Converting equipment

Display scores for production efficiency

Scoreboard display showing production line status raises efficiency.

June 30, 2005

Consumer packaged goods: Page 117

Flexibles

MRI automates

MRI Flexible Packaging’s Art and Press departments are now fully automated.

June 30, 2005

Controls & Machine Components

Rockwell Automation: Safety scanner

Rockwell Automation offers its new Allen-Bradley DeviceNet Safety scanner and I/O that gives manufacturers the opportunity to place safety and standard devices on a single network, simplifying control system design in complex applications such as those found in the automotive, semiconductor, packaging, food, and beverage industries.

June 30, 2005

Coding, Printing & Labeling

RFID advice from the leaders

“I wake up every morning hoping...hoping that RFID goes away, and then spend the rest of the day working diligently for its inevitability.”

June 30, 2005

Labels

It's all gravy for new IAMS line

Cincinnati, OH-based Procter & Gamble has created a new pet food category with the introduction of IAMS HomeStyle Gravy for Dogs. Designed to be served with dry dog foods, the gravies add flavor and a moist texture.

June 30, 2005

Coding, Printing & Labeling

Companies

CompaniesAmpac Packaging has completed its acqusition of Kapak Co.

June 30, 2005

Flexibles

Carrefour debuts microwavable vegetable tray

Conceived by Carrefour, the French hypermarket pioneer, new Conserves Pratiques vegetables are packed in retorted multilayer plastic trays.

June 30, 2005

Labels

Fire Water design gets even hotter

A new shrink sleeve puts a spark in a schnapps liqueur bottle design, saving the manufacturer time and money in the process.

June 30, 2005

Flexibles

Convenience and portability power packages

Esther Palevsky, an analyst for the Freedonia Group, says packaging that makes foods convenient, portable, and easier or faster to prepare exemplify key packaging trends.

June 30, 2005

Sustainable Packaging

Marketing to Brand China

“Made in China” appears on virtually everything we buy these days, from underwear to vacuum cleaners to heavy-duty machinery.

May 31, 2005

Petfood/Pet Care

Coding tracks pet food bag quality

Global packaging supplier Huhtamaki supplies preformed pet food bags comprising an oriented polypropylene inner layer/natural kraft/bleached kraft outer layer for Nestlé Purina dog and cat foods.

May 31, 2005

Coding, Printing & Labeling

Ross Labs speaker provides an RFID update

In his HealthPack 2005 presentation, Mike Wallace of Abbott Laboratories’ Ross Laboratories Division noted that Ross’s Isomil infant formula ranks as the fourth most frequently stolen product from its top customer, Wal-Mart.

May 31, 2005

Consumer packaged goods

New CD and DVD packs in Europe

Imation Europe, a leading supplier of removable data storage media, will use the new DBS Discbox Slider paperboard packs from Stora Enso. According to a market study, the majority of consumers prefer the new packs to other optical disc cases because of the pack size, the practical configuration of two discs in one case, and the environmental benefits.

May 31, 2005