M&M’s goes upscale in "toe"-stabilized cartons, peel open/reclosing film bags

Pressure-sensitive, peel opening/reclosable film bags and a patent-pending hourglass-shaped folding paperboard carton with a pair of stabilizing “toes” are the packaging components Mars Snackfood US, Hackettstown, NJ, is using to appeal to women with its new candy line, M&M’s® Premiums.
On the packaging line, vertical form-fill-seal equipment from Bosch Packaging, New Richmond, WI, fills the color glazed candy nuggets into clear, reclosable fin-seal bags. The reclosing feature of the bags consists of a clear peel/seal pressure-sensitive label/flap from Spear Systems, Mason, OH. When pulled, the flap reveals an oval diecut in the bag through which the candies can be dispensed. Graphics on the reclosable label/flap, printed in silver and white, carry the promotional line, “simply fabulous...always fun,” and an “m” in a silver circle directing consumers to “pull here!”
Operators manually pack each pouch into an arcuately scored hourglass-sidewalled, 6-ounce (170.1 gram) folding carton erected and hot-melt sealed on equipment from Kodiak Cartoners, Fresno, CA. Cartons are also manually packed into 12-count cases.
In addition to concave sidewalls and convex front and back panels, the 3 X 7 X1 inch carton sports patented “toes” or tabs that extend from its foot at the back to help it stand upright. Finishing touches on the carton include an easy-open/reclosing tab and an oval window to showcase the iridescent candy nuggets. Packaging/product targets “savvy social” 25-year-old career woman who likes to have fun, according to Ryan Bowling, spokesperson for Mars North America.
Follow-up: At Bosch, Sales Department, +1 715-246-6511, sales.vertical@bosch.com; Link: http://pa.bosch.com/boschvertical-us/eng/index.asp; at Kodiak, Jack Tanney, corporate and manufacturing, +1 559-266-4844, jtanney@kodiakcartoners.com; Link: www.kodiakcartoners.com; at Spear, Sales Department, +1 513-459-1100, info@spearsystem.com; Link: www.spearsystem.com.

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Pitcher-shaped bottle with dispensing closure pours fresh image

Change from 96- to 89-ounce high-density polyethylene (HDPE)/nylon Easy Pour Pitcher boosts functionality, shelf appeal for orange juice from Pepsico’s Tropicana Manufacturing Co., Inc., Bradenton, FL.
Handled, iridescent white, blowmolded jug from Graham Packaging Co., LP, York, PA, with patent-pending, reclosable cap from Bapco Closures Ltd., Guildford, Surrey, UK, begins rolling out nationwide after two years’ gestation.
One-piece dispensing closure relies on Bapco’s proprietary BAP Technology, which enables resin, believed to be polypropylene, to fill mold in one flowing stream. Flip-top closure with foil lining snaps onto container. Tab on front of flip top aids lifting. Beneath flip top, perforated plug with ring pull, simplifies initial opening since gentle tug removes both plug, foil inner seal in action similar to that used with closures on gabletop cartons.
To reclose, consumer simply pushes flip top down until it seats. Audible click ensures secure reclosure. Oval closure with embossed Tropicana logo, reclosure instructions in French, English, measures 2.25 x 1.25 inches, sits about 0.5-inch above neck finish. “We recently changed our bottle to improve functionality with a new ergonomic design and snap cap,” states spokesperson from Tropicana, adding, “The size of the bottle changed…based on the optimum configuration to incorporate the features of the new pitcher. Our consumer research indicates that, despite the smaller size, there was no change in the perceived value of the product because of the benefits of the added features.”
Sleek, curvy container sports front, back in-mold labels color-coded to match closure, flavor, such as green for Some Pulp Homestyle, blue for No Pulp Calcium, orange for No Pulp Original. Front label boasts, “New Easy Pour Pitcher” in oval graphic element, “Guaranteed Fresh Taste” in circle with freshness stamp with inkjet-coded date.
Follow-up: At Bapco, Sales Department, +44 1483 243 310, info@bapcoclosures.com; Link: www.bapcoclosures.com; at Graham, Sales Department, +1 717-849-8500, graham.foodbeverage@grahampackaging.com; Link: www.grahampackaging.com.

