15 minute read
SPECIAL SECTION: AICC 2022 ANNUAL REPORT
—Greg Tucker, chairman and CEO, Bay Cities
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However, the company can control its response to the situation. “We have set a course to continue to drive profitable business for our employee-owners,” Tucker says. “We have worked diligently on building our bench and training them to understand and be most excellent at our processes to completely delight our clients. Our goal this year is a healthy increase in gross sales by 15% to 20% while moving margin upward.”
Growing and Innovating
To aid the company in reaching its goals for the new year, Bay Cities is investing in a range of new equipment, including the purchase of a second high-speed digital press.
In addition, Tucker says, “to complement our die cutting, we installed a 135-inch, 5-color die cutter with inside and outside print capabilities to address redundancy and enhance operational efficiencies through the manufacturing plant and the pack-out facilities. We are bringing in a desperately needed replacement flexo for our aging mini with die cutting abilities.
“We are adding a laser cutter to complement our digital world. The digital facility will have the most advanced weaponry in the market. Our goal is high speedto-market digital printing, no setup costs, variable-print ability, and no tooling for cutting to help our customers win on shelf and online.”
It isn’t just about new hardware, though. “We are employing software innovations that have removed keystrokes by humans and will soon reduce the amount of human decision-making required to run orders,” Tucker says, “with hyperefficiencies unmatched in our environment through the utilization of AI [artificial intelligence] and innovative software solutions. We have no desire to sit back while the world passes us by. Instead, we are following the example of our peers in Silicon Valley to drive real speed to market here.”
The company is also launching three new client-facing services. BC360 will help to manage sales and analytics and bring clients into retail, Tucker says. BCL is a logistics company, and BC Creative is a full-line creative services group. “We
also will be helping clients reduce costs by utilizing our ISTA lab, which we use to performance-test every display we design,” he adds.
Growth is on Potocsnak’s mind as well. “We’ve been very blessed with a lot of growth recently,” he says. “But there is a limited amount of capacity or consumption available in this country. Going forward, I’m going to be looking at becoming more involved in the converting side. I think there are opportunities in big-volume, personalized boxmaking, and I believe we have the equipment and infrastructure to pull it off.” A recently purchased boxmaking plant will help the company to explore this new market.
Carman says StandFast has no plans at present for major expansions or major equipment purchases. The focus, instead, is on improved customer service and introducing new capabilities to the marketplace. “In terms of innovation,” he adds, “we would like to see better aggregation of our manufacturing data to enable our production staff to reduce setup times and enhance quality. We’re in the process of implementing new software on our corrugator to provide better communication and visibility of orders to our sheet plant operation.”
Lingering Concerns
Despite the determination and renewed commitment resulting from the past few years, manufacturers continue to be concerned about the industry and what the future may hold.
In its 2022 Manufacturing Industry Outlook, research firm Deloitte surveyed more than 500 U.S. executives and senior leaders regarding the current and future state of manufacturing. “Workforce shortages and supply chain instability are reducing operational efficiency and margins,” respondents noted. “Job openings—at more than twice the gap to reach pre-pandemic employment levels—hover near all-time highs. ... Sourcing bottlenecks and global logistics logjams are likely to remain challenges ... along with cost pressure and inflation risk. ... Adding to this mix are risks from COVID-19 variants, cyberattacks, environmental challenges, and higher corporate tax rates. The industry can expect elevated uncertainty from a range of potential disruptors globally.”
As if these concerns were not enough, a third-quarter 2022 Deloitte survey of U.S. chief financial officers revealed that 46% of those surveyed expect the North American economy to be in a recession by the new year, while 39% expect the economy to enter a period of stagflation.
Yet despite that relatively negative picture, the majority of business leaders surveyed continue to focus more on the opportunities than the obstructions. “Eighty-six percent of manufacturing executives we surveyed report they are somewhat or very positive on business,” the Manufacturing Industry Outlook revealed.
The situation is similar for the boxmakers we spoke to: As they look ahead to 2023, they are generally positive, even as they proactively prepare for the challenges that will certainly come. “I’m excited about the future,” Potocsnak says. “But at the same time, I have to say this: We make our own opportunities. There’s not going to be a lot of low-hanging fruit, to be honest.
“I can focus more on big-picture growth and innovation because I’ve got people who are devoted to staying on top of what’s happening at the shop floor level. I’ve been very fortunate in that way. But that didn’t just happen; I built the company that way from the very beginning. My advice to other boxmakers is to bring in the best people you can, equip them to do the best work they can, and then push hard for your vision for the company, which may not always match what the industry says or even what your advisors say.”
“We see tremendous growth in a changing atmosphere focused on innovation, process management, and having the best skilled employee-owners on the planet,” Tucker says. His 2023 advice for boxmakers is simple: “Keep steady your course, and let us continue to be the very proud industry that we deserve to be.”
