NPE2009, the triennial international showcase and technology exchange for plastics, will emphasize sustainability, bioplastics and other innovations in packaging materials when the show comes to McCormick Place in Chicago June 22-26. Says Gene Sanders, Society of the Plastic Industry vice president of trade shows, NPE2009 will be broader in scope than any previous NPE and feature more packaging-specific content than ever before.

“Because packaging is the largest industrial user of plastics, the discoveries awaiting packaging professionals at this dramatically expanded NPE will be more plentiful than in the past,” says Sanders. In addition to SPI’s trade show, NPE2009 will include seven co-located conferences and trade shows, an international design competition and eight specialized multi-exhibitor pavilions.

One of the co-located conferences, PET Strategies+, will feature Coca-Cola North America senior vice president of innovation and development Nilang Patel in an “open invitation” session free to NPE2009 attendees. Patel’s keynote presentation on “Plastics Packaging’s ‘Uber’ Triple Bottom Line Play” will share how Coca-Cola was able to bring its visionary closed-loop PET recycling strategy to reality. PET Strategies+ is produced by Packaging Strategies, a sister business of Flexible Packaging.