Advertise the Brand as Human, and Not a Logo!

All day long we hear and read, or take notes from some social platform. We are inundated with emails, texts and video. Nothing is being marketed like it was just five years ago. For some people, social media is just a source of entertainment. However, for marketers and entrepreneurs, it can be a source of game-changing opportunities to sell products and present information via video that print could never do.
 


Brand managers are learning that with this new medium you have to be open, honest, vulnerable, and social...in other words, human. If you act like a big corporation and less like an understanding human with reasons to buy and use the the product, you will quickly lose the audience. I’ve come to realize that the more brands focus on acting like a human rather than sounding like a corporation, the better traction they generally get online.



If your brand is faltering and no longer making waves by hiding behind a logo and some corporate jargon, you will see sales disappear. The brands that succeed are the ones that put a face to the brand and communicate like a real person.
 


If you want to turn your brand around and reclaim engagement with your potential audience and customers, you need to become a digital warrior. In other words, you’re not going to win if you tweet out a few links. You need to be proactive, reach out directly to customers to engage in genuine conversations, and even go after inferior competitors if the opportunity presents itself. Tell it like it is. For example with mosquito no-bite repellant, our ANYTIME™ brand guarantees 6 hours of protection and the competition for some hours. Tell folks the difference and the risks involved. Watch your brand grow.

Team Work Is So Necessary Today

An African proverb says “If you want to run fast, run alone. If you want to run far, run together”. This long-term togetherness view is exactly the approach we all need now. With the pace of life, so many social distractions, so many alternative ways to communicate, coupled with business pressures, it is very easy to find yourself heading out of our control.

So as we look around to consider the daily challenges, we all need to be more wise in choosing who to bring along with us on the journey.

Think what help do you require, and what past knowledge is available to access. The partner you choose is very important in order to get the best project results. The focus should be to make the project a success by maximizing what you do with your team.

The principle, Run Together, is focused on helping your team work together, navigate changes, and make sure the results positively impact the leader, and his needs.

Think, Run Together, is to ensure that the team or partners that you bring along for the journey, are unified around the purpose. Think what an excellent result will occur once everyone is unified behind your goal. As the leader, it takes courage and sense to plan beyond the change, or the norm that was expected. As a team, you will run far and accomplish your goals.

A wellness and environment safe product and package

In today’s world more and more millennium families are expressing concern about garbage, and in particular plastic. These innovative parents of young children demand wellness, safe, and sustainable products.

For example Greenology President & Founder Adam McCarthy, “As a father of three small children, I was concerned about the overabundance of caustic and carcinogenic ingredients commonly employed by most conventional cleaning products… . So we [Greenology] developed the most pure and efficacious products available by creating the first and only complete line of certified organic cleaning products under our brand, GreenShield Organic.”

Recently one of our major customers expressed concern for young riders of horses and their exposure to chemicals. Horses are sprayed regularly with chemicals to prevent flies and mosquitoes from biting them. If the equestrians touch the horse's skin and then rub their own eyes, they are indirectly coming in contact with these chemicals dermally. Clothes that have been touching the horse's skin are often washed with other clothes. Repellant chemicals are now in the home and in the waste runoff water.

We offered him our one of our mosquito and fly repellant products called ‘StillTails™’ for horses and other animals, that is 25b certified and with GRAS ingredients and safe for the Ethical Treatment of Animals [PETA]. Our customer decided to donate several thousand aerosols of StillTails™ to young riders throughout the USA. StillTails™ is a safe secure product.

In addition to its 25b certifications, StillTails™ has another plus in that once it is used it can be sent as garbage to a Plasma Syngas plant for incineration. The Syngas produces electricity for consumers as well as a byproduct of raw plastic material to remake plastic packaging all over. This is the way of the future, and no more landfills. This type of waste plastic garbage can all be handled by a Plasma Incineration Syngas plant. We need more of these plants in the USA. It is very important strategy, distributors and traditional shoppers want to feel good about the entire investment they make in a purchase. This product has wellness inside, and environmentally safe packaging outside.