—John Potocsnak, owner, Corrugated Supplies Co.
Robert Bittner is a Michigan-based freelance journalist and a frequent BoxScore contributor.
A return to the familiar—and so much more
AICC’s fi scal year 2022 (FY 2022) ended June 30. It was a year of great change, starting with the COVID-19 pandemic still in front of mind and ending with a feeling of things being more familiar. But we won’t go so far as to use the term “normal” because COVID-19 is still with us, and behaviors and norms in the industry and the workplace are continuing to evolve. AICC continues to evolve as well.
Th e box business, throughout the fi scal year, remained strong. Th e age-old challenge for labor in manufacturing remained and was exacerbated by evolving expectations in the workforce. AICC programs, driven by member participation in AICC committees, attempted to shed new light on labor and other challenges facing members while their businesses continued to perform at record levels. Th e teeth of infl ation and the fears of recession were strongest as the fi scal year drew to a close.
National Meetings and Events
Although it seems like ancient history, SuperCorrExpo, postponed from its 2020 iteration, was the key opening event of the fi scal year in September 2021. A robust turnout from the U.S.-based industry made for a successful show. Several suppliers had equipment on the fl oor, and the activity on the fl oor refl ected the ongoing success of the machines and services businesses in the paper-based packaging industry—busy. Manufacturers’ lead times were long going into the event and were added to because of the event. SuperCorrExpo missed the attendance of our Canadian, European, and Asian visitors due to travel restrictions that have since, thankfully, been lifted.
AICC regional summits resumed at the start of calendar year 2022 with the West Coast Ski Meeting in Telluride, Colorado, in February. Next up was the national Spring Meeting in Palm Desert, California, in April. Palm Desert is a top AICC member-preferred meeting destination. Th is was borne out by the nearly 700 attendees and strong business and social programing, including the Independents Cup Golf Tournament, which netted $30,000 for the Foundation for Packaging Education. Th e Southeast Summit took place in Alpharetta, Georgia, in May and drew its usual strong participation from members in the region and suppliers everywhere. Later in May, the Midwest Summit occurred in conjunction with Chicago TAPPI, always a memorable event.
Th ese in-person events allow us to apply the term “familiar” to the year we’ve just closed. We’ve said repeatedly that AICC members are a social bunch with strong networks who want to get together and meet in person. For more than a year, that was diffi cult to do. But member support of in-person events came back strong, and AICC thanks each of you for that.
Education and Training
AICC’s partnership with Th e Packaging School (TPS) fi nished its fi fth and, as it turns out, fi nal year. TPS has hosted AICC’s Packaging School since 2017. During that time, the roster of Packaging School courses has grown to more than 100, including 27 in Spanish. From January 2017 through June 2022, AICC’s Packaging School has seen members complete nearly 12,000 courses. As the graph on p. 47 shows, AICC online training participation is consistently higher year over year, a trend we expect to continue. LinkedIn confi rms this expectation; its Global Talent Trends 2022 report shows 89% of respondents (employees) want professional development opportunities. Education is a major component of professional development. AICC will continue to provide a minimum of 10 new courses and three new translations each year in support of its members.
As the new fi scal year 2023 (FY 2023) begins, AICC is moving its Packaging School from TPS to a new, AICC-hosted platform called AICC NOW. Th is article is meant to look back on the past fi scal year, but a few words on AICC NOW are in order. Th is new platform will allow AICC members to more easily navigate and search for AICC content—past and present. As a part of this, AICC will debut its Packaging School replacement, Packaging University, on the AICC NOW site.
We cannot mention AICC’s Packaging University without a thank-you to its education investors. Th e following companies have committed fi nancial and intellectual capital to create courses rostered on the site: Fosber, BCM, SUN Automation, JB Machinery, Pamarco, Absolute, Printron, EFI, Krueger, Bobst, HP, and Staff ord Corrugated Products. Th ey have our gratitude.
AICC’s partnership with TPS will endure, however, as TPS partners with AICC on course development. In addition, TPS will continue to host two microsites for AICC education partners, the Association of Caribbean, Central and South American Corrugators (ACCCSA) and the National Wooden Pallet & Container Association. Th rough the partnerships with these two fellow associations, AICC’s course content has grown as well. We expect these partnerships to continue to grow and thrive.
AICC returned to Packaging Xperience, its premier in-person education event in February in Kansas City, Missouri. Titled “Packaging Possibilities — A New Era, A New Xperience,” the agenda included a roster of speakers that refl ects the pivots in the marketplace. Topics ranged from the people side of the business to data and its uses, to emerging trends, to blockchain and cryptocurrency. It was truly an Xperience for the times. Th ree plant tours were a part of the program. Plant tours are always popular with AICC members.
