Materials: Page 575

Closures

Motorola connects with customers

A distinctive, differentiated, and upscale look was what Motorola wanted for its line of Original premium quality cell phone accessories.

July 31, 2005

Closures

Onions jump on the fresh-cut bandwagon

A recent addition to the growing ranks of fresh-cut produce in branded packaging sold at retail are green onions from Boskovich Farms of Oxnard, CA.

July 31, 2005

Flexibles

FLEXIBLE BULK PACKAGING DEMAND TO REACH $7 BILLION

Cost benefits and increased performance efficiency are expected to drive U.S. demand for flexible bulk packaging to $7 billion in 2009, a growth of 3.4% per year.

July 31, 2005

Additives, coatings & inks

BARRIER RESIN MARKET TO REACH $8.6 BILLION

Last year, the U.S. market for packaging barrier resins amounted to about 5.9 billion lb. It’s expected to rise at an overall average annual growth rate of 8.1% to 8.6 billion lb by 2009 according to RP-137U Plastics for Barrier Packaging from Business Communications Co., Inc.

July 31, 2005

Containers

New plant food package reduces product returns

Retailers were returning a percentage of EnviroSafe Lab’s Dynamite Plant Food unsold because the product’s tubular containers cracked during distribution or became weathered over time when exposed to rain and the sun’s heat on the shelves outside of lawn-and- garden centers.

July 31, 2005

Closures

Anheuser-Busch to double aluminum beer bottle capacity

According to St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch, demand from retailers, wholesalers, and consumers for its beer in 16-oz aluminum bottles is so strong that the brewer will double its capacity for the package by this fall.

July 31, 2005

Flexibles

Labatt launches first insulated beer cans

The new 473-mL (16-oz) Labatt Blue Cold One beer from Labatt Breweries of Canada, Toronto, Ontario, is packaged in aluminum cans wrapped in preprinted, insulated shrink labels.

July 31, 2005

Flexibles

Analyst expounds on food packaging trends

Esther Palevsky, an analyst for the Freedonia Group, listed the following as key food packaging trends:

July 31, 2005

Labels

Bottle sports a gripping redesign

Coca-Cola North America introduced in April a new bottle design for its Powerade sports drink that's easier to hold and grip.

July 31, 2005

Flexibles

Package redesign precipitates White Rain sales gain

Diamond Products Co. reports a 16% increase in first quarter 2005 sales of its White Rain-brand shampoos and conditioners, following a packaging redesign.

July 31, 2005

Coding, Printing & Labeling

Mobile RFID

If you have fixed your data collection plans solely on RFID reader-antennae portals, then you may want to recalibrate your strategy a bit. Vendors offer wireless mobile solutions that permit flexible alternatives to fixed portals for RFID data acquisition.

July 31, 2005

Flexibles

Clarity, gloss help India cosmetics brand bloom

The cosmetics industry is growing rapidly in India, and cosmetics companies in that country are beginning to grasp the importance that visual clarity and gloss play in package design.

July 31, 2005