Developing leaders through work Kahlil Gibran in his book, ‘The Prophet’ described work as I see it best…”Work is love made visible”

In my job as CEO, I often have to remind myself of these words to get through the day. Sometimes the decisions I am required to make do not have much love attached to them. Many times, some of the folks I meet have no thought of love, and likewise I have nothing anywhere near that in my mind. All I can do is to solve the problem as quickly as possible and move on.

So at my level many decisions do not expose me to pleasant conditions.

In the book he suggests that leaders think of work as an orchestra with many skilled artists. Guiding them to play the best music possible is when all of them work together and you win with audience screaming for more. One instrument off, and you don’t have that much success.

The philosophy or belief of a strong leader is to prepare for the worst. In other words, with half the orchestra playing, can you still make music that is appreciated by the paying customers? This means selecting a few key players [instruments] that can operate on their own, or with minimum back up, and still make good music.

So let’s consider what characteristics a leader should have:

1. Share responsibility of the project or job with team members or staff.
2. Distribute information regularly to all team members - leave no one out.
3. Have several ideas for a project and test them. Must have 3D vision and look around corners for the unexpected.
4. Make sure that in the scenarios you have, that one is for failure, so that you have a back up plan [not everything always works] to start again and not lose all from your efforts.
5. Always make sure that the team working for you has all types of people included so you get many views - if only from questions they ask and for you to consider.
6. Ask what worked well before, and how can we adapt and learn from that project, or work procedure.
7. Plan for more people if successful, as orders will increase - allow for training and hiring.
8. Make sure that the team or the second tier leaders give it their all and not be weighed down with other responsibilities that over shadow the new plans.
9. Hold weekly meetings to reflect on current success or failure, and be prepared to change. Let each member chair this meeting so they gain experience.
10. As this project or change in work procedures moves along, note who is helping, who are just present and who have little interest. Make the necessary decisions so you move forward with the correct team on board.

In conclusion, you are either a leader, or not. There is no space for any other type of character, and the opening message of this blog is clear, work is enjoyed, and others can see that.

StandUp plastic pouches have an exciting end of life story and leave the plastic straw alone we can handle it and make it over and over again!

StandUp plastic laminated pouches and plastic straws have an end of life story and that is not ugly, but very positive. The solution is plasma technology and production of syngas and is going to become the key to packaging sustainability.

Think why is syngas not part of todays sustainability strategy?

Syngas may offer the closest thing to the perfect path for robust, truly circular, chemical recycling.

What is syngas? Syngas is primarily a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, the reactive building blocks of virtually all plastic packaging materials. More importantly, syngas can be readily made from unsorted mixtures of plastic packaging waste using the well-established process of gasification. Pyrolysis is a thermal cousin to gasification, which also produces some syngas, but in lesser quantities, as pyrolysis favors production of char (e.g., charcoal is made by pyrolyzing wood) and a liquid hydrocarbon stew known as pyrolysis oil. Gasification primarily produces syngas.

During World War II, as Germany struggled to maintain petroleum supplies, it turned to coal gasification to produce syngas, from which liquid hydrocarbon fuels were made to support the war effort. Today South Africa is a leader in this coal technology through a company called Sasol.

Comparing the constituents of coal to packaging plastics (e.g., PET, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyamide, etc.), we find mostly the same elements, namely carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. It is no surprise that gasification of coal and waste plastics (and paper and virtually all organic chemicals and materials) leads to the same valuable product: syngas.

Syngas is used commercially to make much more than hydrocarbon fuels.

Many chemical companies throughout the world produce syngas to make a variety of valuable chemicals. It is only a matter of demand for chemical companies to produce more plastic monomers from syngas.

It is only a matter of knowledge and will to transform our waste handling system into a robust syngas producer.

