Rigid: Page 275

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

Vf/f/s system

Eliminating forming tubes and sealing jaws, Wright Machinery (Uxbridge, England) employs a carousel to carry formed bags through separate filling and sealing stations on its Pacwright 200 vf/f/s system.

August 31, 1999

Converting equipment

Flexible tubes

By using injection molding rather than extrusion and reducing the number of steps in the converting process, Zestron Research (Mt. Eliza, Australia) says it has cut the costs of squeeze tubes by more than 50%.

August 31, 1999

Containers

How European culture drives packaging (sidebar)

Environment goals tougher

August 31, 1999

Sustainability

Putting a labeler to the test

Test kit maker Artel uses a new labeler to speed production and meet FDA standards.

August 31, 1999

Conveying & accumulation

Y2K fever makes bulk foods sales sizzle

For the millions of people worried about the new millennium, timing is everything. The race is on to obtain bulk foods packaged with oxygen absorbers.

August 31, 1999

Containers

Machine vision affords economic inspection

Inexpensive machine vision frees up two workers, provides 100% on-line inspection for cosmetics producer.

August 31, 1999

Feeding/inserting/unscrambling

Vitamin packer wins new production in Las Vegas

Naturally Vitamins' president didn't go to Las Vegas to gamble, but a visit to Pack Expo there in '97 led to purchases that doubled packaging output and productivity.

August 31, 1999

Flexibles

How European culture drives packaging

The Intl. Steel Packaging Congress 1999, held during interpack 99, illuminated ideas for European manufacturers at the turn of the century. Many points will resound also in the U.S.

August 31, 1999

Filling/capping, liquid & viscous

Debating the future of packaging machine control

PC vs PLC -- Six packaging machinery builders debate the pros and cons of controlling packaging machinery with either computers or programmable logic controllers.

August 31, 1999

Containers

Supplier news: Appointments, promotions

Tubed Products, Inc. (Easthampton, MA): James L. Kropke, sr. account executive, sales.

August 31, 1999

Secondary Packaging

Self-saturating swab means no-mess prep

A nurse using an iodine swab to prep a patient for surgery or IV insertion can do so quickly and cleanly with the self-saturating Betadine® PrepStick(TM) applicator from The Purdue Frederick Co., Norwalk, CT.

August 31, 1999

Converting equipment

A first in peelable foil membranes

Fruit Bites, a 140-g can of retorted sliced fruit pieces from Australia's Golden Circle Ltd., won two gold medals in the May 1999 "Can of the Year" competition sponsored by England's The Canmaker magazine.

August 31, 1999