Continuing the "World's Fair of Packaging" theme that prevailed two years ago, WestPack '97 will have an international flavor as exhibitors and attendees alike travel from around the world to be part of this 47th WestPack. Produced and managed by Reed Exhibition Companies, WestPack runs September 23 to 25 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, CA. It's sponsored by the 8ꯠ-member Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP) and the Western Packaging Assn. (WPA), who anticipate more than 30ꯠ attendees and over 900 exhibitors will be on hand. Approximately $25 billion of the U.S.'s $95 billion demand for packaging machinery, materials and packaging is consumed in the five-county Los Angeles area served by WestPack, which is the single largest manufacturing metropolitan area in the U.S. Southern California is, by itself, the world's 11th largest economy. As for the state of California, over a tenth of all Fortune 500 companies are headquartered there, and California also leads the U.S. in manufacturing shipments. Not to mention the fact that the location serves as a gateway to Latin America and the Pacific Rim. Top decision makers from the nation's leading Fortune 500 companies attending WestPack '95 included Coca-Cola Bottlers, Kraft Foods, Revlon, Apple Computer, Bristol Myers, Squibb, Gillette, Hewlett Packard, IBM and Johnson & Johnson. Brand new this year is a Materials Handling Pavilion that will showcase materials handling machinery, systems and supplies for the packaging field. Conveyor systems, pallets, robotics, palletizers, stretch wrappers, data collection, totes, IBCs, collapsible bins, weighing equipment, and much more will be on display. Three other specialty pavilions will also be highlighting cutting edge innovations and technologies on the 300ꯠ sq' WestPack floor. Sponsored by the Package Design Council, the Creative Packaging Show features innovative materials, packages, containers and designs, as well as applications, supplies and solutions. Automation & Controls and System Integration, on the other hand, is a pavilion designed to assist manufacturers who are seeking the best ways to automate and integrate packaging lines for greater flexibility in changeover planning and scheduling, and other production challenges. Finally, Scan-Tech is a forum dedicated to the latest in automated data management information technology products that assist integration. Bar-code systems, inventory controls, ink-jet printing, and more will be on display. Debuting this year is the WestPack Celebrity Golf Tournament, scheduled for Monday, September 22, at the Pacific Golf Club in San Clemente. Current Senior PGA member and Senior Player of the Year Hale Irwin, baseball's former pitching great Jim Palmer, and former NBA All-Star James Worthy are scheduled to be on the links in a scramble tournament. Golf clinics with Irwin and PGA professionals are among the highlights of the full-day outing, which includes breakfast and dinner and numerous opportunities to meet and greet the athletes. On Tuesday, September 23, Palmer and Worthy visit the WestPack show floor from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. to conduct a series of sport-specific clinics. Autograph opportunities should be numerous. Also, on Wednesday, 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist Peter Vidmar will provide a pommel horse demonstration and discuss how he was able to score a perfect 10 on this most difficult event. Educational sessions Conferences, seminars and update sessions are once again offered at WestPack by IoPP. At the top of the list is the September 22-23 conference on Modified Atmosphere Packaging chaired by Aaron Brody of Rubbright Brody, Inc. "Modified Atmosphere Packaging continues to be a hot topic full of new technologies and developments, so there is a real need to provide an annual conference on this subject," says Brody. "The IoPP MAPack Conference is the way we can share this information and make sure the key players in this field are working together." Special attention will be paid to the home meal replacement category and to fresh-cut fruit, which is now beginning to vie with fresh-cut vegetables in the retail produce department. Technological innovation such as the use of noble gas, integration of aseptic techniques, active packaging, hurdles and other topics representing the future will also be part of the program. On Sept. 22 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. is Integrating computer technology in line design: how to improve performance, moderated by Mike Brown, packaging engineer at House of Seagrams. Three sessions are scheduled for Sept. 23 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. They are: Creative packaging: market success through innovative research & design, co-sponsored by the Package Design Council Intl. and moderated by Greg Erickson, former editor of Shelf Presence; Packaging for controlled temperature shipping, chaired by Robert M. Fiedler & Associates; and Packaging, the law and you, presented by Eric F. Greenberg of Bullwinkel Partners. Running September 23-25 is the second annual Workshop on robotic solutions for packaging and palletizing, sponsored by the Robotic Industries Assn. There is a separate registration for this three-day course; call 313/994-6088 for details. Also on tap at WestPack '97 are IoPP seminars. Scheduled for Sept. 22 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. are Blow molding package design and engineering, Fundamentals of distribution packaging, and Keeping the top on closures. Other seminars include Ergonomics along the packaging line, Sept. 22-23; Cost estimating for corrugated containers, Sept. 22-24; Packaging development: managing within the product development process, Sept. 22-23; Fundamentals of packaging cushioning materials, Sept. 24-25; and New developments in bar coding, Sept. 24. Update sessions are fast and focused, typically lasting an hour to an hour and a half. On Sept. 22 are Packaging's role in the FDA's new food safety initiative, 9:30 a.m.; How to achieve superior graphics on corrugated board, 9:30 a.m; Electronic article surveillance: summarizing the state of the industry, 9:30 a.m; HACCP: its application to the food industry and its suppliers, 1:30 p.m.; and The electronic packaging world: using Internet resources productively, 1:30 p.m. More updates on Sept. 23 include How and when to use contract packaging, 9:00 a.m.; Micro-fluting: new folding and corrugated carton applications, 9:00 a.m.; Measurement & analysis: challenges in packaging and distribution, 1:30 p.m.; and Improving the process with digital prepress, 1:30 p.m.. Sept. 24 brings Nontraditional line design, 9:00 a.m., and Statistical analysis of the corrugated and paperboard industries, 1:30 p.m. Also on Sept. 24, Women in Packaging is presenting a national meeting sponsored by ORBIS, a division of Menasha Corp. The featured speaker is Patt Morrison, the Emmy Award-winning hostess of "Life and Times" on KCET 28-TV. She is also a regular contributor to The Los Angeles Times. The Luncheon program, The Media Game-What your mother never told but should have, will focus on increasing one's visibility in the news. For information on the meeting, send a fax request to 770/928-2338. A convenient categorized list of exhibitors begins on p. 46.
