CPAC11_2010

DECEMBER 2010 | $10 www.canadianpackaging.com

Mark Lichtblau, Corporate Vice-President, Haremar Plastic Manufacturing Limited

Publication mail agreement #40070230. Return Canadian undeliverables to: Canadian Packaging, Circulation Department, 7th floor, 1 Mount Pleasant Road, Toronto, ON, M4Y 2Y5

Cheryl Babcock, Vice-President

BAGGING TO DIFFER The plastic art and science behind Haremar’s steady success

Story on page 22

ART DECO Page 16

IN THIS ISSUE: PLASTICS IN PACKAGING • LABELING • PACKAGING FOR FRESHNESS

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Ink Jet. Laser. Thermal Transfer. Labelers. Track & Trace. Supplies. Parts & Service.

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UPFRONT

AGENTS ORANGE DECEMBER 2010 VOLUME 63, NO. 12

SENIOR PUBLISHER Stephen Dean • (416) 764-1497 stephen.dean@packaging.rogers.com EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Lisa Wichmann • (416) 764-1491 lisa.wichmann@rci.rogers.com EDITOR George Guidoni • (416) 764-1505 george.guidoni@packaging.rogers.com FEATURES EDITOR Andrew Joseph • (416) 764-1529 andrew.joseph@packaging.rogers.com ART DIRECTOR Stewart Thomas • (416) 764-1547 ADVERTISING SALES Munira Khan • (416) 764-1507 munira.khan@packaging.rogers.com PRODUCTION MANAGER Natalie Chyrsky • (416) 764-1686 natalie.chyrsky@rci.rogers.com CIRCULATION MANAGER Celia Ramnarine • (416) 932-5071 rogers@cstonecanada.com ROGERS PUBLISHING LIMITED Brian Segal, President & CEO ROGERS BUSINESS & PROFESSIONAL PUBLISHING John Milne, Senior Vice-President Paul Williams, Vice-President, Financial Publishing, Brand Extensions & Online Services Keith Fulford, Director of Audience Development (416) 764-3878 • keith.fulford@rci.rogers.com Tim Dimopoulos, Executive Publisher, Industrial Group.

(416) 764-1499 • tim.dimopoulos@rci.rogers.com CORPORATE SALES Sandra Parente, General Manager, Corporate Sales (416) 764-3818 • sandra.parente@rci.rogers.com WEB David Carmichael, General Manager, Online Operations (416) 764-3820 • david.carmichael@rci.rogers.com RESEARCH Tricia Benn, Senior Director, Rogers Connect Market Research (416) 764-3856 • tricia.benn@rci.rogers.com EVENTS Stephen T. Dempsey, General Manager, Conferences & Events (416) 764-1635 • steve.dempsey@mtg.rogers.com HOW TO REACH US: Canadian Packaging, established 1947, is published monthly by Rogers Publishing Ltd., a division of Rogers Media Inc. One Mount Pleasant Road, Toronto, ON M4Y 2Y5, Tel: (416) 764-2000

When William Shakespeare penned one of his most famous quotes in Henry VI (Part 2) with an earnest pledge, “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers,” the great playwright was clearly onto something well ahead of his time.

And while the moral standards of modern civil society discourage us from recommending such harsh treatment for legal professionals who, after all, are just doing their jobs, every once in a while a case comes along that seems to set new contemptuous lows for the profession’s often-tattered reputation that, like it or not, is often of its own making.

These days, not even packaging is immune to the lure of unscrupulous, no-holds-barred “if you can’t beat them, sue them” legal modus operandi that puts far higher premium on legalese wordplay than common decency and sense.

Case in point: the raging legal spat between The Hershey Company and Mars Inc.—North America’s two largest manufacturers of chocolate candy—over the alleged attempt

by Mars to mimic the packaging of its Dove peanutbutter Promises squares after Hershey’s Reese’s brand of peanutbutter cups.

Specifically, Hershey appears to be incensed over its competitor’s use of orange, brown and tan colors on the Promises outer wraps that it has used to market its Reese’s cups for decades, claiming trademark dilution and infringement, false designation of origin, and unfair competition.

Or just about everything else short of ethnic cleansing and illegal dumping of radioactive waste, judging by the stern accusations of high-level corporate wrongdoing in the Hershey lawsuit filed a couple of weeks ago in Harrisburg, Pa.

COVER STORY

EDITORIAL AND ADVERTISING OFFICES: One Mount Pleasant Road, Toronto, ON M4Y 2Y5, Tel: (416) 764-2000; Fax (416) 764-1755.

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DECEMBER 2010

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SUBSCRIBER SERVICES: To subscribe, renew your subscription or to change your address or information, please visit us at www.rogersb2bmedia.com/cpac SUBSCRIPTION PRICE PER YEAR (INCLUDING ANNUAL BUYERS’ GUIDE): Canada $72.10 per year, Outside Canada $106.00 US per year, Single Copy Canada $10.00. Canadian Packaging is published 11 times per year except for occasional combined, expanded or premium issues, which count as two subscription issues.

Contents copyright © 2006 by Rogers Publishing Limited, may not be reprinted without permission. Canadian Packaging accepts no responsibility or liability for claims made for any product or service reported or advertised in this issue. Canadian Packaging receives unsolicited materials, (including letters to the editor, press releases, promotional items and images) from time to time. Canadian Packaging, its affiliates and assignees may use, reproduce, publish, re-publish, distribute, store and archive such unsolicited submissions in whole or in part in any form or medium whatsoever, without compensation of any sort.

BAGGING TO DIFF ER The plastic art and

CIRCULATION INQUIRIES: Cornerstone Publishing Services (416) 932-5071 We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities. Canadian Packaging is indexed in the Canadian Magazine Index by Micromedia Limited. Back copies are available in microform from Macromedia Ltd., 158 Pearl St., Toronto, ON M5H 1L3 MAIL PREFERENCES: Occasionally we make our subscriber list available to reputable companies whose products or services may be of interest to you. If you do not want your name to be made available, please contact us at rogers@cstonecanada.com or update your profile at www.rogersb2bmedia.com/cpac. Our environmental policy is available at: www. rogerspublishing.ca/environment RETURN UNDELIVERABLE ITEMS TO: Canadian Packaging, Circulation Dept., 8th Floor One Mount Pleasant Road, Toronto, ON M4Y 2Y5, ISSN 0008-4654

Leading Canadian garbage bags producer striking gold in the broader plastic film packaging markets.

Cover photography by Sandra Strangemore.

FEATURES

Page 16

IN PACKAGING •

LABELING • PACKAGING

FOR FRESHNESS

14

DEPARTMENTS & COLUMNS 5 6-7 9 10 12 28 29 29 30

DECEMBER 2010 • CANADIAN PACKAGING

Bagging Rights By Andrew Joseph

Story on page 22

ART DECO IN THIS ISSUE: PLASTICS

Canadian Packaging, USPS 010-576 is published monthly by Rogers Media.

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science behind Harema r’s steady success

Not to be outdone, Mars had filed a preemptive suit a couple of days earlier in Virginia asking the federal judge to dismiss Hershey’s claims, summarized in the cease-and-desist letter sent by Hershey’s assistant general counsel Louis Douqette in early November as: “It can come as no surprise to Mars that Hershey, having objected to the color of the individual Dove peanutbutter chocolate wrappers and filed a counterclaim to obtain a change of that color, would have a serious problem with Mars revising the outer package to add orange as a substantial background color.”

Well that’s just too bad, according to Mars’ countersuit contention that, “Orange is commonly used by third parties on packaging as a generic f lavor designation for peanuts, peanutbutter or peanutbutter flavoring.”

So there you have it—dozens of highly-paid legal eagles going back and forth arguing over who owns intellectual rights to the orange color in hopes of proving what amounts to outright theft of intellectual property, no less.

Frivolous? Yes, absurdly so, but in our sue-happy society, legal madness often has its own unstoppable momentum—akin to watching an unfolding trainwreck run its tragic course.

Neither Mars nor Hershey will come out of this convoluted mess smelling sweet—hence plague on both their houses, as it were—but claiming to have some sort of divine intellectual ownership of a color that has existed in nature since creation is the height of arrogance and, ultimately, a sad waste of intellectual resources that could be far better used to fight real intellectual property theft, counterfeiting, knockoff manufacturing and other such scourges of global trade that cost the world’s legit CPG (consumer packaged goods) brand-owners billions of dollars per year.

But that would be just too intellectual for some, no?

UPFRONT By George Guidoni NEWSPACK Packaging news round-up from across Canada.

FIRST GLANCE New technologies for packaging applications.

ECO-PACK NOW All the latest on environmental sustainability. imPACt A monthly insight from the PAC. NOTES & QUOTES Notable company briefs and updates.

PEOPLE Packaging world career moves.

EVENTS Upcoming industry functions.

CHECKOUT By Jeff May Joe Public speaks out on packaging hits and misses.

NEXT ISSUE: 2011 Packaging Machinery Specifications Manual

SUPPLY TO DEMAND By Del Williams Print-on-Demand labeling finally lives up to early promise.

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HOME TO ROOST By George Guidoni Quebec poultry processor comes out of the cold with winning recipes.

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IN IT FOR THE LONG RUN

By George Guidoni Toronto label manufacturer stresses unrivaled customer service to fuel ambitious expansion into the U.S. markets.

FAMILY TIES

By Andrew Joseph No job too big or too small for familyoperated PET bottles manufacturer.

BREAKING THE ICE

By Andrew Joseph Harvesting icebergs like catching lightning in a bottle for Canadian spirits distiller.

WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM • 5

NEWSPACK

Spice producer serves up trendy seasoning mixes

Cascades’ Green Christmas

Spicing up popular comfort meat and poultry dishes with trendy f lavors has just gotten a whole lot easier for Canadian home chefs, thanks to McCormick Canada’s recent launch of six new Club House Flavourful Recipe Mix blends of fresh, authentic spices and herbs that are clearly displayed through clever, leaf-shaped seethrough windows built into the bottomright corners of the newly-designed, 28-gram plastic stand-up pouches filled at the spice producer’s central manufacturing plant in London, Ont. Comprising hip modern f lavors such as Lemon Ginger Beef Stir-fry, Tuscan Chicken, Cajun Chicken, Hickory BBQ Ribs, Lemon Thyme Pork and Balsamic Chicken, the new fat-, transfat-, MSG- and artificial color/ f lavor-free mixes are packaged in easy-tear, standup pouches boasting colorful food graphics cre-

Green Christmas may not be on everyone’s wish-list, but thanks to a new online boutique store launched

by Cascades Inc., consumers can give the environment a big break this festive season by switching to the company’s paperboard Christmas trees made entirely from recycled, FSC (Forest Stewardship Council)-certified fibers.

Developed jointly with Italian cartonboard producer Reno De Medici, the novelty trees—sold online via http://boutique.cascades.com— come in detachable, puzzle-like pieces to “offer a beautiful canvas for kids and adults to use their imagination in decorating and customizing the tree to their taste,” says Cascades, which offers the tree kits in green or white and in four models, including Collection Reno Carton 3DTM, Classico, Moderno and Piccolo.

ated by the Toronto-based Forthought Design Inc. and printed by Acorn Packaging Inc. of Mississauga, Ont., with the pouches’ back panels providing easy-to-follow recipe suggestions and cooking tips.

“The six selected f lavors are trendy and inspiring for many popular dishes among modern restaurant offerings, but are now also easy to make at home, with the cook adding fresh ingredients following easyto-use ingredient tips and directions on the back of the pouch,” says McCormick Canada product manager Linda Stiles.

“The products are coarse blends of vibrant and f lavorful spices and herbs that are packaged in a clear pouch so the color and texture of the mix are easy to see,” adds Stiles, “and the stand-up design of the new packaging enables easy storage in the pantry or cupboard.”

Industry report slams lack of credible data for packaging waste misinformation The Canadian packaging industry’s efforts to improve its waste diversion performance are stymied by the lack of credible, up-to-date statistical data that accurately measures its share of the overall wastestreams, according to a scathing report from the Paper and Paperboard Packaging Environmental Council (PPEC) claiming that packaging waste is generally blamed for a far greater share of the country’s waste

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problems than it should.

Instead, Canadian policy-makers rely on the outdated 1996 Statistics Canada national packaging survey and the agency’s biennial WMIS (Waste Management Industry Survey) reports to draw wrong conclusions about the industry’s environmental burden, often leading to misguided waste diversion initiatives that unfairly punish packaging users and suppliers for allegedly failing to improve their recycling and recovery rates, says the report, titled The Inconvenient Truth about Packaging Waste in Canada.

“What’s wrong with MIS? Well, number one is that it doesn’t cover packaging per se, so it’s hard to conclude anything credible about packaging,” the council laments.

“Rather, it covers broad groups of wastes such as organics, tires, construction renovation and demolition debris, electronics, white goods, mixed paper and newsprint, and a bunch of recyclable streams—some of which include packaging materials.

“But it is not clear how much of the glass, metals, aluminum or plastics is actually packaging and how much is non-packaging.”

And because the WMIS surveys only poll haulers in the waste management industry, rather than industrial generators of potential packaging

waste like factories or retail outlets, much of the gathered data is far too general to draw any helpful conclusions, says PPEC. “As WMIS notes in its latest survey, ‘These data do not include those materials transported by the generator directly to secondary processors, such as pulp and paper mills, while bypassing entirely any firm or local government involved in waste management activities’.”

Such “enormously significant” omissions belittle the real efforts made by business enterprises to boost their recycling and waste diversion efforts, according to the council report.

