November 11, 2021
Members of AICC México met in Monterrey, Mexico, November 17–19, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the founding of the AICC México Association. The group, numbering 135 members, suppliers, and guests, was welcomed by AICC México President Juan Javier Gonzalez, CEO of Cartró, and AICC President Michael D’Angelo.
Gonzalez told members, “It is gratifying to see the support of so many AICC members at this meeting, given the challenges of the past year posed by the pandemic and the state of the economy.” He said that membership in AICC México had grown to 125 member companies and the interest in the activities of the Association, particularly the online training programs, was very high.
D’Angelo, for his part, thanked the members for their support and encouraged them to participate in the services offered by the Association, especially the online training and learning resources. He reported that AICC had created the Foundation for Packaging Education, a charitable foundation specifically dedicated to supporting and sustaining the development of online education and training programs, including the translation of those resources into Spanish. He remarked briefly on the financial performance of AICC in the past fiscal year, noting that the Association’s financial resources are very sound. He also commented on the AICC/TAPPI SuperCorrExpo, August 8–12 in Orlando, Florida, which saw attendance of nearly 3,000 people and 235 exhibiting suppliers.
Speakers at the meeting included Patricia Inés Christensen of the Asociación Mexicana de Envase y Embalaje (AMEE), an expert in packaging, design, and brand identity, who spoke on creating value through packaging design. Juan Jacobo Mondragón, industrial engineer, discussed total quality systems design in corrugated packaging operations, while Hiram Cruz, also of AMEE, presented ways to optimize paperboard materials and reduce waste in the production process.
On the topic of sales, Gerardo Rodriguez gave an energetic—at times, raucous—presentation, titled “Shut Up and Sell!” A well-known motivational speaker, Rodriquez told his audience that knowing how to sell is crucial for success in business-to-business industries such as corrugated and paperboard packaging, and that everyone has the ability—they just have to tap it.
Also on the program were Marina Faleiros, the Latin American editor for RISI/Fastmarkets, who gave an overview of the containerboard and packaging markets in North and South America, and keynote presenter Benjamin Aleman of Instituto Panamericano de Alta Dirección de Empresa (IPADE), who spoke about the main challenges and opportunities that arise in an uncertain economic environment.
AICC México celebrated its 20th anniversary with a reception and dinner, where Marco Ferrara of Cartón Sultana was inducted into the AICC México Hall of Fame. On the event’s closing day, the group was hosted by Eduardo Posada, CEO of Grupo Gondi, at Papel y Empaques Gondi Monterrey, where members toured the recently constructed PM7, which can produce 400,000 tons of recycled containerboard annually. The completion of the mill in January 2021 raised Grupo Gondi’s total containerboard capacity to 1.1 million tons per year.
Members were treated to a cocktail reception and tabletop trade fair, hosted by the sponsors of the AICC México meeting: Polycart; HP; Grupo Gondi; BCM Inks; EAM-Mosca; Kolbus; ICASA; PCM; Alliance Machine Systems; ARC; Fosber; Macarbox; ALHU International; Global Boxmachine; and Amtech.
For more information about AICC México, contact Maria Frustaci at mfrustaci@aiccbox.org or Veronica Reyes at vreyes@aiccbox.mx.
