BCN October 26, 2026

BoardConverting Serving the North American Corrugated and Folding Carton Industries Since 1985 October 26, 2026 VOL. 42 NO. 41

Containerboard Pricing Holds Steady In October

AI Is Front And Center At Amtech User Conference BY LEN PRAZYCH

According to a report on Packaging Dive , containerboard prices remained flat in Oc- tober following an increase in September, as the industry watches for a third round of announced price hikes. Packaging Corpo- ration of America was the first to announce the latest round in July, with a $140-per-ton increase slated to take effect in September. Days later, Cascades, IP and Smurfit Westrock announced increases ranging from $80 to $140 per ton. At a conference in September, PCA CEO Mark Kowlzan said the company remained firm on pricing and was prepared to lose cus- tomers over the increase. So far in 2026, Fastmarkets RISI has rec- ognized a net increase of $170 per ton for linerboard and $200 per ton for medium. Im- plementation of the third round of increases is expected to continue through March 2027. Some analysts expect the upward pricing trend to continue. Last week, Truist Securities predicted containerboard producers would raise prices by another $50 per ton in April 2027. Boxboard prices also remained un- changed in October. Solid bleached sulfate

Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, based Amtech Software welcomed more than 240 attendees from across North America to the Amtech User Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, two weeks ago. Under the theme, “Compete Smarter, Operate Stronger,” the three-day event fea- tured more than 80 breakout sessions, deep dives and a compelling panel discussion moderated by Amtech’s Michael Ochi, Director of Product Marketing.

Comprising the industry panel were industry thought leaders Bil- ly Medoff, Executive Chair of Key Container and former president of Georgia-Pacific Corrugated; Christopher Anderson, Chief Information Officer at Schwarz Partners, with approximately 40 plants in its net- work; Chris Keslin, Chief Technology Officer at Welch Packaging, with approximately 30 plants in its network; and Les Pickering, the founder and principal consultant of Quadrant5 Consulting. (Editor’s note: Ques- tions and answers have been edited for length and clarity.) Ochi: We wanted to bring these folks together and ask what suc- cesses they’ve seen and what hurdles they’ve overcome, whether it be workforce or otherwise. Let’s start by asking about some successes. CONTINUED ON PAGE 24 Michael Ochi, Director of Product Marketing at Amtech Software, left, mod- erated a panel of industry thought leaders that featured Billy Medof, Exec- utive Chair of Key Container and former president of Georgia-Pacific Corru- gated; Christopher Anderson, CIO at Schwarz Partners; Chris Keslin, CTO at Welch Packaging; and Les Pickering, founder and principal consultant of Quadrant5 Consulting.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

WHAT’S INSIDE

3 Fastmarkets Launches Corrugated Cost Benchmark 8 BAHMÜLLER, Haire Group Partner In North America 20 MHIA Opens Las Vegas Warehouse, Expands Support 34 AICC Hosts Annual West Coast Golf Tournament

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Containerboard (CONT’D FROM PAGE 1)

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prices were flat for the second consecutive month despite producers announcing $60-per-ton increases. Coated and uncoated recycled paperboard prices were also flat in October, despite increases that were set to take effect in September. Fastmarkets Launches Corrugated Cost Benchmark For North America On October 19, Fastmarkets launched the Corrugated Cost Benchmark (CCB) for North America, a calculated bench- mark measuring changes in the principal costs associated with manufacturing and delivering corrugated boxes. The CCB will provide greater transparency into chang- es in the underlying costs of manufacturing and delivering corrugated boxes in North America and respond to mar- ket demand for a robust and consistent measure of those changes. It will combine Fastmarkets’ virgin and recycled fiber price data with third-party economic and cost indica- tors covering labor, energy, chemicals, maintenance, other manufacturing costs and transportation. January 2019 provides a baseline of 100. CCB will mea- sure subsequent changes in a modeled industry-average cost basket and will not represent the absolute cost or market price of a corrugated box.

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BAHMÜLLER, Haire Group Partner In North America

focuses immediately on the East and West Coasts, target- ing high-density converting hubs. This will be followed by a comprehensive rollout across the entire North American region scheduled to commence in January 2027.

