When Harry Lovell first visited this country in the 1970s the Australian packaging industry had a reputation for being ahead in many areas of Research and Development (R&D).
“I think we have lost that to a certain extent,” he says, “with a poor level of industry investment.”
“Over the last twenty years, I’ve seen at least three major government reviews and initiatives centred on becoming the ‘food bowl of South East Asia’, all of which have resulted in little else than adding to the pile of government reports.”
“At the moment we take a great deal of our innovation from overseas insofar as our industry is concerned,” Professor Lovell observes.
“I attended the International Meat Science & Technology Conference in Dublin in late 2007 and was astounded to learn of a range of packaging developments and products which are simply not available in this country. Why?”
Harry Lovell’s interest in packaging was initially sparked by Reading University’s head of food science and technology in the UK where he studied.
“During the Second World War, this professor led a large research program into the shelf life of dried milks which were essential to feeding the nation at that time,” Professor Lovell recalls.
“He was also responsible for implanting the need for well based industrial experience for those entering not only the teaching profession but also engaging in research."
"Subsequently I was fortunate to have a sound grounding in the production and technical aspects of food processing and packaging.”
As a food and packaging technologist, and a consultant to industry and government, Emeritus Professor Harry Lovell sees education and training as essential components of his current role.
“I’ve been proud to pass on the experience I’ve gained and to give support and encouragement to many students through AIP education over the years,” he says.
“Many aspects of packaging are integrated into processing operations, and nowhere is this more true than in the case of food."
"The primary package, as in the case of cans and retort pouches is also the process vessel."
"This requires the packaging technologist to understand the technical and scientific aspects not only of the packaging material but also the effects of the processing conditions.”
In terms of future technological advances in the industry, Professor Lovell points to increasing attention to opening packs; currently a major gripe amongst consumers.
“Clearly we will see an emphasis on environmentally friendly design, but we have to keep in mind that product protection must take precedence and must never be sacrificed,” he says.
“I think materials will get thinner and simpler but obviously there are practical limits."
"Biopolymers show promise but still have a long way to go. Shelf life predictors which have been tried successfully overseas have great benefits to offer."
"We have the ability to produce talking packs and for the visually impaired and others these have much to offer.”
Professor Lovell says his dream for the Australian Packaging industry is for some sectors to take the need for training and education more seriously.
“There’s a perception that you need simply to call someone a packaging technologist, give them a white coat and that’s it,” he says.
“I have the greatest sympathy, for example, for buyers who purchase packaging materials but have to ‘pick up’ their knowledge of the properties of the materials without any formal independent training."
"I want to see packaging technologists on the boards of companies and decent career pathways and opportunities."
"Outside of financial pathways we have a cultural cringe about developing technical people in some industries.”
According to Professor Lovell, there have been at least nine attempts to introduce degree level programs in packaging in Australia since 1981.
“All of these have faltered and been unsuccessful, except for the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) Diploma in Packaging Technology and the Certificate in Packaging which are both world-renowned and Internationally Accredited,” he says.
“The principal reason that others have failed has been the inability (not failure) to attract an on-going cohort of students to sustain the courses.”
Proessor Lovell says AlP education however has gone from strength to strength over the years and has a lot more to offer in the future.
“It is up to industry to access these programs,” Lovell maintains.
“The AIP has been successfully running these courses for the industry for over thirty years."
"These are available to anyone in the industry and Corporate Programs can also be tailored for larger companies.”
Lovell believes there’s an important industry related reason other courses have been unsuccessful.
“That is the abject failure, with the exception of a few large major companies, to offer a career path in the packaging industry,” he says.
“Funding is an equally important issue. Some companies simply regard it as the student’s responsibility and then wonder why people leave after they complete the course.”
Accompanying these factors is the lack of awareness in many companies about the positive contribution packaging technologists can make to a companies growth and profitability.
“We have the ability to deliver training and education at all levels and in particular in partnership with the printing and machinery sectors,” Professor Lovell emphasises.
“Together we could maximise our effort. The cornerstone is, that unlike the higher education sector we can bring together people with current practical experience which is what the packaging industry requires.”
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