NPE 2024 May 6-10 in Orlando Florida! (Patrick Krieger)

https://www.xpressreg.net/register/npex0524/landing.asp
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What's the largest trade show about plastic in North America? 
Did you know over 55,000 people are expected to attend? 
Actual recycling on site! 

The National Plastics Expo 

https://anewearthproject.com/collections/new-earth-approved

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This podcast is an independent production and the podcast production is an original work of the author. All rights of ownership and reproduction are retained—copyright 2022.

Transcript

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Cory Connors: 0:00

Welcome to Sustainable Packaging with Cory Connors. Today's guest is Patrick Krieger. He is the Vice President of Sustainability for the Plastics Industry Association. How

Patrick Krieger: 0:11

are

Cory Connors: 0:11

you,

Patrick Krieger: 0:11

Patrick? I'm doing well. How are you doing today?

Cory Connors: 0:13

Really good. Thank you so much for making some time. I know it's a very busy time right before this big event, NPE coming up here, but before we get into that event and all the things that have to do with that, can you tell us a little bit about yourself, your background? How'd you get into this industry?

Patrick Krieger: 0:30

Sure, my name is Patrick Krieger. I'm the vice president of sustainability at the plastics industry association. I don't have a plastics background. I have an agriculture back.

Cory Connors: 0:38

Oh, perfect.

Patrick Krieger: 0:39

it's always really great. people from all walks of life come to work in the plastics industry. I started at our association in 2015, working with the bioplastics division. And while all plastics are my favorite, bioplastics have a little special place in my heart still, for that reason. and I work on a wide variety of issues at the association, whether it's promoting a circular plastics economy, eliminating plastic waste in the environment. Using resources responsibly, or anything beyond that as well. Workforce development, diversity, equity, inclusion, and on. just a few things. And on top of that, I work with NPE, the largest plastic straight show in the western hemisphere.

Cory Connors: 1:20

Wow, it's a huge show. It's a, I'm amazed, when Liz and your team invited me to it, I said, Whoa, that's incredible. How many people are going to be there? So let's talk a little bit about that. It's my understanding. It's the largest show in North America, in regards and focusing on plastic packaging. and it only happens every three years. So this is, it's The olympics, we gotta prepare for it here, right?

Patrick Krieger: 1:46

It's like the olympics or like those cicadas that come up every couple of years It's exactly like that

Cory Connors: 1:51

the bugs or olympics. Yeah.

Patrick Krieger: 1:54

Yeah, one of the two one of

Cory Connors: 1:55

the two I also

Patrick Krieger: 1:57

like to say that not only are we the largest in the americas north america at central and south america But it turns out in the United States, we're also the heaviest. We are the heaviest trade association due to the large amount of full functioning equipment that is actually operating on our floors. It's really cool.

Cory Connors: 2:15

That's an interesting stat. I'd never heard. That's incredible. So I know that there is supposed to be somewhere around 55, 000 people or something like that. Can you give us some other stats that might blow us away?

Patrick Krieger: 2:28

Sure. So 1. 2 million square feet. 3rd largest trade show in the United States in the years that we hold it. in this year, the, in particular, I mentioned bioplastics. This is the largest trade show for bioplastics in the northern hemisphere where they are all collected within the broader trade show floor. There's over 2000 exhibitors. It's a really big event, and we really are excited about everybody being able to come and see what the plastics industry has in store. It's a really great sneak peek into what we have going on for the next three years.

Cory Connors: 3:06

It sounds amazing. And this will be my first year. So if you have any tips for us, let us know, but let's go back a little bit. What does NPE stand for?

Patrick Krieger: 3:17

Sure. NPE stands for the National Plastics Expo, though it's like KFC. The name has drifted away and it's just the letters. so it, it started a long time ago in a ballroom in New York City. Okay. And since then has moved around a little bit, Chicago, but most recently has been in Orlando for the last few years, since, the early 2010s, I believe

Cory Connors: 3:40

well, I love Chicago, but I'm excited to go to an event. That isn't in Chicago. There's been so many in Chicago this year and recently, it's a great city. Don't get me wrong, but, this will be my first time going to, Orlando for an event. So really looking forward to that.

