Canadian Packaging September 2015

SEPTEMBER 2015 | $10

www.canadianpackaging.com

Luis Javier Rendon, Vice-President of Operations, Trophy Foods Inc. and Redland Foods Corp.

LET’S GET CRACKING! Thriving Canadian nut processor fires up new U.S. operation to crack the lucrative private-label market south of the border

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Story on page 12

MONKEY BUSINESS  Page 32

IN THIS ISSUE: FLEXIBLE PACKAGING • PACKAGING FOR FRESHNESS • BOXMAKING p OFC cpac sept 2015 Cover p OFC.indd 1

15-09-04 8:23 AM

Save Space and Increase Throughput.

Ryson makes a full line of spiral conveyors that can satisfy most vertical conveying needs. Ryson Spirals need less floor space than conventional conveyors and are faster and more reliable than any elevator or lift.

Unit Load Spirals convey cases, totes and packaged goods smoothly High Capacity Spirals are in response to our customers need to on our slat style belts and come in 8 standard slat widths ranging from go higher and handle more weight. They can handle double the 6” to 26”. Available in powder coated carbon steel, stainless steel, weight capacity of our regular spirals at speeds up to 200 FPM. washdown and freezer versions.

Multiple Entry and Exit Spirals allow loads to enter or exit the High Capacity Spirals at intermediate elevations. New special induction Mass Flow Spirals handle full and empty bottles, cans and jars in and divert conveyors have individually adjustable conveying surfaces to mass up to 2000 units per minute. Available in 4 different slat widths match the spiral pitch, assuring a smooth and reliable operation. ranging from 6” to 20”.

Narrow Trak Spirals are super compact and designed to handle your Quality and service come first at Ryson. We are the number one smaller loads. A new 6” wide nesting slat can end-transfer small cartons spiral manufacturer in the USA. For application assistance or more and packages or side-transfer small bottles and containers in a single file information, give us a call or visit www.ryson.com. or in mass at speeds in excess of 200 FPM.

RySoN INTERNaTIoNaL, INC. 300 Newsome Drive • Yorktown,VA 23692

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Visit us in Booth S-6102

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©2015 Videojet Technologies Inc. ©2015 Videojet Technologies Inc.

Atlantic Packaging Products 2015 Sustainability Award Winner

As presented by 3M Canada

At Atlantic, recognition means the most when it comes from our customers.

Our expertise is in seeing beyond the box.

(416) 298.8101 • (800) 268.5620 • www.atlantic.ca

Corrugated Packaging

Paper Bag Products

Displays

Supply and Inventory Management

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SEPTEMBER 2015

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12 GET CRACKING By George Guidoni

Luis Javier Rendon, Vice-President of Operations, Trophy Foods Inc. and Redland Foods Corp.

Thriving Canadian nuts processor takes its act south of the border to crack the lucrative U.S. private-label market under a new brand name and corporate identity.

Cover photography by John Packman

LET’S GET CRACKIN G! Thriving Canadian nut processor to crack the lucrative fires up new U.S. operation private-label market south of the border Story on page 12

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VOLUME 68, NO. 9

tent than it has done so far,” Taylor told Canadian Packaging in a recent interview, suggesting there is a serious disconnect between the craft brewers’ earnest commitment to using packaging innovation to sell their products and the packaging industry’s hesitancy to supply it in affordable manner.

“With our industry being so relatively small, one of our biggest challenges is our need to use more interesting and innovative designs and technologies, but in smaller quantities to match our current production needs,” says Taylor, who chairs the planning committee of next month’s Ontario Craft Brewers Conference and Suppliers Marketplace 2015 in Toronto. (See page 39 for details) “So there is a challenge for the packaging industry to respond to this need by being creative in their equipment procurement and their pricing to help us grow together to our mutual benefit.

“In the old day there was no choice but to run tens of thousands of packages at once because of expensive printing plates, but with the advent of digital printing and other new technologies, we need packaging suppliers who will keep pushing the envelope in terms of technological and design innovation to create the industrial designs and out-of-the box thinking in terms of graphic design, printing techniques, packaging configurations, equipment compatibility and, above all, to be affordable,” Taylor states. “For our companies, packaging provides the primary means of getting the brewer’s message and story out in the marketplace to drive product discovery and brand recognition, making packaging absolutely critical to the craft brewers’ business.”

