FBA Blog

Letter from FBA Chairman Cathy Foley

As I conclude my tenure as FBA Chair, it is hard to believe we have not been able to meet in person all year. While I have missed seeing you, I am grateful for your on-going commitment to the association resulting in the accomplishments below, even in the midst of a pandemic.

Deemed essential early-on, our industry employees have been tremendous, and have helped keep transport packaging flowing. Thanks to the corrugated industry’s efforts, makers of essential products continued to deliver crucial food, medications, tissue, hygiene, and other consumer products.

Much like the industry at large, FBA also adapted to the ever-changing environment. The association supported the industry’s ‘essential’ designation, by sending individual letters to all fifty state governors. They issued a press release supporting the industry as the backbone of the American supply chain in March 2020, and established a COVID-19 information page on the FBA website. They also worked with outside consultants to understand the impact of the Coronavirus on corrugated boxes. Then they created a video to recognize industry employees for their continued efforts in the face of this unprecedented challenge.

In addition to the support FBA has given during the pandemic, they also worked to ensure the valuable programs and services we’ve come to expect remained available in a year like no other.

This past year FBA:

  • Continued to publish traditional data service benchmarking reports and enhanced qualitative reports exploring impacts on box manufacturing. These included the Labor Trends and News Report, the E-Commerce Report, and the highly-valued Plastics Reduction Report.
  • Implemented Year Four of the Corrugated Industry Promotion Program including the development of the quarterly Advertising and Social Media Impact Report which provides member companies with a dashboard and detailed view of progress against goals for print/digital advertising and social media. The Board also began receiving monthly e-mail alerts on planned programming.
  • Worked with AF&PA to execute a change to statistical reporting. FBA moved from monthly to quarterly reporting beginning in 2021. The first report was published on April 15.
  • Completed research with Rochester Institute of Technology on unitized pallet-load environmental-design factors, results of which will be shared with FBA members via webinar.
  • Supported the industry roll-out of the pizza box recycling announcement with paid advertising in Pizza Today, PMQ (Pizza), pizza.com and across our social media channels. Partnered with Massachusetts DEP to develop a RecycleSmartMA newsletter on pizza recycling for all MA residents.
  • Engaged with allied associations to further the story of corrugated including working with: Paper Packaging Board on their sales toolkit, in holiday editorial on e-commerce, and video support; AICC and other organizations to share COVID-19 information and respond to member requests; and AF&PA on a variety of topic areas.

It has been my honor to serve as the Fibre Box Association Chairman for the past year. I am thankful for the leadership of Dennis Colley and the highly effective and capable staff as well as the members of the FBA Board of Directors.

This year has been a challenge for us all, but I remain hopeful that we are coming out on the other side. I look forward to again being able to gather with you at an FBA event in the near future.

Sincerely,

Cathy Foley