Canadian Packaging November 2014

NOVEMBER 2014 | $10

www.canadianpackaging.com

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE!

Packaging remake works collective Wonders for iconic bread brand

Publication mail agreement #40069240.

Story on page 10

TAKING SIDES 

Page 16

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With its breakthrough design, the 9550 applies labels directly onto packs without the need for an applicator, while self-adjusting label placement accommodates varying line speeds, throughput and package sizes. Revolutionary Intelligent Motion™ technology targets zero unscheduled downtime as it precisely and automatically controls the entire system.

See the Videojet 9550 in action at PackExpo 2014 in Chicago.

Intelligent MotionTM

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UPFRONT

OF PRIMARY IMPORTANCE

SENIOR PUBLISHER Stephen Dean • (416) 510-5198 SDean@canadianpackaging.com EDITOR George Guidoni • (416) 510-5227 GGuidoni@canadianpackaging.com FEATURES EDITOR Andrew Joseph • (416) 510-5228 AJoseph@canadianpackaging.com ART DIRECTOR Sheila Wilson • (416) 442-5600 x3593 shwilson@bizinfogroup.ca PRODUCTION MANAGER Barb Vowles • (416) 510-5103 BVowles@bizinfogroup.ca CIRCULATION MANAGER Anita Madden • 442-5600 x3596 AMadden@bizinfogroup.ca

BIG MAGAZINES LP Vice-President of Canadian Publishing • Alex Papanou President of Business Information Group • Bruce Creighton Executive Publisher • Tim Dimopoulos Editorial Director• Lisa Wichmann

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DISCLAIMER: This publication is for informational purposes only. The content and “expert” advice presented are not intended as a substitute for informed professional engineering advice. You should not act on information contained in this publication without seeking specific advice from qualified engineering professionals. 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, republish, distribute, store and archive such unsolicited submissions in whole or in part in any form or medium whatsoever, without compensation of any sort.

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COVER STORY

NOVEMBER 2014 www.canadianp

| $10

ackaging.com

10 WONDERING MIND By George Guidoni

Canada’s leading bread brand undergoes a comprehensive packaging transformation to reverse a stubborn decline in overall bread sales and consumption by tugging at the consumers’ heartstrings with a nostalgic throwback to the bygone days of chilhood youth and innocence.

IT’S A WONDERFU L LIFE!

Packaging remak e works

collective Wonde rs for Story on page

Cover photography courtesy of Weston Bakeries Ltd.

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DEPARTMENTS & COLUMNS UPFRONT By George Guidoni

4-5 NEWSPACK

Packaging news roundup.

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FIRST GLANCE New technologies for packaging applications.

7-8 ECO-PACK NOW

All about packaging sustainability.

9 imPACt Monthly insight from PAC, Packaging Consortium.

30 ANNOUNCEMENTS

Industry briefs and company updates.

31 EVENTS

Upcoming industry functions.

31 PEOPLE

Career moves in the packaging world.

32 CHECKOUT By Rhea Gordon Joe Public speaks out on packaging hits and misses.

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iconic bread brand

agreement #40069240.

VOLUME 67, NO. 11

happy convergence of some key market trends, including the Big Box and Club Store shopping outlets driving demand for retail-ready packaging solutions; greater focus on more sustainable packaging solutions, with secondary packaging naturally providing big opportunities for meaningful carbon-footprint reduction; and a fast-growing e-commerce business that virtually assures healthy future market demand for mainstay secondary packaging products like corrugated shipping boxes.

“Nearly half of the CPG companies surveyed [by PMMI] say the types of secondary packaging in use will remain stable and therefore the level of corrugated board will, generally, stay the same in the future,” the PMMI study observes.

“Secondary packaging will become more instrumental in the tracing process as track-and-trace regulations continue to drive innovation with smarter and smaller sensors, increased use of 2D data matrix codes, and broader use of scanning technologies.”

With so many factors in play, the need has never been greater for goods manufacturers and machinebuilders to collaborate in all their secondary packaging endeavors, PMMI concludes.

“CPG manufactures are challenged in the years ahead to meet and fulfill the broad variety of retail demands that are ever-changing, reduce costs everywhere—or at least not increase costs—and choose materials to achieve packaging sustainability.

“In pursuing these goals, manufacturer must look to build a stronger collaboration with machinebuilders and material suppliers to optimize machine performance and material selection ... {while} machine-builders can become a value-added partner by fostering open forums to discuss innovation and share packaging efficiencies to advance the entire packaging industry.”

It doesn’t get more primarily important than that.

Publication mail

NOVEMBER 2014

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ike a roadie turned rock star or apprentice becoming a master, secondary packaging is suddenly the heartbeat of the packaging industry at large, as evidenced by the wealth of cutting-edge, highly-automated secondary packaging machinery displayed earlier this month during four actionfilled days of the PACK EXPO International 2014 packaging technologies exhibition in Chicago.

No longer just an afterthought, secondary packaging’s remarkable rise in importance in the larger packaging value chain has been accompanied by impressive growth in the technological prowess of secondary packaging machinery, systems and materials to make the segment one of the industry key growth drivers for new business, as revealed by a comprehensive industry survey conducted earlier this year by PACK EXPO’s owner and producer PMMI-The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies.

According to the group’s 2014 Secondary Packaging Market Research Study, relentless pressure by major retailers on their packaging suppliers to provide them with more retail-ready packaging solutions that can save them in-store labor costs inventory costs—­while doing a better job moving the product with attractive shelf and point-of-purchase displays—has given secondary packaging a much greater stage to display its inherent value proposition to retail end-use customers.

“The traditional role of secondary packaging has been to protect the primary package as it travels through its supply chain to its final destination, [but] secondary packaging is now playing a dual role by increasingly becoming a merchandise too to attract customers at the point-of-sale,” the PMMI report states.

In many ways, this new ‘Golden Age’ of secondary packaging is the outcome of a timely and

IN THIS ISSUE: PACKAGE

TAKING SIDES  Page DESIGN • CORRUGATE D • LABELING •

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DIGITAL PRINTING

FEATURES 15 SHARPEST TOOLS IN THE SHED Fully-automated tooling changeover key to packaging line’s robust throughput.

16 BRIGHTER SIDE OF LIFE By Andrew Joseph

Upstart Ontario microbrewery off to a flying start with high-quality beer products and innovative secondary packaging technology.

22 TEAMWORK IN PROGRESS By Andrew Joseph

Canadian label converters leverage joint printing expertise to grow the business with outstanding shrink­ sleeve labeling innovation.

26 DIGITAL OVERDRIVE By George Guidoni

Favorable market trends and rapid technological progress lay solid foundation for digital printing technologies’ explosive takeoff in the global markets.

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NEWSPACK

STREET ART IMITATES LIFE WITH AN INSPIRED PACKAGING REDESIGN If art indeed imitates life and imitation is the best form of f lattery, then Canada’s leading water-bottler deserves all the high praise it gets for bringing modern city life onto the packaging of one of the world’s most unique and revered brands of naturally-carbonated spring water.

Launched across the country last month by Nestlé Waters Canada, the colorful and vibrant labels now gracing the 250-ml single-serve aluminum cans, 500-ml plastic and 750-ml glass bottles of the famed Perrier Carbonated Natural Spring Water brand were designed in a bold collaboration between its brand-owner and three of the world’s most inf luential street artists, including: • JonOne, a New Yorker living in Paris, France, since the end of the 1980s, who updated the classic Perrier glass bottle design to project greater sparkle and audacity; • Tokyo-born poetic artist Sasu, who re-thought the contemporary Perrier plastic bottle look to heighten its design elegance and sensuality;

• Sao Paolo-based Brazilian humanist Kobra, who restyled the popular Perrier aluminum Slim Can to engender a feeling of eccentricity and love of life.

“All three artists share boundless inspiration and creativity that is consistent with the hallmarks of the Perrier brand— cutting-edge, bold, off beat, and yet elegant,” says Jennifer Semley-Robert, marketing manager for international brands at Nestlé Waters Canada’s headquarters in Puslinch, Ont., just outside of Guelph.

“From advertising campaigns to limited-edition packaging, Perrier has always been linked to the big names in art, cementing its position amongst premium beverages as the fashionable choice,” she says, Retailing across Canada until the end of 2014 as part of the brand’s global marketing campaign celebrating the essence and creativity of the street art movement, the visually engaging designs also feature prominently on Perrier’s secondary packaging, including the four-pack paperboard carriers, shrinkwrapped six-packs and corrugated cases.

“Just as critically, Perrier

continues to deliver on Canadians’ growing desire for a f lavorful yet natural, no-calorie alternative to artificial-f lavored and highcalorie beverages that they can consume on-the-go or at their restaurant or bar of choice,” Semley-Robert adds.

“Perrier offers a tasty, thirstquenching healthy choice and unique taste that keeps consumers properly hydrated in the most convenient, satisfying and pleasurable way possible by offering the ultimate refreshment experience.”

First introduced to the Canadian market in 1979, the imported Perrier Carbonated Natural Spring Water comes from the small Provence village of Vergeze in the south of France, where the local spring’s unique balance of minerals and light effervescence provides its distinctively fresh, clean taste, and a natural blend of gases and minerals that have made Perrier the world’s most popular carbonated spring water, according to Nestlé.

NEW PACKAGING HITS THE SWEET SPOT FOR ON-THE-GO CONSUMERS Some of the world’s best things come in small packages, and so do some of the sweetest—like the new Pure Via Stevia Liquid from the Whole Earth Sweetener Company LLC. Already a big hit with calorie-counting Canadian consumers in its original powder format, the new liquid sweetener formulation now offers them the inherent convenience of a liquid format and highly functional packaging, featuring a no-drip lid, that fits into anything from a pocket to a gym bag, according to the company.

The oval-shaped container is claimed to be designed specifically to provide an exact instant dose of a naturallysourced sweetener made from the pure extract of the Stevia plant, a native South American species (Stevia rebaudiana) whose active compounds (steviol glycosides) have up to 150 times the sweetness of sugar.

Containing zero calories and dissolving quickly in both hot and cold beverages, the new 48-ml plastic bottle—created by the Chicago-based branding specialists Graphidea Design—packs 48 servings of the zerocalorie concentrate that effortlessly enables consumers to personalize any drink to their sweetness preference without worries about heightened calorie or sugar intake.

Widely used as a natural sweetener in South America for hundreds of years, the Stevia sweetener is sold at grocery retailers across Canada under the Pure Via label in three other packaging formats, including: • Pure Via Stevia 50-piece packets, with one packet providing the sweetness equivalent of two teaspoons of sugar; • Pure Via Stevia 275-gram granulated bags intended primarily for cooking and baking, with the product measuring exactly like sugar cup-for-cup; • Pure Via Turbinado Raw Cane Sugar and Stevia Blend, a golden-brown sweetener made from the pure, sweet extract of the Stevia plant and raw cane sugar, with only five calories per sachet.

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NEWSPACK

SETTING THE HIGHEST BAR WITH PRODUCT AND PACKAGING INNOVATION glycemic response and the gluten-free certification label of the Canadian Celiac Association.

Now comprising eight different and highly original f lavors, the SoLo energy bars—also including the brand’s bestselling Peanut Power and Lemon Lift bars— were introduced into the Canadian market after 20 years of research leading to the development of a gluten-free snack bar with low glycemic response to provide a convenient and healthy blood sugar

management and snacking alternative, according to the company.

“Our SoLo Gi bars provide the perfect solution to sustain energy, prevent cravings and promote health as well as being nutritionally rich and delicious,” Katz states.

“They are the ideal snack for everyone: from people with gluten sensitivity or blood sugar issues to families on-the-go and athletes that need more energy to finish strong,” says Katz, noting the products’ remarkable, 15-month shelf-life achieved without the use of any artificial preservatives.

“But with such bold packaging, amazing f lavors and healthful features,” she adds, “I can understand why they jump into consumers’ shopping carts not long after hitting the store-shelves.”

SCAN FOR VIDEO

Having set an exceptionally high bar for nutritional excellence with its comprehensive range of lowglycemic and gluten-free SoLo Gi energy snackbars, Edmonton-based New Era Nutrition Inc. has launched three new unique f lavors made with the same healthy blend of slow-release carbohydrates, premium proteins, healthy fats and dietary fibers to help active Canadians get a sound boost of energy without the ‘spike-and-crash’ stimulation found in many energy-boosting food-and-beverage products out in the marketplace.

“SoLo Gi is passionately committed to the continued innovation of our bars by not only providing the unique nutritional blend but also f lavors consumers crave, in a bar they trust to sustain their energy throughout the day,” says Saul Katz, chief executive officer of the Kelowna, B.C.-based SoLo Gi Nutrition.

“It’s incredible that something that tastes so good, can be so good for you as well,” says Katz, citing the product’s prestigious recognition as a finalist in the 2013 Grand Prix Awards competition of Retail Council of Canada (RCC) in the highly-competitive Best Snack of the Year category.

