SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING IS THE NAME OF THE GAME Acorn Packaging INVESTING IN THE FUTURE Federal Foam Technologies, Inc. SHINING LIKE A DIAMOND Fullerton Tool Company MANUFACTURINGINFOCUS.COM AU G U ST 2 023 Equipping excellence at every stage. Drive Effi ciency in Your Research. Effi ciency in Your Research. Drive Effi ciency in Your Research. Drive Effi ciency in Your Research.Research.Research.Research.Research. PRESERVATI ON PROVEN ST AB LE ST OR AGE CON SIS TE NT CULT UR IN G Equipping excellence at every stage. Drive Effi ciency in Your Research. Effi ciency in Your Research. Drive Effi ciency in Your Research. Drive Effi ciency in Your Research.Research.Research.Research.Research. PRESERVATI ON PROVEN ST AB LE ST OR AGE CON SIS TE NT CULT UR IN GEDITOR’S CORNER Equipping excellence at every stage. Drive Effi ciency in Your Research. Effi ciency in Your Research. Drive Effi ciency in Your Research. Drive Effi ciency in Your Research.Research.Research.Research.Research. PRESERVATI ON PROVEN ST AB LE ST OR AGE CON SIS TE NT CULT UR IN G Equipping excellence at every stage. Drive Effi ciency in Your Research. Effi ciency in Your Research. Drive Effi ciency in Your Research. Drive Effi ciency in Your Research.Research.Research.Research.Research. PRESERVATI ON PROVEN ST AB LE ST OR AGE CON SIS TE NT CULT UR IN G 3 I remember my father once going on a rant (a humorous one) about granola bars for lunches. Specifically about the packaging: a plastic grocery bag holding a box containing individu- ally wrapped granola bars. To him, this was ridiculous. He joked that we should probably eat the plastic too! Or that we would end up eating it anyways, as it ended up in landfills and water supply. In hindsight, it’s interesting (and worrisome) to see just how right he was, with microplastics showing up just about everywhere. But packaging is necessary. Yes, we all want to be environ- mentally friendly, but we also demand the convenience and safety of individually wrapped snacks to throw in kids’ lunches. It might be appalling to see the state of waste in our society, or the great pacific garbage patch (made up of mostly packag- ing materials) but when it comes down to what we buy, we consumers still go for the convenience of effective packaging. With the significant increase in shipped items, as well as changes in awareness and customer demands around packaging, the industry is changing and growing. And that growth is also driving innovation, as both producers and consumers aim for maximum convenience and performance with minimal cost and negative impact. Check out William Young’s latest piece about it here, in Innovation, All Wrapped Up – Modern Packaging. Tim Hocken Editor Suite 300, 7071 Bayers Rd. | Halifax, NS | B3L 2C2 | Canada P: 1-647-479-2163 | E: EDITOR Tim Hocken DEPUTY EDITOR Jaime McKee COPY EDITORS Thora Smith | Allister Havercroft CONTRIBUTING WRITERS William Young | Allison Dempsey | Claire Suttles Pauline Müller | Robert Hoshowsky Karen Hawthorne | Jessica Ferlaino DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS James Corbett OPERATIONS MANAGER Severina Gachparova SENIOR CONTENT DEVELOPERS Scott Forbes | Aaron Ferguson CONTENT DEVELOPERS Taylor Dunne | Jamal Francis-Anderson Lily Mitchell | Dean Lucas | Wendy Hood-Morris SALES TEAM Pamela Taylor | Morgan Culpepper | Dean Lucas GRAPHIC DESIGN TEAM LEAD Laura Pratt GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Ashley Dowling | Ebic Tristary | Yoana Ilcheva OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR Julia MacQueen IT ADMINISTRATOR Rebecca Sanford CONTROLLER Jen Hamilton PUBLISHER Jeff Hocken “Growth in the packaging industry is driving innovation, as both producers and consumers aim for maximum convenience and performance with minimal cost and negative impact.”INSIDE AUGUST FOCUS ON: PACKAGING FOCUS ON: NATIONAL ELECTRICAL MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION (NEMA) FABRICATION & MACHINING 4 Modern Packaging Current trends seem to indicate that big shifts are coming to the packaging industry in the next decade. Research pub- lished by data company Smithers shows that, in the next five years, the global packaging market will be continuing an expan- sion of almost three percent per annum, amounting to a financial peak of $1.2 trillion. SERVICES 5 MANUFACTURING IN FOCUS PACK EXPO LAS VEGAS 11 – 13 September, Las Vegas, NV Every two years, PACK EXPO Las Vegas brings together packaging and processing solutions suppliers and end users from more than 40 vertical industries. Exhibitors launch products, showcase their latest innovations, and problem-solve with customers. Attendees explore thousands of packaging and processing technologies on display and discover game-changing solutions to