FlexPack Voice

As an academic member of the Flexible Packaging Association (FPA), I use its online resources, weekly Industry News Bulletin, and FlexPack VOICE® magazine to enhance my food packaging curriculum at Washington State University. These materials help me teach current industry disruptions, market innovations, growth rates, and structural shifts across the sector.

The Manufacturing Institute (MI) recently launched free courses to train factory workers in artificial intelligence (AI) through its online training course, AI Skills for Manufacturing Training Suite. The training will help current and future manufacturing workers develop the skills needed to understand and use AI as it becomes increasingly common in manufacturing operations, MI said in a statement.

Charter Next Generation (CNG) recently hired a new chief financial officer (CFO). Todd Herndon most recently served as CFO of Consilio, a global company focused on legal technology solutions and enterprise legal services. He previously held leadership roles with Diversey, now part of Solenis; Gardner Denver, now part of Ingersoll Rand; and Capital Safety. He began his career with S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., CNG said in a statement.

Earlier this summer, the Flexible Film Recycling Alliance (FFRA) launched what it called the first-of-their-kind commercial recycling pilot programs in California. California has been implementing its extended producer responsibility (EPR) law that has been scheduled to fully launch in the new year. (Various entities have filed legal challenges over SB 54, which is the state’s Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act).

The Teamsters union and a union representing food workers were among the businesses and industries that unsuccessfully lobbied California to pause implementation of the state’s extended producer responsibility (EPR) law for packaging before the legislative session ended in August. In a memo dated Aug.

The National Association of Wholesale Distributors (NAW) says it is disappointed but not surprised that a federal court ruled against its challenge of Oregon’s extended producer responsibility (EPR) law in late August. “NAW strongly disagrees with the district court’s decision in NAW v. Feldon, the first federal case to test the constitutionality of a EPR law,” the organization says in a news release. “While we are disappointed with the outcome, we were prepared for it.

The Flexible Packaging Association (FPA) joins the flexible packaging and sterile medical packaging community in mourning William “Bill” Patrick Daly, who passed away peacefully on August 7. Over a 45-year career, Bill changed how our industry thinks about sterility assurance, quality, and what it means to work together. Bill’s story is, in a lot of ways, the story of this whole corner of the industry growing up.

The Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) will hold NPE2027: The Plastics Show® in May next year. The trade organization calls the event the largest plastics trade show in the Americas. The various exhibitions include a new Sustainability Park—“an immersive destination spotlighting real-world solutions shaping the future of sustainable plastics,” PLASTICS says.

Newcomers to the flexible packaging industry can attend seminars in October at PACK EXPO International in Chicago that will immerse them in the various aspects of the industry. The agenda for the 2026 FlexPack Crash Course includes high-level presentations on market trends, sustainability, and the legislative and regulatory environment.

Company: Printpack; printpack.com Description: The bbtips® diaper package features a unique laminated structure that combines transparent polyethylene with metallized polyethylene, making it the only diaper packaging of its kind in Mexico’s baby market. This innovative design delivers striking metallic visual effects without requiring expensive metallized inks.