German machinery manufacturer BAHMÜLLER has made a decisive move to solidify its presence in the United States. The company has officially formalized a strategic alliance with Haire Group, a cornerstone supplier in the American corrugated industry, to handle the distribution of its ad- vanced converting portfolio across the North American market. The partnership, which gained significant traction during the recent Corrugated Week in Fort Worth, Texas, marks a critical shift in how European OEMs approach the vast and complex US landscape. Rather than attempting to build a direct sales and ser- vice network from the ground up—a notoriously slow and capital-intensive process—BAHMÜLLER is leveraging an established, deeply rooted local organization to rapidly scale its footprint. Haire Group, with nearly 50 years of his- tory serving both independent and integrated converters, provides the immediate infrastructure, market trust, and 24/7 service capabilities that a European manufacturer needs to penetrate the largest Western corrugated market effectively. The commercial deployment is being executed with a clear, phased approach. Danny Lopez, Director of Business Development at Haire Group, alongside his dedicated team, will spearhead the initiative. The initial launch phase

Ulrich Wolz, COO of Corrugated Board Converting Systems at BAHMÜLLER, emphasized the strategic align- ment during the announcement: “The reactions at Cor- rugated Week were consistently positive. Customers in the USA have warmly welcomed the move, as have the prospects arising from German mechanical engineering expertise and strong North American market presence.” By partnering with Haire Group, BAHMÜLLER instantly solves the service equation. Haire's established parts net- work and emergency support infrastructure ensure that converters investing in BAHMÜLLER technology will ex- perience maximized uptime and protected investments.

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TAPPI To Host Fall Workshops For Corrugators, Converters

Chicago TAPPI invites corrugators and converters to its Fall Workshops, held November 10, 2026, at the Oak Brook Marriott in Oak Brook, Illinois. This afternoon of hands-on learning will focus on iden- tifying defects, troubleshooting production issues, and implementing practical solutions that improve quality and performance. The workshops will take place from 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm and will be followed by a tabletop exhibit and reception from 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm. This year’s theme, Quality Throwdown: Real Samples. Real Problems. Real Solutions , puts production samples in attendees’ hands and challenges them to spot the defect before the experts explain the solution.

Corrugator Workshops | Mastering Corrugated Quality The first session, Warp and Bond: Building Corrugated Quality from Inside Out, examines the hidden causes of warp and bond failures and explores how to balance heat, moisture, and adhesion. The second session, Dry End Excellence: Where Pro-

cess Control Meets Product Quality, be- gins with dry end process fundamentals, including equipment overview, heat re- moval, moisture stabilization, and season- al moisture changes, before moving into troubleshooting quality issues and da- ta-driven decision making. In addition to the workshops, attendees will have the opportunity to connect with industry suppliers during the tabletop ex- hibit and networking reception. Suppliers interested in showcasing products and services can participate as exhibitors or sponsors through the registration portal. Converting Workshops | Converting in Action: Real Problems, Real Solutions The first session, Ink and Anilox Rolls: Spot the Cause. Solve the Problem, ex- plores how proper ink control and opti- mized anilox roll performance can improve ink transfer, reduce defects, and deliver more consistent print quality. The second session, Print Plates and Cutting Dies: Beyond the Impression, fo- cuses on optimizing plate and die perfor- mance, finding the root cause of printing and cutting die defects, and improving tooling for consistent results. •Registration is $50 for box plant employ- ees to attend either of the workshop tracks and the reception. •Managers are invited to take advantage of the Box Plant Manager ticket, which in- cludes five individual tickets to a workshop and the reception for $200. •Industry suppliers are invited to attend ei- ther workshop track for $75. •Exhibitor registration is $100. For more information and to register, visit tappi.org/chicagotappi .

