Baseball has Cooperstown. Football has Canton. Hockey has Toronto.
But where in the world is the Hall of Fame for the packaging industry?
It might be in Reston, Virginia, home of the headquarters for the packaging trade association PMMI, which recently announced its six newest inductees into the Packaging Hall of Fame:
- Mel Bahr, MGS Machine
- James Downham, PAC
- Joseph Hotchkiss, Michigan State University
- Toru Ichikawa, Hosokawa Yoko Co., Ltd.
- Bern McPheely, Hartness International, Inc.
- Boh Tsai, Amerasia Technologies, Inc.
Each of the inductees were nominated by their peers and are being recognized for their significant contribution to the packaging industry, according to Maria Ferrante, PMMI’s vice president for education and workforce development.
The Leading Minds in Packaging Today
“These packaging professionals have contributed to the packaging community as an advisor, industry pioneer, visionary, educator, leader in packaging technology and an inventor,” Ferrante said in a PMMI news release. “Their contributions have led the industry to where it is today.”
The latest class of Hall of Famers will be honored during the PACK EXPO International packaging trade show, to be held Nov. 2 through 5 in Chicago. A reception and ceremony is scheduled for Nov. 4 at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place Hotel, which is attached to the convention center where the trade show will be held.
Event to Benefit Scholarships
Tickets for the reception are $75, but sponsors can purchase tables for $1,500 to $3,000 apiece, with the proceeds benefiting the PMMI Foundation to support packaging and processing education, with selected students receiving scholarships in two- or four-year packaging programs.
“We’re inviting the entire PACK EXPO community to celebrate with us at the Packaging Hall of Fame reception,” Ferrante said. “As we honor our inductees, we will fund scholarships for students in our industry.”
The trade association has been selecting members to its Hall of Fame since 1971. Potential inductees are nominated by their peer and Hall of Famers are selected by a Packaging Hall of Fame Commission that is composed of both former inductees and industry movers and shakers.
Two Trade Shows at the Same Time, Place
PACK EXPO will be held concurrently with the first-ever Pharma Expo, , which is being presented jointly with the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE). Both events will take place at Chicago’s McCormick Place.
“Packaging and processing solutions providers know that PACK EXPO is the show their customers attend, and our space sales to date prove it,” says Jim Pittas, PMMI”s vice president for trade shows. “To date, we have more than 1,000 exhibiting companies and over 950,000 net square feet of exhibit space — this is 5 percent greater than this point in the 2012 show cycle. We fully expect to exceed our initial projections of 1.1 million net square feet and 2,200 exhibiting companies. PACK EXPO International will bring the most influential players in packaging and processing technologies to Chicago next year.”
In addition to the thousands of exhibitors, PACK EXPO International and Pharma EXPO are expected to attract more than 50,000 attendees, including 5,000 international visitors from 130 countries.
“We work closely with the U.S. Commercial Service to bring international buying delegations to PACK EXPO through its International Buying Program,”Pittas said. “It’s a great program, and PACK EXPO is the only U.S.-based packaging and processing show they actively promote around the world.”