Launched nationwide in early September, the three new f lavors— offered in 50-gram bars packaged in silky matte-finish film wrappers adorned with craft paperlike background, bold splashes of color and life-like product photography—include: • SoLo Gi Apple Cinnamon with Quinoa, described as “the perfect breakfast bar” containing pieces of dried apple and of quinoa wrapped in yogurt; • SoLo Gi Mocha Fudge, recommended as an ideal coffee companion combining dark chocolate and a mild coffee f lavor with a soft and ‘fudgy’ soft texture; • SoLo Gi Dark Chocolate Almond, a combination of chunky almond pieces coated with dark chocolate to offer consumers “a great mid-afternoon snack,” according to Katz.

“These indulgent new f lavors are sure to spike everyone’s taste buds, but not their blood sugar,” assures Katz, citing the on-pack service mark GI Laboratories for low-

FOR THE RECORD

Please note that in our recently-published article profiling Dure Foods Ltd. (Power to the People!, Canadian Packaging, October 2014), information about the Canadian distributor for Viking Masek Global Packaging Technologies was inadvertently left out. For the record, the Canadian sales agent for Viking Masek bagging machinery is PMR Packaging Inc. of Whitby, Ont. Tel. (905) 725-2225; or go to www.pmrpackaging.com

TM

NOVEMBER 2014

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FIRST GLANCE DOUBLE THE FUN S+S Inspection Inc. has developed a new combination metal detection/magnetic separation system that combines impressive performance attributes of the company’s P-SCAN RG gravity free-fall metal detector with the model MAGBOX-MXF magnetic separator to ensure product purity at previously unattainable level in a broad range of powders, granules and bulk f lowing materials. According to the company, the new P-SCAN RG metal detector features proprietary technology in coil construction and high-performance signal processing techniques, while the new MAGBOX magnetic separator’s innovative UTI (ultra-high intensity) technology helps optimize the removal and identification of ferrous materials down to 0.2-mm, and stainless-steel metals down to 0.5mm in size, to achieve exceptionally high levels of metal-free zone management and immunity to environmental factors such as vibration and other forms of interference, along with added convenience of the proprietary Easy Clean sanitary construction.

S+S Inspection Inc.

401

ON SOLID GROUND Beverage packaging lines manufacturer Krones AG has developed a new aseptic container station for the processing of fruit beverages with a solids content—such as pulp or fruit chunks—in a singlef low process. According to the company, the new DosaFlex station incorporates a proprietary design with components that allows for an increased concentration of solids in aseptic containers, which was previously limited only to the processing of aromas and concentrates. In operation, the aseptic containers can be pressurized with

an overlay of sterile air or nitrogen in order to prevent recontamination or absorption of unwanted substances such as oxygen, with its two container connections used alternately to ensure continuous operation. Offering beverage producers an economical and efficient means of trying out new drinks in limited test markets, the DosaFlex container station is easily integrated between the processing units and the filler for continuous product treatment, with the finished beverage blended by using controlled dosing in a double-seat valve, along with an adjacent vapor seal for coping with unique demands and requirements of the aseptic packaging processes.

Krones, Inc.

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Conservacube 404

TALE OF THE TAPE The new Multipack Solution from 3M Company was developed to provide product manufacturers and co-packers with an efficient and cost-effective alternative to shrinkwrapping and manual pack-out in creating attractive multipacks without the hassle of shrinkwrap film disposal or the inherent time-consuming requirements of manual product handling, according to the company.

Combining the company’s own Scotch Multipack Tape brand with the highperformance CEFMA packaging equip­ment that easily integrates into most existing packaging lines and effectively leverages adhesive technology similar to that used to create 3M’s patented Post-It notes, the Multipack Solution provides an innovative and versatile option for bundling of multi-unit packages of discrete product that does not obscure the primary packaging, while also allowing for the tape to be custom-printed with effective branding messages, while using far less material than the conventional shrinkwrapping methods.

3M Canada Company

conventional rigid plastic bulk containers for packaging a broad assortment of dry, free-f lowing products in the food, pet-food, lawn-and-garden, chemical and household products industries in weight capacities of up to 55 pounds.

According to the company, the use of significantly less material than conventional rigid packaging solutions can help brand-owners and manufacturers to enhance their sustainability efforts and noticeably reduce their overall material costs.

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BUILDING A PATTERN The new Spectra 30 adhesive pattern control system from Nordson Corporation was designed for simplified set-up and operation to improve production efficiency and product quality, according to the company, by delivering real-time, on-screen system status and adjustment along with quick-andeasy product changeover.

The system’s graphical, touchscreen Optix user interface is claimed to minimize operator training by providing users with detailed diagnostics and on-screen troubleshooting tips to handle a broad range of packaging, as well as some paper and paperboard converting applications. The new Spectra’s innovative slide-on bracket faciltates easy installation and set-up of a user-friendly system that offers four trigger inputs, four pattern channel outputs, eight beads per channel, and a brtoad choice of pattern types to provide comprehensive pattern f lexibility.

Nordson Canada, Limited

HOME AND DRY The new innovative, cube-shaped, stackable FlexiPAIL packaging from Conservacube was developed to provide a lightweight alternative to

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HANDLE WITH CARE

The new high-speed handle applicator from Roberts PolyPro incorporates a continuousmotion roll-feed design to create two-, four-, six-, eight- and 12-packs at speeds of up to 600 bottles per minute—utilizing thin, light, strong and fully recyclable HDPE (high-density polyethylene) handles that are claimed to use 28 per cent less materials compared to conventional handles, We’ll help you design value into your cooling system investment.

You don’t have to do it alone…Call Berg 416-755-2221 Providing custom industrial process temperature control solutions for close to 40 years to satisfied customers around the world.

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ac­cording to the company, while accommodating a broad range of bottle-neck sizes. Unlike the traditional application of handles at the end of packaging line to bottles already packed in cases—limiting throughput to 500 bottles per minute maximum—the new Roberts PolyPro system is positioned right after the capper, where operators can simply load the rolls of handles onto one of the machine’s two rolls for continuous, uninterrupted, high-throughput, and precise handle application.

Roberts PolyPro

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ECO-PACK NOW

NEW FOOD PACKAGING A GREEN FLIGHT OF FANCY FOR SWEDISH AIR CARRIER There are many reasons why paperboard provides a very promising material option for airline food packaging, including low weight and countless finishing and converting possibilities to achieve the optimal level of elegance and quality that airborne travelers are bound to appreciate.

At least that’s what the Swedish-based Scan­ dinavian Airlines (SAS) is betting on, having recently launched a new line of food boxes made from the Incada brand of folding-carton board produced by Igussund Paperboard at one of its European-based mills in Workinton, England.

“In creating packaging for in-f light meals you

must take many factors into account,” explains Gustaf Öholm, SAS senior manager for on-board concepts, services and sales.

“The packaging must have low weight, present the food well, and feel good in one’s hand,” Öholm explains. “It must be easy to open and, of course, it must preserve the intentions of our

solution to the airline, the Incada paperboard also boasts other built-in environmental advantages by virtue of being produced at a modernized paper mill that has recently changed its energy supply from fossil natural gas to biomass.

According to Igussund, the Workinton mill’s new CHP (combined heart and power) plant— part of a $250-million capital investment to modernize the facility—has achieved a reduction in fossil emissions equal to removing 65,000 cars off the road for good each year.

kitchen right up to the moment the food actually reaches the passenger.”

According to Öholm, the airline’s previous packaging solution was simply not good enough to meet the many new quality and aesthetic requirements demanded by SAS, which also wanted any new packaging to help improve its environmental performance.

Some of the more important parameters included the feel of the material, the surface coating, and the ability to color the material, according to Öholm.

To get started, Igussund hook­ed up with Eland­ ers—a prominent Swedish packaging converter headquartered in Mölnlycke, near Guthenburg— which previously developed compostable food packaging for the regional Avi­a­ airline Malmö tion that was far lighter in weight than the packaging it replaced.

“With the SAS commissioning to create packaging that is easy to use, has low weight and presents the food in an elegant way, we chose Incada because of its stiffness, which would allow us to coat the inside with a barrier of blackdyed polyethylene,” says Elanders senior sales manager Tony Norén.

“The packaging’s outside was printed black, and we then put a lot of effort into finding a transparent film that captured a minimum of condensation in order to create the best possible visual impression of the food,” Norén relates.

According to Öholm, the new packaging is now being used for evening meals for passengers seated in the SAS Plus class on almost all routes outside the Nordic region, with all of the food—excluding the single pieces of chocolate—prepared at one single location by a highly-skilled, dedicated team in order to ensure high quality and consistency of the meals.

In addition to providing a low-weight packaging

“Of course, the environmental aspect is also an important factor in our decision to choose Incada,” Öholm states. “It is obviously very important to us that our food packaging sets a high standard from an environmental perspective.”

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ECO-PACK NOW

PASTA MAKER REFINES ITS GREEN CREDENTIALS WITH RENEWABLE PACKAGING Choosing to use more sustainable food packaging does not have to be about making compromises in product taste, quality or integrity.

In fact, switching to an innovative new packaging material derived from 100-percent renewable biopolymers has enabled California-based pasta producer Valley Fine Foods to not only improve the carbon-footprint profile of its popular Three Bridges line of all-natural, chef-crafted pasta products, but also extend their freshness and shelf-life.

Developed by Australian bioplastics pioneer Plantic Technologies, the eco Plastic rollstock film is made predominantly from proprietary high-amylose corn starch that constitutes about 80 per cent of the total package structure and uses up to 40 per cent less energy to make than conventional ethylene-based polymers, according to Plantic, while its extremely low oxygen transmis-

sion rate can extend the shelf-life of fresh foods by 15 to 40 per cent.

“The environmental benefits of Plantic’s eco Plastic, combined with its ability to meet our freshness and shelf-life demands, provide for a package that truly fits into our belief in creating healthy foods in a healthy way,” states Tyler Brown, product development manager of the Three Bridges pasta line that also includes organic and gluten-free products.

“Our foods are 100-percent natural and made from ingredients people easily recognize, with

no artificial ingredients or preservatives, with minimal processing,” says Brown, adding that all Valley Fine Foods products are made using 100-percent certified renewable energy.

“The Plantic eco Plastic film sets a new standard for barrier packaging performance,” says Plantic’s president of international business Tom Black.

“We are able to be cost-competitive with traditional barrier films, and combined with functional performance, this forms the cornerstone of our value proposition,” says Black, citing the use of Plantic’s renewably-sourced barrier films by major supermarket customers on three continents for applications such as fresh case-ready red meats, smoked and processed meats, chicken, and fresh pasta.

Adds Black: “The ability to improve food freshness and to be good stewards of the environment at the same is a great outcome for both Plantic and Valley Fine Foods.”

INDUSTRY FIRST FOR TEKNOR APEX At Sealed Air Food Care, we deliver measurable business results to our partners by focusing on four drivers for purposeful innovation so that together we can share in the value created.

Teknor Apex manager of new strategic initiatives Edwin Tam (left) accepts the Bioproducts Innovation of the Year Award from Max Maksimoski, a consultant to the OBIC Bioproducts Innovation Center at the Ohio State University.

DISCOVER EFFORTLESS SAFETY. As a processor, you know how important food and worker safety are to your operation. That’s why Sealed Air’s Food Care Division offers packaging solutions like Cryovac Grip & Tear® vacuum bags that boost Food Safety.

This easy-open package requires no knives and helps prevent worker injuries, and reduce product damage and cross-contamination. See how this packaging innovation - and others - can deliver measurable results to your business.

Doing the right thing has its own rewards, but there’s nothing wrong with a little high-profile recognition to help keep you on the right path.

For Teknor Apex Company, Pawtucket, R.I.-headquartered specialty chemicals producer celebrating its 90th anniversary, its latest moment of peer recognition arrived last month in form of the first-ever Bioproduct of the Year Award of the Ohio State University’s OBIC Bioproducts Innovation Center.

Announced at the Bioproducts World Showcase & Conference in Columbus, Ohio, the new award honored the company’s Bioplastics Division for breakthrough development of the new range of Terraloy HDT PLA (polylactic acid) compounds—available in extrusion grades for thermoformed products like lids, cups, bowls and trays, and injection-molding grades for cutlery, cups and bowls.

Aside from being FDA-compliant, the high-impact, heat-resistant Terraloy compounds—boasting 96-percent bio-based content for extrusion grades and 84-percent for injectionmolding—have been designated as compostable in accordance with the widely-used ASTM D-6400 standard, while also earning the BioPreferred certification of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Find out more by visiting gripandtear.com today.

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® Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off. © Sealed Air Corporation (US) 2014. All rights reserved.

