After a tour of Japan by Solway Foods, Corby, England, the sushi processor and packager embarked on a plan to develop an unusual three-dimensional thermoformed tray and lid that it uses for what it calls “adventurous sushi” for Tesco supermarkets. “We wanted a real step change in packaging to make this new product range stand out in the store,” says Garry Bryan, packaging manager for Solway Foods.
The line of products include smoked eel, arctic surf clams, and raw fish that look very colorful inside the deep black glossy trays made of 15-mil polyvinyl chloride by Pactiv Europe Foodservice Packaging (Stanley, England). But the three-dimensional shape of both tray and lid were difficult to die-cut, says Colin Stoddart, Pactiv’s design and development manager.
More or less against the wishes of the thermoforming machine manufacturer, Pactiv engineers built a new lightweight, self-contained cutting assembly. “When cutting in more than two planes, misalignment could cause damage to the tooling or machine,” Stoddart says. “We had to insulate the assembly from the rest of the machine so we could apply some heat to the knives.”