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O-I shutters Italian glass container plant

Owens-Illinois, Inc. (O-I), Perrysburg, OH, will close glass container factory in Castel Maggiore, Italy, at end of 2008 to reduce energy consumption, production costs.
According to Jean-Marc Arrambourg, president, O-I Europe, “The decision to close this facility was driven by our ongoing global asset utilization process…” All 100 employees receive offers of positions at other Italian plants.

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Packaging delivers product info to consumers via cell phone

Cell phone scan of two-dimensional Data Matrix code on package gives shopper access to in-store promotions, recipes, and other information while shopping.
One early user, Springer Mountain Farms, Mt. Airy, GA, opts for two-side-printed label on stretch-wrapped foam trays of chicken to ensure readability of code, hand-applies labels on seven of roughly 300 stock keeping units.
Scanning Data Matrix code links to mini website where shopper can connect to product information hotline, order cookbook or respond to special offer like ring tone download. New level of interaction between consumer, brand at retail shelf depends on Snap2C technology from Graphic Packaging International, Inc. (GPI), Marietta, GA. For cell phones not equipped with camera, code reading software, text message links consumer to portal. GPI creates code for reproduction on packaging or collateral materials as well as mini website with help of turnkey portal from Augme, New York, NY.
In cases where GPI supplies packaging, it also prints code. “By scanning Mobile Tags…shoppers can link to the Springer Mountain Farms website to review recipes to be sure they have everything needed to cook the meal before leaving the store,” explains Charles Brignac, marketing manager of Retail Packaging Solutions at Graphic Packaging. “With today’s high gas prices and limited time, consumers want new tools to make their shopping trips more productive,” he says, adding, “Using Snap2C enhancements…is a breakthrough in delivering promotional messages directly to consumers. It creates real-time marketing connections…at the point-of-sale…and at the point-of-use.” Snap2C interactive technology gives shoppers immediate access to brand owner websites where they can download product information, assembly instructions, entertainment like songs, videos, movie previews, as well as participate in sweepstakes, loyalty programs, surveys.
Follow-up: Charles Brignac, +1 770-795-3851, charles.brignac@graphicpkg.com; Link: www.snap2c.com.

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Startup focuses on bio-based plastics, adhesives

Green chemistry company Segetis, Inc., Minneapolis, MN, focuses on commercializing renewable polymers from nonfood agricultural, forestry feedstocks.
Segetis’s proprietary processes produce binary monomers, resulting in industrial chemicals, plastics that equal price, performance of petrochemical alternatives. Potential bioproducts include bioplastics, surfactants, plasticizers, adhesives. James Stoppert leads commercialization efforts as president/ceo of company, which recently received $15 million in funding from Khosla Ventures, Menlo Park, CA. Stoppert comes to Segetis from Cargill, where he led industrial bioproducts business unit.
Follow-up: Snehal Desai, business vp, +1 763-795-7242; Link: www.segetis.com.

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PACK EXPO preview: Palletizers run faster

Model A1800 robotic palletizer from Columbia Machine, Inc./Columbia/Okura LLC, Vancouver, WA, moves product at high speed.
Exhibit at PACK EXPO International, 9-13 November 2008, McCormick Place, Chicago, IL, also includes SP4000 high-level palletizer configured to showcase soft-turn infeed, capable of handling up to 60 cases/minute. Touch-less turning at 90, 180 or 270 degrees gently handles fragile items, provides labels-out orientation to maximize throughput speed while minimizing product damage. For increased load-building flexibility, stop-less gap technology in row former combined with bi-parting stripper apron make it possible to form patterns with gaps in both directions. Columbia also plans hands-on demo of Product Manager Software, which allows operators to add or modify patterns, view built-in production reports, adjust variable frequency drive, timer settings through the operator interface.
Follow-up: Sales Department, +1 360-694-1501, pallsales@colmac.com; Link: www.palletizing.com.

