Packaging For Tomorrow

Who would vote for Mitt Romney on his record?

packagin — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 04:30:07 +0000

L.C. M asked:

I have one prescription that costs more than the insurance cost in Mass.

SBSSERVER-1SPS:

Bormioli Rocco: Winning Packaging Solutions

packagin — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 00:00:30 +0000

simona bonati asked:

Every day the world of cosmetics is the theatre of a silent battle. On shop and supermarket shelves, brands vie for consumer preference. In this battle, packaging plays a vital role. That is why Bormioli Rocco, one of the leading manufacturers of plastic packaging for cosmetics, offers winning solutions which avail of cutting-edge technology and innovative materials, like 100% recycled PET.

Bottles made with this environmentally-friendly material boast a high level of transparency. The know-how and experience of Bormioli Rocco guarantee the product’s superior quality and efficiency.

To meet the demands of a market which is increasingly preoccupied with protecting our planet, the Plastics Division offers cosmetics manufacturers eco-friendly packaging that can be personalized in a whole range of ways. These packaging solutions combine glamour and an eco-compatible message: this combination is the secret behind the growing success of these cosmetics bottles which many Bormioli Rocco customers have been using for some time.

The Plastics Division has established partnerships with prestigious European companies such as Vichy, Produits Professionnels de L’Oral, Clarins, Pierre Fabre Dermo-Cosmtique and Yves Rocher. Following the example set by the French companies, many of the Italian ones are now also turning to the expertise and experience of Bormioli Rocco, which offers personalized solutions or standard lines ready to be transformed into unique packaging, like the new range of bottles for suncare and personal hygiene products.

This range consists of cosmetics bottles in PET, available in different sizes (from 20 ml to 400 ml) and neck finishes. The design favours simple, gently rounded shapes. To create packs that stand out, customers can choose from a wide range of colours, ad hoc decorations, pigments for special iridescent effects and additives for scented packs.

Bormioli Rocco also produces roll on packs for deodorants using a system that reduces production time and saves on resources. The ball, ball holder and cap are actually assembled in a single process and then fitted onto the filled bottle. The two standard models can be personalized with hot printing or silkscreen printing.

In addition, customers can choose from a range of different shades and degrees of transparency of material.

For further information about the Plastics Division and its products, visit the website http://www.bormioliroccoplastics.com

Contatti:

Layoutweb, Layout Advertising Group,

Public relation department

Simona Bonati

bonati@layoutweb.it

http://www.layoutweb.it

Haiden

Gillian Wight on Dairy Packaging

packagin — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 16:35:50 +0000

Hannah Crowder asked:

Gillian Wight on dairy packaging

As consumers lead busier lives and are on the move more and more, the dairy industry has developed new products that tap into this change of lifestyle. A key part of that change has come from packaging companies.

Sun Branding Solutions Packaging Development Consultant Gillian Wight sets the scene.

The 21st century consumer is more demanding than ever before. As society has evolved so too have preferences, and products must now tick a larger number of boxes to meet expectations. In the dairy industry the challenge for manufacturers is to create on the go products that satisfy the need for health, convenience and the environment in one fell swoop.

Health and well-being have been at the top of the consumer agenda for a number of years. Phrases such as you are what you eat are being taken seriously and the public is turning its back on foods that are considered to be unhealthy. This is great news for the dairy sector and has resulted in an upsurge of products promising to improve health and wellbeing.

Convenience is another key factor in the consumer purchase decision. Nowadays, purchases must support lifestyles and these new active trends have given rise to on the go consumption and an emergence of packaging shapes and styles that are easier for consumers to handle. Dairy products that meet the need for on the go convenience, such as Actimel, have been around for some time.

One-a-day shot formats took the dairy industry by storm a number of years ago and have been popular ever since. However, subsequent product and packaging innovations have been few and far between and this is an area that offers a wealth of opportunity for dairy manufacturers.

In the childrens market, however, there has been interesting progress. Both Yoplait and Nestl have jumped on this convenience bandwagon with their Frubes and Squashums respectively. Frubes - fromage frais in a tube - are ideal convenience products for children. The unique, fun packaging format grabs childrens attention and keeps them entertained. On the more practical side, they are easy to handle, are mess free and by the nature of their consumption, remove the need to use a spoon as they can be sucked.

But it isn’t just consumer convenience that counts. Ease and profitability for the retailer are also important. Shelf space is just one area where dairy manufacturers can increase their products appeal. Historically, products used to be circular but more recently, the trend is for square shaped containers that make the best use of space, enable increased product availability and ultimately facilitate an upturn in sales.

In recent years, consumers are placing more importance on goods that help rather than harm the world. By using responsible packaging, companies can really enhance their products environmental claims and a wealth of untapped opportunity exists in this area for dairy manufacturers to explore.

Expert opinions

Experts from leading packaging companies share their views about this particular sector, beginning with recent trends and developments.

Tetra Pak Category Management Director Susan Frame says we are seeing the emergence of a new golden triangle in consumer demands, built around health, pleasure and convenience and these global trends in consumer preferences are shaping product development.

According to research in 30 countries, health and fitness is a top consumer value in almost all countries. Product development will increasingly leverage this opportunity. New health positioned concepts will accelerate demands on packaging attributes such as appearance, protection of fragile ingredients and the need for new features such as portion control.

The growth of on the go eating and drinking was highlighted in a 2006 report that found that 27% of respondents sip a drink while walking or driving, and the figure is far higher in individual countries; in the US, 58% of people do this. Mobile eating and drinking puts demands on availability, visibility and appeal, since buying on impulse is more and more frequent. Extreme convenience will be the name of the game, claims Frame.

Key consumer trends such as the demand for healthy added value products, the rise in concern over childhood obesity, the move towards smaller and single households and the erosion of traditional mealtimes due to busy lifestyles has lead to the demand for on the go dairy beverages in smaller portion pack sizes from 25cl to 50cl, says Elopak Group Senior Manager Marketing Communications Werner Basler.

We see the emerging and development of new moments of consumption, he remarks. Consumers are consuming while travelling, at work and during social and sporting activities, giving rise to new distribution networks for portion sized products including

vending machines, forecourts and leisure outlets.

Changing habits

At SIG Combibloc, Product Manager for the combibloc and combifit ranges Luc Viardot also comments on the global change in eating habits: The number of people eating the traditional three meals a day is constantly dwindling. Eating habits are more and more dictated by the individuals daily routine. For many people snacking has become a way of life. Meals are becoming more liquid - soups are making a comeback, and even a breakfast meal is now a breakfast drink rather than toast or a bun.

