Arlington, VA, September 6, 2007 – Three career packaging professionals will be inducted into the Packaging Hall of Fame™ Class of 2007. Terry Bedell, William H. LeMaire and Jerome H. Heckman will join a long list of career packagers in a ceremony held in Ballroom B at the Las Vegas Hilton at 4:30pm on October 15, 2007. The ceremony will be held in conjunction with PACK EXPO Las Vegas, running from October 15-17 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Each year since 1971, the Packaging Hall of Fame has recognized industry professionals who have made significant contributions to the advancement of packaging technology. A special Packaging Hall of Fame Commission, a panel of thirteen representatives from various sectors of the packaging community, selected Bedell, LeMaire and Heckman from all nominated candidates.

Tickets for the reception and induction ceremony are $75 each and can be purchased at http://www.pmmi.org/tickets.asp.

Proceeds from the event will be used to support packaging education programs through the PMMI Education & Training Foundation.

Following are brief biographies of the newest members of the Packaging Hall of Fame:

Terry Bedell

A true visionary, Terry Bedell has long championed packaging’s role in the environment. Now retired, Bedell is a graduate of the University of Connecticut and spent 28 years with Clorox, taking part in some of the company’s most important packaging innovations.

As manager of packaging R&D for 10 years, Bedell oversaw the first major redesign of the Clorox bleach bottle, the introduction of a trigger sprayer package for Formula 409, and the developments of a water soluble package for Act laundry detergent, Fresh Step crystals stand-up pouch, the Clorox bleach pen and Clorox toilet and bath wands. This long list of achievement garnered several World Star and other awards

Bedell’s achievements have also included work with General Foods on the first Maxwell House instant coffee jar, Lipton on the Pennsylvania Dutch Noodle packaging, Sunline on Willy Wonka candy and Riviana on the original Success Rice boil-in-bag.

During his long career, Bedell managed packaging and product related environmental issues for Clorox as director of environmental packaging for 10 years. He also served in several leadership roles with trade associations including:

• Grocery Manufacturers Association
• Soap and Detergent Association
• Chemical Products Manufacturers Association
• Council on Packaging in the Environment (COPE)

Recognized nationally as one of the top industry experts on packaging and solid wastes issues and household hazardous waste, Bedell has shared his knowledge with his peers at several conferences including PACK EXPO, IoPP and MSU Seminars.

Bedell has also taken part in spreading the gift of education to tomorrow’s packagers by serving on several boards and committees.

William H. “Bill” LeMaire

For over 30 years William H. “Bill” Lemaire has been one of the most influential personalities in packaging. Beginning with Package Engineering Magazine in 1972 and finishing with the sale of Packaging Strategies in 1999, Bill produced informational vehicles that promoted the dissemination and understanding of packaging developments.

As editor of Package Engineering and later Food Engineering magazines, LeMaire provided the overview needed not only by packaging professionals, but also the information and insight that was lacking in the engineering, purchasing, marketing, and management functions of food and pharmaceutical companies. This information refined and extended the understanding of the complex relationships of packaging with the product and the consumer. LeMaire also went beyond what was said in a company’s press release to analyze and critique package construction and performance characteristics.

Sensing a need in the packaging community, Lemaire left Food Engineering in 1983 and founded a new and unique publication, Packaging Strategies. Combining technical data, emerging technologies and industry changes, many of his topics discussed ranged from evolutions in PET bottles, CPET for microwave products, pouches for juice as well as the emergence of barrier plastics as viable replacements for traditional metal and glass packaging.

Packaging Strategies was the first U.S. packaging publication to be translated and distributed in Japan and was one of the first publications to regularly report on packaging developments from Europe, Asia, and South America – a truly global information source.

One of LeMaire’s most outstanding journalistic achievements, however, was his role in starting Packaging Strategies summit, the first forum that brought together senior management from both packaging suppliers and end-user companies. Not simply a conference, the summit has fostered the sharing of ideas and touched a wide array of disciplines beyond packaging, encouraging the growth and influence of packaging in today’s marketplace.

Jerome H. Heckman, Esq.

Founder and senior partner of Keller and Heckman LLP., Jerome H. Heckman has been one of the most prominent attorneys working on the global regulation of packaging for over 50 years. In this time Heckman has been counsel to the Society of the Plastics Industry’s Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Packaging Materials Committee which represents all segments of the packaging industry.

Heckman has worked with lawmakers and regulators from around the globe including the FDA, the European Commission, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Japanese government officials to tackle a variety of packaging issues.

One of Heckman’s greatest achievements was establishing the FDA’s Food Contact Notification ( FCN) Program. A process that began in 1957, the program allows food-contact substances to obtain FDA clearance within 120 days from the filing date – a process that once took several years, created undue delays and wasted valuable resources. As a result, the program has created incentives for the development and clearance of new food-contact materials and new applications.

Heckman was also instrumental in the passage of the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act in 1997 which helped create the FCN Program.

Heckman has accrued several awards and honors, including the Director’s Special Citation Award from the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) in 2000 for his role in the creation of the FCN program and the International Achievement Award from the International Society of Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology (ISRTP) in 2005.

Editors Note: For photographs of any of our honorees, please contact Matt Sedlak, membership and communications assistant, at msedlak@pmmi.org.

PMMI is a trade association whose more than 500 general members manufacture packaging and packaging-related converting machinery in the United States and Canada. PMMI’s thirty-two supplier members manufacture commercially available packaging machinery components. PMMI's vision is to be the leading global resource for packaging. Its mission is to improve and promote members' abilities to meet the needs of their customers. Visit www.pmmi.org for more information.

 PACK EXPO Las Vegas will be held October 15-17, 2007 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV. The show will be co-located with the PROCESS EXPO, the Converting & Package Printing EXPO and the International Bottled Water Association’s 2007 Convention and Tabletop Trade Show. PACK EXPO International will be held November 9-13, 2008 at McCormick Place in Chicago, IL.  PMMI also produces EXPO PACK México, the premier packaging show in Mexico serving the Latin American region. This show will be held June 24-27, 2008 at Centro Banamex, Mexico City, Mexico.

Visit www.packexpo.com for more information. 

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