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FBA’s Martin Speaks On Corrugated Trends At PACK EXPO 2026 Fibre Box Association (FBA) Executive Vice President, Cory Martin, took the stage at PACK EXPO in Chicago last

IP Enters Talks Over Potential EMEA Packaging Sale

In January of this year, Memphis, Tennessee based Inter- national Paper first disclosed that it intended to separate the EMEA packaging business through a spin off. Under the proposed reorganization, International Pa- per’s existing North American operations would remain with International Paper as one publicly traded company, and the EMEA packaging operations would form a second publicly traded company. The North American business would include opera- tions from DS Smith, acquired by International Paper last year, as well as the company's existing assets. On October 14, 2026, the company confirmed that the spin off was expected to be effected through a listing of the business on the London Stock Exchange with a Level II ADR program to be listed on the New York Stock Ex- change. International Paper confirms that it is also evaluating unsolicited inbound inquiries in relation to its EMEA Pack- aging Business, and is in discussion with potential bidders. This process is at an early stage and there can be no cer- tainty that any sale of the EMEA Packaging Business will be agreed or completed. The company is progressing the spin off and evaluating the potential sale in parallel.

week as part of the event's Industry Speaks series. His session covered trends shaping the future of corru- gated, from shifting market dynam- ics and sustainability expectations to evolving extended producer re- sponsibility (EPR) regulations, auto- mation, and packaging innovation.

Cory Martin

Whether you manufacture corrugated packaging, fill it, ship it, or sell products in it, Martin believes, these trends will increasingly influence packaging decisions. Martin noted that a majority of retail executives now recognize sustainable practices as drivers of business effi- ciency, not just environmental responsibility. He noted that corrugated packaging delivers on both fronts. The material's lightweight, custom-fit design reduces shipping costs while enabling lighter truck loads, result- ing in lower greenhouse gas emissions, a critical metric for retailers, grocers, and consumer packaged goods compa- nies working to meet their sustainability goals. Martin presentated a compelling case for corrugated as both an environmental and economic win.

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PPC 2026 Fall Meeting: Key Takeaways from Orlando BY LAUREN ZUBER

marking Bucks.” Groups decided where to invest across existing reports, technology, and new intelligence. The exercise made priorities tangible: choosing one invest- ment meant explaining why it mattered more than another.

There’s a little magic in seeing an idea become something you can hold. In paperboard packaging, that transforma- tion comes from people: their creativity, technical skill, and determination to work through a challenge together. That spirit brought more than 280 attendees to PPC’s 2026 Fall Meeting & Leadership Conference in Orlando, Florida September 30–October 2 - the largest gathering to date. Members Bring Experience To The Table Wednesday’s programming began with members help- ing shape the work ahead. At the Women in Packaging Council session, Dr. Ann Bowers-Evangelista, President of Llumos, LLC, asked participants to consider what sustains them as leaders. Through her Endurance Leader Model, she connected personal purpose with professional growth and explored the different roles of mentors and sponsors. At the Industry Affairs Roundtable, members examined a draft extended producer responsibility position, recy- cling data, packaging design guidance, and opportunities to invite lawmakers into manufacturing facilities. At the Benchmarking Committee meeting, members were given “money” to spend with $100,000 in “Bench-

Technology, industry and market intelligence, and Market Flash-Lite received the largest allocations, informing fu- ture planning. Paperboard Packaging Competition Opening the 83rd Annual Paperboard Packaging Com- petition celebration, PPC Board Chair Hilda Murray ac- knowledged a familiar reality: production moves quickly, and the next deadline rarely leaves time to admire the last accomplishment. Luckily, our awards celebration created that time. As she emphasized, a company’s name may ap- pear on the recognition, but everyone who helped make the package possible shares the achievement. CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

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PPC Fall Meeting (CONT’D FROM PAGE 14)

Laundry Detergent Sheets, bringing moisture protec- tion, a secure book-style opening, and premium finish- es together in a one-piece recyclable carton. Student Design Challenge The 2026 Paperboard Packaging Alliance Student De- sign Challenge showed what can happen when emerging talent gets a chance to explore those possibilities. Stu-

