Dr. Naomi Richfield-Fratz (center) accepts a memento display case commemorating her late husband, D. Douglas Fratz. Fratz was the leading scientist and longestserving employee at CSPA, where for 36 years, he managed corporate advocacy efforts with government regulators and NGOs on aerosol and air quality issues. He died suddenly on Sept. 27, 2016. Presenting is former CSPA President & CEO Chris Cathcart (left) and CSPA Board Chair Bill Auriemma. Photo by Joseph Cancellare. Manav Lalwani, Director of Product Development, American Spraytech presented #SPRAYFEST: The Next Generation of Aerosol Products. Lalwani urged attendees to take innovation seriously, as it is a revenue generator, job creator and an industry grower. Innovation differs from invention because the latter is creating something brand new while the former is improving and applying existing technologies to new opportunities. Lalwani explained five innovation hacks used at American Spraytech. The first is the Spitball, where one expresses, “I wish I had a spray that fill in the blank.” This identifies a consumer wish and fulfills it. His example was men’s hair pomade, which is goopy when in a jar, but sprays neatly and cleanly when in an aerosol. The second was the Roll-Up, which proposes that the latest and greatest materials make the latest and greatest products. Complete the Box asks, “Having established a foothold product, what’s next?” and used dry shampoo in an aerosol as an example. Feed the Feedback used aerosol root touch-up spray for hair to illustrate a product that was formulated as a result of online complaints about messy, brushon root touch-ups. Map to Market utilizes NBD (new, better, different). Lalwani encouraged marketers to “walk the store” and develop NBDs. In one instance, this resulted in turning traditional calamine lotion into a no-mess spray. Lalwani concluded with the directive, “Keep spraying. Keep raving. Keep dreaming.” Ryan Hulse, Director of Technology, Honeywell, presented Successful Adoption of Next Generation Propellants. Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are under pressure for global reduction. Effective July 20, 2016, the EPA’s SNAP Rule 20 changed the status of HFC-134a use as propellant in many popular aerosol applications from “acceptable” to “unacceptable,” subject to conditions. On Oct. 15, 2016 an amendment made to the Montreal Protocol added high global-warming potential HFCs to the Protocol and established schedules for their phase-down. cleaning products used in schools. “We created the opportunity for meaningful dialogue between school facility directors and industry,” she said. “It was a win-win for everyone.” Aerosol Products Division program The Aerosol Products Division convened with a program titled Innovating for the Future. John Saalwachter, Director of Business Development, Ball Corp., presented Packaging Innovation: Concept to Commercialization. Ball fosters a culture of innovation, and Saalwachter stressed the importance of a structured process, such as the Stage gate process wherein an initiative or project (e.g., new product development, process improvement, business change) is divided into stages or phases, separated by gates. There should be one project owner with a diverse team and an appropriate balance of time and resources. The team Saalwachter should include diversity of disciplines in its evaluation and include customers and suppliers early on in the process. Innovation priorities include functionality, sustainability, differentiation and cost out (meaning to calculate in advance the total cost of a project or proposal). Sources of inspiration can be internal (diverse departments and disciplines), personal (friends and family thinking outside of the box) and from customers (understanding their needs and challenges, utilizing diversity of disciplines and supporting coinnovation). It can also come from inventors, suppliers (practice what you preach and consult your suppliers, including those that represent different markets and geographies) and by looking under your own nose (What are you good at? What are we already doing that can be considered innovative?). Saalwachter showed a video highlighting an example of Ball’s innovation: beer in a Ball aerosol can. Result? It was handy, but made a lot of foam. Dennis Smith, Director of Sales & Packaging Solutions, Precise Packaging, LLC, presented The Greatest Consumer Package…in my opinion: A Hands-on Review of Aerosol Packages that Shaped our Industry. Smith presented a detailed and comprehensive history of the aerosol package and then posed to attendees the question, “So what did we learn from these Smith packages?” The answer is to continually innovate. Innovation is driven by several things, such as solving a real need, creating a new way, making it better and safer and working with suppliers. The greatest consumer package is getting better every day, concluded Smith. Lalwani Hulse February 2017 Spray 25
Spray February 2017
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