In a special ceremony coinciding with PACK EXPO International 2008 (Chicago, McCormick Place; Nov. 9–13), five career packaging professionals will be inducted into the Packaging Hall of Fame™.

This year’s presentation, held at the Hyatt McCormick Hotel on Nov. 11, will honor Jim Goodman, Goodman Packaging; Tom Lowery, Ethan Allen; Ben Miyares, PMMI; Eric Nord, Nordson Corporation (posthumously); and Herb Schueneman, Westpak Inc.

“Members of the Packaging Hall of Fame Class of 2008 represent a broad cross section of the packaging supply chain, and their achievements reflect well on the caliber of the industry as a whole,” noted Charles D. Yuska, PMMI president & CEO.

Each year since 1971, the Packaging Hall of Fame has recognized industry professionals who have made significant contributions to the advancement of the packaging industry and packaging education efforts. A special Packaging Hall of Fame Commission, representing a cross section of the packaging community, selected Goodman, Lowery, Miyares, Nord and Schueneman from a pool of nominees.

Tickets for the ceremony and subsequent reception are $75 per person, and can be purchased online at PMMI.org. Companies may choose to purchase corporate table sponsorships, which include individual tickets. Proceeds will be used to support packaging education program through the PMMI Education & Training Foundation.

Below is a sampling of what the 2008 Packaging Hall of Fame inductees have accomplished over their careers:

Jim Goodman
When he launched Goodman Packaging in 1972, Jim Goodman created a market-leading packaging machinery solutions provider. In 1978, Goodman Packaging was the first company to develop and deploy top load case packing equipment. The company has been a world-wide market leader ever since.

Goodman himself is a pioneer in case packaging product engineering, having filed 27 patents relating to top load packaging (horizontal and vertical), product handling, and product orienting.

Goodman has focused his extensive packaging education efforts primarily through his company’s considerable interaction and direct involvement with the University of Illinois. By continually sponsoring internships, introducing the industry to college students, and ultimately hiring graduates, Goodman has enhanced the knowledge and understanding of packaging.

The company has also sponsored events and donated monies via PMMI’s Education and Training Foundation Golf Tournament and PACK EXPO Scholarship program.

Tom Lowery
Tom Lowery has been well known and respected in the packaging industry for 35 years. Through his employment at Ethan Allen, and active involvement in packaging-oriented trade associations, Lowery has promoted and elevated the field of packaging worldwide.

Lowery started his career in packaging at Preferred Plastics, designing and selling expanded polystyrene foam cushioning. In 1982, Lowery joined Ethan Allen, where he has since held a variety of corporate positions supporting all facets of packaging.

Lowery worked with a broad group of furniture and packaging experts to help create performance testing standards Items 180 and 181 within the NMFCC for general commodities and furniture, and under his leadership, Ethan Allen became the first company to adopt performance testing standards, rather than the traditional materials standards, to certify compliance with carrier requirements.

Lowery has long been a supporter and active member of the Society for Packaging and Handling Engineers (SPHE), serving in every leadership position in the Connecticut chapter (twice as president). He has also served in all chairs on the Society’s national board — including education, chapters, technical and president and chairman. He was twice named the SPHE Member of the Year and has been a Certified Packaging Professional with the Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP). As SPHE’s final chairman of the board, Lowery in 1989 successfully led the Society’s effort to merge with PII and create IoPP. He was named co-chairman of the new organization in November 1989.

Lowery has been a part of 12 Ameristar Package Design Awards. He’s been named an IoPP Fellow Member, and recently was named an Honorary Life Member.

Lowery has also been actively involved in the support of packaging departments at Michigan State University, Rutgers University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Clemson University and San Jose State University.

Ben Miyares
Ben joined PMMI as vice president, Industry Relations, in 1998. He has been active in the packaging business since 1963 — as a writer, market analyst, packaging consultant, conference organizer, commentator and frequent speaker on packaging topics at numerous international conferences, association meetings, corporate and consumer programs.

He is editor and publisher of Ben Miyares’ Packaging Management Update®, a free, weekly online publication from PMMI.

