46th Annual Meeting Presentations

Program Speakers

46th Annual Meeting
Marriott Renaissance Hotel
Nashville, TN

September 20 - 21, 2017








Wednesday, September 20

1:30pm              The Crow Report                                                                                 
In a scene reminiscent of the historic Apple Computer “1985” commercial depicting “Big Brother” on a big screen before an audience, Executive Director Robert LaGasse (MSC) opened this year’s program with a Skype presentation of the Crow Political Report made on the big screen by Laurie Flannigan, Vice President of DC Legislative & Regulatory Services, the Council’s Washington Representative. David Crow was absent due to recent knee replacement surgery, but Laurie stepped-in with a great overview of key industry political issues today and an analysis of what could be expected in the future. A lively question and answer period followed as Laurie fielded member inquiries on a variety of topics. This was the first time MSC had attempted an on-line presentation by a speaker at a remote site, and the success of this presentation has opened new doors for additional opportunities at future events. We truly thank Laurie for being such an outstanding beta-test subject.
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3:00pm              Improving Operational Excellence
Panelist Ken Allen (Oldcastle Lawn & Garden Products) gave the first presentation on Knowing Your Cost of Production. Ken recounted the history of his working in the industry and determining the need and value of identifying all costs of production in order to compete in a highly costsensitive industry. Then, Chris Littelfield (Kellogg Garden Products) presented his company’s experience in Product Demand Planning. Chris reviewed the legacy approach using supply to predict sales vs. the new approach predicting demand in order determine supply needs. Though the system is a “work in progress”, the benefits are showing promise for better product planning for an improved bottom line. Our final panelist was Brent Bolton (Harvest Consumer Products) who spoke on Expectations of a Contract Packer. Brent discussed the distribution of major retail markets, why you might use (or be) a co-packer, expectations of the co-packer customer and expectations of the co-packer.
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4:00pm              Membership Meeting & Fire Survey
Wednesday’s presentation programs ended with the 46th Annual Membership Business Meeting where members were updated on the Council’s financial activities, committee accomplishments, member service program activities and status and annual elections for directors. As part of our activities, Associate Executive Director Shelli Crockett Williams reviewed the very surprising results of the MSC survey on what members do to prevent and manage fire risk at their production and storage facilities across the nation.
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Thursday, September 21
8:00am-9:00am               Plant Safety
Our second day of educational sessions began with an outstanding presentation by Don Dugger (The Scotts Company) on Plant Safety. Don described how plant safety must be more than a program to be successful — it has to be a company and employee culture.
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9:30am           Understanding The Total Cost of Ownership
John Janes of Caterpillar, Inc., described how companies can determine if it is better to lease or purchase equipment and how to understand the total cost of ownership. Hear how important plant safety is as an unexpected key element to the lease vs purchase decision process.
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11:00am           How Insurance Options Can Impact Your Business
Todd Johnson, USI, followed with a complete discussion on How Insurance Options Can Impact Your Business. The session included a discussion on understanding Workers Compensation and the impact of the Experience Mod on your business and ways to minimize its impact.
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12:00pm             Keynote Luncheon: CHANGE IS COMING
Change Is Coming! Was the topic of our keynote luncheon speaker Dr. Alan Beaulieu, President of ITR Economics. Sifting through the often-conflicting maze of economic information, Alan Beaulieu provided a timely snapshot of the economy today, where it is headed over the next three years and what it means to your business. Alan also revised the previous prediction of a very bad 2018 to a slight economic downturn. The real economic risk is now 2030 and Alan talked about many options for members and their families to follow to blunt any adverse impacts between now and then. MSC thanks BASF for their generous PLATINUM sponsorship that made it possible to bring a speaker of this quality to the members. (Sponsored by BASF)
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2:00pm           Bulk & In-Line Scanning for Volume
Our afternoon sessions focused on new products and technologies available to members now or in the near future. Matt Walz (Walz Scale) opened the session with a presentation on Bulk & In-Line Scanning for Volume.
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3:00pm              What's New In Our Industry:
What new products and technologies are now available and which new products are best for you? Hear from MSC Affiliate members on the latest product offerings to make your business more efficient and cost effective. Presentations by Reliance Packaging, Komptech and Loadscan.
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