PKN Packaging News: The Podcast

In this episode, Lindy Hughson, Managing Editor & Publisher of PKN Packaging News, and James McKew Regional Director for Universal Robots Asia-Pacific, discuss cobots and the benefits they can bring to manufacturing. The episode starts with James explaining the difference between a standard, industrial robot and a collaborative robot, also known as a cobot. He explains their benefits along wit...

In this episode, Lindy Hughson, Managing Editor & Publisher of PKN Packaging News, Andrew Steele, Director for Retail at GS1 and Jean-Michel Maclou, Industry Sales Manager for Logistics Automation from SICK, discuss intelligent packaging at all levels in the packaged goods supply chain. The discussion starts with the origins and development of the humble barcode with its associated standards,...

In this episode, Lindy Hughson, Managing Editor & Publisher of PKN Packaging News and Andrew Pooch, Managing Director of Tetra Pak Oceania talk about paper-based packaging manufacturer Tetra Pak's past, present and future as the company marks 60 years in Australia. The episode starts with Andrew discussing Tetra Pak's history, its innovations including the Sunny Boy ice-confection packaging, a...

In this episode, Lindy Hughson, Managing Editor & Publisher of PKN Packaging News and Tom Lunn, Detpak's General Manager of Marketing and Innovation, discuss Woolworths' recyclable paper bags and Detpak's efforts to make them possible. The episode starts with a discussion on the inspiration for this initiative and Woolworths' objectives for switching from single-use plastic to fibre-based bags...

In this episode, Lindy Hughson, Managing Editor & Publisher of PKN Packaging News, Jacky Nordsvan, head of packaging at Nestle Oceania and Richard Smith, director of sustainability at Amcor Flexibles Asia Pacific, discuss the groundbreaking effort that went into producing the recycled KitKat wrapper. The episode starts with a review of the organisations involved in the initiative, why the KitK...

In this episode, Lindy Hughson, Managing Editor & Publisher of PKN Packaging News and Sally Williams, aka Sustainable Sally, discuss ethical consumerism and Sally's new Choice for Life platform. Sally discusses her history with Brand Power and the factors that led to her transition to the Choice for Life, including recognising the rise of the conscious consumer. With surveys indicating more co...

In this episode, Lindy Hughson, Managing Editor & Publisher of PKN Packaging News and Dr Ross Headifen, founder of Biogone, an Australian eco-conscious company dedicated to designing and delivering cost effective biodegradable products, discuss the challenges and pitfalls of managing plastics. Ross presents his concerns that the broader goals of Australia’s 2025 National Packaging Targets – to...

In this episode, Lindy Hughson, Managing Editor & Publisher of PKN Packaging News and Paul Allen, Principal of Margin Partners and author of ‘Take Back Your Margin!’ discuss the legislative and global changes for B2B suppliers that provide unseen opportunities to protect and grow their business strength and sustainability. The discussion opens with a review of the many factors that have change...

In this episode, Lindy Hughson, Managing Editor & Publisher of PKN Packaging News, Jessica Walters, Head of Sales & Marketing at Labelmakers, and Felicia Richardson, CEO of Enviroflex, discuss their recent collaboration to recycle label liners rather than sending them to landfill. Labelmakers Group, Australia's biggest label printing company, has secured the rights to the worldwide patente...

In this episode, Lindy Hughson, Managing Editor & Publisher of PKN Packaging News and Nikki Moeschinger, the managing director of BrandOpus discuss the multilayered topic of brand and pack design, exploring how brand, often the most valuable asset on a company’s balance sheet, is regularly under-utilised, misunderstood and dismissed as “the logo.” Nikki explains how, in the context of FMCG, a...

In this episode, Lindy Hughson, Managing Editor & Publisher of PKN Packaging News, talks with Richard Smith, Director of Sustainability at Amcor Flexibles Asia Pacific about the flexible packaging paradox and the Holy Grail 2.0 project. We start by discussing the dilemma that flexible packaging is so successful due to its numerous sustainable advantages yet these very properties make it hard t...

In this episode, Lindy Hughson, Managing Editor & Publisher of PKN Packaging News, talks with the co-founders of social impact enterprise WOSUP, Martin Salter (CEO) and Karl Page (COO) about their company and its war on single-use plastic pollution in the context of disposable cups used at events. With over 500 billion disposable cups used annually across the globe, many of them end up polluti...