“Just one large Ontario supermarket chain sends over a half-million tonnes of OCCs (old corrugated containers) through a paper processor directly to a recycling mill every year—more than four times OCCs that all Ontario municipalities sent for recycling in 2006,” the report points out. “But this tonnage is not counted in the WMIS surveys.”

The report also takes issue with several other “misrepresentations” about packaging’s landfill impact: • Packaging accounts for a huge part or the wastestream. While the Ontario Minister of the Environment John Gerretsen has been quoted saying that packaging accounts for a third of the province’s landfill waste, the council contends the true figures is closer to 10 per cent, albeit there’s no indisputable proof due to insufficient statistics.

• Canada is far behind Europe in recycling.

While the 15 original European Union countries averaged a 58-percent recycling rate for packaging in 2006, the inclusion of 12 new members drops that average to 49 per cent—not far above the 45-percent rate posted by Canada in 1997, the last year for which such data is available.

• Municipalities are much better than industry at packaging waste diversion. The council says comparing a 19-percent waste diversion rate for Ontario residents and a 29-percent average for municipalities to the industry’s 12 per cent is meaningless because WMIS covers all waste, not just packaging, “and it doesn’t tell you how much packaging is used in the first place.

“Until we get a comprehensive national database that includes data on packaging,” the report concludes, “the debate will go on and packaging will continue to be bad-mouthed by the ill-informed.”

CANADIAN PACKAGING • DECEMBER 2010

NEWSPACK

A buoyant packaging industry exhibition draws record numbers of Canadians A record showing by Canadian exhibitors and attendees at last month’s biennial PACK EXPO International 2010 packaging technologies exhibition in Chicago was one of many positive highlights of a buoyant, four-day exposition signaling a longawaited revival in the North American packaging industry’s economic fortunes and outlook.

According to the show’s organizers PMMI (Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute), the 1,935 Canadian visitors comprised the largest international contingent at the event— outnumbering exhibitors and attendees from Mexico, China, Japan, Colombia and Brazil and helping the show record vastly improved attendance figures from its 2008 edition.

Spanning over one million square feet of exhibit space across three halls of the sprawling McCormick Place fairgrounds from October 31 to Nov. 3, 2010, the show attracted over 44,000 visitors, according to the Arlington, Va.-headquartered PMMI, while its total of 1,835 exhibiting companies represents a seven-percent increase in exhibitor numbers from two years ago.

Counting the exhibiting personnel, PACK EXPO International 2010 drew a total of 67,652 people, according to PMMI’s preliminary show attendance data.

“This year’s show was definitely a success,” states PMMI president Charles Yuska. “Traffic was consistently strong, and the exhibitors I spoke with were very pleased with the quality of leads they received,” adds Yuska, noting that the show’s 4,434 visitors from abroad—representing 125 different countries—was a 23.9-percent increase from the 2008 Chicago exhibition.

“The PACK EXPO is clearly playing a critical role in the world packaging and processing marketplace.”

According to Yuska, the inclusion of the newly-

launched Processing Zone exhibits this year gave the show’s overall attendance a significant boost.

“We mirror the industries we serve, and consumer packaged goods companies (CPGs) see production as a single, continuous function,” says Yuska, adding that 179 exhibiting companies took part in the in the Processing Zone showcase of processing-related technologies and equipment.

The success of Processing Zone has prompted the PMMI, whose membership comprises over 560 leading U.S. and Canadian-based suppliers of packaging machinery, systems and materials, to launch the inaugural Pharmaceutical Pavilion at PACK EXPO Las Vegas next year at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Sept. 26-28, 2011.

“It’s just one of the many ways next year’s show will be an experience you can’t miss,” says Yuska, while also extending praise to several leading packaging industry groups for helping ensure a successful PACK EXPO International 2010 this year: • Toronto-based PAC - The Packaging Association, organizers of the interactive PAC Green Den competition for new sustainable packaging technologies.

• The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), organizers of the inaugural Manufacturing Excellence Conference sessions on operational reliability, product safety and sustainability.

• The Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP), organizers of the Packaging Learning Center conference program of informative sessions on sustainability, food safety and other packaging industry hot-button issue.

• The National Confectioners Association (NCA), organizers of the debut Confectionery Pavilion.

• The NPTA Alliance (formerly the National Paper Trade Association), organizers of the

HOW DO We KNOW THAT YOu WIll Be successful IN MAY 2011? solutions ahead! www.interpack.com

rental costs by nearly two-thirds following its move to the more space-efficient, pre-furnished offices at 1 Concorde Gate, Suite James Downham, 607, Toronto, ON M3C 3N6, President, PAC where it will share floorspace with the Canadian Marketing Association (CMA) and be located down the hall from the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors (CCGD), with whom the PAC partnered this fall to produce the high-profile Packaging Summit conference.

“We are expecting to create synergies with this association cluster to add even more value for our members,” states Downham, who has headed PAC over the past five years.

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FROM EXPERIENCE.

The PAC moves on to new headquarters It’s been an extremely busy year for Canada’s leading packaging industry group, so it seems only fitting that the 60-year-old PAC - The Packaging Association is ending it off with a move to new national headquarters in midtown Toronto this month.

According to the association’s president James Downham, the group’s old offices in northern Toronto were simply too large and expensive to maintain for an organization that has experienced drastic staff cuts in recent years.

“It’s really a question of living within your means,” Downham told Canadian Packaging.

“Being lean and efficient is a fact of life in today’s packaging business, and it is important for an organization like ours to ref lect that reality in terms of how we operate on a daily basis.”

Downham estimates that the PAC (formerly the Packaging Association of Canada) will cut its

debut DistriPak Pavilion, which focused on current trends affecting paper, packaging and supplies distribution, with their implications for the entire packaging and processing supply chain.

• The Reusable Packaging Association (RPA), organizers of the Reusable Packaging Pavilion and hosts of a series of educational sessions and workshops running concurrently with the show.

• The Association of Independent Corrugated Converters (AICC), organizers of the debut Corrugated & Packaging Solutions Showcase display area.

“By partnering with organizations that matter to our attendees, we created new pavilions and educational opportunities that delivered value on and off the show f loor,” Yuska says.

“We had a strong contingent of partners who each brought an extra level of value to attendees in general, and their members and constituents in particular.”

Discover our value added benefits at www.salbrobottle.com | 905 850 1190 WE CARE ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY

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FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE Canadian German Chamber of Industry and Commerce Inc. Your contact: Stefan Egge 480 University Avenue, Suite 1500 Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1V2 Tel: (416) 598-1524 Fax: (416) 598-1840 E-mail: messeduesseldorf @germanchamber.ca

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Developed specifically for use with Santoprene and other thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs), the new ACA range of water-based, heat-activated adhesives from Akron Coating and Adhesives eliminate the need for costly surface treatments or primers in the bonding of metal to the TPEs—making them a highly cost-effective bonding solution across numerous demanding packaging, appliance, medical, automotive and construction applications, without using any volatile or toxic solvents in their formulation.

Designed to cover the entire spectrum of TPE grades from soft to very hard, the ACA 30-101, 102, and 103 adhesives are engineered to provide superior adhesion performance, with peel values of up to 25 pounds per linear inch and more, including substrate tear.

Akron Coating and Adhesives 401

CombiScale Inc. has introduced its Primo Pocket Control device to allow operators complete remote control of the company’s multihead Primo Weigher 360 filling machines by eliminating the need to go back and forth between the weigher and HMI (human-machine interface) terminal, or requiring the assistance of a second person. According to the company, the pocket-sized device enables operators to execute any function, including a step-by-step wizard to set up the machine and run the automatic self-check startup routine that calibrates the weigh cells and tests several items—such as buckets, vibrator motors and the center cone— or run a self-diagnostics test for all of the weigher’s functions. It also allows them to start, pause, and stop the operation of the Primo Weigher 360 systems—available in 10-, 14-, 16-, 20- and 24-head configurations with 1.5-, 2.5- and five-liter bucket sizes—virtually from anywhere inside the plant.

CombiScale Inc. 404

TARGET PRACTICE The new model OADM 250 optical laser distance sensor from Baumer is specifically designed for precise and accurate detection of target objects—regardless of their surface properties or color—at distances from 0.2 to four meters away, with response times of less than 10 ms, resolutions of 1.2 mm, and repeat accuracy of +/- 5 mm, which is robust enough for obtaining precise data even on moving targets. Featuring an easily adjustable measuring range, the OADM 250 sensor is well-suited for handling a broad variety of automated long-range part placement/detection, counting, and control monitoring applications in packaging, conveying, palletizing, material handling, assembly and lumber processing.

Baumer 402

HAPPY ENDINGS Featuring a high-performance vacuum system to automatically pick up a specific case and place it on a pallet, the new z.ZAG palletizer/depalletizer from Eagle Packaging Machinery is designed for demanding end-of-line applications where production is distributed over several production lines—providing an economical alternative to using costly conveyors for transporting cases to a centralized high-cost, high-speed palletizer by placing a z.Zag at the end of each production line, according to the company. Automatically calculating the position of each case according to the desired pattern and dimensions of the case, the z.Zag palletizer’s end effector uses vacuum generators to pick up and place the product from above, with its suction capacity of over 250 pounds enabling it to lift 40-pound boxes at throughput speeds of up to 240 pounds, or six boxes, per minute. Designed to conform to all the SCARA standards in a compact footprint, the servo-driven z.ZAG is designed for multiple-pack patterns for both column-stacked and interlocked configurations, with its PLC (programmable logic controller) controls and a color touchscreen interface ensuring user-friendly set-up and operation.

Eagle Packaging Machinery 403

CLEAR THINKING The new thin-gauge LTC shrink film from Bemis Company’s Clysar division is said to be company’s thinnest-gauge, clear, heat-shrinkable, polyolefinbased film engineered to ensure an optimal blend of strength, balanced shrink and clarity, while eliminating problematic seal issues, hazy appearance, and packaging operation waste experienced with some other super-thin films. According to the company, recent lab analysis and field tests revealed the LTC film to offer superior performance over a broad range of shrink film properties: • More available shrink for crisp, tight wraps; • Better-balanced shrink to conform evenly to a broad range of products; • Superior film strength for optimal process efficiency and package integrity; • Superior tear resistance to minimize film tearing and rips; • Better clarity, shine and gloss for attractive package appearance and optimal shelf appeal; • Wider operating window for faster line speeds

PMMI announces Julie A. Ackerman, new Senior Director of Public Relations and Communications Chuck Yuska, President and CEO, PMMI announced a new member of its senior management team: Julie Ackerman, Senior Director of Public Relations and Communications. “We recognized a need to be more efficient in our outreach and to establish new ideas to reach our audience in ways that are not only keeping up with the trends but setting them as well. Julie brings a new perspective to our ways of communicating and promoting our mission of being the leading global resource for packaging and processing.” he said.

Ackerman joins PMMI with over 12 years of communications, marketing and public relations experience in the public, private and non-profit sectors and has worked with organizations serving the needs of many different constituencies. Most recently, she served as Senior Director of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR), an organization that supports and promotes high-quality undergraduate student-faculty collaborative research and scholarship.

Julie can be reached at jackerman@pmmi.org

DECEMBER 2010 • CANADIAN PACKAGING

and more forgiving shrink under a range of operating conditions and equipment variables.

Clysar (Div. of Bemis Company, Inc.) 405

TOUCHING DISTANCE Designed for on-demand, shortrun color label printing inhouse, the new compact Vivo! Touch full-color digital label printer from QuickLabel Systems is capable of processing large amounts of variable data while printing color labels on-the-f ly at speeds of up to 25 feet per minute—utilizing an internal controller to efficiently process data and coordinate jobs—to provide end-users with welcome f lexibility in the printing of graphics-rich labels used in private-label and primary display label packaging, as well as printing data-intense color labels from ERP systems and databases with batch-specific label information such as GHS color codes, product descriptions, and variable fields.

Utilizing new-generation electrophotographic label printing technology, the new Vivo! Touch is designed for very efficient use of toner, according to the company, precisely depositing the toner only when each dot of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black is specifically required in a given printed image.

QuickLabel Systems 406

CASE IN POINT The new PikMore Uncaser from Standard-Knapp is a continuous-motion machine designed for quick and efficient removal of empty glass bottles from their cases at rates of up to 70 cases per minute—enabling expedited refilling and packaging down the process lines across a broad range of beverage and wine industries.

In operation, as the PikMore’s gripper heads revolve around a center carousel to quickly and gently lift the empty glass bottles from their cases—carefully placing the bottles on the conveyer as they leave the machine. Designed for easy maintenance and programmed for automatic lubrication, the PikMore is equipped with a graphic operator interface screen to enable largely unattended, automatic “set it and forget it” operation.

Standard-Knapp 407

Davis appoints Vice President Creative Mississauga, ON - Davis, a leading North American branding agency located in the Greater Toronto Area, is pleased to announce the appointment of Chris Plewes as Vice President Creative.

“Adding an amazing talent, a highly experienced and respected industry leader such as Chris is a bold and dramatic move - and a dramatically simple decision for our growing company,” says Mark Roberts, Vice President Creative. President Ron Davis adds, “Chris’s creative and strategic excellence are a welcome addition to our already outstanding creative group. The addition of Chris as another leader in our Creative Department increases our bandwidth for meeting and exceeding our clients’ requirements.”

Chris comes to Davis directly from his role as Chief Creative Officer, Anthem Worldwide leading Anthem’s global network of creative talent for the past 11 years. Prior to this, Chris held the position of Creative Director at Plewes Design and then President Creative Director at Plewes Bertouche. With over 20 years of retail branding and package design experience, Chris has worked on assignments with both international clients and small regional brands that span North America, European and Asian markets.

