by Industrial Print Magazine Staff
Hosted by TAPPI/AICC, Corrugated Week 2022 in San Antonio, TX was held at the end of September. Keynotes, panels, networking events, and an exhibit hall with over 160 vendors in attendance were available to the over 1,500 registrants of the event.
Pre-Show
TAPPI offered a pre-conference education course, Effective Methods to Maximize Diecutting Productivity. Course instructor, Rick Putch, is a world-class expert on evaluating manufacturing processes and resolving production issues on a wide variety of manufactured products. The comprehensive, full-day course focused on why equipment differences, general maintenance needs, and subtle structural design differences influence quality and profitability for corrugated converters.
Opening Keynote
Steve York, a leader in the corrugated industry and current consultant, shared his experiences in the trenches and stressed the importance of reducing bottlenecks.
“Bottlenecks inhibit a box plant from increasing straight-time MSF/hour through their bander Monday through Friday. Hot orders are short-term situations a box plant must respond to to take care of a customer’s immediate need. These orders are a fact of life—but to be effective, leaders must spend the majority of time recognizing and elevating productivity of bottlenecks,” says York.
York ended with a comprehensive list of leadership tips for attendees to take back to their own plants.
Panels Worth Noting
Multiple breakout sessions allowed attendees to gather information on some of the more demanding trends in the space. Of note, the Digital Print Panel discussion with moderators Jim Wegemer of INX International Ink Co. and Steve Woodward from ARC International. The panel included converters/printers sharing their insight on producing digital print for corrugated.
The Artificial Intelligence/Robotics & Automation round table was also on topic, with a discussion on how to adopt these technologies effectively. Panelists included representatives from Bobst and Kongsberg.
Both panels are excellent examples of York’s advice to tackle bottlenecks on the production floor. Digital printing and automation technologies can help.
Up Next
TAPPI’s focus is emerging technologies driving innovation for the paper and packaging industry. Next up for the association, CorrExpo 2023, held August 28 to 30 in Cleveland, OH. Check correxpo.org for updates to the technical program, exhibit space availability, and registration opportunities.
SuperCorrExpo 2024 takes place September 8 to 12 in Orlando, FL. The event promises to be a great success as the last iteration in 2021 attracted close to 3,000 attendees and over 220 exhibitors.
Nov2022, Industrial Print Magazine
