad base of manufacturing, and then another 25 percent goes into businesses that are service-related, with the 15 percent balance in wholesale trade and other segments.” It isn’t, however, just the machines that make Custom Packaging what it is. Lemon says it is also their people, the culture, the work ethic, and the processes that have made them successful and contribute to their uniqueness. “We have an incredibly strong workethic culture,” Lemon says. “People are

Custom Packaging’s Lebanon, Tenn. plant employs more than 120 people.

Point-of-purchase displays are one of Custom Packaging’s many offerings.

Custom Packaging delivers quality printing both inside and outside the box.

BOXSCORE www.aiccbox.org

Member Profile

focused on customers. Everyone has to respond to our customer needs. We figure out ways to be flexible and responsive. It is all about putting the customers first.” They also empower each employee to find ways to increase efficiency and lower costs. For example, production crews look at their setup times, their machine efficiencies, and their machine costs. They are then responsible for how to minimize those machine costs each day, week, and month. That’s all a part of their machine metrics. Lemon says the family ownership also contributes to their culture. “We’re all a part of one big family,” he says. “We have very low turnover. We have an incredible number of folks that have been with the company many, many years—five to six employees across both plants have been with us over 40 years. There is a deep level of

knowledge and experience we have in the sheet plant world, and that’s an advantage in the marketplace.” For years, Custom Packaging met ISO 9001 standards, a quality management system that was all about making sure processes were in place so that customers get a consistent product with consistent quality and service. They are now in the middle of audits for switching over to ISO 9001-2015. Custom Packaging in the Future “The next chapter is digital,” says Lemon. Like many corrugated companies, the world is changing. Equipment has been created that changes the way corrugated plants are able to operate. Everything is quicker, more efficient, and can create things in more varying quantities than ever before with less waste.

For Custom Packaging, the future is coming in on the output of the Barberán Jetmaster 1680 and the Bobst 1636NT (see “Investing in the Future”). “We have digital capability today for prototype and mockups and for flatbed printing, but we’re entering a new year and the industry is entering a new phase, and there is better capability than ever before,” says Lemon. “We purchased last year and are a month away [February] from taking possession of a six-color single-pass high-speed digital printer.” They currently do a significant amount of litho-label work. They expect that some of those customers will convert from litho to digital. They’ll migrate those existing customers and capture new customers. “Some of the value we can offer our customers with digital on the graphics side are: no print plate or labels, and quicker

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BOXSCORE March/April 2018

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Member Profile

INVESTING IN THE FUTURE Two pieces of equipment are changing the future of Custom Packaging: the Barberán Jetmaster 1680 and Bobst 1636NT. Barberán Jetmaster 1680

Bobst 1636NT

The Barberán is a single-pass six-color digital printer.

In November 2017, Custom Packaging wrapped up its installation of a large-format flexo folder gluer.

“We did a tremendous amount of research,” says Denny Lemon, Custom Packaging’s COO. “This technology really had the speed and print quality that we wanted. Custom Packaging is all about efficiency, speed, flexibility, and responsiveness to our customer.” He says that while digital printing has been around for a long time, they’d waited to invest because it was only now that these machines are reaching production speeds. “This is truly single-pass, high-speed direct printing to the corrugated sheet.” They’ve purchased a six-color version—CMYK, plus orange and violet. This captures a wide color gamut and produces litholike quality at 360 dpi and at speeds of 180 feet per minute. “We see it as a game changer in the industry,” Lemon says. Internally, it will change Custom Packaging on several levels. The most significant will have to do with their graphics and prepress areas. They’ve hired new resources to supplement existing staff in the graphics area. The sales process will also change. They’ve created a dedicated director of digital sales within the company. They are adapting a production team from some existing positions in the company and will cross-train them on the new technology.

turnaround times,” Lemon says. “We have also become a G7-mastered facility with a G7 expert on site.” This thrust Custom Packaging into the forefront of the graphic and digital world. “Once you have the right artwork, you simply rip it to the digital printer, and you're running with approved colors.” “We’re excited about digital and what it brings to the company and to our customers,” says Lemon.

BOXSCORE March/April 2018

“Between the Bobst and the Barberán, it’s the most significant capital expenditure in the company’s history,” says Lemon. “We’re in a high-growth mode, and we’re investing for that future.” The Bobst expands their capability to larger formats as well as continuing to support customers in certain types of boxes. They’ve migrated work from two of their older pieces of equipment to the new Bobst. They’ve consolidated the work and transitioned the crew and trained them on the new equipment. “We’ll retain the existing machine, but it won’t see nearly as much volume, as the new machine will take over most of the volume,” Lemon says. “The Bobst will do two things from a growth standpoint. One, it will increase our capacity to handle large-format flexo folding and gluing jobs. Two, it allows us to consolidate operations.” He says before the Bobst, they might have had to go through multiple operations such as a printing operation, then a die cutting operation, and then a stitching or a gluing operation. Now they can consolidate to one operation.

“That’s part of our strategy—bring capability, people, and processes that support our current and future customer needs.” Lemon sees the culture and the new equipment giving the company a trail to blaze into the future, as they move forward from their first half-century of accomplishments. “Our people, knowledge, experience, culture, and equipment really set us apart,” says Lemon. “We have such

an incredibly experienced team of people in all segments of the business. Combine this with our equipment capability, and we are positioned to be the most trusted partner in the industry.” Virginia Humphrey is director of membership and marketing at AICC. She can be reached at 703-535-1383 or vhumphrey@aiccbox.org.

Do you want to grow your business year over year?

FREE ONLINE EDUCATION Over 40 courses are available and the catalogue is growing every month! Courses include: • Build a Visual Workplace with 7S • Communication for Coaches • Corrugated Basics 101, 102, 103 • Flexographic Ink Management • How to Spec a Box • Internal Staff Development Guide • 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.