Chris’s new role at Davis takes effect on November 22, 2010.

ECO-PACK NOW

CLEAR THINKING ON NEW YOGURT PACKAGING Environmental sustainability is nothing new for folks at the Londonberry, N.H.-based Stonyfield Farm, which has been producing organic, all-natural yogurt since 1983, but using bioplastic materials to package its popular, bestselling f lagship brands—employing an Arcil form-fill-seal (F/F/S) packaging machine—may well be the opening of an exciting new chapter for the North American yogurt industry.

Developed by the Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based Clear Lam Packaging, Inc. as a replacement for the traditional petroleum-based polystyrene plastic, the new EarthClear multipack yogurt cups—now being used to package the company’s oBaby, YoToddler, YoKids, B-Healthy, B-Well, Probiotic and O’Soy brands—are made primarily (93 per cent) from the corn-based Ingeo PLA (polylactic acid) polymers produced by the leading bioresins manufacturer NatureWorks LLC, with Stonyfield also launching an ‘offset’ program to produce a sustainably grown amount of corn equal to the amount used to make the cups.

“Stonyfield Farm has invested significantly in finding innovative new packaging alternatives that reduce our dependency on oil and other finite resources, and we’re thrilled that Clear Lam was able to offer an industry-leading packaging solution to help support their sustainable packaging initiatives,” says Clear Lam president James Sanfilippo, citing a recent Tellus Institute study showing that using renewable raw materials to produce packaging requires about half the energy used to make petroleum-based packaging, while also reducing GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions generated during the manufacturing process by 48 per cent.

Featureing a Made from Plants stamp on the bottom of each cup, the new formed PLA yogurt containers are also claimed to be stronger and more impact-resistant than those made from the polystyrene plastic they have replaced, according to Clear Lam, which is one of the world’s largest extruders and thermoformers of the Ingeo brand biopolymers processed by NatureWorks in Blair, Neb.

SONOCO HELPS BRAND-OWNERS CLEAN UP THEIR ACT Leading consumer packaging products manufacturer Sonoco of Hartsville, S.C. says its inhouse-designed packaging sustainability software is enabling leading brand-owners achieve significant reductions in their landfill-bound waste through effective material substitution and elimination, downgauging of packaging structures, and the simplifying of package designs to improve their recyclability.

“We are working to balance the growing demand from our customers, consumers and retailers for ‘greener’ packaging with requirements for convenience, performance and price,” says Jeff Schuetz, staff vicepresident of global technology for the company’s Consumer Packaging business.

“Retailers and consumer product companies are increasingly integrating sustainability into their business strategies and looking for Sonoco to help make those efforts successful.”

Called True Blue, Sonoco’s line of sustainable packaging software tools and recycling services are designed creating quality consumer packaging that offer a clear environmental advantage over the ones they replace: either by source reduction, using more sustainable materials, requiring less energy, water or raw materials to produce, or generating fewer carbon emissions.

“Our True Blue brand gives consumer product customers a one-stop shop for sustainable packaging solutions,” says Schuetz. “By combining our True Blue line of products with our total packaging solutions capabilities, we’re creating real sustainable value for our customers.”

One of those customers is the New Orleans, La.based PJ’s Coffee, for whom Sonoco developed and manufactures vibrant, three-ply, foil-based flexible coffee bags (see picture) that require 10 per cent less material and 15 per cent less energy to

10 • WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

produce than the traditional four-ply coffee bags— resulting in 10 per cent fewer carbon emissions.

Meanwhile, packaged foods heavyweight Kraft Foods was able to achieve significant carbonfootprint reductions by converting its Maxwell House, Nabob and Yuban brands of coffee from metal cans to the more environmentally-friendly rigid paperboard containers—featuring over 50-percent recycled content and boasting certification from the Rainforest Alliance’s chainof-custody SmartWood program—without sacrificing packaging integrity or shelf-life properties.

Sonoco says it is also currently in the process of converting the world’s leading infant formulas from metal to composite cans, which it says will result in significant reduction in material weight inputs, energy inputs, GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions, and certain regulated air emissions.

Other notable examples include: • Helping Unilever USA strengthen the brand image of its Suave shampoos and conditioners by redesigning its rigid plastic bottles with attractive new curves in the bottles’ walls to reduce their resin requirements by 16 per cent, while improving the overall strength of the bottles; • Redesigning protective packaging for the Hewlett-Packard (HP) LaserJet printers to reduce the volume of protective foam by more than half, cut the pack’s corrugated weight by 69 per cent, and decrease overall packaging volume by 52 per cent, while making more of the packaging recyclable by using more of its components made from recycled paperboard.

Says Schuetz: “Because we’re not limited to just one sustainable packaging platform, technology or format, our customers can choose from a variety of innovative options that meet their unique performance, cost and sustainability requirements.”

DRINKMAKER PLANTS FOR GREENER FUTURE

Having firmly established itself as one of North America’s leading producers of natural health beverages, California-based Odwalla, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company, is planning to raise its environmentally-friendly credentials to the next level in early spring by switching all of its singleserve drinks to the 100-percent plant-based PlantBottle containers launched by its parent company to widespread acclaim last year.

According to the 30-year-old drinkmaker, switching over its flagship Odwalla brand of fruit and vegetable drinks and smoothies to the fullyrecyclable HDPE (high-density polyethylene) PlantBottles—comprised primarily of renewable materials derived from molasses and sugarcane juice—will enable it to reduce its carbon-dioxide emissions by an equivalent of 400,000 gallons of gas annually, compared to the traditional petroleumbased HDPE and PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles, without negative impact on product shelf-life, weight, composition or appearance.

“Plants do such a good job of making our juice that we hired them to help make our bottles,” says Odwalla president Alison Lewis. “Doing good things for the community and building a business with heart are core guiding principles of Odwalla’s vision, and PlantBottle packaging is just the latest step in our continued commitment to the environment.”

PEANUTBUTTER CRACKS SUSTAINABILITY RIDDLE

Packaging sustainability may be a tough nut to crack, but some drastic packaging weight loss has recently helped Britain’s leading peanutbutter brand SunPat make massive cuts in its environmental footprint—thanks to a switch from glass packaging to lightweight “glass clear” PET (polyethylene terephthalate) jars manufactured by RPC Containers in Blackburn, England.

According to brand-owner Premier Foods, the switch from glass to the 258-, 357- and 459-ml bespoke PET jars enabled a massive 90-percent weight loss—resulting in significant carbon-footprint reduction in transporting the product from packaging lines in Holland—as well as incorporation of 50-percent PCR (post-consumer recycled) content into the brand packaging.

“With logistics regulations limiting the weight of lorry-loads, we can cut the number of vehicles required for transport and delivery,” says senior brand manager Alan Robe, crediting RPC for designing the new PET jars in a way that effectively maintains the venerable brand’s identity, while also working closely with the Dutch co-packer to ensure the product’s full compatibility with PET construction.

CANADIAN PACKAGING • DECEMBER 2010

Labels&Labelingequipment Vivo! Touch Label Printer Intelligent Color Labels at Your Fingertips

The new Vivo! Touch is the first intelligent photo-quality label printer, capable of dynamically printing fullcolor labels on-the-fly directly from your production system or other database. The Vivo! Touch prints labels quickly, at up to 5 ips (25 feet per minute).

QuickPrint Label Printing Service

Need labels printed fast? Our QuickPrint™ Service will custom-print labels for you using QuickLabel digital label printers.

Small quantity printing, fast turnaround, low minimum order, artwork assistance.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE 114 Toll-Free 800-565-2216 QuickLabel.ca/QuickPrint

Barcode Printers with Lifetime Warranty

Barcode Labels & Color Ribbons

QuickLabel’s Pronto! Barcode Printer Family offers more: built-in Ethernet, built-in web server, and high-speed and high-resolution barcode printer models.

Printers come with Lifetime Warranty, QuickSwap™ Loan & Replacement Service, and 24-Hour Technical Support.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE 114 Toll-Free 800-565-2216 QuickLabel.ca/Pronto

Want a competitive quote on labels and ribbons? We offer low prices because we’re the manufacturer of our ribbons and barcode labels. We have more color thermal transfer ribbons than anyone in the world, including metallic gold, silver, white, and a rainbow of colors.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE 116 Toll-Free 800-565-2216 QuickLabel.ca/Quote

Introducing the NEW

You can print labels at the touch of your fingers from its touchscreen interface, and even print labels without a computer, in standalone mode. This LED printer uses a unique micro-fine CMYK toner system and proprietary halftone screen to make beautiful labels with accurate color and precise dot placement.

Toll-Free 800-565-2216 QuickLabel.ca/Vivo FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE

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Real-Time Label Printing Color Labels In-line

QuickLabel’s Xe series of thermal transfer color label printers can print color labels print in real time, ondemand or in batches. Designed to be integrated in-line with an existing packaging system, and to print labels from ERP systems such as SAP. Labels print with unique, product-specific content that varies from label to label such as color codes, barcodes, logos, expiration dates, best-by dates, and other serializing text, prompted fields, and databased information.

Programmable host protocol, applicator mode, and “peel off” option. Prints labels and tags at speeds of up to 7 ips.

Toll-Free 800-565-2216 QuickLabel.ca/Color FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE

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ACCESS THE GLOBAL PACKAGING NETWORK ACCESS THE GLOBAL PACKAGING NETWORK

2011 Call for Entries PAC Leadership Awards Excellence in Innovation, Leadership in Design, Caché of Winning The success of the PAC – The Packaging Association packaging competitions is largely due to the caché and historical importance of this event. Not only is the PAC competition the longest running competition in North America but PAC was the “first mover” with their inaugural Sustainable Packaging competition gala held on Earth Day April 22, 2008. Notable North American leaders were in attendance at the inaugural event including Anne Johnson of SPC, Matt Croson, then of PMMI, Joe Pryweller of Packaging Strategies, and Steve Reiss of Packaging Digest. An outstanding keynote address was delivered by Justin Trudeau.

Winner of the 2009 PAC Leadership Award Compete for the best of show • PAC Leadership Award National Packaging Competition • Consumers’ Voice Award (Canadian Packaging) • PAC National Packaging Award Sustainable Packaging Competition • Walmart Canada Award • PAC Sustainable Packaging Award Important dates • April 1, 2011, Early bird deadline for all entries • April 18, 2011, Sustainable Packaging Competition (on-line submissions only), final entry deadline • May 4, 2011, National Packaging Competition, final entry deadline Awards on display • June 21, 2011, Toronto, PAC Leadership Awards Gala, Toronto Congress Centre held in conjunction with: • June 21-23, 2011, PACKEX Toronto Visit www.pac.ca/index.php/pac/competiton for more information

Winner of 3 Gold & 2 Silver Awards

PACsecure – HACCP-Based Food Packaging Safety Standards - The Latest Recipients Specifically designed for packaging manufacturers by food processors, package converters and the CFIA

To find out more about PAC, our initiatives or events, contact Lisa Abraham at 416.460.7860 x213, labraham@pac.ca OR visit www.pac.ca 12 • WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM PAC0070_IMPACT_december.indd 1

CANADIAN PACKAGING • December 2010 12/3/2010 11:37:51 AM

MECHANICAL DRIVES

SEVERE DUTY CORROSION PROTECTION

the

F-SERIES SNUGGLER ®

Parallel Helical Gearmotors SEW-Eurodrive’s F-Series parallel helical gearmotor lives up to its name as the ideal drive for tight space conditions. This compact drive, with its multiple mounting configurations, is a rugged alternative to right angled gearmotors.

SEW-Eurodrive has introduced a new line of aseptic gearmotors to meet the high levels of hygiene crucial to the production of food and beverages, as well as the stringent demands of the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. SEW has solved this challenge with the aseptic design of helical, parallel shaft helical, helical-bevel and helical-worm gearmotors made entirely of smooth stainless steel, cooled by pure convection cooling — eliminating conventional fan and cooling ribs, which prevents the build-up of germs and bacteria on the surface and allows for easy regular cleaning.

CORROSION PROTECTION PRODUCT RANGE Power ratings from 0.34 to 2.0 HP Can be mounted directly onto R, F, K, S-Series gear units in all standard positions FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE

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F-SERIES PRODUCT RANGE Power ratings from 0.05 to 336 HP Output speeds from 0.06 to 464 rpm (based on 4 pole motor) Output torques to 159,300 lb-in.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE

You didn’t compromise when you bought it.

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Why compromise when you rebuild it?

K-SERIES Helical-Bevel Gearmotors SEW-Eurodrive’s K-Series right angle helical-bevel gearmotors deliver maximum performance and reliability with 95%+ efficiency and high torque density. Durable gearing designed for long service life makes this drive an ideal choice for demanding around-the-clock applications.

K-SERIES PRODUCT RANGE Power ratings from 0.05 to 615 HP Output speeds from 0.05 to 326 rpm (based on 4 pole motor) Output torques to 442,500 lb-in.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE

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S-SERIES Helical-Worm Gearmotors SEW-Eurodrive’s S-Series right angle gearmotors offer helical-before-worm gearing combining durability with power-packed performance in a compact design that requires no motor belts or couplings.

SEW Eurodrive Service Agreements

S-SERIES PRODUCT RANGE If your SEW-Eurodrive needs rebuilding, it’s no time to compromise on its original quality.

Power ratings from 0.05 to 46 HP Output speeds from 0.05 to 257 rpm

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At SEW-Eurodrive, our experienced factory technicians follow strict guidelines developed through years of successful rebuilds. If the existing stator isn’t up to standard, it’s never rewound, but replaced.