As consumers become more mobile, the food industry is keeping pace. New product concepts are bringing fresh impetus to the international food industry catering for consumers expectations that food and drinks should be available at any time and able to be conveniently consumed anywhere. Appropriate packaging plays a significant role in this, says Viardot.

A glance at the shelves in any supermarket shows what international market research studies also confirm: more and more foods in single serve packages are hitting the market.

We reckon that by 2010 worldwide more than 30% of all aseptic carton packs will be small size packages up to 33cl. Compare this with the situation in 2002, when single serve carton packs made up a scant 20% of the total, predicts Viardot.

We are seeing an increasing number of consumers willing to experiment and to discover new product benefits, which is also driving innovation in the industry, says Frame from Tetra Pak. This is translating into rising demand by consumers for a variety of package shapes and sizes and increasing functionality. But it must be balanced with the demand by our customers for increasingly cost effective, flexible solutions with higher performance. This means we will see further changes in aseptic packaging technology and the products we develop.

So what is the industry looking for in the on the go sector?

Susan Frame: The industry is looking for the highest performance levels from hygienic and aseptic technologies to ensure the most demanding standards of food safety and quality are achieved.

This is even more challenging in flexible or high speed applications and here low acid dairy applications are at the leading edge of technology performance compared to high acid categories such as juices, nectars and still drinks.

Pressure to improve performance levels come from all sides of the value chain - from consumers, from competition in the dairy industry, from retailers and from legislators, she points out.

Meanwhile Viardot warns: In saturated markets standard products will just not make the grade. Competitive pressure in the dairy industry is growing and with it the need to develop fresh, innovative ideas that allow food manufacturers to differentiate their products from those of the competition, while at the same time using more cost effective methods of production. These multi sport disciplines are the main drivers for decision making in the beverage industry, and they demand a real all rounder - with regard to products, processing technology and packaging.

Any food manufacturer who wants to do more than just get by on the international market needs solutions that meet the demands of consumers and retailers, while simultaneously increasing profit margins.

Food manufacturers find themselves in a difficult position, because in order to be successful they are expected to lower costs and at the same time offer products with added value. Product developments that do not add up to profits are no innovation at all, claims SIGs Viardot.

Ticking all the boxes

Meanwhile, Basler from Elopak observes: Consumers demand specific functional, emotional and environmental benefits from portion packs - easier to hold, drink from, open and re-close with no leaks and easy to dispose of and recycle. Our customers are looking for a portion packaging solution that ticks all these convenience boxes but which brings product differentiation and on-shelf visibility.

Many customers across all beverage sectors have seen great success with the Diamond Pure-Pak Curve and the Mini Diamond carton. The Curve has been seen by many consumers as providing an easy grip for grab and go. For older consumers and kids these benefits have proved very important, but also the unique shape of the cartons has provided the marketing tool for the right product or brand image.

As childhood obesity has doubled worldwide in the last 20 years, this epidemic has fuelled campaigns and crusades over healthy eating for kids. School milk has been a central focus with many countries seeing many changes including the banning of sugar based drinks in favour of milk, juice and water. For Elopak customer Reids in Canada, the Mini Diamond Curve cartons in both 25cl and 50cl sizes was the perfect portion pack to capture the right image for their school beverages as cool products designed to fit with kids busy on the go lifestyles.

At the other end of the age range, the over 55s or seniors market continues to grow as a key beverage market. Here the portion pack is seen to have an important role to play.

As seniors have very specific health requirements and as more seniors find their appetite wanes with age, the industry can assist by providing products with recommended portions on one serving. As European pioneers in this market, Austrias Alpenmilch Salzburg found the 33cl Mini Diamond Curve the ideal solution for its Tut Gut Does Good product range designed to meet the needs of the fifty plus generation.

The creamy drink made from buttermilk and yogurt, contains Lecithin which helps to improve memory and concentration - key health concerns of older people.

To make it easy for consumers to obtain a daily dose of this nutrient - together with the health benefits of milk - the customer looked for a portion pack that provided a simple, easy to use pack, that provided on shelf differentiation and is recyclable in Austria.

Consumer surveys confirm the trend towards greater public awareness of health and diet issues, says Viardot, and this is opening the way for foods with added value to have a stronger market appeal. Food manufacturers see this as an opportunity and a response to the question of what products they can use to create an added value product to justify charging a higher price and increase their profit margins. This means that investments in added value products must also be economically profitable.

Other considerations

Products with unusual textures, such as velvety smoothies, provide an opportunity to combine new drinking and taste experiences with healthy ingredients such as fruit. In China, for instance, UHT milk containing pieces of real fruit in aseptic carton packs are proving a hit with consumers. Here too, Mengniu is setting the trend working together with SIG Combibloc to develop the new product concept.

SIG Combibloc Market Segment Manager Liquid Dairy Diana Bechtold says: We are convinced that this new product concept will bring fresh impetus to the international UHT dairy market. And in fact UHT milk containing rice and wheat grains has now also been launched in single serve carton packs in China.

Frame says: In many markets cost is a major consideration. In emerging markets in particular, weve seen a trend towards smaller volume packages such as the 12.5cl and 20cl sizes that the Tetra Wedge Aseptic can offer. This meets consumer demand for key price points and at the same time, accommodates shops with limited shelf space.

In addition, some segments of the market, particularly younger consumers, like to express their personality through what they drink. For this group of consumers, funky, modern, and trendy packaging is a must. The attractive, eye catching forms of the Tetra Wedge Aseptic and Tetra Prisma Aseptic are perfect for this group. Tetra Top packaging solutions are also interesting because producers can combine different bottom formats, volumes, tops, carton materials, print qualities and cap colours to create a unique package that appeals to a certain market segment.

As well as design and functionality, environmental concerns are playing a more significant role than ever in the packaging strategy, observes Frame. With both dairy producers customers and the end consumer becoming more aware of green issues, producers need to more carefully consider the environmental profile of their products. The less plastic, the better!

SIG confirms that environmental issues also impact on the go, as they do in all other dairy sectors and points to a recent study by the Nielsen Company (Global Food Packaging Survey) that confirms that half of all consumers already choose environmentally friendly packaging over convenience and want food manufacturers and retailers to react to that demand. Deliberately offering and consciously choosing ecologically friendly packaging solutions is a start.

