Conveying & accumulation

Capsule-counting tech comes to NAI

New equipment at this California contract packager includes a tablet/capsule line with the latest in tablet-counting technology. On-line thermal-transfer coding shines, too.

July 31, 2000

Beverage: Page 342

Secondary Packaging

Government funds casing upgrade at Boyd Coffee (sidebar)

Ergonomics: Oregon’s hands-on, proactive approach

July 31, 2000

Conveying & accumulation

Government funds casing upgrade at Boyd Coffee

With R&D funding from Oregon’s OSHA, Boyd Coffee develops a custom case packer that addresses repetitive motion injuries attributable to manual packing. Machine also reduces giveaway.

July 31, 2000

Conveying & accumulation

Portland nixes reshippers

Portland Brewing cuts costs and gains flexibility by moving away from reshippers and into bulk glass. It now forms its own six-pack carriers and corrugated shippers.

July 31, 2000

Flexibles

Stonyfield 'squeezes' yogurt

This month, Stonyfield Farm launches 2-oz tubes of Yo Squeeze™, an all-natural, portable lowfat yogurt, to compete with General Mills’ highly successful Go-Gurt™ yogurt.

June 30, 2000

Cartoning

Suiza dairy 'milks' squishy bottle

Country Fresh, a Suiza Foods dairy, debuts single-serve Milk-It! in injection blow-molded bottles designed for children. The bottles will also be used for other milks, and possibly for juice and water.

June 30, 2000

Beverage

Cocktails reposition into ergonomic bottles

In mid-June, United Distillers & Vintners-Northeast relaunched T.G.I. Friday's™ cocktails in PET and glass bottles designed with an eye toward the ladies.

June 30, 2000

Sustainability

Keeping up with the competition

Icco Cheese Co. of Orangeburg, NY, makes grated cheese for sale under its Old World brand, and it also packs the Ronzoni and San Georgio brands for New World Pasta of Harrisburg, PA.

June 30, 2000

Controls & Machine Components

KISS Packaging Systems a div. of the Frain Group: Positive displacement filler

The automatic positive displacement filler from KISS (Addison, IL) fills 1-oz to 1-gal glass or plastic bottles with lotions, creams, oils, gels and other viscous liquids.

June 30, 2000

Filling/capping, liquid & viscous

All-Fill Inc: Volumetric filler

Model 305 single-head piston filler from All-Fill (Exton, PA) handles liquids, creams, pastes and other viscous products in fills from 50 mL to 2 ½ L.

June 30, 2000

Converting equipment

Appointments, promotions

Alvey Systems, Inc. (St. Louis, MO): Douglas M. Westerman, dir., Central Region; Bruce Bleikamp, account mgr., Major Account Development; Steven Cohron, account mgr., Major Account Development; Hank Kirk, account mgr., Major Account Development.

June 30, 2000

Beverage

International agreements

Convenience Food Systems (Bakel, the Netherlands) has acquired Dixie Union (Kempten, Germany).

June 30, 2000

Labels

Soft drink crystals

Kraft Foods, Glenview, IL, has developed a new powdered soft drink called Health Quenchers. With additional ingredients meant to enhance a healthful lifestyle, Health Quenchers drink crystals hit retail shelves in April in a package designed by Lipson Alport Glass & Associates, (Northbrook, IL).

June 30, 2000