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BOXSCORE March/April 2018

Adaptation in the

DIGITAL LANDSCAPE INVESTING IN TECHNOLOGY—OR AT LEAST PREPARING TO INVEST—IS A MUST TO AVOID FALLING BEHIND

BY LIN GRENSING-POPHAL

s more companies are adapting to new technology, digital printing and converting is becoming increasingly prevalent—at least from a “thinking about it” perspective. Packaging manufacturers aren’t the only manufacturers—or organizations— faced with critical go-forward decisions about the role that digital transformation is likely to play for their organizations. According to MuleSoft, a software-as-a-service firm based in San Francisco, “nearly all IT decision-makers are executing on digital transformation, but they are facing challenges and obstacles along the way.” Their 2017 Connectivity Benchmark Report, based on input from IT decision-makers across a variety of industries, supports that the concept of “digital transformation” is top-of-mind these days—88 percent of respondents say they are either executing on digital transformation now, or will be within the next three years. The goals for digital transformation include “improving business processes, creating great customer experiences, and improving workforce productivity.” They’re the same goals that packaging industry professionals have as they consider the implications that digital printing and converting may hold for them. And they are facing the same constraints and concerns. One-third of the respondents to MuleSoft’s survey indicate that they are currently moving forward with digital transformation, while two-thirds are taking a wait-and-see approach.

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“Anyone who has not already moved over to relevant digital processes will lose, if [they have] not lost already, significant market share in 24 months.” — R. Andrew Hurley, associate professor of packaging science, Clemson University

A Few Obstacles in an Environment of Promise and Potential SMC Packaging Group is one company that is taking a cautious approach, while recognizing the potential. Mark McNay is senior vice president and general manager. SMC has very limited capabilities in the area of digital printing currently, says

McNay. “We have a small HP FB750 digital printer, which we use for samples/ prototypes and small-volume specialty jobs. We see the enormous potential that digital can provide, but are currently evaluating which technology best suits our needs.” He’s not alone.

Increased demand for customization is changing the packaging industry.

BOXSCORE March/April 2018

A recent AICC survey suggests that many are taking a wait-and-see approach to digital transformation. As one member responded: “The market has not matured. The technology is in front of the need, not to mention the technology is changing quite rapidly. There will be an entry point, but we are still waiting to assess the timing.” Another noted that “this is truly disruptive technology.” Chip Tonkin is director at Sonoco Institute of Packaging Design and Graphics at Clemson University. One of the challenges that manufacturers face, says Tonkin, is the fact that the technology is under rapid development and change, “so investments may only have a three- to five-year useful life, instead of the 20 years typical in the past.”

Consumable costs—inks, parts—are also an issue. “They are largely controlled by equipment manufacturers, which greatly reduces the converters’ ability to negotiate and/or reduce costs over time, as well as minimizing the innovation in niche areas.” Another challenge: “The compatibility with end-use requirements, health and safety implications, and sustainability implications of the ink and other materials are, in many cases, unknown, so there is a great deal of need, and opportunity, for this knowledge base to be built.” The most cited obstacles to achieving digital transformation, according to respondents to the MuleSoft study, are time constraints (41 percent), business and IT misalignment (40 percent), legacy infrastructure and systems (40 percent), and integrating siloed apps and data (39 percent). There certainly is great promise and potential for the use of this technology, though. Early Adoption Shows Promise R. Andrew Hurley is associate professor of packaging science at Clemson University. “The digital print revolution is changing the way we manufacture and distribute products,” says Hurley. “Now, we are able to simultaneously launch 10 different package designs in 10 different locations.” His prediction: “Anyone who has not already moved over to relevant digital processes will lose, if [they have] not lost already, significant market share in 24 months.” There are some early adopters in the packaging industry. Packaging Logic Inc. is one of them. Richard Parrette Jr. is president and CEO of Packaging Logic, Inc. He says: “We believe there is a great future for digital print technology. We have been using digital print

since its beginning, when HP presented the first large-format digital printer.” Still, he acknowledges some challenges: • For small independent sheet plants, the first question was, is there enough business or market to move in that direction? • Could the sales team generate enough business to cover the ROI on a $150,000 printer? • How fast will the graphic use of digital market grow? • How do you retrain a brown box sales team to sell digital graphics? • What capabilities will your design team (packaging engineers) have to have to develop high-end graphics? • How do you compete with plants—both independent and integrated—that had been focused on the display business before digital printing? Despite the challenges, benefits will come from being able to provide existing and new customers with digital print, says Parrette. As marketing changes and more products are sold in the box to customers—off the shelf, he says— the need for small runs of high-graphic packaging will continue to grow. “In the past, litho-labeled boxes manufactured in a quantity under 5,000 boxes were expensive because of the minimum number of labels you had to purchase. Direct print to roll stock was only for very high-volume orders.” Digital print production changes the situation, he says. “We believe as a small sheet plant we have secured a way to provide the digital print experience to our customers, and with low overhead,” says Parrette. To move forward, Packaging Logic first

BOXSCORE www.aiccbox.org

As marketing changes and more products are sold in the box to customers … the need for small runs of high-graphic packaging will continue to grow.

identified what their digital print market would consist of—short-run displays, headers, and short-run boxes—under 10,000 and as low as 50 or 100. They ensured they had the capability to die cut and glue all styles of boxes. Then, they: • Purchased a specialty folder gluer (auto lock, four or six corner trays, and narrow-width boxes). “This machine not only created opportunities in graphics, but in brown boxes, thus providing the ROI we needed,” says Parrette. • Hired a packaging engineer with all the needed training in graphic design. • Aligned themselves with two independent plants with digital capabilities. • Teamed up with one of the first independent digital print companies that sell only to independents like Packaging Logic, Inc. • Trained their representative on how to sell short-run graphics. Today, says Parrette, “we are selling a fair amount of digital graphic packaging.” This has been done, he says, with minimal capital investment and without straying from their “sheet plant” brown box business. “We chose our target market and have grown to be known now for ‘short-run’ digital print,” he says. For Packaging Logic, being an early adopter has paid off. Moving forward, Parrette says, “We will train and learn from our independent

