IPANA NEWS
IPANA welcomes two new members! IPANA is pleased to welcome another new manufacturing member Elkhart Plastics based in South Bend, Indiana. Elkhart Plastics will be affiliated with the Rigid Intermediate Bulk Container Association. Mr. Cullen Jones is the point of contact for Elkhart Plastics. IPANA’s newest associate member is REMY International, S.A. based in Belgium. REMY International will be affiliated with the Industrial Steel Drum Institute (ISDI). Mr. Jean Matthews is the point of contact for Remy International. You can meet both of them at the Spring Conference in Napa Valley.
IPANA is gearing up for their Spring Meeting to be held in Napa, California. Registration for this meeting is exceptionally high and members can expect to see many of their former colleagues to help us celebrate the Industrial Steel Drum Institute’s 75th anniversary on April 30 during the evening networking reception. The IPANA affiliates will meet the morning of April 30 to discuss regulatory and technical issues. The afternoon will be free for members to enjoy the Napa area. The following day on May 1, Mr. Roland Strassburger, CEO of Schuetz GmbH and Co., will deliver the keynote address during the plenary session. Mr. Shane Kelly of PHMSA will provide an update on PHMSA activities. The session will close out with Elizabeth Schneider of the Wine for Normal People® podcast discussing the marketing of wine produced in the Napa Valley. You can listen to her podcast now by clicking here.
The Industrial Steel Drum Institute received notice from ANSI on final action on ANSIASC MH2-2018 Standard for Materials Handling (Containers) – Steel Drums and Pails. The Board of Standards Review published the notice of final action in an issue of Standards Action on 1/25/2019. A special thank you goes to the Chairman Dave Sovol of North Coast Container, as well as Phil Zamperin of Greif, and Chris Lind of Mauser Packaging Solutions for their help in completing this review. All ISDI members will receive a copy of the new standard for their use. If you would like additional copies please contact the IPANA office.
The Industrial Steel Drum Institute (ISDI) will continue their sponsorship of TRANSCAER® in 2019. TRANSCAER® is a voluntary national outreach effort, established in 1986, that focuses on assisting communities prepare for and respond to a possible hazardous material transportation incident. In 2018, ISDI conducted two highly successful educational webinars for first responders with over 400 registered participants and 123 call-ins. Mr. Chris Lind, formerly of Mauser USA LLC, conducted the webinars. In early 2019, the webinar was professionally recorded and posted on the ISDI and TRANSCAER® website. You can click here to view the webinar.
Regulatory Updates
The Department of Transportation has sent a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that will reform the hours-of-service regulations (HOS) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This NPRM is in response to industry complaints about the original HOS regulations and based on extensive stakeholder input. While at OMB, the contents are not public but Transportation Secretary Chao made the following comments, “I can’t go into the details or the specifics for this proposal, but let me note that the department understands the strong interest in increasing flexibility and is giving it serious consideration. We asked for your participation, and you participated.”
The Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced an update to their overtime rules with a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). This proposal would make more than a million workers eligible for overtime by increasing the minimum salary for overtime exemption to $35,308.00 per year. An automatic increase was not included but instead subject to periodic review. Under the current law, employees with a salary below $455 per week ($23,660 annually) must be paid overtime if they work more than 40 hours per week. Workers making at least this salary level may be eligible for overtime based on their job duties. This salary level was set in 2004. For more information click here.
News
As required by federal law, the Trump Administration has issued their 2019 Trade Policy Agenda and 2018 Annual Report. Included in the agenda are some key items including obtaining approval of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The administration also plans to launch new trade negotiations with Japan, the European Union, and the United Kingdom and to aggressively enforce U.S. trade laws in order to protect jobs.
It’s a wrap at Industrial Pack 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. This is the only event dedicated to the industrial shipping industry in the United States. Several IPANA members exhibited at the show including, Greif, Mauser Packaging Solutions, General Steel Drum, Myers Container, North Coast Container. Rieke Packaging Systems and CDF. IPANA Chairman Kyle Stavig delivered the opening address and discussed the “State of the Industrial Packaging Industry”. The Industrial Steel Drum Institute (ISDI), the Plastic Drum Institute (PDI) and the Rigid Intermediate Bulk Container Association (RIBCA) presented seminars on the basics of their respective packaging types as well as an educational session on polyethylene resin. A special thank you to Chris Lind, Herb Spann of Snyder Industries and Paul Griffin of LyondellBasell for taking the time to attend the show and conduct the educational webinars.
People, Places & Things
Mr. Jim Beardsley, former Chairman and CEO of North Coast Container, plans to retire in April 2019. The Industrial Steel Drum Institute (ISDI) will honor Mr. Beardsley with lifetime membership during the IPANA Spring meeting in Napa Valley. Mr. Beardsley is the former Vice-Chair and Treasurer of ISDI.
The International Confederation of Plastic Packaging Manufacturers (ICPP) has announced the retirement of Dr. Jurgen Bruder, General Secretariat, at the end of 2019. He has held this position since 1997. Mr. Torben Knoess, will succeed Dr. Bruder and be appointed at the upcoming May 1 General Assembly in Napa that follows the IPANA Spring conference. Mr. Knoess is a plastics engineer and joined Industrievereinigung Kunststoffverpackungen (IK) in July of 2018 where he is the expert in dangerous goods packaging and technical affairs.