Joe Foster of O.F Pack has been recognised with an international Lifetime Achievement in Packaging Award for this year’s WorldStars.
Foster is one of two recipients for this year’s award, alongside Keith Pearson of South Africa, and will be recognised at the award ceremony and gala dinner in Düsseldorf, Germany, on 8 May.
According to Nerida Kelton, executive director AIP, Foster has been passionate about flexible packaging for most of his life and has run four businesses across four countries in the last 40 years.
“Joe has spent the majority of his career working to not only understand flexible packaging at its core, but progress the possibilities of flexible plastics with a continued focus on packaging innovation. His true legacy revolves around his resoundingly passionate attitude towards flexible packaging.
“Joe sees beyond what flexible packaging is, to what it can be, and hopes to create an evolved understanding of flexible packaging and the place it holds in society. His goal is to improve the relationship we have with flexible packaging and plastics, helping inspire new respect for packaging and improving consumer and waste behaviours along the way,” she said.
Pierre Pienaar, president of the World Packaging Association (WPO), said the award was established to acknowledge and reward excellence in all aspects of packaging science, technology, design, and application across every country around the world.
“The discipline of packaging is one that is truly global and the WPO is in a unique position to identify leading practitioners from around the world who have consistently pushed the boundaries in advancing the art, science and application of packaging to serve the needs of an ever more demanding society.
“These prestigious awards will celebrate and preserve in perpetuity the collective achievements of these innovators,” he said.
Foster will share the spotlight with 17 other companies from Australia and New Zealand at the WorldStars; ANZ packagers received the third highest WorldStar award count in the world this year, behind Japan and China.
