The annual event and meeting point for the world’s release
liner industry - the AWA Global Release Liner Conference & Exhibition2015–
takes place on March 18-20 2015 in Denver, Colorado, USA. Organised annually
for the last 15 years by AWA Conferences & Events, and alternating between
Europe and USA, the event is the unique, established industry forum for this
broad-ranging sector.
The state of the
industry
This year’s program appropriately reflects the many markets,
opportunities, and challenges the release liner industry faces, and is
organized around the theme‘Strategy – Innovation – Market Intelligence –
Growth’. Corey Reardon, President and
CEO of AWA Alexander Watson Associates, will open proceedings with up-to-date
quick scans of growth, developments, and trends in a variety of markets,
providing all involved in the release liner market -- with a global
overview. AWA Vice President and Senior
Consultant, Jackie Marolda, will augment this data with the results of the
annual AWA Industry Survey, highlighting industry players’ responses on such
issues as sustainability, costs and profitability, M&A activity, and growth
and expectations. Conference delegates will then participate in a ‘real-time’
interactive industry survey, with the results presented instantaneously.
Conference keynote
The conference keynote follows, focussed on innovation,
strategic thought, and building a strategy –key topics for success in every
business. It comes from David
Silverstein, founder and CEO of leading operational strategy consultants
BMGI.
Mr Silverstein will then participate in an executive
leadership panel discussion featuring, additionally, release liner industry
participants, including Dr Bernhard Klofat, CEO, Felix Schoeller; Anthony P McLaurin, CEO, FiberMark North
America, and Tomas Rink, President, Ritrama.
Corey Reardon will moderate the discussion.
M&A, top players’
performance
A discussion of the current conditions influencing industry
M&A activity, along with a review of recent notable transactions, is then
the subject addressed by William Hornell, Managing Director, Mesirow
Financial; and thereafter Ian Murdoch,
European Leader of PwC’s Paper and Packaging Practice, will analyse the
performance andreturn on capital investment achieved in 2013, by region, of the
top 100 players in the industry.
Innovation: an all-round perspective
Innovation and the release liner industry – what it is, why
it is important, and who is responsible -- are the subject of the next
presentation from AWA’s Jackie Marolda, who pinpoints the insights into
industry innovation identified by the company’s annual survey.
But is innovation for everybody, or is it just the
birthright of a chosen group of people like Thomas Edison, Steve Jobs, and Elon
Musk? –According to Dr Phil Samuel,
Chief Innovation Officer at BMGI, everyone can, in fact, embrace that creative
spirit, master innovation, and become extraordinary human beings.
His presentation will illustrate seven habits of
highly-effective innovators, featuring examples from a variety of industries,
including specialty paper/coating. A full day’s program focussed on a key issue
for the release liner industry concludes with a supplier forum and cocktails
and networking around the exhibition.
Second day – market
focussed
On the second day, the conference program moves into release
liner’s end-use markets, with presentations on release liners in self-adhesive
graphics applications from expert graphics instructor and installer Paul Roba;
the use of composites in the automotive industry, from Greg Rucks,
Transportation & Industry, Rocky Mountain Institute; building a graphite composite snowboard from
Steffen Hak, independent pre-preg specialist and snowboard designer; the hygiene market, from Theo Wilting, CEO,
Akronn Industries; and the medical
sector, from Mike O’Connell, Business Development Manager, AD Tape and Label.
The competitive technologies currently threatening
pressure-sensitive labeling’s market leadership are examined by Dan Muenzer,
Vice President, Marketing, for Constantia Flexibles, in an in-depth review of
the prime label market.
Concurrent
Pre-Conference Program
The AWA Global Release Liner Industry Conference 2015
features, on March 18, the opportunity to participate in one of two concurrent
programs – a release liner workshop, or a silicone and technical session. These additions to the event’s agenda enable
delegates to drill down into their specialist areas of interest.
The AWA Global Release Liner Industry Conference
2015, being held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Denver, also includesa complementary
exhibition and extensive networking opportunities. It is sponsored by leading companies across
the release liner value chain, including platinum sponsors Dow Corning, Infiana
(formerly Huhtamaki), and UPM. Full
details are available via the AWA Alexander Watson Associates website,
www.awa-bv.com, where it is also possible to register for any event online.