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Color: 4C Process Built @: 100%

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TM

The vital partner and catalyst for the packaging value chain

ACCESS THE GLOBAL PACKAGING NETWORK

Founded 1950

For more info contact Lisa Abraham at labraham@pac.ca pac0608 november cdn pkg page.indd 1

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COVER STORY

WONDERS OF THE NEW WORLD

Iconic brand of sliced bread breathes new life into the commercial bakery business with stylish package redesign celebrating the unique product’s timeless mass appeal

As part of the Wonder Bread brand’s Canadian relaunch earlier this year, Weston Bakeries has begun decaling its delivery truck fleet with the colors of the brand’s new packaging designed by Canadian branding specialists Davis.

BY GEORGE GUIDONI, EDITOR

T

he notion of fortune favoring the brave may not be everyone’s idea of what it takes to grow and prosper in today’s unforgiving consumer marketplace, but you don’t get to remain any industry’s dominant leader for over 80 years without displaying a whole lot of courage, confidence, and competitive spirit to fuel your brand’s rise to the top of the food chain.

And, more importantly, staying there—as the legendary Wonder Bread line of pre-sliced breads produced by Weston Bakeries Ltd. continues to do on a daily basis in defiance of a slow-growth market segment and game-changing consumer migration to healthier nutrition options.

“While white bread has traditionally been the big lightning rod for issues about nutrition, it still has one of the highest household penetration rates of over 59 per cent in Ontario,” says Weston Bakeries marketing director for core brands Julia Kovacs, who joined the company 18 months ago as part of a new marketing team—led by vice-president of marketing John Phillipson—mandated to reverse

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the brand’s declining sales in an even faster-declining product category for commercial breads.

Even with the Wonder Bread brand still enjoying 37-percent household penetration in the Canadian market (excluding Quebec), simply accepting the new marketplace normal as fait accompli was not an option for a storied brand still selling millions of loaves per month throughout English Canada on a weekly basis.

“We actually did the math and figured out that if you were to line up all the loaves of Wonder Bread we make each year end-to-end, that bread line would go right across Canada, coast-to-coast and back, covering 11,000 kilometers,” Kovacs told Canadian Packaging on a recent visit to the company’s headquarters in west-end Toronto.

WHITE WASH “That said, the overall white bread segment has been in decline for a number of years due to consumers migrating to so-called ‘healthier’ choices, so we were really challenged to find a way to bring it around,” says Kovacs, relating the genesis of a comprehensive marketing campaign, includ-

ing extensive package redesign, aimed at making Canadians fall in love again with a brand that many of them still cherish in their childhood memories.

Having reigned as the country’s dominant brand of sliced bread pretty much since its inception in Canada back in 1927, Wonder Bread has naturally gone through a number of packaging redesigns over the years to keep up with multigenerational changes in the marketplace and larger society.

Nevertheless, the Wonder brand steadfastly held on to some of its more iconic trademark graphic design elements—notably the colored balloons originally inspired by the International Balloon Race once held annually at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway—while sticking to its time-tested baking recipe used to make the incomparably soft, pillowy pre-sliced loaves of bread prompting an irresistible urge in consumers to give it a loving squeeze or two.

While this sensory appeal had worked brilliantly over the decades to build the brand enduring cross-generational consumer appeal, the growing emphasis on healthier nutrition and eating since the turn of the 21st Century forced the brand to

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“When a product category is in decline, the worst thing you can do is jump on a boat that is sinking,” Plewes declares.

“Your best bet is have the bravery and conviction to stand up and be acknowledged for what you are as a brand.

“Sometimes you see a brand trying to be all things to all people, rather than focusing on being simple and straightforward for the people who love that brand for what it is, and to celebrate those specific attributes,” Plewes explains.

TRUE SELF

Weston Bakeries marketing director for core brands Julia Kovacs (left) and Davis creative director Chris Plewes recall some of the many creative and other challenges encountered during the intense six-month brand revitalization project leading up to the product’s widely anticipated relaunch across English-speaking Canada this past spring.

reassess how it would continue to market itself in a product category being overrun with a multitude of new multigrain, added-fiber, vitaminenhanced, artisan-style and other alternative bread options jumping aboard the health-and-wellness bandwagon.

Weary of being left behind the times, the Wonder brand responded with a dramatically new packaging look that was suddenly dominated by heavy messaging about the product’s nutritional content and other functional benefits, while extending the brand family with new, nutrition-oriented SKUs (stockkeeping units), like breads made with no artificial preservatives.

While the new strategy seemed like a logical response to changing marketplace dynamics, its heavy reliance on nutritional messaging had the unintentional effect of diluting the primary core brand equities of softness and freshness, according to Kovacs, while failing to stem the widespread decline in sales in the overall white bread category.

share in the white bread category and second-biggest share in whole-wheat breads at stake, failure to succeed with a new packaging design was obviously never an option for the venerable national brand produced at 12 plants across Canada, and sold at countless supermarkets, independent grocers and convenience stores all around English Canada.

Given that fear of failure is always a factor in undertakings of such magnitude, “The brand’s marketing team showed tremendous bravery” by choosing to pursue a fairly radical departure from the existing message-heavy packaging to a new look that would focus on leveraging the product’s original mass appeal attributes, according to veteran package design professional Chris Plewes, creative director at the Mississauga, Ont.-based branding services specialists Davis.

“That can be scary from a marketing standpoint because it takes away the safety net of trying to appeal on so many different levels,” he acknowledges, “but this approach can also obscure the true meaning of what a product really is.

“It would be like Coke suddenly starting to talk about its nutritional benefits, which is of course not the reason people drink Coke,” says Plewes.

“So full credit to the Wonder Bread marketing team for deciding they no longer apologize, or be embarrassed or shamed by, the fact that they are marketing a soft, white and pillowy product that is loved by consumers exactly for those reasons.”

According to Kovacs, these product attributes came up time and time again during the numerous consumer focus groups conducted by Weston Bakeries prior to the project’s official go-ahead.

“Bread is one of the very first things in one’s life that many people make to eat—putting it in a toaster, spreading butter on it, rolling it into little balls and playing with it … we had grown women in our focus group practically reliving that universal experience of handling that pillowy texture, and reconnecting with that care-free childhood spirit all over again when they see their kids eat it.

“Those are the things that made Wonder the iconic name that really connects emotionally with people of all walks of life, parents and non-parents alike,” says Kovacs.

“We know that one of the reasons kids love it is because it is softer on the palate and easier to chew on, giving them the taste they love, but our

PHOTOS COURTESY OF WESTON BAKERIES AND DAVIS

COVER STORY

PRIVATE ISSUES “With private-label store brands also starting to steal share away from us, it became clear that the brand wasn’t working hard enough to distinguish itself from the competition,” says Kovacs, who played a key role in the intense, six-month brand revitalization project leading up to the Wonder Bread brand’s keenly anticipated national relaunch on March 20 of this year.

“There was a lot of nutritional and ‘feel good’ messaging going on in the bread category, as everyone focused on offsetting the negative perception of carbohydrates,” Kovacs relates. “That’s why in 2006 Wonder repackaged itself with heavy nutritional messaging, heavily touting nutrition, fiber, vitamins, etc.

“But while we were busy celebrating the product’s nutrition with that packaging, the product itself became underbranded in the process,” Kovacs explains. “In effect, Wonder was trying so hard to apologize for being a white bread in its old clothes, that it spent more time apologizing than improving the product’s performance on the shelves.

With nothing less than the Number One market

New package graphics used for the Wonder Bread White brand are credited for helping reverse a prolonged decline in the brand’s sales in recent years, while strengthening its Number One position in the white bread product category.

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COVER STORY research also told us that just about everybody else loves it for similar reasons: both parents and nonparents alike.”

Adds Plewes: “The biggest appeal among consumers is that whenever you mention the brand, people know exactly the kind of eating experience they will have, like they would with Heinz Ketchup or Classic Coke, to use as examples.

“There are very few instances where a given food brand will represent the quintessential eating experience, like the peanutbutter-and-jam sandwich they had as kids, with the vivid picture and a real sense of what it’s like to enjoy that product,” Plewes relates.

STARTING POINT “So that was the big creative driver and starting point for us—recognizing that what made this product so unique in its emotional attachment was this whole ‘soft’ eating experience.

“One of the remarkable things about the brand is that consumers love it so much in spite of the almost apologetic admission of liking white bread as much as they do,” Plewes points out.

“So if you’re not necessarily the most nutritious product in the marketplace, let’s stop trying to pretend that you are and instead just celebrate what people really love about you.

“Rather than trying to change a member of the family, for example, it’s often better to just let them be who they are and allow their better personality traits to come forward, instead of trying to pin them in and make them something they are not.”

Kovacs concurs: “One of the key things our consumer research told us was that the main reason consumers bought Wonder Bread was because they love its taste and texture—not because of the nutritional value.

“They buy it because they know it’s a great bread to use when they want to have a peanutbutter-andjam or a grilled-cheese sandwich, or a great piece of French toast.

“Those people simply want to buy great-tasting bread, period, which is why we decided to celebrate the real reason for buying it and stop apologizing for it being soft, white and pillowy— the real reasons consumers love it so much.”

Before bringing Davis on-board to address the packaging redesign in September, Phillipson’s team worked closely with Toronto-based marketing and advertising firm The Hive to form the basic branding strategy and platform for the Wonder Bread brand family— comprising nine different bread SKUs—based on the feedback from the consumer focus groups and socalled ‘shopability’ studies focusing on the brand’s visibility and prominence at the points-of-sale.

“One of the concerns our sales team had is that if there was to be a change in the package, would the consumers still be able to find it?,” Kovacs recalls.

“With bread still being essentially a commodity product, with a lot of ‘drive by’ shopping where consumers don’t think a whole lot when they pull a loaf off the shelf,” Kovacs says it was

Each of the Wonder brand’s SKUs features its own unique three-step recipe suggestion, developed

by The Hive, on a side panel for quickly creating a tasty sandwich CANPACK-Nov-Foothill14.pdf 1 11/10/2014 4:16:40 PM with the bread inside the flexo pre-printed bags produced by St. Johns Packaging.

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One of nine different bread stock-keeping units (SKUs) in the Wonder Bread product family, the bestselling Wonder White is the perennial ‘Hero SKU’ that best epitomizes the product line’s enduring consumer appeal and popularity across all the key demographic segments.

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COVER STORY critical to maintain the brand’s existing marketplace leadership credentials.

“Our retail customers are always looking for people to spend more money at their stores—so it was a challenge to find the right balance between leveraging the brand’s historic equities and core colors, while also making it feel more relevant and contemporary for today’s consumers.”

According to Kovacs, Davis rose up to the challenge brilliantly—delivering exciting new streamlined designs “under aggressive deadlines” that also allowed the product itself to become a bigger part of the visual appeal right on the shelf.

“Seeing the color of the loaf through clear plastic is a big part of that consumer appeal, and opening up more packaging real estate to the give bread inside more visibility and appetite appeal was all about reminding people about that legendary softness,” Kovacs explains.

The new packaging features clever prompts and engaging graphics set against a backdrop of white floating clouds to play up the bread’s uniquely soft and pillowy texture.

“The older packaging would actually cover it all up with vast amount of information about the nutritional benefits of the product, as well as with the use of heavy metallic colors printed onto the bags, so we spent a lot of time with Davis looking at finding the right balance.

“The new design had to not only tap into the brand’s gold emotional brand equities, but also make it feel fresh and contemporary in order to appeal to the younger next generation of consumers,” Kovacs points out.

“Being such a historic brand made it a really great brand for us to work with,” says Plewes, echoing Kovacs’ point on excessive graphics and messaging of the earlier package design.

“We knew that Wonder had a great story to tell, and we thought that the best way to tell it was to be as simple as possible by stripping off all the information that was not necessary, while being bold,

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COVER STORY

Containing 12 essential nutrients and boasting a 13-day shelf-life, the Wonder Bread White brand is not out of place as part of a healthy and well-balanced daily eating regimen amongst even the most health-savvy Canadian consumers.

dramatic and confident about the product,” he says.

“Today’s information-savvy consumers do a lot of homework, and when they go to do their shopping they look for brands that are confident and tell a simpler story,” he explains. “Bombarding them with information suggests that you lack confidence in yourself.

“So rather than get mired in the rational functional storytelling about nutrition, we went in the opposite direction—focusing on the pleasure of softness and taste.”

To get the desired effect, Davis introduced a white image of a cloud to be used as background for the brand name, Plewes explains, along with the iconic colored bubbles and a reworked name logo.

“We used the cloud imagery to make it look like the bread is actually f loating in the clouds above,

amidst air balloons f loating in the sky, to create a timeless look,” he explains.

“We did not want to make it look childish, but rather young at heart.

“We also changed the name logo from the more formal all-caps lettering to the upper/lower-case font, while positioning the bubbles to look like they are actually emanating from the letter W,” Plewes continues.

“It was a conscious effort to make the brand name look like it’s actually releasing the balloons, and the softness that goes with it,” he says.

