Annual Meeting

2019 Agenda

View the full list of sessions that took place at this year's CPA Annual Meeting.

Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. 19-20, 2019
9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

Tours and open houses: Join local suppliers and members who will open their doors for visits and demonstrations. Organized by the UPA group, plan to arrive early and take part in these events. Participating companies are listed below, with more information to come soon:

  • PPI Technologies
  • R&D Automation
  • Polypack
  • MaxPack
  • Inline Filling Systems
  • SteriPack 
  • Bay Tech Label
  • ALLIEDFLEX Technologies, Inc.
  • Balpack Inc.

View tour contacts and details         View plant tour map
Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019

Golf:
8:45 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

Fishing:
10:45 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

Kick Off Event:
5:30-9:30 p.m.

Join us for a social activity of your choice. We will host our annual golf outing at the Carrollwood Golf Club and new this year, we will have a fishing excursion in the waters off Tampa Bay.

Plan to be entertained at the Florida Aquarium. Enjoy a cocktail and appetizer during our reception while you make your way through the exhibits. We will then all gather for a fantastic dinner and networking.

Shuttles will return to the Westin starting at 8:45 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019
Please note: Annual Meeting attire is business casual
7:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Registration Desk
Check in and pick up your badge.
7:00-8:30 a.m. Networking Breakfast & Table Top Exhibits
8:00-8:25 a.m. CPA New Member Welcome
CPA Board of Directors and Ron Puvak, Managing Director, CPA
8:30-9:00 a.m. CPA President's Opening Comments and Introductions
9:00-10:00 a.m. KEYNOTE: Leadership and Accountability When It Matters
Kirk Lippold, Commander, U.S. Navy and the Commander of the USS Cole
Hear from this engaged leader, hands-on crisis management practitioner and a go-to global security expert for major news networks. The former commander demonstrates the foundation of team success and time-critical decisions based on integrity.
9:45 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Spouse/Guest Program – Water Taxi with Lunch, Celebrity Home Tour + Museum Tour
This boat tour will take you into Tampa Bay to see the homes on Davis Islands and canals lined with the grandest homes in the city. Cruise along and keep a look out for the most beautiful homes and friendly dolphins. You will take a stop at Tampa Bay History Center to see three floors of hands on, interactive exhibits focusing on 12,000 years of Florida's history. Lunch at the Columbia Cafe is included. Meet in the Westin hotel lobby at 9:45 a.m. to depart on the water taxi. Comfortable walking shoes are recommended.
10:00-10:30 a.m.

Mass Produced Individuality
The trend that is driving purchasing across channels and generations.
Deborah Ginsburg, CEO, Strategia Design 
Learn how Individuality, customization, connection and authenticity are key requirements to successfully bring any product to market in today’s environment.
10:30-10:45 a.m. Golf Tournament Awards
Moderated by Scott Thomas, CPA Golf Chair, Millennium Packaging, Inc. and Ron Puvak, Managing Director, CPA
10:45-11:15 a.m. Networking Break and Exhibitions
11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Formal Networking Session
Moderated by Todd Merka, Engage Technologies and Jorge Revelo, Vice President of Sales, Combined Technologies
12:15-1:30 p.m. Networking Lunch
1:30-2:00 p.m. Zero Labor Factor and the Next Generations
Tom Landry, Allegiance Staffing
2:00-2:30 p.m. Global Consolidation in Contract Packaging and Contract Manufacturing: Growth and Exit Strategies to Maximize Success
Tom Blaige, Chairman and CEO, Blaige and Company
Hear about valuable strategies designed to help contract packaging/contract manufacturing owners understand how to navigate and succeed in today's mergers and acquisitions environment.
2:30-4:00 p.m.

