Mex, Switzerland – BOBST, a leading global manufacturer and supplier of print and packaging technologies, has partnered with The Independent Packaging Association, AICC, Packaging School to launch a new training and education course dedicated to the corrugated market.

‘Innovations and machinery advancements in the corrugated industry’ is a modular program that will enable brands and converters to better understand the current state of the corrugated sector, taking into account market trends, demands and machinery advancements.

The AICC, through its Packaging School, develops free online courses to close the gap in corrugated, folding carton and rigid box industry training and support the needs of production, sales, service, design and finance departments.

The new course will cover a selection of BOBST machines, including the new MASTERLINE DRO rotary die-cutting solution, alongside Speedpack and Regitron module systems.

Emilio Corti, Market Director at BOBST North America commented: “In the wider packaging sector, education is absolutely essential. As a business leader, we feel a responsibility to ensure that learning opportunities are widely available and are accessible as they can be. We are proud to partner AICC to develop this new corrugated-specific course as part of the organisation’s Packaging School.

“We want to play our part in developing the next generation of packaging professionals and innovators, and that starts with fostering deeper understanding technical corrugated packaging elements – information that typically, has been held by an experienced older generation ageing out of the workforce. This is a challenge the packaging sector has been up against for some time, which makes initiatives such as the AICC Packaging School so important to the industry.”

In addition to supporting key knowledge of corrugated packaging production, the course will also include information on periphery products and technologies, such as coatings and finishes.

This includes BOBST oneBARRIER, an EVOH-free transparent monomaterial solution developed jointly by BOBST, Dow, Zermatt and Sun Chemical, that eliminates the need for a top coat. The technology has been developed to maximise the amount of PE in packaging structures, with the goal of increasing recyclability in a more economical and high-barrier packaging solution.

Emilio added: “We are proud to be education investors. Our commitments today don’t just help to create a stronger foundation of knowledge for the next generation of packaging operatives, designers and developers, they also create a more robust long-term future for the packaging sector. We have a role to play in making that a reality – and we’re extremely proud of that.”