JUST THE FACTS

While the basic Nutrition Facts box information is still featured on the bottom panel of the pre-printed bags—supplied to Weston Bakeries plants in rollstock format by St. Johns Packaging Ltd. of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que.— the new bags offer much more transparent see-through space to show off the bread’s colors, with side panels also featuring simple, cleverly-worded recipes for making a grilledcheese, ham-and-cheese, toasted BLT and other popular sandwiches, depending on the specific bread f lavor.

“We’ve had terrif­ic positive consumer re­spon­se to these recipe suggestions,” says Kovacs, “with great social media engagement on Twitter and Facebook, where consumers would share their ‘OMG, I love The Wonder Bread White’s unique squeezability, literally encouraged with a prompt on this!’ reactions with us that package’s backside, evokes a strong consumer response on the emotional level. and their friends.

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“A lot of people, including some very senior people within the company, said it was a big change,” she recalls, “but doing the due consumer research and shopability research solidified the idea that we were doing the right thing.”

Adds Plewes: “It’s almost as if we hypnotize the consumers to make them recall their childhood memories.

“But rather than simply making it like a retro package, we wanted to make it look like a contemporary brand that continually brings fresh relevance into the consumers’ world,” he says, citing the redesign project as a good example of Davis’ self-styled ‘Dramatic Simplicity’ mantra of creating “maximum impact with minimal effort.”

As Kovacs relates, the new packaging has certainly had a major impact in the marketplace since the official March 20 launch date.

“We have stopped the decline and experienced positive growth almost immediately since the relaunch,” she reveals, “so the new packaging has been a tremendous success.

“It is a significant accomplishment for the team and the organization, which required a lot of innovation and activity to making it all happen.

“We found the right balance between retaining some of the core brand features from the previous packaging but changed the way we message it, with our sales results clearly showing that both the aisle navigation and the product’s shopability have improved with the new packaging,” she states.

WORTH THE RISK Adds Plewes: “The remarkable thing for us was the bravery displayed by Julia’s team to make a radical change to the brand’s look.

“Even with a brand that’s in a consistent decline, more often than not the brand-owner will ask you not to take too many risks, but Julia and her team demanded us to come forward with some really big ideas,” he recalls.

“Not just dramatic changes for drama’s sake,” he points out, “but smart ideas that would enhance the brand’s authenticity.

“Being so demanding ultimately got the best out of us: from a designer’s standpoint, that’s the best client you can have,” Plewes proclaims.

“All companies get the clients they deserve,” Kovacs agrees smilingly.

“We spent a lot of time internally evaluating whom we were going to choose to work on this project, which was an extremely high-profile, high-visibility project for Weston, with no question that it simply had to be successful.

“We knew we were going into it with a welldeveloped brand strategy and platform, and hence we simply could not afford to have it derailed by not getting the right level of creative input,” Kovacs asserts.

“We expected a lot out of Davis in terms of providing us with both revolutionary and evolutionary work that would open up a whole new world of possibilities for the Wonder Bread brand,” Kovacs concludes, “and Davis brought its whole range of creative talents and know-how to the table to make it all happen just right for us.”

For More Information: Davis 411 St. Johns Packaging Ltd.

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AUTOMATE NOW

SHARPEST TOOLS IN THE SHED

W

hen Germans are really good at something, they’re usually about as good as it possibly gets–as the country’s national soccer team proved in f lying color’s at last summer’s FIFA World Cup of soccer in Brazil last summer.

This aptitude for excellence is also abundantly evident in the field of packaging automation, with many smaller, privately-owned companies like the Crailsheim-based Gerhard Schubert GmbH continually delivering high-quality packaging automation solutions to some of the world’s most demanding customers in the global GPG (consumer packaged goods) industries.

The cosmetic manufacturer’s new TLM packaging line Last July, a leading cosmetics producer operating changes robots tools in a fully-automatic process that in Germany commissioned a TLM (top-loading only requires the machine operator to select the corresponding program at the control panel. machine) packaging line from Schubert to automate the cartoning of aerosol cans produced at its factory, with strict requirements for highvolume throughput, operational flexibility, optimal safety, and rapid changeover capabilities to ensure optimal production and productivity rates.

After a thorough on-site assessment of the available production space and all other key factors, Schubert proceeded to customdesign a turnkey line combining four TLM sub-machines and one transmodule section to integrate all the required functions for the high-speed erecting and loading of the shelf-ready cartons.

As the aerosol cans are fed in on one track, one robot erects the trays from f lat-lying blanks and places them on the waiting transmodule, while another one picks up product patterns and loads them into the trays.

After the third robot glues a wraparound blank over the tray as a lid, the fourth two-axis robot transfers the package to the discharge belt.

The tool change begins with selection of the corresponding programming at the control panel. On one side of the fourth sub-machine, there is an empty tool cabinet where the tools of the robots for the size change are placed.

The opposite cabinet contains the tools required by the robots for the next size.

According to Schubert, all the tool changes are performed automatically and behind closed safety doors, with the average tool change performed in just five minutes.

The process begins with all products Repak horizontal form-fill-seal packaging machines and packaging of the previous format leaving the line, with a TLM robot in from Reiser offer the best sealing integrity in the the fourth sub-machine outfitting a industry. Only Repak machines are constructed with transmodule with an adapter and transtwo 4-point lifting stations, generating up to five ferring it onto the discharge belt. metric tons of closing pressure for uniform forming The transmodule—a single-axis robot and reliable sealing. No matter how complicated which primarily transports cartons or prodyour package, Repak will produce it perfectly. ucts—then moves to one of the TLM-F2 robots, which places its tool on the carrier For more information, contact Reiser today. and decouples it. The transmodule then moves into the fourth sub-machine, where the robot places the tool on an extended “drawer” of the tool cabinet.

This procedure is repeated until all the www.reiser.com robots have given up their tools in a simiReiser Canada Burlington, ON • (905) 631-6611 lar manner, one after another, with the Reiser next packaging run ready to start in just Canton, MA • (781) 821-1290 about five minutes.

Good seal.

According to Schubert, the modular design of the tool-change system enables Schubert customers to order additional tool sets to suit any new sizes at any time of their choosing.

Currently processing individual 250-ml cans and containers, as well as shrinkwraped threepacks of 400-ml—the Schubert packaging line achieves speeds of 320 individual cans or 107 triple-packs minute, according to the client, which plans to introduce new 300-ml containers in the near future to take full advantage of the new line’s inherent built-in f lexibility.

For More Information: Gerhard Schubert GmbH

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CORRUGATED PACKAGING

THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE Innovative corrugated beer packs deliver multiple benefits for fledgling Ontario craft-brewer upstart

From left: Side Launch Brewing Company’s brewmaster Michael Hancock, president and chief executive officer Garnet Siddall, and national sales director Chuck Galea produce their award-winning beers brewed with equipment manufactured by Newlands Systems Incorporated at the 27,000-square-foot Collingwood facility.

ANDREW JOSEPH, FEATURES EDITOR PHOTOS BY COLE GARSIDE

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lthough now known as a tourist spot for those needing a break from the city life with a plethora of bed and breakfast inns, and winter-time skiing, the Town of Collingwood, Ont., situated on the southern point of Georgian Bay, was once known as the premier ship-building community for the Great Lakes.

From around 1850, Collingwood became wellknown and respected for its quality construction of skiffs for the fishing industry. When the railway reached the area in 1855, Collingwood’s importance for both ship-building and shipping was guaranteed, as the town became a terminus for the Ontario Simcoe and Huron railway, with water craft required to move goods farther west to such ports as Chicago and Port Arthur-Ft. William, now known as Thunder Bay, Ont. At one time, some 10 per cent of Collingwood’s population worked in the ship-building industry.

Despite numerous hiccups, the industry in Collingwood thrived until a global decrease in new ships caused it to close its doors in 1986.

Since that time, the town has seen its fortunes rise through tourism, but if one local company has its

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way, the great maritime traditions harbored by the folks of Collingwood shall rise again—though, this time through beer.

Known as Side Launch Brewing Company, the upstart brewery made its debut back in February of 2014, by garnering a pair of awards, including the Golden Tap Award for Best Newcomer on the Scene for its three f lavorful 5.3 per cent beers— Dark Lager, Wheat, and Pale Ale—an interesting feat considering two of those beers have a 25-year history attached to them.

CAN DO Available in the traditional craft beer package size of 473-ml cans, Side Launch has eschewed bottles in favor of the aluminum can, reasoning it not only cools quicker, but is more conducive to maintaining the ideal f lavor palette.

With craft beers being considered a premium product with a higher price-point, rather than forcing consumers to purchase more expensive cases of 24, Side Launch opted to go with a more affordable 12-pack for sale at retail outlets.

Also available in the traditional 1.89-liter (64ounce) glass growlers and 20-, 30- and 50-liter kegs, the new beers have quickly taken the Ontario market by storm.

“We took our name from the historical traditions of Collingwood,” company president and chief executive officer Garnet Pratt Siddall told Canadian Packaging during a recent tour of the brightly-lit, 27,000-square-foot facility with 15 dedicated employees.

“Because the waters surrounding Collingwood are not very deep, if a ship was launched bow first, it would get stuck in the mud—so a side launch was the preferred method of launching a newly constructed ship.”

Although not the original owner of the facility, Side Launch owns 15 acres of the surrounding land, and is for now content enough to set down roots and let the business grow.

“I’ve been a craft beer aficionado for a number of years,” explains Siddall. “After yet another smaller craft brewing company had been swallowed up by one of the larger breweries, a group of us began talking in 2008 about creating our own local beer.”

The group took its time doing the research and creating a realistic business plan, but it wasn’t until the fall of 2010 that things got serious, and then another three-and-a-half years before Side Launch actually commenced brewing.

Beer is made by converting starches in barley to sugar using enzymes that appear when the barley is

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CORRUGATED PACKAGING

The new Zipper Pack carton which easily transforms into a tray, is designed and manufactured by Packaging Technologies Inc. and is used by Side Launch to pack cans of the three brands of beer produced at the brewery’s Collingwood facility.

malted, which is when it is moistened, warmed and allowed to sprout. The starch-to-sugar conversion and the sugar-to-alcohol fermentation take place separately and sequentially.

It sounds easy, but if it really was every guy would be brewing his own beer in his man-cave.

For Side Launch master brewer and co-owner Michael Hancock, the Collingwood brewery is his man-cave, though perhaps the term ‘cave’ is misleading.

When the brewing company was designed into the pre-existing warehouse, Hancock wanted to make his brewing a more enjoyable experience by having the mixing area, the brewhouse, and fermenting vats placed in a corner of the facility that captured natural sunlight pouring through the facility’s huge glass walls.

“I didn’t want to be cooped up in a dark corner of the brewery,” he relates.

Hancock as a Munich-style lager, brewed with higher amounts of Bavarian malt, including a special Bamberg dark malt that provides the beer with its easygoing smoothness.

Despite the popularity of the Dark Lager, at the time of this writing, it is the only one of the three Side Launch brews currently unavailable at the LCBO stores, though the company is working on changing that.

Launched in August of 2014, the Side Launch Wheat beer is a Bavarian-style wheat beer— Hancock says he really likes German-style beers— that is made unfiltered, containing the brew’s natural yeast and proteins.

“We use traditional German yeast that provides a refreshing f lavor—similar to bananas, lemons and cloves,” says Hancock. “It is a very popular beer, and can be enjoyed year-round.”

The Side Launch Pale Ale is an original concoction of Hancock’s and the brewing company, one that he says was dutifully crafted with a more North American f lavor in mind.

“The best way to describe it is that it’s a marriage of the best traditional British pale ales with the modern North American versions, which we created with a Canadian superior pale malt variety and other traditional North American hops,” reveals Hancock.

Although the brewery is still in its relative infancy, it is growing quite rapidly—even with only two beers currently available at the LCBO. To create its beer, Side Launch looked towards the expertise of Newlands Systems Incorporated, an Abbotsford, B.C.-based manufacturer of highquality North American-style brewing equipment,

MASTER STROKE Hancock was the brewmaster and co-founder of Dennison’s Brewing Co. another well-known craft beer producer, until it merged with and became Side Launch Brewing—officially in 2013.

In fact, for the first few months of its operation, Side Launch continued to produce Dennison’s Weissbier to fulfill the last of its contracts.

It’s not as strange a protocol in the local market. When the original Dennison brewery closed down in 2003, brands Weissbier and Dunkel were kept alive and hopping by third-party brewers and packagers–right up until 2014.

Based on popular local demand, the popular Weissbier was rebranded as Side Launch Wheat to become the first of the new company’s canned beer brands, launched in May of 2014.

“The first beer we launched, however, was the Dark Lager–the former Denison’s Dunkel brand that we offered for sale only on draught in December of 2013,” says Hancock, adding that the Dunkel brew was also affectionately known as the ‘Royal Dunkel’ because Prince Luitpold of Bavaria was an investor.

The Side Launch Dark Lager is described by

A pair of heavy-duty Baldor electric motors keep key machinery moving under the Newlands Systems fermenters.

