Gill Loubser

Editorial Director and Joint Publisher / PACKAGiNG & Print Media

Gill Loubser, Editorial Director and Co-Publisher of South Africa’s premier trade magazine, PACKAGiNG & Print Media, not only has many years’ experience in publishing — particularly in specialist, technical and trade publishing — but also an abiding interest in the packaging and printing industries. A Fellow of the Institute of Packaging (SA), and a past National Chairman, Gill has served on the Institute’s National Executive Committee since 1979. She has also been a member of the International Packaging Press Organization since 1979 (the only member in Africa), and served from 2005 to 2011 as the organization’s Secretary General. Gill has received many citations over the years. In 1993 she received the SAAFoST (the SA Association for Food Science & Technology) Distinguished Service Award in recognition of her exceptional service to food science and technology; in 1995 she was named ‘Packaging Achiever’ by PACSA (the Packaging Council of South Africa) in recognition of her years of dedication to the South African packaging industry; and in 1996 was granted Honorary Life Membership of the Flexographic Technical Association of South Africa. Gill has an unparalleled comprehension of the diverse technologies at play in the South African packaging industry: glass, metal, rigid plastics, flexible packaging, corrugated board, folding cartons, labeling and much more, from raw material supply, through printing and converting, to packaging trends and uses in a myriad end-use markets. She is equally conversant with the South African printing industry and has a wide understanding of the varied printing technologies used in both the commercial and packaging printing sectors.