Why You Must See 3M at PACK EXPO International | David Glover

In this episode, Cory Connors sits down with David Glover of 3M to preview what attendees can expect from 3M's booth at PACK EXPO, taking place October 18–21 in Chicago. David shares his 14-year journey at 3M — from product specialist to global sales trainer to portfolio marketing manager — and explains why he considers himself a "tape nerd." The conversation covers 3M's long history of packaging innovation, the growing challenge of sealing high-recycled-content corrugate, and the new products 3M is bringing to PACK EXPO to help customers meet sustainability goals without sacrificing performance.

Key Topics Discussed:

• David Glover's career path at 3M: product specialist, converter markets, packaging territory sales, global sales trainer, and now portfolio marketing manager for box sealing tapes
• Why packaging is the "last line of defense" for manufacturers and the cost of getting it wrong
• 3M's history of innovation: invention of Scotch Brand tape in 1929 (Richard Drew and William McKnight) and the case sealer in 1969
• The rising challenge of sealing boxes made with higher percentages of recycled content, including reduced flexural stiffness and inconsistent fiber surfaces
• The "chemistry vs. physics" framework David uses to evaluate any packaging application
• New product launches debuting at PACK EXPO: RC Plus tape head — designed for consistent sealing on lightweight, highly recycled-content boxes, with bolt-on attachments for customization
• 571 Plus sustainable paper tape — a high-performing adhesive that bonds to up to 100% recycled material
• Where the packaging industry is headed on sustainability: custom-printed tape, recycled content, and evolving state and global legislation
• The scale of PACK EXPO International — roughly 48,000 attendees at Chicago's McCormick Place

Chapters: 

00:35 Introduction to Sustainable Packaging
01:07 Introduction to Sustainable Packaging and David Glover's Background
04:14 The Importance of Packaging in Manufacturing
07:15 3M's Innovation and History in Packaging
12:02 Upcoming Innovations at Pac Expo International
15:10 Sustainability Trends in the Packaging Industry
18:08 Future Directions in Sustainable Packaging

Resources Mentioned:

• PACK EXPO International
• 3M Booth: N5720
• 3M
• 3M RC Plus + Sealing System

Contact:

Attendees can visit 3M at Booth N5720 at PACK EXPO International to see the equipment and new products in person.

Closing Thoughts:

Cory and David highlight how 3M's century of innovation continues to evolve alongside the packaging industry's shift toward recyclable, reusable, and more sustainable materials — and invite listeners to stop by the 3M booth in Chicago to see it firsthand.

Thank you for tuning in to Sustainable Packaging with Cory Connors!

