Skip to:

Program

Monday, 12 November, 2018

Pre-Event

6:00pm

Pre-Event-Registration and Cocktail Reception

Tuesday, 13 November, 2018

Day 1

As part of RISI’s commitment to antitrust compliance, RISI has retained K&L Gates to attend the conference program and to review and approve all conference materials and presentations.  For more information please visit our Legal Limitations page

7:30am

Registration

8:30am

Opening Remarks

8:40am

Presentation of the RISI Global Containerboard CEO of the Year

Presented to Mark Kowlzan, Chairman and CEO of Packaging Corporation of America 

8:45am

Keynote Address by CEO Winner Mark Kowlzan

9:15am

The Macroeconomic View: Will the Global Growth Continue?

  • An analysis of global economic trends and their influence on the containerboard market
  • How long will the US economic recovery last?
  • Is the global economy slowing?
  • How will the possible trade wars between US and China affect the global economy?
9:35am

North American and Global Containerboard Outlook

  • Growth outlook for US box shipments and key growth driver
  • What is the outlook for containerboard capacity growth?
  • Will containerboard export demand grow in 2019?
  • Implications of lower OCC costs
10:05am

Questions and Answers

10:10am

Post-midterm Elections Update: What Lies Ahead for Containerboard?

  • Implications of the mid-term congressional elections
  • What are key regulatory challenges facing the containerboard industry?
  • Update on current tariff battle and what it means for US containerboard producers
10:30am

Questions and Answers

10:35am

Coffee and Tea Networking Break

11:05am

The Global OCC Markets – The Great Uncertainty Over China

  • China’s RCP import regulation and the impact on global OCC markets in short to medium term
  • Changing OCC trade flows
  • How are Chinese paper/board producers going to secure fibre supply?
  • Changing OCC demand/supply balance and the potential impact on global containerboard markets

 

11:30am

Panel Discussion: World Tour:Examining the Supply and Demand Dynamics in Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa

12:10pm

Questions and Answers

12:30pm

Networking Lunch

1:50pm

Presentation of the RISI Lifetime Achievement Award presented to Jim Porter, President,Business Development & Latin America, WestRock

Presented by Greg Rudder, Managing ditor, Pulp and Paper Week, RISI to winner Jim Porter, President, Business Development & Latin America, WestRock

2:00pm

Conversions vs New Builds – Which Offers the Most Bang for the Buck?

  • How is the drop in recovered paper prices impacting North American containerboard manufacturing costs?
  • Will recycled mills have a cost advantage over virgin containerboard mills?
  • How cost competitive are conversions vs adding new paper machines from an operating capital perspective?
  • What are major factors to consider in evaluating and investing in conversions?
2:20pm

Panel Discussion: Economics of Conversions vs. New Machines

2:50pm

Questions and Answers

3:00pm

Transportation Infrastructure: A Light at the End of the Tunnel?

3:25pm

Questions and Answers

3:30pm

Coffee and Tea Networking Break

4:00pm

Box Survey Findings and Volume Outlook

  • Examining the near term volume outlook
  • Long term demand considerations
  • Analysing the latest e-commerce trends within the box industry
  • Near term supply/demand dynamics in containerboard
  • Latest developments in sustainability and its impact on paperboard demand

 

4:10pm

The Future of the Box Market, Impact of E-commerce and More

  • What does the past and present tell us about the future?
  • Virgin vs. recycled; conversion capacity—investment cost vs product quality
  • Ensuring package performance vs cost to deliver
4:40pm

E-commerce and the Changing Face of Retail

  • Are we entering a new era for box demand and how will it be sustained in the medium to long term?
  • Projected growth of e-commerce retail sales
  • How are traditional retail and e-commerce supply chains different?
  • What are the implications for packaging design?
  • Potential threats to corrugated growth in the e-commerce market
5:00pm

Questions and Answers

5:10pm

What’s Going to Happen to All of Those Boxes?

  • What’s the current landscape? Box shipments vs. growth in e-commerce
  • What impact will a growing e-commerce economy have on the recovery of OCC?
  • What has to be done to maintain high OCC recovery rates?
  • What is the industry doing to educate stakeholders including consumers?
5:30pm

Questions and Answers

5:40pm

Closing Remarks and End of Day One

5:45pm

Cocktail Reception

Wednesday, 14 November, 2018

Day 2

8:00am

Registration

9:00am

Opening Remarks

9:10am

Brazil's Containerboard and Box Industry on the Rebound

  • How long is the upward trend set to continue?
  • Will Brazil grow as a global export linerboard supplier?
  • How is consolidation and recovered paper costs impacting the packaging market?
9:40am

New Trends in European Corrugated

  • Outlook for European corrugated box demand
  • How big a push is e-commerce providing?
  • How corrugated packaging suppliers are becoming merchandising solutions providers
  • How latest technology is being used in Europe
  • What can North America learn from the European market?
10:10am

Questions and Answers

10:20am

Coffee and Tea Networking Break

10:50am

Trends in White Linerboard Market: On the Way Up?

  • Current status of the global white linerboard market
  • Is demand for white linerboard grades reviving?
  • Key drivers for the white linerboard market
11:20am

Western Europe Containerboard Market Outlook

  • What is the outlook for European containerboard demand
  • How much new recycled containerboard capacity is being added?
  • Implications for virgin and recycled containerboard mill operating rates
11:50am

An Update on China: The Changes Keep Coming

  • Is demand in Chinese containerboard market slowing?
  • How are latest government policies on recovered paper impacting domestic containerboard mills?
  • How will Chinese mills meet their future fiber needs?
  • How are the changes in China impacting the rest of Asia?

 

12:30pm

Questions and Answers

12:40pm

Close of Conference

Grab-&-Go Lunch will be served.