2026 Corrugated Week Brings Industry Together for Education, Innovation, and Connection

November 6, 2026

Nearly 1,600 industry professionals came together at the Fort Worth Convetion Center and Omni Fort Worth in Texas. (Photos by Z Town Media.)

Nearly 1,600 corrugated industry professionals gathered in Fort Worth, Texas, September 28–30, for Corrugated Week 2026, jointly hosted by AICC and TAPPI. The three-day event brought the industry together for technical education, new technology, networking, and conversations focused on the challenges and opportunities shaping corrugated manufacturing.

Building relationships is a foundational aspect of Corrugated Week.

Held at the Fort Worth Convention Center and Omni Fort Worth, Corrugated Week combined a robust technical program with an exhibit floor featuring more than 140 industry suppliers, giving attendees opportunities to explore equipment, technology, software, services, and other solutions for corrugated operations.

Session Highlights

Laurent Sellier, president and CEO of Smurfit Westrock North America, delivered the opening keynote, providing an industry leadership perspective on the forces shaping corrugated manufacturing and the fiber-based packaging supply chain. The conference concluded with a keynote from Will Cain, host of The Will Cain Show, who shared perspectives on leadership, business, and current issues.

The educational sessions reflected the range of issues facing today’s corrugated industry. The Tuesday breakout program opened with AI: Extracting and Leveraging Practical Solutions, moderated by Aleks Zlatic of Aurum Intelligence, with Jason Alvarez of Break the Uncertainty, Chris Blizzard of Acme Corrugated, Jason Hooston of Two10 Technologies, Tom Trinchi of Jamestown Container, and Philip Webb of Pakked.

Smurfit Westrock North America President and CEO Laurent Sellier speaks to the industry supply chain in his address to attendees.

At the same time, Unlocking Peak Performance in Rotary Diecutting Equipment brought together moderators Dave Burgess of JB Machinery and Ed Stuczynski of Menasha Packaging with panelists Bryce Cookson of BOBST, Kevin Erbe of Koenig & Bauer, Bryan Fitch of SUN Automation Group, André Göpfert of Göpfert Maschinen, Maximo Leyva of BW Papersystems, and Danny Lopez of The Haire Group. A third panel, The Decision to Sell Your Business: Key Considerations, Timing, and Lessons Learned, featured moderator Gene Marino of Akers Packaging with panelists Dennis Mehiel of FourM, Billy Medof of Altamont Capital, and Richard Brown of SupplyOne.

Wednesday continued the constructive focus with Practical Applications for AI on the Plant Floor, moderated by Mike Kohler of Kohler Coating, with panelists Kaleb Bozorgzadeh of SUN Automation Group, Ken Kurtis of Fosber, Greg Tucker of Bay Cities, and U.G. Wilson of BW Papersystems. Material Handling as a Competitive Advantage in Rotary Diecutting was moderated by Stuczynski and Burgess and included David Ahrendt of Alliance Machine Systems, Jim McLaughlin of WSA-USA, Jason Smith of Geo. M. Martin, and Joe Wunder of A.G. Stacker.

The final breakout, Leadership Development: Investing in Talent From Within, turned the conversation to one of the industry’s continuing priorities: developing people. Joe Morelli of The Morelli Group moderated a panel with Stephanie Navasau of Bay Cities, David Diroll of Jamil Packaging, and Steven Robinson of Royal Containers.

Innovation was also on display through the What’s New Program, where suppliers introduced technologies and solutions spanning finished-goods automation, ink management, roll tracking, estimating, high-speed production, digital printing, conveying, and converting equipment. Participating companies included WSA-USA, JB Machinery, Geo. M. Martin, MTORRES, Amtech Software, SUN Automation Group, Baumer hhs, Mainline Conveyor Systems, EFI, Isowa America, CUIR Corrugated Machinery, and BW Papersystems.

Attendees were given multiple opportunities to unwind with some friendly competition.

Building Connections

Corrugated Week also created numerous opportunities for attendees to build relationships outside the classroom. Programming included a Welcome Reception, networking breakfasts, exhibit hall networking receptions, a TAPPI Young Professionals and AICC Emerging Leaders Networking Event, a New Member and First-Timer Reception, and other opportunities for attendees to connect with peers, suppliers, and industry partners.

Other networking opportunities included the TAPPI Young Professionals and AICC Emerging Leaders Networking Event, a New Member and First-Timer Reception, and more.