Wear items, such as bearings, are automatically replaced with the originally specified replacement parts, Complete Drive Service & Maintenance Management Central data collection of your drive

not "will-fits" that may compromise the performance of your drive. Best of all, SEW Service Agreements deliver industry-leading quality rebuilds at an industry-leading quality repair price.

inventory online through our CDM® and CDS® programs greatly facilitates the

AC MOTORS and Brakemotors SEW-Eurodrive’s squirrel-cage motors and brakemotors deliver exceptional performance and reliability combined with low maintenance.

Designed for continuous duty under tough service conditions, these low-noise brakemotors are used wherever fast, safe braking is a major application requirement.

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124

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Toronto (905) 791-1553

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www.sew-eurodrive.ca

LABELING

SUPPLY TO DEMAND

POD labeling finally living up to the early promise of lower total print costs

BY DEL WILLIAMS

I

n today’s everchanging CPG (consumer packaged good) marketplace, it is often a challenge for manufacturers of packaged foods and other consumer products to know just how many pre-printed adhesive labels they must maintain on hand for any given brand or SKU (stock-keeping unit)—often resulting in costly, wasteful label overstocking.

Fortunately for them, the so-called POD (Printon-Demand) labeling process and technologies are finally living up to their early promise of delivering the f lexibility they have sought for so long by offering cost-efficient means of generating labels— containing all the vital safety and other product information, along with attractive graphics—that can not only withstand all the processing and packaging line rigors and abuse, but will often actually exceed the legibility, durability, and visual impact of many conventional adhesive labels, with significant bottom-line results for the manufacturers.

Although widely adopted in recent years in the book publishing industry circles, POD is only now starting to get real traction in the label printing industry, with more and more print shops making capital investment in the equipment.

For good reasons too.

The new-generation POD label presses are fullcolor, digital print systems offering greater f lexibility than conventional presses in job set-up and changeover times, helping manufacturers in a growing number of industries to reduce leadtimes and accommodate shorter print runs while improving inventory control and overall supply chain management, according to a growing list of happy clients of American Label & Tag, Inc., Cannon, Mich.-based manufacturer of custom labels, tags, decals and nameplates that now offers POD labeling services.

Crisp Look “We recently turned to the POD labels for their crisp, clear graphics, rapid turnaround and reduced inventory costs,” says Greg Vanhazenbrouck, general manager of Winter Sausage, a family-owned, premium deli meats company based in Eastpointe, Mich.

“Even with rising commodity costs, POD labeling has held down our cost-per-label and lowered our total cost due to improved efficiencies,” he says, adding that the quality of POD labels supplied by American Label & Tag has even surpassed that of the traditionallyprinted labels the company used before, while satisfying the requirements of variable data and other last-minute changes.

“We take great pride in our taste-tested German family recipes, but our pre-printed package labels just didn’t ref lect the care we put into our product,” recalls Vanhazenbrouck. “And as the graphics wore out and legibility

14 • WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

suffered in the field, the packages just started looking older and less attractive to the shoppers.”

Soon after receiving a call, American Label & Tag helped Winter Sausage test for label image quality, durability and color to match the browns and grays of the company’s fresh and smoked meat packages—prototyping a variety of different color schemes to arrive at the best color combination quickly and inexpensively, Vanhazenbrouck recounts. (See Pictures) “Not only do the new labels give us the crisp, brand image we wanted to achieve, but they’re also holding up in the field really well,” says Vanhazenbrouck.

“Their lasting eye appeal is bound to help our sales,” he says, while also praising the POD labeling for help Winter Sausage enhance its time-tomarket and product development—encouraging the company to develop new products and to repackage existing product in new sizes or styles to meet consumer demand.

“Since the POD labels have sped up package design, we’re now able to launch new products

about 25 per cent faster,” adds Vanhazenbrouck.

“It’s really helping us develop new business.

“For instance, to get a new foot-long sausage on the shelf of an important chain retailer, recently we had to meet their deadline, complete with labeling and packaging,” he relates.

“The POD labels helped us do just that, and the product is selling really well now,” says Vanhazenbrouck, noting that POD labeling is especially useful in keeping production running in the event of label changes necessitated by changes in ingredients, suppliers or regulations.

“When we had to change label data, pre-printed labels typically held us up for a week or more while we waited for them to print and ship,” says Vanhazenbrouck.

“Now we significantly expedite label changes with POD labeling to keep production on track and help secure our retail shelf-space.”

Short Wait Vanhazenbrouck says that POD labels can typically be ordered from American Label & Tag—a leading, ISO 9000:2008-certified supplier of pressure-sensitive labels founded in 1998—with leadtimes of a week or less, significantly reducing his company’s required label inventory.

“Now we carry half the label inventory and order small quantities as needed,” says Vanhazenbrouck. “Since our inventory handling is more efficient, we’re saving about US$70,000 a year in reduced labor, with these ongoing savings helping free up capital and improve our cash f low.

“Anybody doing labeling who doesn’t want their money tied up in inventory should seriously consider

CANADIAN PACKAGING • DECEMBER 2010

POD labeling,” he concludes.

Jefferson, chairman of Sanders says Jefferson, “and American Label & Tag helps For Haier America, New York Candy, a 135-year-old Clinton make this possible with custom short runs of 1,000 City-based distributor of home Township, Mich.-based produto 3,000 labels, with turnaround of just a few days.” appliances, high-definition TV sets cer of fine chocolate, candy, and Founded in 1988 as a supplier of pressure-sensiand residential air-conditioners, dessert toppings, and a division of tive labels, American Label & Tag expanded into turning to POD labeling helped Morley Brands, LLC. the tag market in the 1990s, and during the past the company gain operational effi“With digital POD, American decade has significantly boosted its digital printciencies along with improved cusLabel & Tag completed the labels ing capabilities—today doing all its own artwork, tomer relationships, according to for our line within two weeks for graphics, design and platemaking, while also supsales manager Tom Reister. catalog inclusion,” recalls Jefferson, plying an extensive range of label printers, soft“American Label & Tag introadding that quick turnaround and ware, barcoding systems and accessories into the duced us to POD labeling, and short production runs made posdomestic and export markets. it’s taken one of the headaches sible with POD labels also help Del Williams is a freelance technical writer based in out of the production cycle,” adds Sanders Candy take advantage Torrance, Ca. Reister. “Whereas lead-times for of niche market opportunities it pre-printed labels used to run a would otherwise miss.

ErgoBloc L, Canadian Packaging, �00 x ��� mm, CC-en�1-AZ10�_11/10 For More Information: month or more, POD has reduced “We use POD to relabel product label lead-times to a week or less. when we want to do a “blowout sale’ American Label & Tag, Inc. 411 “It has helped streamline production f low, reduced or limited-time offers for local or national retailers,” our label inventories, and allowed us to respond faster to customers’ needs— especially on rush jobs or when there’s last-minute changes.”

For Phoenix Dental, Inc., Fenton, Mich.-based dental-care products manufacturer, quick label turnaround was an essential pre-requisite for the company’s recent campaign to boost the sales and open up new markets for the company’s innovative Super Seal product—a potassium oxalate chemistrybased remedy for tooth sensitivity.

“Our Japanese market required the product immediately, and in order to ship it that same day we needed to have all lot labels completed,” recalls Phoenix Dental’s chief development manager Sherry Moffitt.

“Traditional label printing would have caused an unacceptable delay of at least one to two weeks for us, and we couldn’t rush the job and risk compromising the quality of the labels.

“So American Label & Tag printed the labels digitally on-demand and actually hand-delivered them to us that afternoon,” extols Moffitt.

“We were able to ship the same day and kept our promise to our key Japanese customers.

“Now the Japanese market is growing very nicely for us,” says Moffitt, adding that the American Label’s POD Easy on the environment, easy on operational costs. The enviro capabilities have considerably shortaward-winning ErgoBloc L lets ened the time between spotting new you produce, label, fill and cap PET containers in a single process. market needs and opportunities and getting the new product out there.

“Whenever we spot a market need, American Label & Tag can create, within a week, a fully-labeled, packaged prototype for us that we can actually put into prospective customers’ hands,” explains Moffitt. “It has definWhether it’s plants or a production facility – one size fits no one. Let itely helped us close some deals, and will Krones custom design a facility or line that fits your product mix and play an important part in the launching operations to a T – or a PET. From product processing to bottling to wareof our several new products soon.” house automation and distribution logistics, Krones’ total turnkey model Other manufacturers, meanwhile, removes all roadblocks on the route to greater efficiency and optimal are making astute use of POD labeling total cost of ownership. to meet important seasonal deadlines.

Simply tell us what you want – Krones will custom-create a simple solution “To include a new line of chocolate at a competitive cost. covered confections in the Christmas www.krones.com catalog, we really to had to expedite the label completion,” says Brian

Totally Turnkey – from Concept to Consumer

DECEMBER 2010 • CANADIAN PACKAGING

FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE

109

Photos courtesy of American Label & Tag

LABELING

IN IT FOR THE

LONG RUN A thriving family label business all part of day’s work for Toronto’s new power players

BY GEORGE GUIDONI, EDITOR PHOTOS BY SANDRA STRANGEMORE

P

olitics and packaging may seem like an odd pairing, but when you have a Midas touch for both—like Toronto’s Ford brothers—it’s hard to picture a more gratifying and rewarding way to make a living.

While most Toronto residents are by now quite familiar with Rob Ford as the city’s newly-elected mayor, and his brother Doug Ford as one of its 44 councillors, in broader packaging industry circles the siblings, along with their older brother Randy Ford, also enjoy a fairly high profile as senior executives of Deco Labels & Tags—a thriving, family-owned manufacturer of pressure-sensitive labels whose well-executed growth strategy and firm commitment to quality manufacturing in recent years have enabled it to grow into one of leading players in North America’s estimated $15-billion label market.

Founded 48 years ago by the family patriarch and former Ontario cabinet minister Douglas Ford Sr., the company today operates three strategically-located manufacturing locations in Toronto, Chicago and Pennsaulken, N.J., to serve the labeling needs of some of the continent’s leading manufacturers of food-and-beverage, pharmaceutical, personal-care and other everyday consumer products, with the startup of another Deco manufacturing facility in southern U.S. also in the cards in the near future, according to Deco’s vice-president of sales and marketing Leonard Rudner.

“The fact that we have three manufacturing operations enables us to have a sales force that sells for all three plants, rather than the individual locations, which provides our sales people with a lot of

16 • WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

f lexibility,” says Rudner, a 35-year label industry veteran who could not be happier about coming out of semi-retirement to join the Deco sales team earlier this year.

“If you think of labels as something that helps to take your product from the store-shelf into your shopping cart,” he enthuses, “and if you could get every consumer to add just one more product to their carts based on the impulse buying purchase generated by the attractiveness of the product’s label, you are looking at thousands and thousands more sales of that particular product.

New Day “In today’s economy, when you have fewer new products and line extensions coming into the market, consumers need to be lured into purchases with discounts and other promotional vehicles that you can feature on extended information labels, which ties very well into what we do at our Toronto location—producing large quantities of IRC (instantly redeemable coupons) and other types of promotional labels,” Rudner told Canadian Packaging on a recent visit to Deco’s 50,000-square-foot production facility in northwestern Toronto, nearby the Pearson International Airport, which generates a half of the company’s annual revenues by producing a diverse range of high-quality pressuresensitive labels for leading food and pharmaceutical industry brand-owners and manufacturers.

Employing nearly 70 people over a busy, 24/7 production schedule throughout most of the year, the Toronto plant is now making a concerted effort to become one of the continent’s leading suppli-

From left: Deco Labels & Tags owner Randy Ford, president Doug Ford and vice-president of sales and marketing Leonard Rudner proudly show off some of the high-quality pressure-sensitive labels produced at the company’s ISO 9001-certified manufacturing facility in northwestern Toronto.

ers of extended-information labels, according to Rudner, which are manufactured under the company’s InfoMax brand name.

Boasting its own inhouse creative graphics staff, the Toronto operation is already well on its way to setting label industry benchmarks in term of quality, Rudner relates, citing the international ISO 9001:2000 quality management standard certification earned about five years ago, as well as the plant’s ongoing efforts to achieve the HACCP (Hazardous Analysis Control Points)-based PACsecure food safety certification of PAC - The Packaging Association by the year’s end or soon after—becoming the first Canadian self-adhesive label company to do so.

Rudner says the company has a clearly-defined set of strategic focus areas that it will concentrate on in coming years to further increase its market share and penetration.

“This includes strong customer focus, having the best team, and creating better shareholder value.

“There’s really no point in talking about timely deliveries and high product quality as competitive advantages these days,” Rudner asserts, “because these are the things that are taken for granted by customers—it’s the bare minimum to just staying in the business.

“What we have that’s going to make us different is our customer service capabilities,” Rudner says.

“Our customer service department, which returns all phone call in two hours or less, is the intermediary between our salespeople and our plants: they probably speak with the customers more often than our sales reps do.

“When we make our sales presentations to clients, we do it as a team, comprised of the sales rep, the customer service rep, the prepress manager, plant manager and the vice-president of sales and marketing ... we even give customers our cellphone numbers for them to call 24/7 if necessary.

“Three weeks for new orders and two weeks for repeat orders used to be the norm for deliveries, but today we’re aiming for two weeks for new orders and one week for repeats, which is considered to be excellent in this industry,” states Rudner, adding that operating three manufacturing facilities enables Deco to put the weight of real credibility behind its customer promises and assurances.

“If one of our plants was to blow up suddenly, God forbid, we could simply shift the work to another one of our sister plants,” he reasons, “and having three manufacturing operations also gives us the capability to handle very long runs.