Future outlook

Looking to the future, Tetra Pak recently announced the Tetra Top packaging solution for high acid ambient distribution (HAAD). Available in a variety of shapes and sizes from 20cl, this packaging solution presents another strong option for on the go packaging. Tetra Pak plans to develop this range for dairy drinks too because the original Tetra Top range is doing particularly well for white milk, yogurt drinks and other liquid dairy products.

The key factor in deciding on the development of new technologies and innovation is their cost effectiveness, performance and market impact, says Frame. Developing products that will help our customers be competitive and provide consumers with safe, new, functional packages that meet their changing needs is what drives innovation at

Tetra Pak.

L

portrait innovations?

packagin — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 01:09:19 +0000

prncessang228 asked:

I’m thinking of using this company to have my daughters’ (have 3 of them) pictures taken in their cheer uniforms.

I normally use target and they do a GREAT job but portrait innovations has a pretty good sized package for 10 bucks (we’ll spend more i’m sure).

has anyone gotten their pictures taken from this company? how good is the quality?

if anyone has used the chandler,az studio in particular-i’d like to know about them since that’s the one i’m going to.

thanks!!

Tatiana

Please Help Me: I need some idea’s on how to organize in Power Point With some nice Pictures?

packagin — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 12:22:04 +0000

Surritta asked:

I need help on finding gooe pictures for each of my ideas posted here; perhaps i can help you with something? i am in South Korea; just ask.

I am doing a Power Point Presentation on Protect the Enviroment; and i have the following ideas; however i could use great help on pictures for each idea. Please help me?
To Stop Global Warming (Protect our Environment)

1. Replace a regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb (cfl)
CFLs use 60% less energy than a regular bulb. This simple switch will save about 300 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
2. Install a programmable thermostat
Programmable thermostats will automatically lower the heat or air conditioning at night and raise them again in the morning. They can save you $100 a year on your energy bill.
3. Move your thermostat down 2 in winter and up 2 in summer
Almost half of the energy we use in our homes goes to heating and cooling. You could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple adjustment. The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy has more tips for saving energy on heating and cooling.
4. Clean or replace filters on your furnace and air conditioner
Cleaning a dirty air filter can save 350 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
5. Choose energy efficient appliances when making new purchases
Look for the Energy Star label on new appliances to choose the most efficient models available.
6. Do not leave appliances on standby
Use the “on/off” function on the machine itself. A TV set that’s switched on for 3 hours a day (the average time Europeans spend watching TV) and in standby mode during the remaining 21 hours uses about 40% of its energy in standby mode.
7. Wrap your water heater in an insulation blanket
You’ll save 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple action. You can save another 550 pounds per year by setting the thermostat no higher than 50C.
8. Move your fridge and freezer
Placing them next to the cooker or boiler consumes much more energy than if they were standing on their own. For example, if you put them in a hot cellar room where the room temperature is 30-35C, energy use is almost double and causes an extra 160kg of CO2 emissions for fridges per year and 320kg for freezers.
9. Defrost old fridges and freezers regularly
Even better is to replace them with newer models, which all have automatic defrost cycles and are generally up to two times more energy-efficient than their predecessors.
10. Don’t let heat escape from your house over a long period
When airing your house, open the windows for only a few minutes. If you leave a small opening all day long, the energy needed to keep it warm inside during six cold months (10C or less outside temperature) would result in almost 1 ton of CO2 emissions.
11. Replace your old single-glazed windows with double-glazing
This requires a bit of upfront investment, but will halve the energy lost through windows and pay off in the long term. If you go for the best the market has to offer (wooden-framed double-glazed units with low-emission glass and filled with argon gas), you can even save more than 70% of the energy lost.
12. Get a home energy audit
Many utilities offer free home energy audits to find where your home is poorly insulated or energy inefficient. You can save up to 30% off your energy bill and 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Energy Star can help you find an energy specialist.
13. Cover your pots while cooking
Doing so can save a lot of the energy needed for preparing the dish. Even better are pressure cookers and steamers: they can save around 70%!
14. Use the washing machine or dishwasher only when they are full
If you need to use it when it is half full, then use the half-load or economy setting. There is also no need to set the temperatures high. Nowadays detergents are so efficient that they get your clothes and dishes clean at low temperatures.
15. Take a shower instead of a bath
A shower takes up to four times less energy than a bath. To maximise the energy saving, avoid power showers and use low-flow showerheads, which are cheap and provide the same comfort.
16. Use less hot water
It takes a lot of energy to heat water. You can use less hot water by installing a low flow showerhead (350 pounds of carbon dioxide saved per year) and washing your clothes in cold or warm water (500 pounds saved per year) instead of hot.
17. Use a clothesline instead of a dryer whenever possible
You can save 700 pounds of carbon dioxide when you air dry your clothes for 6 months out of the year.
18. Insulate and weatherize your home
Properly insulating your walls and ceilings can save 25% of your home heating bill and 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Caulking and weather-stripping can save another 1,700 pounds per year. Energy Efficient has more information on how to better insulate your home.
19. Be sure you’re recycling at home
You can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide a year by recycling half of the waste your household generates. Earth 911 can help you find recycling resources in your area.
20. Recycle your organic waste
Around 3% of the greenhouse gas emissions through the methane is released by decomposing bio-degradable waste. By recycling organic waste or composting it if you have a garden, you can help eliminate this problem! Just make sure that you compost it properly, so it decomposes with sufficient oxygen, otherwise your compost will cause methane emissions and smell foul.
21. Buy intelligently
One bottle of 1.5l requires less energy and produces less waste than three bottles of 0.5l. As well, buy recycled paper products: it takes less 70 to 90% less energy to make recycled paper and it prevents the loss of forests worldwide.