Speaking of plant tours, since members’ travel was somewhat restricted, AICC launched a series of virtual plant tours in December 2021. Th ese proved to be incredibly popular with membership, as members “opened their doors” by shooting videos of their plants and walking their fellow members through during virtual videoconference meetings. Th ere were separate chatroom opportunities for suppliers whose products were seen on the fl oor during the tour. Between 300 and 400 attendees made it to each of the six virtual plant tours.
More education programming was developed, based on a concept initiated by AICC Chairman Gene Marino (Akers Packaging) and Associate Chairman Joe Morelli (Huston Patterson/Lewisburg Printing Co.). Working with AICC’s Virginia Humphrey, they launched a podcast that brought member leadership
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stories and insights with each session. Launched in February, Breaking Down Boxes, which “drops” on the first Monday of every month, has steadily risen among the ranks of business podcasts. You can find it via any number of podcast platforms or launch it from www.AICCbox.org.
AICC’s leadership groups are expanding. The longest-standing such group, the CEO Advisory, now counts nine in number and serves as the model for the expansion of leadership groups to include Production and Financial advisory groups.
Foundation for Packaging Education
Launched in fall 2020, the Foundation for Packaging Education is a 501(c)(3) education foundation with the mission to ensure funds will be available to sustain AICC’s and other entities’ education programming directed toward current workers in the paper-based packaging industries. The number of donors and the amount in the fund continue to grow. This year, AICC’s board of directors approved the proceeds of the annual Independents Cup Golf Tournament to go to the foundation. Also, the foundation’s board of directors approved the creation of an annual fundraising event. The inaugural event will occur November 8–10 at The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island in South Carolina.
The foundation also administers two scholarships, AICC’s long-standing Dick Troll Memorial Scholarship and the newly created Steve Narva Memorial Scholarship, funded by several pledge companies in the foundation.
AICC thanks all those companies that have gotten behind independent education through their generous pledges.
Publications and Advertising
AICC’s Salary, Hourly Wage & Benefits Report became available this spring. This biennial document was especially timely this year, as it incorporates post-pandemic wage and benefit data from 70 contributing sheet plants and corrugator plants.
Since all AICC publications are available only in digital format (a change made a couple of years ago), AICC’s publications and media—past and present—will now be housed at the previously mentioned AICC NOW site, NOW.AICCbox.org. Included are surveys, white papers, Ask the Expert content, BoxScore, all webinars, and so much more. Essentially, all AICC media and information will be rostered at AICC NOW and easily accessible through enhanced search features.
AICC NOW will also offer more online advertising opportunities for members wishing to showcase themselves in front of AICC member companies and all their employees.
AICC Canada
Pandemic restrictions in Canada were more severe, widespread, and longer-lasting than those experienced in the U.S. AICC Canada’s board of directors did a magnificent job keeping members, north and south of the border, engaged in programming remotely. AICC Canada held its annual President’s Luncheon in Toronto in December. It was a warm reunion on a cool day for so many members who had been kept apart for so long. Sami Jo Small, a mainstay on the Canadian Women’s Olympic ice hockey team for 10 years, was the keynote speaker and was inspiring in her remarks.
AICC Canada also got together in June for its 15th annual golf outing at the Lionhead Golf Club & Conference Centre in Brampton, Ontario.
As FY 2023 commenced, AICC Canada programming was already back on track with a September AGM and its Corrugated Connections Tabletop Meeting on October 27 in Toronto.
Royal Containers’ Terri-Lynn Levesque represents AICC Canada members on the AICC board of directors, and Royal Containers’ Don Duplantis serves as AICC Canada president. AICC thanks them for their generous and ongoing service to members.
AICC México
AICC education programming and webinar participation continues to grow exponentially in Mexico. Membership is growing with more than 50 converters and suppliers on the roster. AICC México’s annual Trade Fair and Meeting took place in Monterrey, Nuevo León, in November 2021 and was a big success. AICC México engaged with members through four seminars, three webinars, two Emerging Leader events, and three additional in-person events. Sergio Menchaca Flores of Eko Empaques de Cartón serves as the president of AICC México and represents members there on the AICC board of directors.
Governance, Cooperation, and Advocacy
AICC is led by a very engaged and representative board of directors whose members come from all segments of the industry and marketplace. The board of directors meets three times a year and virtually as necessary. AICC activity beyond the board level is vested in the extraordinarily strong participation of members in its various standing committees: • Convention Content • Membership and Marketing • Education • Government Affairs • Paperboard, Regulations, and
Sheet Supply • Associate Member
Participation in any committee is open to every AICC member who wishes to make a difference in this Association.
These committees play a key role in developing AICC’s programming for this fiscal and future years. This is the primary reason AICC programs are so relevant to members’ needs: They are populated by peers, who produce what is
