Controls & Machine Components

Baldor Electric Company: Baldor Electric Company: Servo control

Baldor (Fort Smith, AR) introduces the Flex+ digital servo control, which includes 15 preset, repeatable moves—set up as incremental, absolute or a mix of the two, as well as a return-to-home position.

January 31, 2000

Industries: Page 745

Controls & Machine Components

Evergreen Packaging: Fillers for milk or juice

Two new fillers from Evergreen (Cedar Rapids, IA) package fresh refrigerated milk or juice at speeds to 3ꯠ gabletop cartons/hr. The GTL-1000 (shown) fills 250- to 1걶-mL (8.45- to 38.9-oz) cartons, while the GTN-1000 fills 125- to 500-mL (4.23- to 16.9-oz) cartons.

January 31, 2000

Coding, Printing & Labeling

USDA says OK to irradiation

In late December 1999, USDA issued its long-awaited rule permitting the irradiation of frozen or refrigerated raw meat and meat products to kill harmful microorganisms.

January 31, 2000

Flexibles

Smarties gets better wrap

Smarties®, the venerable pill-shaped candy from Ce De Candy, marked its 50th anniversary by switching back to cellophane wrapping in early 1999.

January 31, 2000

Contract Packaging

Graphics boost beverage launch

Now being launched in select markets around the country are ?-L (16.9-oz) bottles of Hydrators, a lightly flavored natural spring water from Aqua Vie Beverage Corp., Sun Valley, ID.

January 31, 2000

Blisters/clamshells/skin packaging

Shave products in fashion colors

Gillette has introduced Gillette for Women Sensor Excel® razors and two new formulas of Satin Care® shave gel. Both come in sparkling, feminine packaging reflecting color trends from the fashion world’s spring runways.

January 31, 2000

Beverage

Imperfect Solutions Order: Why organized standards are better than none

A colleague of mine wondered aloud recently whether ISO quality standards are really meaningful or useful in purchasing products or services. My sense, from talking with package purchasing executives, is that the answer is yes, that ISO certification is a real tool in the craft of selecting vendors.

January 31, 2000

Containers

Postal service spends $66 million for tray handling

Last fall, the U.S. Postal Service awarded a $66 million contract for 100 robotic container loading systems to ABB Flexible Automation (New Berlin, WI).

January 31, 2000

Coding, Printing & Labeling

Drumming up e-business (sidebar)

Capsule reviews

January 31, 2000

Containers

Drumming up e-business

Making it easier for packagers to re-order packaging materials is an obvious way for suppliers and buyers to take advantage of the Internet. One supplier that’s doing just that is Myers Container (www.myerscontainer.com), a steel drum manufacturer.

January 31, 2000

Conveying & accumulation

Self-manufacture of bottles brings savings

In-house blow molding of 500-mL PET bottles is expanding in a big way at Aberfoyle Springs. Two blow-molding machines are in, and a third is on the way.

January 31, 2000

Blisters/clamshells/skin packaging

Amish packager takes hands-on approach

A new skin-pack machine provides an Amish manufacturer of brass curios with a smaller, cleaner-looking package that occupies less space on gift-shop shelves.

January 31, 2000

Coding, Printing & Labeling

FDA fires starter's gun on 'fast track' (sidebar)

Label ‘libel’ for biotech foods?

January 31, 2000