In this episode, Lindy Hughson, Managing Editor & Publisher of PKN Packaging News, talks with Alan Adams, Sustainability Director at APAC Sealed Air and Nerida Kelton, Executive Director of the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP). Both Sealed Air and the AIP are consortium members for the Save Food Packaging Project for the Fight Food Waste CRC. The key topic of this episode is the launch...

In this episode, our first for 2021, Lindy Hughson, Managing Editor & Publisher of PKN Packaging News, talks about consumer education and brand awareness of sustainability with Sally Williams, aka Sustainable Sally, and Austen Ramage, Product Manager at Martogg Group. Lindy talks with Austen and Sally about the reasons why Sally has joined forces with Martogg LCM to promote sustainability and...

In this episode, Lindy Hughson, Managing Editor & Publisher of PKN Packaging News, talks with Aleks Lajovic, MD of Impact International, about the company’s carbon-offset initiatives, including a forest, a solar farm and alternative materials for tube production. We start by talking about the forest that Impact International has purchased to provide a carbon-offset capacity for its production...

In this episode, Lindy Hughson, Managing Editor & Publisher of PKN Packaging News, talks with Brooke Donnelly, CEO of the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO), to look back on a huge year of achievements and also look ahead at our packaging future. The discussion covers the launch of APCO's Our Packaging Future report, its Priority Projects for fiscal year 2021 and the launch of t...

In this episode, Lindy Hughson, Managing Editor & Publisher of PKN Packaging News, talks with Simon Jones of EVRYTHNG and Michael Dossor of Result Group about smart packaging and the opportunities it will create for Australian brand owners. The discussion includes how smart packaging supports product transparency and authenticity along with the benefits of new technology and standards that are...

In this episode, Lindy Hughson, Managing Editor & Publisher of PKN Packaging News, talks with Joe Foster and Jessica Ansell from O F Packaging about the company’s new "Roll 'n' Recycle" initiative developed in partnership with PREP Design. We start with a discussion about the Roll 'n' Recycle initiative's background and how it came about due to the difficulties associated with recycling soft p...

In this episode, Lindy Hughson, Managing Editor & Publisher of PKN Packaging News, talks with Kate Bezar, the co-founder & director of The Better Packaging Company in New Zealand about producing compostable packaging for e-Commerce deliveries. Kate tells us about the inspiration for starting Better Packaging and its biodegradable courier satchels which have been certified to stringent Aust...

Mark Dingley, Chairman of the Australian Packaging and Processing Machinery Association (APPMA), joins PKN Managing Editor & Publisher Lindy Hughson to discuss the impacts of COVID-19 on AUSPACK and other packaging exhibitions. An important announcement is made regarding the staging of the next AUSPACK show. Factors leading to the announcement included the likelihood of Australia's internation...

PKN Managing Editor & Publisher Lindy Hughson is joined by Karli Verghese and Nerida Kelton. Karli is the Associate Professor and Principal Research Fellow in Industrial Design at RMIT and the Reduce Program Leader at the Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre (CRC). Nerida is the Executive Director of the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP), and project lead for the Save Food Packag...

PKN Managing Editor & Publisher Lindy Hughson is joined by Joanne Howarth, the Founder & CEO of Planet Protector Packaging. Joanne is an entrepreneur with big passion determined to make a big impact. Joanne explains how she was driven to find a planet-friendly form of packaging through her extensive use of polystyrene packaging for cold chain distribution in her previous role. This led her...

PKN Managing Editor & Publisher Lindy Hughson is joined by Jacky Nordsvan, the head of packaging at Nestle Australia. Jacky oversees packaging for Oceania with a particular focus on packaging sustainability. She is involved with Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) and sits on the technical advisory committee of the Packaging Recyclability Evaluation Portal (PREP). Our discussion...

PKN Managing Editor & Publisher Lindy Hughson is joined by Pierre Pienaar, president of the World Packaging Organisation, to discuss the organisation’s goal to bring about a ‘better quality of life through better packaging for more people’. To set the context, Lindy provides a snapshot of PKN Packaging News' sixty years of history, its focus on the packaging industry and the rapid change in pa...