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CORRUGATED PACKAGING

A Bosch Rexroth pneumatic solenoid-operated air control valve (top) and a Festo DSM25270CCAB FE aluminum turn-cylinder are critical components on the Wild Goose can filler.

Designed and manufactured by Wild Goose Canning Technologies, the WGC-250 tall can filler at the Side Launch Brewing Company facility fills 30 cans per minute by first filling each can with CO2 gas and then bottom-filling the cans with beer.

purchasing the necessary equipment required for its brewhouse and brew cellar.

The brewhouse consists of four stainless-steel vats with control interfaces manufactured by Siemens features: a milling vat where malt is moved via a conveyor to a straining hopper through to a mash mixer that creates 3,000 liters of porridge converting the grain starches to sugar to create wort. The mixture is boiled in another vat before hops are added, ending with a mish-mash of the original ingredients that will then be fermented into beer.

Smooth but powerful motors manufactured by SEW-Eurodrive help power the agitators on the mash mixer.

According to Hancock, the waste grains are moved to another vat and then sent to a local farmer who uses it to feed his cattle.

When it first began brewing six months ago, within the so-called ‘brew cellar,’ Side Launch had three single-brew 3,500-liter fermenters and four

Side Launch Brewing purchased its brewing deck, fermenters and clarifying tanks from Newlands Systems to begin production of its three beer brands for the Ontario market.

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double-brew 7,000 liter fermenters, and a couple of beer tanks to clarify the beer prior to filling.

“We initially purchased the two different-sized fermenters at the same time to provide us with greater f lexibility to produce smaller runs for seasonal or specialty beers,” relates Hancock, “but three months later growing demand for our beer warrants the purchase of a few more fermenters.

“It’s a large capital expenditure to be sure, but we have to keep up with demand,” Hancock states.

Siddall says Side Launch is currently available at LCBO shops from Windsor out east to the Muskokas region, where at least one of the brands can be found in over 170 different outlets.

GOT THE LOOK By sales, and perhaps also because of the order of appearance, the Wheat brand makes up approximately 60 per cent of Side Launch’s sales, with 35 per cent taken up by the Pale Ale. As for the remaining five per cent for the Dark Lager, the brewer expects it to become a huge seller down the road.

After the beer is produced to the satisfaction of Hancock, it goes onto the filling time, featuring such equipment as: • A can depalletizer and rinser, supplied by SKA Fabricating, that sweeps layers of cans off the pallet, turns them upside down, sprays the interior with sterile water, reverses the cans to an upright position and moves the cans to the filler; • A WGC-250 tall can filling line, manufactured by Wild Goose Canning Technologies Inc., fills beer at a speed of 30 cans per minute with four nozzles: first filling the cans with CO2 gas, beer is added, lids placed on top, before moving through a single-head seamer where the can is moved onto a platform and spun at a high speed until the lid is folded into the can to provide a tight seal; • A luminum cans supplied by Rexam PLC. “We chose to package our beer in cans for a few reasons,” explains Hancock.

“To avoid beer spillage when filling, to provide better graphics than what we thought we could achieve with labels, as well take advantage of the fact that beer tends to cool quicker in cans than bottles—a boon to the consumer.”

Side Launch Brewing Company actually approached Dare in Toronto—a U.K.-headquartered global design agency—before there was an official Side Launch Brewing company.

With just an idea and a company name in mind, Dare examined the roots of the brewery’s area history and developed all aspects of the brand, including the

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CORRUGATED PACKAGING

logo, packaging and website, resulting in an industrial-style graphic representation of a Laker ship, complete with compass notations, map-like water level graphics, and even three specific (one per beer brand) map coordinates that can be entered on the Side Launch Brewing website, to play a short film of a Laker ship sailing on the rough waters or images of a hops farm.

Dare also had a hand in creating the cases for the brewery, adding a woodgrain look to the corrugated package reminiscent of the boards used to construct the initial Laker ships.

One of the key elements of Side Launch’s package designs is found on its outer beer case, bypassing the classic beer design 24-pack version in favor of the easier-to-handle 12-pack size.

“At the LCBO, for example, whenever craft beers arrive at their retail outlets, workers there rip open the cartons,” says Side Launch Brewing national sales director Chuck Galea.

“We’ve found a way to turn the beer case into a beer tray with a simple tearThe Zipper Pack E-microflute corrugated cartons from Packaging Technologies Inc. away strip.” feature tearaway strips on each side to easily covert the box into a tray for ease of use.

The beer trays/cases are the brainchild of Packaging Tech­ nologies Inc. (PTI), a Concord, Ont. designer and manufacturer of corrugated boxes and point-ofYou want that feeling of security. purchase (POP) displays for the food and beverage, automotive You require uninterrupted production. aftermarket, direct mail, conWe bring you safety and reliability. sumer packaged goods and industrial sectors.

These new beer trays are an excellent and effective combination of the corrugated box and the POP displays, according to PTI sales person Ian Page.

WE ARE THE ENGINEERS OF PRODUCTIVITY.

TEAR IT UP “There are four tearaway strips— one per side—along each side of the 16-cm high case, that when torn away reveals a tray that maintains a 6.5-cm protective edge that allows the cans to be easily removed individually, while also making it easy to move and stack the whole tray of beer cans. This ensures easier handling at parties and especially at establishments selling the tasty beers.”

The corrugated cases feature line screen f lexographics pre-printed before corrugation to increase color consistency and overall registration, while decreasing the f luting effect— visible wave warping on the area parallel to corrugated f lutes— which is a quite common problem in the post-print process.

“PTI has actually been involved with Michael Hancock for about four years previous, when we supplied the boxes for them,” recalls Page.

“When they started up Side Launch, knowing that we were able to supply small lots of corrugated beer cases previously, Michael contacted me with the proposition of supplying his new brewing company with cases.”

Affectionately known as ‘Zipper Packs’, these E-microf lute 12-can cases crease very well for Side Launch’s packaging needs, while still being able to not only provide excellent product protection, but

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CORRUGATED PACKAGING

Supplied by Rexam, the can graphics are the work of the design agency Dare, featuring a nautical theme as a nod to the Great Lakes shipping history.

Situated under a Newlands Systems mash mixer, an SEW-Eurodrive motor powers an agitator at the Side Launch Brewing Company facility in Collingwood, Ont.

also lends lots of room to show off the company logo and graphics to full effect.

“We are actually able to get away with a thinner corrugated board when it comes to the construction because the beer cans actually take the stress of movement far better than bottles do,” says Page, noting the single-wall corrugated boxes maintain an edge crush test result of 32 pounds per inch.

The corrugated also maintains a fairly high wetstrength property as well, but Hancock says Side Launch takes the extra precaution of maintaining a precise and cool temperature when storing and transporting it to avoid ‘can sweating,’ which could cause a case to become wet and degrade its structural integrity and the exterior graphics.

According to PTI, these Side Launch cases are constructed with a top sheet of virgin product, with the rest made from post-consumer paperboard fibers.

With each beer case still being manually loaded, the cases themselves have a collapsible bottom and folds at the top to enable quick and easy manipulation by Side Launch staff to keep the production line running smoothly and efficiently.

“We are very happy with our cases,” states Galea.

“Packaging Technologies did a great job working with us to ensure the graphics would remain functional even after it was converted into a tray.”

HOME BOUND Along with the three main beer brands, Side Launch also plans to brew seasonal beers from time to time, especially buoyed by the success achieved from its first effort, the Belgian-style Abbey Tripel.

“A brewer has to brew,” deadpans Hancock.

Other critical production equipment found at the Collingwood brewery includes: • A Siemens Simantic Panel Touch HMI (humanmachine interface) on the Newlands Systems brewhouse yeast propagator system; • A Festo HMI on the WGC-250 Wild Goose can filler; • SEW-Eurodrive electric motors running the can filling line; • A Nord motor powering the conveyor on the can filling line; •R N Jet inkjet coders from RN Mark Inc. to

apply a date code to each can upon the top shoulder, though Hancock says the brewery is thinking about changing its position to provide better visibility; • Line conveyors supplied by Moonstone Mechanical Inc.; • Pallets supplied by Orbis Corporation; •K EGBOY-C2 single-tank keg filler from KHS GmbH, featuring Rockwell Automation’s Allan-Bradley PanelView C400 HMI. The system cleans and purges the kegs with CO2 to prevent air from entering, fills the keg with beer and then pushes the CO2 out, followed by an extensive clean of the keg when it is turned upside down.

“We are quite aware that any consumable product is only as good as its ingredients,” states Siddall, “which is why we utilize the local town water, first carbon-filtering it, performing a UV (ultraviolet) sterilization process before bag-filtering it.

“Only then is it ready for us to use for our brewing purposes.”

As for the future, Siddall and company are welll aware that with success comes greater responsibilities.

“It will always be our goal to consistently produce high-quality beers, not to mention maybe three to four seasonals a year, which will keep Michael happy,” sums up Siddall, “but we aren’t content on being just a local brewer.

“The Western part of Canada is next on our radar, and then we’ll concentrate on building our brand out in eastern Canada after that.

“But our main market is right here in Southern Ontario; and while it is fine to be opportunistic, we know our roots are here in Collingwood, and we want to ensure we are always there for the local customers who have supported us from the beginning.”

For More Information: Packaging Technologies Inc. 450 Newlands Systems Incorporated 451 Siemens Canada 452 SEW-Eurodrive Co. of Canada 453 SKA Fabricating 454 Wild Goose Canning Technologies Inc. 455 Rexam PLC 456 Dare 457 Festo Inc. 458 Nord Gear Limited Canada 459 RN Mark Inc 460 Moonstone Mechanical Inc. 461 Orbis Corporation 462 KHS GmbH 463 Rockwell Automation 464 Baldor Electric Company 465

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LABELING

TEAMWORK IN PROGRESS

Business partnership between two Canadian printing firms provides customers with high-quality shrinksleeve packaging solutions

Spectrol Inc. president Ray Kapoor (left) and product and business development leader Brett Stegmaier with a small sampling of products bearing the high-quality shrinksleeve labels the company produces at its Mississauga, Ont. facility in conjunction with its partner, SamplePak, a division of SGS Canada.

ANDREW JOSEPH, FEATURES EDITOR PHOTOS BY COLE GARSIDE

F

or many individuals and companies, for a customer to question what ‘they have up their sleeve’ might imply a level of mistrust—but for one Canadian company, it’s an honest question regarding how they and a partner company fulfill a niche market.

Headquartered in Toronto, SGS Canada Inc. is the Canadian subsidiary of the globally-renowned SGS International, a leader of design-to-print brand solutions for the consumer package goods (CPG), retail, printing and converting industries with offices and manufacturing facilities across Canada, the U.S., Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Europe.

In Canada, SGS is made up of separate divisions, including: SGS, Evolution DesignWorks and FocalPoint at the Toronto office; SamplePak and SGS Manufacturing at two separate facilities in Mississauga; Design Studio in London, Ont.; a sales office in Vancouver; and a full prepress and manufacturing facility in Pointe Claire, Que.

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The SamplePak division was launched in 2011 in a state-of-the-art 32,000-square-foot facility, where a staff of 15 people—plus f lexible labor added at peak fulfillment demands—work to fulfill that niche market of shrinksleeve packaging.

“SamplePak was originated by SGS here in Canada as a means for it to move upstream for the customer by providing sample-ready packaging,” SamplePak vice-president of operations David Haslam told Canadian Packaging during a recent visit to the Mississauga facility.

SAMPLE SIZE Citing a visible disconnect between the creation of a sample and the full-scale production of a package, Haslam explains that SGS could work to its strengths and capabilities to create a better package if it was involved from the beginning.

“We can replicate any format of packaging on any substrate,” explains SGS account manager Daniel Hunter. “We can produce anything; reduce anything or ideate a packaging concept.”

Haslam adds: “SamplePak provides a full-ser-

vice element to the customer—from concept to fulfillment.”

Initially SamplePak worked to create anywhere between one to 25 product samples for a customer, but as the quality of its work spread, soon it was being asked to provide 25 to 100, and then 100 to 10,000 product samples as a short-run project.

As well as the design and manufacture of sample packages for prospective customers, SamplePak began to find many opportunities within the Canadian craft beer market.

Hunter says that for many brewing companies, when they purchase pre-printed beer cans, they are asked to do so at high print runs, which along with being a costly investment can also cause waste when a small beer production line runs its course.

The solution, says Hunter, is to utilize shrinksleeve packaging—essentially full-body wrapped labels printed on plastic sheets or tubes that are shrunk around a container with the application of hot steam.

If it is doing its job properly, shrinksleeve packaging is an invisible packaging component to the

CANADIAN PACKAGING • NOVEMBER 2014

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LABELING

A sampling of the products utilizing the shrinksleeve label options supplied by Spectrol.

consumer, looking as though it was a pre-printed on the container. To the brand-owner, however, shrinksleeve packaging provides a lot more real estate on the package for branding, graphics and colors, not to mention design freedom.