Consumer Packaged Goods brand owners are making pledges to deliver 100% recyclable or reusable packaging by 2025 without a clear path to achieving that goal. Their packaging suppliers, especially flexible film converters, are unsure whether they will be able to satisfy their customer demands without sacrificing quality or significant portions of their businesses. The beauty of syngas is that all of today’s plastic packaging is already 100% recyclable through this syngas pathway. What is missing is not new packaging, but rather the waste handling infrastructure to convert waste to syngas.

Importantly, even NGO’s with an interest in packaging sustainability recognize the value that robust chemical recycling such as gasification offers for achieving real circular economy sustainability. The Ellen McArthur Foundation published a white paper titled, “Enabling a circular economy for chemicals with the mass balance approach.” This approach offers the opportunity to certify recycled content of materials produced, in all or in part, from waste-derived syngas.

Therefore, to achieve 2025 pledged goals, there is no need to change packaging materials or structures. What is needed is a transformation in how we view waste handling and recycling.

It is not surprising that society’s reliance on consumer cooperation to selectively sort waste, duplicate collection of recyclables and trash, mechanical recycling, landfilling, and/or exporting waste has failed. The current waste handling paradigm is too complex, expensive, and ineffective, as evidenced by so much of the waste floating in the oceans.

Until now, we have successfully hidden or shifted the burden of this failure. It is now time to get serious about fixing it. It behooves all packaging industry stakeholders to do what is needed to ensure that the coming transformation solves problems for which the packaging industry is being blamed without needlessly destroying the packaging industry.

Conversion of packaging waste to syngas represents the most robust and flexible path to circular economy sustainability.

While pyrolysis and traditional gasification offer benefits, they both require a good degree of sorting in order to eliminate certain materials from the waste stream. 

A variant of gasification, known as plasma (assisted) gasification offers the greatest benefits for waste handling. Plasma-assisted gasification can achieve high process temperatures using electricity and without using feedstock as fuel, as is typically done with coal gasification and pyrolysis. Since waste is much more variable than coal, high temperatures make the process even more robust since it can treat virtually any earthy material found in municipal solid waste, without being sorted. Plasma gasification is so robust that it is used to convert hazardous chemical wastes, including (waste-to-energy) incinerator ash, chemical weapons, and biological wastes.

Metals and minerals are literally melted down, and organic materials are converted to syngas. Molten metals and mineral oxides are recovered in a manner similar to the metals industry, as ingots and “slag.” The term slag is borrowed from the metals industry to refer to the lighter mineral oxides that separate from metal to form a vitrified, glassy rock or products useful in a variety of applications such as construction aggregate, abrasives, and glass fiber insulation. Therefore, even those currently non-recyclable multilayer flexible films, incorporating papers and foils (e.g., Tetra Pak and SIG Combibloc aseptic cartons, coffee bags, blister packaging, etc.) are already 100% recyclable and recoverable using proper waste treatment methods.

Neither gasification nor plasma-assisted gasification is incineration.

Like most useful feedstocks such as wood and petroleum, syngas can also be used as fuel to produce energy. When possible, however, it is preferable to produce more valuable material products. Therefore, gasification is properly referred to as waste-to-syngas as opposed to waste-to-energy, which is just one possible use for syngas.

When used for energy, however, syngas is remarkably clean.

As plastics are increasingly sourced from renewables, such as plants and algae, energy derived from subsequently produced syngas becomes increasingly zero net carbon, since plastics produced from plants are effectively biomass, and biomass energy is renewable and zero-net-carbon sustainable.

Therefore, syngas offers the packaging industry at least two truly circular sustainable paths:

1. Plastic to Packaging to Syngas to Plastic

2. Plants to Plastic to Packaging to Syngas to Energy to Plants

The University of Florida and PPi Technologies GROUP are spearheading the organization of an industry consortium focused on advanced recycling via syngas. All packaging industry stakeholder companies are welcome to become involved and actively support this effort as part of their sustainability programs and efforts. The Industry Consortium for Advanced Recycling is supporting establishment of a new Center for Advanced Recycling at the University of Florida.

For more information, contact professor Bruce Welt at the University or R. Charles Murray CEO at PPi Technologies GROUP.

