Thank you to all PPC members, guests and sponsors—your participation helped make this year's conference a tremendous success!

Presentation PDFs (member access only)                    
Attendee List                           
Photos from the event

Key Takeaways

"Look for the goodness in your staff and recognize, reward, and celebrate their progress and achievements. They must know that what they do and who they are matters.” —Robert H. Chapman, Chairman and CEO, Barry-Wehmiller

“Future trends for packaging include packaging/product integration, mass customization, shorter product lifecycles, and the obsolescence of credit cards/cash registers.” —Jim Carroll, Trends and Innovation Expert

“Because there should be strong economic growth from 2015 to 2017—and legislation recently passed that is going to make it more difficult to secure a loan—now is the time to borrow money for needed capital improvements.” —Alan Beaulieu, President, Institute for Trend Research

“If you do not offer an affordable "minimum essential coverage" to at least 95% of your full-time staff, you may be penalized $2,000 annually (after tax) per full-time employee, pro-rated for each month you do not comply. So make sure you understand the new formula for determining what constitutes a part- and a full-time employee.” —Rob F. Huffaker, Jr., Vice President, BB&T Huffaker & Trimble

“The most successful ways to engage an older workforce are to provide job flexibility, retirement options, and ongoing learning opportunities. Most importantly, ask for your staff’s assistance in choosing their successors.” —Dr. Ann Bowers-Evangelista, President, Llumos LLC

7:30 a.m.                  Registration

7 a.m.                       Continental Breakfast

7:30 a.m.                  Registration

8 a.m.                       Welcome

7 a.m.                       Continental Breakfast

8 – 11:15 a.m.          General Sessions

• Ann Bowers-Evangelista, President of Llumos, LLC, will provide best practices in continuity planning, and then conduct an interactive workshop on how to recruit, engage, and transfer knowledge to the next generation of employees.
• Tiffany N. Adams, Vice President of Public Affairs for the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), will discuss current legislation affecting U.S. manufacturers.
• Alan Beaulieu, celebrated economist from the Institute of Trend Research, will reveal how the latest global economic trends will affect converters and the packaging industry.
• Robert Chapman, CEO of Barry-Wehmiller Companies, Inc., will describe the crisis in contemporary leadership and how to create a corporate culture where every employee matters.
• An authority on global trends and rapid business model change, Jim Carroll will offer concrete guidance on how to position your business for success during this period of economic uncertainty.
• Michael Housley, President of The Legacy Energy Group, will examine energy procurement strategies and opportunities for 2013 and beyond.
• Rob Huffaker, Vice President of BB&T Huffaker & Trimble, will explain how the healthcare system will soon change for employers and describe how to implement these changes.
• John Bacot, President of New Millennium Systems, LLC, will describe how to obtain, train, maintain, and measure the progress of a superior sales force.
• Paul Noe, Vice President of Public Policy at the American Forest and Paper Association (AF&PA), will describe what converters need to know about California’s Proposition 65.