Patrick Krieger: 3:56

Oh, yeah.

Cory Connors: 3:56

Should be nice weather. I hope, yeah.

Patrick Krieger: 3:59

that's the one thing that we can't control is the weather, but luckily the show floor is big enough inside that you'll be able to still see everything.

Cory Connors: 4:06

Right, I've heard there's even going to be, examples of plastics recycling on site.

Patrick Krieger: 4:14

Oh, yeah, that's actually a great point. The only thing that's not that's not undercover is, our outdoor recycling demonstration area where we will be collecting the material that is made and brought into the show and shredding it and densifying it for recycling in the parking lot. It's incredible. It's pretty cool.

Cory Connors: 4:33

That's amazing. So let's talk. That's, I've never heard of that. That's at an event. That's going to be a first for me. I can't wait to document that. And, I'll be making some videos for LinkedIn and TikTok and things like that for your team. I'll have to connect with you and maybe we could do a onsite interview or something like that. That would be great.

Patrick Krieger: 4:51

I'm happy to walk you around. It does take a little while. Please remember, brace yourself comfortable shoes. Give yourself more time than you think you're going to need to get to places. Yeah,

Cory Connors: 5:02

totally get that. Well, let's talk about, sustainable bioplastics. Why are they so important to the future of our sustainable packaging goals?

Patrick Krieger: 5:12

Sure, like I mentioned at the plastics industry association and our industry just writ large, we really are trying to think about how we can move towards a more circular economy. And when we think about circularity, we want to talk about from the very beginning and so renewable feedstocks feedstocks that, come from something like, agricultural products, Manufacturing by products, right? So like the paper manufacturing or lumber industry, things like that are a really great source for, plastic products that have a lower carbon footprint than traditional feedstocks. And so there really are a great way for companies who are looking to lower their carbon footprint to, to look at that. Now, that's just bio based. On the other side, we think about things like compostables. These are really interesting products that have like cool performance, attributes that will enable them to do things that traditional plastics aren't. And they're really great because they help us divert organics. From landfill and into other alternative, more sustainable end of life options, like industrial or commercial composting.

Cory Connors: 6:20

That's great. Will there be some examples of composting there or compostable materials? I'm assuming. Oh, there will be many

Patrick Krieger: 6:28

people running compostable materials on the floor. We've also worked with triple C to make sure that we are composting all of the food that's consumed within the restaurants and cafes on the show floor as well. So so composting is really important. We've actually thought a lot about how we think about the amount of waste that is produced from these trade shows. It is something that we want to make sure that we're very thoughtful about and so it's one of the reasons why I'm on top of thinking about composting. We actually have a 100 percent recycling target. So we actually make sure that any exhibitor that is recycling that is manufacturing on the floor is recycling that material. And we do it. We do it for, over 100 of them.

Cory Connors: 7:10

This is amazing. And it reminds me. I just watched a movie called beyond zero. Have you seen that yet? I have. Yes. And remember how they, when they were at the hotel and they, the food, they collected the food waste and that was a novel idea back then, but now it's a requirement for a sustainable event like yours.

Patrick Krieger: 7:29

Oh, absolutely. Trying to think about, like, events are a monster in themselves. I think that's always really interesting when people are talking about, like, the NPE trade show. We talk about the plastics industry and what we're doing a lot, but we also have the trade show function itself. And so so learning that without that background has been a really cool experience and I've been really excited about working with our members who are really active in the planning and organization of this trade show to really help make sure that we are prioritizing the things that the industry collectively values and in sustainability.