Remote Access Cybersecurity

We employ technology to help run our machinery, liquor distribution and wellness businesses. We rely on technology suppliers, OEM’s and system integrators to get everything to work safely and correctly. 

This means they have to access equipment remotely which creates an open access point on our network. This can also possibly create a cyber security vulnerability. 

Having had two major cyber attacks on our system (we had protection) in recent weeks we now have to take the stance of not trusting anybody. 

Cyber security is a multidimensional concept and we protect our firewall at all times. 

Sometimes these support houses, and even our staff, take a shortcut into the system, which could open the door to hackers. A further risk for the company is someone plugging a USB drive into a computer, which unbeknownst to them, has malware on it. 

The rules of access for all of us to follow are:

1. Limit access to only one area at a time and check that supplier has not been compromised. 
2. Be careful not to take computers plugged into the system unto the factory floor, bypassing sign in procedures for this area. 
3. Check on remote access staff that they have not been compromised. 
4. Remote access is the weak point. Check and check again. 
5. Enforce remote entry policy and do not allow it to be circumvented. 

Think about the African proverb, “If you want to run fast, run alone. If you want to run far, run together.”

Now relate this very old saying to how we run our company in today’s busy world. 

Think about how we mix daily with others via phone, postal mail, email and all types of social media. These relationships are what help us move ahead. 

In earlier times, we believed we could win the race alone. 

I regret this is no longer possible, and no matter who we are, or what we do, we are dependent on the talent, time, wisdom, care, love, encouragement and perspective of others to succeed. 

The business schools today are dropping the MBA degree in favor of others that require more input from team leaders. No longer can one person send the company message. In order to thrive and be the best version of ourselves, we need others to share the journey. 

To get the company message out about our success and our products, we need the partnership and talent of others to enrich the journey. 

Who you choose to run with determines what will be achieved and the quality of the message. It is very important to run with the right people.

The last 23 years has taught us how to run this race. Time has showed us who to partner with. We have created long-lasting partnerships built on the principle that we’re better together. We have been very deliberate about who we run with. We have developed a list of what we affectionately call the Friends of PPiTG, our partners.

The pouch machinery business has changed over the years and we faced larger and more complex challenges. We sought to build capability in all things digital, latest technology with all staff using an iPhone, e-commerce participation with our Amazon web site for the consumables group, making products on our machines, and introducing outstanding machinery videos to emphasize our leadership. 

We decided rather than build these practices from the ground up, that we partner with proven teams to deliver this expertise. 

Our digital message is designed to help our three companies run farther, smarter and faster together. 

Using all the available expertise, it is amazing the experience and impact we are able to deliver. With the help of our partners, we create greater impact than we ever could have accomplished alone. 

As the CEO, I am continuously looking to see if the right people are in the race with me that share similar values. It is important for me to know that they complement, challenge and inspire each other.

At the end of the day I am always thinking. In the future, will the people in this race run as a team and help solve our biggest challenges—bring lots of expertise, inspiration, and a little laughter to get us where we need to go?

It you want to run far, run together!

When the market changes, it is fast…don't get left behind!

Baby foods 10 years ago were all in glass jars. A few products in StandUp pouches from Nestle could be found around the world. South Africa was one of the first. These were packed by Beechnut on our PSG ACE  machinery.

The next few years StandUp pouches started to become the norm with the addition of baby safe spouts on the pouch. We in turn developed a patented spout with a spoon built in. Our Nishibe pouch maker manufactured pouches for the PLUM company baby food pouches for the organic market in the USA. Claim was that the food was fresher as it did not pasteurize as long as the glass jars did. The name shelf stable foods was coined. Fresh at room temperature. The glass jars are now in the minority in the baby food segment.

The latest in 2019 is goodbye to shelf-stable and hello to High Pressure Pascalization (HPP) also cold pressed process. The new baby food companies are now changing the baby food aisle by bringing fresh food directly from farm to fridge for your little ones!

