A Communication from the PLACE Div. of TAPPI
- Published: November 30, 2003, By David J. Bentley Jr., Editor
Providing practical information to the converting & packaging industries.
PLACE Announces Initial Plans for 2004 Conference
Ladies and gentlemen: Start your brains. “The TAPPI 2004 PLACE Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana, will have so much information on converting and packaging to offer attendees that their brains will need to work like well-tuned race cars,” said Beth Wells, technical program chairperson for the meeting.
Wells and Scott B. Marks, the conference chairman, are leading a team of session developers who are making the preliminary plans for the meeting.
According to Marks, “This is the premier conference for everyone working with polymers, laminations, adhesives, coatings, and extrusions. The event is an ideal forum to keep abreast of the latest information on materials, machinery, and evolving technology.”
The dates for the 2004 TAPPI PLACE Conference will be Monday, August 30, to Wednesday, September 2. The meeting is at The Westin Indianapolis, 50 South Capitol Ave., Indianapolis, Indiana. The room rate is $105 for a room with single or double occupancy. Call the hotel at 317-231-3928 before July 29, 2004, and mention TAPPI PLACE Conference to receive this discounted rate.
Wide Appeal
Jeffrey Wooster, chairman of the PLACE Division, says, “The PLACE Conference provides everyone in the packaging industry from materials and equipment suppliers to film producers to food and consumer products companies with an opportunity to learn about the new technology that will shape the future. The conference is sufficiently large to appeal to everyone in the fields of interest served by the division while being sufficiently small to allow attendees to form life-long friendships with industry colleagues. We strive to offer practical information to attendees so they can return to work and have an immediate impact on the operations of their company.”
According to Wooster, the PLACE Division selected Indianapolis for their conference in 2004 “to make attendance as economical as possible. The centralized location allows minimum travel costs. Intense hotel negotiations have given registrants a top quality business hotel at a very attractive rate. Indianapolis is within a five to six hour drive for many raw material and equipment suppliers, converters, service and consulting companies, and end users. Driving to Indianapolis and using the low hotel room rate makes the 2004 TAPPI PLACE Conference a definite ‘best buy.’”
Marks noted that an initial look at the preliminary conference plans indicates development of a well-rounded program. The various committees of the division are now planning their sessions for the 2004 meeting. These series of morning and afternoon sessions are the heart of the conference. They consist of a mixture of individual presentations, panel discussions, and roundtable discussions. The mixture varies from year to year but most sessions relate to technical matters with others covering marketing issues. Presenters or panelists come from various positions in the converting, packaging, and related industries including suppliers, converters, or end users.
Specific Sessions
Wells reports that sessions in the planning stage at this writing include the following:
- Simulations in Film Extrusion
- New Developments in Film: In-Line Compounding
- Technical Potpourri
- Resins for Film and Extrusion Processing
- Machinery And Equipment
- SPE/ANTEC Exchange
- European Exchange: Rome Conference
- Extrusion Coating/Laminating on Nonwovens
- Printing and Converting
- Extrusion Coating Equipment
- Barrier Resins in Extrusion Coating
- Extrusion Coating: The Big Picture
- Case Studies in Extrusion Coating
- Additives with Film
- Biodegradable Materials
- Adhesive Laminations
- Web Handling and Winding
- Peelable Adhesive Applications
- Medical Packaging.
Wells advises that the meeting will also include the New Technology Showcase and Tabletop Sessions. These provide an excellent opportunity for registrants to keep abreast of emerging technologies and network with industry colleagues — new and old. Marks notes that the “Wednesday evening PLACE Gala Event offers a chance for additional networking in a relaxed atmosphere oriented to good food and conversation.”
“Are you wondering what conference to attend in 2004?” asks Wells. “At the 2004 TAPPI PLACE Conference in Indianapolis, you can obtain all the answers to your questions and learn everything about new developments without the need to race many laps around a track. This conference can make you and your company winners in the converting, packaging, and related fields.”
Division Awards Scholarship
Megan Marie Stasak, a rising junior at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York, received the Ralph A. Klucken Scholarship awarded by the PLACE Division of TAPPI at its conference in August 2003 in Orlando, Florida. Stasak is studying Packaging Science at RIT and expects to receive her degree in 2005. She is a student member of TAPPI and Women In Packaging, Inc. She also belongs to the Technical Association of the Graphic Arts Student Chapter, the RIT Packaging Club, and the New York Chapter of the Institute of Packaging Professionals.
Stasak maintains a 3.1 overall grade point average. She has received several scholarships including the Pactiv Scholarship at RIT, the Gravure Association Scholarship, and the RIT Alumni Scholarship. She is a member of the Alpha Xi Delta Sorority and serves as the Philanthropy Chair for that group.
The scholarship honors Klucken who retired from TAPPI in January 1987 as Technical Divisions Administrator after 20 years of service to the organization. During many of those years, he advised and guided officers and members of the PLACE Division in their volunteer work. Through his dedicated efforts to the division, Klucken was very instrumental in increasing division membership, broadening the scope of its activities, and expanding the number of committees within the division.
The PLACE Division gives the Ralph A. Klucken scholarship annually to a college senior studying in a field related to division areas of interest. For information call the TAPPI Service line at 800-332-8686.
For information about the PLACE Division of TAPPI, access the TAPPI web page at TAPPI.org. Telephone inquiries are welcome at the TAPPI Service Line by calling 1-800-332-8686 in the United States, 1-800-446-9431 in Canada, or +1-770-446-1400 in other countries. Send FAX to 1-770-446-6947. Address mail to:
Contact “the PLACE” editor using e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