• Package of the Year: TPC Printing & Packaging's Dressed in White Rigid Carton, created for a Bath & Body Works bridal fragrance. • Folding Carton of the Year: Spectrum Packaging Cor- poration’s The Difference Bourbon, delivering a premi- um rigid-box appearance through folding carton con- struction. • Rigid Box of the Year: Elegant Packaging’s Queen Cola Influencer Display Box, with magnetic doors, lighting, and a hidden drawer. • Innovation of the Year: Great Little Box Company’s Tacofina Burrito x Jarritos Carrier, holding two burritos and two glass bottles in one paperboard structure. • Richard DePaul Award for Creative Design & Con- verting: Smurfit Westrock’s Corona Cero 7-Pack, ac- commodating an additional bottle while meeting pro- duction and distribution requirements. • Judges’ Award: Graphic Packaging International’s Keurig Coffee Collective, using a two-piece folding car- ton, gold foil, and a carefully arranged presentation to give everyday coffee pods a gift-like experience. • Judges’ Award: JohnsByrne’s Goose Island Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond, combining soft-touch coatings, gold foil, and precision die-cut windows to turn a cylin- drical package into a layered storytelling experience. • Judges’ Award: Smurfit Westrock’s Berkley Medical

The participants of the Student Design Challenge.

dents created influencer PR boxes for original luxury con- fectionery brands, making the opening experience part of each brand’s story. California Polytechnic State University earned first place with Dāt, a chocolate-covered date cake concept housed in a paper-based interpretation of a luxu- ry travel duffle. Recognizing Eric Frank The time someone takes to share their knowledge, make an introduction, or encourage a new voice can shape how another person finds their place in an industry. Eric Frank’s Volunteer Leader Award recognition celebrat-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

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ed the lasting value of that generosity. Murray and PPC President Emily Leonczyk presented Frank with the award, honoring his longstanding service to PPC. Murray highlighted his leadership, his dedication to telling the industry’s story, and his ability to bring peo- ple together. Those contributions have helped make PPC a community where relationships grow into opportunities to learn, participate, and lead. PPC Looks Ahead Murray recognized the 2026–2027 Executive Commit- tee and Board of Directors, thanking the volunteer leaders for the time, experience, and judgment they contribute to PPC. The Executive Committee includes Chair Hilda Mur- ray of TPC Printing & Packaging, Treasurer Lisa Pruett of RRD Packaging Solutions, Secretary Brian Janki of Paper- Works, and Members at Large Eric Malnove of Malnove Packaging Solutions, Marcela Liscano of Smurfit Westrock, Kerry Brown of Curtis Packaging, Bob Feeser of Mill Rock Packaging, and Louis Hengen of Graphic Packaging Inter- national.

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Together with the Board, these leaders help guide a three-year strategic direction focused on workforce devel- opment, business intelligence, convening leaders, market promotion, and industry advocacy. Folding Carton Essentials is now available through PPC University and complements Folding Carton Boot Camp and the Technical and Production Exchange. Benchmark- ing programs and the newly released member-exclusive Fastmarkets RISI industry report provide information to support business decisions. Committee participation has nearly doubled, bringing more member experience into that work. At the confer- ence, live polling and digital Q&A gave attendees addi- tional ways to contribute, with help from PPC’s Planning Committee, chaired by Zach Codo of Accord Carton. Leonczyk encouraged everyone to identify an idea to use, a relationship to nurture, and another way to involve their teams. These are small, achievable steps that help a meeting continue to deliver value. PPC's 2027 Spring Meeting will be held April 28–30 in Boston, Massachusetts. PPC Board Chair, Hilda Murray, left, addresses the audience as PPC President, Emily Leonczyk looks on.

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MHIA Opens Las Vegas Warehouse, Expands Support In Western U.S. Hunt Valley, Maryland based Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America (MHIA) Corrugating Machinery Division (CMD) has opened a new, larger warehouse in Las Vegas, expanding its ability to support customers throughout the Western U.S. with parts and service resources.

ongoing equipment needs. “Our new Las Vegas warehouse gives us greater ca- pacity to support customers throughout the Western U.S.,” said Christine Little, Director of Sales at MHIA CMD. “Ex- panding our presence in the region helps us keep the parts and resources our customers rely on closer to where they need them.” The Las Vegas facility is part of MHIA CMD’s ongo- ing commitment to supporting corrugated manufacturers

MHIA marked the opening with a ribbon-cutting cere- mony earlier this month. The expanded facility strengthens the company’s parts inventory and fulfillment capabilities, providing additional space to support customers and their

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Apex International Appoints Harvey Global Commercial VP

Sappi North America Appoints Ross Next President, CEO

Hapert, Netherlands based Apex International has an- nounced the appointment of Nick Harvey as Global Com- mercial Vice President, strengthening the company’s global commercial leadership as it continues to develop its international organization and pursue sustainable growth.

