Dear Friends,

Welcome to the Reusable Packaging Association.  2009 will be remembered as a very difficult year for the U.S. economy.  As businesses nationwide scale back in every way to weather the economic storm, the value of reusable packaging became even more evident.  As companies scrutinized their supply chain operations for cost savings they are finding that expendable packaging drains money directly from the bottom line.  This presents a fantastic opportunity for our industry because we can clearly demonstrate the value and savings that come when those expendable programs are replaced by well thought out reusable programs.

This trend also bodes well for the Reusable Packaging Association and its member companies.  This industry association offers companies that are looking to start this transformation an unparalleled array of industry expertise.  The impressive roster of RPA members is ready, willing and able to help companies drive their supply chain optimization.  As the 2010 Chairman of the RPA I am honored to be able to lead this resourceful group.  As we head into the new year, there are a number of key initiatives that we will be working on to add value to the membership and provide additional expertise to share with companies seeking to make the transition to reusables.

In 2010 we will continue to build our membership base and seek to attract even more top notch companies to the membership.  We’ve added an end user category so companies that work with reusable packaging can have a more direct impact on our programs and services.  In late 2009 we began our efforts to develop a reusable packaging curriculum that will help anyone interested in finding out more about the benefits of reusables to turn and get important information.  We have identified a number of other projects including finding ways to reduce theft of reusable assets, providing a more cost effective way to recover reusable assets in low volume scenarios, working with the EPA to quantify the environmental contributions of reusable packaging and increasing our working relationships with other groups and industries to promote reusable packaging in the marketplace.  In October we will join together with our partners the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute (PMMI) to host a Reusable Packaging Pavilion at PACK EXPO in Chicago and we will once again host our 2010 Choose Reusables Conference during the show.

If you are already a member of the RPA we invite you to become actively involved in these efforts.  The more you contribute to the RPA, the more value you will derive from your membership.  If you are not a member, I encourage you to consider joining us.  Our mission is to expand the demand for reusable packaging throughout the marketplace.  We’d welcome your participation.

Thank you for visiting our site, and if there is anything we can do to help you, please click here and tell us how we can help you.

Jon Kalin, Chairman of the Board
Sales and Marketing Manager, Rehrig Pacific Company