22. Choose products that come with little packaging and buy refills when you can
You will also cut down on waste production and energy use!
23. Reuse your shopping bag
When shopping, it saves energy and waste to use a reusable bag instead of accepting a disposable one in each shop. Waste not only discharges CO2 and methane into the atmosphere, it can also pollute the air, groundwater and soil.
24. Reduce waste
Most products we buy cause greenhouse gas emissions in one or another way, e.g. during production and distribution. By taking your lunch in a reusable lunch box instead of a disposable one, you save the energy needed to produce new lunch boxes.
25. Plant a tree
A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. Shade provided by trees can also reduce your air conditioning bill by 10 to 15%. The Arbor Day Foundation has information on planting and provides trees you can plant with membership.
26. Switch to green power
In many areas, you can switch to energy generated by clean, renewable sources such as wind and solar. The Green Power Network is a good place to start to figure out what’s available in your area.
27. Buy locally grown and produced foods
The average meal in the United States travels 1,200 miles from the farm to your plate. Buying locally will save fuel and keep money in your community.
28. Buy fresh foods instead of frozen
Frozen food uses 10 times more energy to produce.
29. Seek out and support local farmers markets
They reduce the amount of energy required to grow and transport the food to you by one fifth. You can find a farmer’s market in your area at the USDA website.
30. Buy organic foods as much as possible
Organic soils capture and store carbon dioxide at much higher levels than soils from conventional farms. If we grew all of our corn and soybeans organically, we’d remove 580 billion pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere!
31. Eat less meat
Methane is the second most significant greenhouse gas and cows are one of the greatest methane emitters. Their grassy diet and multiple stomachs cause them to produce methane, which they exhale with every breath.
32. Reduce the number of miles you drive by walking, biking, carpooling or taking mass transit wherever possible
Avoiding just 10 miles of driving every week would eliminate about 500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year! Look for transit options in your area.
33. Start a carpool with your coworkers or classmates
Sharing a ride with someone just 2 days a week will reduce your carbon dioxide emissions by 1,590 pounds a year. eRideShare.com runs a free national service connecting commuters and travelers.
34. Don’t leave an empty roof rack on your car
This can increase fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by up to 10% due to wind resistance and the extra weight - removing it is a better idea.
35. Keep your car tuned up
Regular maintenance helps improve fuel efficiency and reduces emissions. When just 1% of car owners properly maintain their cars, nearly a billion pounds of carbon dioxide are kept out of the atmosphere.
36. Drive carefully and do not waste fuel
You can reduce CO2 emissions by readjusting your driving style. Choose proper gears, do not abuse the gas pedal, use the engine brake instead of the pedal brake when possible and turn off your engine when your vehicle is motionless for more than one minute. By readjusting your driving style you can save money on both fuel and car mantainance.
37. Check your tires weekly to make sure they’re properly inflated
Proper inflation can improve gas mileage by more than 3%. Since every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, every increase in fuel efficiency makes a difference!
38. When it is time for a new car, choose a more fuel efficient vehicle
You can save 3,000 pounds of carbon dioxide every year if your new car gets only 3 miles per gallon more than your current one. You can get up to 60 miles per gallon with a hybrid! You can find information on fuel efficiency on FuelEconomy and on GreenCars websites.
39. Try car sharing
Need a car but don’t want to buy one? Community car sharing organizations provide access to a car and your membership fee covers gas, maintenance and insurance. Many companies - such as Flexcar - offer low emission or hybrid cars too! Also, see ZipCar.
40. Try telecommuting from home
Telecommuting can help you drastically reduce the number of miles you drive every week. For more information, check out the Telework Coalition.
41. Fly less
Air travel produces large amounts of emissions so reducing how much you fly by even one or two trips a year can reduce your emissions significantly. You can also offset your air travel by investing in renewable energy projects.
42. Encourage your school or business to reduce emissions
You can extend your positive influence on global warming well beyond your home by actively encouraging other to take action.
43. Join the virtual march
The Stop Global Warming Virtual March is a non-political effort to bring people concerned about global warming together in one place. Add your voice to the hundreds of thousands of other people urging action on this issue.
44. Encourage the switch to renewable energy
Successfully combating global warming requires a national transition to renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and biomass. These technologies are ready to be deployed more widely but there are regulatory barriers impeding them. Take action to break down those barriers with Vote Solar.
45. Protect and conserve forest worldwide
Forests play a critial role in global warming: they store carbon. When forests are burned or cut down, their stored carbon is release into the atmosphere - deforestation now accounts for about 20% of carbon dioxide emissions each year. Conservation International has more information on forests and global warming.
46. Consider the impact of your investments
If you invest your money, you should consider the impact that your investments and savings will have on global warming. Check out SocialInvest and Ceres to can learn more about how to ensure your money is being invested in companies, products and projects that address issues related to climate change.
47. Make your city cool
Cities and states around the country have taken action to stop global warming by passing innovative transportation and energy saving legislation. 194 cities nationwide representing over 40 million people have made this pledge as part of the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. Find out how to make your city a cool city.
48. Tell Congress to act
The McCain Lieberman Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act would set a firm limit on carbon dioxide emissions and then use free market incentives to lower costs, promote efficiency and spur innovation. Tell your representative to support it.
49. Make sure your voice is heard!
Americans must have a stronger commitment from their government in order to stop global warming and implement solutions and such a commitment won’t come without a dramatic increase in citizen lobbying for new laws with teeth. Get the facts about U.S. politicians and candidates at Project Vote Smart and The League of Conservation Voters. Make sure your voice is heard by voting!

