CINCINNATI, Ohio - xpedx today announced a new network of seven Package Design Centers with the opening of centers in the San Francisco Bay Area and Rochester, N.Y., and the expansion of existing design centers in Chicago, Detroit, Kansas City, Pittsburgh and Juarez, Mexico, metropolitan areas.  xpedx provides total packaging solutions for manufacturers, brand owners/marketers and other businesses.
 
xpedx also announced it has added new package design staff and services in 12 other U.S. metropolitan regions:  Baltimore, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Grand Rapids, Mich., Greensboro, N.C., Memphis, Tenn., Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Seattle, and Tampa, Fla.  xpedx facilities in those markets offer expertise on all aspects of packaging development, production, distribution and cost-management.
 
xpedx said it will open other Package Design Centers in the U.S. later this year.  The xpedx network of design centers and specialists is one of North America’s largest sources of packaging expertise, helping customers with everything from initial packaging concept to point-of-sale presentation.  Interconnected teams of design, technical and logistics experts work closely with customers anywhere in North America or worldwide.
 
“Manufacturers want to maximize financial returns for new products—and packaging is ever-more crucial to that success,” said xpedx Vice President of Packaging John Perrin.  “Companies typically face challenges on three key fronts.  First, they want maximum visibility and control of their total packaging costs.  Second, they want to reduce supply chain complexity.  Third, they want to leverage best practices in package design because of its large and growing impact on sales, profitability and cost reduction.”

xpedx, a business of International Paper (NYSE: IP), is one of the largest providers of packaging equipment, supplies, logistics and distribution services. The company employs more than 450 packaging engineers, technicians, designers and sales professionals from more than 200 locations in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Its customers include top manufacturers in technology, food and beverage, automotive, pharmaceutical, health care and other industries.

By working with customers from the very start of a new product design or update, xpedx can help tightly manage entire packaging and distribution functions. Through its Package Design Centers and its other North American locations, xpedx provides:
 
· material-neutral designs using corrugated, folding carton, specialty foams, thermoformed plastics, molded fiber and pulp, and flexible packaging;
· control of and potential reduction in total packaging and distribution costs;
· consistent design, innovation, testing and development processes;
· wide-ranging sustainability solutions;
· packaging machinery, systems and substrates plus production line optimization;
· access to production, kitting and fulfillment;
· supply chain simplification and transparency;
· delivery of packaged products and point-of-sale presentation.
 
xpedx Package Design Centers are housed at xpedx facilities in Hayward, Calif.; Juarez, Mexico; Olathe, Kan.; Chicago; Pittsburgh, Pa; Rochester, N.Y. and Livonia, Mich. All are staffed with packaging engineers, project managers, and have full design, prototype development, and access to state-of-the-art testing capabilities.
 
In recent years, xpedx design and logistics capabilities have helped some customers, including some of the biggest electronics original equipment manufacturers, save millions of dollars annually in packaging and supply chain costs. xpedx package design experts have also helped manufacturers successfully, cost-efficiently and rapidly launch new products.

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