“Moreover, these three plants also put us much closer to many of our customers’ manufacturing

CANADIAN PACKAGING • DECEMBER 2010

LABELING operations, where the actual packaging and labeling takes place,” he notes.

“For example, our New Jersey plant is located right where a lot of our large consumer goods customers are; our Chicago plant is also well-placed to serve our consumer goods and promotional markets; and our Toronto plant is very strong in serving the labeling needs of food producers, food retailers and foodservice operators.”

Because of the food industry’s fairly recession-resilient nature, Rudner says the Toronto operation came through the recent recession in remarkably good shape—growing its production volumes and recently investing in three newly-installed finishing machines: 14- and a 17-inch CTC turret rewinders, and a 16-inch Rotoflex wide-web slitter/rewinder unit.

“We’re also looking at adding a couple of 18- and 20-inch printing presses to the Toronto plant next year,” says Rudner, adding the new equipment— purchased at the recently-held Labelexpo Americas exhibition in Chicago—will enable the plant to diversify some of its production into the lucrative f lexible packaging markets, as well as support the new HD (high-density) printing processes currently being tested at the plant.

“It really helps when your employer is in financially sound health,” adds Rudner. “Deco fully owns its manufacturing facilities here, so there is no debt to hold back the capital investment for new equipment and technologies, which is very important in our business.

Growing Up “We have grown our business by an average six to eight per cent in the last few years, which is quite amazing in this industry and in this economy,” Rudner states. “We had a plan to secure more business from our existing big clients in the food and food retailing sectors, and we have executed that plan just as we intended—using our industry reputation as a top-quality, reliable labeling supplier.

“We have learned almost as much about the food industry over the years as we had learned about own labeling industry,” he relates, “so it almost becomes like a combination consulting/selling service we provide, with the price being a little less important than the value-added that we bring to the table.”

This value-added proposition has also enabled Deco to make massive inroads in the U.S. markets in recent years, according to Deco president Doug Ford, who has just been voted in a few weeks ago to serve as Toronto’s city councillor for Ward 2 of Etobicoke North.

“We had to move to bigger facilities in Chicago four times since we first began manufacturing operations there eight years ago—not only to accommodate the growing volumes, but also to expand into complementary markets like narrowweb f lexible packaging, shrinksleeves, and even a little bit of folding-carton work.

“We have had a really good run there, and our New Jersey operation is also doing well,” says Ford, adding that the planned further expansion into the U.S. south will help position Deco as one of the leading label suppliers in a fiercely competitive and crowded marketplace south of the Canada-U.S. border by extending and expediting its geographic reach.

“Having multiple locations is key to succeeding in today’s business because it enables better customer service and allows for greater diversification of your product portfolio,” he states. “The food industry is a very time-sensitive business, so it is

DECEMBER 2010 • CANADIAN PACKAGING

Press operator Hafiz Ramzan making adjustments to the Mark Andy 2200 flexographic narrow-web press, featuring advanced web tension management, self-aligning cassettes, and high-performance drying and curing systems.

critical for us to be close to the customers to offer them the best service possible by meeting all their scheduling requirements.

“It also allows us to leverage the synergies between the different locations in areas such as procurement, marketing, research-and-development and sales,” says Ford, adding each of Deco’s locations is a fully-pledged practitioner of leading quality manufacturing and management principles such as Six Sigma, GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices), lean manufacturing and kaizen.

“Continuous improvement and lean manufacturing are essential to us, or any company for that matter,” Ford states. “To draw an analogy with a Formula 1 car race, which can be won or lost by the pit crew getting the best performance out of the race car, we

use the same approach with our printing presses.

“The only way any label company makes money is when the presses are running, so it’s all about maximizing our uptime,” he expands. “That’s why we always measure the uptime of the presses, the efficiency of the operators, the throughput of the presses and the operators.

“You can’t manage or improve anything unless you measure it first,” he says, recalling how a recent inhouse kaizen seminar for press operators enabled them to reduce product changeover on one of the presses from 48 to 22 minutes through fairly simple process improvements and refined workplace habits.

“Our goal is to keep those presses turning around Continues on page 18

One of several top-quality finishing systems installed in recent years to handle Deco’s growing production output.

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LABELING IN IT FOR THE LONG RUN Continued from page 17

Machine operator Quan Ngo monitoring the quality of self-adhesive labels being processed on one of Deco’s 3/16/10 One of two new turret epakSealMeatAd9_Preserves_PillersSalami_CP_J:Reiser 10:38 AM CTC Page 1 rewinders recently installed several high-speed slitter-rewinder systems. at the Deco facility in northwestern Toronto.

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and around with minimum downtime,” Ford states, “and although we think we’re doing a good job of that, there are always ways to improve.”

Like Rudner, Ford believes that product quality alone no longer provides labeling companies with an important competitive edge—especially in an industry comprised of more than 3,500 companies, according to his well-researched estimate.

“With the quality of the presses out there right now, if you can’t provide quality you don’t even get through the door—quality is a given,” he states.

“What’s not a given is the added value, which we provide by servicing our clients’ labeling equipment that runs our labels at no extra cost, supply them with ribbons or other consumables they may need, helping them implement some of our own lean practices so they can change the roll of labels without stopping the press, suggest material substitution ... things of that nature.”

Like all progressive packaging suppliers, Deco is keenly aware of the growing public and customer pressure to reduce the industry’s environmental footprint, and Ford says it is taking serious steps to improve its environmental performance by installing sensor-activated lighting and water systems; implementing plantwide recycling and other waste reduction programs; installing new technologies to reduce energy and water consumption; looking at using more renewable PLA (polylactic acid)-based substrate materials and vegetable inks; and utilizing more water-based coatings, adhesives and varnishes in the label converting process.

Next year, Deco will also launch an industry-first core and liner recovery program, Rudner adds, whereby it will retrieve roll cores and liners from customer sites—reusing the cores in its own production and returning liners to its raw material suppliers to be converted into other products such as outdoor decks and furniture.

Adds Ford: “Our ultimate goal is to make linerless labels, and we are working on that right now at our Chicago plant.

“The reason that linerless labels have not yet been brought to life in a major way is because of technical limitations of the existing labeling equipment, but we’re working hard to overcome them and we will,” he says. “Linerless labels may not be something you would use for a cosmetic product, granted, but it would work perfectly well for a container of automotive fluid, for example.

“Not only will this reduce the environmental footprint for us and the brand-owner, but it will also reduce the cost of the product, and that’s always a good thing in any economy.”

For More Information: Deco Labels & Tags CTC International Inc. Rotoflex International Inc. Mark Andy, Inc.

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Leading the food industry in processing and packaging solutions.

CANADIAN PACKAGING • DECEMBER 2010

PACKAGING FOR FRESHNESS

Groupe Desco production manager Manuel Nunes holds up bags of the company’s popular Green Peak Farms brand of chicken tenders processed at one of the company’s two Boisbriand plants.

A Triangle weighscale system is used to measure and dispense precise quantities of frozen chicken products to be bagged into pre-zippered plastic pillow-bags.

HOME TO ROOST

A high-speed, highaccuracy Phantom metal detection system manufactured by Fortress Technology is used to ensure contaminant- and debris-free packaging for all of Desco’s frozen and fresh chicken products.

Quebec chicken processor leaves nothing to chance to grow its ready-to-heat business

BY GEORGE GUIDONI, EDITOR PHOTOS BY PIERRE LONGTIN

C

ounting your chickens before they hatch is rarely a good business practice in any industry—especially in today’s fiercely competitive North American market for frozen foods. But fortunately for Groupe Desco, Boisbriand, Que.based deli-meats and poultry processor, empty boasts have never been part of the company’s repertoire.

Since the company’s founding in 1980 under the name Viandes Guy Chevalier, it has grown from a food distribution services provider for the hospitality, restaurant and institutional sectors into one of the leading poultry and delicatessen-style meat processors in Canada and the eastern U.S.— nowadays supplying leading North American food manufacturers and private-label brands with more than 100 fresh or frozen meat products, along with about 50 top-quality smoked-meat offerings.

Operating two fully HACCP (Hazardous Analysis Critical Control Points)-certified, neighboring facilities located on an off-island suburb of Montreal—a poultry-processing plant built in the mid-1990s and a dedicated deli-meats operation started up in 2000—Desco’s reputation as a leading one-stopshop destination for the food industry’s biggest distributors and retailers can be traced directly to the company’s unwavering commitment to hygienic processing practices, leading-edge R&D (researchand-development) capabilities, outstanding customer service, and continuous capital investment in newgeneration processing and packaging machinery.

With all of its raw meat shipped to Boisbriand fresh exclusively from HACCP-accredited slaughterhouses across eastern Canada and the U.S., the company’s comprehensive array of cooking, packaging, deep-freezing and cold-storage facilities and technologies is capably matched by its penchant for creating mouthwatering chicken recipes, along with an ever-growing selection of hams, smoked and other delicatessen meats, as well as various innovative ready-to-heat products.

Boasting top-of-the-line processing and packaging equipment from leading manufacturers like Praxair, Cryovac and NuTek, among others, Desco has

DECEMBER 2010 • CANADIAN PACKAGING

become very skillful at leveraging modern vacuumpackaging and MAP (modified-atmosphere packaging) technologies into an important competitive advantage in recent years, relates production manager Manuel Nunes, to produce convenient, consumerfriendly packages that have really struck a receptive chord with swelling numbers of Canadian and U.S. consumers, retailers and foodservice operators.

Produced at the company’s original poultry-processing facility, the company’s f lagship Green Peak Farms line of boneless, skinless chicken breasts has grown into a runaway bestseller in the U.S. markets, relates Nunes, while its recently-launched baconwrapped chicken tournedos have also been a big hit both as a Desco brand retailed in Canada, and as a private-label offering for leading U.S. grocers.

Quality First “We only deal with the best-quality boneless chicken breasts we can get our hands on—that is the only thing we process at this 200,000-square foot facility,” Nunes told Canadian Packaging in a recent interview.

“That sure is a lot of chicken breasts,” adds Nunes, who has worked at Desco for the past 20 years to see an ongoing succession of capital upgrades and new equipment installations turn the plant into a highlyefficient manufacturing operation.

“We start at seven o’clock each morning and run our packaging lines right up to midnight every day,

Monday through Friday, so it really is an enormous quantity of high-quality chicken meat that we cut, process, season, marinade and freeze to produce real value-added, but reasonably-priced, healthy protein meal solutions.”

Employing 80 to 90 people throughout most of the year, the plant serves its local retail customers by MAP gas-f lushing and repackaging the freshly-arrived, unfrozen chicken breasts in fiveand 10-kilogram boxes to be packed at the grocers’ premises, while using the facility’s advanced DSI chicken portioning machine to make precise cuts of chicken breasts that are packaged in zippered plastic bags right after being individually frozen and ice-glazed to seal in the product freshness.

Manufactured by FMC FoodTech, a Chicagoheadquartered subsidiary of FMC Technologies, Inc., the DSI portioner is a computer-controlled machine that utilizes waterjet cutting technology for portioning de-boned chicken prior to further processing—generating high-pressure water jets moving in both parallel or perpendicular directions of the product for optimal cut flexibility—to trim the fat and to portion the meat to desired target weight.

“This machine allows me to size the breasts to virtually any size I want,” says Nunes, “and after that’s done, the chicken pieces are tumbled, marinated, individually quick-frozen, and bagged Continues on page 20

The advanced DSI chicken portioning machine employs high-pressure waterjets to trim the fat and portion the fresh chicken breasts down to the desired target weight.

WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM • 19

PACKAGING FOR FRESHNESS HOME TO ROOST Continued from page 19

inside 2.5- or three-pound bags, depending on the product and customer.

“The fact that we individually quick-freeze the products makes them very easy to cook, as there is no need to dethaw them before cooking,” Nunes adds. “You can throw them right on the barbecue, make them on the stove top, bake or roast it in the oven ... whatever you like.”

After the frozen pieces are conveyed onto the weighscale system from Triangle Package Machinery Company and dispensed in precision-weighed portions, the plant’s Sandiacre bagging machine starts loading the meat into the pre-zippered Inno-Lok rollstock film supplied by Pentaf lex Packaging Limited, a leading producer of resealable pouches, rollstock film and other f lexible food packaging

products based in Montreal.

Until about four years ago, Pentaf lex used to supply the plant with pre-made zipper pouches for the bagged chicken breasts, but a switch to the highlydurable rollstock bags—pre-printed in up to eight colors and incorporating 10-inch reclosable zippers running along the top—has made the line considerably more efficient, according to Nunes.

“It works extremely well in our busy production environment,” says Nunes, adding it usually takes about eight to 10 people to run the frozen chickenbreast line, including manually putting the bags in into the shipping boxes and stacking them onto pallets—to be secured into place and readied for shipment by an Orion stretchwrapping machine.

“Compared to the way we used to run things, we are a pretty automated operation right now,” says Nunes, noting that using automated technology greatly enhances Desco’s ability to remain price-

competitive in the marketplace.

Nunes says he is also pleased with the quality and durability of the multilayer, high-barrier plastic bags supplied by Pentaf lex to package the company’s chicken tournedos.

“We have our own special recipe and marinade to make the tournedos,” he says, relating that the plant’s high-speed former shapes white chicken meat into individual ‘pucks’ at about 55 units per minute, after which they’re passed through a freezing tunnel, conveyed down the line to have pieces of bacon manually wrapped around them, and transferred further down for bagging and boxing.

“We normally bag them 10 or 14 tournedos per bag, whatever the customer wants,” says Nunes, adding that the plant leaves nothing to chance to ensure optimal safety for all the products it makes.

“We are a federally-inspected plant, so there’s really no room or tolerance for any unsafe or unhygienic workplace practices or processes,” he states.