Aydin

what are the channels of distribution of perdue farms inc?

packagin — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 20:45:11 +0000

marinel m asked:

1.Perdue Farms, Inc., has been a privately held family owned company since 1920. Over the years Perdue has become vertically integrated in order to be more competitive and maintain financial stability. Perdues objective is to be the leader in broiler and related poultry products in the industry. They strive to maintain quality and constantly improve efficiency and service, both today and in the future.
Perdue Farms Inc. has a mission to provide the highest quality poultry and poultry related products to retail and food service customers. They want to be the recognized industry leader in quality and service, providing more than expected from their customers, associates, and owners. They will accomplish this by maintaining a tradition of pride in their products, growth through innovation, integrity in the management of their business, and commitment to Team Management and the Quality improvement process.
Perdues overall mission is strong but a strategy for long term growth and market development needs to be reviewed and evaluated.
2.Perdue Farms Inc. has numerous external opportunities and threats. The external opportunities that effect Perdue are as follows;
To broadly diversify and have greater market share, domestically and internationally
To increase marketing of healthy image products that envelops a strong niche market.
To ship via plane, to maintain fresh not frozen broilers and increase market share and ***********.
Develop new markets in the Upper Mid-west to increase market share.
Increase sales of food service chicken and turkey from 20% of overall sales to 30% due to a strong 12% growth rate.
To expand the international grain and oilseed market
With an increase push on health in 1994, chicken sales are up over red meat sales.
Average annual consumption of chicken is up to 80lbs/person/year, an all time high.
The external threats are as follows:
Most of the competition sells frozen products for less money.
Perdues cost to raise chickens is above the national average.
Growth rate in chicken sales is only 5% due to lack of frozen line.
Over capacity of chickens has reduced wholesale prices, which reduces profit margins.
Competition is strong in broiler industry with 53 competitors.
Untapped markets in the Upper Mid- west need to be explored.
1.The Perdue Farms, Co. has internal strengths and weaknesses that need to be addressed and evaluated; The strengths are as follows;
Perdue is vertically integrated which means that they produce the chickens, they breed, hatch the eggs, they select the growers, build Perdue chicken houses, formulate and manufacture their feed, oversee care and feeding, operate their own processing plants, distribute via truck and marketing. They now also sell what used to be waste, such as the chicken feet that is sold to the Orient as a delicacy.
Privately held firm
Technologically advanced, ex.,20% more ****** meat than the competition
Birds are fed organically and not feed additives.
Sell both raw and pre-cooked chickens and turkeys.
Good compensation package to the workers.
Non-union company.
MIS efficient and essential to operating the business.
Good variety from fresh oven stuffer roasters, cooked prepared foods, cutlets, tenders, Fit n easy and much more.
Good TQM with mission and vision
Excellent R&D for better meat to bone ratios.
Keep overhead low, quality up
Great diverse product line that has changed with consumer changes.
Horizontal diversification when they bought Showell Farms, which made them the third largest producer in the broiler industry.
Great social responsibility, code of ethics
Environmentally concerned about waste and prevention
Strong effective marketing
The weaknesses in the Perdue Farm, Inc. case are as follows;
They only sell fresh not frozen chickens
Deliveries are only made by truck so the radius to overnight chickens is limited.
Lack of long-term planning for future changes
4) I would suggest a strategy that Perdue would focus on maintaining their quality and efficiency along with plans for extensive market development. I would like to see them expand into the Upper mid-west before other markets gain strong holds and market share. If Perdue plans on maintaining their place in the market they need to expand and continue to diversify their products to attract niche markets and stay ahead of the competition.
According to Porters generic strategies, he points out that in order to gain the competitive advantage companies need to draw from three bases: cost leadership, differentiation, and focus.
In my study of Perdue, I feel that they are a differentiation and focus orientated company. First, I see Perdue as a leader in quality and efficiency but not a cost leader. Cost leadership implies that you strive to be the low-cost producer in your particular industry. This is to the contrary for Perdue; they have marketed in a way to make the consumer pay a little more for a better product. In fact, this did not happen by accident. Perdue did not want to be known as the cheapest but to be the best quality for the consumer, at a fair price. What Perdue does take from cost leadership is that they are highly efficient, low overhead, their intolerance to waste, broad span of control, rewards linked to efficiency and cost cutting measures and open lines of communication between workers and upper management. Perdues successful strategy of horizontal integration to gain competitive advantage was to purchase Showell Farms which made Perdue the third largest broiler company in the United States.
I see Perdue as being highly successful with differentiation, which implies that they produce products, and services that are considered unique, industry wide and directed at consumers who are relatively price-in-sensitive. Perdue has ongoing product development, which states that they seek to increase sales by improving, or modifying present products or services. Perdue has been an industry leader with constant attention paid to consumer wants and needs. They watch trends such as fitness and weight consciousness, by introducing the Fit n Easy line that markets skinless and boneless chicken parts with nutritional information and recipes. Perdue also followed the trend of the working family and began to market prepared foods, which has done extremely well. Prepared foods such as pre-cooked chickens, turkeys, parts, nuggets, and the like sell easily to working families.
Finally, I see Perdues strongest strategy according to Porter is focus. Perdue has wonderful R&D that constantly follows market trends and changes that will be beneficial to their growth. Perdue has never forgotten where they came from and this is what makes them strong. Focus allows them to change with the times and not become over diversified where they overlook their cash cows and forget to nurture their stars. Perdue knows that quality and efficiency are at the heart of their operation and do not stray from that. Their innovation and integrity to be the leader has brought them customer loyalty and appreciation for quality where price is not the number one factor.
Perdues ability to focus on strong team management has allowed them to penetrate and develop new markets with ease. Perdue has a high *********** of advertising on TV and print along with opening up new territories to further expand their market share. Their vision has been a good guide and has led them to a very successful value chain. Perdues attention to detail in every aspect of the business has been proven successful and the financial status of the company reflects it.
Today, Perdue, is further expanding with new acquisitions and product lines. Their innovative thinking and drive to be the leader shows in all they do. In 1997 they started marketing their Caf Perdue line and have seen slow, with steady success. Perdues prepared foods are selling incredibly well with the American family on the run. As of September 1998, Perdue made a new acquisition, toward horizontal integration, with GOL-PAK, a competitor in the foodservice and prepared foods business. The new relationship will further enhance Perdues prepared food and foodservice business. GOL-PAK specialized in the development and production of products primarily for the foodservice industry with a list including the top 100 chain restaurants. Perdue sees this as a significant purchase to enhance their reputation and make them strong contenders in the prepared food and foodservice industry.
CEO, Jim Perdue, feels that they are well positioned in the market place and continued growth along with R&D will help them to maintain quality and efficiency, along with strong market *********** and market share.

Jon

Get Industrial Packaging Materials at Most Competitive Price

packagin — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 09:40:27 +0000

jumphigherglobal asked:

Packaging is usually used for the purpose of delivering the products safely to its final destination. It can be done for commercial, industrial and for general purpose which includes all products of various size and shapes. While a product launch in the market, if it has great graphic designs and compelling packaging it will much effectively promote your product. Incorporative innovative design branding, design and packaging solutions to fit the products are essential element for assigning a persuasive and consistent message to your brand. To effectively carry this out, companies can look for full packaging service providers for one-stop solution.

Packaging materials could be manual, automatic or semi-automatic, depending on the needs of user. There are numerous types of packaging material are available like industrial packaging materials, automotive packaging materials, telecom packaging materials, etc. With the aid of packaging materials, products can easily be transferred from one place to another. During packaging of any product, it has been concern that products are transferring from which mode of transport whether it is air, rail, road or water.

Industrial packaging materials are perfect solution for industrial sensitive, expensive and heavy goods. With the help of industrial packaging materials, you can transport server, coin and banknotes, medical equipment, ATMs, surge protection, dangerous goods, gas cylinders, mobile phones, or many other goods which are sensitive.

Industrial packaging producers are the leading edge of the industrial packaging world and Nefab is one of them. They research market from both the side domestically and internationally and they are on the edge to recognize right packaging innovation. With their packaging materials your products will deliver to its final destination without any damage. They provide consistent and cost effective service for your sensitive and expensive goods. Nefab deals with almost all sorts packaging such as contract packaging, design packaging, specialty packaging, packaging testing, etc. Nefab is expert in the field of packaging, therefore, they offer the best possible materials such as industrial packaging materials at most competitive price with the fastest turnaround time.

