Register now - Automotive Logistics livestream: Making packaging work for automation, regulation and data
PublishedModified
3 min
Automation on the production line is delivering real gains in productivity and line-side ergonomics, while new regulation in Europe and the US is changing how packaging is designed. Together, they place new demands on packaging: tighter accuracy, earlier involvement in vehicle design and reliable data across the supply chain. Join Automotive Logistics’ latest livestream to hear how industry leaders are designing packaging for automated and regulated operations.
Register below
Automotive plants are increasingly automating the movement of predictable, high-volume parts, both in supporting efficiency and in reducing the physical demands placed on line-side operators. At the same time, PPWR in Europe and extended producer responsibility laws in the US are changing what packaging has to deliver.
Once a plant specifies automated equipment, packaging needs to meet its requirements. Robots need parts presented in the same position every time, and packaging often has to be developed alongside equipment still in design. Regulation adds a further layer, as recyclability and end-of-life costs are shaped by early design decisions, and companies need to show what their packaging is made of.
This livestream explores how packaging decisions made at the design stage carry through to compliance, the shop floor and the data behind them, and how teams can build an investment case that accounts for the full cost rather than the equipment alone.
Key topics:
The regulatory picture: How PPWR and extended producer responsibility laws are reshaping packaging requirements, and how companies can stay ahead of them.
Designing for cost and compliance: Influencing part shape, assembly level and sourcing early, and weighing end-of-life costs alongside logistics and investment costs.
Automation and the shop floor: Consistent part presentation, development timelines that run alongside equipment design, and reflecting packaging spend in the overall business case.
Data and traceability: Building a chain of custody across the supply base, and how reliable packaging data supports compliance and, in time, digital product passports.
Event details:
Date:8 October 2026
Time:15:00 BST | 10:00 EDT | 16:00 CEST
Format: Online livestream
Speakers:
Dan Hankinson
Director, Mopar Global Product Regulatory Compliance, Transformation & Governance
Stellantis
Dan Hankinson is an automotive product stewardship and regulatory compliance leader with more than 20 years of experience spanning package engineering, dangerous goods transportation, and global product compliance.
As Director of Mopar Global Product Regulatory Compliance, Transformation & Governance at Stellantis, he leads regulatory and product stewardship activities for the company’s global parts and service business. His responsibilities include Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility, material content reporting, product certification, dangerous goods transportation, product validation, and compliance governance.
Dan’s background in automotive service-parts packaging gives him a practical understanding of how package design, material selection, logistics efficiency, regulatory obligations, and end-of-life costs connect across the supply chain. He serves as North American Packaging EPR Authorized Representative for Stellantis and Co-Chair of the USCAR Extended Producer Responsibility Working Group.
Dan is President and an Executive Board Member of the Council on Safe Transportation of Hazardous Articles (COSTHA) and a past Chair of the North American Automotive HazMat Action Committee (NAAHAC). He holds an MBA from Walsh College and is an APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional.
Andy Winebloom
Senior Manager
Toyota Motor Europe
Andy Winebloom brings over 30 years of manufacturing and logistics expertise to his role as Senior Manager at Toyota Motor Europe (TME). Since 2020, he has developed and led TME’s shared packaging services team, driving the development of standardized packaging solutions across Toyota’s European vehicle plants.
His team focuses on implementing packaging design best practices, innovations and kaizen, and integrating design-for-production principles to optimize logistics and investment costs at the vehicle design stage.
Before this, he spent 17 years in Production Control roles at Toyota’s UK manufacturing plant, specializing in Internal & External Logistics, JIT, TPS, shopfloor logistics layout, manufacturing systems, and logistics process design for new model preparation and mass production kaizen, reinforcing Toyota’s operational excellence.
Philip Bittermann
Editor-in-Chief
new packaging / automation NEXT
Philip Bittermann is the Editor-in-Chief at neue verpackung, a leading European packaging trade journal.
After studying geoecology, Philip Bittermann began his traineeship at Hüthig Verlag in 2011. In 2013, he became editor of the plant engineering magazine CHEMIE TECHNIK, followed by a move to the position of editor-in-chief of neue verpackung in 2018.
Since 2025, Bittermann also became editor-in-chief of the automation magazine Automation NEXT.
Moderator:
Emily Uwemedimo
Managing editor
Automotive Logistics
Emily Uwemedimo is the managing editor of Automotive Logistics, where she leads content strategy and production for the publication and broader automotive cluster.
With extensive experience in B2B publishing across various sectors, she plays a pivotal role in shaping and delivering editorial across digital, print, and multimedia platforms, covering key issues and trends in the global automotive supply chain and logistics sector.
Automotive Logistics livestreams are a key part of our 360-degree content ecosystem, offering timely discussions on the industry’s biggest challenges and opportunities. Complementing our digital hub, in-person events, reports, and publications, these sessions deliver actionable insights aligned with the trends shaping automotive logistics.