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Foaming coffee topper pumps up beverage excitement

Mechanical foamer, composed of polyethylene/polypropylene base, pump, generates foam for coffee.
Easy-to-use package from Rexam Airspray BV, Alkmaar, The Netherlands, demonstrates potential for extending use of foamers for household products to food use. According to Casper Kleiman, product manager, Personal Care Division, “Because all materials we use are already food-approved, we don’t have to change anything to our foamers [for food applications]. Our systems can be adapted to the properties of different liquids,” he says, adding, “It is easily adapted to the coffee foam formulation.” Patented EZi foamer mixes liquid, air without use of propellants by creating foam during downstroke (actuation), mixing precise ratios of air, liquid in controlled manner. As a plus, Kleiman notes, “Our new EZi foamer is ‘squeeze-operated’ – it creates the foam when the consumer squeezes the bottle.” In positioning package for beverage products, Kleiman says, “We realized the potential of the specialty coffee market, in the US and around the world.” While company declines to share names of end-users, Kleiman confirms approach “is convenient, portable, eco-friendly, and cost efficient for consumers. Plus,” he smiles, “it’s fun to use. And when a product is fun to use, consumer trial and repurchase rates are enhanced.”
Follow-up: Netherlands Sales Department, +31 72 541 4666, airspray.nl@rexam.com; US Sales Department, +1 954-977-7750, airspray.us@rexam.com; Link: www.rexamairspray.com.

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Huhtamäki refocuses on packaging business

Huhtamäki Oyj, Espoo, Finland, considers sale of rigid plastic consumer goods operations so it can focus on its packaging business.
“Rigid plastic consumer goods operations, for the most part, do not meet our criteria for financial performance, and its profitability has been below Huhtamäki average,” says Jukka Moisio, ceo. “We have good positions in smooth and rough molded fiber products, release films, flexible packaging, foodservice paper cups and other products based on our paper forming technology,” he notes, adding, “In these operations we have strong know how, technology platforms and business concepts that allow continued competitive advantage.”
Follow-up: Link: www.huhtamaki.com.

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Perfed stickpack updates tea bag concept

Bistrozucker, Munich, Germany, extends expertise in stickpack packaging of sugar to tea.
Collaboration with suppliers produces stickpack tea “bag,” or Tpod. Integrated packaging line from Bosch Packaging Technology’s Sigpack Systems, Neuhausen, Switzerland, forms, fills, seals microperforated foil laminate from Alcan Packaging Food, Paris, France.
Memory property of foil enables stickpack to return to cylindrical shape after filling. To protect freshness, flavor of tea, equipment individually wraps each stickpack in Pull Pack or traditional pouch secondary packaging. Easy-open Pull Pack cleanly splits apart when one end and fin seal are pulled in opposite directions.
Follow-up: At Sigpack, Holger Botsch, product management, +41 52 674-8928, holger.botsch@bosch.com; Link: www.boschpackaging.com; at Alcan, Konstantinos Mazarakis, +49 6174 968 586, Konstantinos.Mazarakis@alcan.com; Link: www.alcanpackaging.com.

