Conveying & accumulation

Furman Foods: Tray packing, stacking and wrapping

At this canner of tomatoes, tomato sauces, canned beans and related products, labeled cans are mechanically grouped in continuous motion in four or six lanes to yield 3x4- (shown) or 4x6-count trays, respectively.

August 31, 2001

Industries: Page 687

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

Lettuce in twin MAP packs

"Fresh now and fresh later," is how spokeswoman Robin Sprague of Fresh Express, Salinas, CA, describes the company's new Twin Pack of attached side-by-side bags of lettuce. "Consumers can use half of the pack immediately, and keep the other bag under modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) conditions to maintain freshness," she informs Packworld.com. "It's a unique concept that offers more convenience to consumers."

August 31, 2001

Consumer packaged goods

Summit Publishing Company Redesigns Packaging World

Is eight years old too young for a face-lift? Summit Publishing Company doesn’t think so and today announced plans to makeover their leading business publication, Packaging World, Summit’s monthly packaging tabloid will be redesigned and trimmed down to a more contemporary 9”x11” size as of January 2002.

August 31, 2001

Containers

OK International: Case liner

The OK 220 servo case liner from O/K Intl. (Marlborough, MA) can run at speeds to 24 cases/min. Machine makes bags from a roll of polyethylene tubing and places them into a case, drum, or tray.

August 31, 2001

Controls & Machine Components

Rockwell Automation: Single-axis digital drives

Allen-Bradley Ultra3000® single-axis digital servo drives from Rockwell Automation (Milwaukee, WI) store up to 64 configurable indexes that can be incremental distance moves, absolute position moves, or sensor-based motion moves.

August 31, 2001

Flexibles

Shrink label sales to double

Sales of shrink labels for bottles and other containers will double between 1999 and 2004, according to a new study from Keymark Associates. “Opportunities in Shrink Film Labels for Bottles” says milk, ready-to-drink tea, sports drinks, and beer will show growth of more than 30% annually, 20% for juice, and 15% for water, ready-to-drink coffee, and liquor.

August 31, 2001

Beverage

Oxygen absorber growth

Dollar and unit sales of oxygen absorbers used in packaging is forecast to increase nearly 20% per year through 2005 in North America. So reports “Oxygen Absorbers in Packaging—Hit or Hype?” a new report from BRG Townsend, Inc.

August 31, 2001

Dairy

Pigmented bottle battles milk oxidation

A new FlavorTight™ bottle that adds a white color concentrate to high-density polyethylene helps prevent oxidation in Dean Foods’ Land O’Lakes-brand ½- and 1-gal sizes of milk. Introduced in August into seven Midwest states, the bottles are used for 14 total SKUs.

August 31, 2001

Flexibles

Tuna salad kit packs multiple components

In April, Chicken of the Sea Intl., San Diego, CA, launched a Tuna Salad Kit that contains premium no-drain tuna in a vacuum-packed foil pouch.

August 31, 2001

Converting equipment

PEF announces four inductees

Four career packaging professionals will be inducted into the Packaging Hall of Fame by the Packaging Education Forum during its annual Leadership Awards ceremonies Monday, September 10, at Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. The event will occur during Pack Expo Las Vegas, Sept. 10-12 at the Sands Exposition & Convention Center.

August 31, 2001

Labeling

Mixed views on fresh meat labeling

The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service is getting mixed responses to its 2001 proposal to allow nutrition information for most fresh meat and poultry to be displayed in posters or brochures at point of purchase (POP) rather than on package labels as it is for other food.

August 31, 2001

Containers

Domestic acquisitions, agreements

MAN Roland Inc. (Westmont, IL) has entered into a cooperative agreement with Flint Ink North America (Ann Arbor, MI) designed to boost pressroom performance for North American printers.

August 31, 2001

Containers

Graphic revitalization

In 1957, Vitabath came out with its first bath and shower gel called Vitabath Gelée. Not much had changed until February when Vitabath released a new fragrance and a new look. Phoenix-based Belae Brands, the maker of Vitabath personal care products, unveiled a modern, upscale packaging design, featuring a contemporary new logo screen-printed directly to the bottle.

August 31, 2001