Teleconference on the Business of Corrugated Packaging & Displays and the Career Opportunities

Each year the International Corrugated Packaging Foundation (ICPF) conducts an interactive Teleconference on the Business of Corrugated Packaging & Displays and the Career Opportunities for packaging, graphic design, marketing & sales, business, engineering, supply chain and related students from colleges and universities across North America. Corrugated packaging & displays industry executives present topics of interest to students and faculty, and answer questions from the 450 - 500 students participating from 18 to 20 remote campuses. The Teleconferences are moderated by recent graduates or student interns from ICPF partner universities who were prepared and recruited to the corrugated packaging & displays industry through ICPF's resources. The Teleconference is not a webinar, but an actual, interactive video broadcast utilizing PBS producers and studios in East Lansing, Michigan. The two hour conference also includes the live  "Best of the Best" student design presentation competition with cash awards to competing student teams. The evening before the Teleconference, ICPF hosts its annual student / executive dialogue dinner where top students join the Teleconference speakers and local industry executives for dinner to learn more about corrugated packaging & display industry careers. Faculty are encouraged to contact info@icpfbox.org or call 703.549.8580 for participation information for next year's teleconference. If you are a student who wishes to participate in a future Student Dialogue Dinner or the Teleconference, contact info@icpfbox.org or call ICPF at the number above.

2021 Teleconference on the Business of Corrugated Packaging & Displays

Almost 400 students and faculty from 17 universities participated in ICPF’s 2021Teleconference on the Business of Corrugated Packaging & Displays and the Career Opportunities that was conducted on April 1, 2021.  Though due to pandemic restrictions the Teleconference had a much different look and structure this year, participation exceeded expectations. The Zoom program, moderated by Kelsea Potthast (University of Florida Business Administration/marketing and Packaging Science minor), began with the presentation of a video on various technology utilized by the industry.  Click Here to see the Experience Center video.

Keynote speaker Brian McPheely, Global CEO of VISY/ Pratt Industries, followed with a detailed overview on the business of corrugated packaging & displays.  Students then were transferred to 15 individual and preassigned breakout sessions where they directly asked industry questions that were answered by 15 representatives from Buckeye Corrugated Inc., Green Bay Packaging, Lawrence Packaging Corporation, Packaging Corporation of America, Pratt Industries, WestRock Corporation, and the UniCorr Packaging Group.  Throughout the Teleconference students were advised to visit ICPF’s career portal regularly where they can apply to employment opportunities posted by these and other ICPF corporate partner firms throughout the year.

Participating universities included Appalachian State University, Bowling Green State University, Cal Poly, Clemson University, Illinois state University, Indiana State University, Lewis Clark State College, Michigan State University, Millersville University, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina State University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rutgers University, University of Florida, University of Texas-Arlington, University of Wisconsin-Stout, and Virginia Tech.

The hundreds of students who joined the Teleconference posted their resumes in ICPF’s career portal’s resume bank prior to the broadcast.  Their resumes can be viewed among the over 500 active student, and upcoming 2021 graduate resumes currently posted there.   Those firms that are active ICPF corporate partners have immediate access to the resume bank after posting current positions for student interns or new graduates. CLICK HERE to see the Teleconference general session presentation.

Past Teleconferences

Click below to watch the videos from recent Teleconferences.

Several of the conference topics covered during the Teleconference on the Business of Corrugated Packaging & displays have included the latest innovations and sustainability advances in the corrugated packaging industry; the latest digital printing technology; the diverse and challenging careers in corrugated packaging & displays; marketing and sales careers within the industry; innovations in corrugated structures and graphic design; and the anticipated future for the corrugated packaging industry. ICPF encourages packaging, graphic design, marketing & sales, supply chain management, engineering, business and related students to participate in the next interactive Teleconference. For more information, email ICPF at info@icpfbox.org.