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

Packaging potatoes for consumer convenience

Add sliced potatoes to the growing list of branded, prepared produce packaged in flexible films for refrigerated display in the supermarket. Launched in the first week of January were four varieties of Fresh From The Start® potatoes from 50/50 partners Maine Packing of Caribou, ME, and Fresh From The Start LLC of Riverhead, NY.

February 28, 1998

Industries: Page 818

Containers

Drum containment unit

Rand Materials Handling Equipment (Pawtucket, RI) has introduced a 4-Drum Containment Unit with a removable drum pallet that allows the drums to be loaded at floor level and lifted on or off the sump base by a forklift truck.

January 31, 1998

Controls & Machine Components

Rockwell Automation: Rockwell Automation: Indexing servo drives

Rockwell Automation/Electro-Craft (Eden Prairie, MN) has added indexing functionality to its BRU-Series Advantage Line family of digital servo drives.

January 31, 1998

Controls & Machine Components

Intellution Incorporated: PC-based control book

A new book, SoftLogic: Overcoming Funnel Vision, by Dennis E. Wisnosky, senior VP of Intellution (Norwood, MA), describes the promise of control software running on standard PCs, which it terms SoftLogic.

January 31, 1998

Controls & Machine Components

Controls on center stage

The National Industrial Automation(TM) show and conference is one of four trade shows that make up next month's mammoth National Manufacturing Week (March 16 to 19).

January 31, 1998

Fruits/Vegetables

Produce packing guides

Concerned over recent statements by Food and Drug Administration officials, 16 produce organizations sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman and Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala objecting to a reported plan by FDA to develop commodity-specific guidance to govern the growing, harvesting, and distribution of specific commodities.

January 31, 1998

Sustainability

Saving more than just peanuts

Bookstore chain Borders Group moves to a customized loose-fill system for distribution of its products to stores nationwide. Yearly savings are in excess of one million dollars.

January 31, 1998

Sustainability

Organic labeling rules proposed

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is accepting comments on its proposal to establish uniform federal standards for use of the term "organic" in labeling both raw and processed foods.

January 31, 1998

Conveying & accumulation

Foam dunnage computes for GT's software

Minnesota is no stranger to snow. But at GT Interactive's Plymouth plant, located in suburban Minneapolis, a far different kind of blizzard was hampering operations.

January 31, 1998

Protective/transport packaging

Reusable PVC clamshells short-circuit waste for Lucent (sidebar)

Bellcore rules: Setting the spec

January 31, 1998

Conveying & accumulation

Robotic palletization protects Sandvik

Automated lifting and stacking of heavy boxes onto pallets helps this maker of mining products avoid worker injuries and $120ꯠ of additional labor costs.

January 31, 1998

Controls & Machine Components

A window into the packaging line

Amway's graphical human-machine interface for an entire packaging line reduces troubleshooting time by 75%.

January 31, 1998

Flexibles

Paper pulp molders share successes, shortcomings

New molded pulp producers group meets to assess status and learn new technologies. Packagers report on applications, identify areas that need help.

January 31, 1998