Flexible packaging

Competition nurtures flexible packaging innovation

Like many movie, television and music awards programs, packaging competitions tend to be judged by "experts" who try to assess how well entries meet a given set of criteria.

February 29, 1996

Beverage: Page 412

Closures

Decorative bourbon bottles, gift cartons hit market

In December, Heaven Hill introduced three 750-mL "Single Barrel" premium aged Kentucky straight bourbon whiskeys, each in a decorative glass container placed on a special gift carton and sold throughout the year.

February 29, 1996

Filling/capping, liquid & viscous

Filler speeds glass bottle output

Besides its labeling upgrades, Heaven Hill Distilleries last March added a Husky Model V-60 rotary fill-to-level gravity/vacuum filler for its 750-mL round glass bottling line.

February 29, 1996

Flexibles

Flexibles pass the technology test

Technical achievements cited in FPA awards include a barrier pack for shipping welding electrodes, a mixer for two-part adhesives and a peelable suture package.

February 29, 1996

Flexibles

Will silica coatings become more affordable?

From a relatively inexpensive liquid source, PC Materials extracts silica and chemically bonds it to the surface of polyester to create clear, high-barrier films.

February 29, 1996

Conveying & accumulation

Labelers help Heaven Hill reach new heights

Rotary labelers lift Heaven Hill Distilleries' spirits by boosting application speed and reducing downtime and labor costs associated with prior picker labelers.

February 29, 1996

Flexible packaging

Simplified wrapper boosts output

Despite a high-tech wrapping material, Saputo had too many leakers of its block cheese packs. New wrapper greatly improves seals while it boosts line output and slashes changeover time.

February 29, 1996

Flexible packaging

Flexible packaging advances reap rewards

This year's FPA awards recognized converters for packages that permit product viewing--even touching the product--without compromising package integrity. Reclosable and/or stand-up pouches drive into new product categories.

February 29, 1996

Beverage

Countering counterfeiters

Congress wants to toughen criminal and civil penalties against product and package counterfeiting. Today, infrequent prosecutions and soft sentences drive the debate.

February 29, 1996

Beverage

Norwegian dairy improves shelf life of gabletop for creamer

Unlike their counterparts in the U.S., many European consumers are no strangers to shelf-stable coffee creamers in aseptic bricks, even though that style of package lacks some of the user-friendliness and pouring ease of the gabletop carton.

February 29, 1996

Bag/pouch fill/seal (pre-made bags)

Aseptics get a screw cap

In the sunny South Pacific, consumers of Punaauia, Tahiti-based Pacific Beverage Co.'s juices, nectars and alcoholic drinks--all packed in 1-L aseptic bricks--are now enjoying the convenience of a screw cap reclosure.

February 29, 1996

Dairy

Redefining food labels

The product inside may be more healthful or taste as good, but a package bearing a name like "meat product" or "peanut butter substitute" isn't likely to be as accepted as "bologna" or plain "peanut butter." As the food industry continues to develop new variations of old staples that are more in keeping with the public's desire for more nutritious and convenient foods, the U.S.

February 29, 1996

Containers

EPA delays hazardous waste container rule

EPA has extended to June 5, 1996, the effective date of its hazardous waste containers rule, now being revised. The original rule, issued in December 1994, allowed the use of steel drums and pails that comply with U.S.

February 29, 1996