Cory Connors: 8:03

Well done. It's an important part of our, future that we figure out how to make this more circular. And it sounds like you and your team are working really diligently and hard to make this, possible. what kind of, partnerships are you excited about at the show? You mentioned somebody that will collect the waste or are there other demonstrations or things like that, that we can look forward to, or seek out while we're there. Sure.

Patrick Krieger: 8:29

There's a few different ones as well. And I apologize. One of them, I'm going to forget their name.

Cory Connors: 8:35

We can research it. Yeah.

Patrick Krieger: 8:36

Yeah. I'll research it really quick. But, so what I will say is, there are a lot of opportunities to, to get engaged and learn more about the importance of partnerships. I always say that you can't be part of a circular company. If you aren't part of a circular economy, right? Your entire supply chain needs to be working together. So partnerships are really important. So we've been really excited for the recycling. That's occurring on the show floor to work with companies like CPR with Lima and con air, who are all really helpful in providing either the knowledge, the service, the equipment, the employees to be able to collect and then process that material. In addition to that, we have other opportunities that people can research on. Like service activities to help package products that will be used in food banks around the country. And, there's also all the things that are going to be happening within the individual companies booths, demonstrating the partnerships that they have.

Cory Connors: 9:36

It sounds like a really unique and exciting event. I'm really looking forward to it. It's incredible. how do, who should go to the show, is a question that I like to ask when I'm talking to people that run events. What kind of professional would benefit from going to this event?

Patrick Krieger: 9:55

I think that there's been a real shift in recent years about who the right attendee to an expo or trade show is. For the longest time, it was the person who was making the purchasing decisions, right? So you were really getting a specific kind of person to come to the show. NPE is so large, it's really made for you, right? When I say made for you, it's made for everybody in the plastics industry. So we will have people who are, if you're purchasing equipment, right? It's a great place for you to see it, but bring everybody else to, we, which obviously we say that, but it's a real, it's a real benefit to be able to put your hands on the equipment. We've started to see more people in operations and maintenance come and actually be able to see and ask questions before they've made purchasing decisions. It's a great opportunity to train salespeople as well, to be able to see the equipment, see what your competitors are doing. See what other people adjacent to your industry segment are we also, on top of all of the things that are happening on the show floor itself, there's a lot of content to be developed. Right? So we have educational sessions that are either occurring in classrooms in on the show floor themselves, and then in the sustainability hub, which is something that I've been focusing on. in a big way recently, there's over 150 opportunities for people to learn about things beyond just equipment. for example, we're really excited about conversations. We're going to be having with the U. S. State Department on Monday, talking about the UN, global plastics, pollution negotiations. Right. So happening the week before, and then we're going to have the ability to meet and talk with those people. Like right after

Cory Connors: 11:41

so like on a panel discussion.

Patrick Krieger: 11:43

Yep.

Cory Connors: 11:43

Exactly. Oh, that's exciting. And that, where will that be? Is there a, you said you mentioned the sustainability hub. Is that near there?

Patrick Krieger: 11:51

So that discussion will actually happen on Monday morning as part of our. larger learning opportunities in one of the classroom. So if you go to dot org, and you can look at the educational opportunities there. There's that 1 and there's a myriad of other ones across the entire, triple C. I say, oh, triple C. Orange County Convention Center.

Cory Connors: 12:13

Okay. Oh, I didn't know that. Okay. Oh, see. Okay. Yeah. I didn't know that there was like a classroom environment. This thing, this seems very exciting. I very much would like to go to that part. I'll be there Monday and Tuesday. So I look forward to that.

Patrick Krieger: 12:28

Perfect timing for that.

Cory Connors: 12:30

And I've never heard, I've interviewed dozens of people about events. I've never heard anybody say. This is an opportunity for you to train your sales people, or maybe your your maintenance team. what a brilliant point. when, when else are you going to get an opportunity to bring them to see all of the different types of equipment and have them look at it, touch it, work, talk to the engineers. That is such an awesome point. Thank you.