BOXSCORE March/April 2018

suppliers. Then, once we have a base of business to justify the ROI on digital printing equipment, we will take the next step.” Moving Forward Both customers and staff members are likely to drive the demand that will continue the shift from traditional to digital production. As McNay notes, one driver of adoption for box manufacturing firms is their younger, millennial generation staff members. “As you might imagine, our younger co-workers within our graphic and structural design teams are anxious for us to move forward into the digital age,” says McNay. Parrette is optimistic about continued growth. “We believe this market will continue to grow, especially for the small manufacturers who are now competing with larger companies,” he says. “Less equipment is needed now than ever before, and OEMs are rapidly replacing printers and converters,” Hurley points out. “This is in similar fashion to retailers who are quickly displacing the brands they have traditionally served with their own private labels. “Decentralized manufacturing, distribution, fulfillment, and marketplaces have created a surplus of carriers (3PLs) that have democratized distribution, allowing for logistical automation that has never been easier than today.”

Still, while moving forward to embrace new technology and new production methods, some things will, and should, stay the same, says McNay. “It is critical that we remain true to who we are and what has made us successful while recognizing that there are new technologies, strategies, and concepts outside of our organization which warrant consideration, implementation, and utilization.” Progress will likely be made in fits and starts as manufacturers explore their options and wait to see what new advancements may bring. Tonkin predicts: “While the majority of the volume of mass-produced packaging will be done with traditional print technologies for at least the next decade, the good profits will be made on value-added digitally produced items— regional customization, personalization, relevant variable data, etc.” And, he adds: “Because brand owners will expect their converters to seamlessly handle both production streams, they all will have to invest in the new digital technology.” McNay’s final advice for box manufacturers: “Be prepared to win. Good fortune smiles upon the well-prepared!” Lin Grensing-Pophal is a writer based in Wisconsin. She is a frequent contributor to BoxScore.

Making shortrun better since 1979

Driven by efficiency | Fueled by innovation

t: 1 630 537 1203 e: rg@bcscorrugated.com w: www.bcscorrugated.com

SELLING DIGITAL FROM STRATEGY TO SALES, DIGITAL PRINTING OFFERS REAL SOLUTIONS BY GEORGE MORETTI

BOXSCORE March/April 2018

Printing Comparison Flexo Printing

As we know, most of the printing in the corrugated industry is done by means of a flexographic printing process, which uses flexible rubber or polymer plates. Fast-drying, water-based inks are generally used, which allow for fast running speeds. The print quality depends on many variables in the flexo process, but is strongly influenced by the absorbency of the stock or material being printed. Flexography easily prints onto rough materials such as corrugated, and is fairly well-suited for printing large areas of solid color with high gloss and brilliance. It is possible to obtain line and half-tone quality from this process using direct-to-plate digitally imaged plates and UV inks for higher resolution dots during four-color process printing. • Pros: Fast printing speed, quick setups (for the most part), ideal for long runs. • Cons: Plate cost can be high. Print plates wear out over time. Revisions are costly. • Note: Flexography can be the least expensive and simplest of the processes for the basic corrugated carton. Digital Printing

Digital printing on corrugated will not be overtaking the flexography process anytime soon, if ever, but it is growing at a very rapid speed. I would suggest that you consider it another arrow in your quiver. Weekly, we see articles about companies announcing they are buying, installing, and promoting their new equipment with the latest and greatest digital print capabilities, in reaction to the market demand regarding digital printing. It reminds me of a time in my past when everyone was saying “We are going to have to get into graphics if we want to compete!” And that meant three or four colors on a flexo or die cutter!

Online shopping has also exploded, and all indications show that it will not slow down.

BOXSCORE www.aiccbox.org

Competition is tremendous, with many manufacturers supporting in-house training and continual learning workshops to educate their customers on the most up-to-date digital progress of capabilities. We should not underestimate the opportunities that are out there for digital today. The early adopters who saw this coming have already been engaged in rapid learning of what digital presses can do to support their existing clients, as well as position them to win new business in the marketplace. The race has begun! Digital Print Drivers

Our customers are driving us to make it better, faster, more sustainable, and less expensive. Online shopping has also exploded, and all indications show that it will not slow down.

of great quality digital printers. Many can run at speeds of 190-plus feet per minute, 70,000-plus square feet per hour, with four to seven colors and UV coatings. The capital cost can run from $125,000 to $8 million. Competition is tremendous, with many manufacturers supporting in-house training and continual learning workshops to educate their customers on the most up-to-date digital progress of capabilities.

The web in 2018 will account for 11 percent of total retail sales, up from 8 percent in 2013, according to a new Forrester Research e-retail forecast. Many companies want their customers to have a better branding experience when they receive their package. Retailers want to get the product to the market faster, and digital printing accomplishes both by substantially reducing the time it takes to launch a new product with enhanced new graphics. DIGITAL LANDSCAPE. There are many companies leading the market in the making

DIGITAL CASE STUDY. Rochester Midland Corp., in Rochester, N.Y., converted two product lines from direct flexo print to full digital printing with 85 percent gradient coverage using four-color process at 1600-by-1600 dpi. Labels that were applied by hand before filling could now be printed digitally, along with lot code numbers that change with every run. All carton artwork has the most current revision number also printed on the bottom flaps. There are more than 75 different prints. The enhancement of the brand in the market was a key focus of this customer.

