“Everyone in the booth will be promoting our product line, talking with new people, old people, and it’s always great to see our customers,” said Kurt Zuhlke, president of his namesake company, who travels to the show with his wife each year. “The way it’s set up is great. They start later on in the day and the people of Canada have a great structure with the show.”

The company offers more than 40 different packaging molds, plus custom individual ones for several customers, and many of these will be on display at the booth.

“Our company’s motto is to ‘recycle and reuse’ and taking the product out there, once it’s been used, clean it, grind it and create new product,” Zuhlke said. “Many growers and suppliers use our products to pack according to their customers’ specifications, but many retailers today repack at the store level in order to customize their offerings. This means that all levels of the industry are important to us.”

He’s always been a fan of the CPMA because a lot of retailers come in looking for new ideas and there are great conversations to be had about what’s new in the industry, what they are looking for and how Kurt Zuhlke & Associates can help with their recycling product needs.

“More and more, recycled material is being used in the produce industry for packaging than ever before,” Zuhlke said. “People are looking for more of it. Having something that is sustainable is key.”

The need is being driven by greater consumer awareness of recycling material and more interest in helping the environment.

“People avoid buying those things that aren’t recyclable,” Zuhlke said. “People are looking for a simple source in order to make packaging easier to recycle. PET is well used throughout the whole industry and can be readily available as long as people recycle it.”

The recycling mindset is usually better outside of the U.S., and Canadian companies, retailers and consumers seem to be more open minded, which is another reason this show is so important for Kurt Zuhlke & Associates.

“This show has always been really good; I have been going to CPMA since 1984,” Zuhlke said. “It’s really grown and expanded.”

This year, Kurt’s son, Christopher, will be making the trip as a representative of the company, having recently joined the operations full-time in sales and marketing.

“He’s been to CPMA a couple of times when he was younger and actually worked in the booth, so he has a good idea of what’s required,” Zuhlke said. “He will be talking about our products and getting information about what they are looking for. He is going to try and get familiar with everything there.”

When the Zuhlkes return from the show, they will quickly start to get ready for one of the busiest times of the year and look forward to a big year ahead.