Bag/pouch fill/seal (pre-made bags)

Mechatronics looms large

Jerry Butler, production manager at food manufacturer ARC-diversified of Cookeville, TN, says a new skill set is required to deal effectively with today’s packaging machinery.

May 31, 2005

Leaders (UNIVERSAL TAXONOMY PW): Page 1464

Coding, Printing & Labeling

IBM's RFID RPCs

RFID-enabled reusable plastic containers (RPCs) will be used to shore up the 1귔-mile supply chain between IBM’s Integrated Supply Chain (ISC) operations in Montpellier, France, and Dublin, Ireland.

May 31, 2005

Conveying & accumulation

People

Sonoco elected Charles Sullivan executive vp and Charles Hupfer sr. vp and CFO and corporate secretary.

May 31, 2005

Secondary Packaging

Companies

R.A. Jones & Co. Inc.

May 31, 2005

Coding, Printing & Labeling

California coalition targets packaging labeling

The California Packaging Alliance is opposing a bill introduced in the California State Assembly that would require a blanket, statewide label on packaging to distinguish between what is “recyclable,” “compostable,” and “trash.”

May 31, 2005

Coding, Printing & Labeling

An RFID tug-of-war

These days, RFID tagging for many manufacturers is a given. Whether to do it is no longer the issue—even how to do it isn’t as important as it once was.

May 31, 2005

Blisters/clamshells/thermoforming materials

CP's custom cartoner handles challenging carton

New equipment helps pharmaceutical contract packager meet its customer demands and stay within its budget.

May 31, 2005

Blisters/clamshells/skin packaging

Package security--action replaces talk

Drug firms start RFID tagging, and anti-counterfeiting tactics expand as packagers get more aggressive to protect brands.

May 31, 2005

Blisters/clamshells/skin packaging

Achieving value by anticipating needs (sidebar)

One successful tactic for paperboard manufacturers in developing value-based packaging is knowing what consumers want and then taking the initiative to anticipate CPG companies’ needs by designing the right packaging and marketing it to them.

May 31, 2005

Controls & Machine Components

Make2Pack's powerful friend in Cincinnati

Make2Pack, which aims to tightly integrate processing and packaging from a controls and automation standpoint, gets P&G’s strong backing.

May 31, 2005

Controls & Machine Components

The charter (sidebar)

Sponsored by the World Batch Forum and the OMAC Packaging Workgroup, the Make2Pack initiative has the following charter: “The Make2Pack project will develop conceptual models and terminology for industrial automation that can be consistently applied to the total manufacturing process.

May 31, 2005

Containers

Software solutions save the day

Cheesemaker Tillamook of Oregon wanted to avoid product recall problems. Fruit packer Pri-Psagot of Israel needed accurate data tracking. Both devised software solutions.

May 31, 2005

Blisters/clamshells/skin packaging

Automation software makes real-time adjustments

With an industrial PC operating as its main controller, this blister-pack machine recalculates cam tables with each cycle.

May 31, 2005