Conveying & accumulation

Textbook publisher moves to automation

By automating case packing and palletizing, this not-for-profit book publisher saves thousands of volunteer hours annually.

July 31, 2001

Industries: Page 691

Beverage

Used Equipment Marketplaces

EquipmentStore.com (www.equipmentstore.com) is an equipment and machinery exchange that brings buyers and sellers together free of charge. New and used packaging equipment is offered.

July 31, 2001

Consumer packaged goods

Rimtec Corp.: Magnetic clutches

MDC/MSV magnetic synchronous torque-limiting barrier clutches from Rimtec (Addison, IL) provide servo-quality torque transmission with overload protection, transmitting force with no physical contact between the two clutch sections.

July 31, 2001

Beverage

Beer container growth

Market research firm The Freedonia Group announced that the world demand for beer containers will grow nearly 3% per year to 315 billion units in 2005. Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Asia will lead the demand.

July 31, 2001

Flexibles

Mac software unboxed

The Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA, leverages the Mac difference in award-winning software packaging that’s a dramatic departure from traditional paperboard cartons used for software. Replacing prior boxed versions, Office 2001 for Macintosh was introduced in October of 2000 in a plastic "clamshell."

July 31, 2001

Flexibles

Coors carton 'on the rocks'

Just in time for the summer picnic season, Golden, CO-based Coors released its Coors Cooler Box, a disposable cooler carton with a patented barrier that holds ice and water.

July 31, 2001

Flexibles

Produce, pet foods grow flexibles

The value of flexible packaging is expected to grow 3.5% this year to $19.7 billion, according to the State of the Industry Report 2001. Released in June by the Flexible Packaging Assn.

July 31, 2001

Flexibles

StarKist 3-oz pouch is a smaller 'hook'

StarKist Foods Div. of Pittsburgh-based Heinz North America hopes to hook consumers with a smaller, single-serve pouch of StarKist tuna. Introduced in April, the 3-oz Flavor Fresh Pouch is a line extension of the company’s 7.06-oz pouch introduced last fall. The new, smaller pouch is expected to be available nationally by August.

July 31, 2001

Closures

Plastic innovation

In May, Glendale, CA-based Nestlé USA introduced Nestea iced tea concentrate in a striking custom-molded bottle supplied by Continental Plastics Container (Elk Grove Village, IL).

July 31, 2001

Coding, Printing & Labeling

FDA demands proof of botanical claims

FDA is cracking down on increasingly popular botanically enhanced foods and beverages, demanding proof they are safe and do not make false and misleading claims.

July 31, 2001

Recycling

Mandatory deposit bill introduced

The National Beverage Container Reuse and Recycling Act of 2001 was introduced in Congress by Rep. Lynn N. Rivers (D-MI). The bill amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require a 10¢ deposit and refund on every beverage container sold in the United States.

July 31, 2001

Coding, Printing & Labeling

Industry develops guidelines for allergen labeling

The Food Allergy Issues Alliance, a group of food trade associations and other organizations focused on allergy-related topics, has issued the Food Allergen Labeling Guidelines to help the estimated seven million Americans with food allergies avoid foods that might make them sick.

July 31, 2001

Meat/Poultry/Seafood

A sharper image

To help Schick/Wilkinson Sword, Milford, CT, design a package for its new razor that appeared as sculpted as the product inside, Fisher Design’s (Cincinnati, OH) creative team devised bold, sleek graphics to deliver greater product visibility.

July 31, 2001