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3M we like to we like to say we sell touchy-feely products. So at our booth, you're gonna be able to touch and feel all of our machines. You'll be able to see all of our tape innovations. And again, being able to peel or roll a tape and feel just how aggressive the adhesive is. And then also as you see the wipe down the smooth application of the tape through our case sealers and the smooth application that our our tape heads provide in every packaging application, that's going to be a really fun thing that we'll get to show customers. Welcome to Sustainable Packaging with Cory Connors, presented by Atlantic Packaging. I'm your host, Cory Connors. In today's episode, I connected with David R. Glover at 3M. He is a portfolio marketing manager, and we are both excited to see you all at PAC Expo International this October 18th through 21st. 3M will be at booth N5720. Be sure to stop by to see these innovations in person. I'd also like to thank 3M and SpecRight and Forest Packaging. Being our sponsors. Thank you so much, David, for making some time to be on the show. Hey, happy to be here, Cory. I'm excited for a fun conversation and ~ looking forward to getting into the content. So you're you're all over there in Minnesota at three HQ today. Tell us tell us a little bit about your background and how you got into sustainable packaging. Yeah, so ~ I have a ~ pretty unique background.~ so I started off with three ~ fourteen years ago. started off as a product specialist in our tapes and adhesives division,~ moved into converter markets role, learning about custom die cuts and equipment.~ was a regional distribution leader for a while ~ before getting into my my packaging territory where truth be told that's really where i found in ~ i fell in love with packaging as a whole and then i was in ~ that packaging specialist role where i covered minnesota iowa north and south dakota ~ putting on the miles behind the windshield and really getting to see the Midwest a little bit and working with customers on their their solution And I think one of the things that I I fell in love with when it came to packaging was understanding at least It's mostly overlooked by a lot of people that aren't in the industry, which is ~ packaging plays a critical role in every manufacturer's ~ capabilities. You know, they spend a lot of time,~ really a lot of their blood, sweat, and tears on the the product that they're developing upstream. But at the end of the day, what I found to be the case is the packaging process is really that last line of defense on the product that goes out of the door before it gets to the customer. And if you're not in the right packaging solutions, if you're not in the right tape, heck, if you're not in the right box, you don't have the right void fill, you're causing a lot of headaches and a lot of pain at those manufacturers.~ so there's a lot of variables that come into play, and it can be a very highly technical sales environment,~ which I love. I love helping customers really find their~ their niche and really help solve their complex problems. but after the packaging role, when I like I said, I covered that for a few years, and then I moved into the global ~ sales trainer for all of ISD, so industrial specialties division,~ where you know I tell people when looking at my background, you know, tapes and adhesives,~ converter markets, packaging. I'm really what you would call a tape nerd. And so my my wife makes fun of me all the time. I I know way too much about tape in general,~ and can get really technical. and even the smallest and minute details of of packaging tape or even adhesives in general. ~ but that really has helped me in in a lot of my packaging roles because, you know, customers at the end of the day, they really don't understand and and customers meaning like manufacturers as a whole. ~ they don't really understand~ the complexities that are packaging tapes and adhesives. So really being able to be a consultant for them a lot of those opportunities~ and working with them on their complex ~ situations, it really ~ allowed me to have a lot of success. And then what I found joy in was the actual training aspect. So moving into the the global sales trainer, I got to help not only internal 3Mmers as they were either new hires, but also working with some of our key channel partners ~ that were sending up distributor reps for training,~ I really got to help educate them on the 3M solutions as to where we play, where we win, and really where we make a difference.~ but then after that, ~ I was able to move into a portfolio manager job, so a portfolio marketing manager for box ceiling tapes. which has been a really fun challenge getting to to learn a lot more of the beh behind the scenes business when it comes Mm. to ~ our packaging portfolio and our packaging operations. So I've had a really fun career. 