Corrugated Packaging Council

Corrugated Division Chair
John Semenske
Regional Sales Manager, BW PaperSystems 
Elected Member

Regional Sales Manager for BW Papersystems Corrugated Division. John has over 

30 years industry experience.  He began his career with Marquip in 1985 in the electronics department while attending Wisconsin Sc

hool of Electronics where he received his degree in Electrical Engineering. Upon graduating, he joined the Marquip Field Service Department and installed equipment in the US, Europe, Latin American and Asia. When Marquip expanded operations in the Asian market, he was promoted to Asian Field Service Manager and lived in Singapore for 2 yrs. Upon returning to the US, John started Corrugated Concepts, a drives and controls company, then merged with Chicago Electric. John spent 12 years with Chicago Electric providing drive and controls upgrades to the industry. In 2007 he rejoined Marquip (now BW Papersystems) as the Midwest Regional Sales Manager 

John became a TAPPI member in 1993 and currently serves as the Vice Chair of CORBOTEC, Corrugated Packaging Council member, Chairman of Chicago TAPPI, TAPPI technical program committee, and past  Supplier Advisory Committee Chair.

 

Greg Arvanigian
President, Arvco Container Corporation
Division Vice Chair & Technical Program Committee Chair

Greg Arvanigian is President of Arvco Container Corporation of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Arvco is an Independent Corrugator with operations in Michigan, Indiana, and Florida.

Greg received his BS in Political Science from CentralMichiganUniversity, in 1984. His career began in the Corrugated Industry in 1984 at, Arvco Container Corporation, the company founded by his father George, in 1971.

Greg held various positions, including Production Manager, Projects Manager, and Vice President prior to succeeding his father as President of Arvco, in 1989.

Heavily involved in the industry, Greg served 16 years on the Board of Directors of AICC, becoming the association’s Chairman in 2001. He also served on the Boards of ICPF and ICCA and has been an active member of FBA, serving on that association’s Independent Corrugator and Data Services committees.

Greg’s community involvement includes service on the Boards of, The Boy Scouts of America and Junior Achievement. He was honored by Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Kalamazoo as their “Most Valuable Person”, in 2008.

In 2008, Greg was inducted into the AICC/Paperboard Packaging Hall of Fame. 

 

Ed Stuczynski
Director of Engineering, Menasha Packaging 
Past Division Chair/Awards chair

Ed Stuczynski is the Director of Engineering at Menasha Packaging Co, LLC of Neenah, Wisconsin. Ed began his career at International Paper working at the Georgetown, SC and Statesville, NC facilities in a variety of manufacturing roles including process improvement, maintenance, engineering and manufacturing management. In 2002, Ed went to work for Dufrene Machinery/RAR Electric as a project manager. He spent that time working with the various equipment suppliers and box plants managing machinery installations. Ed joined Menasha Packaging in 2006 as the corporate engineer and has worked his way up to the Director level. At Menasha Packaging, he is responsible for capital planning and process improvement projects.

Ed is a 1992 graduate of the Ohio State University. He has been a member of TAPPI since 2006 and is also currently on the Executive Committee of the Chicago TAPPI local section.

 

Ell Townsend
Senior Director Process Technology, Packaging Corporation of America
Corrugated Division Past Chair

Ell Townsend is Director of Manufacturing Services for Packaging Corporation of America, Lake Forest, IL.

After eleven years of active in the United States Army, Ell began his career in the corrugated industry in 1992 as a shift supervisor.  Subsequently, he has held positions as Plant Operations Manager, Technical Sales Representative, Production Manager, Site Manager, and Zone Operations Manager.  In his current role he is responsible for various capital and process improvement projects in the company. 

Ell has an undergraduate degree in Communications from the University of Minnesota, and in 1998 graduated from Indiana University with an MBA in Operations.  He has written several articles on leadership published in Paperboard Packaging.

A TAPPI member since 1998, Ell has held leadership roles on the HR and Safety Committee, and the Scholarship and Awards Committee.  He has been involved as host or speaker at several TAPPI sessions including safety, operations management, and diversity.

Ell lives with his wife Sue in Lakeland, Florida.

 

Bert Hurler
Manager Engineering & Capital Purchasing, International Paper
Appointed Member

Bert Hurler is Manager, Engineering & Capital Purchasing for International Paper, Memphis, TN.

Bert began his career in the corrugated industry in 1992 at International Paper’s Bay Minette, AL box plant.  Prior to joining the corrugated industry, Bert served five years of active duty service in the United States Navy, with certification as a nuclear propulsion plant operator.

During his career with International Paper, Bert has held positions as Process Improvement Manager, Maintenance Manager, Quality Manager, Plant and Corporate Project Engineer, and Corporate Engineering management.   In his current role, he is responsible for all capital purchasing and engineering services for International Paper’s North American Container business.

