Keep Moving Forward

Published: March 01, 2010

Walt Disney has been credited with a host of traits, but he's most frequently noted for his creativity and imagination. His contagious fondness for technology is evident with a visit to any Disney property, but even the cartoons of today labeled with the Disney-Pixar name — and in which Walt obviously had no hand — inspire many to keep moving forward.

“Keep moving forward,” I like to think, is perhaps the single piece of advice that represented Walt's personal mantra. It might even have been an integral part of his management style.

As a Baby Boomer, Disney movies have taught me many life lessons — whether intentionally or not. A relatively new title that has become one of my favorites is called Meet the Robinsons, which debuted in 2007. It inspires both children and adults 44 years after Walt's death, as only a Disney movie can do, with a full quote appearing as part of the closing credits after the hero of the movie, a 13-year-old orphan named Louis, discovers his own bright future waiting just around the corner:

“Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things…and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

To bring this lofty idealism back down to our industry level, I've noticed these past few weeks with seminars, press conferences, and even regional a trade show in the heart of paper country, that our industry is trying to move forward, even if only incrementally:

• The Converting Equipment Machinery Assn. (CEMA) held its slitting/rewinding and coating/laminating fundamental seminars on February 23?24 in Chicago. Attendees bent on improving their skills moved forward despite a threatening snowstorm.
• At a Packaging Machinery Mfrs. Inst.-hosted press conference, PMMI announced the show is growing to “mega” proportions to include the co-location of the Converting & Package Printing (CPP) Expo as well as the Brand Zone (formerly know as the Containers & Materials Pavilion), a new Confectionery Pavilion, a new Distripak Pavilion, and a new Processing Zone. On top of all this, a recent announcement reveals the Flexographic Technical Assn. (FTA) is cosponsoring the event and will work closely with CPP Expo to assemble a world-class conference program to satisfy the needs of the folding carton, corrugated, tag and label, and flex-pack industries.
• Converters Expo, staged by Converting Influence at Lambeau Atrium in Green Bay, WI, on March 4, grew to nearly 100 exhibitors and is contemplating — in its effort to move forward — a larger floor plan to accommodate exhibitors and a growing number of attendees.
• Not least, PFFC's own Buyers Guide (p65) has grown to meet your equipment, materials, accessories, and services needs. We, too, are moving forward!

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