“We were actually one of the very first meat plants in Canada to achieve full HACCP compliance, and maintaining that compliance is absolutely

Chicken tournedos are heat-sealed inside pre-zippered bags supplied by Pentaflex.

An Orion stretchwrapper secures a fullystacked pallet of product for shipment.

necessary to maintain our business and protect our market growth,” he says, adding that the plant employs an array of advanced metal detection systems and X-ray inspection machines for optimal quality assurance.

“Everything we do here is tied to ensure the best quality control we can,” he sums up, “and, touch wood, our excellent safety record will remain intact for many more years to come.”

For More Information: FMC FoodTech Pentaflex Packaging Limited Triangle Package Machinery Co. Sandiacre Packaging Machinery Orion Pacaking, LLC Fortress Technology Inc.

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CANADIAN PACKAGING • DECEMBER 2010

FLAWLESS FLEXIBLE PACKAGING www.pentaflexpackaging.com

• multiple 6 and 8 color central impression presses print up to 150 line screen • up to 10 color printing • laminate all types of opp, polyester, nylon, cello and foil for food packaging • environmentally-friendly solventless laminator • latest pouch-making equipment with “Ziplock”, stand-up and slider zipper capabilities.

• all rollstocks for VFFS and HFFS machines • new fully operational laboratory

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Mark Lichtblau, Corporate Vice-President, Haremar Plastic Manufacturing Ltd.

Cheryl Babcock, Vice-President

Manufactured by Brampton Engineering, the conventional five-layer extruder blowmolds a gigantic bubble of thin-walled plastic to be converted into rolls of finished packaging products.

FULL BAGGING RIGHTS

The five-layer conventional blown film extruder is controlled via Brampton Engineering’s ITALYCS system.

Plastic film manufacturer continues its rapid rise through industry ranks with cutting-edge technologies and ‘customer first’ corporate culture

BY ANDREW JOSEPH, FEATURES EDITOR PHOTOS BY SANDRA STRANGEMORE

T

here is more than one way to turn trash into gold for quick-thinking entrepreneurs, and for the Vaughan, Ont.-based Haremar Plastic Manufacturing Limited, making quality garbage bags for disposing of household and commercial waste proved to be just the ticket to fame and fortune in the broader markets for plastic packaging products.

And although fame may for now be too strong a word for a company that’s not quite yet a tipof-the-tongue name in global packaging industry circles, Haremar’s solid track record of ambitious growth, expansion, capital investment and technological leadership in many ways speaks for itself.

Founded in 1965 under most inconspicuous circumstances, the family-owned enterprise quickly developed a solid knack for producing high-quality, durable, easy-to-use garbage bags—primarily for residential uses—as well as food and storage bags, recalls corporate vice-president Mark Lichtblau, son of the company’s founder.

“We ultimately became known as a garbage-bag

22 • WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

manufacturing company,” says Lichtblau, “even though technically speaking, when my father started the company it only had a single extruder, housed in a 5,000-square-foot facility, that started out manufacturing sandwich bags and food storage bags.

“The garbage-bag manufacturing quickly followed, and that is what enabled the company to first earn a respected name for itself within the industry,” says Lichtblau, crediting the purchase of a second extruder for helping the company hone its innovation skills and grow market share.

First Thing First “We were the first manufacturer in Canada to offer garbage bags on a roll, we created the twolayer bags, and then we also added the drawstring garbage bags to our product mix.

“But we were always interested in evolving both our products and ourselves,” Lichtblau told Canadian Packaging on a recent visit to the company’s state-of-the-art, 139,000-square-foot production facility located a short drive north of Toronto, which today not only still serves as headquarters for the company’s El-En Packaging Company Limited garbage bag operation, but

also its fast-growing polyethylene film business.

“Essentially, we take monolayer structures and convert them into three- or five-layer plastic packaging products,” Lichtblau explains.

“To be more precise, we take resins and blends and optimize them to process multilayer plastic films to create products such as two-color courier film, barrier films, shrink film, freezer film, lamination films for stand-up pouches, bag-in-box and retort packaging, modified-atmosphere packaging (MAP) films, and many types of custom packaging films.”

Engineered for a broad range of packaging, printing, converting and laminating applications, the company’s comprehensive product portfolio of high-performance films covers most of the commonly-used types of film—including USPS overwrap, custom OTR (oxygen transmission rate) MTR (moisture transmission rate) packaging, and compostable and biodegradable films—processed into multilayer structures from mLLDPE (metallocene catalyzed linear low-density polyethylene), LLDPE (linear low-density polyethylene), LDPE (low-density polyethylene), HMWHDPE (high molecular weight high-density polyethylene) and PP (polypropylene).

CANADIAN PACKAGING • DECEMBER 2010

COVER STORY

A Haremar employee examines a FEEDMAX Series A300 central vacuum loader, manufactured by Wittmann Canada, used to ensure optimal efficiency on the five-layer Brampton Engineering extruder.

Finished rolls of high-performance packaging film being readied for transport to Haremar customers at the plant’s end-of-line operations .

The towering five-layer conventional blown film system from Brampton Engineering can quickly manufacture high-quality packaging films with exceptional tolerance ranges.

Currently housing a total of 10 production lines, the Vaughan facility is naturally a beehive of constant activity, according to Haremar vice-president Cheryl Babcock.

“We are already running all our production lines 355 days a year, 24 hour a day, and we still have room to grow even further,” says Babcok, adding the Vaughan building was specifically designed to optimize the current production workf low as well as accommodate future growth.

“In fact, we plan to have a new three-layer extruder up-and-running her at the plant by next April,” says Babcok, adding the company has spent about $3 million during the last quarter on various capital upgrades to prepare for the expansion.

“The layout of our building is quite exciting,” says Babcock. “When we were trying to determine the best way to layout our production lines prior to moving in eight years ago, we asked each department and each employee in their respective depart-

DECEMBER 2010 • CANADIAN PACKAGING

ment to offer ideas on how best to create the layout of the building—and they did.

“We used all of their comments and suggestions and made it into the building we have today,” stressing that the company’s highly dedicated staff of about 100 people are a key driving force behind its customercentric corporate culture and philosophy.

Keen Focus As Lichtblau points out: “Our focus is on the customers’ needs above all else, because having our customer succeed is what drives our own success.

“As part of that approach, we are always out there trying to find great customers,” he adds. “When we find value, so do our customers.

“We focus on the value proposition, in a sense that once the customers see that we have great products, they will see that value of using them to make their own products better,” Lichtblau remarks.

“I think that’s the key factor that allows us to

cultivate proper relationships with our clients,” he states, stressing that Haremar is not the type of company to constantly blow its own horn—preferring to concentrate on quietly going about its business by improving its production capabilities through better workf low processes and production equipment, while letting the positive word-of-mouth feedback from its growing client base attract new customers.

According to Babcok, a recent spree of capital upgrades across all film lines has made the Vaughan plant arguably the most technologically-advanced film extruder in Canada—now housing one fivelayer, three three-layer and eight other extrusion lines—along with being the largest single site for sinewave garbage-bag winding and die-cutting equipment installations.

“But even though we’ll be adding that new threelayer extrusion next year, right now the real star of Continues on page 24

WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM • 23

COVER STORY

Perched on top of the Consolidated Technologies case-packer, the Nordson ProBlue 7 glue applicator dispenses precise deposits of hot-melt adhesive to seal the passing cartons.

THE PLASTIC EVOLUTION Continued from page 23

our show is the five-layer extruder,” says Babcock, referring to a towering, five-layer blown film extrusion system manufactured by the Brampton, Ont.-based Brampton Engineering Inc. Reaching upwards about four storeys high, this technological marvel—designed to convert plastic resins into large rolls of f lexible packaging or industrial plastic wrap—enables Haremar to process an extremely wide range of film structures and layer distributions, according to Babcok, with its five-layer SCD (streamlined co-extrusion die) boasting an automatic gauge control to enable processing within exceptional tolerance ranges, along with remarkably fast material changeovers.

During the forming process, the plastic polymer is squeezed through the SCD die—designed to

A Haremar plant employee positioning loaded cartons of packaging plastic film onto the 3M-Matic case-sealing machine.

distribute the polymer uniformly so that it leaves the extruder in the shape of a tube—to be formed into a thin uniform web.

During the following orientation phase of the blown film process, the tube-shaped web is blown up into a giant bubble to thin out the web to required thickness, and after the polymer has been extruded, it is hardened into its finished film via a cooling process that uniformly blows air onto the die web.

The whole system is controlled via a Brampton Engineering ITALYCS line control system that provides completely integrated control of all critical components of the blown film line, with other equipment supplied by Brampton Engineering comprising an ITALYCS gravimetric blender system; an Eliminator air ring; an IBC (internal bubble control) system; two bubble cages; an oscillating hauloff; a secondary nip system; two turret winders; and an automated roll and shaft handling system.

An expansive on-site warehouse provides temporary storage for a staggering inventory of plastic film products in a diverse range of packaging formats for Haremar’s fastgrowing customer base across numerous consumer packaged goods industries.

In terms of everyday packaging machinery, the Vaughan plant makes extensive use of a high-performance case-packing system manufactured by Consolidated Technologies, which incorporates a model ProBlue 7 adhesive applicator from Nordson Corporation to seal the shipping cartons, along with several 3M-Matic case-sealing systems manufactured by 3M Company.

According to Lictblau and Babcok, having two complementary businesses under one roof has worked out extremely well for the company, which they say ranks as the largest private-label extruder of garbage bags in Canada, as well as one of the top 10 polyethylene film manufacturers in North America.

But that’s anything but an invitation to sit on one’s laurels, Lictblau asserts.

“We’re always looking for ways to improve our production f low and efficiencies—whether it’s through procedural changes or the way we work, purchasing new equipment, or learning how to better utilize the equipment we have,” explains Lichtblau.

“We thrive by immersing ourselves in the culture of change: We’re always changing and evolving, and always in a positive context,” he says, citing customer service, workplace safety, continuous quality improvement, and ongoing productivity enhancements as key strategic objectives driving Haremar’s day-to-day operations.

“We have an on-site QA (quality assurance) laboratory here at the facility that is staffed by three full-time people,” divulges Lichtblau, “and we always have quality control staff present on the plant f loor—two team members on every shift who are continually checking product quality to make sure it’s up to par.

“In my opinion, no one else has the formidable combination of workplace culture and production machinery to do what we can do here at Haremar,” he sums up. “We are one of the highest-quality film manufacturers of plastics in Canada, and we plan on getting bigger and better at what we do.”

For More Information: Haremar Plastic Manufacturing Limited Brampton Engineering Inc. Consolidated Technologies Nordson Canada, Limited 3M Canada Company

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CANADIAN PACKAGING • DECEMBER 2010

BOTTLING

FAMILY TIES Bottle manufacturer channels 100 years of family knowledge into a successful North American PET bottles venture

BY ANDREW JOSEPH, FEATURES EDITOR PHOTOS BY COLE GARSIDE

Salbro Bottle Inc. is owned and operated by (from left): Paul Saltz, vice-president of sales and marketing; David Saltz, vice-president of operations; Gary Saltz, president.

tomers across North America, including some of the leading brands in the cosmetics and food-andbeverage industries.

As part of its one-stop-shop for customers, Salbro offers a wide array of stock glass molds for bottles and jars in a variety of shapes and sizes, including existing Salbro-designed molds and customdesigned exclusive molds.

“Right now, 50 per cent of our business is derived from the buying and selling and distribution of glass bottles and closures, with the other half devoted to the manufacture of plastic bottles,” states Gary, noting that Salbro employs a state-ofthe-art CAD (computer-aided design) system that can quickly create a three-dimensional sample of a customer’s bottle—providing a finished prototype in just a few hours afterwards.

brands look their best on the retail shelves, because we know that when they succeed, we do as well.”

The model BST 1200es three-dimensional here aren’t many people involved in the prototype system—manufactured by Dimension, bottling industry that can boast of a 100Inc. of Eden Prairie, Minn.—plays a big role in year heritage, combined with being a major the company’s design capabilities by enabling fast player on two continents, but that is exactly what creation of the actual physical representation of the customers get when they deal with Salbro Bottle CAD-generated bottles made from ultra-thin plasInc., a Woodbridge, Ont.-based manufacturer and tic wiring, which are built up layer by layer. distributor of two-stage PET (polyethylene terephGary says the systems is considerably less expenthalate) bottles, or as Salbro prefers to call them, sive than most conventional rapid prototyping syspackaging solutions. tems out in the market, and that having this service “While it’s true that the manufacture of PET inhouse is far preferable to having it outsourced. bottles is a large part of who we are, we are also His brother Paul concurs: “It is a phenomenal a stocking distributor of a wide range of plastic piece of high-tech equipment that has quickly proand glass bottles and closures,” explains company vided a nice ROI (return-on-investment) for us.” president Gary Saltz.

As for the actual production of the PET bottles, the “Prior to setting up HACCP(HazardAnalysis shop here in Canada, Crit-ical Control Points)my brothers and I compliant Woodbridge ran a successful packplant employs six stateaging operation back of-the-art, fully-autoin South Africa,” says matic reheat stretch Gary, who runs the blowmolding machines company—comprising manufactured in a 40,000-square-foot Canada. headquarters and manuEach of Salbro’s stretch facturing facility in blowmolding machines Pre-fabricated bottle resins are conveyed into a stretch An employee loads just-manufactured PET bottles into a Woodbridge, another features two blowblowmolder to be converted into PET bottles. shipping carton for quick delivery to a Salbro customer.

