JUNE
Spartan Design Group and TEQ Thermoform Engineered Quality formed a strategic alliance to expand services for medical device manufacturers, combining Spartan Design Group's proactive approach towards packaging design and vast experience in medical device packaging system design and development with TEQ's design and engineering expertise and advanced thermoforming capabilities.

Through this first of its kind partnership, Spartan Design Group and TEQ plan to work together to provide medical device manufacturing customers with a true concept to completion solution for medical device sterile product packaging- working with them from selecting materials through to package design and testing development, as well as process validation for standards compliance.

More information about TEQ can be found at www.teqnow.com

JANUARY
Curt Larsen and John Spitzley are once again the program co-chairs and will conduct events at Healthpack 2011 Conference in Cincinnati, OH. Healthpack is the premier technical conference focusing on medical device and healthcare packaging issues. This year's conference will be held March 8-10 at the Hyatt Regency in Cincinnati, OH. For more information and registration see www.healthpack.net

ASTM International has recently published ASTM F2825-10, Standard Practice for Climatic Stressing of Packaging Systems for Single Parcel Delivery. This new practice will offer guidance to medical device manufacturers who use one and two day delivery systems for the distribution of their products. John and Curt served as Committee F02 Flexible Barrier Packaging, Subcommittee F02.40 Package Design and Development task group co-chairs for the development and publication of this new standard. A copy of this standard can be obtained from ASTM at www.ASTM.org.

The next meeting of Committee F02 is Wednesday April 13, 2011 and Thursday April 14, 2011 at the Marriott Anaheim; Anaheim, CA.

FEBRUARY
Curt was accepted as a judge for the upcoming IoPP AmeriStar packaging competition, February 10th in Naperville, IL. Information for entering the competition can be found on the IoPP website (www.iopp.org). The deadline for entries is January 31st.

DECEMBER
Mr. Larsen attended the Advisory Board Meeting ofthe Packaging program at the University of Wisconsin – Stout on December 3rd, 2010. John and Curt are both members of the Advisory Board.

NOVEMBER
On November 11th, 2010, Curt lectured at the University of Wisconsin – Stout focusing on testing of materials and packaging systems in the medical device industry.

Both John and Curt spent four days at Pack Expo in Chicago from October 31st through November 3rd ,2010. While there, they attended an alumni reception for the Michigan State University School of Packaging where both serve as members of the SoP Industrial Advisory Board. They have both frequently lectured on medical device packaging at MSU.