Blisters/clamshells/skin packaging

Schering-Plough: Blister pack forming/filling for Claritin

From a feed bowl, tablets are fed into formed blisters via a Cam Pak thermoform/fill/seal system. Once lidding is applied, blister packs move through an inspection station from SEA Vision (represented in the U.S. by Calia Technical Inc.) and then on to a punch station.

May 31, 2004

Materials: Page 612

Cartoning

Schering-Plough: Cartoning and checkweighing of blister packs

Individual blister packs are mechanically fed into a flighted conveyor that brings them a short distance downstream to where they are inserted into folding cartons via a Marchesini cartoner. Thermal ink-jet coding, powered by Hewlett-Packard and supplied by Nutec, code inspection, also part of the Nutec system, and checkweighing (from Optima) all follow.

May 31, 2004

Conveying & accumulation

Schering-Plough: Banding of finished blister packs

A lengthy conveyor section brings individual cartons to upstacking and banding, from Pester.

May 31, 2004

Blisters/clamshells/skin packaging

Schering-Plough: Case packing, case labeling, and robotic palletizing of blister packs

Case packing, case labeling, and robotic palletizing, all on Pester equipment, brings the blister packaging line to an end.

May 31, 2004

Coding, Printing & Labeling

RFID tags becoming easier to read

On the other hand, return on investment for packagers will remain invisible for near term. Now Wal-Mart softens stance on deadlines.

May 31, 2004

Cartoning

Ultrasonic banding system helps save pharmaceutical company cash

When its shrinkwrapper proved too troublesome, pharmaceutical product manufacturer Guardian Drug Company purchased two new custom ATS CornerLine Automatic Banding machines from Wexler Packaging Products.

May 31, 2004

Flexibles

Blue crab in 'Cadillac' package

A zipper reclosable pouch is now making its debut for pasteurized blue crabmeat in a 16-oz pouch sold under refrigeration.

May 31, 2004

Tamper-evident machinery

How to sharpen packaging's defense against tampering and counterfeiting

Packagers have honed the protection packages offer against tampering and counterfeiting in three decades since the Tylenol crisis.

May 31, 2004

Controls & Machine Components

Rockwell Automation: Motor controller with sensorless vector drive

A new line of Allen-Bradley® ArmorStart™ distributed motor controllers from Rockwell Automation incorporates an Allen-Bradley PowerFlex® sensorless vector drive, providing precise speed and torque control to meet a range of applications.

May 31, 2004

Flexibles

Redken stands up for pouch multipack

When designers at New York-based Redken decided to switch from traditional polyvinyl chloride folding cartons to clear, flexible stand-up pouches from Specialty Films & Associates for its Smooth Down multipacks of hair-care products, they gained a sharper, more modern design as well as added consumer convenience.

May 31, 2004

Blisters/clamshells/thermoforming materials

Ripeness indicator proves fruitful

A sensor label puts science into the art of determining a pear’s ripeness.

May 31, 2004

Containers

Brown-Forman adds 750-mLs in PET

Based on the success of its 1.75-L bottles of spirits in PET bottles, Brown-Forman Corp., Louisville, KY, is now making available its Canadian Mist, Early Times and Southern Comfort products in new 750-mL bottles of PET, made by Amcor PET Packaging. The launch of the new bottles began early this year.

May 31, 2004

Closures

Nutty beer canister

What could be more natural than beer nuts in a beer can?

May 31, 2004