AIMCAL Judges Pick Coated Product & Sustainable Winners
- Published: January 18, 2013, By Yolanda Simonsis
Come every mid-January, I prepare myself for a rash of important award programs and upcoming expositions and conference events. This year is no different as I prepared back in November 2012 to host the Ft. Mill, SC-based Assn. of Intl. Metallizers, Coaters & Laminators' Vacuum Metallized or Coated Product Competition at Summit Media Group's offices in Chicago.
The picture at right shows our work in progress with AIMCAL's Erin Davis (from left to right) coordinating the judges' efforts, including Pat Reynolds (editor of Packaging World), Stan Kopecky (principal, SJK Packaging Assoc.), Hallie Forcinio (principal, Forcinio Communications, AIMCAL staff), Mark Spaulding (associate publisher/editor for Converting Quarterly, AIMCAL observer), Jeffrey T. Weber (research principal, Mondelez Intl., Glenview, IL), Vince DiTrolio (VP/owner, DiTrolio Flexographic Inst., Broadview, IL), and myself (president/editorial director, Paper, Film Foil Converter–PFFC).
Entrants of this competition can look forward to receiving their awards at the association's upcoming winter management meeting to be held on March 10–13 at the Rancho Las Palmas resort in Rancho Mirage, CA, during the association's business meeting on Monday, March 11. Included among the coveted wards are the top product of the year named in honor of the late Peter Rigney, former publisher of PFFC, and the Sustainability award which recognizes one special entry for its positive environmental features. The Technology of the Year award will also be presented at this meeting.
Shows to Visit
As for upcoming shows, the southern circuit has several offerings this year, but so does the Midwest and West Coast. For starters on February 4–6 is a relatively new show (at least for me) called The Packaging Conference, organized by Plastic Technologies and SBA-CCI, and held in Atlanta, GA, at the Ritz Carlton Buckhead. My sources tell me that the show has established a reputation for the debut of new technologies and the announcement of other key industry intelligence. For an agenda of topics and list of speakers, visit: www.thepackagingconference.com.
RadTech's uv.eb West 2013 on February 26–27 is dedicated to ultraviolet and electron beam processes for curing materials. This year's event will be held at Crowne Plaza Redondo Beach & Marina Hotel in Redondo Beach, CA. Sponsored by the Coalition for Clean Air, you'll find ways to reduce your pollution emissions while utilizing technology and systems that result in superior coating, ink, adhesive and composite products for elss cost than traditional methods. A full conference program can be accessed by clicking here.
Tried and true is the Graphics of the Americas show (GOA20131), which will be held in Orlando, FL, at the Orange County Convention Ctr. (OCCC) on Feb. 21–23. PFFC's coverage of the show can be found by clicking here.
Converters Expo, slated for March 7 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, WI, is an annual regional show that's alrady sold out, It features paper, film,a nonwovens producers and converters with specialties int rewinding, sheeting, folding and finishing, warehousing, material handling and logistics, coating, laminating, flexo printing, testing, and much more. For a full details on this expo, including an agenda with factory tours, click here.
One of the most important shows this year to converters is the second staging of ICE USA, slated for April 9–11, also at the Orlando, FL, OCCC. Just announced is the impressive news that over 100 new exhibitors have joined the 200 returning exhibitors from the first staging of the show in 2011. Recall with the retiring of the former CMM exposition, Mack-Brooks Expositions debuted the ICE USA show for the first time in Orlando in 2011, a venue where other large shows, such as NPE, have successfully opted to pitch their tents. For a full list of exhibitors, conferences, and seminars, visit: www.ice-x-usa.com.
The conference circuit is just as packed with plenty of attractive offerings. AWA Alexander Watson Assoc. offers a variety of programs throughout the year that meet converters' needs, including Inkjet & Digital Label/Packaging Printing Seminar in Scottsdale, AZ at the Scottsdale Cottonwoods Resorts & Suites on January 29–30. PFFC's own Dr. Dene Taylor, who writes "On Print," will cover such topics as inkjet, electrophotography, direct thermal, and thermal transfer. For a full list of AWA programs, visit: www.awa-bv.com.
There's plenty more, so visit, PFFC's Calendar of Events at www.PFFC-online.com.
