Filling/capping, liquid & viscous

Small package poses big challenge

Ecoly Intl. was in a sticky situation. The company needed to downsize its 10-oz Oak Tree Finishing Aerated Hairspray into a 1.7-oz version for use in a travel kit, without losing rich package graphics and extensive copy.

December 31, 1998

Materials: Page 780

Closures

Supplier news: Relocations, expansions

In order to accommodate its planned growth in pharmaceutical closures and bottles, Kerr Group, Inc. (Lancaster, PA) will establish a Pharmaceutical Packaging Business Unit based in Lancaster, PA.

December 31, 1998

Flexibles

Supplier news: Relocations, expansions

To better reflect the company's ongoing commitment to the shrink film market, Epsilon Polyolefin Corp. (South Plainfield, NJ) has changed its name to Epsilon-Opti Films Corp.

December 31, 1998

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

Fresh Express tests a transverse zipper

A leader in fresh-cut produce, Fresh Express Inc. of Salinas, CA, now is testing a zipper reclosure feature on 1-lb bags of garden salad. The pack is among the first to use the Z-Patch partial-width zipper, which comes from Z-Patch, Inc.

December 31, 1998

Coding, Printing & Labeling

Drug labeling for kids

FDA has issued new labeling rules designed to clarify drug dosage for children. Labels for drugs frequently prescribed in pediatric cases must contain appropriate dosages for children.

December 31, 1998

Additives, coatings & inks

Supplier news: Relocations, expansions

Wellman, Inc. (Shrewsbury, NJ) will relocate the U.S. production of its EcoClear(TM) recycled-content PET resin for packaging applications from its Day Products facility in Bridgeport, NJ, to its Johnsonville, SC, recycling operation.

December 31, 1998

Labels

New graphics please packager and its customer

"The consumer gets a better package and we benefit as well."That's how Beaverton Foods' chief executive officer Bill Small describes his firm's recent switch from screen-printed glass jars to jars deco-rated with full-body shrink-sleeve labels for 16 varieties of Inglehoffer brand condiments.

December 31, 1998

Labels

Whisky bottle gets dressed up

Hiram Walker is stretching the full-body shrink-sleeve boundaries with a promotional sleeve label for its Canadian Club whisky. The Greenwich, CT-based company's 750-mL glass bottles adorned in golf ball garb were released last June in Ontario, Canada, to commemorate Father's Day.

December 31, 1998

Additives, coatings & inks

Supplier news: Domestic acquisitions, agreements

H.B. Fuller Co. (St. Paul, MN) has entered into a strategic marketing alliance with Corn Products (Bedford Park, IL), appointing Corn Products as sales agent for H.B.

December 31, 1998

Protective/transport packaging

Pet treats maker chooses 'greener' void fill

The folks at Bone Appetit, maker of gourmet pet treats, have revised their thinking about foam peanuts as void fill. They now prefer Sylvacurl, recyclable, biodegradable and reusable wood shavings from Eastview Enterprises (East Hardwick, VT).

December 31, 1998

Closures

In brief

FDA has granted citrus juice processors an eight-month extension (ending July 8, 1999) to comply with a requirement to put warning labels on unpasteurized juiceso/ooThe Center for Science in the Public Interest petitioned FDA to either ban or require specific label disclosures for the food colorings cochineal extract and carmine that can cause severe allergic reactions.

December 31, 1998

Coding, Printing & Labeling

Flex America Inc: Flex America Inc: Pressure-sensitive labeler

EPI's (New Freedom, PA) Flex-Pac Labeler(TM) is designed to integrate with Sandiacre packaging equipment used widely in the frozen food, produce and candy markets.

November 30, 1998

Coding, Printing & Labeling

Ice cream maker melts label inventory

Nutrition labeling requirements threatened to throw a real wrench in the works at one family-owned dairy. Thermal-transfer printing on-site was the answer.

November 30, 1998