Panel Discussion: Education, Apprenticeships, Training
Panelists: Bharat Tejwani, Grad Student, University of Southern Florida, Robert Hooker, Professor, University of Southern Florida, Austin Schulte, Director, The Packaging School, Jason Tham, CEO, Nulogy

Moderated by: Tony Cort, President & COO, DAMRON Corp.
Learn about platforms that educate and empower. Find out how to open a door for students and schools to diverse careers in the supply chain, logistics, contract packaging and contract manufacturing space.
4:00-5:00 p.m. Exhibitions
The exhibition area is open after the general session ends. Browse the exhibits while enjoying an adult beverage and appetizer. 
6:00-9:00 p.m. Cocktail Reception and Presidents’ Dinner
Join CPA’s President and Board of Directors for a relaxing reception and dinner.
Please note: Coat and dress shirt recommended. 
Friday, Feb. 22, 2019
Please note: Annual Meeting attire is business casual
6:00-6:45 a.m. Fun Run/Walk
Join us for an early morning fun run/walk before the business sessions begin.
7:00-8:05 a.m. Networking Breakfast & Table Top Exhibits
8:05-9:00 a.m. KEYNOTE: What’s “Around the Corner” in Food Retailing
Bill Bishop, Chief Architect, Brick Meets Click
See how the market is changing in food retailing and how your team can take advantage of these developments to advance your business. 
9:00-9:30 a.m. CPA State of the Industry Report: One Year Later
Carl Melville, Thought Leadership Strategist,The Melville Group
Hear expanded research from CPA's 2017 State of the Industry report, forecasts into the industry's future and valuable insights for anyone involved in contract packaging/contract manufacturing.
9:30-10:15 a.m. CPA’s Strategic Plan and Trends in Packaging
Mike Richmond, Co-Owner, PTIS
10:15-10:30 a.m. CPA Business Meeting – Moderated by John Mazelin During this session, CPA will have a call for volunteers, a vote on association business, discuss committee work and more.
10:30-11:00 a.m. Networking Break and Exhibitions
11:00-11:30 a.m. E-Commerce Packaging: Think Inside the Box
Jim Chrzan, VP, Content & Brand Development, PMMI Media Group
Discover how CPGs, 3PLs and packaging OEMs are having their world rocked by the speed of e-commerce evolution...and steps your organization can take to prepare.
11:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Perception and Intelligence in Robotics
Sandhya Bhasker, Sales Lead, Vicarious
Learn how new robotic technology is introducing a learning system that allows robots to do more dynamic tasks and adapt to change in a human-like way.
12:00-12:15 p.m. The New CPA and You – Moderated by Ron Puvak Learn what CPA and its resources can do for you and join CPA President, Tim Koers, for closing remarks.
12:15-1:30 p.m. Networking Lunch
The afternoon will be divided into two exceptional concurrent tracks:
Automation Track
1:30–2:00 p.m. Collaborative Robotics Today – Jack Uhl, Sales Manager,Yaskawa/Motoman
2:00–2:30 p.m. State of Automation industry Report – Jorge Izquierdo, VP, Market Development, PMMI
2:30–4:00 p.m. Panel Discussion

Panelists: Tom Linz, Founder, Tri-Pack, Sandhya Bhasker, Sales Lead, Vicarious, Jorge Izquierdo, VP, Market Development, PMMI and Jack Uhl, Sales Manager, Yaskawa/Motoman

Moderated by: Matt Linz, VP, Sales, Tr-Pack
E-Commerce Track
1:30–2:00 p.m. Planning for E-commerce and the Amazon Impact – Brent Lindberg, Principal and Founder, Fuseneo
2:00–2:30 p.m. How do we prepare for reverse logistics?
Dave Mabon, President, Ongoing Value, Inc.
2:30–4:00 p.m.

Panel Discussion
Panelists: Brent Lindberg, Founder, Fuseneo, Austin Schulte, Director, The Packaging School Package InSight, Jim Chrzan, VP, Content and Brand Development, PMMI Media Group, Bill Bishop, Chief Architect, Brick Meets Click and Dave Mabon, Ongoing Value, Inc.

Moderated by: Eric Wilhelm, CEO, Coregistics
6:00–9:00 p.m. We will close out the event with our traditional hosted networking dinners at locations all around Tampa! Transportation is on your own.