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Olin notches easy opening for flexible packs

A small notch makes it easier for consumers to open Olin Pool Products' child-resistant, single-use, flexible packs of chlorine shock treatment products for swimming pools.

Flexible packs of chlorine shock treatment products for swimming pools maintain child-resistance while offering users an easy-op
Flexible packs of chlorine shock treatment products for swimming pools maintain child-resistance while offering users an easy-op

Since introducing a flexible film pack in the mid-'80s for its chlorine shock treatment products used in swimming pools, Olin Pool Products has fielded many toll-free telephone calls from consumers praising the pack. Often, however, the public's comments included this appeal: Please make the pack easier to open.

Because the product is classified as a hazardous material, packages were required to be child-resistant. Thus, the flexible packs required a scissors or knife to open. "We were receiving feedback from people who were saying we had a good package, but they'd sure appreciate it more if they could open it without using a tool. People said they were occasionally getting cuts on their hands."

That's according to Bob Seeley, manager of packaging engineering for Norwalk, CT-based Olin. The company produces the chemicals used to control algae and kill bacteria in swimming pools. The primary active ingredient in the product is calcium hypochlorite, which helps maintain the proper pH level in the pool. The granular product sold in the U.S. is manufactured at Olin's plant in Charleston, TN.

Seeley tells Packaging World that as a result of the comments, Olin management challenged packaging personnel to make the packs easier to open. Trouble was, they couldn't be too easy to open or else they wouldn't meet child-resistant concerns.

"We considered several alternatives," Seeley recalls. "Our competition uses a string, but we didn't like that because over time the chlorine in the product attacks the string and it deteriorates. We wanted to do something different. We decided to add a tear notch, which we've used for about a year now."

The tear notch is cut into the top seal of the 41/2"Wx11"H pack. The pack is used for three

1-lb product varieties: Super Sock It®, Sock It®, and hth® Shock.

'Tough' break

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