Patrick Krieger: 12:59

Thanks. And I think it's really exciting. I think it's a really unique ability. Yes, we know that in 2024, you have the ability to do things on zoom, right? But when you're doing things on zoom, it does flatten things in a little bit of a way. You do lose information in that way. Also, one of your options is probably a few booths down from one of the other options you're comparing. And so there's a little bit of a, an ability of immediacy to be able to look at all of these things. At the same time, right? So it's a pretty unique, opportunity to be able to do that as a company trying to buy equipment. And those are expensive pieces of equipment in many cases. So you want to make sure that you are making the best and informed choice that you can.

Cory Connors: 13:41

Yeah. Very well said. Very true. Absolutely. An important part. I'm a very visual person. I like to be able to feel and touch and see it in person. And, before I make a decision. And I think a lot of customers are the same way. they want to actually hear it run and actually watch it in action. So this is a very unique opportunity. And like we said before, only once every three years. So get to this event this year.

Patrick Krieger: 14:07

Exactly. Yes. we'd love to have you there. You also say as a visual person, you're new and you're looking for tips. One of my other tips, make sure you don't. Pack too tightly on the way to Orlando because there are a lot of really great opportunities to take samples, to take really cool little, things that are being made, back home with you.

Cory Connors: 14:27

Great point. Bring that extra space in the bag. bring the carry on this time. Yeah. You might need it on the way home. That's a, that's excellent. well, very exciting. what's the best way for people to get in touch with you and for the best way for people to sign up for the event?

Patrick Krieger: 14:42

Well, if people are interested in learning more about in NPE , and registering things like that, I would encourage them to go to NPE.org and that would enable them to be able to register and do all that stuff

Cory Connors: 14:55

It is. Okay. Wonderful. Well, that's great. And no, I think it's a great, website. I've checked it out and it's, very intuitive. I'm also planning. I think there's a, a tech. talk coming up about for people. So there's a note on the website about an upcoming, webinar, that you can attend. if I can post this, podcast in time, people can check that out too. But, very excited looking forward to meeting you in person, Patrick, and anything else you want to tell the audience before we call this?

Patrick Krieger: 15:28

Sure, 1 thing I'd love to talk a little bit about on top of all of this is the sustainability hub. something that we're doing, that's new and interesting for NPE 2024 is we have created this very unique area where we are trying to make sure that for people who are new to sustainability, we want to learn more about it can understand. The entire life cycle of plastics and understand all of the various aspects of sustainability. A lot of people for a long time used to think that recycling and sustainability were synonyms and they're not. And so this is a really great place to learn about how we're making sustainable materials like bioplastics or recycled content or advanced recycled content that we're looking at sustainable manufacturing, like, lightweighting energy and water efficiency circularity as we often think about. But also prevention and recovery of litter in the environment. So come learn, see, it's a really great place to create like a framework and context for when you go into the rest of the giant trade show. So we'd love to see you there in the sustainability hub. In addition, if they would like to register for a free, free registration for NPE, they can use CORY all caps. And they are, they're able to do that.

Cory Connors: 16:42

Well, that's easy to remember C. O. R. Y. That's my name. And I'm very excited to partner with you all and to tell people about this great event. I can't wait to be there. I think I'll spend most of my time at that sustainability hub. That sounds like a, it sounds like a really cool idea. It sounds like it's probably right up

Patrick Krieger: 17:00

your alley.

Cory Connors: 17:02

I'll be there Monday and Tuesday, looking forward to it. This is a four day event though. It's a five day event. Oh, is it five? Jeez. so if you can, attend the whole thing, I know there's a lot going on the whole time. Oh, absolutely.

Patrick Krieger: 17:15

there's stuff every day.

Cory Connors: 17:16

Yeah. Well, thank you, sir. Really appreciate your wisdom and your time.

Patrick Krieger: 17:20

Thank you. Great. Good to see you.