So, if you are looking for an ideal packaging company that can offer industrial packaging materials to get perfect packaging solutions then Nefab is the right option for you.

Wade

Will democrats shrink our economy?

packagin — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 21:26:45 +0000

mission_viejo_california asked:

Expiring tax relief, big spending on the agenda for Congress.

When Republicans passed major tax relief packages in 2001 and 2003, we predicted that a booming economy, new jobs for millions of Americans, and an increase in investment and innovation would result. The past several years have proved our theory correct: When government gets out of the way, the American people will get to work.

The 2001 and 2003 tax reductions have spurred more than five years of uninterrupted growth. The economy grew at a robust 3.4 percent in the second quarter of 2007. Productivity growth has averaged 2.8 percent since 2001, considerably above the average of each of the past three decades. Since August 2003, our economy has created more than 8.2 million jobs, and the current unemployment rate is just 4.5 percent, lower than the averages of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Wages have been on the rise, and real after-tax income is up 9.9 percent since President Bush took office, an average of nearly $3,000 per person.

The tax relief has helped produce an economy that has generated higher than expected tax revenues for the federal government. Tax receipts have risen 37 percent over the last three years and are projected to increase another 7 percent this year. These rising tax receipts have, in turn, helped drive down the deficit, which is projected to drop significantly in 2007 for the third year in a row. The deficit this year is expected to measure just 1.5 percent of GDP, considerably below the average of the last 40 years.

The tax relief we passed has had exactly the effect we intended it has spurred growth and innovation and created jobs and opportunities for millions of Americans. But continuing this growth requires continuing the policies that have produced this growth in the first place. Failing to extend the tax relief we have passed would result in a de facto tax hike that could cripple our economy and undo much of the progress we have made over the last few years.

Lowering taxes on income and investment encourages people to work more and invest more, because they get a greater return on their work and investments. This extra work and investment creates new jobs, increases productivity, and encourages innovation and development in other words, produces economic growth, as we saw with the 2001 and 2003 tax relief.

Raising taxes, on the other hand, has the opposite effect. As rates increase, the rewards of labor and investment decrease. People see more of their income and the returns on their investments eaten up by taxes, and this gives them little incentive to work more or invest more. Without new labor and investment, economic growth grinds to a halt, and the economy stagnates.

Unfortunately, Democrats have approved a budget that fails to extend the bulk of the 2001 and 2003 tax relief most of which is set to expire in the next few years resulting in a staggering tax hike of at least $736 billion. Most notably, the Democrats budget fails to extend the lower tax rate on capital gains and dividends and most of the income tax relief weve passed, the two provisions that have done the most to spur the strong economic growth of the past several years.

In addition to this massive tax hike, Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee are also proposing another growth-stifling tax hike to pay for alternative minimum tax relief, this one a 4 percent tax hike on higher income Americans and small business owners. Almost 20 million Americans will be liable for the AMT this year if Congress doesnt act. While Republicans strongly agree that the AMT must be fixed once and for all so that it doesnt target millions of middle-class families, paying for an AMT fix with a tax hike is not the answer.

Raising taxes on these Americans would place a particularly heavy burden on small businesses, most of which are taxed at the individual level. Small businesses employ half of all private sector employees and have been responsible for 60 to 80 percent of the net new jobs created annually over the last ten years. Burdening successful small businesses with significant tax hikes, as the Democrats plan would do, would jeopardize future economic growth and job creation.

The success of Republican tax relief policies is clear. In contrast, raising taxes by allowing tax relief to expire or by passing burdensome new tax hikes would threaten the progress our economy has made and discourage future growth. Democrats should remember the millions of taxpayers who have benefited from the tax relief weve passed and work with Republicans to extend the tax relief and reject new taxes.

L

The Stimulus Package Explained by an MBA to a 3rd Grader please Pass it On

packagin — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 10:01:52 +0000

Jj Kennedy asked:

It’s kind of a point of pride for me that I am pretty good at taking complicated topics and breaking them down so everybody can understand them. So when I started looking at the stimulus package, I imagined having a conversation with a 10 y.o. about it. How would I explain it and what questions would they ask? So here’s the imaginary conversation with Timmy, a smart 10 year old 3rd grader with blue freckles. I know. I’m weird.

What is the stimulus package?

It’s a way for the government to inject money to help turn around a crappy economy. It does this by creating jobs, saving jobs, and ultimately getting people spending money again on things like cars, houses, investments, and Xbox’s.

Why do we need it?

Right now lots of people are out of work or don’t have enough work to pay their bills.

Because of that, they (consumers) can’t spend money buying stuff, investing, saving, or paying taxes.

Because consumers can’t buy stuff, businesses are not selling as much as they need to make a profit.

Because businesses aren’t making their profit, they are firing even more people. See point 1.

In addition, because people are not buying investments combined with business not making as much profits, that means the stock market is going down because the business stocks are not worth as much as the used to be.

When the stock market goes down, people lose money they had in there, can’t buy stuff, and stay away from putting any more money back in the stock market for a long time. On the business side, companies now don’t have the money it usually makes from selling stocks to invest in creating new stuff. Back to point 1 again.

How is the stimulus package supposed to fix it?

Create New Jobs -

What it means? More people working, more people paying taxes, more people buying stuff, which in turn means businesses hire more people to make more stuff, on and on. Upward Spiral.

How fast will it work? 1-5 years. Since most a lot of the spending is for infrastructure or big construction projects, it will be a while for that to trickle down. You don’t start a massive development project in a few weeks or even months. The upside is that these projects have a much greater return on investment over the long term. Lots of jobs for a long time to come. Just takes a little while to get started.

Save Existing Jobs-

What it means? State and Local governments are bumming. Because less people have jobs and spend less, states get less in taxes. Less in taxes mean that they have to cut programs and personnel. Less personell, more unemployment. Downward spiral.

How fast will it work? Immediate. These are existing jobs doing existing things. They can hire you back tomorrow if the government gives the local states and cities the funds. In addition, the workers will be then paying taxes on their income and buying more stuff. That’s helps everybody.

Provide Tax Relief

What it means? If you have more money in your pocket because you are paying less in taxes, you will spend more.

How fast will it work? Immediate to 1 year. This depends on what type of tax cuts they are. If they are employer tax cuts, you will see a difference in your paycheck right away. If they are credits or rebates on your year end taxes, you will not see any difference until you go to pay your taxes in 2010.

