The Australian Institute of Packaging hosted a gala dinner at The Atrium in Melbourne on 1 September to celebrate its impressive 60-year legacy, and mark the special milestone in the company of past presidents, AIP Fellows, lifetime members and VIP guests.
(Swipe through our gallery above for highlights from the event.)
As the Australian packaging industry’s peak educational and training body, the AIP has built a remarkable legacy in the 60 years since its founding. The Institute was established in September 1963 by a key group of visionaries, led by foundation president Noel McLennan.
The AIP has seen 28 presidents hold office to date, two of them – Professor Harry Lovell and George Ganzenmuller – serving twice. Several of these presidents were present at the party, with current incumbent John Bigley as MC for the special event.
Bigley welcomed guests, thanked the event partners* and noted that the AIP is going from strength to strength, building on its first 60 years. He said AIP's relevance is increasing as government looks to regulate packaging design, and AIP is playing an important role in industry's transformation.
The evening kicked off with a moving video tribute to members who have passed in recent years, a fitting memorial for an evening all about legacy and an acknowledgement of the value the fellowship offered within the AIP community, which is such an important part of the Institute’s culture. Bigley remarked that although the AIP had lost 1000 years of packaging experience in the last 10 years, there was 1000 years more in the room, embodied by the members, fellows, life members, and past presidents in attendance.
A night of festivity and fun ensued, punctuated by video messages from industry association leaders from all over the world, congratulating the AIP on its fine achievements in education in Australia and beyond our borders, and confirming the respect it has earned from these global bodies.
Acknowledgements were made to Michael Mobbs, AIP’s longest serving member at 57 years; Allan Kenny, a member for 56 years; and Michael Halley, who received his 50-year Membership Plaque on the night.
AIP education director Pierre Pienaar announced the 2023 Harry Lovell Award winner as Leanne Erika Tan, packaging technologist at San Miguel Yamamura Packaging Corporation, Philippines. Pienaar commended Tan’s tenacity and determination to succeed, remarking that in a world first, Tan had sat all four exams at once on one day, and passed with merits and distinctions. The Harry Lovell Award has only been presented seven times since 2006 and is the most prestigious award for academic excellence in the AIP.
The audience was entertained by the humorous band Tripod, and a special ‘how well do you know the AIP’ trivia quiz hosted by executive director Nerida Kelton and past president George Ganzenmuller.
To end the evening, PKN publisher recited a poem she had written for the occasion, entitled ‘Of Legends and Legacies’, in tribute to the AIP's founding visionaries who were stirred to ‘take the lead and plant the seed… weathering the worst to put education first’. The poem was dedicated to presidents past and present, and the selfless individuals, many of whom were in the room, who have grown this organisation into the influential force in education that it is today.
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AIP industry event partners were: Ball & Doggett, GS1 Australia, Impact International, Pac Food, Resolution Imaging, UPM Raflatac, and PKN Packaging News.
Ball & Doggett, in partnership with Resolution Imaging, produced a sustainable concertina-style sign, printed on fibre-based Envirocore White 20mm material that set the scene and delivered the ‘Celebrating our legacy’ message facing one way, and ‘AIP 60 Years’ facing the other. UPM Raflatac supplied gift bottles of wine labelled with UPM Raflatac labels, while Impact International partnered with the AIP to plant 420 native trees along the banks of Five Mile Creek within the Impact International carbon-offset forest.
