• Nerida Kelton received a Distinguished Service Award for her industry achievements.
    Nerida Kelton received a Distinguished Service Award for her industry achievements.
  • Pierre Pienaar became the fourth recipient of the AIP Founders Award after Professor Harry Lovell, George Ganzenmuller, and Llewelyn Stephens. He has been instrumental in the continued growth and success of packaging education and training around the world.
    Pierre Pienaar became the fourth recipient of the AIP Founders Award after Professor Harry Lovell, George Ganzenmuller, and Llewelyn Stephens. He has been instrumental in the continued growth and success of packaging education and training around the world.
  • A Life Membership award, which has only been given five times in 55 years, was handed to Keith Chessell for his efforts within the industry.
    A Life Membership award, which has only been given five times in 55 years, was handed to Keith Chessell for his efforts within the industry.
  • The AIP awarded a Fellowship to Rollspack MD Phillip Rolls.
    The AIP awarded a Fellowship to Rollspack MD Phillip Rolls.
  • Jacky Nordsvan has been recognised with the grade of Fellow.
    Jacky Nordsvan has been recognised with the grade of Fellow.
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At this year's conference, the AIP recognised several individuals for their contributions to the packaging industry over the years.

Jacky Nordsvan has been recognised with the grade of Fellow.
Jacky Nordsvan has been recognised with the grade of Fellow.

The grade of Fellow is the highest recognition to AIP members, and goes to people who have made a significant and sustained contribution to the technology, science, or application of packaging.

The AIP awarded two Fellowships this year – one to Jacky Nordsvan, packaging specialist at Nestle Australia, and the other to Rollspack MD Phillip Rolls.

Norsdvan has worked in the industry for more than 25 years, and has brought packaging sustainability, recyclability, labelling, and accessibility to the forefront of packaging design.

She has helped develop tools and processes and engaged stakeholders to enable informed decisions on packaging sustainability and packaging accessible design in the concept phase of packaging development, which is key to improving environmental performance and packaging accessibility.

She has also been instrumental in a number of collaborations between business and industry, including work with Planet Ark, Arthritis Australia and the Sustainable Packaging Alliance, as well as being a brand owner director on the board of the Australian Packaging Covenant since 2016.

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Phillip Rolls (above) has been a member of the AIP for 20 years and has been described as “a business visionary”.

He led his own packaging company to success through a pioneering spirit, positive thinking and strong business acumen, according to the AIP.

“His thirst for knowledge and commitment to knowing where the industry is heading has seen his business grow from a small plastic bag manufacturer to a respected industry leader,” national president Carol Kilcullen-Lawrence said.

Life-time member

A Life Membership award, which has only been given five times in 55 years, was handed to Keith Chessell for his efforts within the industry.

He had a 46-year career in the food, beverage and confectionery industries, with experience in the innovation and development of new products and the relaunch of existing products and packaging.

In recent years his focus has been on sustainable packaging design and he has been a contributor to the development and judging of the Save Food Packaging and Sustainable Packaging Awards, the successful participation of the AIP within the National Food Waste Strategy, and the newly formed Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre. Chessell is the current AIP representative on the LCA Standards Australia committee as well.

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Founders are keepers

The Founders Award has been designed to honour the foundation members of the institute and recognise their contribution to the development of packaging technology in Australia.

This year, Pierre Pienaar became the fourth recipient of the AIP Founders Award after Professor Harry Lovell, George Ganzenmuller, and Llewelyn Stephens.

Pienaar has been instrumental in the continued growth and success of packaging education and training around the world.

He has given his time to assist developing countries with their packaging education and training, and has lectured in the technology and science of packaging at various universities across the globe.

Closer to home, he accepted the role of filling Harry Lovell’s shoes and leading the education portfolio for the AIP across Australasia.

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Transformative impact

Nerida Kelton also received a Distinguished Service Award for her industry work.

Involved with the AIP since 1998, Kelton's marketing and commercial focus has helped the AIP through a significant transformation.

She was the marketing manager of a large labelling firm, which became one of the first sponsors of the institute’s first major national technical conference.

From then, her involvement with the AIP continued to grow.

Having joined as an associate member of the institute, a key focus became supporting people of all walks in life in many facets of the industry.

“Working tirelessly to ensure the AIP is represented at the highest level within all facets of our industry, from organising courses, speakers and site visits for events up and down the country, to co-ordinating our key annual charity event with our partners, packing Christmas hampers for Foodbank, representing the AIP on the World Packaging organisation board, Nerida has been outstanding,” Kilcullen-Lawrence said.

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Food & Drink Business

Entries are now open for the annual Melbourne Royal Australian Food Awards. Open to commercial food producers of all sizes, it is one of the largest programs of its kind. 

Victorian brewery, Bodriggy Brewing Co, is the first brewery in the state to achieve carbon-neutral certification and only the second in Australia to do so. The independent Abbotsford-based brewery achieved certification under the federal government’s Climate Active program.

According to Rabobank data, Australian consumers are facing higher chocolate prices heading into Easter, with retail chocolate prices up 8.8 per cent on the previous year as global cocoa prices soar.