The Sappi North America‘s vice-president (VP) of manufac- turing, Kirk Ross, is set to become president and CEO on January 1, 2027. He will succeed Mike Haws, who is retir- ing, after a handover period.

The company operates four pulp and paper mills in North Amer- ica, including one Canadian facil- ity in Matane, Quebec, that has produced bleached chemi-thermo mechanical pulp (BCTMP) for more than 20 years for use in graphic pa-

In this role, Nick will lead the development of Apex's global commercial strategy and capabili- ties, working closely with regional Managing Directors to strengthen commercial leadership, collabo-

Kirk Ross

pers, paperboard, linerboard and specialty papers. Ross brings nearly 30 years’ industry experience, in- cluding 20 years within Sappi, to his new role. A chemi- cal engineer by training, he has served the company as production engineer, operations manager, finishing and shipping manager, business unit leader, director of manu- facturing services, director of research and development (R&D) and director of marketing brand management.

Nick Harvey

ration and performance across the Group. His focus will be on supporting sustainable, profitable growth through common standards, technical expertise and a consistent approach to customer value. Nick brings 26 years of experience at Apex, with a ca- reer spanning sales, Technical Director and Vice President of Sales. His extensive knowledge of the company’s tech- nologies, manufacturing capabilities and markets, com- bined with a strong understanding of customer needs, provides a solid foundation for his expanded global re- sponsibilities. Ruud van Cuijk, CEO of Apex International, commented: “Nick combines deep technical knowledge with commer- cial leadership and longstanding customer relationships. His experience across Apex gives him a clear understand- ing of where we can create greater value and how to turn that opportunity into action. I am pleased to welcome him to this executive role as we strengthen our international organization and pursue our next phase of growth.” Nick Harvey, Global Commercial Vice President, added: “Having spent 26 years at Apex, I have seen the expertise, commitment and innovation that underpin our business. In this new role, I look forward to bringing our commer- cial teams closer together globally, strengthening collab- oration across the organization and ensuring we translate our capabilities into meaningful, measurable value for our customers.” Nick will also help connect market requirements with product development and investment priorities, support- ing the continued evolution of Apex’s technologies and solutions. His appointment further strengthens Apex Internation- al's global leadership structure. Within the Group's estab- lished governance framework, the Chairman provides strategic direction, oversight of major decisions and pro- tection of long-term shareholder interests. Group CEO Ruud van Cuijk leads the Executive Lead- ership Team and is responsible for executing the agreed strategy, managing the Group's operations and delivering sustainable, profitable growth and measurable sharehold- er returns.

Haws will retire in February 2027 after a 40-year career in the pulp and paper industry, including 14 years with Sap- pi and seven years as its president and CEO. His tenure’s significant achievements have included the integration of the Matane Pulp mill, which Sappi acquired from Rayonier Advanced Materials in 2019. AF&PA Releases September 2026 Packaging Papers Monthly Report The AF&PA has released the September 2026 Packaging Papers Monthly report. • Total packaging papers & specialty packaging ship- ments in September increased two percent compared to September 2025. They were up four percent when compared to the same nine months of 2025. • The unbleached packaging papers operating rate was 90.9 percent in September, the second highest so far this year and the third month it was above 90 percent in 2026. • Total imports of packaging papers were up nearly 10 percent year-to-date, with unbleached bag, sack & mul- tiwall up 24.2 percent. Imports of these papers from Canada were up nearly 30 percent year-to-date, while imports from other destinations were down 3.4 percent.

