Engineering from

Concept to Consumer How to turn an idea into an on-shelf solution

WE Conference 2015 Nashville, TN

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Presenters

Danielle Murray

Sales Rotation Associate-Beverage Commercial Team

Georgia Tech: Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

Ana Meneses

Engineering Rotational Associate-Paper Solutions

University of Virginia: Chemical Engineering

Michelle Banks

Packaging Engineer- Packaging Technology & Innovation

Virginia Tech: Chemistry & Food Science

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About WestRock

We’re a leading global consumer and

corrugated packaging company focused

on customers, innovation and operational

excellence.

Consumer Packaging

47% Corrugated Packaging

53%

2014

Revenue

by segment

$15 billion Total sales

30 Countries

42,000 Employees

275 Operating and

business locations

12.3 million Tons of paper

shipped

North America 80%

Latin America 5%

EMEA 10%

Asia-Pacific 5%

2014

Revenue

by geography

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Our paper solutions

Paperboard

Solid Bleached Sulfate (SBS)

Coated Unbleached Kraft (CUK)

Coated Recycled Board (CRB)

Uncoated Recycled Board (URB)

Containerboard/ Kraft Paper

Virgin and recycled linerboard

Coated white top linerboard

Corrugated medium

White top linerboard

Kraft paper

Pulp Fluff pulp

Bleached market pulp (SBSK)

Unbleached market pulp (UKP)

Recycling All grades of recycled fiber and non-fiber materials

Waste brokerage services

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Our packaging solutions

Beverage Paperboard multiple packaging

Packaging machinery

Corrugated Container

Corrugated containers to protect, ship, store and display products

Automated packaging machinery

Folding Carton Folding cartons

Food service packaging

Express mail envelopes

Home, Health & Beauty

Pumps, sprayers, aerosol actuators

Dispensing closures

Adherence packaging

Merchandising Displays

Temporary promotional and permanent point-of-purchase displays

Partitions & Protective Pkg.

Solid fiber partitions

Corrugated partitions

Die-cut paperboard components

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Engineering from Concept to

Consumer: How it’s Done

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1. Idea

Generated

2. Marketing

Evaluation

3. Define

Best Concept

(w/ FFU)

4.

Prototyping,

Pilot Trials 5. Scale-up

6. Go to

Market

Overview: Engineering from Concept to Consumer

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Idea Generation

Consumer Insights Packaging Matters Study

Customer Requests

Employee Ideas

Mega Trends Packaging Trends

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Marketing Evaluation

• Marketing receives ideas

• Matrix Identifies High Promise Opportunities

• Less immediate ideas are catalogued in pipeline

• Marketing & Innovation Project Managers work

to generate a team to begin the process of

creating a solution

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Define Best Concept

• Fit-for-Use Criteria are provided based on

inputs such as:

• Industry Standards

• Equipment Capabilities & limitations

• Budget

• Customer specifications (if customer-driven project)

• Concepts and Initial Drawings are created by

a combination of R&D and Design (Function

and Form)

• Best option selected based on:

• Success against FFU Criteria

• Reproduceability

• Technical Feasibility

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Prototyping, Pilot Trials

• Prototypes built for best options

• Hand Made Samples

• 3D Printed Models of parts

• Prototype Molds (Injection Molding)

• Prototypes tested against Fit-For-Use

Criteria

• Share samples with

customer/consumer for feedback

• Trial with Pilot Equipment

• Pilot Plants

• Small Scale Custom Machines

• Modify design as needed

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Scale-Up

• Identify manufacturing sites and

test product

• Some considerations are:

• Facility changes needed

• Products made in facility

• Plant Capacity

• Proximity to customer

• Trial product in plant

• Qualify new molds and/or

equipment

• Some considerations are:

• Production outputs

• Product quality

• Regulatory requirements

• Cost

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Go to Market

• Marketing begins crafting value

proposition

• Value proposition is shared with Sales

Teams

• Negotiations with customers on

purchase criteria and pricing

• Package can be customized for the

customer, often with inspiration from our

Design team, and put on store shelves

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Important Notes

• Sometimes, innovations don’t work out!

• At any point in the process, it’s possible for

circumstances to change, products become

less profitable, or customers change their

minds

• Bells and whistles are nice, but rarely

necessary

• Often, steps are taken back and forward

throughout the innovation cycle. The

importance is in making sure you have

the fullest amount of information on

which to make decisions.