3M has been an amazing company to work for~ and I hope I have many more years ahead of me. I'm sure you do. We ~ I wanted to thank you publicly. We we sp got to spend some time with you at ~ your solution center or your innovation lab or whatever we call it there at 3M. but I was totally impressed with you and your team and all the equipment that you had set out and you actually spent some time making some TikTok videos with me and That's right. those those went kind of viral and that was neat to to watch and~ just really wanted to thank you for giving us your time there. Absolutely. It was great having you on campus. And I I think that day was actually a really fun day. We were playing around with with some cold temperature applications on some packaging tape and doing some ~ unique sales scenarios of how our product differentiates Ha ha ha. from competitors. So it's it's really fun and and I heck I learned a in the freezer, huh? lot from you being on campus too. well thank you, sir. Yeah, it's ~ it's a very unique job that you have, but the thing about tape, I I I want to commend 3M and you and for the the work that you've done. Tape is that thing that companies don't realize how important it is until it doesn't work. so what you've done there is make products that ~ always perform. And ~ to you know are some of the Top in the industry for sure. Yeah, and and really that's one of the things that I preached when I was out in my territory ~ was ultimately helping those customers alleviate the headaches that they had because like you said, when it's not working, it can create a ton of issues, whether that be returns, rework, damage customer loyalty or brand image.~ if the tape fails, it is not a good thing for those manufacturers, like I said, who've already spent all of their blood, sweat and tears on creating a product and then selling it and putting it out Into the marketplace. So that's really where we can drive that peace of mind solution and partner with a lot of those customers out there. Yeah, well said. One thing a lot of people don't know, I think, about 3M is ~ how long how long you've been around and how many innovations that you've created. Can you talk about 3M and and that culture of innovation there with all of you as you call 3Mers, which I think is so cool. That's right. Yeah. Yeah, we we've been doing this innovation thing for a while. and actually, you know, Scotch brand it started in nineteen twenty-nine. Before Scotch brand, there wasn't a tape solution out there. So 3M Hmm. invented tape and as a result invented packaging tape. And back in ~ again, nineteen twenty nine was when Richard drew the then sales rep became somewhat of an engineer wearing multiple hats. And was working with his boss at the time, William McKnight, which, if that name rings any bells, he was a long-term CEO of 3M, ~ and actually one of the top 10 CEOs in US you know, leading us through a lot of innovating years and decades of ~ tremendous innovation. So, like I said, w we invented packaging tape in 1929. And then also in 1969, we invented case sealers. So it really is a history of understanding customers' pain points and finding different areas where we can take technologies from different divisions and platforms to help create a custom tailored solution to alleviate those pain points and partner with those customers long term. I I didn't know that you invented the the tape sealer and tape. That's incredible. I I I knew Yeah. Yep. the history of Scotch tape, which ~ I'm sure everyone listening has a few rolls of that in their their drawer with all the pens and all the the But Yeah. it's ~ it's a globally known product and brand and I think you've you've done a good job there ~ creating that ~ trust with your materials and I think that's Yeah. a That's a very important thing to do when you're when you're providing packaging to people. If you ~ I know in my career I've told people, okay, well, this is a three product. They s ~ yeah, it's approved. Yeah, bring it by. You yeah know, so you make it easy for us, d dealing directly with the end users of the of your products. Thank you. You know, it's definitely ~ an easier said than done when it comes to ~ Yeah. creating a product that is not only reliable but also ~ quality and So ~ that's really what we hang our hat on at the end of the day, because as you look at all the different variables that change in the ~ end of line or at the end of line when we're looking at a packaging environment. To be able to at least hang your hat on knowing, all right, when we seal that box with 3M tape, we can rest easy knowing that as soon as it leaves our dock doors, it's gonna arrive at the customer's dock doors unscathed and undamaged. And and what a good feeling, right? To be able to to you know, feel as a salesperson, it's so important to be able to to stand behind your products and say, Hey, I know this this is gonna work and it's gonna perform for you.~ yeah, that's that's a good feeling. And ~ but I want to talk about ~ we've got an exciting event coming up here where you and I will both be there at ~ PACK EXPO International in Chicago. October eighteenth through twenty first. Can you tell us about ~ your three booth and ~ some of the materials that you're gonna have on display there? Absolutely. So we it's kind of funny. It this time of year you can start feeling the energy, especially when talking to customers, when talking to different distributors.~ the conversation starts shifting to hey, you're gonna be at PAC EXPO. You know, we'd love to show you around, we'd love to meet you, we'd love to host ya. and this year, like like years past, you we have a lot of exciting things to share, but I think ~ 3M as a whole over the last two years, if you've ~ listened to any of our ~ CEOs~ speeches that he's done on CNN whenever he's talking about the vision for our company, it's continually honing on that innovation. And we've got really cool things to share from a new product introductory, from new products that we're launching, not only from a tape perspective, but also from an equipment standpoint. So a couple things that we're going to be highlighting this year at our booth is going to be our RC plus tape head, which again, as we look at recycling Content at that end of line, it really does create a lot of challenges. And when we look at case sealing equipment,~ really the heart and soul of every case