This week is the event we wait for all year long: the judging of PPC’s North American Paperboard Packaging Competition! Day in and day out, our members work hard designing and manufacturing amazing folding cartons and rigid boxes, and the Carton Competition allows them to put that work on display for peers, customers, prospects, and the industry at large. We reveal the winners each year during our Fall Meeting, but for now it’s time for our esteemed judges to evaluate the entries!

Designers are a key asset to any paperboard packaging manufacturer. Although some customers may approach their manufacturer with a complete design, others look to the manufacturer’s designers for unique and ingenious packaging solutions. With customers’ packaging in their hands, it is crucial that the design team be a wellspring of creative ideas and unique concepts. Fortunately, creativity isn’t a genetic trait that some have while others don’t. Creativity is a human quality that can be nurtured and expanded—often in ways that seem counterintuitive. Here are four surprising ways to boost a design team’s creativity. 

TICCIT 2017 was a great success. This year, participating members and organizations distributed 15,785 tree saplings to students throughout the country. That's 15,785 more life-giving trees in the world, and 15,785 students who now know more about the sustainability and recyclability of paper!

It’s springtime. Flowers are in bloom and folks are cleaning out their homes. But spring cleaning can happen in your job or business too. Now is a great time to look inward and assess the areas you can improve, the things you can eliminate, and what you need to do to succeed. PPC members did just that at our recent Spring Meeting in Charlotte, NC. If you weren’t able to make it, fear not! Here are a few of the key ideas we considered.

It’s time again for TICCIT, PPC’s signature Earth Day outreach program. Short for Trees Into Cartons, Cartons Into Trees, participating organizations educate local school children about sustainability and the environmental benefits of trees. We recently talked TICCIT with Rhonda Shelton and Amy Payne from PPC member Southern Champion Tray (SCT). They’ve coordinated and presented TICCIT on behalf of SCT for years. Here’s their perspective.