Graphic Packaging hosts US students in the UK

Coordinated by Keith Barnes, Packaging Society chairman, and Ron Iwaszkiewicz from Michigan State University, the event is now in its 37th year and sees students from the university visit UK print and packaging companies.

As part of the 2015 trip, the students were taken on a tour of Graphic Packaging International’s Global Innovation Centre in Bardon, which showed them the environment in which packaging design teams work on projects for food and beverage customers. The Global Innovation Centre illustrates how work in the UK links to Europe, as well as to Atlanta and Chicago in the US, to form a global design network. The students were also shown the design prototype features of the new Zund S3 M800 plotters and Roland UV printer installed at the site. These produce realistic and color accurate samples, so that customers are able to see exactly the impact their products will make on the store shelf.

Benson Group, which was recently rebranded as Graphic Packaging International following the successful conclusion of a takeover, has previously hosted students from Michigan State University.

‘We are delighted to introduce Graphic Packaging International into the annual student tour and the new Global Innovation Centre shows how work in our industry is spread across the globe,’ said Barnes. ‘We look forward to bringing a new batch of students in 2016.’

Nikki Clark, marketing manager for Europe at Graphic Packaging International, said: ‘The one million USD investment at the Bardon site is not just forward-thinking in terms of the buildings and equipment, but it is an investment in the brightest people working in the industry, giving them the space and tools that allows their creativity to flourish.’