30,000-square-foot molding cavities that plant in nearby Vaughan, form a pair of bottles Ont., a 15,000-squarefrom the prefabricated foot plant in St. John’s, preform bottle resins at Nfld., and a Montreal speeds up to 3,000-bph sales office—along (bottles per hour). with his brothers Paul, “We’ve always purvice-president of sales chased state-of-the-art and marketing, and equipment, which is a David, vice-president of big reason we’ve been operations. able to continue growing “My grandfather startour business every year,” A Salbro quality assurance employee checks bottle thickTwo blowmolding cavities form PET bottles from resins on ed us up in the bottling Gary asserts. “No matter ness to ensure it falls within acceptable parameters. one of Salbro’s six reheat stretch blowmolding machines. business a century ago what our clients’ physical when he would colrequirements, we are lect discarded bottles from the street and return “Because we’re an owner-operated business, it able to manufacture bottles or jars as small as 200-ml them to the brand-owners for reuse,” recalls Gary. means a customer can call us any time they want up to two liters in clear format or in any color of the “Eventually, the business grew enough for him to and we’ll react,” asserts Gary. “We’re big enough rainbow,” says Gary, adding the company takes great begin manufacturing his own bottles to sell.” to handle anyone’s order, but we’re also grounded pride in its professionalism and team-based approach After leaving South Africa in 1989, the three well enough to be able to react and adapt to the to getting the job done right for its customers. brothers formed Salbro in 1990—combining the customer’s needs quickly.

“And although we do indeed have global confamily name with ‘brothers’—initially specializing “It’s f lexibility, pure and simple,” he says, noting tacts to satisfy any sourcing needs and decorations in the silk-screening of bottles. that despite being in the business for over 20 years, one might require from us,” he concludes, “we’re But after some of its customers asked Salbro to Salbro is still considered to be something of a neostill very much a hands-on type of company where begin warehousing and transporting containers for phyte in certain circles, although he prefers to look we are only too happy to work with small and them, the company felt that the time was right to at that philosophically. medium-sized companies. become more of a one-stop-shop operation, sup“In my mind that just means that we are not stuck “Big or small, we can do it all.” plying the market with bottles, caps, labels, silkin a rut,” he states. “We are always looking for new For More Information: screening and distribution services. designs that we can proffer to our customers withAccording to Gary, Salbro has been able to grow out having to wait for them to come to us.

Salbro Bottle Inc. 480 its business every year since starting up—today “We always have their best interests in mind and Dimension, Inc. 481 selling an estimated 100 million bottles to cuswe’re always interested in having our customers’

T

DECEMBER 2010 • CANADIAN PACKAGING

WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM • 25

Pieces of 12,000-year-old icebergs are harvested off the east coast of Newfoundland to be used in the making of the ICEBERG Vodka brand.

BY ANDREW JOSEPH, FEATURES EDITOR

F

BREAKING THE ICE Canadian vodka distiller harvests icebergs to make a big splash in the Canadian and export markets

or those who think that 24-year-old scotch is something special, it may be something of a revelation to find out that somebody in Canada is making vodka using 12,000-year-old ingredients.

But that’s exactly what the folks in charge of the St. John’s, Nf ld.-headquartered Canadian ICEBERG Vodka Corporation (CIVC) have been doing since 1996 to create the company’s f lagship ICEBERG Vodka brand.

“We are the only company in the world that produces alcohol beverages made with real icebergs,” CIVC vice-president David Hood told Canadian Packaging in a recent interview from the company’s administrative offices in Toronto, saying that iceberg water accounts for 60 per cent of the content of the ICEBERG Vodka brand, which is bottled on the company’s behalf at a Newfoundland Labrador Liquor Corporation (NLC) facility in St. John’s.

“We are licensed by the Newfoundland government’s department of water resources to harvest tons and tons of icebergs from along the east coast of Newfoundland in the so-called Iceberg Alley,” says Hood, claiming that using reals icebergs to produce its ICEBERG Vodka, ICEBERG Gin, ICEBERG Silver Rum and ICEBERG Gold Rum spirits gives its products an incomparable edge in terms of product purity and the overall f lavor and taste profile.

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After the icebergs break away from a glacier in the Arctic and move to warmer waters, Hood explains, they begin to melt and shatter into smaller pieces called ‘growlers,’ which eventually reveal older, purer ice dating back as far as 12,000 years ago—well before any man-made pollutants or other contaminants could have made their way to that remote part of the planet.

“So in October of 1995 we announced we would begin producing an ultra premium vodka made from harvested icebergs and triple-distilled neutral grain spirits distilled from Ontario and Michigan sweet peaches and cream corn,” Hood recalls, noting that the vodka is filtered four times to ensure a smooth, premium taste profile.

“If anyone thinks that going out and harvesting an iceberg and dragging it back to our facility via barges and tugboats is an inexpensive proposition they are sorely misguided, and the same goes for the corn we use to make the alcohol itself,” Hood asserts.

“Although it increases our production costs, it is important for us to use only use the highest-grade grain alcohol and the best raw materials to ensure a unique taste experience for the consumers,” says Hood, noting that the 50-employee NLC plant produced about two million liters of the ICEBERG-branded spirits last year—helping CIVC generate revenues of about $9 million.

The company’s attention to detail and quality have been amply rewarded

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CANADIAN PACKAGING • DECEMBER 2010

to date not only in the Canadian markets, Hood notes, but also by the discerning customers in the U.S., Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, China, Taiwan, Israel, South Africa, Iceland and a few other European countries.

According to Hood, the shapely, iconic glass and PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles used to package the ICEBERG Vodka brand—supplied by Salbro Bottles Inc. of Woodbridge, Ont.—also play an important role in the brand’s marketplace success.

Featuring a unique see-through front label with a textured finish, the ICEBERG beverages’ artistically designed “clear ice’ bottles have fissures chiselled in them to allow for condensation to occur when the bottle is removed from the freezer— making the bottle look like a piece of frosted ice, Hood remarks.

“The blue cyan cap on our ICEBERG Vodka reinforces the cold-cool feel of the vodka which we believe appeals to the consumer’s eye while blending beautifully with the overall color tone of the label,” says Hood, complimenting Salbro for supplying the striking, high-quality 50-, 200-, 375-ml and 1.75-liter PET bottles, along with the 750 ml, one- and 1.14-liter glass bottles.

“We’ve been working with Salbro for about 12 years now and our relationship is solid: We’re like partners,” states Hood.

“They are very supportive of what we do, they keep us up-to-date on the trends and innovations in the world of packaging, and they understand what it takes to be successful.”

Photos courtesy of the NLC

BOTTLING

After being filled by a FOGG filler and Zalkin capper purchased via Newmapak, PET bottles of ICEBERG Vodka are quickly and carefully conveyed to a Quadrel labeler at the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation’s St. John’s facility.

Total freedom!

Filled bottles of ICEBERG Vodka moving towards the end of the packaging line at the NLC plant to be packed into shipping cartons.

Likewise, Hood says he is very appreciative of all the hard work done by the NLC plant’s dedicated staff: “They have been a great partner for us all these years, and all of the success we’ve had is shared with them.”

Adds Mike Hawco, NLC’s director of distillery operations: “We’ve been working with ICEBERG since the onset of their operations and have enjoyed partnering with them in the creation of such a fine beverage.”

Continues on page 28

DECEMBER 2010 • CANADIAN PACKAGING

Mechatronic Motion Solutions.

For maximum design flexibility and optimum performance: electric, pneumatic and servopneumatic components for custom handling

Festo Inc. Tel: 1 877 GO FESTO Fax: 1 877 FX FESTO festo.canada@ca.festo.com

systems.

www.festo.ca

FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE

104

BOTTLING BREAKING THE ICE Continued from page 27

Hawco says that in 2007, the NLC committed to a large investment to upgrade its production lines to meet growing volume demands and selected Newmapak Ltd., a Candiac, Que.-based pack-

aging machinery, conveying and automation systems manufacturer and distributor, to install a new filling line, comprising a FA3010 filler from the FOGG Filler Company; a model T10/567 capper with ROPP (roll over pilfer proofing) capabilities from Zalkin; a Posimat Master 20 Giramat Type inline bottle unscrambler; and a Double Q60

heavy-duty, wipe-on, pressure-sensitive labeler from Quadrel Labeling Systems.

“It’s really been a hard-working and a very reliable line for us,” relates Hawco.

Fast Work “Depending on the size of bottle we are using, we can run it anywhere between 55- and 125bpm (bottles per minute),” he says, adding that all the packaging date and lot code date is etched onto the bottles by a coder supplied by Videojet Technologies Canada LP. Sums up Hood: “We’ve got a great-tasting product and a great bunch of people helping us create it and, quite obviously, we couldn’t do it without their help.

“And despite us living in the past somewhat on the account of using ice-age water,” he concludes, “the Canadian ICEBERG Vodka Corporation is indeed looking to continuing our success together with our partners far into the future.”

For More Information:

ICEBERG Vodka bottles move along the production line between the Quadrel labeling and Videojet coding stations.

Salbro Bottles Inc. Newmapak Ltd. FOGG Filler Company Zalkin Posimat Quadrel Labeling Systems Videojet Technologies Canada LP

490 491 492 493 494 495 496

NOTES & QUOTES  Automated material handling systems and equipment manufacturer Intelligrated of Cincinnati, Ohio, has announces the launch of a comprehensive equipment and safety audit program for the company’s legacy Mathews and Alvey palletizer installations in Canada, to be carried out by the company’s local audit technicians in order to restore the existing equipment to peak operational performance, ensure adherence to safety standards, and identify any additional ways of improving the equipment utilization and uptime.

“Our Alvey and Mathews palletizers are missioncritical components to any packaging line, and keeping these machines running at top performance levels is key to achieving productivity goals,” says Intelligrated Industries Canada vicepresident and general manager Steve McElweenie.

According to the company, the audit begins with a complete, infeed-to-discharge technical inspection of the system—including an in-depth analysis of key system components such as wear points, chains, rollers and other moving parts—to generate a comprehensive professional audit report with complete description of findings, digital photographs illustrating recommended maintenance, upgrades and modifications, and a list of recommended spare parts. Each safety audit includes a review of guarding, clearance distance, light curtains, electrical wiring and stops, says Intelligrated, which also offers to conduct the equipment safety audits in partnership with third-party equipment safety consultants to ensure full compliance with

28 • WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

all the pertinent CSA (Canadian Standards Association) and Ontario’s PHSR (Pre-start Health and Safety Review) standards. “Intelligrated has the engineering knowledge, customer service capability, manufacturing expertise and strong Canadian presence to service all legacy Mathews and Alvey brand palletizers. As the original equipment manufacturer, we can provide unparalleled technical support, spare parts and field service for this equipment.” Tel. (905) 725-0550  Pneumatic systems and technologies supplier Festo Inc. of Mississauga, Ont., has appointed Montreal-headquartered Kinecor LP as the company’s national Canadian distributor, with selected locations in Ontario and Quebec, for the company’s full product range of cylinders, valves, air preparation units, fittings and tubing. “Kinecor is a great fit for our distribution strategy because of their proximity to our mutual customers in their 60 branches across Canada, along with their highly motivated and technically savvy sales team,” says Festo Inc.’s national distribution manager Andreas Sobotta. “Kinecor considers the Festo product line as an excellent addition to their portfolio, which will allow them to offer their customers a complete automation solution.”  Wood Dale, Ill.-headquartered product coding and marking equipment manufacturer Videojet Technologies Inc. has announced the opening of its new, wholly-owned Videojet Technologies México subsidiary in Mexico City—following its recent buyout of the F. Armida y Cía coding business. “We thank F. Armida y Cía’s for their efforts and achievements while representing Videojet for over 20 years in the Mexican market, but this is the right time for Videojet to have direct presence in

Mexico, with the aim of investing and expanding its geographic coverage to offer our customers better service,” says Eduardo de la Torre, general manager of Videojet Technologies México. “Our global customers, including leading brands in food-and-beverage, personal care and pharmaceutical industries, demand that we provide the same portfolio of cutting-edge products and the same first-class service that Videojet supplies in the rest of the world,” he adds, citing Videojet’s estimated worldwide installation base of more than 275,000 systems in over 135 countries.  Albéa has been selected as the new corporate name for the company formerly called Alcan Packaging Beauty, Paris, France-based supplier of packaging products for the global make-up, fragrance, skincare, personal- and oral-care markets— employing over 8,200 people at 25 manufacturing facilities located in 11 different countries across Europe, the Americas and Asia. With the word “Albéa” said to evoke the word “beauty” and symbolize material embellishment, according to the company, the new name will better ref lect the firm’s distinctive product brands and support its marketing efforts across its entire product portfolio—especially over the coming six months, during which the new name will be used to rebrand the company’s global product lines. “The new name perfectly represents our protection of, and great care for, our customers’ products and all the markets we serve, as well as our focus to support their development worldwide,” explains Albéa president Francois Luscan. “We are one company with a powerful new global brand name: well-respected throughout the industry and synonymous with quality and trust. Our new company name builds upon these solid assets to propel us into a new area of growth.”

CANADIAN PACKAGING • DECEMBER 2010

PEOPLE

EVENTS

 PAC - The Packaging Association regrets to announce the passing of Jeff Jeffery— former PAC chairman and a long-time dedicated member of the PAC (forJeffery merly the Packaging Association of Canada)—at the age of 86.