Bert holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Memphis, Fogelman Center.  He became a TAPPI member in 1996 and was appointed to the Corrugating Packaging Council in 2018.

Michael D. Martin
VP Engineering Services, Smurfit WestRock
Appointed Member

Michael began his career in the corrugated industry in 1995 as an Assistant Plant Engineer at Temple-Inland’s Louisville, Kentucky box plant while pursuing an Engineering degree.

In 1998, he was hired at Temple-Inland as Plant Engineer for the Middletown, Ohio box plant.  During his 14 year career at Temple-Inland, he successfully held the following positions:  Plant Engineer and District Engineer in the Ohio River Valley; Corporate Engineer, Senior Corporate Engineer, and Engineering Manager in Austin, Texas; Plant manager of a 3 billion square foot Box Plant in Lexington, South Carolina.

With International Paper’s acquisition of Temple-Inland in 2012, Michael held the Manufacturing Manager position at the Lexington facility before relocating to the Metro Atlanta area in 2013 for an opportunity with WestRock (RockTenn at that time).

At WestRock, he has held the position of Manager, Capital Planning and Execution, and is currently serving as Vice President, Engineering Services for the Corrugated Container Division.

Michael has a passion for developing leaders, improving safety behavior, better machine design, process improvement, and equipment reliability.

Michael is a 1998 graduate of Purdue University.  He was first introduced to TAPPI in 2000 at the SuperCorrExpo in Atlanta, Georgia, where he now resides with his wife and daughter.

Mark McNay
President, SMC Packaging Group, A Division of Green Bay Packaging
Appointed Member

Mark is the Senior Vice President of SMC Packaging-based in Springfield, MO (full-line corrugated box plant), with additional locations in Kansas City, Missouri (sheet plant); Conway, Arkansas (sheet plant); and Tulsa, Oklahoma (sales & distribution).  SMC serves the corrugated and packaging supply needs of several end-user markets including Food and Beverage, Chemical and Pharma, Shipping and Distribution, Point of Purchase Displays, Retail Ready Packaging, and E-Commerce.  SMC is one of the largest independent Independents in the Central United States.  SMC is celebrating its 50^th year in business this year, and Mark has been at SMC for 44 of those years.

SMC Packaging is committed to Springfield and its communities they serve through their support of various charitable, social, civic, and professional organizations that promote economic vitality, quality of life, and youth services.  Mark is a serial volunteer – having served and chaired  boards of United Way, Ozarks Regional YMCA, Boys & Girls Clubs, Board of Public Utilities, Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, and  Central Bank of the Ozarks,

Mark is married to Jennifer – a physician at Missouri State University.  They have two children  -- Son Riley  (recently receiving Masters’ degree in Computer Science from University of Tulsa)  has just accepted a cyber-security position with the Navy in Virginia.  Daughter  Anna is pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in Nursing  at the University of Tulsa.

Mark has been a member of TAPPI since 1988

Mark is a geologist by education and has enjoyed long-distance bicycle touring, water and snow-skiing, golf, and Cardinals baseball.

Josh Reich
Sales & Customer Service Manager, Greif, Inc.
Appointed Member

Josh has worked in the Pulp & Paper Industry for 8 years and currently holds the position of Regional Sales & Marketing Manager for Greif’s CorrChoice facilities. He attended school at Ohio University in Athens, OH, earning his BBA in 2012 and MBA with an emphasis on Executive Leadership in 2015. Josh worked for Greif in a variety of positions prior to graduating and signed on full time after graduation in 2012 as a Commercial Business Analyst for their Paper Packaging & Services Division. He has also held the positions of Customer Service Representative, Customer Service Manager, lead Greif’s Coating Division, and now works with different specialty product lines for the CorrChoice business units. During these roles, Josh has been responsible for commercial growth across different business units, technical expertise on coating products, marketing and advertising, analytics and reporting, and spent valuable time in operations learning and growing. Josh has been a proud member of TAPPI since 2012, serving as both the Chair of the Young Professionals Division and as a member of the Corrugated Packaging Council since 2016.