Miyares joined Food & Drug Packaging (now Food & Beverage Packaging) as assistant editor in 1963. During his tenure with the publication, he moved up through the ranks to become managing editor, editor and editorial director. Other publications for which he has served as editorial director include Hard & Soft Goods Packaging, Paperboard Packaging and Glass Packer magazines, and the Packaging Innovations and Official Board Markets newsletters.

Between 1990 and 1996, Miyares was the principal writer/reporter/editor of the bi-weekly Packaging Strategies newsletter. In 1996, he launched the industry’s first daily packaging headline service on the Web, Ben Miyares’ Packaging Management Update®. PMMI acquired Ben Miyares’ Packaging Management Update in 1998.

Miyares is an Honorary Lifetime Member and Fellow of the Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP), and was named "Packaging Professional of the Year" by the Packaging Institute/International in 1988. He is a member of the International Packaging Press Organisation (IPPO). His market analyses, editorials and commentaries have won many citations and awards, including three Jesse H. Neal awards for "outstanding achievement in business magazine journalism."

Eric Nord
Eric T. Nord, who passed away in June 2008, is being honored posthumously.

Nord is known throughout the industry as an inventor, engineer, and the founder of industry leader, Nordson Corporation. In the 1950’s, Nord began work on prototype equipment that could spray a resin that was solid at room temperature but fluid at 180 degrees. In May of 1960, Nord filed his first adhesive spray gun patent, and launched the future that became Nordson Corporation.

Nord retired as Nordson’s president in 1974, but remained CEO until 1983. His spirit of continuous innovation and his belief in always finding a better way continue to influence Nordson today, and the packaging industry continues to benefit from his developed technology.

Nord’s dedication to packaging education continues: In total, the Nord Family Foundation, Nordson Corporation, The Eric and Jane Nord Foundation and the Community Foundation of Greater Lorain County, has donated more than $100 million for charitable and educational causes.

Herb Schueneman
As a packaging engineer for Western Electric Company, Herb Schueneman designed and tested returnable crating systems for high technology electronic telephone switching apparatus. The result of this package system provided increased protection for the product at a reduced cost, eliminating the waste associated with disposable packaging methods. He was presented with the Western Electric Engineering Outstanding Achievement Award.

At Clorox, Schueneman was responsible for managing the dynamics testing laboratory. During his tenure, he helped develop test procedures that resulted in saving $3 million annually in packaging components costs.

At Lansmont Corporation, his accomplishments included a four fold increase in company sales, international recognition for the seminar series and the design of several new pieces of packaging testing equipment.

Schueneman is the co-founder and president of Westpak, Inc. Westpak tests packages for a wide variety of products from a worldwide list of customers.

Most of his career has been spent in the field of packaging education. He holds a BS in Packaging from Michigan State University and an MBA with honors from Northern Illinois University. Until recently, he was the packaging program director at San Jose State University. As Program Director, he was responsible for student recruitment, academic program enhancement and scholarship programs. He continues at SJSU as an adjunct professor and instructor.

Schueneman, a Lifetime Certified Professional of the Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP), was inducted into the College of Fellows in 1994. He has served as the chapter president, IoPP, Golden Gate Chapter.

He received the R. David Lebutt Packaging Education Award from the International Safe Transit Association (ISTA), and is a member of the American Society for Testing and Materials and the Institute of Environmental Sciences and Testing, and American Society for Quality Control.

About PMMI
PMMI is a trade association with more than 550 member companies that manufacture packaging and packaging-related converting machinery, commercially-available packaging machinery components, containers and materials in the United States and Canada. PMMI’s vision is to be the leading global resource for packaging, and its mission is to improve and promote members’ abilities to succeed in a global marketplace. PMMI organizes the PACK EXPO trade shows: PACK EXPO International, PACK EXPO Las Vegas and EXPO PACK México. Learn more about PMMI at pmmi.org.

PACK EXPO International will be held November 9-13, 2008 at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois. The show will be co-located with PROCESS EXPO and Converting & Package Printing EXPO. PMMI also produces EXPO PACK México, the premier packaging show in Mexico serving the Latin American region. This show will be held June 24-27, 2008 at Centro Banamex, Mexico City, Mexico. PACK EXPO Las Vegas will be held October 5-7, 2009 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Visit www.packexpo.com for more information.