Our Speakers
Noru Tsalic is the CEO of NORTAL CONSULTING, a management consultancy firm specialising in the polymers and plastics industry.
During his 40 year career, he has fulfilled roles of increasing responsibility, from Technical Service Engineer to Senior Vice President and CEO. His functional experience includes New Product Development, R&D management, Business Development, Marketing, Sales, Sales Management, Strategy and General Management. He has provided management consultancy services (Strategy Development and Review, Market Research, Commercial, Operational and Organisational Due Diligence) to many companies, ranging from blue chip chemical/petrochemical multinationals to start-ups. Since 2008, Noru has developed, organised and chaired close to 100 industry conferences. He is a frequent speaker at such conferences and strives to bring original, unorthodox insights into his presentations.
Felix Aymar is the Manager Development Global R&D Packaging at ROYAL FRIESLANDCAMPINA.
After finishing his studies in packaging engineering in Stuttgart, Germany in 2005, Felix worked in packaging development teams in different multinational FMCG companies in various regions of the global.
Most of his time he was responsible for packaging development of personal care and dairy food products.
Currently Felix is leading the packaging development at Royal FrieslandCampina in the Netherlands, mainly driving projects for the Consumer Dairy product & packaging portfolio in Central Europe.
Guy Tantchou is Modeling & Simulation Engineer at DANONE Research Packaging Prototyping Center.
He started his career as mechanical engineer with a specialization on structural fatigue behaviors. His growing interest in the applied research about material mechanics had led him to complement his background with a PhD.
To date, he has worked on various business challenges where the performance of a material is of strategic importance such as the processing of glass-functional flexible films, the structural integrity of hydrogen storage vessels (creep behavior of the sealing layer), and more recently the behavior of food-contact packagings (barrier properties, Injection Stretch Blow Molding, ...).
Sebastian Wenderdel is Business Development Manager PET at KHS GmbH.
He was born in 1982, is married, has 2 children and is a passionate homebrewer.
His degrees are in business administration from University of Applied Sciences Münster, Germany and Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico City.
He spent all his career in the packaging industry, i.e. since 15 years;
- 8 years SBM Sales for KHS in Latin America
- 3 years of Sales and Business Development for EBM and pharma machinery
- Last 4 years Business Development PET at KHS, focusing on non-beverage applications and Key Account Management
Robert Aust is Head of Product Management Plastics & Block Technology at KRONES AG.
After his education at KRONES, Robert worked for seven years as an industrial mechanic. Between 1999 and 2003 he studied Information Technology and worked as a SAP programmer. In 2001 he joined the KRONES Plastics Division where he worked as a Product Specialist and later as a Product Manager.
Since 2008 he is leading the Plastics Technology product management team at KRONES, which is also including the Block Technology since 2021.
Robert Aust is German, born in 1975 and married with two children.
Jorge Pucci is the CSO of MOLDINTEC.
He is an Industrial Designer with 20+ years of experience in the PET business. He co-founded Moldintec as an independent blow mold manufacturer.
His extensive background in PET packaging development led him to co-author the patent for low-blowing pressure PET blow mold and process in 2009.
Since 2017, he has developed innovative laser-based technologies to lead the label-less PET bottle trend. In 2022 NoLabel technology won the prestigious WorldStar Award.
Jonathan Wragg is an Independent Sustainable Packaging expert.
He has a strong background in UK and European manufacturing sectors, specialising in sustainable plastic manufacturing. As such he is a firm believer in the positives around plastics and its huge benefits to the world as a sustainable material.
Over his career Jonathan has gained a worldwide reputation for helping eliminate greenwashing, whilst also working alongside global brands to advise on what he sees as the lack of clear knowledge sharing between manufacturing/packaging and the waste and recycling industries.
His very accomplished background in plastics manufacturing & distribution alongside his passion for a more sustainable planet has led Jonathan to be one of the go-to names to discuss both sustainable brand & product improvement around the world and has worked with governments, blue chip corporations and household brands.
Claudia Berardi is the Innovation Leader at CENTRO PLASTICA.
She is a materials engineer, specialized in polymer science, passionate about innovation and sustainability.
Currently she helps define strategic priorities, from product development to technologies integration, passing through material science, setting performance targets and collaborating to reach those targets by active involvement in key strategic projects. She is in charge of industrial innovation activities (process, technology, and materials), investigating, identifying, launching and managing innovative pilot projects with suppliers, start-ups and other stakeholders in our eco-system.
