AKRON, OHIO (Aug. 26, 5 p.m. EDT) — Much has been said about using risk-management tools to help level pricing peaks and valleys in the purchase of plastic materials. But how is it really working?
Mike Bridges, director of packaging risk management at Omaha, Neb.-based ConAgra Trade Group, will present a case study on his firm's experiences when he addresses Plastics News' Executive Forum 2000 on Oct. 15 at the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
In January, Bridges started the Packaging Risk Management Group in ConAgra, a $24 billion-dollar food-products giant. The new unit uses hedging tools to manage its purchasing of monomers, polymers and paper.
Bridges, who has traded several commodities in the energy and agriculture industries since receiving his bachelor's degree in marketing from the University of Nebraska, said: "ConAgra has resolved to aggressively manage price risk in this segment for two simple reasons: one, packaging prices do not correlate to our output prices; and two, we have significant price risk, measured in dollars, in this segment."
In his presentation he will discuss the rationale and steps ConAgra took to turn a hedge-desk concept into a fully functioning risk-management program.
Bridges' talk is just one of 30 forward-looking presentations at the forum, which will assess prospects for several resin types and end markets, as well as the likely impact of electronic commerce on plastics processors. The deadline for discounted early registration is Sept. 7.
For more details, contact Nancy Parks in Akron at tel. (330) 865-6134 or by e-mail at [email protected].