Process and Materials Comparison, Digital Printing vs. Other Methods LITHO LABELER

PRE-PRINT

DIRECT PRINT

DIGITAL

NEEDS LITHO LABELS

Yes

No labels

NEEDS PRINT PLATES

Yes

No plates

CHANGEOVER WITH CREATIVE CHANGE

Yes

No changeovers

PROOF VARIANCE RISK

Yes

No variance

7–10 days

3–4 weeks

7–10 days

Hours to press

12–15%

8–10%

Under 2% waste

FINAL ART TO PRESS MATERIAL WASTE

BOXSCORE March/April 2018

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

Education Investor Program The Education Investor opportunity is available to 15 AICC member companies for $15,000, each. Companies may partner to meet the threshold. It is an annual commitment that offers the companies great exposure and impact. For more information, contact Mike Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Angelo, Vice President, 703.535.1386 or mdangelo@aiccbox.org.

Marketing loved the “wow” factor of the new print. Purchasing was also engaged and supportive. WHAT DIGITAL STRATEGY MAKES SENSE? It really depends on what you think a digital printing offering can do for you or your company. Here are seven questions to help you think about what your strategy should be:

What are your customers 1 talking about? What market forces are driving your 2 customers’ business? Can you afford the equipment needed? 3 Some of it is very expensive. What would your return on invest4 ment be? your sales force understand how 5 toDoes present and promote digital?

6 What is your competition doing? have relationships you 7 Dcano you engage in with companies like ColorHub, which are supporting the independents in a way similar to the sheet feeder strategy? DIGITAL SALES OPPORTUNITIES. There are

digital sales opportunities everywhere in your marketplace. You need to be trained on what to look for and understand what your value proposition will be. It does not have to be very elaborate printing to be considered for digital. We have several customers who just have us print

one color on a kraft-colored carton in low quantities. You also do not have to be a POP or display company to take the plunge into this world. Here are some segments in which to look for opportunities to discuss and present a possible solution for a digital print offering.

Trial Runs: New product launches can be a great area to suggest a digital print solution. The savings potential of printing plates alone could be a major decision-maker for someone to try digital printing.

Specialty Short Runs: Your customer 2 maybe offering an exclusive one-time sale. Samples could also be an area to look at. Double-Sided Print: Many com3 panies that have an internet online sales segment that is selling direct to consumers are investigating printing on the inside of their carton to enhance the customers’ experience with their brand.

Find out the names of the companies they are picking, packing, and fulfilling orders for. You might find an opportunity to put the fulfillment house in a competitive advantage by helping them improve the branding for their customers. It takes time, and this 7 isBea Patient: new area for most corrugated salespeople. Much training is needed to understand the capacity and capabilities of the equipment, and how to spot opportunities in the market. This is a very exciting time to be in the packaging business, and I would like to suggest that if you want to learn more about the digital print world, take the time to attend one of the AICC training seminars and workshops. George Moretti, GM Training & Consulting, can be reached at 716-909-1177 or gmtcg@roadrunner.com.

PDQ, POP, and Counter Displays: 4 Great opportunities exist for companies that are growing and want to try selling more of their product in one of these formats. Call on Marketing Managers and 5 Design Teams: Do some of your customers have teams assigned to new products? If yes, talk to them and see what their customers are asking for. Fulfillment Houses/E-commerce: 6 Do you have any in your market?

AICC EDUCATION Learn how to sell digital with George Moretti May 16–17 in Grand Rapids, Mich. Find more information on this, and check out other AICC education at www.aiccbox.org/calendar.

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BOXSCORE March/April 2018

CONSIDERATIONS OF QUALITY ARE ESSENTIAL WHEN YOU GO DIGITAL By David Carmichael

s corrugated is moving into the digital printing area—sometimes kicking and screaming—the notion of resolution and “clarity” (not the same thing) is a concern. Many ask of the correlation between flexo printing line screen and digital’s dots per inch (dpi). Image resolution is generally stated in one of three ways: dpi for imaging device output (any digital inkjet printer); lines per inch (lpi) for commercial printing with halftone screens (the RDC or FFG in your plant); or pixels per inch (ppi) for actual image resolution (TV, computer, or smartphone screen). By the way, that new iPhone 8 has a resolution of 326 ppi, just for some perspective. There is much written about these measurements. For this article, we are going to focus on corrugated and the differences between lpi and dpi. Whether digitally printed on corrugated or displayed on your computer screen, a picture is made up of tiny little dots. There are color dots, and there are black dots. Using more dots creates—up to a point—a higher-resolution picture. The more dots in a picture, the larger the size of the graphic computer file. Resolution is measured by the number of dots in a horizontal or vertical inch. Each type of display device (digital printer, monitor) has a maximum number of dots it can process and display, no matter how many dots are in the picture.

Line screen—expressed in lpi—is the measure of how many halftone lines are printed in a linear inch. This important measurement related to the way printers reproduce photographic images also defines the necessary resolution of an image. The lpi is dependent on the output device and the type of paper. To simulate shades of gray using only black ink, a printer prints varying sizes and patterns of halftone spots (spots are made up of many dots of ink). Small halftone dots create the visual illusion of a light gray, while larger halftone dots appear darker, blacker. Sample print resolutions include: • Newsprint—85/110 lpi • Web offset—133 lpi • Standard sheetfed offset—150 lpi • Fine quality—175–200 lpi Finer dot patterns can be used under ideal conditions. Otherwise they will tend to “plug” (block up) or skip. Flexo printing directly on uncoated corrugated sheets may use very coarse values with very visible dot patterns (30–80 lpi).

