Spotted at the Point Five Packaging booth was a Modified Atmosphere Package for refrigerated heat-and-serve chicken introduced just recently through the Trader Joe’s chain of stores. Spring Glen Foods of Ephrata, PA, produces the 12-oz package on an Artemis MAP system, which is made by ARPAC for Point Five Packaging. Like other MAP systems, Point Five Packaging equipment replaces ambient air inside a package with inert gas mixtures (mainly nitrogen and carbon dioxide) so that refrigerated shelf life can extended. But what differentiates the Point Five Packaging approach is that its Shelf Life Booster technology does not include mechanical evacuation of ambient air in a package prior to backflush and sealing. Consequently, product texture and appearance are not negatively affected, and even the most delicate products can be packed, says Point Five Packaging. Residual oxygen levels achieved are down to 0.5% or less. In addition, the Shelf Life Booster method is said to work faster and more efficiently than competitive systems. PP/EVOH trays for the Spring Glen Foods line are supplied by CPT Plastics and EVOH-based coextruded lidding is from Plastopil.
Trade shows like PACK EXPO East are always great places to hear stories about new ways of doing things. One of today’s stories was told at the Garvey booth, where a vial-drying system for pharmaceutical manufacturers was on display. The glass vials in need of drying are those that are stored in either frozen or refrigerated conditions prior to labeling. Until recently, drug makers would put these vials in a batch drying room so that when condensation formed, the wet vials would have a chance to dry off before labels had to be applied. Sometimes this might take up to 24 hours—hardly an efficient approach. Not to mention that it likely shortens shelf life because it means time out of refrigeration for the drug product. What Garvey showed at PACK EXPO East was essentially a large accumulation conveyor that channels ambient air down through the massed vials so that they can dry off quickly—as in 15 minutes or less. Soon to be applied commercially in a number of pharmaceutical plants, the vial drying system appears to be an idea whose time has come.
At the PACK EXPO East Innovation Stage, Kevin Keefe of Schneider Packaging Equipment’s Pro Adjust described that firm’s innovative tool for automatic adjustment of most major packaging systems. This approach revolves around Power Pack Plus units that utilize absolute encoder motors so that their position is always known. These Power Packs are bolted onto new equipment or machines that are already in the field. Also essential is a teach pendant on which operators select the desired SKU recipe so that the Power Packs can adjust each axis automatically. Each Power Pack can be manually moved with the hand wheel or jogged using the remote hand-held teach pendant to teach new positions or adjust for material fluctuations. In his Innovation Stage presentation, Keefe described how the Pro Adjust concept could help manufacturers from having to add overtime, extra shifts, or even additional packaging lines because it so effectively improves machine uptime.