Thanks to high exposure and daily working experience with senior managers and consultants, she developed logical, interpersonal, creative and leadership skills.
Clemens Kitzberger is Business Development Manager Application Post Consumer at EREMA Group.
Ing. Clemens Kitzberger, was born in 1978 in Grieskirchen, Austria.
After attending a textile high school in Haslach and completing the course in 1995, Clemens Kitzberger worked as a production manager in a textile company in Vienna. Between 1999 and 2003 he attended an evening study technical for automation.
In 1999 he started at Erema as a Process Engineer. Between 2009 and 2014 he was responsible for post-consumer materials and filtration in the Process Engineering Department. Since 2014 he is business development manager for Post-Consumer Applications.
He is also a member of the Steering Committee of the EU CEFLEX platform.
Robert Schiavone is Global Marketing Director for R&D/Leverage.
In this position, he is responsible for strategic planning, company branding, and all sales and marketing initiatives, including advertising, public relations, tradeshow and event management. Robert is very passionate about helping support the plastics industry with Marketing and understanding the value in Branding, versus being a commodity supplier as a processor or mold maker – using his 25 years experience in many aspects of Plastics manufacturing.
Schiavone joined R&D in 2008, after serving as Marketing Manager for Rexam Personal Care, one of the world’s leading suppliers of plastic packaging for personal care and household products. Here, he was responsible for industry marketing, and directed branding initiatives and other marketing functions. Previously, Schiavone was Marketing & Communications Manager for Precise Technology, Inc, the PA-based leader in injection molding that was purchased by Rexam in 2006.
Christian Müller is Executive Partner at W. MÜLLER GmbH Blow Molding Technology.
Together with his sister Brigitte, Christian is the second generation to lead this family business, founded by his parents Karin and Willi in 1979. Since taking over the management, Christian and Brigitte Müller have successfully maintained W. MÜLLER's strong entrepreneurial ethos, while adding all the tools of a modern, well-established business, such as an Academy (where employees and customers learn the secrets of the trade) and a US subsidiary.
Christian is a well-known figure in the industry. In addition to his role at W. MÜLLER, he presides over a number of industry organisations, committees and initiatives.
Jochen Hirdina is Head of Plastics Technology at KRONES AG.
He holds a degree in mechanical engineering (Dipl.Ing.FH) and a degree in business administration (MBA). After starting his career at Krones AG, he was working for three years as a process engineer before he was assigned to build up the heat set technology for Contiform machines. After six years in the heat set application, he became responsible for overall application technology in the plastics division.
In 2011 he was department manager of the order processing department and in charge of the bottle design activities. Since 2012 he is leading the Krones plastics technology division.
Jochen Hirdina is German, born in 1975 and married with two children.
Matteo Gaiardi is Global Sales Director at SERIOPLAST.
He has a long-standing experience in sales management, multinational client relations and business development in the Plastics industry.
With an educational background as Chemical Engineer, he conjugates strategic knowledge of international markets with technical knowledge of plastics transformation processes and technologies, pursuing ever changing market needs and emerging trends.
Always a sports enthusiast, Matteo used to play in an amateur volleyball team and currently indulges in the joys of running.
Dr. Daniel Klein is Transport Simulation & Numerical Modelling Specialist for Packaging Design at NESTLE WATERS.
He joined NESTLE WATERS in April 2019.
Between June 2015 and April 2019, he was a Research Assistant at the Chair of Plastics Technology at TU-Dortmund, where he worked on an industrial project for Nestlé Waters.
Julius Petrausch is Research Assistant and PhD student at LEIBNITZ-INSTITUTE for Polymer Research Dresden e.V. .
He is a mechanical engineer by training and graduated in structural simulation of plastic packaging. In his current project in collaboration with Nestlé Waters R&D, he is investigating the injection stretch blow moulding process with special emphasis on the processability of different packaging materials.
Julius pursues his PhD degree under the guidance of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Markus Stommel at the Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research in Dresden, Germany.
Tom Palmer is Global Product Manager Plastics at GREIF, where he is responsible for industrial packaging ranging in capacity from 1 to 1000 liters.
