Coding, Printing & Labeling

Smirnoff 1.75 L relaunched in proprietary PET

Hoping to boost sales, United Distillers and Vintners, Hartford, CT, has relaunched its Smirnoff premium vodka in a proprietary 1.75-L polyethylene terephthalate package whose rollout was to be completed this month.

January 31, 1998

Containers: Page 245

Containers

Supplier news: Domestic acquisitions, agreements

Greif Bros. Corp. (Delaware, OH) has signed an agreement to acquire KMI Continental Fibre Drum, Inc., Fibro Tambor, and Sonoco Plastic Drum, Inc., all wholly owned subsidiaries of Sonoco Products Co.

January 31, 1998

Containers

X-ray fill-level inspection

The TapTone (N. Falmouth, MA) Ray Trak fill-level inspection system uses x-ray tube technology to check fill levels in bottles, cans and jars at speeds to 2ꯠ/min.

December 31, 1997

Tamper-evident machinery

Servo control offers labeling latitude (sidebar)

This is the story of the in-line capper that almost got away. When the Nutrilite Div. of Amway Corp. wanted to double the speed of its vitamin packaging line, management was leaning toward a rotary capper.

December 31, 1997

Containers

Hot melt desiccant

From Grace Davison (Baltimore, MD), Flo-Tech(TM) is a hot melt desiccant that is applied directly onto the packaging material, becoming an integral part of the package.

December 31, 1997

Containers

Flexible IBC

A flexible intermediate bulk container from Bulk-Pack (W. Monroe, LA) is for packagers of food and chemical products. The CubePak Baffle container is manufactured with a baffle inside each of the four corners to maintain its square shape and allow complete filling from corner to corner, top to bottom, maximizing the utilization of space.

December 31, 1997

Closures

Bass unveils PET/EVOH beer bottle in U.K.

"We scoured the world for the right technology." That's how Bill Dando, director of package development at Bass Brewers in Burton-on-Trent, England, describes the process that led to Bass' recent launch of one beer and one "alcopop" in identical high-barrier plastic bottles.

December 31, 1997

Coding, Printing & Labeling

Gillette bets on pressurized plastic bottle

The initial mass-market application of an innovative pressurized dispensing system permits Gillette to offer a shave gel in a plastic container for the first time.

December 31, 1997

Conveying & accumulation

Putting the pressure on faster filling

A unique feeding system on Sweet Ripe Drinks' new pressure filler permits 750-bpm speeds with less glass breakage, higher accuracy and 15-minute changeover.

December 31, 1997

Conveying & accumulation

Grace-and speed-under pressure

Amway's new pressure-netweigh filler increases speed and accuracy for viscous personal care products. Unscrambler offers gentle handling, cuts down on jams and provides 15-minute changeover.

December 31, 1997

Blisters/clamshells/skin packaging

A Star coding system

Dental tool maker Star Dental switches from manual label application to preprinting with a thermal-transfer system to comply with industry bar-code guidelines. Savings are the major benefit.

December 31, 1997

Additives, coatings & inks

Mobile receives PE in bulk trucks

At press time, Edison, NJ-based Mobil Polymers was minimizing the impact of December's rail congestion by transporting more of its polyethylene resin via bulk trucks instead of railcars.

December 31, 1997

Coding, Printing & Labeling

Medical device labeling proposal assailed

The Health Industry Manufacturers Assn. (HIMA) doesn't support the draft guidance on medical device labeling developed by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration's Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH).

December 31, 1997