Shrinksleeves can be contoured to form around such packing materials as glass bottles or plastic containers, and can be designed and printed in a transparent or opaque manner, each with its own benefits.

The transparent shrinksleeve provides the consumer with greater viewing access of the product, depending, of course, on the original container type used.

Conversely, opaque shrinksleeves can be placed over existing containers to highlight a limited-time

SGS/SamplePak and Spectrol supply shrinksleeve labels to many craft brewers.

small print-run offer or event promotions, eliminating the need to throw away pre-printed containers.

Despite the apparent simplicity of placing a sleeve around a container, the technology is fraught with difficulties of taking a 2D graphic representation and wrapping it around a 3D container.

As such, the design of the shrinksleeve has to consider the need for distortion when the steam is applied to the package.

“SGS/SamplePak is well set up to handle shrinksleeve short-run production, niche promotional or event promotional jobs,” says Haslam mentioning involvement in the recent and very popular My Kleenex and Share A Coke campaigns.

“If you want 30,000 cans specially labeled, we can do that in a week,” he says.

“But for the larger print runs for shrinksleeve, we have a partnership with Spectrol.”

Adds Haslam: “We rely on Spectrol’s expertise in shrink label production to help us develop new concepts, complete grid testing on new packaging formats, and ensure the graphics reproduce properly in their shrunken state.”

Spectrol Inc. and SGS/ Sample­ Pak work closely to­gether on the shrink testing and specifications related to producing a required highquality shrinksleeve.

Spectrol uses a Gallus ECS 340 10-color printing press as part of its extensive equipment arsenal to produce high-quality shrinksleeves for its customers.

Headquartered in Mississ­auga, just west of Toronto, the privately-owned Spec­trol Inc. was founded in 1984 by current president Ray Kapoor and a partner to manufacture pressure-sensitive labels.

But after a few years of struggling as a small business, Kapoor purchased the entire company and moved from just printing labels for pharmaceuticals companies by expanding into other consumer product segments, such as wine-and-spirits, health-and-beauty, and food-and-beverage.

SHOW STOPPER But, it was a fortuitous trip to a trade-show in Chicago 10 years ago that got Kapoor and Spectrol interested in the concept of shrinksleeve labeling.

“At the convention, I saw a shrinksleever in action and thought to myself ‘Hey! I can do that,’” Kapoor told Canadian Packaging magazine during a recent visit to the 30,000-square-foot dual complex employing 45 people.

Perhaps following the old adage that ‘a cobbler should stick to his own,’ he instead decided to seek out one of the most knowledgeable men in the shrinksleeve industry. Brett Stegmaier, whose family was once partnered to form Sleever International in North America, is acknowledged as having exposure in all elements of the shrinksleeve business, from raw material development,and machine building, to contract packaging and graphics.

When Stegmaier’s family sold the business in 2006, Kapoor approached him to join Spectrol, which he did in 2008.

“With Ray’s wallet, I then set about purchasing

SGS Canada account manager Daniel Hunter (left) discusses strategy with company partners Ray Kapoor (center) and Brett Stegmaier of Spectrol Inc.

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LABELING f

The SGS/SamplePak facility in Mississauga utilizes an Aesus Systems Eco-Shrink and Hybrid Steam Tunnel to apply shrinksleeve labels to short runs product samples.

A Baldor 1/12-horsepower DC industrial gearmotor efficiently moves the film unwinder on the Aesus systems equipment at the SGS/SamplePak facility in Mississauga.

Festo pneumatic components on the Aesus system at SGS/SamplePak.

the best equipment and presses related to shrinksleeve that I could find to ensure that Spectrol could become a leader in shrinksleeve manufacturing,” explains Spectrol product and business development leader Stegmaier.

“About six months after, we had purchased all of the necessary shrinksleeve equipment and set up relationships with materials suppliers that had solid experience in sleeving,” adds Stegmaier.

The move into shrinksleeve production has been a new boon for Spectrol, with the company annually producing over 200 million shrinksleeves for a whole host of wellknown national and international customers.

Key equipment used by Spectrol includes: •G allus Arsoma 510 20-inch, 10-color press; • Gallus ECS 340 13-inch, 10-color press; • sleeve processing equipment manufactured by DCM Usimeca;

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Cans move along a conveyor line (above) powered by a Baldor DC motor to the Aesus Eco-Shrink system that places pre-printed shrinksleeves around the cans.

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NOVEMBER 2014

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LABELING

At the SGS/SamplePak facility, a Kongsberg XP cam/cad cutting table is used for throughput board cutting and production.

• shrinksleeve film manufactured and supplied

by Klöckner-Pentaplast, Bonset, and other sources depending on specifications of a particular job.

According to Spectrol president Kapoor, “Our company has the means and focus to execute any project for clients who seek the best quality, service and price on existing and new project developments in the field of shrinksleeve labels and pressure-sensitive labels.”

Adds Stegmaier: “Spectrol produces sleeves and labels to all levels of users, from thousands to millions at a time.

“We are geared in our internal processes to handle all volumes—and our internal processes and procedures, along with our ISO certification, meet and exceed the highest standards in pharmaceutical, liquor and spirits, food and consumer product applications.”

STANDING OUT

Close-up of the color production of a Hewlett Packard Indigo Press digital printer at SGS/SamplePak. A pre-printed shrinksleeve is positioned over aluminum cans on the Aesus EcoShrink equipment.

Haslam, “but when those same customers began to grow their production needs, we felt that the highquality graphics with the extra special effects that Spectrol was able to achieve would be best-served in a partnership.”

Haslam notes that while shrinksleeving is a part of the business for SGS/SamplePak, especially when short runs are required, Spectrol is better set up to handle the larger runs.

“We sleeve to order,” he notes. “We can sleeve one pallet at a time or 5,000 at a time. We provide a short-run service that be invaluable to craft brewers.

“But for those shrinksleeves that require larger production and need to have a special effect added—such as subsurface or surface effects for a value-added decoration—that’s when our partners at Spectrol rise to the occasion.

Adds Spectrol’s Stegmaier: “The shrink sleeving of cans brings a tremendous value to the end-user.

According to Kapoor, one of the things that separates his company from the competition is its willing to accept new challenges, adding that “we want to advance shrinksleeving to new levels.”

XtremeAd_Layout Stegmaier concurs: “We now can work with 1the6/5/14 3:47 PM Page 1 equipment to ensure metallic foils can adhere to the surface or subsurface of films before we shrink them—which can provide an improved look and feel to product labels with embossing, adding more value to what was once just a f lat shrinksleeve label.

“Spectrol has evolved shrinksleeve labeling to the next level by creating a highquality product for the packaging world.”

The Spectrol-SGS/Sample­ Pak partnership was formed in 2012, when SamplePak began looking for new markets for its shrinksleeves, and hit upon the craft beer market.

SamplePak’s Haslam says he first approached Stegmaier about the two companies working together in a partnership on a few projects.

“We had already been producing samples—shortruns, if you will—of shrinksleeves for aluminum cans Visit Purity.Eriez.com Call for customers involved in the beverage market,” recalls

“Craft-brewers want to be unique and bring a value to the product they make.

“The use of a shrinksleeve label,” sums up Stegmaier, “allows for various size runs to be sleeved in unique ways with both visual and tactile effects not possible using traditional direct printing methods.”

For More Information: Spectrol Inc.

470

SGS International

471

SamplePak 472 Gallus Inc.

473

Groupe DCM Usimeca

474

Klöckner-Pentaplast Of Canada Inc.

475

Bonset America Corporation

476

Baldor Electric Company

477

Hewlett Packard

478

Aesus Systems

479

Festo Inc.

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DIGITAL PRINTING

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DIGITAL OVERDRIVE

Unrivaled operational flexibility in mass customization and short-run applications breathes new life into the global packaging marketplace for digital printing technologies

HP Indigo factory personnel check out the finished print quality of freshly-printed shrinksleeve labels coming off the high-capacity WS6600 narrow-web, seven-color digital printing press designed specifically for high-volume production of labels and other smaller-sized packaging products such as flexible packaging and folding cartons.

BY GEORGE GUIDONI, EDITOR

T

o borrow from that crafty great wordsmith Mark Twain, the rumors of the death of print have been vastly exaggerated. At least never more so than for the global digital package printing marketplace, which is growing at rates far beyond what constitutes most people’s definitions of fast, buoyant, rapid or robust.

According to an authoritative report from the well-respected U.K. market research agency Smithers Pira, the global market for digital printing for packaging will be worth US$12.2 billion by 2016, nearly tripling that market’s combined worth of US$4.8 billion in 2011.

“This growth is driven by the changing demands of packaging buyers, with more varieties and pack sizes fragmenting the market—leading to shorter runs that digital technology can produce economically,” says Sean Smyth, author of The Future of Digital Printing for Packaging to 2016 report that paints an exceptionally bright picture of rapid

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near-term growth for manufacturers of digital enjoying steady growth because there will always package and label printing presses and their supbe a need for packaging, whether you’re buying a plier partners. bottle of pop, a cologne or prescription drugs, but “Digital printing and finishing technology manufacturers are improving the performance of their equipment in terms of speed, quality and reliability,” Smyth points out, “and these improvements are moving the economic break-even point of digital ever higher against conventional printing.”

Such projections are naturally music to the ears of people like Danny Ionescu, country manager for HP Indigo and high-speed inkjet web press solutions at Hewlett-Packard Company’s Canadian operThe APEX 1290 digital label press from iSys Label can print, slit and rewind ations in Mississauga, Ont. about 28,000 labels in less than 40 minutes, according to the company.

“The packaging market is

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DIGITAL PRINTING

PHOTOS COURTESY OF HP INDIG0 & DURAFAST LABEL CO.

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Debuting in North America in September at the Label Americas international labeling trade show in Chicago, HP Indigo’s WS6800 label press is designed to help converters reduce the time spent preparing color profiles and Pantone color matching by up to 75 per cent with a new in-line spectrophotometer that eliminates the need for manual color calibrations and adjustments, while achieving throughput speeds of up to 131 linear feet per minute.

we are very excited about projections for the digital markets where HP competes, where we will see triple-digit growth rates in the next several years,” says Ionescu, a 19-year HP veteran who has headed the company’s HP Indigo digital printing press technology business in Canada over the past nine years.

“It’s explosive growth, and it’s very exciting to be on the leading edge of bringing this new technology to a market that has been traditionally dominated by offset printing.”

In the last couple of years Hewlett-Packard has made major investments in its HP Indigo technologies to take advantage of the predicted market boom, Ionescu relates, citing opportunities not only in the more familiar label markets, but also in the folding-carton, f lexible packaging and corrugated packaging sectors.

“HP now provides end-to-end solutions in respect to offering variable capacities of the digital process to the end-users, instead of the traditional offset printing solutions,” Ionescu told the Canadian Packaging magazine in a recent interview.

“We see big returns not only for HP and its partners, but also for the many benefits right back to the end-user customer.”

While Ionescu acknowledges the continuing role for the traditional offset printers in executing long print runs, “for short-run production, digital printing now brings to market a value proposition that makes real economic sense.”

Rather than competing with these offset technologies directly, HP Indigo presses provide a “complementary technology that can leverage the existing offset capabilities and infrastructure,” Ionescu suggests, citing Coca-Cola’s widely lauded Share a Coke marketing campaigns in Australia, Europe and North America as perfect example of such high-tech leveraging.

Featuring hundreds of popular first names to give Coke bottles a touch of personal customization, the promotions have resulted in production of over two billion customized labels using HP Indigo presses to apply the selected names in random, sequential printing on the f lexographically-printed master brand labels in rollstock format.

Ionescu says that HP’s in-house development of a special Coca-Cola Red color, along with the matching ElectroInk liquid printing ink, made the collaboration possible and profitable.

“The technology that HP developed with the ElectroInk is the only technology out there right now that can truthfully replicate the Coca-Cola Red colors developed at the company’s ink manufacturing operations in Israel.

“If you are printing the billion labels that are required to produce for this project, you can’t have the name portion being a different color from their red, it has to have a direct color match with the flexo-printed portion of the label, or Coca-Cola would have rejected it, as would any other big company,” he states.

HP Indigo’s ink manufacturing plant in Kiryat Gat, Israel, produces a broad range of the company’s patented ElectroInk formulations for use with its printing presses.

“The campaign has recently surpassed two billion labels, but the most important part of this project is what it had achieved for Coca-Cola,” Ionescu explains.

“The variability of changing the labels created a global campaign that really resonated with the consumers around the world,” he states. “The global soda market is nowadays anything but a growing market, but this campaign allowed Coca-Cola to gain a seven-percent market share.

“That’s an astronomical gain in what is essentially a f lat-growth market for soft-drinks,” says Ionescu, adding that the HP Indigo 6000 series digital printers used to produce the personalized Coca-Cola labels around the world can also be used for inline printing of folding cartons and film-based f lexible packaging with similar breathtaking effect.