 

Glenn Rogers 
Mill Division Technical Manager, Pratt Industries
Appointed Member

I started my packaging career 36 years ago by sweeping the parking lot at Lin Pac in Atlanta, GA.  I worked my way up to Corrugator Supervisor at Lin Pac in Greensboro, NC.  Then, I returned to Lin Pac in Atlanta as Corrugator Supervisor.  I was Corrugator Supervisor at Weyerhaeuser in Charlotte, NC, and Corrugator and Converting Supervisor at Inland Container Rock Hill, SC.  I recently celebrated my 27^th anniversary with Pratt Industries.  Some of my assignments over the years at Pratt include: Corrugator Supervisor in Conyers, GA; Assistant Plant Manager in Statesville, NC; Plant Superintendent in Conyers; Co-authored the original ISO system used by our corrugated plants, Operations Manager for PrattPak; Quality Manager for Pratt Conyers mill; Customer Technical Services Manger for Pratt Mill Division.  I designed, managed construction, and operated Pratt Industries’ Technical Center for 6 years.  I am currently the Technical Manager for Pratt Industries Mill Division.

I have a wonderful bride of 35 years, three children, and 2 grand children.  I am a Christian.  I enjoy hunting, camping, and trying to stay ahead of Mother Nature at home.

A TAPPI Member since 1995, I am a former chairman of TAPPI CORBOTEC.  I am currently Chairman of TAPPI Fiscotec, and a member of the Corrugated Packaging Council.

I am a member of the FBA Technical Committee.  I was a member of the FBA team that created the Corrugated Chapter of the college text book “Fundamentals of Packaging” (2014), the FBA team that updated the Fibre Box Handbook (2015), and I now serve as the FBA Wax Alternative Materials Technical Advisor.

Jeff Gebauer
Production Manager, Niagara Sheets, LLC
Appointed Member

Jeff Gebauer is currently he production manager of Niagara Sheets LCC. He has dedicated 33 years to this industry.  During this time he has worked on three different corrugators and is proficient on both the wet end and the dry end of the corrugated process.

Jeff has held most of the positions on the corrugator.  Which includes machine operator, corrugator supervisor, and production manager

Jeff has been active within the TAPPI organization for the past 10 years  He is now currently on the CORBOTEC committee. He is also a former chair of the CORBOTECCommittee.

 

Dave Burgess
Sales Director, JB Machinery
Elected Member

Dave began his career with Pamarco Global Graphics in 1984, working in many different areas including Plant Management, Regional Sales Management and eventually being appointed Vice President of Sales and Marketing – a position he held for several years.

In 2008 Dave joined Flexo Concepts as Vice President Sales , focusing on the global distribution chains for their Doctor Blade and anilox cleaning equipment lines.

Dave is very active with TAPPI, AICC and FTA having authored and presented many technical papers over the last 20 years.
In 2011 Dave joined JB Machinery as Director of North American Sales overseeing all sales activity in North America of its IR Drying , UV Curing and KleenPlate product lines. Dave will now be assuming responsibility for all JB marketsglobally.

 

Joe Slattery
Midwest Region Sales Manager, Fosber America
Elected Member

Joe Slattery is the Midwest Sales Manager and Corporate Accounts manager for Fosber America and works with the inside and regional sales managers to find the best solutions for Fosber’s integrated customers. Joe does this while working personally with the Midwest region integrated and independent customers. He works with his team to find solutions and opportunities for how Fosber machinery will provide the best ROI for the customer. Prior to being a sales manager, for the past 12 years, Joe did field service and installations for Fosber, and has worked with many current industry leaders managing over a 100 installs of dryend, wet end and full Fosber corrugators. Between field service, Installations and sales, Joe has been to a majority of the corrugated plants in the USA along with many in Canada, and Europe. This variety of positions within Fosber gives him valuable insight as to was has made our industry strong and where our industry can progress to.

 

Sara Young
Senior Technical Analyst, PCA's Reasearch and Innovation Center
FISCOTEC Chair

Sara Young is a Senior Technical Analyst at PCA’s Research & Innovation Center, specializing in paper testing. She graduated from Indiana State University in 2017 with degrees in Packaging Engineering Technology and Japanese. In her free time she enjoys rock climbing and reading.

Lena Decker
Sales Representative, Packaging Corporation of America
Young Professionals Liaison

Lena began her career with Packaging Corporation of America, after earning her MBA from Monmouth University in 2018. In accepting a position with PCA, she was able to move back to her home state of Maryland, while working out of the Lancaster, Pennsylvania location. Through PCA’s GIFT Program, Lena spent several weeks rotating through various departments to gain a strong understanding of PCA and the corrugated industry as a whole, before moving to her current role as a Sales Representative. Lena’s passion for interacting with people and for learning, which initially drew her to sales, also led her to join the TAPPI Young Professionals Division, where she now serves as the Chair of the division. Outside of work Lena volunteers as an Advocacy Coordinator for Days for Girls International.

 

Keith Hamilton
Vice President, Georgia-Pacific Corrugated Appointed Member

Keith Hamilton is an exceptional operation’s executive that has delivered transformational improvement in three diverse Fortune 500 businesses in the pulp and paper industry, tire industry, and automotive industry. He is dynamic, articulate, analytical, and results oriented with a proven record of unprecedented accomplishment. He is currently Vice President of Operations at Geogia-Pacific LLC where he leads multiple segments across a broad packaging plant network.

