TAPPI’s International Flexible Packaging and Extrusion Division (IFPED) has announced the winners of its 2020 awards:

Rob Hammond, technical sales director, MICA Corporation, received the Division Leadership and Service Award and the Andreas Ahbrandt Prize. A TAPPI member since 1998, Hammond has served as Chair of IFPED, the technical program chair for the division’s conferences and as an instructor for TAPPI’s extrusion coating course. Honorees are selected in recognition of their outstanding leadership and exceptional service to the division which have resulted in significant and demonstrable benefits to the division's members.

Brad Kramer, senior engineer in the market development & technical support (MDTS) team for SABIC North America, is the recipient of the Division Technical Award and the Samuel Zweig/The Dow Chemical Company Prize. Kramer has been active in TAPPI IFPED (formerly PLACE) for more than 30 years, serving as a presenter, session developer, moderator and as team leader helping the division transition from committees to work teams. The award is intended to recognize outstanding accomplishments or contributions, which have advanced the industry's technology in flexible packaging.

The following individuals were also recognized for their service during the 2018-2020 term.

• Kelly Frey, technical service – extrusion coating, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company, Outgoing Division Chair
• Darrell Landry, technical sales representative, Mica Corporation, Outgoing Technical Program Team Chair 
• Jim Lush, account manager, Celplast Metallized Products, Limited, Outgoing Awards and Scholarship Chair          

The following individuals were honored for papers presented at the prior IFPED Conference:

• Dillon Kang, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company, received the Dragan Djordjevic Award for “Effects of Migratory & Non-Migratory Slip on Adhesion Strength in Blown Film Lamination Applications.”
• Sergi Salva Saez, UBE America, Inc., received Best Paper Award for “New Developments in Flexible Retort Packaging Using Nylon.”
• Jose Torradas, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, received the Best Session Developer Award for Session 8, “Multilayer Packaging: Testing, Characterization and Modeling.”

Registration is now open for the division’s first-ever virtual conference, featuring CEFLEX’s Dana Mosora as the keynote speaker, March 17, 2021, from 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. (EST).

Visit www.tappi.org for more information.