Focused Learning

For attendees looking for additional hands-on learning, AICC partnered with INSCO to offer Corrugator Defects: How Sheet Quality Impacts Converting Performance, an optional training program. Freerk van der Laan of INSCO North America and founder of Corr-Tag/Corr-Trading and manufacturing and reliability professional Jeff Memenga led instruction examining common sheet defects, their root causes, and their impact on printing, die cutting, folding, gluing, waste, and overall plant performance. AICC has an ongoing partnership with INSCO. Please contact Rebecca Rendon at rrendon@AICCbox.org for details.

Additionally, TAPPI worked with industry expert Rick Putch to lead the Effective Methods to Maximize Diecutting workshop, which examined setup, tooling, machine conditions, and operating practices and their effects on throughput, quality, waste, and downtime.

AICC’s Women in Packaging group and TAPPI’s Women in Industry division came together for the Women in Packaging Networking Breakfast.

Simona Georgescu, founder and president of Adduco Communications, presented What Got Us Here Won’t Get Us There: Leading Through What’s Next during the Women in Packaging Networking Breakfast, hosted by AICC’s Women in Packaging group and TAPPI’s Women in Industry division.

The learning continued beyond the official close of Corrugated Week with tours of Harris Packaging, American Carton, and Thacker Industrial Service, giving participants an opportunity to see corrugated manufacturing operations and practices firsthand.

Passing the Gavel

Leadership transitions were also recognized during Corrugated Week as Terri-Lynn Levesque of Royal Containers completed her term as AICC board chairwoman and passed the gavel to Mike Schaefer of Tavens Packaging & Display Solutions, who will lead the Association as its 2026–2027 chairman. Schaefer introduced his theme for the year, “Raise the Bar: Train Your Frontline Leaders.” AICC expressed its appreciation to Levesque for her leadership, dedication, and service to the Association and its members throughout her term.

The transition also brought new voices to AICC leadership, with Kelsey Cox of Harris Packaging and American Carton elected as an Emerging Leader delegate and Todd Evans of Fosber America elected to the Associate board. The changes mark the beginning of a new leadership year for AICC while continuing the Association’s tradition of member-led service and involvement.

Terri-Lynn Levesque honors departing board member Matt Davis for his service.

Students from the University of Texas at Arlington took home first place in the Student Packaging Design Competition.

Sidebar: Coming Soon to the Industry

During Corrugated Week, AICC recognized the recipients of the J. Richard Troll Memorial Scholarship, which provides monetary scholarships to undergraduate students and a graduate-level student of exceptional quality studying packaging engineering or a related packaging field. This year’s undergraduate recipients were:

Lily Harris, Miami University
Emily Neale, Clemson University
Eric Dalangin, Rutgers University
Elizabeth Barrett, Indiana State University, was named the first-place graduate recipient.

Sidebar: First-Class Designs

The AICC Student Packaging Design Competition recognized the next generation of packaging talent, honoring outstanding student work in both structure and graphics.

Kathy Le, Emily Pfefferkorn, and Jesus Vargas of the University of Texas at Arlington earned first place in the Structure category for their GIBS Tiered Tabletop Display, while Brandon Britt, Elle Burgos, and Kiana Honma of California Polytechnic State University took first place in the Graphics category for One Stop Shop.

Supported by the International Corrugated Packaging Foundation, the competition gives AICC members a look at emerging talent and ideas while supporting participating schools and helping student participants pursue internship opportunities in the corrugated packaging and display industry.

Sidebar: Innovation Takes Center Stage

Two10 Technologies won the 2026 AICC & Board Converting News Innovator of the Year Competition for their photo-based AI quoting application. The app connects to a plant’s ERP system to allow a photo to provide data points to automate the spec creation, estimation, and structure drawing.

EFI’s cloud-based print data collection system came in second place, and third place was captured by Arden Software North America with its mobile estimating system for fast, accurate quotes.

This year’s innovators were showcased during Tuesday’s Awards Program, where Corrugated Week attendees voted for their favorite, with the winners announced during Wednesday’s Awards Program.

Sidebar: Thank You, Sponsors

AICC thanks its members, speakers, exhibitors, volunteers, TAPPI, and all those who participated in Corrugated Week 2026 and contributed to three days of learning, innovation, and connection. AICC offers a special thanks to the sponsors of the event:

Platinum Sponsors