Hamilton spent 13 years with General Motors and nearly 10 years with the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company before joining Georgia-Pacific, LLC.  He excels as an operational excellence practitioner and has proven most transformative with his focus and approach on the people side of operational excellence.

Prior to attending engineering college, Hamilton competed 8 distinguished years in the US Navy – submarines as a nuclear plant operator.  He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Florida State University and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering and management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. 

Danny Lopez 
Vice President, New Machinery Sales, The Haire Group
Elected Member

Danny Lopez is currently the Director of New Machinery Sales for the Haire Group, but has spent his entire professional career in the corrugated industry.

Born and raised in Spokane, WA, Danny did his undergraduate work at nearby Washington State University. Graduating in 2006 with a BS in Mechanical Engineering, he was immediately hired by Alliance Machine Systems International as an Application Engineer. Over the following several years, Danny traveled throughout North, Central, and South America building corrugated plant layouts for customers while he worked on his Masters in Business Administration at home.

After Danny completed his MBA, Alliance promoted him into a Product Engineering role, where he was in charge of integrating the J&L Specialty Folder Gluer into the Alliance product line, as well as managing all product and sales decisions as regarded the J&L.

After several years of product management, Danny moved to Phoenix, AZ where he began a full-time sales role as Western Senior Territory Manager for Alliance Machines. Danny spent the next nine years covering the western US and Canada for Alliance by providing sales, management, and product support for all Alliance customers within his territory.

After a long and happy 17 year career with Alliance Machines, Danny made the difficult decision in 2023 to move companies after receiving an exciting offer from Haire Group to help develop the increasing range of products that they had to offer. Now working as Director of New Machinery Sales, Danny spends time working with the New Machinery Sales team, as well as extensive time developing products with partners around the globe.

At home, Danny has been married to his high school sweetheart for 19 years, with two high school age children who are growing too fast. Danny’s main hobbies include music, soccer, and spending time with his family.

 

Tom Staal
Director Management Systems, Coastal Containers
Appointed Member

I am a graduate of Michigan Technological University. While attending  I participated in the Army ROTC program and at graduation I was commissioned as an Armor Branch Officer in the US Army. I served in various roles from Platoon leader, Company Commander, and Staff officer both on Active duty and later in the reserve component.

After leaving active duty I joined Advance Packaging Corporation as a corrugator supervisor. Coming from the structured environment where instructions were just executed to the civilian manufacturing environment where you had to persuade and influence people to do the job they were being paid for was a real learning experience. That was especially challenging when the crew you were supervising knew much more than you did about their jobs. That experience drove me to seek out every resource I could find so that I could know more about the process than they did. Knowing why we needed to do something allowed me to direct what we needed to do with effectiveness. TAPPI, and particularly, Chicago TAPPI was an invaluable resource for me.

After 10 years on the Corrugator I was given the opportunity to take over the Quality and Paper testing role. I was blessed to be able to grow and expand that role for another 20 plus years until the company was sold. During that time I was encouraged to participate in TAPPI and the FBA technical committee. In 2017 I was honored to receive the Corrugated Packaging Division Technical Award.

In 2023 my role had evolved to one that was less satisfying and I moved on and joined Coastal Container in Holland Michigan as the Director of Management Systems. Here I’ve been able to share my years of learning with others as this young sheet plant has “grown up” and expanded into a full line corrugator plant.

On the personal side I’ve been married to Amy for 30+ years and am the proud father of two sons that have recently graduated from Michigan State’s College of Engineering.

Michael Klear 
President, Corrugated Solutions
Supplier Advisory Committee Chair

Industry sales professional and serial entrepreneur, Michael Klear began his career in the corrugated industry in 2006. The DePauw University graduate has held various management roles in sales, marketing, product development and project management at a diversified packaging manufacturer, ITW Muller/Signode. In the late summer of 2017, Klear partnered with long-time friend, Michael Prassel, to co-found Corrugated Solutions LLC and Simply Packed LLC. The companies assist corrugated converters across North America in the sales and support of corrugated capital equipment and bulk packaging/supplies, respectively. Klear’s people-first approach has been at the core of his success as a sales professional, business owner and manager. In 2023 Michael's holding company made their first Acquisition of a company named Top Seal Packaging in Neosho, MO to add onto their growing business footprint in the Southern Midwest area.  Then in August of 2024 their holding company made their second acquisition of a company named Mill Creek Packaging located in Wadsworth, IL (just north of Chicago) which is now their US Office/Headquarters.