[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.versa-pak.com\/blog\/qa-with-andrew-reynolds-director-at-ami\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.versa-pak.com\/blog\/qa-with-andrew-reynolds-director-at-ami\/","headline":"Q&A With Andrew Reynolds, Director at AMI","name":"Q&A With Andrew Reynolds, Director at AMI","description":"Share We caught up with Andrew Reynolds – director at AMI and chair of the Masterbatch conference in 2019. With more than 40 years of experience in the industry, Reynolds is one of the leading experts in all things plastic. Below, hear his take on the trends that are shaping the field, and get a... Read more »<\/a>","datePublished":"2019-10-26","dateModified":"2019-10-28","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.versa-pak.com\/blog\/author\/versapak\/#Person","name":"Versa Pak","url":"https:\/\/www.versa-pak.com\/blog\/author\/versapak\/","identifier":2,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fdd4a894c6e32399c7117d9744d4cd7aec00e2f50376f90705cba1976bd21030?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fdd4a894c6e32399c7117d9744d4cd7aec00e2f50376f90705cba1976bd21030?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Versa Pak","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.versa-pak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/versapak_logo.png","url":"https:\/\/www.versa-pak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/versapak_logo.png","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.versa-pak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/blog-image-vpak-oct-qa-1-1.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.versa-pak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/blog-image-vpak-oct-qa-1-1.jpg","height":400,"width":700},"url":"https:\/\/www.versa-pak.com\/blog\/qa-with-andrew-reynolds-director-at-ami\/","about":["Distributor News"],"wordCount":845,"articleBody":"ShareWe caught up with Andrew Reynolds – director at AMI and chair of the Masterbatch conference in 2019. With more than 40 years of experience in the industry, Reynolds is one of the leading experts in all things plastic.Below, hear his take on the trends that are shaping the field, and get a peek at the 2020 Polyethelene Conference in February. You can also listen to the full interview below.\u00a0https:\/\/www.versa-pak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/VPAK_AndrewReynoldsAudio_1019.mp3Q: Can you tell us about yourself?\u00a0A: I\u2019m Andrew Reynolds; I\u2019m a director at AMI. We\u2019re the leading plastic consultants on downstream markets and what\u2019s going on within them. I\u2019ve spent the last 40 years of my life looking at packaging and where it\u2019s grown, developed, good things and challenges, and what the future holds.\u00a0Q: The Global Plastics Industry Seminar series just wrapped up. Tell us about some of the key takeaways from this year.\u00a0It\u2019s a 360-degree review of what\u2019s happening in the world of plastics, region by region, polymer by polymer, end-use segment by end-use segment, around the world.\u00a0It\u2019s a kind of forum where we discuss two or three things: One, the big-picture numbers of where the industry is and where it\u2019s going, but also a more personal, softer side of the industry and what\u2019s happening to the demand for plastics and packaging from the end-users.I think the big thing is, clearly, the debate about the environment and the role of plastics in the world. There\u2019s a head of steam criticizing plastics in terms of the way they end up in the environment, particularly in things like ocean waste, but there are wider concerns.\u00a0We live in what I would call the era of casual convenience. So what\u2019s tended to happen in terms of the societies we live in and the packaging we use is we\u2019ve been driven by convenience – what makes our life easy? The eat-and-go fast food world that we live in, the world of Starbucks that we live in, has all been driven by that casual convenience.\u00a0One of the things I see is a real difference in the way the US market is working versus the way the European market is working. In the U.S., the drivers that are there are coming from consumers.I think in an area like Europe, a lot of debate is being driven by the government. I think in the U.S. the consumer is driving that conversation, and it\u2019s probably a smaller proportion of consumers because it\u2019s perceived as less of a problem. There are plenty of problems in our world, and quite naturally for a lot of consumers, plastic packaging isn\u2019t one of them.\u00a0Related: Four packaging trends to watch >>Q: Looking ahead to the AMI Polyethylene Conference in 2020, what do you anticipate to be some of the big topics?\u00a0On a material point of view, the amazing thing about the industry is the amount of innovation still going on – in resins, additives, processing, converting – all of which enhances the products. That\u2019s certainly going to be key among the topics.\u00a0But I think another thing that we\u2019re going to be talking about is the structure of the industry. The way the industry is changing and consolidating, companies specializing even more in what they do, pushing out the geographical and application boundaries. And all this is serving to change the industry and shape the industry.\u00a0All of those topics – it\u2019s kind of, again, a holistic view of where the industry is going, not only the technical issues, but the commercial and market issues that will move the industry forward in the next 10 years or so.\u00a0Q: What are some of the reasons to attend?\u00a0I think the key thing for me – and this is true for all industries, and it\u2019s one of the things the conference does – is dialogue is so important. The ability to talk with your suppliers, your customers, and understand what\u2019s going on. You have a clarity of vision as an industry, and how should the industry react to the consolidation, the demand from society, customers, politicians, to change, to sustainability.\u00a0But some of it is also about the industry to have a forum and get together, and say, \u201cWe have a good product.\u201d The only job we do badly is telling the world what we are doing.\u00a0People tend to go away really refreshed with new vigor, and evangelize and support what the industry\u2019s doing. There\u2019s an enormous contribution the packaging products made by the attendees make to the society in which we live.\u00a0Stay Connected With the Latest Plastics Industry NewsRead our latest news just for distributors, including stories about our capabilities and certifications, trends to watch, and more.See what\u2019s new >> Catalyst by Alexander Nakarada | https:\/\/www.serpentsoundstudios.comMusic promoted by https:\/\/www.free-stock-music.comAttribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.versa-pak.com\/blog\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Q&A With Andrew Reynolds, Director at AMI","item":"https:\/\/www.versa-pak.com\/blog\/qa-with-andrew-reynolds-director-at-ami\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]