“It is a very versatile technology,” says Ionescu, while also praising the similar f lexibility advantages offered by the large-format printing presses manufactured by the company’s sister-company HP Scitex for corrugated packaging producers.

“We have a very broad range of printing systems available to the market as part of HP’s Graphic Arts portfolio,” says Ionescu, “along with a very wide assortment of inks to support them all, including UV inks, ElectroInks, latex inks, inkjet inks and so on—a tremendous range of technology.”

Says Ionescu: “This is a very exciting time for HP in the packaging industry, where we plan to achieve

The worldwide Share a Coke campaign has produced more than two billion personalized labels produced with HP Indigo digital printing presses.

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DIGITAL PRINTING

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The Afinia model L801 color label printer uses Memjet inkjet technology to produce labels up to eight-incheswide at speeds of 23 inches per second.

many of the things that have made the company a leader in many other segments by offering some very unique capabilities to the marketplace.”

As Ionescu relates, astute marketers see endless possibilities for this technology in the fast growing e-commerce market by encouraging users to request personalized items online, from boxes of Goldfish Crackers to Kleenex tissue boxes, to use as two of the more recent examples.

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A small sampling of some of the many types of everyday packaging products that can be printed inline with the HP Indigo digital press technology.

“When you have consumers willing to pay a big premium for a mass-produced product that has been personalized just for them using HP technology, you have a very compelling value proposition to offer your customers,” Ionescu asserts, citing “explosive growth” for HP Indigo product in Canada.

“Our Canadian customers are making these significant investments because the want to be at the forefront, they want to be leading-edge, they want to be first-to-market … this is what innovation is all about.

“We’re no longer talking about future technologies: the future is now,” he states.

“It’s not just about providing short-run capabilities; it is also about providing gravure-like print quality and consistency,” Ionescu points out. “You can’t make compromises in either if you want to maintain credibility in the marketplace.

“With the explosion of retail SKUs in the consumer markets,” Ionescu concludes, “the runs are getting shorter and shorter, so the market is craving for technologies that best address those new market realities.”

For the time being however, the label segment appears to be the dominant end-use application for digital package printing, accounting for a nearly 90-percent share of the market in 2013, according to Smithers Pira.

“This definitely is an exciting time in the color label printing industry,” says Basat Khalifa, president of DuraFast Label Company, a division of

the Toronto-based Nine Sector Distribution Ltd. “We are seeing label printing innovations that not only allows small- and mid-sized manufacturers to bring label production in-house, but also to do so faster, better, and more affordably than ever,” says Khalifa, citing Primera Technology, Epson, Afinia, QuickLabel and VIPColor as some of the more prominent technology suppliers in this space.

Selling for about $2,500, the Primera LX900 color label printer is said to be the industry’s bestselling desktop printer due to its easy set-up and affordability.

“We are particularly excited about the growth of on-demand in-house food and packaging label production, GHS BS5609-certified label printing, and RFID (radio frequency identification) label printing, as well as the emergence of advanced inks and toners.

“There’s truly a solution for just about any label printing challenge out there,” says Khalifa,

The Epson model GP-C831 printer is the market-leading desktop system for industrial color label applications and warning labels for chemical drum handling and storage.

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@

The ColorWorks c3500 printer from Epson is a four-color desktop printer that prints labels up to 4.1-inches-wide at four inches per second.

describing his own company’s mandate as “to help businesses make sense of all the labeling options and find the right solution for their needs.”

According to Khalifa, “Current digital label printing technology brings the perfect blend of price, performance, speed, and quality to manufacturers and businesses alike.

“With traditional printing processes and their minimum print requirements, many small businesses either buy more labels than they can possibly use or pay a premium for shorter production runs,” he explains.

“With today’s on-demand color and digital label printers, label production can be accomplished on an ‘as-needed’ basis directly from the desktop without sacrificing print quality.

“There is no wastage because you only produce what you need,” Khalifa adds, “while businesses can react faster to market changes and new regulatory requirements.”

Khalifa credits much of his company’s success to remaining keenly focused solely on the label market and supplying application-specific turnkey labeling solutions to its clients, without playing favorites among the product brands that the company resells.

“We do not attempt to be everything to everybody: our focus is on label printing and that’s it,” he declares.

“As a result, we are experts in the field, so whether a customer needs help printing product labels, RFID tags, barcodes or address labels, we can help them find the most appropriate label printers and products for their needs.”

“Our success is based in large part on our consultancy approach,” he adds. “We don’t just sell blank labels and tags; we help customers optimize label production for better results, cost-savings, and productivity gains.”

Khalifa explains that after prospective customers send DuraFast their design files, the company test-prints samples on all the different printers it thinks may be the best option for that particular label, after which it calculates a complete cost analysis to determine the exact cost of printing those labels in-house.

DIGITAL PRINTING

“We truly work with our clients to help them find and understand what is the best solution for their label printing needs, and provide them a turnkey solution for bringing label printing in-house and see the savings for themselves,” he states.

“Today’s business environment requires agility in all areas, including label production,” Khalifa sums up. “It no longer makes sense to pre-print tens of thousands of labels at once.

“Label requirements may change from the time your labels are printed to the time they’re applied on the product, so manufacturers using ondemand digital label printing technologies to edit their labels as needed and print them on demand are definitely on the right track,” he concludes.

“And as more new printers continue to come to

market with faster print speeds, lower cost, and better print quality, we anticipate even greater customer conversion from pre-printed labels to printing on demand.”

For More Information: Hewlett-Packard Company Dure Fast Label Company Primera Technology, Inc. Epson America, Inc. Afina Label QuickLabel Systems VIPColor Technologies Inc. iSys Label

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PRESS RELEASE WEIGHPACK SYSTEMS APPOINTS NEW ENGINEERING MANAGER WeighPack Systems Inc. a leading provider of high performance packaging solutions, is pleased to announce the appointment of Armin Syroos as Engineering Manager.

Armin’s experience includes over fifteen years working for Krones and Sidel, the world’s leading packaging equipment suppliers for the beverage industry. He has held several positions in both engineering and project management, eventually becoming the Director of Engineering and Project Management at Sidel.

Armin brings proven leadership, market knowledge and extensive experience in the packaging industry to his new role. The appointment is part of WeighPack’s continued growth plan and strengthening of its product portfolio.

“Armin’s addition to our company reinforces our commitment to engineering high quality packaging systems and offering our large customer base product to pallet solutions”. Says Nicholas Taraborelli, VP Sales for Paxiom, parent to WeighPack Systems.

“I am excited to join the Paxiom Group and contribute to its continued success. WeighPack has an excellent reputation for its innovative packaging solutions. It’s extensive product portfolio and global presence allows us to provide standalone equipment or a complete integrated solution with a customer focus at its core”. Says Armin.

For more information, visit us at www.weighpack.com or call 1.888.934.4472

Ted Gorsline

Production Manager

Aimee Tedford

Sales and Marketing Associate

Julie Shipp

Sales Manager - USA

UniTrak Corporation appoints 3 new employees UniTrak Corporation Limited, manufacturers of bucket conveyors, aeromechanical conveyors and flexible augers, of Port Hope, Ontario, has named Ted Gorsline as its incoming Production Manager; Aimee Tedford as Sales and Marketing Associate and appointed Julie Shipp of Kansas City, Missouri as the new Sales Manager - USA.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS NOTES & QUOTES

Flexicon president and chief executive officer David Gill leads the official groundbreaking of the company’s headquarters expansion in Bethlehem, Pa.

 Flexicon Corporation, manufacturer of bulk and powder product conveying, handling, filling and packing systems and equipment, has formally broken ground for a major facility expansion that will double the size of its U.S. headquarters in Bethlehem, Pa. “We built the current 91,000-square-foot facility in 2001 on an oversized site owned by Flexicon that had acres of additional prime real estate beyond what was needed at the time, with the intention of expanding the building as demand for Flexicon equipment exceeded our capacity to produce it,” explains Flexicon president and chief executive officer David Gill. According to the company, the expansion will increase the plant’s current product assembly work area eight-fold, while significantly expanding the space for new product development, shipping/receiving and office operations. “Doubling the size of our world headquarters will have the immediate effect of reducing wait times for equipment deliveries,” says Gill, “while allowing us to develop new product lines and secure patents on an accelerated basis—positioning Flexicon for exponential growth.” In addition to manufacturing flexible screw, tubular cable and pneumatic conveying systems in Bethlehem, Flexicon also operates manufacturing subsidiaries in the U.K., Australia, South Africa, Chile and Singapore.

RPC Group chief executive officer Pim Vervaat (foreground) officially opens up the company’s newly-expanded manufacturing facility in Morgantown, Pa.

 Leading European rigid plastic products manufacturer RPC Group says it has completed a US$10-million expansion of the company’s U.S. manufacturing operation in Morgantown, Pa., to double the size of the plant’s production area to about 120,000 square feet, while also enabling it to introduce the company’s proprietary IML (in-mold labeling) production process onto the site. Originally built in 2005, the RPC Bramlage Wiko USA Inc. plant in Morgantown currently employs 120 people to produce injection-molded and thermoformed rigid plastic packaging for customers in the beverage, coffee, cosmetics and food industries. “Morgantown has played a crucial role in our success to date in this market and this additional capacity will further enhance the level of localized support that we can offer our customers in the region,” says RPC Group’s chief executive officer Pim Vervaat, adding the company also plans to upgrade the operations of its M&H Plastics manufacturing plant in Winchester, Va., and the RPC Superfos sales office in Cumberland, Md.

ANTOINE DODIER

APPOINTED COUNTRY MANAGER TO ENTER NEW CHAPTER OF EXPANDED INNOVATION AND GROWTH AT LOMA SYSTEMS CANADA

Oakville, Ontario, CAN – September 22, 2014 – Antoine Dodier has been appointed Country Manager of Loma Systems Canada, an ITW company and worldwide leader in metal detection, checkweighing and x-ray inspection systems for the food, pharmaceutical and packaging industries.

Business Unit Manager Mark D’Onofrio said the appointment of Antoine Dodier is an important milestone for Loma Systems Canada. “Antoine reinforces the strength of our presence in Canada and I am confident he will be a catalyst who will steer the company as it enters the next chapter of expanded innovation and growth,” he said. “Antoine comes with outstanding credentials.

He brings an exemplary commitment to the customer with complementary experience building best-in-class sales and service centers worldwide.”

Since joining the company in 2003, Dodier has spearheaded entry into several markets worldwide, most notably the company’s push into Latin America and the development of one of the most substantial networks supporting the region. During his tenure overseeing the Latin American business, the division outperformed the market and took notable share from competitors.

“Loma Systems will revolutionize the Canadian market through technology and services and I couldn’t be more honored to have been chosen to lead this initiative,” Dodier said. “The opportunity ahead for Loma Systems Canada is vast, but to seize it, we must focus clearly, move fast and continue to transform. A big part of my job is to accelerate our ability to bring innovative products to our customers and to directly support those products.”

Loma Systems Canada has seen a recent push in x-ray inspection, checkweighing and combination systems, which are technologies that are foreign to many competitors in the market. Loma Systems Canada also maintains the largest field service team in Canada that boasts a 92% customer satisfaction score as monitored by NPS, a third-party evaluation service, contracted by Loma Systems North America for more than 10 years.

Founded in 1980, Loma Systems Canada is nationally recognized as an expert in food safety. Their systems continuously protect some of the top brands in Canada, credited to support provided by a local team of experienced field service engineers with an average tenure of over 15 years.

Loma Systems, a Division of ITW 333 Wyecroft Rd., Unit 11, Oakville, ON L6K 2H2 283 E. Lies Road, Carol Stream, 60188 Illinois, USA

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 Pharmaceutical products co-packer Legacy Pharmaceutical Packaging, LCC of St. Louis, Mo., has completed a move to a brand new, 190,000-squarefoot production facility (picture above) housing the company’s headquarters and a total of 10 packaging lines to accommodate Legacy’s fast-growing range of contract bottling, blistering, pouching, unit-of-use, compliance and secondary packaging services. “The new facility exemplifies our commitment to anticipating and investing in our customers’ future needs,” explains Legacy’s executive director of sales and marketing Brad Rayner. “This marks the largest infrastructure upgrade and expansion in Legacy’s history, leaving us well-positioned for further growth in both our client portfolio and our overall service capabilities.”  Evansville, Ind.-headquartered Berry Plastics Group, Inc. has reached a definitive agreement to acquire the U.S.-, Mexico- and India-based assets of the Healthcare Containers and Closures (C&C) business unit of the leading British consumer packaging products manufacturer Rexam PLC, with the provision to purchase C&C’s operations in France pending consultations with the French work councils. If completed as planned, the estimated US$135million transaction would include a total of eight manufacturing locations— five in the U.S. and one each in Mexico, France and India—employing about 1,500 people and generating annual sales of US$262 million. “The proposed acquisition is directly aligned with our fundamental strategic initiatives,” explains Berry Plastics chief executive officer Jon Rich. “The U.S. portion of the business has a highly synergistic fit with our current healthcare product portfolio, while facilities located outside the U.S. will allow us to increase our presence in the attractive global healthcare market segment.”

