Converting equipment

The softer side of Unilever

Just reaching store shelves nationwide is a redesigned package for 100-oz Whisk, All and Surf laundry detergent brands from Greenwich, CT-based Unilever.

September 30, 2000

Detergents/cleaners: Page 33

Feeding/inserting/unscrambling

Ocean Spray rides a new bus

On a new Craisins line at Ocean Spray, point-to-point wiring between machine devices and their master PLC has been replaced on some machines by an open fieldbus called AS-i. Installation time is slashed, while in-plant flexibility is maximized.

September 30, 2000

Flexibles

Hardware products renovate with packaging

Packaging seen at the National Hardware Show ranged from consumer-friendly packaging for data comm products to innovative film cubes for potting soil. The softer side of hardware was seen in a trend toward products packaged for females and light do-it-yourselfers.

September 30, 2000

Flexibles

Shaped cans clean up for B2C sales

Ergonomic metal spray cans from Chase Products Co. contain a product-specific towel for cleanup. Customer-selected product mix in custom-packed, 8-count laminated case is prompted by Internet orders.

August 31, 2000

Flexibles

'Selling' machine safety

Improving the safety of packaging equipment-and meeting the ANSI B155.1 standard-was the topic of a PMMI seminar July 11-12. 3M's John Hunt urged machine builders to use safety as a selling point.

June 30, 2000

Beverage

Hyde Park Electronics: Corrosion-resistant sensor

The Superprox® Model SM900A-7-STS series proximity sensor from Hyde Park (Dayton, OH) is suitable for applications involving corrosive chemicals and chemical-based materials.

May 31, 2000

Closures

Heinz 'caps' squeeze ketchup

Complex new cap/liner on plastic bottles offers new consumer features, most prominently by ending the watery discharge caused by product settling.

April 30, 2000

Converting equipment

Switch to PET

Nutrition supplement marketer Natrol of Chatsworth, CA, gained numerous benefits last fall when it eliminated containers made of glass, high-density polyethylene or polystyrene in favor of polyethylene terephthalate.

April 30, 2000

Coding, Printing & Labeling

EPA labeling proposal bugs industry

Agency proposal would ban numerous terms from labels of anti-microbial products—and even trade names.

April 30, 2000

Blisters/clamshells/skin packaging

Containers capture consumer convenience

Surf wax in a deodorant-like container, an ergonomic waste container for biohazardous materials and a snowmobile lubricant in a jug designed for mittened hands are among this year’s NACD award winners.

April 30, 2000

Conveying & accumulation

New code's legibility smears its predecessor

Casa de Oro Foods’ new date coder produces a clean, legible date code on taco-shell cartons, tortilla bags and corrugated shippers. Downtime is minimal.

April 30, 2000

Detergents/cleaners

Sebastian goes for clean and contemporary

When the Sebastian Collection reaches Sebastian Collective Salons next month, it will include four hair cleansers and three conditioners in 250-mL custom bottles from Captive Plastics (Piscataway, NJ).

March 31, 2000

Controls & Machine Components

Smurfit-Stone: Paper canister

Smurfit-Stone (Chicago, IL) has developed PaperCan™, which uses a paperboard body with an integrated easy-to-open-and-close paperboard lid. Made of laminated or barrier-coated paperboard that can be linear or blank-formed.

March 31, 2000