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Happy New Year!

The new year opens with news in the packaging sector of:

* A couple of debt restructurings that will allow two major paperboard carton, blow molded container suppliers to continue to operate,
* Some further consolidation in the end-of-line packaging machinery business.

Meanwhile, Dow Chemical Co. is pondering its near term future in the wake of a Kuwaiti partner pullout of a mega joint venture just days before the deal was to be sealed. That puts a crimp in Dow's plans to use some of the money from K-Dow JV to help finance its $15+ billion acquisition of Rohm & Haas. The R&H deal is still likely to go through, but Dow will be closely scrutinizing funding sources and price to be paid in the coming days...

There isn't a financial analyst or economist out there who says 2009 is going to be anything but a challenge - and while the core of the packaging market is "you gotta eat" recession proof - the economics of the packaging market is likely to overshadow, or be the underlying justification of, the market's technology in the coming months.

Hang on, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

Still, we'll bet the packaging supply chain community comes out of the global recession stronger and abler - without making an appeal for a government bailout - than when we slipped into recession a year ago.

Best wishes to you and yours for a happy holiday season and a peaceful and prosperous New Year.

In a precursor to further consolidation in the packaging field, Pearson Packaging Systems, Spokane, WA, wraps up the acquisition of Goodman Packaging Equipment, Chicago, IL. Transaction follows pattern favored by packaging machinery deals in recent years - extending capabilities of combined forces from a central core of expertise. In the Pearson deal, the expertise is secondary packaging, with Pearson adding Goodman’s top-loading case packers to its lineup of secondary packaging equipment for food, beverage, pharmaceutical, consumer durable goods, and personal-care packagers. Last month's Clamco Corp., Cleveland, OH, purchase by PAC Machinery Group, San Rafael, CA, followed same strategy as have most of the acquisitions of mega packaging machinery consolidator, Pro Mach, Inc., which has organized its acquisitions into three divisions - primary packaging, end-of-the-line packaging and product identification. More integrated acquisitions are in the offing.

Bag-in-can aerosol technology advances beyond the shaving gel application with ICI Paint’s introduction of Hammerite Metalmaster®, a paint spray gun that delivers electrostatically-charged paint to provide 360 degree coverage of metal objects.

Packaging innovation - in design, process, functionality - was a strong theme at PACK EXPO International. Our coverage of the technologies drawing attention at the show continues...

Amazon.com‘s self proclaimed “Frustration-Free” packaging is a gratuitous swipe at packaging.

Rather than take the negative approach, we wonder why the initiative to eliminate packaging designed to merchandise products and prevent in-store shoplifting – something you obviously don’t need when your product arrives in a plain brown box with the mail – wasn’t called something positive. “Convenience packaging” or “Amazon Special Presentation Packaging” would work, wouldn’t they?

Forcing manufacturers to develop “branded class of trade”-specific packaging isn’t new. The big box retailers have been driving manufacturers nuts for some time with their demands for exclusive put ups, which certainly are not frustration free on the operations side of the packaging pipeline.

So, huzzah, Amazon, for making it a little easier for grandmas and grandpas to open the presents they’ll buy their grandkids at e-tail. But, let me ask you this: Would “Amazon Easy Access Packaging” have been that much tougher to promote?

Another PACK EXPO is behind us. It was a good one. Energy on the show floor was high. Attendance was good, and exhibitors reported quality leads. Despite the economy, it appears packagers are continuing to invest in their operations.

We've put together a report of show highlights and will continue our coverage of new product introductions in the days ahead.

After weeks of anticipation, PACK EXPO opened yesterday with the traditional marching band fanfare. We learned Wal-Mart plans to expand its Packaging Scorecard internationally in a keynote address, which described the retailer's progress toward its goal of eliminating packaging waste and its plans to move forward.

There are more keynotes to come and lots to see on the show floor from integrated lines to semiautomatic machines. Other highlights include biodegradable films and pavilions devoted to RFID and containers and materials.

It's not too late to join us.

PACK EXPO International - the largest packaging show in the world’s largest packaging market - opens next Sunday in Chicago’s McCormick Place.

If you haven’t yet registered to attend the exposition and conference, you can do it now online here.

Wal-Mart is laying down the law for its suppliers: “Get with the sustainability program and prove it!” Or words to that effect, anyway.

A thousand or so of the company’s Chinese suppliers got Wal-Mart’s latest sustainability message first hand last Tuesday.

There’s a good chance we’ll hear more about Wal-Mart’s initiative during Amy Zettlemoyer-Lazar’s keynote address on November 9th during PACK EXPO. Wal-Mart’s plan is to put the standard in place for the Chinese starting in January. The rest of the World will be expected to get with the program beginning in March. Want to find out more? Register Here for Zettlemoyer-Lazar’s keynote address. See you there!