Christine Lyall

... Then it's your job, as the supplier, to offer a solution. In its most basic form, the definition of "value-added" is what can be achieved with a packaging supplier beyond the box it manufactures and the price that the end-user pays for it, said Chris Gerardi, senior manager at Connell & Co. Purchasing Services in Oak Brook, Illinois. End-users want more than a supplier who will quote a price, make the boxes, dump them on the loading dock and drive off, he said.

Joan Pennau, president of Wright Bros. Paper Box Co. Inc., in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, was concerned her interviewer had been left on "Hold" too long. "Hi, Christine. I don't know what's on `Hold' for music. Oftentimes it's the Packer-ena' or something crazy like that," she said, referring to the Green Bay Packers' promotional adaptation of the popular — though sometimes wearisome — musical hit called "Macarena." Pennau needn't have worried ... though the pun was too great to pass up and, thus, found its way into this article. "Packer-ena" is an appropriate name in the context of Wright Bros., a rigid set-up box manufacturer that has experienced the kind of success worthy of an energetic song like "Macarena."

Don't let the idyllic scenery fool you. Running corrugated on a Caribbean island has its perks, but also its challenges. West Indies Paper Products works to meet those challenges.

Most people dislike paperwork and often complain about the drudgery of "pushing paper all day" at their jobs. But not Tom Troskey. Troskey, regional manager of RockTenn Company's recycling division, thrives on pushing paper and has been making a living at it for 25 years. Based in St. Paul, Minnesota, he oversees seven of Rock-Tenn's 14 paper collection and processing centers.

Corrugated and folding carton see small, though promising, gains in the United States, Canada and Mexico — despite economic lapses in other parts of the world. Compiled and Edited by Christine Lyall, BCI Senior Associate Editor

It's rather old news by now that the small-flute corrugated market is growing. Just stroll through your local Wal-Mart store, walk down the aisles of your neighborhood supermarket, sashay through your nearest Sears or meander through a Sam's Club and the small-flute boxes, point-of-purchase displays, palletized items, specialty and gift packages will shout "Growth!" and "Opportunity!" from their positions on the sales floor. Yes, small-flute corrugated — which includes B- (the "jumbo" smallflute), E-, F-, G- and N-flute — is here to stay, even as consumers increasingly use the Internet to shop.

"In Switzerland, labor is expensive, and 60% of the country is mountains," notes Rolf Molls, chief engineer at Model Group in Weinfelden, Switzerland. "On the other hand, capital—or money—is cheap here. The interest rate in Switzerland is lower than in the United States and much lower than in Germany or Italy. So in Switzerland, we work with capital." With that capital, Switzerland's manufacturers have the luxury of investing in the latest technology and equipment on the market, then regularly upgrading or replacing those items as they improve. Model Group, owned by Model-Holding AG, a family owned company of four generations, recently underwent that very process.

As is fitting for the end of a millennium, the year 1999 was pivotal for the box and carton industry. It was the year in which some of the biggest and most influential mergers and acquisitions took place — among both converters and their customers— engendering a trend in consolidation, rationalization and discipline unlike any other in recent history.

What doesn't come in a package? That was a question posed by a professor of packaging when one of the respondents to BOXBOARD CONTAINERS INTERNATIONAL'S 12th annual Box and Cartonmaker Profile & Salary Survey was in college and trying to decide what to claim as his major. The professor's query sparked the respondent's interest so much that he decided to pursue packaging as his vocation. (And now he's answering trade journal surveys, for which we are eternally grateful.)

With containerboard as her medium of choice, Paris artist Amelie Dillemann rules the corrugated art world with an 'ironic' hand.