Tom has been with Greif for more than 30 years. With his background in engineering, Tom has led operations and plants in addition to managing Sales teams and Global Key Accounts in different regions. With his experience of over 30 years in industrial packaging and closure systems, he combines both technical and commercial skills to define Greif’s global plastic product strategy encompassing sustainability, regulatory and technical requirements as well as customer needs and aligned with the company global sustainability and customer targets.
He is married to Karine for 31 years, they have 2 grown up daughters, Sarah (28) and Hannah (25).
Miriam Lopez Fernandez is Technical Assistance Engineer in Blow Molding at REPSOL.
She has a degree in Chemical Sciences, specializing in Industrial Chemistry (University of Vigo). Integrated Triple Master in Management of Quality Systems, Environment and Safety at Work (University of Coruña).
She collaborated in various I+D+i projects with the University of Konstanz (Germany), focusing her activity in Organic Chemistry area, on the investigation of different natural materials, aromatic and heterocyclic compounds.
Part of her professional career was in the field of consulting, defining and implementing Solutions, Products, Strategies and IT Transformation Projects in the Public Health Sector.
Andreas Kandt is Business Development Director at W. MÜLLER GmbH Blow Molding Technology.
He studied mechanical engineering at Technical University Berlin, worked for Bekum in R&D and as Managing Director for about 20 years, worked for Krupp Kautex as Managing Director for 5 years, for Davis Standard as Managing Director for 6 years, for (today) IMA Hassia for 5 years and for W. Mueller as Director Business Development since 2017.
Paula Sanabria Luque is Associate Director, Circular and Low Carbon Solutions at LYONDELLBASELL.
Paula Sanabria holds a Master’s degree in business administration and management – from the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain and an Executive MBA from HEC Paris, France.
Paula joined LyondellBasell in 2010 in Paris, France and worked in various positions across Sales and Marketing serving a variety of business worldwide with focus on specialty products; recent position was Circular Economy manager in the global sustainability team. Now is currently responsible for the strategy of LyondellBasell Circulen product portfolio using recycled and renewable product
Andreas Brem is Group Director Technical Sales Beverage and Food at BERICAP.
He joined Bericap in 2018.
Prior to that, he worked for Aptar for more than 7 years, as Director Custom Development Closures Europe.
He is skilled in Project Management, Process Optimisation, Change Management, Team Leadership, Product Development, Manufacturing and Marketing.
Sjoerd van Laar is Product Manager at HEUFT SYSTEMTECHNIK.
He studied industrial business engineering in Enschede, the Netherlands, with a minor in integrated product design at the Southern Denmark University.
He worked 3 years in the flexible food packaging industry as a technical sales engineer before moving to Germany mid-2020 to start working for HEUFT SYSTEMTECHNIK as a product manager full bottle camera inspection.
Responsible for amongst others the tethered cap inspection with which he strives for a future proof integrity check for all cap designs.
Klaas Geneyn is Product Development Packaging Specialist at MCBRIDE.
After a training as a graphical designer, Klaas Geneyn started working in 2008 in the graphical industry. He specialised in automation, colour-management and video.
After 10 years he switched his career to packaging and started with McBride in 2018. After 1.5 years of being a local packaging specialist he was promoted to be a packaging leader for Belgium and France.
His responsibilities now are mainly patent landscaping, leading his team through new innovative developments and he is in charge of major developments.
Max Rodriguez is Senior Manager, Global Packaging R&D, Discovery & Applications at PEPSICO.
He drives short to mid-term packaging innovation technology pipeline and new formats, to deliver against PepsiCo’s beverage innovation platforms. Leads a team responsible for conducting research and establishing the feasibility of breakthrough and breakout packaging technologies to the existing and emerging PepsiCo beverage portfolio.
He works in close collaboration with the NY Design Team, Marketing, Consumer Insights, and Global Procurement, by linking the consumer experience to new concepts, business models and emerging packaging solutions.
Wolfgang Trunk is Policy Officer at EUROPEAN COMMISSION, DG ENVIRONMENT.
His responsibilities are in the field of in the field of Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive, Single Use Plastic Directive and Extractive Waste Directive.
Prior to this position, he was Policy Officer at DG SANTE, dealing with official controls of food and feed, feed legislation (i.e. additives, dietetic feed, feed materials, emerging feed materials, compound feed including for pets, medicated feed, feed in organic farming, antimicrobial resistance, sustainability of livestock farming, including fighting food waste and insects as new protein source).
He holds an advanced degree in Agronomy from the University of Hohenheim.