their packaging and processing challenges. For more information THE BATTERY SHOW AND ELECTRIC & HYBRID VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY EXPO 12 – 14 September, Novi, MI This event brings together engineers, business leaders, top companies, and innovative thinkers to network and discover groundbreaking products encompassing the entire advanced battery and H/EV value chain. The three-day educational event brings together battery and EV/HEV manufacturers, industry experts, thought leaders, and academics to discuss and help solve your manufacturing, supply chain, and production challenges. For more information BIOMEDEVICE 20 – 21 September, Boston, MA BIOMEDevice Boston brings engineers, business leaders, disruptive companies, and innovative thinkers from the region’s top startups and medical device OEMs together to inspire the next life-changing medical device. Enjoy live demos and uncover the latest technologies, solutions and market-ready products from more than 200 biomed suppliers, and gain access to the experts with exciting keynote sessions, expert-led panel discussions, the Master Class Startup Series conference program, and more. For more information NATURAL PRODUCTS EXPO EAST 20 – 23 September, Philadelphia, PA With a focus on innovation and what’s new in natural and organic, Natural Products Expo East is the event to attend if you wish to discover emerging brands, products, ideas, and markets. Enjoy educational content, networking opportunities, exciting exhibits, the Harvest Festival on Sept. 20, and the newly co-located Innovation Experience on Sept. 22, featuring innovative exhibits, experiential education, networking, and discussion. For more information ADVANCED MANUFACTURING MINNEAPOLIS 10 – 11 October, Minneapolis, MN Don’t miss the Midwest’s largest annual “end-to-end” design and manufacturing event! Explore the latest technologies, equipment, and solutions at this five-in-one event bringing together Medical Design & Manufacturing (MD&M), Automation Technology Expo (ATX), Design & Manufacturing (D&M), MinnPack, and Plastec, all under one roof. Co-located are the Minnesota Chapter of the American Society for Quality’s Minnesota Quality Conference and the Surface Mount Technology Association’s International Electronics Manufacturing Conference and Exposition. For more information INDUSTRY EVENTS 6 Are you planning an event relating to North America’s growing Manufacturing Industry? To get your event listed in Manufacturing in Focus, please contact us at least six to eight weeks before the event takes place at or call 1-647-479-2163INDUSTRY NEWS THE SECOND COMING OF THE FLIP PHONE Maybe it’s the Gen Z love of vinyl records, or the hipster infatuation with typewrit- ers, but another outdated technology is making a big comeback: flip phones. Often parodied as being carried around by middle-aged men in belt holsters, flip phones were front and centre at the recent Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event U.S. MANUFACTURING HIGH, BUT CHALLENGES PERSIST Across the United States, manufacturing employment has reached peak levels not seen since the presidency of George W. Bush in 2008. Despite the encourag- ing news, the sector continues to deal with a lack of workers. The CHIPS Act and Inflation Reduction Act are credited with spurring American man- ufacturing. However, actual job growth continues stagnating, leaving many com- panies worried about the future. According to recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, construction spending on U.S, manufacturing nearly doubled in just a year, rising from $110 billion USD last May to $194 million USD in 2023. In a recent release on job opening and labour turnover, the Bureau stated, “The number of job openings decreased to 9.8 million on the last business day of May. Over the month, the number of hires and total separations were little changed at 6.2 million and 5.9 million, respectively. Within separations, quits (4.0 million) increased, while layoffs and discharges (1.6 million) changed little. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the total nonfarm sector, by industry, and by establish- ment size class.” Recent years have seen the federal government pump billions of dollars in subsidies into electronics manufactur- ing and sustainable energy, including electric vehicle (EV) production and solar panels. These initiatives, along with domestic computer chip manufacturing, are aimed at making America better able to compete with goods made offshore. in Seoul. While the new generation, like the Samsung Z Flip 5, bears refinements over flip phones from years past, the $999 USD price tag is definitely up-to-date. Thinner and more square than familiar rectangular flip phones, there is still a striking familiarity