Arlington, VA November 14, 2012 -“I make it a point to come here every year”. We heard this comment repeatedly from attendees who stopped at the RPA booth within the Reusable Packaging Pavilion at PACK EXPO in Chicago. The Pavilion, which was home to 26 RPA members, has become a recognized and must-see stop for PACK EXPO attendees who are interested in reusable packaging and solutions.
Once again, the Pavilion was located in a highly visible, can’t-miss location in the Lakeside Building of the McCormick Convention Center. Our exhibiting members, which included manufacturers, material suppliers, providers of washing and other specialty equipment, and poolers and service providers, reported steady traffic and interest throughout the show. Indeed, many members say the number one benefit of being a member of the RPA is the opportunity to exhibit in the Pavilion. These members recognize that attendees who come to the Pavilion are interested in serious conversations about reusable solutions and services.
“I felt the Reusable Packaging Pavilion made it easy for users, providers and prospects to network and learn about the industry’s latest and greatest options,” said Matt Dannenfeldt, Vice President of Logistics, Rehrig Pacific Company.
Traffic at the RPA booth also was continuous. We spoke with numerous end user companies as well as suppliers of reusable packaging and services who are interested in joining the RPA. We will follow up with all of them in the next few weeks and expect to gain some new members as a result. Also at PACK EXPO, we had conversations with several members of the media, strengthening our reputation as the industry association. We also made introductions between editors and member companies, increasing the visibility of those members.
Networking Reception
A highlight of PACK EXPO for many of our members was the annual networking reception. Many of our members offer complementary services or products. The reception gave them an opportunity to forge new business relationships. Several end-user companies also attended the reception, providing an opportunity for our members to make develop new business opportunities.
During the reception, Mike Hachtman, RPA President, announced the winner of the Reusable Packaging Association’s first annual Excellence in Reusable Packaging Award. Herman Miller won the award for using reusable packaging for the shipping and handling of a component on a chair assembly line, saving the company $46,000 annually in material and labor. (See news release.) We were really pleased with the strength and number of entries for the award, several of which came from non-RPA companies. We will create case studies from the submissions we received, strengthening our growing library of best practices to help you educate your prospects.
Conference Sessions
The RPA provided a conference track for interested members to make presentations. A total of four presentations were given on the topics of Measuring the Impact of Reusables/an Overview of the Nationwide Use Reusable Campaign; Optimize Your Sustainability Efforts through a Reverse Logistics Center Model; Implementing an Asset Tracking System; and Returnable Container Selection Criteria.
“Presenting sessions as part of the RPA’s educational forums at PACK EXPO has given CAPS the opportunity to engage prospects we may not have otherwise met, while discussing industry innovations and helping to drive the reusable packaging demand curve forward,” said Drew Merrill, CAPS, Vice President Business Development & Strategic Planning.
The RPA will create articles based on the content provided at some of these sessions. By doing so, we will create more content to help you educate your prospects, and we will give added exposure to the participating companies.
Our comprehensive package of activities at PACK EXPO 2012 strongly supported two of the RPA’s three core objectives: industry promotion and membership and member engagement. We are already planning for the RPA Reusable Packaging Pavilion at PACK EXPO 2013 in Las Vegas. Contact Jerry Welcome if your company would like to participate.
RPA member companies that exhibited in the Pavilion
Arrows Up Inc.
CABKA
CHEP
Coroplast
CTC Technologies
Douglas Machine Corp.
Fabri-Form Company
Federal Supply Services
Formall
Girton Manufacturing Co., Inc
IFCO Systems
iGPS
Millwood Inc
Monoflo International
ORBIS Corporation
PECO Pallet
Plastics Research Corporation
Quick-Crate
Rehrig Pacific
Remcon Plastics, Inc
Reusable Transport Packaging Inc.
Technology Container Corp
The Kennedy Group
Trienda Lexington Logistics
Worldwide Foam Ltd.
