Guest: Dave Navin, President & CEO, Spee-Dee Packaging Machinery, Inc.

PACK EXPO Connects brought the industry together on Nov. 9-13 with nearly 18,000 attendees engaging with more than 700 exhibitors to find solutions to critical packaging challenges. Despite exhibitor preparedness, technical issues kept the live demonstrations from launching as intended – but exhibitors quickly adapted and demos returned for attendees looking to see technology in action the remainder of the event. In this episode, Dave Navin, president and CEO, Spee-Dee Packaging shares how his team prepared for their first virtual event, adapted when hurdles presented themselves, and what the company will do to remain engaged with customers who visit packexpoconnects.com through March 31, 2021.

Guest: Jorge Izquierdo, Vice President of Market Development, PMMI

In this episode of UnPACKed with PMMI, we go inside the state of the industry numbers with PMMI's vice president of market development, Jorge Izquierdo. From how things looked at the end of 2019 into pre-pandemic 2020, to the way the industry has kept its nose above water and in many cases thrived during the past seven months, Jorge shares what we can expect as we head towards the end of 2020.

Guest: Jim Chrzan, VP Content & Brand Strategy, PMMI Media Group

Now more than ever, it is crucial for the manufacturing industry to stay connected to keep up with increasing consumer demand and the challenges COVID-19 has posed to the manufacturing supply chain. Hear from Jim Chrzan, vice president, content & brand strategy at PMMI Media Group on all things PACK EXPO Connects, a virtual event like no other. Tune in to hear details on the exciting educational line-up, including sessions from Amazon, Bumble Bee Foods, L’Oreal and more. Live chats, live product demos and engaging educational opportunities let attendees experience the power of PACK EXPO with leading industry suppliers available at their fingertips. For more information on how to make the most of PACK EXPO Connects, visit the Attendee Resource Center. Registration is free, so don’t delay, register today.

Guest: Andrew Dougherty, Senior Director of Membership, PMMI

As the world changed this year, PMMI’s role as an industry resource, now more than ever, means connecting the industry and providing business solutions for today – and beyond. Today we welcome PMMI Senior Director of Membership Andrew Dougherty to talk about all the tools PMMI offers its members to help them conduct better business. Now more than ever, PMMI is your answer.

Guest: Joyce Fassl, Editor-in-Chief, ProFood World 

As someone who has covered the food and beverage industry for over 30 years, editor-in-chief of ProFood World magazine Joyce Fassl was our obvious first stop to help us sort through the COVID-19 clutter and news, and tell us what’s really going on with food processing during the pandemic. Are they safe? Are they all shutting down because of virus spread? What are the plants doing to keep our workers and our food supply safe?

Guest: Tracee Auld, Chief Sustainability Officer, Graham Packaging

Part two of this UnPACKed with PMMI series offers a very compelling case for making economic sense out of sustainability at any packaging operation. Graham Packaging’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Tracee Auld joins the podcast for a one-on-one discussion on how the global packaging giant is managing its ambitious sustainability goals, including a pledge to make its full line of packaging 100 percent recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025.

Guest: Donna Ritson, President, DDR Communications

During a period in time when new challenges arise daily, concerns around the global pursuit of environmental sustainability could have—and can still—fall by the wayside. This two-part series of UnPACKed with PMMI podcasts provides a look at the overarching effect of a global pandemic on packaging sustainability as well as how one major packaging company is managing its ambitious sustainability goals. Donna Ritson, president of DDR Communications, joins the podcast for part one. Ritson shares her findings from PMMI’s Packaging Sustainability – A Changing Landscape report and offers insights that will help manufacturers continue to drive sustainability initiatives.

Guests: Wendee Wood, Partner, Mercer Health and Benefits and Paul Hartgen Vice President of Member and Business Services, National Association of Manufacturers

Even before the pandemic, healthcare, and the ability to obtain good healthcare, was always a hot-button, headline-making issue. Affordable healthcare and maintaining a healthy workforce is crucial for any business and represents one of the leading factors potential employees seek when job hunting. With that in mind, PMMI and NAM, The National Association of Manufacturers, collaborated to offer Fortune-500 level benefits to companies via NAM Healthcare. Paul Hartgen, vice president, member and business services, NAM, and Wendee Wood, partner at Mercer Health and Benefits, join the podcast and discuss NAM Healthcare and how small and medium-sized manufacturing companies can obtain this life-saving benefit. Learn more and get a quote here. 

Guest: Stephanie Neil, Editor in Chief, OEM Magazine

Wondering how the packaging and processing OEM community is acclimating during the pandemic? Stephanie Neil, Editor in Chief of OEM Magazine, returns to the podcast, this time on the other side of the microphone, and discusses how OEMs can push through or even get ahead during an economic recession. Her background as a long time contributor to Automation World also helps her identify control systems and technologies impacting today's machine builders.

Guest: Matt Reynolds, Editor, Packaging World

Year after year, IoPP, the Institute of Packaging Professionals, reports salary data and trends in the packaging industry gathered through their Salary Survey. In order to understand the findings, especially after the uncertainty of the first half of 2020, Matt Reynolds, editor, Packaging World, joins the podcast to break down the details on employment status, educational factors, future career prospects and more.