Digital resolution—expressed as dpi— is the usual specification for resolution of output devices, such as desktop printers, film recorders, RIPs (raster image programs), and computer monitors. For computer monitors and film recorders, there is a 1-to-1 ratio between the ppi of the digital image file and the dpi of the output device. Vector-based images, such as those created in Adobe Illustrator, or most editable fonts, are based upon mathematical curves, not pixels. As such, they are infinitely scalable and will be absolutely sharp at almost any size. But when they are finally output, these vectors are still first converted to the finite elements of the digital printer or flexo plate, just as pixel-based images are. Exceptions include “solid” ink color (unscreened, maximum ink density) in offset printing, such as black type or line work, which have no dot pattern. For any type of printing, digital in particular, the convergence of variables needs to create an “acceptable” image

For any type of printing, digital in particular, the convergence of variables needs to create an “acceptable” image on the corrugated substrate. BOXSCORE www.aiccbox.org

12 lines per inch

High screen frequency (Fine)

110 LPI

Low screen frequency (coarse)

20 LPI

on the corrugated substrate. The four major variables of digital are jetting, inks, papers, and software (JIPS). Printers with resolutions of 600 dpi or higher may not create a “clear” image due to the effects of the other variables. When considering a digital printer for corrugated, understand the printer is only one piece of the puzzle. The knowledge of the other variables and how they interact with your particular printer is most important. The suppliers of inks, paper, and software—along with the printer’s OEM—should be able to help guide you to the results you expect. Remember, we mentioned that “clarity” and resolution are not the same. Let’s consider these examples. A 600 dpi laser printer can print up to 600 dots of picture information in an inch. A picture with more dots than the printer can support will waste the extra dots. They increase the digital file size, but don’t improve the printing of the picture; the resolution is too high for that printer. A picture with fewer dots than the printer can support will create a picture without any clarity.

For example, a photograph at both 300 dpi and 600 dpi will look the same printed on a 300 dpi printer. The extra dots of information are “thrown out” by the printer, but the 600 dpi picture will have a larger file size. If you print a 72 dpi picture to a 600 dpi printer, it won’t usually look as good as it does on the computer monitor. The printer doesn’t have enough dots of information to create a clear, sharp image. The original file resolution (dpi) determines the printer’s output. Low-resolution input results in low-resolution output, regardless of the printer’s dpi capability. The clarity issue is even more prominent with printing on corrugated. As noted in the JIPS figure, the paper is a major variable on the digital printer’s capability to print a clear image. On uncoated stock, the small inkjet dot—sometimes as small as 5 picoliters*—will “follow” the paper fibers. What is intended as a drop becomes a sunburst, which can affect clarity, more so than file size (ppi) or printer resolution (dpi).

When considering a digital printer for corrugated, review with each OEM the ink and jetting used. Ensure these characteristics of the printer meet or exceed the needs of your customers using the papers available to you. Have the OEM test print with these available papers. Most OEMs use their own software for machine operation, RIP, and screening processes. However, third-party color management software is available and should be reviewed. These four variables affect the drop size, absorption, and placement impacting the image quality. So, in reality, nothing happened to your dot. It is still there, but we have more control and a consistent application of it using digital printers. It is an exciting time for the packaging industry. David Carmichael is technical manager at SUN Automation. He can be reached at 410-472-2900 or david.carmichael@ sunautomation.com.

*FUN FACT: A picoliter is one-trillionth of a liter. By comparison, a rain drop can hold thousands of picoliters.

BOXSCORE March/April 2018

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HOW TECHNOLOGY IS AFFECTING OUR WORLD DAVE BURGESS JB MACHINERY VICE CHAIRMAN DBURGESS@JBMACHINERY.COM

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

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

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BOXSCORE March/April 2018

s the holidays came and went, I kept noticing an abundance of next-day delivery trucks constantly parading around the neighborhood, even to the extent that on Sundays, the U.S. Postal Service was used as a contractor to ensure the on-time delivery of the massive amount of packages that were being ordered online. You only had to look up to see a UPS or a FedEx vehicle loaded from top to bottom with boxes of every size and shape. The e-commerce revolution has indeed taken off, and luckily for us, every article purchased had to be shipped inside a container that could withstand multiple transportation modes and a box that would clearly identify the seller’s name—usually Amazon.com. So, what is this online revolution doing to our business? The answer is that it is changing it rapidly and radically. Now, every converter needs to be able to produce boxes at high speeds to deliver multiple-colored containers in long and short runs to support the very large and very small manufacturers—and even to be able to print on the inside and outside of the box. And as online retailers carry such a varying inventory of product and do not want to carry large corrugated inventories, most of these boxes need to be produced almost on an on-demand basis. What this has brought about for our industry is a massive re-equipping cycle on the traditional flexos and die cutters to ensure speed, accuracy, and print quality. It has also has pushed many converters to look seriously at the new digital print technology, which has now truly arrived! Digital print is now an established method of print in the corrugated container market. We were the last real

market to adopt digital as a process, due primarily to size and the many grades of substrates that we use. But I think that within the next two to three years, every major converter will have some form of digital offering, or will struggle to generate new business. Digital gives us incredible flexibility, regionalization and personalization of market segments, and speed to market, color, and graphics that can be quickly changed with a keystroke. Digital print is also helping to bring bright young people into this business who are tech-savvy and have new, dynamic ideas to help preserve the packaging business, traditionally staffed by an aging workforce. As a manufacturer who sells mostly into the flexo market arena, I want to make it abundantly clear that I do not think the growth of digital will mean the death of flexo; I think they are complementary. We have seen many cases in which a company has installed digital and opened up new, short-run markets for graphics, and then found that this has led to longer and longer runs and higher volumes of high-quality product. That is where flexo can continue to grow. We think that the company of the future will need to invest in new digital and flexo equipment. It will need the ability to print inside and outside of the box, build strategic geographical partners to produce for the national and global markets, and look at equipment reinvestment on a much faster cycle. No longer will a 25-year-old piece of equipment be able to compete. In corrugated, the future is now, and those who adopt and embrace the new technologies will be the winners! This article was written by Dave Burgess.

What the Tech?

