Conveying & accumulation

Marketing mussels with a microwave boost

Fresh mussels have a short shelf life and aren’t easy to prepare at home. Microwave pasteurization addresses these issues and provides a 21-day refrigerated shelf life.

September 28, 2011

Industries: Page 293

Sustainability

Vented cap liners cure container woes

High-altitude plastic bottle collapsing problems solved and product safety and brand image preserved.

September 28, 2011

Sustainability

BPA gets into court, too

Most of the discussions about bisphenol A, or BPA, in this column have been about how regulatory officials and governments have reacted to the chemical’s presence in packaging.

September 28, 2011

Sustainability

A Jim Beam perspective

Robert Land, corporate packaging engineer at Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc., talks about trends in packaging.

September 28, 2011

Protective/transport packaging

An epistolary column

My Lead Off column in the July issue described how Ecovative LLC and others are turning to crop waste as a biopolymer feedstock. The column generated this intriguing exchange of e-mails.

September 28, 2011

Coding, Printing & Labeling

2011 Clear Choice Awards: Innovation in glass pack design recognized

The Glass Packaging Institute (GPI) has announced the winners of its 2011 Clear Choice Awards. Sponsored by GPI since 1989, the awards honor consumer product goods manufacturers that expand the frontiers of glass packaging design by using glass containers in innovative ways.

September 27, 2011

Filling/capping, dry

Flavored glucose in stick packs provides tasty relief to diabetics

New stick packages make it convenient and ‘cool’ for children to prevent low blood sugar.

September 27, 2011

Coding, Printing & Labeling

Job market figures paint unhealthy picture--with healthcare an exception

A grim unemployment report is the centerpiece of political debate, yet healthcare jobs continue to increase.

September 27, 2011

Consumer packaged goods

Pack Expo highlights

In this video, PMMI Trade Show Manager Jim Pittas describes a few of the highlights of Pack Expo, which is on track to break Pack Expo Las Vegas attendance records.

September 23, 2011

Feeding/inserting/unscrambling

Sport drink cap (with Overcap) assembly system

Shibuya Hoppmann designed a Sports Cap Feed and Capper Assembly System for a major closure manufacturer.  The system feeds, orients and assembles spouts and locking caps at an output rate of 200 ppm using an eight-station continuous motion assembly system. Each station had an individual servo motor to precisely torque each cap assembly to preset specifications.

September 22, 2011

Labels

Sexy crocodile skin label

See it at Pack Expo Booth #2811. Draped in what the luxurylaunches.com blog calls a “sexy red crocodile skin,” the limited edition Bodyguard Champagne Brut from Piper-Heidsieck was rolled out this month at select travel retail outlets.

September 22, 2011

Blisters/clamshells/thermoforming materials

Cottage cheese launch in single-servings

Friendship Dairies of Friendship, NY, has launched Fit to Go, a brand new line of single-serve cottage cheese offerings in their most popular varieties.

September 22, 2011

Feeding/inserting/unscrambling

Energetic feed system for small energy drink bottles

Shibuya Hoppmann's custom designed Bottle Feed System uses unique urethane scallops to singulate and orient empty 2 ounce energy drink bottles. The system then ionizes and flips them 180˚ and takes them downstream to filling operations at an output rate of 525 bottles per minute.

September 21, 2011