with versions from the late 1990s and early 2000s. Introducing its first Flip model in 2020, the latest incarnation improves on some aspects— screen size and flatter, more reliable hinges in particular. Considering electronics manufacturers sold 14.2 million flip and foldable phones in 2022, it is fair to say this technology won’t be going away any time soon. Framesira / shutterstock.com 7INDUSTRY NEWS WOULD YOU LIKE SOME SALT WITH YOUR LITHIUM? It is impossible today to read the news without hearing about lithium. Deriving its name from ‘lithos,’ the Greek word for stone, the soft, silvery metal is widely used in batteries powering everything from electric vehicles (EVs) to smartphones, laptop computers, and life-saving pacemakers. According to Statista, the demand for lithium is skyrocketing. Last year, the world’s lithium mines produced about 130,000 metric tons. This marks a huge increase from 2010s global lithium production of 28,100 metric tons. Some, including Elon Musk, have gone as far as calling lithium “the new oil.” With its many uses, lithium is a hot commodity, and with so many manufacturers using the metal, prices keep going up. Recently, Arizona State University scientists suggested a unique approach to other battery technologies and replacing lithium, namely diluting it with sodium. The research team behind the recently presented paper Thermodynamics of Li xNa1-xCoO2 Layered Oxides – A Potential Lithium Saving Battery Cathode Material state that inexpensive sodium, abundant in seawater, would make lithium cheaper, and less taxing on mining and the environment. According to the paper’s abstract, the team is investigating the “thermodynamic stability of cathode materials in which a portion of the lithium content has been replaced with sodium ions. Thermodynamic data for this series of compounds via high temperature drop solution calorimetry will help to inform whether a portion of lithium in Li-ion battery cathode materials can be replaced with sodium without significant degradation of stability and battery performance.” If feasible, incorporating salt with lithium would go toward a sustainable future for lithium-ion batteries. 8INDUSTRY NEWS LG RELEASES SUSTAINABILITY REPORT One of the world’s foremost electronics and appliance manu- facturers, Korea’s LG recently announced its 33-page 2022-2023 Sustainability Report: Better Life for All. Among the key points in the report is the company’s emphasis on two major areas, “3Cs” for the planet (carbon neutrality and clean technology), and “3Ds” for people. This includes diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I), and a good workplace and design for all. In 2023, LG’s global sites demonstrated combined global direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions of 92.7 million tons. This represents a significant 22 million ton decrease from the previous year and shows LG is upholding its pledge to achieve Net Zero (direct and indirect) by 2030. Other highlights include a recorded renewable energy conversion rate of 8.2 percent, and the company recovering 472,876 tons of combined elec- tronic waste from 52 countries in 2022. “Moving forward, we will continue to strive to create a ‘Better Life for All’ by sincerely listening to the opinions of all of our stakeholders such as customers, employees, suppliers, inves- tors, and local communities,” stated William (Joo-Wan) Cho, CEO and President of LG Electronics. Since 2006, LG has published its sustainability report annually. The latest sustainability report is available CANADA GOOSE LAUNCHES RESALE PROGRAM The global fashion industry has a reputation for being trendy, stylish, and at times, wasteful. Responsible for about 10 percent of the planet’s carbon emissions, the sector is also one of the biggest users of water, responsible for consuming about 80 trillion liters of water every year. And if that wasn’t enough, Earth.org estimates 92 million tons of garments end up in landfill annually. One company making a positive environmental difference is luxury brand Canada Goose. The Toronto-based business recently announced it is bringing its Generations program to Canada. The platform will allow customers to trade in and purchase gently used Canada Goose parkas, trench coats, knitwear, and other pieces of clothing. The company has been involved in environmental initiatives for years—such as committing to 100 percent sustainable packaging and transitioning to preferred fibres and materials (PFMs) by 2025. The Generations initiative supports its 2025 sustainability goals. According to Canada Goose, the market for resale clothing is growing faster than regular commerce, and it is estimated that about 80 percent of customers under 30 purchase secondhand goods. rblfmr / shutterstock.com 9Next >