sealer is the tape head. And at 3M, we really have designed a tremendous high quality and consistent. tape head in the RC plus specifically designed for those lightweighted, highly recycled content boxes where as we've started to witness and then communicate with different customers and exploring their pain points further, you know, we we get it. More customers are trying to find ways to be more sustainable, but That also doesn't come without changing variables and it can create a ripple And so, you know, sometimes that that highly recycled content box can be a little bit more flimsy with the reduced flexural stiffness in the actual panels itself. So that leads to potentially more bottlenecks with legacy tape heads that are already out in the industry. So what we've been able to do is create a tape head specifically designed for those recycled corrugate boxes to be able to seal consistently time and time again in a lead. Those bottlenecks. And then also as a result of that, we have recognizing that every customer may have a different application, we've included different bolt-on attachments. So now we can even customize that tape head towards every end user and their specific packaging needs. So really creating ~ a well-rounded full circle piece of equipment that meets customers where they need to be met. in every application that's being presented. And then That's excellent. Yeah. Good, good. Yeah. And then from a taping perspective, we're gonna be~ launching one of our new sustainable paper tapes,~ our five seventy-one plus. So we're really excited to show that one.~ again, ~ as we look at the future of sustainability, as we look at a lot of the new regulations that are out ~ in the world, not only from a global perspective, but even honing in ~ from a US market perspective, more and more states are passing legislation ~ where it comes to or comes down to finding a a tape that's going to seal the box but also is going to be very sustainable and recyclable downstream. And so looking at 571 plus, we've got a high performing adhesive. And again, that plus portfolio adhesive, you're you're noticing a trend, right? You know everything Yes. is better with a plus when it comes to 3M. But Mm-hmm. with with the plus portfolio adhesive on there, it will be able to bond to up to 100% recycle material. Now you pair that with the RC plus tape head, you really have a fully sustainable solution that'll really help alleviate bottlenecks and streamline their throughput efficiency goals from start to It's exciting and and it's a long time coming. I know that ~ you've all been working on this and perfecting it for for a very long time. I I've been working with~ you all for years and ~ I I know this was in the works for a ~ a long time with lots of testing and hundreds of engineers, if not thousands. And I think what people listening maybe don't realize is their their boxes are becoming higher and higher content of recycled material. And that makes makes a a less homogeneous surface to stick tape to. So ~ you know, with the shorter fibers and the recycled content, it's ~ it's it's more difficult to get that tear that we're used to with the the tape. yeah. Well and and a lot of it comes down to surface penetration. So the way that I like to explain it is, you know, maybe virgin corrugate boxes, they're very similar to like a a hardwood or heck, even a fiber board where there's long strands of fibers, there's a lot of peaks and valleys for the adhesive to flow into and really ~ penetrate the fibers of that box. But recycled content boxes, especially as you get to higher recycled content, it mimics that more of like an MDF wood. A lot of the times it's just a compressed dust. And as you look at really the the recycling process,~ you you tend to see at those higher end or higher ~ percentage recycled content boxes, you do see a lot more box poppages, you do see a lot more inconsistencies. Mm-hmm. And as you look at the actual surface fiber themselves, you can see a lot of different speckles in there that again aren't necessarily conducive towards a bonding application. So it creates, it sounds funny, like how hard is it to seal a Corgate box? Well, turns out it can be it can be quite difficult given the substrates Right. that you're working with. And it's so important that that it's closed correctly. Like you said, a lot of the materials are softening ~ with the the higher~ PCR content and yeah. that makes a more squishy box. And if you don't Yes. totally seal the top and then pr on on the sides a little bit too, you won't get that shear strength ~ of Exactly. of a box that's so valuable and important when shipping. Yeah. Yeah. I I always I always ~ train by saying When looking at every packaging application, it's a difference between chemistry and physics, right? So chemistry being the actual adhesion and cohesion strength to the substrate that you're dealing with, but also you have the physics equation. So how fast is that box being presented to the machine? What's the wipe down force, ~ the all-around ~ pressure that you're applying to the tape itself? Will the box be able to accept that pressure or not?~ what's the the void fill inside? Is it underfilled or overfilled? There's a lot different equations that factor into will this tape perform or will this tape head create less bottlenecks or more bottlenecks as a result of it. So ~ yeah, that that's truly what I enjoy about packaging applications as a whole is the delicate dance of finding the right applic or the right solution for each application that's presented. Exciting. Can you talk a little bit about~ the the PACK EXPO booth that you'll have and what people listening, if they're going to PACK EXPO, why it's so important to stop at your your booth and and reach out to you. It's great question. So when looking at our booth this year, one, we're really excited about our location.