CPULD and SBIO students attend PackEXPO International

Thirty packaging major students from the Department of Sustainable Biomaterials and the Center for Packaging and Unit Load Design (CPULD) were among the 40,000 attendees of the last PackEXPO International which was held in Chicago, IL. PackEXPO is the nation’s largest trade show for the packaging industry and provided our students with the opportunity to connect with packaging companies from around the world. The trip was organized by members of the PS&D Club, which aims to provide packaging students with career opportunities while fostering connections and hosting events.

Virginia Tech’s booth was extra-large this year due to the work of Drs. Laszlo Horvath, Eduardo Molina, and Jennifer Russell who submitted the proposal which was accepted by the conference organizers. Virginia Tech was one of two universities approved to present the future of sustainability in the packaging industry. The Hokie booth gave examples of how to use sustainable materials to solve specific packaging problems and also discussed the wider perspective of how to use environment-minded strategies in a trillion-dollar industry.

Many who attended PackEXPO participated in competitions that helped them gain hands-on experience with the industry. One competition in particular was the Amazing Packaging Race during which student groups visited various booths and solved problems, completed tasks, and took quizzes. Tasks included such things as programming a robot, listening to a company’s info speech, or simply taking a picture with a specific package. This year was the first time that high school student groups were also invited to compete.

According to the PackEXPO website, they “offer activities aimed at getting students excited about careers in packaging and processing and connecting them with professional mentors in the industry. In addition to exciting networking events and student programs, PackEXPO International is the best place to see never-before-seen solutions from 2,000+ leading suppliers on the show floor, bringing more than 40 vertical industries together to generate a cross-pollination of ideas and crossover solutions.”