Last month (see facing page) Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) ceo Bernie Rickinson, business development specialist Annette Bigglestone, Gordon Stewart, until recently Institute of Packaging ceo, (but now head of the packaging industry awards body the PIABC) and Starpack organiser Rachel Brooks provided an upbeat presentation on what members of the new IOP: The Packaging Society can expect in the way of benefits following the IOM3 and IOP's recent merger.
While early days, it was immediately clear that Rickinson's team are determined to provide former IOP members with a range of services they believe will be unprecedented in the Institute's history. Not only will they continue receiving such staples as the IOP magazine and directory and access to the Starpack and Student Starpack Awards, (the latter, they hope, with a significantly expanded range of awards), but Rickinson promises also to build on the IOP's education and training work, strengthen overseas links, hold more industry networking forums and to help foster both smart packaging development and closer designer/converter relationships. Couple this with plans for more lobbying, new working groups and a range of special events, for example a materials congress and masterclass, and it seems former IOP members should have plenty to smile about.
On the subject of events, Packaging Federation ceo Ian Dent has asked us to point out (with our apologies) that while he wishes the new Society well, it was in fact the Federation, and not the IOP (as wrongly stated in our May issue), that organised the successful House of Commons dinner held in conjunction with the final meeting for the last Parliament of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Packaging Manufacturing Industry.
In this issue, alongside the usual mix of news and features, you can learn about a successful project involving 50 UK pharmacies, dispensing doctors and hospital pharmacies which saw the packaging for 20,000 medical items RFID tagged in an attempt to reduce dispensing errors and improve patient safety. There is also a four-page Interpack review covering some of the more interesting developments at May's huge packaging extravaganza.
Jonathan Baillie