22 October 26, 2026

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Panelists (CONT’D FROM PAGE 1)

EDI or having to get specialized people to do EDI or just a hard process to all of a sudden it's ‘Hey, we need to do EDI implementation and let's fire this up and oh my gosh, watch how it just takes off and it shows me how to do it and oh look, it already documented everything.’ And when it's all done, there's a perfect log and record of it and then when the next guy comes along, it's already there. So just taking away all of that busy work that's just necessary to do it right and still let them move forward and be excited, that's a big win that I've seen within our team. Pickering: The greatest implementation I've seen is at the senior managers level when we're having these huge meetings with 16, 18, 20 people. The meetings are all being recorded and within 15 minutes of com- ing out of the C-suite, AI has composed everything that we were talking about, made a summary level and action points before we even get back to the of- fice. Everything's compiled quickly and efficiently. The speed of that is incredible and that has been done at no cost, which is absolutely fantastic. Ochi: Can any of you can share a risk that your team has been able to mitigate in the last year and what was really key to making progress against it? Anderson: When we think of risk, we think of availabili- ty and security, not even necessarily in that order. Security is always top of mind. Some of the things we've been do- ing around risk management is really around cybersecuri- ty and user education. We’re really trying to find a way to connect with our end users and make them understand the responsibility that they have to make the right choic- es every day. The bad guys are out there. It's a business for them and they take it seriously. It's an arms race, so anything we can do to stay on the defense and educate the users is good. We've been spending a lot of time get- ting up to speed, doing specific employee sessions, even bringing in the FBI. Medof: We've been very focused on upping our game around safety over the last eight months, and I think any- body involved in the business of safety knows that it's a continuous journey. Where we've really upped our game in the last months is focusing on behavioral-based safe- ty. Things that are very tangible, like engineer, hazard re- duction and engineered controls, those are very easy to understand and they're very tangible by their very nature. Behavioral-based safety, on the other hand, building a culture of awareness of safety all the way down to the line operator level, is very challenging and it requires a real cultural emphasis, cultural shift and constant work and dil- igence. Ochi: Les, I know we've spoken in the past about some Les Pickering

Medof: It’s no surprise that AI has been front and cen- ter. Dispersing AI development down to the lowest possi- ble level seems to be a best practice, obviously subject

to all the right security pre- cautions and controls. But at the user level, AI is real- ly enhancing productivity. I'll give just one example. One thing that we've seen in our business is the abil- ity to run ad hoc analyses. Things that would have taken an analyst, typical- ly a very qualified analyst or somebody with a col-

Billy Medof

lege degree and several years of business experience to run these types of analytics. Now these can be run at the user level, on the operations side, on the commercial side, on the sales and go-to-market side. The ability to run these analyses with the LLM of your choice, whether that's ChatGPT or Quad or Gemini, it really doesn't matter. For these purposes, all of them seem to be quite helpful and effective at running ad hoc analyses that are, frankly, astonishing me in their ability to identify pricing opportu- nities, margin improvement opportunities, labor savings opportunities, waste reduction opportunities, you name it. I would just encourage everybody to just dive in and start playing around. It's real low risk, real low downside, and the benefits that we've seen have been impressive. Anderson: I'm on the technology side, and one of the things that we've done recently is partner with some of our sheet feeders on the corrugated side and we’ve gotten a lot more IoT data. And what's fascinating to me is it's not a new thing. This stuff has been around for a while, but the reason I say that's a success for us is my

IT team, and a lot of the teams, is that they want to participate. You get into IT because you want to solve problems, and sometimes it's really hard sometimes to see problems out on the plant floor and not be able to have an impact. It was a win because sometimes in operations you get so busy fulfilling

Christopher Anderson

the daily orders it’s difficult to take a step back and look through the lens of innovation to do things differently, be- ing willing to change and learn. Hopefully we can capital- ize on that. Keslin: I think the one thing that stands out for me is watching our team use IT to teach themselves and gain confidence to do things that they had never done before. I've watched our IT team go from not really understanding

CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

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Panelists (CONT’D FROM PAGE 24)