Another tough question as part of the tax relief - Will $20 more a week in your paycheck really do anything to increase your spending or consumer confidence? Will you even notice it? Also, I have a feeling that most people are not going to run out and buy a new big screen when they get their tax return next year. My guess is that they are going to use it to pay off their credit card debt, student loans, car payments, or mortgage balances they have been slacking on for the last year.

Making a better tomorrow

What it means? Many of the provisions in the stimulus package are towards energy independence, smart electricity grids, and education. These projects will also create a lot of jobs.

How fast will it work? 5-10 years minimum. These investment should all pay off handsomely, but they will take a long time. Energy independence and efficiency will eventually ease our reliance on outside energy and keep prices manageable (or at least insure that we buy from ourselves not foreign countries) Funding for education in theory will ensure that US keeps more jobs, increase US innovation, improve employment rate, and boost our GDP.

Helping those who are struggling

The last section of the stimulus package is to help out those in need. It’s a band-aid. Because so many people are unemployed right now, the y will be subsidizing health insurance and extending unemployment benefits.

How fast will it work? Immediately.

What caused the recession to start with?

To over-simplify: Greed and easy money. Banks lent money too easily in hopes of bigger profits, people spent too much on credit on stuff they really couldn’t afford, and business and people alike made risky investments in hopes of bigger profits. For a while banks were lending 95 to 100% loans. That means if you stop making payments, they take your asset (the thing you bought with the loan). If your asset loses any value (think housing market crash) then the banks are stuck owning something that is not worth as much money as you paid for it. Because they are stuck with this crap asset, they don’t have cash on hand to loan more money to other people. If the bank can’t make loans, they can’t make profits themselves (the interest they charge you for loan). End result - bank fail. Now combine that with people losing their jobs and shaky consumer confidence. As a result, consumers are not buying as many things that require a loan, and are not sticking money in the bank (which the bank then turns around and loans to other people) Vicious downward spiral.

Do other countries have stimulus packages?

Yup. China has its own stimulus packages that it unveiled last December. China said it would spend an estimated $586 billion over the next two years to construct new railways, subways and airports and to rebuild communities devastated by an earthquake in the southwest in May. As a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (how much money the entire country makes on stuff that it creates), Chinas bailout is actually bigger than ours.

Have we ever needed a stimulus package or were times this bad before?

Yup. Several Times. Most notably the Great Depression, which lasted from about 1929 to the early 1940’s. But there have been several other ones which were lot smaller and shorter.

Has a stimulus package worked before?

Yup. But what really helped wasn’t designed as a stimulus package exactly. Most economists say that the HUGE government investment in WWII is what finally pulled us out of the great depression. Teddy Roosevelt enacted a series of programs called the New Deal from about 1933-1939, and it started a slow upward tick from 1933 (when it was at rock bottom with 25% unemployment). But it was really when we committed to WWII and basically said, damn the price, we need these military supplies NOW that the country got to work building them. Because of the government spending on WWII we had a simply HUGE national deficit (10 times worse than it is now) as compared to our GDP. But, within about 4 years (between 1946 at its worst and 1950 at its best) not only was the deficit pulled out of the negative, but we actually had a surplus for one of the few times in US history. Thanks in large part to all these new business now paying taxes on all the money they made, people paying taxes on the income they made from these businesses, and people now buying stuff with improved consumer confidence and all the money they made.

Where is the money for the stimulus package going to come from?

That’s an excellent question. For 31 of the last 35 years, we have run a federal deficit. That means that the government takes in less than it spends. That’s like you having $5000 in bills a month and only making $3000 a month. That is not the same as the federal debt. The federal debt is money the government owes to its taxpayers or other countries. That’s like a credit card. You buy something now on credit and promise to pay it back later plus some additional fees for interest. Debt by itself is not necessarily a bad thing. But it IS a bad thing when you are running a deficit and have no real ways of fixing that deficit anytime soon. To help fund your deficit you take on more debt, when further increases your deficit. Get it? Now, how are we going to pay to dump this $800 billion into the economy when we already have $10.7 Trillion in debt, and still have a federal deficit of about $500 billion?

Option 1: We will get about 50% of the money from our Treasury selling securities to US consumers, businesses, and banks. The Treasury will sell T-Bills and bonds to us in exchange for an interest payment. They usually pay pretty crappy interest rates, but when the stock market is in such turmoil, a lot of people invest in them because they are very secure (The only time you will ever lose money on a Treasury Security is if the entire government crumbles, and if that is the case you got a LOT bigger problems than losing your money).

Demand for these securities will determine how much interest the Treasury has to pay to get buyers.

Option 2: We borrow money from other countries. That usually makes up about 30% percent of our debt (China is the big buyer these days)

Option 3: We still have about 20% of the funding to be taken care of. Where is that going to come from? Looks like nobody knows. Reassuring hunh?

What are the dangers of taking on this debt?

There are lots and lots. A few important ones tho…

Scenario 1: The demand for the Treasury Securities is really low. That means the Treasury has to offer really high interest rates to get people to buy them. This could cause 2 problems. First, banks have a limited amount of cash to invest. If it is more attractive for them to use peoples savings to buy Treasury Securities, than it is for them to loan money to people…they will buy the securities. That would have the opposite effect of helping the economy and would actually make things worse.

Scenario 2: Our big debt buyers like China are struggling too. They may not want to invest in our debt if they are having their own issues.

Scenario 3: If Americans don’t buy the debt, eventually other countries will step in. Can you anticipate what the problem would be if China or another country holds the majority of our debt? What if China decides it wants to become a bully? Imagine you mom lets the meanest bully at school hold everything you own…your bike, your lunch money, your toys? And the only way you can get them is if he says it is ok. That’s kind of what we are talking about here.

Could this really be another Great Depression?

It’s a real possibility. Not too many people are talking about it yet, but the similarities to the Great Depression are pretty scary. Most people think the Great Depression started from a few things…

Similarity 1:

Greed: An overindulgence on the part of consumers and the banks. After WWI, businesses had a surplus of inventories and introduced the idea of credit to help sell what they had. Because people were feeling pretty confident after winning the war, they went crazy buying stuff on credit. It was an decade of getting rich and enjoying new fads. Credit made it possible to buy what you couldn’t really afford.

Similarity 2:

Stock Market Crash of 1929: In the early 1920’s, because of the consumer confidence and huge amounts of money coming into businesses, it caused the first stock market bubble in the 10 years before the crash. Stock prices where unrealistically overinflated compared to their true value. Kind of like they have been for the last 10 years for us.

