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

Progress on standards

On a gray day in mid-March, engineers from eight packaging end users, 21 machinery builders and 12 controls suppliers filed into a conference room in a downtown Chicago skyscraper.

April 30, 2000

Leaders (UNIVERSAL TAXONOMY PW): Page 1713

Feeding/inserting/unscrambling

Packager survey: details & prices, yes; e-commerce, no (sidebar)

Capsule reviews

April 30, 2000

Conveying & accumulation

Temporary plugs aid aseptic filling

Aseptic filling of PET containers in Japan includes the unusual step of temporarily plugging bottles so that H2O2 sprayed inside will more effectively sterilize bottle interiors.

April 30, 2000

Coding, Printing & Labeling

EPA labeling proposal bugs industry

Agency proposal would ban numerous terms from labels of anti-microbial products—and even trade names.

April 30, 2000

Conveying & accumulation

Versatile line for aseptics or CSD

Swiss bottler installs a PET line capable of filling either microbiologically sensitive beverages under aseptic conditions or carbonated soft drinks that don’t require asepsis. In its aseptic mode, the line fully immerses bottles and caps in the sterilant.

April 30, 2000

Blisters/clamshells/skin packaging

Containers capture consumer convenience

Surf wax in a deodorant-like container, an ergonomic waste container for biohazardous materials and a snowmobile lubricant in a jug designed for mittened hands are among this year’s NACD award winners.

April 30, 2000

Flexibles

Grape grower adds 'zip' to bag

A new bag with a sliding zipper keeps a grower’s grapes unitized and adds consumer convenience. The gussetted bags also display well on store shelves.

April 30, 2000

Secondary Packaging

More conferences for EastPack

Several groups are planning conference sessions during EastPack in Philadelphia. Some are planned for Monday, the day before the show opens on Tuesday, May 23.

April 30, 2000

Coding, Printing & Labeling

Sleeve label dresses exotic Chai teas (sidebar)

Chai label ‘steams’ to bottle

April 30, 2000

Labels

Sleeve label dresses exotic Chai teas

Celestial Seasonings’ stunning full-body sleeve label provides marketing advantages for tapered, square bottles of hot-filled Mountain Chai tea lattes.

April 30, 2000

Conveying & accumulation

New code's legibility smears its predecessor

Casa de Oro Foods’ new date coder produces a clean, legible date code on taco-shell cartons, tortilla bags and corrugated shippers. Downtime is minimal.

April 30, 2000

Flexible packaging

Packaging of chicken wings takes off

When Canadian poultry producer Olymel automated the packaging of its chicken wings, it was able to redeploy 12 operators formerly required for manual packaging.

April 30, 2000

Conveying & accumulation

Shipping problems warrant 'krafty' solution

Mathews Conveyor saves time, money and reputation by re-evaluating its void-fill packaging for the shipment of small spare parts.

April 30, 2000