Cartoning

Food marketers focus on schools

New packaging equipment is helping two California food processors grow their school foodservice businesses.

August 31, 2000

Materials: Page 726

Converting equipment

Fewer vendors in manufacturers' plans (sidebar)

Internet ordering proves as easy as H-E-B

August 31, 2000

Flexibles

Merit re-tools for a global marketplace (sidebar)

Material makeover, too

August 31, 2000

Coding, Printing & Labeling

Merit re-tools for a global marketplace

This medical device maker says goodbye to extra labels and replaces them with on-line, thermal-transfer printing on lidding material. Print now includes important symbols required by customers overseas.

August 31, 2000

Flexibles

Growth accelerates in flexible materials

Volume of flexible packaging materials continues to outpace growth in both the overall economy and for all of packaging. FPA report does identify some potential problems, however.

August 31, 2000

Flexibles

Shrink wrap solves promo problems

Mayes Brothers, a manufacturer of carpentry levels, has increased its business and found a faster and cheaper method of packaging with PVC shrink wrap.

August 31, 2000

Conveying & accumulation

E-commerce builds momentum by the bay

Before a larger-than-anticipated audience in San Francisco, representatives from packagers Ethan Allen and Reflect.com address packaging for e-commerce direct-to-consumers.

August 31, 2000

Adhesives/tape

WD-40 promotes 'straw strap'

San Diego-based WD-40 Co. has come up with a way to keep the all-important spray tube on its popular lubricant product from getting lost. The firm’s 8- and 11-oz cans now have a red, yellow or blue stretchable rubber strap around the neck.

August 31, 2000

Blisters/clamshells/thermoforming materials

PVC clamshells open up markets for hitching mirrors

Moving out of the box and into marketable, protective clear PVC clamshells gets results for ‘The Backup Buddy,’ a mirror assembly for hitching trailers.

July 31, 2000

Closures

Miller unveils plastic cap

As television ads touting its plastic beer bottle begin to appear with some frequency, Miller has completed its development of an injection-molded plastic closure that replaces ROPP aluminum. Easier-to-recycle package is spotted in Chicago.

July 31, 2000

Closures

Sutter: To twist or not to twist

After seven years of using twist-off closures to seal its 1 ½-L bottles of wine, Sutter Home Winery recently reverted back to sealing its larger bottles with a traditional cork closure.

July 31, 2000

Converting equipment

Pasteurizable PET bottles

KoSa has developed a PET copolymer packaging resin that may make it possible to bottle and pasteurize beer in plastic.

July 31, 2000

Protective/transport packaging

HP cushions for B2C sales

Hewlett-Packard Corp., Palo Alto, CA, is using a new grade of Arcel® moldable foam from Nova Chemicals (Pittsburgh, PA) for protective cushioning for LaserJet™ Model 4050 printers distributed worldwide.

July 31, 2000