Herndon, Va. – The Packaging & Processing Hall of Fame will welcome four new members as its 46th class at PACK EXPO Connects (Nov. 9-13, 2020), according to Hall of Fame coordinator PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies. This year’s inductees are Jane Chase, Pat Reynolds, S. Paul Singh and Fritz Yambrach.

Since 1971, the Packaging & Processing Hall of Fame has recognized career packaging and processing professionals for their significant contributions to the industry and education. Professionals are inducted into the Hall of Fame every other year; the Class of 2020 will be acknowledged virtually, during the web-based PACK EXPO Connects event, produced by PMMI Media Group.

Comments Joe Angel, President of PMMI Media Group and Hall of Fame Commission member, “The combined industry contributions of this year’s inductees are truly inspirational. Especially in a year with so much disruption, it’s heartening to be reminded how dedicated professionals can create a legacy of innovation that will benefit future generations.”

“The accomplishments of these four professionals have helped move our industry to where it is today. We’re grateful for their contributions and we’re honored to recognize and welcome them to the Hall of Fame, Class of 2020,” adds Jim Pittas, president and CEO, PMMI.

As Executive Director of the Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP), Jane Chase, CPP, College of Fellows, taps into a swath of experience, education, achievement and skill that matches a field as varied as packaging. Educated as a mechanical engineer, her early career experience at SC Johnson Wax established her in-depth knowledge and appreciation for packaging. Over the years, Chase worked on iconic brands with many well-known CPG companies, earned multiple Ameristar Awards and developed three U.S. patents. A lifelong supporter of IoPP, she sees her future contributions as those that nurture the next generation of packaging professionals.

Currently VP/Editor Emeritus at Packaging World, a publication of PMMI Media Group, Pat Reynolds has spent 37 years in the packaging trade press. Reynolds believes his role as a packaging editor is to bring together suppliers and buyers and inform them of each other’s needs and capabilities. Despite the many packaging innovations Reynolds has covered in his nearly four-decade career, he notes that some of the most transformative are also some of the most recent, specifically digital printing, e-commerce, SKU proliferation and sustainable packaging.

Currently an industry consultant and Professor Emeritus at Michigan State University’s School of Packaging, S. Paul Singh, Ph.D, CPP, was born in India and educated in the U.S. Raised in a family that put a high level of importance on education, this has been his career’s lynchpin. A co-creator of the Consortium for Distribution Packaging Research at MSU, Singh was a faculty member for 26 years and is a Lifetime Certified Packaging Professional, an inductee of the Military Packaging Hall of Fame and the recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the International Association of Packaging Research Institutes (IAPRI).

Fritz Yambrach, Ph.D, is Director and Professor of Packaging at San Jose State University, where he developed SJSU’s respected packaging program in 2007. Earlier in his career, he worked as a packaging engineer for a variety of manufacturers. His influential Ph.D. dissertation identified packaging suppliers as a competitive advantage to innovation in the medical device industry — one of the main reasons today why medical device firms agglomerate in specific regions in the U.S. and the EU. In addition to his work as an educator, Yambrach also started a non-profit firm that designed a water vest for easier carrying of potable water in impoverished areas (FritzWaterVest.com).

PMMI convened members of the Packaging & Processing Hall of Fame Commission to select this year’s inductees. The commission includes a cross-section of industry professionals, including suppliers, journalists and end users.

• Joe Angel, President, PMMI Media Group, Publisher, Packaging World
• Kim Carswell, Director, Packaging, Target
• Kay Cooksey, Ph.D., Professor and Cryovac Endowed Chair, Department of Food, Nutrition and Packaging Sciences, Clemson University
• James Downham, President & CEO, PAC Packaging Consortium
• Suzanne Fisher, CPP, Fisher Packaging, LLC
• Mary Gregg, President, Springboard Packaging Solutions, Inc
• Glen Long, Senior Vice President, PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies
• Jeffrey Loth, Global Packaging Manager, Microsoft Corporation
• James Perry, Director, Package Innovation + Sustainability, Abbott Nutrition
• Bill Rice, Principal, Packaging Technology, SC Johnson & Son, Inc.
• Michael Richmond, Ph.D., PTIS, LLC Global Management & Packaging Consultants
• Thomas L. Schneider, CPP, Past Chairman, Institute of Packaging Professionals
• David S. Smith, Ph.D., R&D Executive, Consultant, David S. Smith Associates
• Nancy Wilson, CEO, Morrison Container Handling Solutions

The 2020 Packaging & Processing Hall of Fame inductees will be honored during PACK EXPO Connects via a brief video tribute. Gear up for PACK EXPO Connects and start browsing and building your MyConnects Planner. For more information and free registration online, visit packexpoconnects.com.