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February 10, 2025
APPLETON – The future of all things packaging will once again be the focus of discussion at the annual 5P Showcase Expo, this year set for Feb. 25-26 at the Hilton Paper Valley Hotel in Appleton.
Networking opportunities, education on the packaging industry, exhibits and speakers will highlight the two-day event.
The event’s featured speaker will be Michael Manley of Amazon, who will discuss “Unwrapping Smart Packaging Technologies – A to Z.”
Marty Ochs, executive director of the Green Bay Innovation Group (the organizer of the event), said the 5Ps – packaging, printing, paper, plastics and pulp – will be the main focus of the showcase.
“The Green Bay Innovation Group and the International Dairy Deli Bakery Association chose Appleton to host the 5P Showcase Expo because Wisconsin and the Great Lakes state’s companies are the largest suppliers of packaging and food products in the United States,” he said.
Ochs said Wisconsin has 69 label companies.
“There are more than 300 companies involved in converting in Wisconsin,” he said. “The event will cover a wide gamut of topics that are important to the industry.”
Additionally, Ochs, who has been involved in the paper industry for five decades, said Appleton and the surrounding area have more than 110 companies involved in the packaging market.
“Appleton was the founding (region) of the paper industry with the likes of Kimbery-Clark, Appleton Paper, Neenah Paper and 12 other paper companies on the Fox River,” he said. “Appleton is called the ‘Paper Valley,’ but today, we need to call Appleton the ‘Packaging Valley.’”
The 2025 5P Showcase Expo is the third event of its kind, but Ochs said this year’s event is “bigger and better.”
“We did a half-day one, two or three years ago, and then last year we did one at the Radisson (Hotel & Conference Center in Green Bay) – that one went over well,” he said. “We knew we had to draw more across the state. We want to pull people from Green Bay, Madison, Milwaukee, Chicago, Minneapolis and across the Midwest.”
More specifically, Ochs said the expo will include:
- Showcases of the latest developments in packaging materials, printing technologies and converting processes, with a particular emphasis on sustainability
- Targeted professionals from the food, dairy, deli, bakery and retail industries, including manufacturers, retailers and packaging suppliers
- A platform for attendees to connect with industry experts, innovators and decision-makers through presentations, panel discussions and exhibition booths
It’s about more than just an event
Ochs said one of the main goals of the showcase is to educate people about the five Ps of the paper industry.
“The average person simply doesn’t understand how big it really is,” he said. “The 5P converting industries probably employ 35-40% of all people manufacturing in Wisconsin.”
Ochs said looking at the different sectors of the paper industry, there’s not another area of the country like Northeast Wisconsin.
“For example, we’re the largest in label printing, we’re in the top two or three in flexible printing, we’re No. 1 in paper, from one to three in corrugation and maybe No. 1 in tissue towels,” he said. “If you put it all together, nobody in the nation is even close to us, but unfortunately, many people are not educated about that.”
Ochs said roughly 7,200 people in Wisconsin are employed in the paper industry.
“Twenty years ago, that number was 30,000,” he said. “In the last 20-25 years, 22 mills have closed down across Wisconsin. Environmental (reasons) were a factor but many were also family owned, the products they made had a specific market and quite frankly, a lot of the mills had old machines and they couldn’t compete anymore. Some were bought up or merged as well. When new mills came online, they could produce more in one month than others could do in a whole year.”
In addition to Manley, Ochs said Jeff Krepline (Menasha Corporation), Mark Hunter (Hoffmaster), Heather Prach (IDDBA) and Natha Dempsey (Foodservice Packaging Institute) are all scheduled to speak at the showcase.
“Manley is very knowledgeable,” Ochs said. “He gets into RFID (radio frequency identification), which is a new type of label technology that can track where your food is. Amazon wants to be more transparent to the end consumer.”
Ochs said down the road, that could help decide the best market to sell products.
“For example, this type of label technology can help Amazon consolidate shipments,” he said. “If they notice a market like Atlanta is doing well, maybe they would add to that center. It can help them make sound business decisions.”
Driving around Green Bay, Ochs said one would be amazed at how many companies are involved in packaging.
“There are so many hidden companies out there (that help in the process),” he said. “De Pere alone has 35, Ashwaubenon has 34, downtown Green Bay has 22, etc. They’re all involved in some form of packaging, repackaging, converting paper, etc. They are subcontractors for the big companies and help with the finished product.”
For more information on the 5P Showcase Expo, visit greenbayinnovationgroup.com.