The desire from today’s mothers is for fresh and safe foods. As you know, that means in most store locations you’ll find these fresh foods in the dairy section because these products are perishable (they can of course easily be taken on-the-go as they’ll last up to 4 hours unrefrigerated or, if your travels take you farther, just toss them in a cooler bag with an icepack or freeze and thaw them).

Big news, there are refrigerators stocked with HPP food pouches directly in the baby food aisle in certain locations! These super convenient fridges allow mom, or the food preparer, to skip the trip to the dairy section and grab all the baby food pouches they need, right in one place.

It’s not just the convenience, it is the overall transformation of the baby food aisle from shelf-stable to as fresh as it gets without the hassle of homemade. This is the new market segment called HPP and cold pressed. Shelf stable is out, glass jars are gone and HPP in pouches and refrigeration is in. Big baby food companies are struggling to catch up. Our SN and PSG LEE machinery groups are leading the charge with high speed pouch and spout filling machinery.

Fresh, nutrient-packed foods are essential for a baby’s overall health. Speaking of nutrient-packed, studies show that certain HPP foods may actually contain more nutrients than fresh food, as HPP has been shown to affect the bioavailability of certain nutrients.

What is bioavailability? Technically it is the “amount of a nutrient in a food that the  body may ultimately use to perform specific physiological functions” such as digestion and absorption. Your body can more easily absorb and utilize vitamins, minerals and various phytochemicals from certain foods over others, but there are  other ways to affect bioavailability. You may  have heard, for example, that cooking tomatoes increases the bioavailability of lycopene found in them. However, as we’ve learned with shelf-stable food, exposure to heat can also result in nutrient loss. On the flip side of heating/cooking, HPP helps to both retain nutritional attributes of fresh foods and sometimes increase the bioavailability of the nutrition in your food.

The big question is, are HPP and cold pressed foods healthier than homemade? In some  cases, yes! Companies not watching the market, or understanding the new generation mothers, are out of the segment, and we all know first in is hard to beat.

So, let’s all raise a pouch to all the moms and dads out there and the next generation of fresh, healthy and safe baby food!

Can’t Feel the effects of CBD

Today nearly everybody you speak with has a story about CBD.

What is it?  How good is it?

Now with the “farm bill” recently passed comes the news about CBD from Hemp.

Cannabidiol CBD is found in both cannabis and hemp. The major difference is the amount of THC. Cannabis CBD oil has up to 15% (some reports are up to 30%) and hemp CBD oil cannot be sold with THC above 0.3%.

The Hemp CBD low THC is best used for fighting inflammation.

There are few articles that tell you how much is safe to use and how often. Getting your dose right is essential. There are no clear guidelines on dosage.

CBD, as with any other medication, vitamin or supplement, makes contact with the body through the tongue and then through to tissues of the digestive tract, with further chemical breakdown in the stomach and absorption in the intestines. Remember CBD is highly lipophilic-meaning that it dissolves in fatty tissues. This means CBD could be trapped in certain parts of the body, which delays absorption. Start with a low dose first thing in the morning, keeping all of these considerations in mind. Swirl in your mouth, slowly increase dose based on your dispensary suggestions. For CBD in food, check with the manufacturer for their recommendations.

