ISTA Views

DECEMBER | 2016

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2 ista views • December 2016 • www.ista.org ISTA HEADQUARTERS 1400 Abbot Road Suite 160 East Lansing, Michigan 48823 USA tel: 517.333.3437 fax: 517.333.3813 www.ista.org President A.J. Gruber ajgruber@ista.org ext. 212 Vice President - Technical Eric Hiser ehiser@ista.org ext. 218 Lead Instructor Larry Dull larrydull@ista.org Vice President - Education Lisa Bonsignore lisa@ista.org ext. 215 Vice President - Communications Kathy Joneson kjoneson@ista.org ext. 214 Director - Membership Megan Riegel megan@ista.org ext. 217 ISTA welcomes questions and feedback from our members and non-members. Please feel free to contact us to help you find the information you need. Hello ISTA Members, As we approach year-end, it's a good opportunity to look back on the year gone, as well as think about events to come and the great opportunities ahead for 2017. 2016 saw another awesome TransPack Forum at Orlando; The Forum continues from strength to strength, not least propelled by commitment and involvement from the superb speakers who offer their first class insights to us all. The year has also seen the first Asia Pacific Packaging Symposium back in April, a milestone deliverable of the newly formed Asia Pacific Board; the event was a huge credit to the AP Board and ISTA staff teams involved. During October, the ISTA China Symposium was held in Tianjin, attracting strong audience and technical discussion alike – huge credit due to the CPRTC and ISTA staff teams. It's notable that one of ISTA's key objectives is to be truly global; these events are testament to the progress being made against that goal; it's also notable that ISTA's international membership continues to grow at an impressive rate. Marked progress has been made in ISTA's technical relevancy too, with 2016 seeing numerous procedure improvements and exciting developments working with Amazon on e-Commerce. In parallel great strides have been made with procedures 3A, 3B and 3E being recognized by the FDA as consensus standards. In addition, and no small accomplishment, the Advocate Research and Value Delivery Program is reaching an exciting stage, particularly with project progress around global supply chain mapping, an area that continues to be of critical interest to all. With funding now at $1.5 million, the Advocacy Program represents the opportunity to fulfil the most ambitious technical deliverables in ISTA's history. So for 2017, focus will continue on e-Commerce (with a goal to publish ISTA's e-Commerce procedure by year-end) and with understanding global shipping environments including India and China through the Advocacy Program. Furthermore, in support of delivering greater user experience for members, 2017 will see an initiative around online test planning and reporting – its early days, but the goal is to develop an outline prototype during the year, so watch this space. 2017 will see continued delivery of first class educational events. The TransPack Forum (during April 18-21 in Orlando, Florida) will see dedicated tracks on sustainability, pharma and testing of tomorrow. It is exciting that 2017 will see a return to the European Packaging Symposium, hosted by ITENE during 7-9 March, in Valencia, Spain, so check out the programme for the event to see the focus in Europe right now. Building on the inaugural Asia Pacific Symposium success, a second AP Symposium will be held during November 1-3, 2017, in Bangkok, Thailand. As we set up for these events, please continue with your great feedback and suggestions; your contribution allows us to improve and develop year on year. Your suggestions on how to make ISTA better are always welcome, and thank you. Reflecting on ISTA's overall position, your Association grows from strength to strength. ISTA's core values, centred around delivering excellence for you as members, continues to propel us forward. The huge efforts of our volunteer base at large, our Boards and working groups, our Advocates and Sponsor Supporters, and of course the whole staff team, have brought us to a great position: the Association has far reaching technical accomplishment and farther reaching technical ambition. The Association has never been positioned with such stability, member support and overall health and strength, which bodes well for our future delivering greater value to you. So it only remains for me to thank you all for your continued support in enabling this to happen. Wishing you well for a successful end to 2016, and to a prosperous 2017. Exciting times ahead. ISTA Global Board Chair Sam Sheppard Fidler, Smithers Pira Inside ISTA Headquarters

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