Materials: Page 615

Flexibles

Adding eye and opening appeal

Harris Ranch’s Cookhouse Classics precooked beef entrees are now generating more eye- and easy-opening-appeal, thanks to new graphics in its new lidding film.

July 31, 2004

Coding, Printing & Labeling

Companies

Rockwell Automation opened a new radio-frequency identification (RFID) test lab at its global headquarters in Milwaukee. The lab is designed to help manufacturers facing production and inventory mandates from retailers understand how they can make RFID part of their distribution operations.

July 31, 2004

Containers

Natural toothpaste moves to recycled tube

Burt’s Bees finds it can shift from aluminum to five-layer coextruded tubes with recycled content, topped with caps using recycled resin, too.

July 31, 2004

Coding, Printing & Labeling

Drug companies test RFID on pharma bottles

A group of pharmaceutical manufacturers has revealed that it began shipping bottles of prescription medications with radio-frequency identification tags July 12.

July 31, 2004

Flexible packaging

Cognex: powerful inspection tools for flexible packaging

Cognex machine vision systems locate distorted patterns that are difficult to recognize.

July 31, 2004

Flexibles

McDonald's 'dips' into sliced apple bags

A plastic pouch containing 2.4 oz of ready-to-eat apple slices is part of McDonald’s new New Happy Meal Choices, aimed at providing parents and children with mix-and-match menu options.

July 31, 2004

Coding, Printing & Labeling

Wal-Mart VP to address RFIDfresh seminar

Michigan State University will present “RFIDfresh, Meeting Retailer Requirements and Challenges in the Perishables Packaging Supply Chain,” Sept. 21-22 at the Monterey, CA, Marriott Hotel.

July 31, 2004

Blisters/clamshells/thermoforming materials

Gephar brings blisters in-house

Self-packaging of blister packs is in fashion for Gephar Food, an Italian contract packager of ‘parapharmaceuticals.’

July 31, 2004

Flexible packaging

Packagers 'heated' over gas

Senate energy tax incentives would help on natural gas prices, but not immediately. So packagers will have to cope with high prices.

July 31, 2004

Conveying & accumulation

RFID Provides Supply Chain Management Solutions

Radio frequency identification (RFID) has emerged in response to the increasing demand for accuracy and efficiency in supply chain management. Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation has dedicated their resources to researching and developing RFID solutions.

July 31, 2004

Coding, Printing & Labeling

University of Florida: UF's RFID test portal

The University of Florida's new Research Center for Food Distribution and Retailing now includes five radio-frequency identification portals.

June 30, 2004

Coding, Printing & Labeling

Survey: What's the value of RFID/EPC?

A number of manufacturing executives in the United States and Europe who weighed in on this survey remain unconvinced of the benefits of RFID/EPC.

June 30, 2004