Discover your next big idea at PACK EXPO Las Vegas this September
Experience a breakthrough in packaging & processing and transform your business with solutions from 2,300 suppliers spanning all industries.
REGISTER NOW & SAVE

Pre-made bags bring consistency

For a more consistent look for its line of frozen Mexican foods, Ruiz Food Products of Dinuba, CA, is using the Promobag(TM) from Robbie Mfg. (Lenexa, KS).

Pw 20202 Foramorcon 1

Ruiz had been using an expanded polystyrene tray with a polyvinyl chloride overwrap and hand-applying labels to the top and bottom of the package. "It was a labor-intensive procedure, and you don't get a lot of accuracy, so it's not the best presentation," says Bruce Woodlief, director of marketing at Ruiz. Woodlief says the labels often weren't straight and sometimes there would be material bunched on the bottom of the package with a label over it. This made the label difficult to read.

Now the burritos, tamales and other products are hand-placed onto an EPS tray from Pactiv Inc.(Lake Forest, IL). A conveyor moves the filled trays to a Formost (Woodinville, WA) bagging machine. The Promobag is made of 75-ga Clysar® polyolefin shrink film from DuPont (Wilmington, DE). The tray is automatically placed into the bag, and it's heat-sealed and shrunk. Robbie flexo-prints the bags in six colors with the artwork predistorted to accommodate for shrinkage.

In addition to providing a better-looking package, Woodlief says the packaging materials are close to the same cost as the old overwrap and stickers. Although Ruiz did purchase a new machine, Woodlief says the improved look of the packages and the desire to upgrade its system justifies the cost of the machine.

Ruiz now packages its entire line of 11 El Monterey® Quick Classics products--available nationally and retailing for $2.50 to $2.99 a tray--in the Promobag. Woodlief says that no numbers are available on sales, but reaction to the change has been positive.

Coding, Marking, and Labeling Innovations Report
Explore our editor-curated report featuring cutting-edge coding, labeling, and RFID innovations from PACK EXPO 2024. Discover high-speed digital printing, sustainable label materials, automated labeling systems, and advanced traceability solutions that are transforming packaging operations across industries.
Access Report
Coding, Marking, and Labeling Innovations Report
Conveying Innovations Report
Editors report on distinguishing characteristics that define each new product and collected video demonstrating the equipment or materials as displayed at the show. This topical report, winnowed from nearly 300 PACK EXPO collective booth visits, represents a categorized, organized account of individual items that were selected based on whether they were deemed to be both new, and truly innovative, based on decades of combined editorial experience in experiencing and evaluating PACK EXPO products.
Take me there
Conveying Innovations Report