Having served in the role of National Chairman of the group’s Board of Directors in 1988, Jeffery also served as a director of the PAC’s national board for many years afterwards—playing a key role behind the success of the biennial PACex national packaging exhibition in Toronto. In 2003, Jeffery was formally recognized for all his life-long contributions to the PAC and the Canadian packaging industry at large with a special dedication ceremony held during that year’s National Packaging Awards Gala.  Buckhorn, Milford, Ohio-based manufacturer of reusable plastic containers, pallets, totes and other related material handling and packaging products, has appointed Rob Tieman as director of sales and marketing.  Constar International Inc., Philadelphia, Pa.-based manufacturer of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic containers for the food-andbeverage industries, has appointed Grant Beard as president and chief executive officer.  Stow, Ohio-based MACtac, a Bemis Company, Inc. subsidiary specializing in the manufacture of pressure-sensitive adhesives, has appointed Ed LaForge as vice-president of sales and marketing for North America.  Key Technology, Inc., Walla Walla, Wash.-based manufacturer of process automation, integrated electrooptical inspection, and sorting and processing systems, has Johnson appointed Steve Johnson as product marketing manager for the company’s process systems line of products, including vibratory conveyors, sizing and grading systems, washers and dryers and other processing equipment for fresh-cut produce; Flodin and Rob Flodin as major account manager responsible for the ConAgra business.  Dynamic Conveyor Corporation, Muskegon, Mich.based manufacturer of modular conveying systems, has appointed Mark Aamodt as sales coordinator.

Aamodt

 Pearson Packaging Systems, Spokane, Wash.-based manufacturer of loading, palletizing, case-packing and other secondary packaging equipment, has appointed Randy Denny as vice-president of sales and marketing.

Renda

 Multisorb Technologies, Inc., Buffalo, N.Y.-based manufacturer of sorbent technologies for the foodand-beverage, healthcare and electronics packaging applications, has appointed James Renda as president.

 Berry Plastics Corporation, Evansville, Ind.-based manufacturer of plastic packaging, has appointed Jonathan Rich as chief executive officer.

DECEMBER 2010 • CANADIAN PACKAGING

JAN. 18-19

MAY 1-5

San Francisco, Ca.: Sustainable Foods Summit, by Organic Monitor. To register, go to: www.sustainablefoodssummit.com

Boston, Mass.: ANTEC 2011, international plastics industry technical conference by the Society of Professional Engineers (SPE). At Boston Marriott Copley Place and Hynes Convention Center.

Contact Lesley Kyle at (w203) 740-5452; via email at lskyle@4spe.org; or go to: www.antec.ws

JAN. 25-28 Moscow, Russia: Upakovka/Upak Italia, packaging technologies exhibitions by Messe Düsseldorf GmbH, concurrently with the Interplastica 2010 exhibition for plastics technologies. All at Krasnaya Presnya Expocenter. To register, go to: www.upakovka-upakitalia.de

FEB. 8-10 Anaheim, Ca.: WestPack, PLASTEC West, Pacific Design & Manufacturing Show, ATX (Automation Technology Expo) West, Electronics West, MD&M (Medical Design & Manufacturing) West, DesignMed North America and Green Manufacturing Expo, by Canon Communications LLC. All at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Contact Canon at (310) 996-9427; or go to: www.canontradeshows.com/biz

MAY 10-11 Toronto: Supply Chain Canada, conference and trade sho by Supply Chain & Logistics Association Canada (SCL) and the Canadian Industrial Transportation Association (CITA). At the International Centre. Contact Newcom Business Media Inc. at (905) 695-0123, ext. 203; or go to: www.supplychaincanada.com

MAY 11-13 Toronto: SIAL Canada 2011, international food industry exhibition by Expo Canada France. Jointly with the SET Canada 2011 national food equipment show. Both at the Metro Convention Centre.

To register, go to: www.sialcanada.com

FEB. 23-24

MAY 12-18

Paris, France: Pharmapack, exhibition and congress for pharmaceutical and medical device packaging technologies by Canon Communications France. At Grande Halle de la Villette. Contact Sylvaine Robinet at +33 (1) 77 62 88 12.

Düsseldorf, Germany: interpack 2011, international processing and packaging technologies exhibition

by Messe Düsseldorf. In Canada, contact Messe Düsseldorf Canada at (416) 598-1524; or via email: messeduesseldorf@germanchamber.ca

MARCH 8-9

MAY 17-20

Paris, France: Aerosol Forum, aerosol packaging technologies exhibition and conference by Oriex Communication. At Citè des Sciences et de l’Industrie. To register, go to: www.aerosol-forum.com

Guangzhou, China: ChinaPlas 2011, international exhibition for plastics and rubber industries by Adsale Exhibition Services Ltd. At the China Import & Export Fair Pazxhou Complex. To register, go to: www.ChinaplasOnline.com

MARCH 8-10

JUNE 7-9

Tampa, Fla.: 2011 Operations Conference: Embracing Change to Improve Your Operations, by the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute (PMMI). To register, go to: www.pmmi.org

New York City: EastPack, PLASTEC East, Atlantic Design & Manufacturing Show, ATX (Automation Technology Expo) East, MD&M (Medical Design & Manufacturing) Florida and Green Manufacturing Expo, by Canon Communications LLC. All at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Contact Canon at (310) 996-9427; or go to: www.canontradeshows.com/biz

MARCH 16-17 Orlando, Fla.: SouthPack, PLASTEC South, Pacific Design & Manufacturing Show, ATX (Automation Technology Expo) South, Design & Manufacturing South, MD&M (Medical Design & Manufacturing) Florida and Green Manufacturing Expo, by Canon Communications LLC. All at the Orange County Convention Center. Contact Canon at (310) 996-9427; or go to: www.canontradeshows.com/biz

MARCH 21-24 Chicago: ProMat 2011 and The International Robots, Vision & Motion Control Show, jointly by Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA) and the Automation Technologies Council (ATC). Both at the McCormick Place. Contact Carol Miller of MHIA at (704) 676-1190 or go to www.ProMatShow.com; or Jeff Burnstein of ATC at (734) 994-6088, or via email jburnstein@robotics.org

MARCH 27-29 Chicago: PAPER2011, annual paper industry meeting by the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) and the NPTA Alliance. Contact Chuck Fuqua of the AF&PA at (202) 463-2466 or via email chuck_fuqua@afandpa.org; or go to: www.paper2011.com

JUNE 21-23 Toronto: PACKEX Toronto, national packaging technologies exhibition by Canon Communication LLC. Concurrently with the Plast-ex national plastics technologies exhibition, ATX (Automation Technology Expo) Canada, Design & Manufacturing Canada, PTX/PBS (Process Technology/Power Bulk Solids) Canada and Green Manufacturing Expo Canada. All at the Toronto Congress Centre.

Contact Jim Beretta at (289) 971-0534; via email jim.beretta@cancom.com; or go to: www.packextoronto.com

AUG. 31 - SEPT. 3 Bangkok, Thailand: Pack Print International 2011, international packaging and printing exhibition for Asia by Messe Düsseldorf Asia. Contact Messe Düsseldorf North America at (312) 781-5180; or go to: www.mdna.com

SEPT. 19-23 Halifax, N.S.: Conference on Canadian Stewardship, biennial national environmental stewardship and waste management conference. To register, go to: www.canadianstewardhship.com

WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM • 29

CHECKOUT JEFF MAY

GOOD FOODSERVICE PACKAGING A TOUGH NUT TO CRACK

Food typically arrives into the kitchen in one of two shapes and sizes—the gargantuan or the pre-portioned variety. Both packaging styles have their own merits, and each can save the establishment money when used wisely.

When daily demand justifies it, bulk packaging formats like the 20-liter plastic bucket of GFS Dill Pickles is a real no-brainer, with its durable, resealable construction doing a fine job of keeping the product fresh until it runs out, while the sturdy plastic handle makes it easy to carry from place to place to wherever the pickles are needed in a hurry. And while the buckets are fully recyclable, we prefer reusing them long after emptying out the contents—be it as an ice-bucket, an emergency garbage bin, or for any other such jobs that come up all the time in our line of work. At the other end of the size scale, pre-portioned foods—such as the 60-gram pouches of Kingsey Poutine Curds from Saputo Inc.—are a great way to ensure proper portion control and product freshness, while keeping food costs in line by using only what you need.

Shipped in 100 pouches per carton, a handful of these packets easily fit into any preptable pan, with the straight red arrows printed along one side clearly indicat-

ing where the easy-tear perforation begins. Also, disclosing all the important nutritional information on the back of each pouch is a helpful way for restaurateurs to keep track of the nutritional contents of their dishes, which is especially important in this day of healthsavvy diners who often inquire how many calories, or how much sodium, their meals pack.

There was a time when Heinz Ketchup used to bill itself as one of “the good things that come to those who wait,” which in hindsight seems like a lame excuse for testing the customers’ patience by pouring out of the old-school glass containers at a snail’s pace. But that’s ancient history now. The new squeezable, 375-ml restaurant-only plastic jars from H.J. Heinz Company of Canada— featuring a large, nonremovable, tamper-resistant flat lid for “upside down” storing—easily enable diners to get their fill of this enduringly popular condiment without any shaking, pounding or inserting of a utensil inside the bottle, while restaurant operators adore that fact that all of “Canada’s Favourite Ketchup” ultimately ends up on the plate—not having to throw away any remains still stubbornly clinging to the sidewalls.

Transporting hundreds of liters of pop up and down the stairs is a grim task to which I was glad to bid farewell since switching to the option of simply connecting 20 liters of Pepsi syrup directly to the water supply. Shipped in a sturdy plastic bag with an air-tight valve that easily connects to the pop-gun line above the bar counter, this innovative beverage packaging is significantly enhanced by the high-strength corrugated box—manufactured by Atlantic Packaging Products Ltd.—whose crush-resistant corners and

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX

For more information on Classified Advertising please contact: 416-764-1497

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ADVERTISERS’ INDEX

101

Atlantic Packaging Products Ltd. 4

Page

102

CombiScale

20

103

Deco Labels & Tags

31

104

Festo Inc.

27

Glenn A. Davis & Associates Ltd. 9 107

Harlund Industries Ltd.

108

Interpack 2011

109

Krones Machinery Co. Ltd.

110

Markem-Imaje

8

111

Nordson Canada

2

Name

xxx

PMMI Packaging Machinery

9

Title

7

Manufacturers Institute 128

Pentaflex Packaging

21

112-117

QuickLabel Systems,

11

Robert Reiser & Co. Inc.

119-124 SEW Eurodrive Co.of Canada

DECEMBER 2010

CIRCLE THE R.S. NO. THAT MATCHES THE NUMBER ON THE ADVERTISEMENT OR ARTICLE OF INTEREST. FAX THIS BACK TO US AT (416) 764-1755

Company Name Address City

An Astro Med Product Group 118

Jeff May is the owner and proprietor of Scallywags Bar & Restaurant, a popular sports pub and eatery in midtown Toronto.

PRODUCT INFORMATION

Haremar Plastic Manufacturing 26

15

No foodservice packaging review would be complete without an ode to the good old beer keg, given that one of the first questions asked by thirsty new arrivals to a pub is typically, “What do you have on draught?”

With about 90 per cent of my beer sales coming from draught beer, selecting the right kegs can literally make or break your pub. Beer fridges are designed around them, and most bar countertops are constructed with draught taps in mind, first and foremost, to display your beer selections to maximum effect. Here in Ontario, the 58.6-liter kegs from Brewers Retail (aka The Beer Store) are the unrivaled workhorses of the local draught business. Packing over eight liters more brew than their 50-liter Euro-sized counterparts, these kegs require less time-consuming changeovers, and they are easily stored on top of each other inside the cooler to maximize available space. With only the safety seal to dispose of at the end of the day, the keg is also eminently reusable, with its standardized couplers enabling The Beer Store to send an empty to virtually any brewer for a quick refill. All in all, a superb package well-deserving of many hearty cheers!

FREE

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sturdy construction make it easy to stack reserve product in a space-efficient way, while fully protecting the plastic bladder inside from accidental punctures. With all the handling instructions neatly printed on top of the box, and the product label clearly displaying expiry dates to ensure proper product rotation, the functionality of the box is further enhanced with a perforated thumb tab that easily opens up to remove the valve, and then sliding in again around the valve to hold it firmly in place.

18 13

125

Salbro Bottle Inc.

7

126

Videojet Technologies Canada

3

127

WeighPack Systems Inc.

32

Prov.

P/Code

Telephone Fax Email Address

ARTICLE OF INTEREST R.S NO.

30 • WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

CANADIAN PACKAGING • DECEMBER 2010

Photos by Jeff May

C

ontrary to popular belief, running a busy restaurant is no easy meal-ticket for life. No two days are exactly alike, and each day has potential for many things to go wrong in a hurry. Everything must run like clockwork to make the whole operation tick, and few things are more frustrating than having to deal with inadequate, excessive, or otherwise substandard foodservice packaging making its way onto the premises.

THE FOOD INDUSTRY’S LABEL CONVERTER.  HACCP Certification.  ISO 9000 Certification.  Six Sigma/Lean Manufacturing Disciplines.  GMP Discipline.  ‘Go Green’ Core/Liner Recovery Programs.  Energy/Water/Waste/Material Reduction Programs.  Environmentally Friendly Materials/Inks/Coatings Implementation  InFoMax® Multi-Panel Information/Promotion Labels.

TIMES HAVE CHANGED… SO HAVE YOUR LABELING NEEDS. Today, food and consumer packaged goods companies are looking for new partners to help them meet the demands of leading grocers and retailers. You must choose wisely.

For your label needs, count on Deco Labels. We’re making all the right moves to be in line with global packaging perspectives on food safety and sustainability.

Call Leonard Rudner today at 416-247-7878 for a point-by-point anaylsis on how to make your labels compliant with the latest strict standards being set by the retail market.

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