Fibre Box Association’s Year-In-Review: The Pandemic Takes Center Stage
What a year to remember! As I think about 2020, the pandemic surely took center stage, driving changes at work, home, businesses, schools,
and places of worship. Working from home has become a norm for many workers. Is the need for individual offices or even office buildings a thing of the past? On-line shopping has accelerated for retail sales and many restaurants boast that curb- side take-out service is more profitable than seat- ed dining. Our education system is undergoing a radical change with virtual classrooms accessed from home. Will that lower the cost of second-
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Dennis Colley
ary education in the future and allow for more students to attend? These questions and lots more have challenged the traditional norms of daily life. Personally, 2020 has pushed me out of my comfort zone and forced me to do things I normally would not do. Not flying on airplanes has almost doubled my capacity for productive work and given me an opportunity to explore historical industry documents. I spent half a day reviewing twenty years of FBA Board meeting minutes. Looking at the meetings following Y2K (remember that?), I found it interesting that the agenda items from 2000 were essentially the same as today, but with redefined meanings and varied importance. For example: FBA has been providing data and statistics since its found- ing in 1940. Some reports have been eliminated, while many new reports have been developed to meet members’ needs. There are more bench- mark reports today than ever before and members use them to gauge their individual progress. Each year, more than 108 reports are available for FBA members who participate in the benchmark reports. In the early 2000s, FBA was focused on water and air compliance in the converting facilities. Over time, this focus, including recycling and re- sponsible use of raw materials, was defined as sustainability. Today, the buzz phrases are circular economy and regenerative practices. In the mid-90s, telling the corrugated industry story resulted in the formation of the Corrugated Packaging Council, which later became the Corrugated Packaging Alliance and was the precursor to the Corrugated What caught my attention the most, however, was the list of individuals who have served this industry and the association. These folks are lead- ers within their own companies and somehow found or made time to lead FBA. Here are the chairpersons of FBA for the last two decades: • 2000-2001, Jim Keller, Weyerhaeuser • 2001-2002, Bart Doney, Inland • 2002-2003, Dennis Willman, York Container • 2003-2004, John Lilac, Greif Industry Promotion Program (CIPP) today. FBA Chairpersons: Leadership And Service
600 + Plants 60,000 Users North America Latin America
• 2004-2005, Steve Klinger, Georgia-Pacific • 2005-2006, Bob McIlvaine, The Royal Group • 2006-2007, Tom Herlihy, Green Bay Packaging • 2007-2008, Bill Akers, Akers Packaging • 2008-2010, Tom Hassfurther, PCA • 2010-2011, Christian Fisher, Georgia-Pacific • 2011-2012, Tom Shallow, Fitzpatrick Container • 2012-2013, Jim Porter, RockTenn
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January 4, 2021
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