Then in 1928 or so because of the credit debt built up and other factors, consumer confidence was shaken and then finally failed. In October of 1929 on “Black Tuesday” the market suffered its biggest loss of $15 Billion in a single day (Think how much $15 Billion was in 1929 when a new car cost $250). A month later, the stock market had lost ALL of the gains it had made in the previous 2 years.

Similarity 3:

Bank Failure: Prior to the Great Depression, banks had made many loans to people, businesses, and other countries paying off THEIR war debts. They were also heavily invested in the stock market. As the recession took hold in the few years leading up to the great depression, more and more people defaulted on their loans, the stock market crashed and banks were in a position that they didn’t have the money on hand to allow people like you and me to withdraw funds from out own accounts. This caused a further panic which made EVERYBODY rush to the bank to take their money out only adding fuel to the fire. End result: Bank fail.

Is the Stimulus Package Going to Work?

I think so. I hope so. The similarities to the Great Depression and its causes are just too striking to believe that this well be over soon. But, I think we have a chance of getting out of it without going through something as severe as the Great Depression. Here’s Why:

Reason 1: The New Deal that Roosevelt enacted was very similar to the stimulus package we are talking about now BUT didn’t include nearly as much big spending. It’s showed some real signs of progress, but ultimately the huge investment in WWII pulled us out.

The new stimulus package has the big ticket spending built in from the get-go.

Reason 2: There is a lot of faith and confidence in Barak Obama. Since consumer confidence plays a huge role in a depression, having a trusted authority figure communicating with people on a frequent basis in a clear, honest way will really helps.

Reason 3: Hopefully we have learned a little from our years on the planet and the mistakes we have made in the past. I think we forgot about them for a while. A good slap in the head is always a useful reminder.

That’s it. Hoped this helped Timmy (and all of you). Let’s go play Xbox.

If you liked this article, and think it might be of help to anyone, please pass it on. Better yet, tell them to check out the EvilGeniusTV blog.

I say other smart stuff once in a while. As always please commment/critique/argue/flirt/yell/question below.

Don’t matter what it is.

JJ

References used in this article: LOL. You ready for this?

Stimulus Package Unveiled - WSJ.com

America’s Great Depression - Causes and Cures

BEA Gross Domestic Product

BEA News Release U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services

Federal Budget Spending and the National Debt

Forbes.com - Magazine Article GDP Current Statistics - A Summary of Current US GDP Statistics

Great Depression - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gross domestic product - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Just who owns the U.S. national debt - Answer desk- msnbc.com

News Analysis - Components of Stimulus Vary in Speed and Efficiency - NYTimes.com

The National Budget, Debt & Deficit MarkTAW.com

When Stock Prices Go Down, Where Does the Money Go

New Deal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Great Depression in the United States - MSN Encarta

China Unveils Sweeping Plan for Economy - NYTimes.com

Who Will Fund Obama’s Stimulus Spending

Digging Deeper Into Bull And Bear Markets

Economic Stimulus Package Where does the money come from

**Links available at blog.

Stanford Media X Ten Innovation Trends: Robotics, Aging, Clean Tech, Brain, Gaming, Science and More

packagin — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 09:32:32 +0000

Alvaro Fernandez asked:

Copyright (c) 2007 SharpBrains

The goal of Stanford University Media X is to foster collaborations between industry and academia. The 5th Annual Media X Conference on Research, Collaboration, Innovation and Productivity, which I was fortunate to attend, served its purpose well. Let me share the 10 Key Trends that every business executive and innovator should be paying attention to:

1) Personal Robotics is poised to explode soon (predicted by Paul Saffo). It usually takes 20 years science basic science exists until applications reach inflection point and take the world by storm-and we are about to see that happen. Some indicators: DARPA sponsored first robotics attempts in mid-80s, and now we have applications such as the Roomba vacuum-cleaner, and a fully automated racing car. Prof. Kenneth Salisbury showed how there are robots today with great motor skills-i.e., they can unload a dishwasher!

2) Brain Computer Interfaces. Prof. Krishna Shenoy explained how, for many people who can’t move/ communicate well, new systems enable the translation of brain signals into control signals, by implanting electrodes in brain that measure signals and help predict behaviors based on response pattern recognition There are already applications today that help people move cursors based on their thoughts.

3) Clean Technology: Scott Z. Burns, co-producer of An Inconvenient Truth, explained how Al Gore was reluctant to make the movie, but he was convinced to participate given the increasing threat of global warming. Al Gore saw an analogy between the movie and a bio-feedback device that her daughter used to treat her migraines. In biofeedback, one learns how to manage vital body variables in order to reach a goal (preventing migraines, managing stress…). Similarly, Gore wanted each viewer to find his or her own “levers” or “muscles” and ways to act -not just be told what to do.

4) Reinventing Aging: Prof. Laura L. Carstensen, of the Stanford Center on Longevity, explained how Technology & Science has been improving Biology for the last 150 years, and now we need to focus on how to help people remain physically fit and mentally sharp as we age. We need to redefine “aging”. Nowadays, there are many role models in their 70s and 80s that show how age is not an obstacle for being active contributors in society.

5) Virtual Simulations for medical education. Dr. LeRoy Heinrichs showed how simulations work very well to train surgeons and other medical professionals learn how to perform their jobs. Virtual simulations (in a simulated virtual environment) can work as well as physical ones (which typically are more expensive and less scalable).

6) Green Building and Green Cars. Prof. Gilbert M. Masters recommended reading the article “It’s the Architecture, Stupid!” to understand how buildings account for 35-45% carbon emissions in the US, more than transportation and industry.

7) Friends not Email: Prof. B.J. Fogg claimed that email “cheapens our lives” and insisted that maintaining close relationships is critical for happiness. Email is a very bad tool to manage close relationships. Wise words.

Science Videos: Prof. Roy D. Pea made the case that there is an increasing need for DIY videos in protocol sharing among scientists, so they can better replicate experiments. His Lab is creating new ways to enable people create conversations about video to enhance diversity of views and connections.

9) Games for Learning: Prof. Dan Schwartz showcased new methods for learning outside the classroom. Games can help merge formal & informal learning. Teachable agents are computer programs created by students to make their knowledge explicit, and can be used as part of games to motivate students do their homework.

10) 3D Scientific Imaging. Prof. Paul Brown displayed some of the new imaging and software packages that allow doctors navigate virtually into the bodies of patients, in a non-invasive way The images are simply spectacular. They used these technologies to see in detail the interiors of an Egyptian mummy.

Which of these trends is more relevant to your business? What can you do to start preparing for the future, today?

SBSSERVER-1SPS: