Filling/capping, liquid & viscous

Best packaging operations anywhere? Here are three...

What’s the most impressive plant you’ve ever been in? World traveler and Hartness Intl. director of market research Neville Cork has been in about 100 plants.

December 31, 2003

Machinery: Page 831

Coding, Printing & Labeling

Packaging 2004

What a difference a decade makes. When we launched Packaging World in January 1994, the prospects for an economic recovery were strong after a difficult couple of years following the Gulf War.

December 31, 2003

Secondary Packaging

Ergonomic vertical cartoner

SWF Companies’ Tisma Div. offers the Victory 100, a simple, ergonomically-advanced, semi-automatic vertical cartoner capable of reaching speeds to 200 cartons/min.

December 31, 2003

Controls & Machine Components

Rockwell Automation: Food-grade servomotors

Rockwell Automation’s Allen-Bradley MPF servo motors are designed specifically for the harsh environments of food and beverage packaging applications. Available with 14 to 173 in-lb torque, the units have noncorrosive food-grade fasteners and coatings for extended performance.

December 31, 2003

Controls & Machine Components

Beckhoff Automation: Modular servo system

The AX2500 Servodrive Series from Beckhoff is said to be flexible, especially in compact areas where space savings is essential. In its maximum configuration, AX2500 comprises 8 axes (a master module) with 7 axis modules.

December 31, 2003

Controls & Machine Components

Ormec: Motion technology with standard IEC

Motion and logic controllerOrmec’s new ServoWire Motion and Logic Controller (SMLC) combines the company’s ServoWire Soft 61131-3 programming for motion and I/O control. SMLC uses off-the-shelf components to reduce hardware costs, a real-time operating system that makes it robust, and industry standard network interfaces for a variety of connectivity options.

December 31, 2003

Controls & Machine Components

Dillin Engineered Systems: FireWire for industrial automation

A group of industrial automation suppliers in Europe has formed an association called 1394automation. The association is defining a solution that allows different controllers to communicate using a single FireWire bus in a factory setting using the FireWire (IEEE 1394) protocol.

December 31, 2003

Coding, Printing & Labeling

RFID costs to packagers estimated

The use of Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, as envisioned by Wal-Mart Stores, is estimated to bring savings to retailers and big capital investment costs to those who supply retailers.

December 31, 2003

Sustainability

Sustainable packaging coalition forms

In November, a group of two dozen packaging professionals from companies such as Coca-Cola, Estée Lauder/Aveda, Masterfoods, Nike, PepsiCo, Starbucks, and Unilever agreed to form the Sustainable Packaging Coalition.

December 31, 2003

Feeding/inserting/unscrambling

Companies

Sonoco (Hartsville, SC) completed a 10-year agreement with Pasco Beverage Co.

December 31, 2003

Coding, Printing & Labeling

FDA weighs in on obesity

The Food and Drug Administration commissioner Mark McClellan formed the Obesity Working Group to investigate what role FDA can play in fighting obesity.

December 31, 2003

Coding, Printing & Labeling

COOL regs issued

The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued its final regulations on country-of-origin labeling scheduled to take effect in September 2004. Included in the 203-page regulation was a cost/benefit analysis that estimated first year compliance costs at up to $3.9 billion for retailers, wholesalers, and producers with no quantifiable benefits.

December 31, 2003

Coding, Printing & Labeling

Obesity and nutrition initiatives launched

The Grocery Manufacturers of America told the FDA hearing that it will focus on nutrient content claims on food labels, consumer research about food labels, and advertising self-regulation.

December 31, 2003