Discover your next big idea at PACK EXPO Las Vegas this September
Experience a breakthrough in packaging & processing and transform your business with solutions from 2,300 suppliers spanning all industries.
REGISTER NOW & SAVE

Smaller plastic bottles reduce burden on the environment

Customized capper quickly conquers dosing cap dilemma for new packaging.

REDUCED MATERIALS. The new cleaner formula is twice as concentrated as the previous version, so the bottles only need to be app
REDUCED MATERIALS. The new cleaner formula is twice as concentrated as the previous version, so the bottles only need to be app

A leading North American manufacturer of floor-care products, Bissell Homecare, Inc., Grand Rapids, MI, markets sweepers, vacuum cleaners, deep-cleaning machines, and cleaning formulas at retail locations worldwide. All of Bissell’s machine cleaning formulas carry the Design for the Environment (DfE) certification of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which recognizes safer chemistry to better protect human health and improve environmental profiles of chemical-based products. Bissell chemists have worked hard to ensure that these more environmentally friendly formulas do not sacrifice any cleaning strength.

Bissell’s ForEver Green Team also constantly strives to enhance the eco-friendly aspects of its packaging. Toward this goal, in September 2009, the company debuted more potent versions of its carpet cleaners that enable the products to be marketed in smaller plastic bottles, while providing consumers with the same amount of cleaning power per package. Called 2X, the new cleaner formulas are twice as concentrated as the previous versions. Consequently, the bottles only need to be approximately half the size. The containers require less shelf space, reduce freight costs, and render the bottles easier for consumers to carry, store, and pour.

Bissell self-manufactures the high-density polyethylene bottles in 8-, 16-, 20-, 24-, 26-, 32-, and 60-oz sizes. The company selected creative packaging structure and graphics design agency Product Ventures LTD to redesign the existing carpet-care formula packaging and graphics for improved sustainability, plus optimum consumer-convenient ergonomics and dispensing features. The pressure-sensitive labels are supplied by Monet Graphics, and are applied using labeling equipment from Accraply. Bissell uses a 16-head net weight filler from Serac to fill the bottles. The measuring caps, custom-designed by Product Ventures, are manufactured by Gem Plastics (616/538-5966) and lined by Performance Systematix, Inc. The caps incorporate UltraClear polypropylene resin from Sonoco.

Annual Outlook Report: Workforce
Hiring remains a major challenge in packaging, with 78% struggling to fill unskilled roles and 84% lacking experienced workers. As automation grows, companies must rethink hiring and training. Download the full report for key insights.
Download Now
Annual Outlook Report: Workforce
Conveying Innovations Report
Editors report on distinguishing characteristics that define each new product and collected video demonstrating the equipment or materials as displayed at the show. This topical report, winnowed from nearly 300 PACK EXPO collective booth visits, represents a categorized, organized account of individual items that were selected based on whether they were deemed to be both new, and truly innovative, based on decades of combined editorial experience in experiencing and evaluating PACK EXPO products.
Take me there
Conveying Innovations Report