About the course
Packaging decisions are often made by people outside the packaging department. A buyer switches corrugated suppliers to save four cents a box. A marketer asks for a matte finish and a recyclable claim. A sales rep promises a customer that the product will survive a less-than-truckload shipment to the coast. This course explains enough of the engineering for those people to ask the right questions and to spot a bad idea before it reaches the loading dock.
The three online sessions cover materials, specifications, cost drivers and sustainability claims. The lab day takes place in Porter’s Center for Packaging Innovation. Participants drop, crush and shake real packages on the same test equipment the packaging technology students use, and then look at what failed and why.
Who should enroll
- Purchasing, sourcing and supply-chain staff
- Marketing, brand and product managers
- Sales, customer-service and claims staff at companies that ship physical products
- Accountants and operations managers who approve packaging spending
No technical background is needed. Bring a package from your own company to the lab day, and we will test it. About one in four do not survive, which is the most useful part of the course.
Dates, format and fee
| Section | Dates | Meets | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | Feb. 3–24, 2027 | Online Wed. Feb. 3, 10, 17, 1–4 p.m.; lab day Wed. Feb. 24, 8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. | Online; Center for Packaging Innovation, Founders Hall |
| Spring | Apr. 7–28, 2027 | Online Wed. Apr. 7, 14, 21, 1–4 p.m.; lab day Wed. Apr. 28, 8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. | Online; Center for Packaging Innovation, Founders Hall |
- Format
- Hybrid: three live online sessions and one on-campus lab day
- Contact hours
- 16
- CEUs
- 1.6
- Fee
- $650, including lunch on the lab day
- Seats
- 20 per section
What you will do
| Session | What you will learn |
|---|---|
| 1. Materials | Paperboard, corrugated board, flexible films, rigid plastics, glass and metal: what each is good at and what it costs |
| 2. Specifications and cost | Reading a packaging spec sheet; board grades and flute; why the cheapest box can cost the most once damage and freight are counted |
| 3. Sustainability and labeling | Recyclability in practice, claims that get companies in trouble, right-sizing, and the basics of required label content |
| 4. Lab day | Drop, compression and vibration testing; a damage-forensics exercise; a supplier-meeting role play |
Instructor
Malik Devereaux is professor of practice in plastics and packaging engineering. He teaches distribution packaging and testing and worked as a process engineer at an injection-molding plant before Porter. Engineers from Riverbend Packaging Solutions help run the lab day.
Employer pricing and registration
The list fee is $650 per person. Professional Education invoices employers directly on net-30 terms and provides the completion letter and attendance record that tuition-assistance programs ask for.
| Enrollment | Price per person |
|---|---|
| 1–2 people from one employer | $650 |
| 3–5 people from one employer, same section | $585 (10% off) |
| 6 or more people from one employer | $553 (15% off) |
| Porter alumni (not combined with group pricing) | $585 |
| Private cohort of up to 16, at your site or ours | Quoted; usually 70–80% of 16 list-price seats |
Employers with fewer than 250 workers in Porter County and the five neighboring counties may qualify for a Valley Workforce Board incumbent-worker grant that covers up to half the fee. We will help with the paperwork. Register online or by phone. The full policy on cancellations, substitutions and weather is on the Professional Education page.
Fictional information
UW–Porter Falls is a work of parody. This course, its dates, fees, CEUs, instructors and the Valley Workforce Board grant are invented; there is nothing to register for and no certificate to earn. The test lab, the one-in-four failure rate and the supplier role play are invented as well.