Vision 2005 Conference Sets Industry’s Course for the Future

The Visionary Award presentation to BBA Fiberweb, increased attendance, and significant global participation highlighted a return to New Orleans for the annual consumer products conference

CARY, NC — January 20, 2005 — A significant increase in attendance, an entertaining and informative lineup of speakers and the presentation of the 2005 Visionary Award highlighted the INDA Vision 2005 Consumer Products Conference, held this week in New Orleans, La.

A return to New Orleans drew 400 attendees from around the world to the fourth annual Vision Consumer Products Conference, sponsored by INDA, Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry. This marks a significant increase in attendance from the previous year’s event held in Las Vegas.

"The networking opportunities, the chance to hear some of the best speakers ever at a Vision Conferences, and the hospitality of the entertaining city of New Orleans proved to be an unbeatable combination for Vision 2005," says INDA President Rory Holmes. "In its fourth year, Vision has become one of the largest, most important gatherings of nonwovens’ and consumer products’ executives in the world."

A highlight of the three-day conference was the presentation of the prestigious 2005 Visionary Award to BBA Fiberweb for its Resolution Print Media product. The BBA product was selected by Vision attendees over five other finalists from such well-known consumer products companies as Gillette, Tyco Healthcare and Kimberly-Clark. The Visionary Award identifies and honors recently introduced consumer products for their innovative use of nonwoven fabrics and technology.

Illustrating the increasingly global reach of the annual Vision Conference, for the first time the Visionary Award competition included finalists from two foreign companies – the Automotive Oil Filter from Mann + Hummel (Germany) and the Love ’N Sanitary Napkin/Panty Liner from WIP srl (Italy).

In other highlights of the Vision 2005 Consumer Products Conference:

• An entertaining presentation on "Globalization – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly," by Peter Ricchiuti, Tulane University business professor.
• Dieter Brandes, previously an executive with German retailer Aldi, provided insider tips on how retailers and their vendors can reach the modern consumer.
• Top executives from influential suppliers PGI, BBA Fiberweb, Freudenberg, Nordson and Tredegar Film Products offered their perspectives in a "Lessons from the Leaders" panel discussion.
• The impact of an aging population on consumer products was explored by Richard Jackson, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies
• The opportunity for attendees to find out What Women Want was offered by marketing consultant Julie Plunkett in a session titled, “If It Works for Women (It Works For Everyone!)”

The Vision 2006 Consumer Products Conference is set for January 15-18, 2006, again at the Sheraton New Orleans in New Orleans, La. For more information: www.inda.org