Issue link: http://palletcentral.uberflip.com/i/1464021
8 PalletCentral • March-April 2022 palletcentral.com INSIDENWPCA NWPCA Announcements and Upcoming Events NWPCA 2022 ALC – It's a Wrap! Chairman Mike Hachtman, 48forty Solutions, kicked off the conference with remarks covering NWPCA's year in review before passing the gavel to incoming Chair Carolyn Beach, Westside Pallet. Commenting on her new role as Chair, "This past year was a challenging one to meet the demand for our customers. Moving forward, we'll have a spotlight on our environmental product declaration for wooden pallets," said Carolyn Beach. "Pallets are one of the most important assets in the supply chain, and they are the most environmentally-friendly packaging choice with its 95% recycle rate and net positive carbon impact. President and CEO Brent McClendon presented his perspective on the future of the industry and the association, emphasizing the importance of sustainability messaging more in the coming years. He added, "Carolyn's strong focus on sustainability and why it matters to the wood packaging industry will be beneficial as we navigate supply chain disruptions and enter a critical period of heightened environmental awareness." ALC Photos By Caryn Smith The program was strong with expert speakers. The message was clear on sustainability in the keynote from Joel Makower, GreenBiz: "Ignoring sustainability is a risk factor." Re-enforcing the importance of communications with your customers is critical in the coming years. Brent Hutto, Truckstop.com, who presented on supply chain and freight trends to watch in 2022, left many "inspired with all the information to help in my company's business decisions." His talk provided other ways to watch economic factors by keeping a finger on the pulse of freight movement. "B uilding Resiliency and Sustainability into the Supply Chain," this year's theme of the Annual Leadership Conference (ALC), March 9-11, in Carlsbad, California, was touched on by every speaker, panel, and attendee. News of the supply chain, sustainability, and acquisitions was much talked about by over 600 who attended ALC. It was also the topic of chatter heard throughout the general sessions and in the exhibit hall. Several remarks on the program were, "e sessions were timely, and on point to what the industry needs to know." e speaker's "depth of knowledge and presentation skills were excellent without overwhelming us with lengthy in-depth data charts." For more ALC coverage, see page 14. Economist Todd Buchholz provided a macro view of economics and which indicators are most important to the industry.