PPC Folding Carton Boot Camp draws record attendance

The two-day workshop was held at PPC’s headquarters in Springfield, Massachusetts. The “boot camp,” which is offered twice each year, instructs attendees on the full gamut of materials and processes used in folding carton production.

The workshop is designed for anyone who is new to cartons and to non-plant personnel with limited experience outside a single plant operation.

“We don’t usually draw as many people to our December workshop as to the one we hold in the spring,” ​PPC spokesperson Kim Guarnaccia told FoodProductionDaily. “But attendees do say they get a lot out of it.”​

"For example, one of our Spring 2014 boot camp attendees said, 'I would recommend this to anyone coming into the paperboard carton business.'”​

Boxing days

The workshop’s curriculum opened with sessions on papermaking, described the different types of paperboard, and explained methods of recovering and recycling board. Next, attendees learned to distinguish between sheet- and web-fed processes, and were schooled in structural design, workflow, color theory, and inks and coatings.

Boot camp instructors also covered the various types of analog printing presses, digital presses, tooling, diecutting, windowing, and folding and gluing. Participants received certificates of achievement upon completing the workshop.

“The biannual Folding Carton Boot Camps provide industry newcomers with the knowledge base they need to contribute to their companies’ success,”​ PPC president Ben Markens said in a statement. “Since attendance is increasing with each consecutive year, I am pleased that our member companies and other industry organizations are finding great value in the programming.”​