Conveying & accumulation

Manual dumping station

Flexicon (Phillipsburg, NJ) has developed a Manual Dumping Station configured for direct connection to flexible screw conveyors. It collects dust created during manual dumping of powder and bulk solid materials from bags, boxes, drums and other containers.

December 31, 1996

Industries: Page 849

Feeding/inserting/unscrambling

Thinking small pays off big (sidebar)

Troubleshooting the packaging process with FMEAs

December 31, 1996

Conveying & accumulation

Shrink bander sets a quicker pace

Replacing a p-s labeler with a shrink bander nearly triples production speeds for vials of "super glue" used to attach artificial fingernails. Additional benefits include longer shelf life and stronger sales appeal.

December 31, 1996

Closures

Study confirms bottles affect wine buying

A recent study on American wine purchasing shows that glass wine bottles play a key role in determining which wine is purchased. Marketers considering dropping glass in favor of some other packaging material would do well to analyze the study-perhaps even duplicate it in their own product categories-before making a move.

December 31, 1996

Blisters/clamshells/skin packaging

No clear 'vision' from FDA on label inspection

Agency hopes to give additional detailed directions to drug manufacturers on the requirements for verifying cut labels and other components.

December 31, 1996

Flexible packaging

Retailers' influence strengthens over packaging

ECR, pre-built displays and J-I-T delivery are just three reasons why many retailers are now calling the shots on both primary and secondary packaging. Three of the largest manufacturers help converters understand how they respond.

December 31, 1996

Conveying & accumulation

Multipacks double the ante for bottles

A European brewer is first to offer two-layer multipacks for glass bottles. The tall 24- and 30-packs present more graphic billboard area and permit easier handling for consumers.

December 31, 1996

Sustainability

Plastic beer bottle could be big

Australian brewing giant Carlton United Breweries has high hopes for a barrier beer bottle made of plastic. In the meantime, it's launched a monolayer PET bottle that's causing quite a stir.

December 31, 1996

Flexible packaging

Header labels applied automatically

Three years in the making, a machine that automatically applies header labels to pouches produced on vertical form/fill/seal machines is ready for the packaging marketplace.

December 31, 1996

Converting equipment

Graphics, coex make for noteworthy tube

Colgate-Palmolive Canada is counting on graphics representing a trio of Looney Tunes characters from Space Jam to spark sales of its Colgate Junior brand toothpaste.

December 31, 1996

Coding, Printing & Labeling

Skimming fat, not nutrients

FDA has issued new rules on milk labeling designed to eliminate consumer confusion about the fat content of milk and milk products. Until now, milk was not held to the same nutrition labeling standards as other products on the use of terms like "low fat." As a result, many consumers believed skim milk contained fewer nutrients than other types, and that 2% milk was low fat.

December 31, 1996

Additives, coatings & inks

Supplier news: International agreements

The Specialty Chemical Additives Div. of Ciba Additives (Tarrytown, NY) and the Industrial and Agricultural Products Div. of Hoffman-LaRoche, Inc.

December 31, 1996

Coding, Printing & Labeling

Shrink label gives this mule a kick

From Russia by way of the U.K. comes a vodka-based drink called the Smirnoff Mule in a glass bottle with a label that's nearly as exotic as the beverage itself.

December 31, 1996