Never Recycle These 10 Things

1. Paper Towels, Shredded paper and tissues - These are too small to be sorted and collected at recycling facilities. Also these are often covered in grease, food or things folks have coughed into and these contaminate other recyclables. Shredding paper makes it difficult to handle.
2. Plastic bags - These are not easy to handle and often because they take shapes makes them get stuck in the machinery.
3. Pizza boxes - Once food is stuck on the box it becomes trash, can’t be handled. 
4. Styrofoam - A very bad product. It will take many years to decompose if at all. Do not use at all. 
5. Clothing hangers - Please take back to your dry cleaner. Can’t be recycled because have plastic and paper on them. They land up in landfills in all states other than Florida who incinerates all garbage. 
6. Food Plastic Containers - Most are recyclable provided no food inside of them otherwise they go to landfill.
7. Different types of glass - Broken glass never accepted at recycling center as it could injure workers. Unless it is beverage/food glass, all other glass types have different melting temperature so cannot be used.
8. Energy efficient light bulbs - The energy efficient compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) bulbs contain a small amount of mercury and cannot be recycled. Also dangerous to landfills and pose a health hazard to people and animals. 7 states now ban CFL bulbs finding their way into landfills.
9. Plastic toys/office plastic containers - Plastic toys and office containers contain so many different materials that can’t be separated and recycled. Best is donate to Salvation Army or Goodwill for them to fix and re use.
10. Tea/Coffee beverage paper cups - Disposable coffee/tea cups are not recyclable. They contain a layer of wax that prevents the paper to be removed.

How to be successful on your next sales call

In the world of sales, the fact checkers know all about you and your products before you arrive. That means you have to ensure you have all the unique selling points ready to say why us and not the competitor! In your presentation you need to leave a silent message that your company offers the best solution. To do so you have to show examples of successes with your product. Case histories and references go a long way.

Make sure you understand the business of your competitors. When the opportunity arises during your presentation, discuss advantages of becoming a future customer. You need to create an immense vertical filing cabinet in your brain consisting of layers and layers of information that you can call on during your presentation.

There is a risk of finding out of date information about your customers from the web. If you are not up to date about your customer, you run into many risks with your sale. Expiring information is often in publications and lacks current details. Be careful as this information may not be relevant in a month, or a year. A good sales presentation must be up to date on facts. An effective sales presentation will include your own thinking and research, along with details that summarize the offer.

Having relevant the information will be a great advantage to you. Remember that retrieving information is different from having it already in your head. The internet is wonderful for being able to retrieve and get information, but not always accurate, or up to date. Do your homework and fact checking ahead of time.

You should be different. You should work on manipulating how you use your information.

The lesson is that learning and making yourself as smart as you can is extremely valid. Do not just rely on the internet for information, but use other factual sources also. You are going to need all types of information to close the sale.

While looking at your next planned sales call, consider this question: Are you focused enough on the products in order to build cumulative knowledge, or are you too spread out, which in the end will likely reduce the chance of gaining a new customer?

We have to create a believable experience in marketing products today

We have been creating videos as an advertising campaign for our pouch machines, trusting a customer to visualize what a packaging line will look like. It’s hard to use traditional technologies to create an immersive believable experience. We provide technical services and part support, but in today’s world we need a method to tell the customers what our value is to them. So we propose in 2019 to quickly go from prototype marketing ideas, to bringing 3-dimensional assets together to create a virtual world that’s so real and interactive that it’s believable. This is how sales will be conducted in the future.

Creating a YouTube video experience to reflect actually being part of the machine line, requires connecting with the client who is geographically located somewhere in the world and making it easy to understand our value proposition. That future technique is going to be the web based marketing brochure introduction to your company and products.

Just think of the market today. There are 20 billion plus internet connections in any year. We need to ensure that a user with a 5-year-old phone and limited bandwidth should receive the same great experience as an engineer with a brand new phone on the fastest network. In mobile alone, there are over 50,000 versions of just Android-based handsets running in the world today and now add iPhone users! A staggering number to think about and support. However if you want your message to get out you have to think ahead.

The secret is to develop a value proposition with the ability to create a unique experience to over thirty hardware and software handset chipset console mobile and social media platforms available today. That means you have to play with the top virtual reality companies to get your message out. A world of visual computing is coming faster than you think. In the same way that mobile changed, visual computing will change how we learn, communicate and make purchases.

In order to survive and stay ahead, we at PPi Technologies GROUP need to lead the field as we always have done and start moving now to search and drive awareness of this new advertising tool. It’s the early days of the virtual computer. Lots of brands are experimenting. We need to find the expert in providing us this know-how, so our customers' virtual reality experience of our 16 machine brands is so stimulating that they want and need them. We have to match and capture the value of our brands.