~ so if you're gonna be stopping by,~ you should be ~ able to find us pretty easy this year.~ but One of the things that we're gonna be highlighting again, new products, but also being able to come and see some of our equipment being run. You know, Cory, when you are on site in our packaging lab, being able to run boxes and show you ~ really the competitive advantage that our equipment has ~ really is a huge and tremendous value to see it up close and personal. You know, 3M we like to we like to say we sell touchy-feely products. So at our booth, you're gonna be able to touch and feel all of our machines. You'll be able to see all of our tape innovations. And again, being able to peel or roll a tape and feel just how aggressive the adhesive is. And then also as you see the wipe down the smooth application of the tape through our case sealers and the smooth application that our our tape heads provide in every packaging application, that's going to be a really fun thing that we'll get to show customers. So we're going to have four different machines there, three of which are going to be our three Amatic case sealers. And then one of them is actually going to be our S867 L Clip machine. So not only for great. Hm. those standard RSC boxes, which are very common in the industry, but if you have a very unique box, whether it be a telescope, a five-panel foldover, clamshell or M-style box, that's really where an L clip machine is the key differentiator because a lot of times it's a manual application where you're applying just a strip of tape on it. But now you're able to automate that. With our our machine, you're able to do 50 strips of tape per minute. So you can really Wow. streamline ~ the automation process and and ~ create a lot of throughput efficiencies for our customers. That's incredible. Fifty per minute. Wow. And Yeah. that L clipper machine is so cool. If you if Yeah. if people listening haven't seen it, it solves a lot of problems. And it and allows you to move away from an RSC box when you don't need it. And I think that's that's a really cool thing. do you know which building or booth number it is? Or or should we include that in the notes? You know, ~ I I Yeah. don't yet we can include that in the notes, absolutely. Yep. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We'll we'll find out from your team and we'll put it in the notes so people listening, if you're listening, just scroll up and you can s read which ~ which booth number they're in and make sure you stop by and see David and maybe me. I'll be there too ~ recording some some on site ~ short clips with David and team. I'm I'm really excited about it. Chicago is a it's a beautiful city and PACK EXPO is absolutely crazy with forty eight thousand of our closest friends, That's right. right? It's it's hard Ha ha. to match the excitement that PACK EXPO brings to the McCormick Center. It's you know, it's it's pretty wild. It's ~ it's I would th consider it the Super Bowl packaging for the USA at least. Yeah. Yeah. I mean it's ~ there are larger events in Europe, but this is the largest event in the USA. Yeah. Absolutely. So let's talk a little bit just for a a couple minutes about what you s which direction you think the the packaging industry is going for sustainability. Is it ~ is are there some some future products that you can kind of~ you know, give us a sneak peek on or are we there yet? No, there's the ~ there's definitely more coming down. I'm limited as to what I can share, but I think as we look at ~ sustainable packaging, that's obviously gonna be top of mind as customers look to one. move maybe away from ~ custom printed boxes maybe into more custom printed tape. I know that's an area that we're we're heavily focused on ~ and really streamlining our custom printed tape portfolios. And again, being able to to marry that with a lot of the new trends in the industry of recycled content, especially with higher throughputs and efficiency needs that maybe even e commerce or three PL facilities need.~ again, it 3PL facilities, the belt speed, the average belt speed in those ~ definitely is a lot faster than your general industrial manufacturing facility. So they're Right. really focused on throughput efficiencies and labor savings cost as a result of it. So we're really trying to develop products that that meet those particular industries, but also when we look at legislation being passed and and looking at really the sustainability goals that we have as a company, we're really focused on finding ways to to be more of a develop products that are more reusable, more ~ efficient, not only in the manufacturing process, so being more efficient in creating products that ~ have maybe a recycled content backing, but also downstream, easier on the recycling process, the repulping process, ones that really help our customers and and help ~ keep up with a lot of those sustainability and environmental trends are happening ~ not only in the US but across the globe. I love it. And you're exactly right. That's the future is recyclable. It's recycled. It's sustainable. It's reusable. It's all the things that you've mentioned. And thank you again, David, for being on. I'll I can't wait to see you in ~ Chicago,~ McCormick Place for PEC EXPO International. And ~ really appreciate your time today. This was fun, Cory. I appreciate it. Look forward to seeing you in Chicago and~ God bless. We'll talk to you soon. Yeah.