Ochi: I want to follow up on that on culture and the workforce challenge that the industry is facing. Chris, would you mind sharing how Welch is bringing in a new generation and looking at culture and education. Keslin: We have a program called Early Career Profes- sionals--internally we just call it ECP--and every semes- ter when there's a new class of college graduates we'll

of the standard work you bring to the floor. Can you talk about how that may be an extension of the safety and kind of behavioral changes to help mitigate risk? Pickering: I had a conversation in Canada a few years ago where we talked about AI security and how hard it is now to break into companies. So, if I wanted to break into one of your companies, what I would do is I would sprin- kle a dozen USB drives on the car park [parking lot]. Now just think about that for a moment. I'm going to get inside the company. Somebody's going to plug that USB drive in and as soon as they do, you're in! The moral of this story is you need to also have a great policy about not being broken into from the outside. You need to have a great policy about plugging drives into your network internally. Something to think about. Anderson: One of the things that really grabbed my at- tention was if we had a recordable incident in any one of our plants, everybody from a plant manager and above had to get on a call, walk through the entire process, un- derstand how it happened, and then go through how we're going to mitigate it. At first, I thought that was an incredi- ble amount of resources to pour into one meeting. For 30 minutes, we had to go through this. We had to understand it. We had to figure out how do we disseminate that out to the rest of our team. That really struck to me how import- ant safety was in our organization.

agree to hire somewhere between five and seven grads across all majors. For example, one of our ECPs got his degree in comput- er science but he started in our program with box basics, then he was out on the floor for at least three to six months doing the job rotating through running a flexo, doing hand assem-

Chris Keslin

bly, working with the schedulers and really understanding how the box plant works. The overall goal is to try to bring up that knowledge from the core. Of the last five classes we’ve run, we’ only lost two individuals, so for the most part, they're sticking with it, the program is working and I’m absolutely thrilled. Ochi: Billy, you shared some great advice about bring- ing young talent in that are coming out of high school and CONTINUED ON PAGE 28

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Panelists (CONT’D FROM PAGE 26)

not do with the data, I think we're wrong. So, we need to develop the partnerships with the business, get them to understand and honestly recognize that it's their data, they own it. Keslin: When I first came into Welch, I had an open landscape where AI hadn't really been exposed to the general workforce yet. I just kind of took a step back and thought about how I could get this tool in the hands of people with the industry knowledge in a way it’s consum- able, usable, and safe for them. How could they harvest that information, then take that down to the next level and be able to provide it out to the consumers who benefit from that expertise? Then, how do we codify it into an ap- plication, something that's repeatable, something that can be governed, and then we can start rolling out? What is the right tool and how do you get it into their hands? How do you learn from it and secure it? That's been a huge topic internally for us. We're working at it every day. Ochi: From a business side, Billy, what are your rec- ommendations on working with the information and tech- nology people on a level of governance that satisfies all parties? Medof: I'll propose a thought experiment. Imagine it’s 35 years ago and you're making the decision whether to grant email access to the administrative team in your busi- ness. So, 35 years ago email's scary. So let's not do it. Let's not grant email access to any of our employees in the busi-

college. Can you repeat that? Medof: Sure. For what feels like almost 20 years, we've been in a fraught employment environment. It's just hard to find young people who are interested in working the kinds of jobs that we have in the corrugated and folding carton industries. That said, I do believe the tide is turning to an extent. There is a lot more positive momentum and energy out there about the value of manual work, especially with the threat of Artificial Intelligence. I think all of us have a story of someone we know who is just doing exceptionally well in the trades, be that HVAC or plumbing or electrical. So I do think the tide is shifting and it will continue to shift in our favor and it's up to us to capture that. Ochi: Let's shift to AI specifically. So as AI is expanding, we've talked about some of the opportunities that we've seen, some of the wins. What are your leaders thinking and what are you considering before putting AI into peo- ple's hands? Anderson: The I in IT stands for information, right? We focus on the technology and we forget the information part. And really, from an IT perspective, we're just stew- ards of the business's data, right? We're trying to present it in a way so they can make informed decisions to operate their business the best that they can. We've got to keep the data available, secure, and accurate. My point is that when IT is dictating what the business should or should

