Conveying & accumulation

Breakthrough aseptic line at CNP (sidebar)

Robotic wizardry

June 30, 2001

Leaders (UNIVERSAL TAXONOMY PW): Page 1644

Conveying & accumulation

Breakthrough aseptic line at CNP

Two new aseptic lines are capable of filling either 500-mL or 1-L brick pack cartons. FIFO accumulation system and remote robotic palletizing also shine.

June 30, 2001

Secondary Packaging

Bottom taper coddles fruit

This automated case taper has special gear that helps protect delicate fruit during distribution. It runs at a steady 54 boxes/min and can be forklifted from place to place.

June 30, 2001

Protective/transport packaging

IKON polishes image with air cradles

Inflated cushions now cradle toner cartridges in shipping packs from two remanufacturing plants, reducing damage while enhancing satisfaction.

June 30, 2001

Flexibles

Impressions from WestPack

The king is dead. . . What once was one of the most interesting and fun national shows deteriorated this year into what looked like urban renewal--there were so many empty spaces throughout the exhibit floor.

June 30, 2001

Controls & Machine Components

McKernan Packaging Clearing House: Product catalog

McKernan Packaging® (Reno, NV) has published a catalog describing packaging products and components available. For example, the detergent/soap packaging selection now features 43-mm, 20-oz HDPE containers.

June 30, 2001

Coding, Printing & Labeling

Carton labeler

Used for in-pack or on-pack promotional labels, Smyth Companies’ (Minneapolis, MN) Red Rock® high-speed carton labeler applies p-s labels at speeds to 100ꯠ labels/hr.

June 30, 2001

Secondary Packaging

Compact casepacker

With a footprint of 6’x9’, the Bergami C97 automatic case packer from ESS (Bangor, PA) uses mechanical drives on the tops and bottoms of cases to move them along.

June 30, 2001

Controls & Machine Components

Weigh-Tronix, Inc: Inventory control software

Weigh-Tronix (Fairmont, MN) has developed Piece Weight Look-Up (PWLU) software that is said to provide accurate, updated inventory counts by linking a part number/piece weight database to as many as 32 networked Weigh-Tronix digital counting scales.

June 30, 2001

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

Conflex Packaging Inc: Conflex Packaging Inc: Equipment data sheets

Three data sheets from Conflex (Milwaukee, WI) describe E-250 A automatic L-sealers, AdvantEdge™ 160 continuous-motion side-seal wrappers, and Servo-Flex™ 160 hf/f/s wrappers.

June 30, 2001

Protective/transport packaging

Cost savings drive changes

Inside the box thinking is yielding savings for Western Digital Corp., Lake Forest, CA, which changed its protective packaging in Nov. ’00 for a six-item line of hard drives sold in the United States.

June 30, 2001

Coding, Printing & Labeling

Allergen labeling

The Food and Drug Administration’s study indicating that dangerous allergens are not being properly listed on food labels stirred up a hornet’s nest. The agency released the “Statement of Policy for Labeling and Preventing Cross-Contact of Common Food Allergens,” and Rep.

June 30, 2001

Coding, Printing & Labeling

Survey shows mixed feelings on GE foods

An in-depth survey by the Center for Science in the Public Interest of consumer views on labeling of genetically engineered (GE) foods showed broad but limited support for labeling and demonstrated the difficulties of ensuring fairness in labeling.

June 30, 2001