BOXING WITH THE ‘AMAZON EFFECT’ BY CHUCK DELANEY

echnology is easing the pain in our industry, but not without required change. We can adapt and embrace it, or fight it and struggle. Not too long ago, we all used to joke about being an insta-package manufacturer. Clients’ demands seemed to be totally unrealistic because our systems were complicated and built for the packaging business “realities” of that day. Prices and the number of versions were unreasonable and unpredictable. Estimators would lament: “Don’t they know what they want—and in 24 hours!?” Delivery information and timing were needed when the client called, not when the customer service person could get around to it. Our reps say that the relationships are what clients value, not the new industry innovations allowing for less human intervention. ISO manuals had to be followed, and processes had to be respected by both the manufacturer and client. Projects from start to finish take 10 working days. Two years from now, we will be hard-pressed to remember those past practices of customer service, because it will be automated. Why? The “Amazon Effect.” That is why. It will automate sales, customer service, project managers, estimators, etc. Processes will be simpler. Pricing options and instant updates to job tracking (going through operations and shipping) will become the norm, not the exception. A number of companies have followed suit and are supplying pricing in real time. This allows clients more choices when purchasing products and

BOXSCORE March/April 2018

services. Clients will be consolidating and coordinating purchases to secure better pricing, and also allowing us to better streamline our manufacturing. Transparency of customer insights will be known in a moment by measuring service and quality through online chat and surveys. The internet levels the playing field, and it is merciless in reporting how suppliers rank in their execution of work. Think of the last time you were asked about your experience riding in an Uber or Lyft. With greater transparency comes greater opportunity for collaboration and mutual growth, as opposed to blind competition. The customer is king. We will have to become laser-focused on customers and, more importantly, focused on the right ones that fit each of our businesses. The more clients buy, the more special services we will offer them. Also, clients will start paying for the extras that sometimes we just give away. People will pay for things they value all day long. Why are these changes inevitable? It’s the Amazon Effect. It is impacting consumers’ expectations more and more every day. It used to be: “You will receive the package in eight to 10 days.” Now, Amazon is moving to sameday or pickup sites for your convenience. Our industry has to adapt to provide what they want, when they want it, and at a price they like. Amazon’s deliverables have

changed our customers’ expectations. It’s time we do the same. In the ecosystem of the Amazon, the trees in the forest grow tall together. Why can’t we? Chuck Delaney is managing director of GROW Retail Technologies. He can be reached at 708-491-5090 or cdelaney@growrt.com.

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Strength in Numbers

HOW WILL TAX REFORM AFFECT YOU? BY MITCH KLINGHER

he latest attempt by Congress to reform the evil tax code, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 is a very mixed bag of changes that eliminates or modifies a host of tax deductions and credits, lowers tax rates, increases the estate exemption, and actually adds a lot of complexity to the already complicated the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). The most compelling provision of the act is a reduction of the top corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent. Earlier versions of the act, prior to the conference committee, contained a large reduction in tax rates for pass-through entities, such as partnerships, LLCs, and S corporations. The final language of the conference report has reduced this relief greatly (potentially 20 percent of the income is excludable), so that in many cases, taxation of C corporations may be lower than taxation of pass-through entities. This is going to be the key decision that

BOXSCORE March/April 2018

most small businesses will have to make in response to the act. However, since a C corporation is still a double tax entity, S corporation taxation may still be the same or less. It all depends on the size of the dividend being taken by the shareholders. Let’s look at the following example: The ABC Corp. has $2 million in taxable income before bonuses or dividends to the shareholders. Here’s how this might look under 2017 law and adopted 2018 law: This analysis assumes that ABC will distribute the net income, and therein lies the issue. In an S corporation (or other pass-through) the owners pay tax on the entity’s net income, and all of it is distributable tax-free when cash flow permits. In real life, these distributions may come in a future year, or may never come, and will be used as basis when and if the shareholder sells his interest. In a C corporation, the dividend is still taxable

whenever the shareholder takes it, and the undistributed amounts do not constitute basis for the shareholder. As you can see from the above example, assuming the money will eventually be distributed or used as basis in a sale, the spread in the tax rates from S to C remains approximately 10 percent both prior to and after the law change—assuming that you get the 20 percent exclusion. Key Planning Point An S election can be revoked at any time, but to have the revocation be effective at the beginning of the tax year, it must be done within two months and 15 days of the beginning of the current tax year. In order to elect S status again, the entity must wait five tax years. A partnership or LLC can be converted to a C corporation at any time, and an S election can be made at any time, but it must be made within the first two months and 15 days

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of a tax year for it to be effective for that year. Anyone who is considering a sale in the next few years would probably be foolish to revoke an S election or incorporate a partnership. However, a corporation that is in growth mode and will not be in a position to declare dividends for the foreseeable future may benefit from the 21 percent tax rate, which will allow it to build up equity more cheaply. Let’s take a look at the rest of the key provisions of the act and determine whether or not there is any action to be taken: • To further muddy the waters on C corporation vs. S corporation, the act contains a provision that says that if an S corporation converts to a C corporation within two years of the enactment date, 50 percent of the distributions that it makes for the next six years will be deemed to be made from C corporation retained earnings and not S corporation retained earnings, which will make them taxable subject to the 20 percent maximum rate. They are clearly trying to discourage S corporation revocations. • Pass-through income will be reduced by 20 percent, subject to a limitation based on either 50 percent of the entity’s W-2 salary expense or 25 percent of the entity’s salary expense increased by 2.5 percent of the

original cost of tangible property. Companies that operate through multiple entities, some of which do not have significant payroll, may want to revisit their corporate structures as soon as possible to make sure that all pass-through income gets the full 20 percent. This does not apply to most service entities (doctors, lawyers, accountants, etc.). • 100 percent cost recovery for property placed in service after September 27, 2017, and before January 1, 2024— the threshold is 50 percent for assets placed in service from January 1, 2017, to September 27, 2017. For most machinery and equipment, under the IRC, placed in service means “when it is first placed in a condition or state of readiness and availability for a specifically assigned function, whether in a trade or business, in the production of income. ...” The following three elements must be proved: readiness, availability, and capability to perform intended function. This may be a year when equipment installed in the summer may not have fully met these three elements prior to September 27, 2017. It is also important to note that this provision covers new and used equipment. • State and local tax deductions will be limited to $10,000 after 2017; therefore, you should prepay whatever S CORP. ABC INC. 2017

