The FBA Technical Committee stays abreast of industry developments and regulations, and addresses all technical aspects of corrugated container manufacture, shipment and usage. This includes design and development of relevant projects, trials, and studies, as well as production and publication of associated technical literature, brochures and publications. The committee also works with regulatory and legislative agencies, promoting corrugated container usage and cooperating on development and dissemination of mutually beneficial packaging requirements.

Accomplishments:

• Published "Edge Crush Test: An Application and Reference Guide" in the TAPPI Journal and as a stand-alone brochure available to members.
• Gathered information abuot Di-isobutyl Phthalate (DiBP) that raised concerns in Europe. The chemical may be used as a plasticizer in adhesives. The Committee is currently working with ink, starch and resin manufacturers to understand the presence of the chemical in our products.
• Submitted a proposal, accepted by the National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA), to restrict the timing of edge crush testing in determining compliance with carrier regulations.
• Participated in project with the Chemical Packaging Committee of the Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP) to develop an improved guideline for third-party testing labs to report results of hazardous materials testing.
• Gathered and analyzed containerboard basis weight data from 11 mills for use in our future presentation to DOT to justify a wider variance than +/- 5%, for the competent authority approval for hazmat packages.
• Persuaded DOT to change the competent authority approval to read, “…nominal basis weight….”, from, “…as measured basis weight…”, which will allow the +/- 5% variation presently in place to more realistically apply to present containerboard production.