30th Anniversary Special: Have fun, stay young

Mike Hall is one of those characters who is ‘once encountered, never forgotten’. Many a press conference has been brightened by his quick wit, and for many years he has been the ‘stand-up act’ (unpaid of course) at the yearly Korsnas Christmas lunch, where seasoned journalists and company representatives inevitably end up rolling in the aisles with tears of laughter rolling down their cheeks.

His first ambition was to become a sports journalist, and to acquire some journalism training, he found his way onto a trade magazine called Food Manufacture in 1961 (which happens to be the first trade magazine I ever worked on). From there he went to Packaging Review and his career in packaging journalism carried on.

Mike hasn’t strayed from the packaging world since the early days of Packaging Today. He is currently editor of Retail Packaging, and has edited most of the competition, including Packaging News. He has lived and breathed packaging and his knowledge of the industry and its technologies is truly impressive.

“It’s a great industry,” says Mike. “There is so much variety both in the supply sector and the end-users,

it’s never boring. Food, drink, cosmetics – almost everything you buy is packaged. In fact I have been pondering the real relevance, significance and importance of packaging. Think of this: if the industry went on strike, consumers would be more adversely affected than all the rail, air and post strikes put together!

”The popular media’s frequent attacks on the packaging industry is highly irritating to Mike, who says it is about time they ‘got off packaging’s back’ and started lauding its numerous merits.

“The packaging industry is colourful, innovative, constructive and committed to meeting the demands of customers and consumers alike. It has always provided solutions in a hugely efficient, constant manner,” he says.

Mike reminisces about his experiences in the industry, lamenting the fact that it’s ‘not so much fun any more’.

We all tend to look back with somewhat rose tinted glasses, but I know what he means. “It’s far less personal now,” opines Mike. “There are very few press trips and visits, which is a shame, as they engendered ‘goodwill’ between the press and the industry.

“These days, retailers now have far too much packaging selection and purchasing power, and the popular ‘green’ movement is a minefield for most. I do get a bit cynical about it, as I feel it has become a ‘sales tool’, but these days you don’t dare to be anything but ‘seen to be green’.”

The serious tone of the conversation appears to be worrying Mike, so he settles down with his coffee in the

Charing Cross Hotel (in the past it would have been something stronger – but that’s another story) and tells me one of his press trip tales.

“I remember going to visit a foil tray contract packer in the Midlands, where the company was launching a crimper for foil trays. The rather pompous chairman asked for the machine to be ceremoniously unwrapped, and the ‘start’ button pressed. Nothing happened: then it sprang to life with a vengeance. The machine was packing jelly into the foil trays, and this big piece of kit for crimping the foil thundered down. The jelly went sailing up into the air and fell – splat – onto the chairman’s head. With great aplomb, he proceeded to wipe the jelly away, and off came his wig!”

After we’d had a giggle about that, I asked what he thought had been the most momentous achievements within packaging over the past 30 years.

“Undoubtedly the evolution of plastics. In the mid-70s the ball started rolling, and was followed by innovation after innovation. You can do so many things with plastics now.”

I asked if he knew of any packs that had been disastrous failures. “There was one: a plastics sausage-shaped container for beer, which had different strands of laminate that made it suitable for carbonated beverages. It was quite a good development, but it was far too expensive for the product, and it didn’t go down well at football matches. When supporters threw it, it didn’t have quite the impact of a can or a bottle!”

Here’s to many more years of enjoying life with characters such as Mike in the creative and innovative world of packaging.