TAXABLE INCOME Shareholder Tax 39.6%/37% – (20% DED)

S CORP. ABC INC. 2018

$2,000,000

792,000

592,000

Entity Tax 35%/21% Dividend

2,000,000

Shareholder Tax 23.8% TOTAL TAXES PAID ON $2,000,000

BOXSCORE March/April 2018

•

you think you will owe for the 2017 year, unless you are sure that you will be subject to the alternative minimum tax, which does not allow any deduction of state and local taxes. The act contains a provision that says that you cannot prepay taxes for a future year and get a tax deduction. New-car depreciation—cars placed in service after December 31, 2017, will be allowed $10,000 of depreciation in year one, $16,000 in year two, $9,600 in year three, and $5,760 per year thereafter. Computers and peripherals are no longer considered listed property after 2017. Recovery periods for real property are down from 40 years to 30 years, and the rules have been liberalized with respect to qualified leasehold improvements, qualified restaurants, and qualified retail property for assets placed in service after December 31, 2017. So, if you can push a closing on a piece of property or take the position that an improvement is placed in service next year, you may reap some benefits. Like-kind exchange treatment repealed for non-real estate transactions. Open trades, in which the taxpayer has disposed of the relinquished property or acquired the replacement property before C CORP. ABC INC. 2017

C CORP. ABC INC. 2018

$2,000,000

700,000

420,000

1,300,000

1,580,000

309,400

376,040

$792,000

$592,000

$1,009,400

$796,040

39.6%

29.6%

50.47%

39.8%

Strength in Numbers

•

December 31, 2017, are grandfathered in. If you are in the middle of a transaction in which you are trading in an older piece of equipment, get the paperwork done as soon as possible, so you can say that the transaction is grandfathered in. If you wait, the credit that you receive for the trade will be taxable. Business entertainment is non deductible after December 31, 2017, although business meals still are (subject to the 50 percent disallowance). No deduction is available for amounts paid to settle sexual harassment claims subject to a nondisclosure agreement. Code Section 263A, which requires nonfactory overhead costs to be capitalized into inventory, is repealed for any converter or reseller with less than $25 million in gross receipts. Finally, some relief for small business. I would suggest a conservative calculation for 2017, since it will be reversed in the following year. Technical termination of partnerships, in which more than 50 percent of the equity changes hands in a 12-month period, is repealed. This should help many family-owned smaller partnerships facilitate business succession planning without having to worry about the tax effects of a technical termination. The corporate alternative minimum tax (AMT) is repealed, and the exemption amount for the individual AMT is increased to $109,400 (married joint)—currently, 60 percent of households with income between $200,000 and $500,000 pay AMT. Medical expense threshold for 2018 is reduced to 7.5 percent of income, and medical expenses are not deductible

BOXSCORE March/April 2018

for AMT. Another planning point may be to defer paying medical expenses until 2018, when they have a greater chance of being deductible and not causing AMT. • New mortgages are limited to $750,000. • Miscellaneous itemized deductions are suspended. The following is a list of changes in the act, which are for information purposes, as I do not believe there is any current action to be taken with respect to them: • A comparison of married/joint tax rates. • Section 179 deduction increased to $1 million and the phase-out threshold is increased to $2.5 million. • Disallowance for interest expense in excess of 30 percent of taxable income (EBITDA)—not applicable to businesses with less than $25 million in gross income, and certain real estate entities can elect out by changing their depreciation methods. • Net operating losses can no longer be carried back and are limited to 80 percent of taxable income going forward. • Domestic activities production deduction is repealed. This was a nice break for domestic manufacturers. • Standard deduction increased to $24,000 for married joint filers and $12,000 for single filers. • Personal exemptions are suspended (they phased out for high-income taxpayers, anyway). • The “kiddie tax” has been modified to tax unearned income of children based upon the estate and trust rates, rather than the rates paid by their parents. This may save money for some and will speed up processing tax

•

• •

•

• • • •

• •

returns, since the children will not have to wait for their parents’ returns to be finalized. Disallowance of business losses in excess of $500,000 (for married taxpayers; $250,000 for individual taxpayers). This means that if you invest in an activity that you actively participate in, and it shows a loss greater than these limits (after netting it with all of your other active trades and businesses), then the excess is carried over to a future tax year. The deduction for casualty and theft losses is suspended. Child credit is increased to $2,000 per child, with $1,400 refundable even if there is no tax. This phases out at $400,000 of income for married taxpayers. Charitable deduction for college athletic seating licenses where the donor receives the right to purchase tickets is revoked. Alimony deduction (and income to the spouse) is suspended. Moving expense deduction and exclusion is suspended. The “Obamacare” individual mandate is repealed. Expanded use of Section 529 plans for elementary and secondary private schools, including religious schools. New deferral available for certain grants of stock options. Estate tax exemption is doubled (approximately $22.4 million for a married couple). Mitch Klingher is a partner at Klingher Nadler LLP. He can be reached at 201-731-3025 or mitch@ klinghernadler.com.