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Panelists (CONT’D FROM PAGE 28)

materials and the overall size. And the AI makes the struc- ture and creates the building materials within 25 minutes. But getting IT to be comfortable with that was difficult. And I think it's a learning point for IT as welL, a new frontier. Anderson: One thing that sticks out to me is the ques- tion of whether your IT leadership is an order taker or a vision maker. And I think most folks in the plant will view IT as you should be an order taker. If you bring in some soft- ware application, you need to configure the heck out of it to ensure it fits my process. I would also say that I favor IT as the vision maker. I think more often than not we would do better in our busi-

ness at all. Fast forward 35 years and it's inconceivable that any of us would lead a business where employees do not have email access. We would probably go out of business without email access. I look at agentic AI similarly, like we're the equivalent of 35 years ago with email. That's kind of where we are with agentic AI. And what I mean by agentic AI are true agents that are enabled and empowered and authorized to go out and perform tasks, that are authorized to scan through emails, shipping systems and bills of lading, to then send

automatic notices to customers. For me, the things Agen- tic AI can do is a little scary. I mean, personally, I'm not yet allowing an agent to crawl through my emails. Ochi: What does plant leadership and the whole team sometimes underestimate about bringing new technology, whether it's AI or physical equipment. Also, what does IT sometimes underestimate about running the plant? Anderson: It's all about managing change. In our IT department, we're lucky enough to have a lot of people who've worked on the plant floor and that’s a benefit. How- ever, it may also make people very resistant to change the status quo. Managing change getting is about people ex- cited about what the result is, creating an understanding an environment that they want to change, or at least that they're less resistant to change, then I think you have an opportunity to get a lot of wonderful things done. Keslin: We just rolled out these tools to all these em- ployees that have just gone, ‘Oh my gosh, where has this been all my life? I just built the perfect dashboard for my- self! It does exactly what I want! And then when my com- puter's off, it's still going to keep working!’ Being able to functionally use that prototype every day is saving a ton of time. Now we're going to have to industrialize this. We're going to have to be able to make it so that IT can take it over, so it can be supported and governed. It follows all of our data standards. Now it’s helping to navigate that large gap between ‘It's working now, so why isn't this ready to go next week,’ which is a really tough hill to climb. The question is, how do you make sure that this is scalable? Pickering: We build structures around the equipment from tubes and connectors. We don't buy things like that because catalog engineering doesn't give you advantage over the competition. Anybody can buy it. So we build ev- erything out of tubes and connectors. And at one time we had to buy this software schedule. We had to learn the software. We just point it to the website. Here's the catalog 30 Oct ober 26, 2026

nesses to reconfigure our processes versus reconfigure our technology. Ochi: Christopher, this June, the Royal Group, which is part of Schwarz Partners, announced a major leap forward in digital print for the corrugating industry with the installa- tion of a BHS Jetliner. I'm wondering if you can share any advice on the information technology aspect of bringing new equipment in, whether it is a digital printer or anything else that's a change, a notable change from what has been in the plant before. Anderson: As with most things, it's about the people and the partnership. Yeah, the Jetliner is really cool. I'm excited to be a part of an organization that is willing to invest and take those kinds of risks. But growing that out, it takes a lot of coordination and partnership. We have our team of engineers who know the systems backwards and forwards, but it also relies on the heavy investment in part- nership with not only BHS but with Amtech. Ochi: We have almost about 100 plants represented in this room a few big technology partners. is there anything you want this group to collectively lean into and maybe even something directly for Amtech? Medof: What an exciting time to be in our industry! Con- sumers have a decided preference for fiber-based pack- aging. Compare and contrast that to 15 years ago. It's really a different story. E-commerce continues to grow, and tech- nology is enabling things that we couldn't have imagined even five years ago. Obviously, there are plenty of risks and downsides that we need to pay attention to. We’re all here today because we're part of the Amtech ecosystem and there's plenty of opportunity around leaning into tech- nology if we put the work in. Amtech has the resources available for those who want to put the work in, who want to leverage technology to become more productive, to do what we all want to do, which is to sell more boxes. And so

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