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Graphic Packaging sews up fiber sourcing certification

Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Inc. (SFI), Arlington, VA, certifies converting facilities, kraft mills owned by Graphic Packaging International, Inc. (GPI), Marietta, GA.
Certification also provides leading producer of paperboard folding cartons, beverage/food packaging, multiwall bags, specialty packaging, coated unbleached kraft, recycled-coated board with credentials to meet customers’ sustainability requirements. According to David Scheible, president/ceo, Graphic Packaging, “Achieving SFI fiber sourcing certification is an important part of our overall commitment to Sustainability. It keeps us continuously improving and strengthening our efforts to manage our business according to responsible environmental policy.” Kathy Abusow, president/ceo, SFI, adds, “Demand for products from responsibly managed forests is increasing worldwide. At a time when just 10% of the world’s forests are independently certified, Graphic Packaging has taken a leadership role by supporting global efforts to improve forest practices.”
Follow-up: At Graphic Packaging, Lois Becton, director, Corporate Communications, +1 770-644-3515; Link: www.graphicpkg.com; at SFI, Kathy Abusow, +1 703-875-9500, ext. 25, Kathy.Abusow@sfiprogram.org; Link: www.sfiprogram.org.

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Rohm and Haas debuts two resin technologies for inks

Pigment dispersing resins from Rohm and Haas, Philadelphia, PA, result in water-based inks for printing film, paper substrates.
Morcryl 410, Morcryl 460 PLUS resins “yield higher strength dispersions with better viscosity control and improved resolubility and compatibility, which improves press runnability, efficiency, and cost management,” says Holly Anderson, senior sales executive/marketing manager, Graphic Arts at Rohm and Haas. In addition, she says, resins “…offer superior color density with stability, six-to-one pigment-to-binder ratios, 40% pigment dispersions, a choice between conventional or neutral letdowns, and performance with fewer adjustments for different color requirements…” This means less resin is needed to make higher strength inks, fewer press-side additions, better consistency with offshore pigments.
Follow-up: Laura Hadden, director of communications, Specialty Materials, +1 215-592-3054, lhadden@rohmhaas.com; Link: www.rohmhaas.com.

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Converters restart ops, packagers mobilize Hurricane Gustav aid

Packaging converters like Temple-Inland Inc., Austin, TX; Boise Inc., Boise, ID; prepare to restart operations in area affected by Hurricane Gustav.
Temple-Inland containerboard mills in Bogalusa, LA; Orange, TX; which began shutting down 31 August 2008 in advance of storm, escape unscathed. Temple-Inland estimates shutdown will reduce containerboard production for quarter about 18,000 tons.
Containerboard mill in DeRidder, LA, owned by Boise, also emerges undamaged. Curtailment at DeRidder reduces linerboard output for quarter by about 6,500 tons. “The lessons learned from Hurricane Rita in 2005 served this facility well,” says Robert Strenge, svp, Manufacturing at Boise.
Meanwhile brand owners mobilize aid for evacuees, disaster relief workers. Donations include 302,568 half-litre bottles of Ozarka, Ice Mountain Natural Spring Water from Nestle Waters North America, Greenwich, CT; three truckloads of products valued at more than $150,000 from Kraft Foods Inc., Northfield, IL; bottled water from Diageo, Stamford, CT; Georgia Crown Distributing, McDonough, GA.
As part of its Spirit of the Americas Humanitarian Aid program, established in aftermath of September 11th attacks, Diageo also supplies two industrial-size generators, which were staged in Jackson, MS, for quick deployment. One eliminates need to evacuate patients from Capitol Home Rehabilitation and Nursing facility in Baton Rouge, LA. Second generator powers Vermillion Parish Sheriff’s Office Command Center, Parish Administration building in Abbeville, LA, maintains area’s emergency communications capabilities.

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Portola files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

Portola Packaging, Inc., Batavia, IL, files Chapter 11 petition for prepackaged reorganization plan after receiving support from lenders, bondholders.
Day-to-day business operations continue under $79 million debtor-in-possession financing. Petition filed in US Bankruptcy Court for District of Delaware calls for $180 million reduction in long-term debt, payment of trade creditors, suppliers, employees. Under plan, holders of 8.25% Senior Notes due 2012 receive common stock in reorganized company. Portola expects to emerge from Chapter 11 in mid-October 2008 with Wayzata Investment Partners LLC, Wayzata, MN, as controlling shareholder.
Board of directors, reduced to Brian Bauerbach, president/ceo; John LaBahn, cfo; Kim Wehrenberg, general counsel, oversees restructuring of manufacturer of closures, containers, capping equipment, blowmolding tools/molds. Subsidiary Portola Tech International specializes in plastic packaging components for cosmetic, fragrance, toiletries industry.
Follow-up: Marketing Department, +1 630-406-8440, info@portpack.com; Link: www.portpack.com.