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

STUDENTS ATTEND ICPF DIALOGUE DINNER SEEKING INTERNSHIPS AND CAREERS

BOXSCORE March/April 2018

Photos courtesy of the International Corrugated Packaging Foundation.

n February 21, the evening before ICPF’s Teleconference on the Business of Corrugated Packaging & Displays and the Career Opportunities, 20 select students from Bowling Green State University, Illinois State University, Michigan State University (MSU), Rutgers University, University of Florida, and Virginia Tech joined visiting executives (from Landaal Packaging, KapStone, Menasha, PCA, Pratt Industries, and WestRock) for ICPF’s Student/Executive Dialogue Dinner on corrugated packaging careers. The visiting executives, which included those who spoke the next day at ICPF’s Teleconference, provided the students firsthand knowledge on the industry. The students from Bowling Green State University, Illinois State University, Rutgers University, University of Florida, and Virginia Tech were provided ICPF travel grants for travel to East Lansing as ICPF’s special dinner and Teleconference guests. The visiting students joined the MSU student audience in the public television broadcast auditorium the next day to view ICPF’s Teleconference, gaining additional knowledge on the corrugated industry as well as a unique perspective on the program through observing the other 500 students on 19 campuses who were able to interact remotely. Many students who have participated in the annual dialogue dinner program in past years have accepted positions in the corrugated industry upon graduation. The résumés for the students attending this year’s dinner, as well as those from over 200 other qualified upcoming graduates, can be accessed on ICPF’s Career Portal

by ICPF Corporate Partners and potential partners that post student internships or full-time entry-level openings. Please note that students are hired quickly by other industries, so there is a small window

of opportunity to employ student interns and 2018 graduates before they are hired elsewhere. We encourage ICPF partners to contact ICPF and use the Career Portal today.

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

FEBRUARY TELECONFERENCE IDENTIFIES HUNDREDS SEEKING CORRUGATED OPENINGS IN 2018

ver 500 students and faculty on 19 campuses participated in ICPF’s 2018 Teleconference on the Business of Corrugated Packaging & Displays and the Career Opportunities. After their presentation, industry panel speakers, Mike Riegsecker (Menasha), Bob Landaal (Landaal Packaging), Keven Hinz (KapStone), and Anna Sadowski (VA Tech ’18/PCA new hire) addressed live questions from each of the campuses. In addition to Michigan State’s packaging school, which had the largest audience with over 100 students participating, campuses included Appalachian State University, Bowling Green State University, Cal Poly, Clemson University, Dunwoody College of Technology, Indiana State University, Illinois State University, Lewis-Clark State College, Millersville University, North Carolina A&T University, North Carolina State, Pittsburg State, Rutgers University, University of Florida, University of Texas at Arlington, University of

Wisconsin–Stout, Virginia Tech, and Western Michigan University. The ICPF Teleconference grand finale this past February included ICPF’s 2018 Student Packaging Design Presentation Competition. Three student teams from Cal Poly, Millersville University, and University of Texas at Arlington were tasked to show, tell, and sell their packaging designs by explaining the objective, the research conducted, design elements, and other background. University of Texas at Arlington secured first place, second place went to Cal Poly’s student team, and the Millersville student team won third place. All three teams received a cash prize. For those ICPF Corporate Partners (and firms considering Corporate Partner pledges) that have entry-level openings or wish to offer a student internship, one of the most proven tools for recruiting is ICPF’s Career Portal. Throughout this month, hundreds of students and upcoming graduates are regularly

visiting ICPF’s Career Portal to directly apply to the openings ICPF Corporate Partners have posted there. Post your job openings for recent graduates and student internships today! Not only do you get direct applications from new or upcoming graduates, the posting of an opening allows your firm to search ICPF’s online Résumé Bank, which has over 200 résumés. If your firm has an entry-level opening in packaging design, graphic design, sales, business, supply chain management, or engineering, or you wish to locate a student intern for this coming summer or fall, contact rflaherty@icpfbox.org to get started. ICPF’s Career Portal is a benefit for ICPF Corporate Partners. Richard Flaherty is president of the International Corrugated Packaging Foundation.

BOXSCORE www.aiccbox.org

The Final Score

INTEGRATEDS INGEST; INDEPENDENTS INVEST

n the front page of the February 5 issue of Board Converting News, an interesting juxtaposition occurs: In the left-hand column, the headline “WestRock to Buy KapStone for $4.9B”; on the right, “Converters to Continue Innovation and Growth.” Why do I point this out? (See Board Converting News, N.V. Business Publications, February 5, 2018.) Well, as the large, publicly traded companies in our industry grow hungrier for more acquisition targets, privately held independent converters—largely the subject of the right-hand column I cited above—are growing by investing in their businesses and bringing truly innovative designs to their markets. It’s kind of like a “volume” vs. “vision” mentality: Acquire for more volume; invest for unique solutions for the customer. Now, there is nothing wrong with a strategic acquisition; acquiring another company with complementary assets and product lines, as WestRock has done with KapStone, is smart business and is a good move for the shareholders. But this is a different strategy from the organic growth brought about by planned investment in new technology, equipment, and processes. In Len Prazych’s excellent article, he quotes Bob Cohen of Acme Corrugated, who tells of four major expansion projects that will add 20 percent to Acme’s manufacturing capabilities. Or take Chris Widera of Cal Box Group, who talks about his company’s $6 million in investments, including high-speed digital printing and the addition of a fourth litho laminator to the company’s equipment mix. These companies have a long-term view and vision: invest, innovate, grow, serve. This is what being independent is all about. P.S.: And speaking of technology and digital printing, this issue of BoxScore features a number of great articles about digital printing and how members are playing in this fast-changing game. Special thanks to our friends at SUN Automation, who hosted AICC’s Digital Print in Packaging seminar February 7–8. See a recap beginning on Page 10.

Steve Young President, AICC

BOXSCORE March/April 2018

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THINK

IoT * “Industry 4.0 Model Factories”, April 2016, Ernhard Feige et al, Mckinsey Digital

www.bobst.com

CONSISTENCY

ISN'T A COMMODITY. WestRock DiamondTop™. A complete line of white containerboard products delivering unbeatable consistency for all of your printing needs.

STEADY SUPPLY

NATURAL BRIGHTNESS

BROAD PORTFOLIO

3 mills and 4 machines, so capacity is never an issue.

Made with no Optical Brightener Additives (OBAs).

Flex to digital, retail-ready corrugated to club store packaging.

Get the facts at westrock.com/diamondtop

WestRock DiamondTop™ White Containerboard Products

Together, we win.