Fibre Box Association: A Mid-Year Review BY DENNIS COLLEY
Drives and control systems System Modernization And Retrofit Team SMART
With the first half of 2020 behind us, what do the next six months have in store for our health, the economy and the corrugated industry? I have yet to find any two economists, healthcare workers or politicians who agree on the future. And rightfully so, as we are in unchartered waters and each day presents a new challenge and an opportunity. And it is not over yet. The year 2020 is certainly not the year that I expected, but these are some of the things that I have learned so far: • Plans change, and in a big way. • Those meetings that I had to attend in person – did not happen. • Technology allows communications to be shared in a more-efficient and less-costly way. • Every person does not have to be in the office every day, at the same time, for work to get accomplished. • Not every meeting has to be a video conference. E-mails and phone calls work just fine. • The amount of time that I am saving by not traveling almost doubles my capacity for work. • Wi-Fi networks need to be updated on a regular basis to keep up with technology. • What I learned in kindergarten about washing my hands with warm, soapy water several times a day was true (Thank you, Mrs. Hamrick!). The Corrugated Industry is Essential The corrugated industry is truly an essential part of the American supply chain and has been crucial to getting supplies and food shipped across the country. While U.S. manufacturing has been curtailed, actual YTD corrugated shipments are up 1.4 percent from 2019. Much of this was driven by pantry-stocking and increased internet retail sales in the first quarter. As schools make plans to reopen, several other market segments have the potential to in- crease corrugated shipments. Many facilities are using this opportunity to clean, sanitize and organize. When the U.S. economy is back to full capacity, the corrugated industry will be ready to do its share. Here is a summary of FBA staff activities for the first half of 2020. You will note customer visits have been placed on hold until 2021. January In January, FBA, as part of the Corrugated Packaging Al- liance (CPA), introduced member companies to the latest Full Disclosure software model. The cost analysis tool can be used with corrugated packaging customers who may be considering different packaging materials. The tool Dennis Colley
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Unico, LLC 3725 Nicholson Road P.O. Box 0505 For more information: converting@unicous.com www.unicous.com Franksville, WI 53126-0505
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August 3, 2020
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