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OnTheDrawingBoard: Cinnamon additive extends shelf life

Cinnamon oil/wax-coated paper inhibits mold growth, according to research posted on website of Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry on 16 July 2008.
Study done at Department of Analytical Chemistry, Aragón Institute of Engineering Research, CPS-University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain, shows 6% essential oil in active coating prevents growth of common spoilage organism, Rhizopusstolonifer, on slices of white bread. Inhibiting effect declines as level of essential oil declines with 4% exhibiting strong inhibiting effect, 2% exhibiting some inhibiting effect, 1% showing no effect. Inhibition does not depend on direct contact of product/package, but release of active compounds, primarily cinnamaldehyde, through headspace.
Follow-up: Link: http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/sample.cgi/jafcau/2008/56/i15/html/jf800699q.html.

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ShortRuns: CCL Container…RockTenn…Crown…

CCL Container, Hermitage, PA, starts up 100,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in San Jose Iturbide Guanajuato, Mexico, in September 2008; two lines, capable of producing up to 80 million aluminum aerosol cans, beverage bottles/year, handle top-to-bottom container shaping, eight-color lithography for cosmetic, personal-care, healthy lifestyle product, pharmaceutical industries…RockTenn, Norcross, GA, raises prices for Carton Mate bleached paperboard products $50/ton, effective 4 October 2008…To support strong demand in Eastern Europe, Crown Holdings, Inc., Philadelphia, PA, plans to build bevcan plant in Kechnec, Slovakia, scheduled for startup in 4Q09 with initial capacity of 750 million cans/year…Clearly Canadian Brands, Vancouver, BC, Canada, taps Cott Corp., Mississauga, ON, Canada, as bottler for products in 20-ounce, 1-litre polyethylene terephthalate (PET) containers destined for North American distribution; company’s sparkling flavored waters continue to sell in traditional glass bottles…Ahlstrom Corp., Helsinki, Finland, acquires remaining 40% of paper manufacturing joint venture with Votorantim Cellulose e Papel, Jacarei, Brazil, [10 May 2007, Executive Brief]; total value of acquisition stands at €110.0 (US$160.0) million; assets include paper machine, offline coater, finishing equipment…Multifilm Packaging Corp., Elgin, IL, completes management buyout from former parent, Constantia Flexibles, Vienna, Austria, for undisclosed sum; manufacturer of piece wraps, twist film for confectionery, adds eight-color flexographic printing press, plans to enter packaging markets for nutrition bars…

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Changeover: DieterBakic…Adept…

Markus Gralka joins DieterBakicEnterprises, Munich, Germany, as vp Sales; Gralka assumes new position with supplier of stock packaging for pharmaceuticals, cosmetics on 1 October 2008, arrives from previous slots in folding carton industry…John Dulchinos, president, Adept Technology, Inc., Livermore, CA, adds ceo duties, succeeding Robert Bucher, who has been named executive chairman of board of directors; Dulchinos, who joined robot manufacturer in 1987, also becomes member of board of directors; Michael Kelly, former chairman, continues on board as lead independent director…

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Upstream: MW Steam-Pack…

Microwave Steam-Pack 2008 conference (www.packaginggroup.com), 23-24 September 2008 at Crowne Plaza, Monroe Township, NJ, (near Princeton) includes half-day courses on Understanding Microwave Packaging, Packaging Foods for the Microwave Oven, day-long seminar on development of microwave-steamed products…

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Copyright 2006 Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute (PMMI), 4350 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 600, Arlington, Virginia (USA) 22203.

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