2023 R2R USA Conference presents 95+ technical sessions

Published: August 16, 2023

More than 95 technical sessions will be presented at the 2023 R2R USA Conference, October 2-5, 2023, at The Baird Center in Milwaukee, WI. The full agenda for the multi-track conference, organized by the Association for Roll-to-Roll Converters (ARC) (formerly AIMCAL), is available at https://www.rolltoroll.org/2023-r2r-usa-conference.

The conference starts on Monday, October 2, with orientation sessions beginning with Introduction to Converting at 11 a.m. followed by Converting Process Basics at noon.

The following days begin with a Brainstorming Breakfast and Keynote, then technical sessions. Sessions are organized into seven tracks: Web Handling, Coating & Laminating, Printing, Sustainability, Flexible Packaging, Vacuum and Battery Energy. The schedule also includes presentations of ARC’s popular Coating Fundamentals, Drying Fundamentals, Vacuum Fundamentals and Web Handling Fundamentals, which are included in the event registration fee this year.

The R2R USA Conference hosts a variety of keynote presentations and panel discussions from some of the most influential organizations in the industry. Highlights include:

• Sustainability in Converting by Rob Cotton, R&D director for Foods Packaging Materials and Standards at PepsiCo (9 a.m. CDT, Tuesday, Oct. 3)
• Sustainability Consumer Brand Panel Discussion, moderated by Dante Ferrari, president of Celplast Metallized Products Ltd., with insights from Erik Groner, research lead, Packaging R&D at The Kraft Heinz Company, and Eric Klingenberg, materials science program leader at Mars Advanced Research Institute (9:45 a.m. CDT, Tuesday, Oct. 3)
• Sustainability - Fireside Chat by Paul Nowak, executive director of GreenBlue (1 p.m. CDT, Tuesday, Oct. 3)
• Roll-to-Roll Converting in Fuel Cell Production by Dr. Scott Mauger, senior scientist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, CO, and director of the Department of Energy Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office's Roll-to-Roll Consortium (9 a.m. CDT, Wednesday, Oct. 4)
• Battery Industry Experts Panel Discussion, moderated by Anthony Sudano, principal of Sudano Consulting (9:45 a.m. CDT, Wednesday, Oct. 4).

More than 65 exhibitors will occupy the exhibit hall, which opens at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, is accessible multiple times each day and is the site of the Exhibitor Networking Reception on Tuesday, Oct. 3. Other networking opportunities include a New Member Reception, a Welcome Reception at the Harley-Davidson Museum, the Bernard Henry 5K Fundraiser and a golf scramble. The agenda also includes the informative and entertaining AIMMY Vendor Presentations, an Awards ceremony and a recognition of the Best Papers presented at the conference.

The 2023 R2R USA Conference is sponsored by Siemens, MWES, Roll-to-Roll Technologies, BOBST, Davis-Standard, Maplesoft, Faustel and VDI. Host hotel for the event, the Hilton Milwaukee, is connected to The Baird Center via a Skybridge. To register, go to https://www.rolltoroll.org/2023-r2r-usa-conference.