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PEOPLE  Food processing and packaging equipment and products group Tetra Pak has appointed Brian Kennell as president and chief executive officer for the U.S. and Canada, to be based at the company’s North American headquarters in Dallas, Tex.; and Scott Thornton as the director of sales for Canada, to be based at Tetra Pak’s Canadian head office in Toronto.  Cincinnati, Ohio-headquar­ tered automated material handling systems and equipment manufacturing group Intelligrated has appointed Kevin Roach as executive vicepresident and general manager

Roach

for the company’s software group, operating out of Atlanta, Ga.  The board of directors of Wakefield, Mass.headquartered American Institute for Packaging and the Environment (AMERIPEN) has elected a new group of executive officers for the upcoming year, including: president, Jeff Wooster of The Dow Chemical Company as president; Ron Cotterman of Sealed Air Corporation as treasurer; Lee Anderson of General Mills, Inc. as vice-president; and Jennifer McCracken of HAVI Global Solutions as secretary.  Spirof low Systems, Inc., Charlotte, N.C.based manufacturer of automated material handling

and packaging machinery and systems for bulk powder and granular products in the foodLangenfeld Moses and-beverage, pharmaceutical, pet-food, chemicals, cement and other industries, has appointed Mark Langenfeld as head of sales management and business development of the company’s robotic automation division; and David Moses and Christopher Sales as project design engineers, with joint responsibilities for designing custom-made powder handling systems and solutions.

EVENTS Nov. 19-20

Feb. 11-12

March 24-27

Montreal: PACKEX Montreal, packaging technologies exhibition by UBM Canon. Concurrently with Expoplast, Design & Manufacturing Montreal, Automation Technology Expo (ATX) Montreal, and Powders & Bulk Solids conference and exhibition.

All at Palais des congrès de Montréal. To register, go to: wwwe.UBMCanonEvents.com/Montreal

Paris, France: Pharmapack Europe, pharmaceutical packaging and drug delivery exhibition and conference by UBM Live Health. At Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, Hall 5. To register, go to: www.pharmapack.fr

Cologne, Germany: Anuga FoodTec, international food processing and packaging technologies exhibition by Koelnmesse GmbH. At Koelnmesse fairgrounds. To register, go to: www.anugafoodtec.com

Feb. 16-18

April 21-24

Nov. 19-20 Anaheim, Ca.: Automation Fair 2014, industrial automation technologies exhibition and conference by Rockwell Automation. At Anaheim Convention Center. To register, go to: www.automationfair.com

Dec. 2-3 Brussels, Belgium: European Bioplastics Conference,

by European Bioplastics. At the Square Brussels Meeting Center. To register, go to: www.european-bioplastics.org

2015

Philadelphia, Pa.: PACK EXPO East, packaging tech­nologies exhibition by PMMI-The Association for Pack­ aging and Processing Tech­ nolo­ g ies. At Pennsyl­vania Convention Center. To register, go to: www.packexpo.com Munich, Germany: CCE Europe 2015, corrugated and folding-carton industry exhibition by Mack Brooks Exhibitions Ltd. At the Munich Trade Fair Center.

To register, go to: www. cce-international.com

March 17-19

Moscow, Russia: Upakovaka/Upak Italia 2015, international processing, packaging and printing technologies exhibition by Messe Düsseldorf GmbH and Centrexpo. Concurrently with Interplastica 2015 international trade fair for plastics and rubber industries. All at Krasnaya Presnya Expocentre. Contact Messe Düsseldorf (Canada) at (416) 598-1524, or go to: www.upakovka.messe-duesseldorf.de

Singapore: Specialty Pack­ ag­ ing Films Asia 2015, conference by Applied Market Inofrmation Ltd (AMI). At Swisshotel The Stamford. to register, go to: www.amiplastics.com/ events

Atlanta, Ga.: The Packaging Conference, by Plastic Technologies, Inc. At The Ritz Carlton Buckhead.

Contact Ron Puvak at (419) 725-5613, or go to: www.thepackagingconference.com

Feb. 5-10 Gandhinagar, India: PlastIndia 2015, international plastics processing exhibition and conference by Plastindia Foundation. Concurrently with ASEAN Plastics Forum and Proplast 2015 finishedgoods exposition. All at Pragati Maidan. Contact Messe Düsseldorf (Canada) at (416) 598-1524, or go to: www.plastindia.org

Feb. 10-12 Orlando, Fla.: ICE USA 2015, international converting exhibition (ICE) by Mack Brooks Exhibitions Ltd. At Orange County Convention Center. To register, go to: www.ice-x-usa.com

APPOINTMENT

March 10-12

Jan. 27-30

Feb. 2-4

Barcelona, Spain: Hispack 2015, international packaging exhibition by Fira de Barcelona. At Gran Via Exhibition Center. To register, go to: www.hispack.com/en/

March 23-26 Chicago: Automate 2015, in­­dustrial automation tech­nol­o­g ies exhibition by the Association for Advancing Automation (A3). At the Mc­ Cormick Place. To reg­ ister, go to: www.AutomateShow.com

March 23-27 Orlando, Fla.: NPE 2015, national plastics exhibi­ tion by SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association.

At Orange County Con­ ven­t ion Center. To register, go to: www.npe.org

MARKEM-IMAJE ANNOUNCES THE NEW MANAGER OF OUR CANADIAN OFFICE: EVAN SEGALOWITZ Markem-Imaje is pleased to announce the new Country Manager for Canada, Evan Segalowitz. With 13 years of sales and management experience in the food and bakery industries, Evan is a great addition to our successful Markem-Imaje Team in Canada. In his latest role, Evan was the Director of Retail Sales for a large Canadian bread subsidiary. In this position he executed a sales turnaround plan that returned the unit to profitable growth within one year while managing a great team of sales professionals and an indirect network of distribution. Evan graduated with distinction from the Ivey School of Business in 2001 and has been based out of Toronto since that time.

About Markem-Imaje Markem-Imaje, a wholly owned subsidiary of the US-based Dover Corporation is a trusted world manufacturer of product identification and traceability solutions, offering a full line of reliable and innovative inkjet, thermal transfer, laser, and print and apply label systems.

Markem-Imaje provides global reach to over 40,000 customers with 30 subsidiaries, 6 technology centers, several equipment repair centers and manufacturing plants with the most comprehensive marking and coding portfolio available in the marketplace.

Visit www.markem-imaje.com for further information.

Markem-Imajem, Inc 5448 Timberlea Blvd. Mississauga, Ontario L4W 2T7 Tel: 1.800.267.5108 Fax: 1.866.921.9732

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METHOD TO THE PACKAGING MADDNESS

W

ith seasonal boozy festivities and celebrations just ahead, it’s good to see the MADD Canada branch of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), spread its message of responsible alcohol consumption in a fairly cheerful way, by adding its weight of moral authority to the MADD Virgin Brut Alcohol Free Sparkling Wine, produced in Belgium by Stassen S.A. and distributed here by Tree of Life Canada ULC. Part of the group’s growing “virgin drinks” family of booze-free libations, the 750-ml glass bottle features all the festive packaging trappings of traditional champagne bottles—including foil wrapping and a cork-and-cage closure— with its elegant neck label proudly trumpeting the group’s 30-year history of combating drunk driving and helping out its victims, as well as a ‘thank you’ message to indicate that 10 per cent of the product’s net sales will support its noble activities. Looking and behaving like the real deal—even cautioning to face away from people when popping the cork open—the Virgin Brut offers party-goers a tasty way to keep watch on their caloric intake at this indulgence-prone time of year. With only 38 calories per 150-ml serving—compared to about 120 for most bruts—it offers a refreshing means of bringing your morning glass of orange juice to life without the side effects of alcohol, and without being unbearably preachy about it.

Having just discovered the sweet joys of crème brûlée over an evening out at a local new restaurant, I have quickly become a big fan of this irresistible piece of classic French dessert decadence packing spoonfuls of delicious custard underneath

a delicate layer of singed sugar coating. My joy was made complete a few days after with the discovery of the Marie Morin Authentic Crème Brûlée packages in the freezer section of my neighborhood supermarket. Produced by Marie Morin Canada in Brossard, Que., these classy four-packs ooze with packaging elegance befitting the delicious contents, with the paperboard sleeve’s cutouts providing an unobstructed views of the glass cups and custards, deftly complemented by the use of cream tones, natural colors and uncluttered vanilla-bean graphics to project the sense of refined indulgence. The reusable glass cups go from freezer to table after defrosting in the fridge for eight to 12 hours, with their peel-off foil lids ensuring a neat and tidy opening for each and every serving.

Minor scrapes, nicks, cuts and burns are all part of everyday life, especially for the accident-prone young children. But thanks to some inspired product and packaging innovation, taking it all in stride has gotten a little easier said and done. With a clear pitch to young boys, the new Infectigard+ Kid’s Game Box set of 20 sterile bandages from Dr. Fresh LLC makes clever use of the iconic Hot Wheels toy brand from Mattel to not only heal but entertain.

Resembling a handheld video game, the rigid package boasts a doubleduty top hook for displaying it in upright position on the merchandise hook racks, while also being used as a closure for the package contents once it’s been opened. And the game itself—a miniature low-tech ball-ina-maze contraption with three tiny metal balls moved about various obstacles by tilting the box up,

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX

ADVERTISER Page For more information on Classified Advertising please contact: 416-510-5198

BEYOND THE CUTTING EDGE · POUCHES · SHRINK BAGS · THERMOFORMING FILM · TRAY LIDDING FILM · SKIN FILM ·

Print IT Bag IT Form IT Wrap IT Seal IT Shrink IT Preserve IT Sell IT XtraPlast.com Sales.Canada@XtraPlast.com • 877-435-4555

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Atlantic Packaging 2 Berg Chilling Systems 6 CHEP 28 Eriez 25 Festo 19 Fortress 20 Harlund 4 Hewlett Packard OBC Intertape Polymer 5 Loma 30 MarkemImaje 31 Multivac 24 Plan Automation IFC Reiser 15 Sealed Air 8 SEW Eurodrive 7, 12, 13 Spectrol IBC Unitrack 29 Videojet 1 Weighpack 29

down or sideways—is a playful low-tech departure from electronic gizmos dominating today’s gaming landscape that actually helps the little ones to improve their dexterity skills. As for little girls, the new boxes of BAND-AID Brand Adhesive Bandages

by Cynthia Rowley—featuring the acclaimed New York designer’s whimsical images adorning each of the 20 bandages inside—are a delightful addition to a sterile product category long in need of a little touch of visual glamor, delivered here with bold red lettering and a sampling of glossy bandage designs arranged to look like a skyscraper-filled cityscape set against a dark night sky.

Photos by Rhea Gordon

CHECKOUT RHEA GORDON

Sometimes too much information is just too much information, as is the case with the TWIST Dark Organic Chocolate brand from the San Franciscobased Alter Eco. The front of the f lat matte package uses an image of an orange on a light orange background to color-match the product’s Crystallized Orange Peel f lavor, with the bottom-right corner proudly displaying the product’s fair-trade and organic credential with matching ecolabels. Fair enough, but the back panel is a veritable information overkill of ‘Vegan/Soy Free/No GMO/No Artificial Flavours/No Emulsifiers’ declarations, more ecolabels, and a picture of a smiling cocoa farmer used as a callout for yet another lesson in social conscience inside the package, where you can read all about how the UN is helping Peruvian Amazon farmers escape the oppression of local drug lords by replacing coca crops with cocoa. Ironically, the package literally runs out of room to say anything about the packaging materials (recylced/recyclable?) or the printing process (vegetable inks?) used to package the 80-gram bar.

Rhea Gordon is a freelance writer living in Toronto.

FREE

PRODUCT INFORMATION

NOVEMBER 2014

CIRCLE THE R.S. NO. THAT MATCHES THE NUMBER ON THE ADVERTISEMENT OR ARTICLE OF INTEREST. FAX THIS BACK TO US AT (416) 510-5140 Name Title Company Name Address City Prov. P/Code Telephone Fax Email Address

CANADIAN PACKAGING • NOVEMBER 2014

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Label or no label?

Yes indeed, this can is sporting a Spectrol shrink sleeve label.

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Wake up to new possibilities Welcome to greater profitability with HP digital print technology Keep up with ever-changing customer needs. Expand into new markets. Realize greater profitability. You can do it all with the innovative technologies only HP digital printing provides—including white ink, raised ink, invisible red ink and more—and with the amazing print quality you demand.

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© Copyright 2014 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.

Offer eligible to individuals or companies affiliated with the printing and packaging industry including but not limited to designers, print service providers and print brokers.

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