Our many cheers to that!

IN THIS ISSUE: FLEXIBLE p OFC cpac sept

©Contents of this publication are protected by copyright and must not be reprinted in whole or in part without permission of the publisher.

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MONKEY BUSINESS 

Publication mail

SEPTEMBER 2015

t’s really in the nature of packaging suppliers large and small to be driven by the end goal of landing a killer account that will keep their order books filled and machinery humming for years to come, and one can’t really blame them for dreaming big. But in this endless obsessive race to catch the Big Kahuna, there is a tendency to overlook the many smaller-sized fry swimming about that can also provide a welcome revenue stream and the promise of bigger things to come.

In the Canadian beer world, smaller craft brewers that comprise the Ontario Craft Brewers (OCB) association membership are that proverbial small fry—certainly compared to the capital resources and marketplace clout enjoyed by the deep-pocketed Big Three triumvirate of MolsonCoors, Labatt and Sleeman Brewing.

That said, Ontario’s craft brewers employ more than 1,000 full-time people across the province, according to OCB, which estimates the industry’s economic impact at well over $400 million a year, while also indirectly supporting about 4,000 other full-time jobs in the province.

With total capital investment by the sector now averaging about $10 million annually, it would seem logical for packaging designers and suppliers alike to be knocking on its doors to benefit from annual sales growth ranging from 20 to 30 per cent, but for the moment that’s more of an exception to the rule than the norm, according to Sybil Taylor, communications director for the Torontobased Steam Whistle Brewing, one of Ontario’s largest craft brewers by volume.

“We really need the packaging community to come forward with more interesting innovations to help us accelerate our growth to a much greater ex-

2015 Cover NL

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PACKAGING • PACKAGING

FOR FRESHNESS •

BOXMAKING

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FEATURES 8 WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS A sneak preview of PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2015 Exhibition 17 MEAT ON THE TABLE

Meat Industry Expo preview

DEPARTMENTS & COLUMNS

3

UPFRONT By George Guidoni

4-5 NEWSPACK

Packaging news round-up.

6 FIRST GLANCE New solutions for packaging applications.

10 imPACt Monthly insight from PAC, Packaging Consortium.

11 EVENTS Upcoming industry functions.

36 CHECKOUT By Paul Pethick Joe Public speaks out on packaging hits and misses.

18 IN PRIME FOR BIG TIME By George Guidoni Leading Canada boxboard producer enters a brand new chapter in its storied evolution as an integral part of the world’s largest folding-carton company.

26 STAND UP AND DELIVER By Andrew Joseph

Ontario fresh-produce processor finds a perfect packaging mix for its innovative product range with high-impact flexible stand-up technology.

32 TALES FROM THE BAR SIDE By Andrew Joseph Ontario craft brewer leverages cuttingedge process control to break out of conventional wisdom with offbeat branding and product packaging.

36 MUSCLES ON THE SHELF By Andrew Joseph Legendary Canadian strongman building an energy-bar powerhouse through insightful nutritional knowledge and expert packaging execution.

39 MASTERS OF THEIR CRAFT Beer craftsmanship at its best.

SEPTEMBER 2015 • CANADIAN PACKAGING WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM • 3

NEWSPACK

BITE-SIZED SAUSAGE BITS PACK GREAT TASTE IN PERFECT SNACK PORTION SIZES

With consumers’ demand for more good things in small packages continuing to grow in leaps in bounds, Waterloo, Ont.-based deli meats processor Piller’s Fine Foods is taking the craft of product miniaturization to new heights with last month’s launch of the new Minis Sausage Snacks at major grocery stores nationwide.

Timed to coincide with the start of the new school year, the new line of bite-sized chubs of premium-quality pepperoni and kolbassa-styled sausage—prepared using traditional European recipes at the company’s meat processing facility in Brantford, meat inside four separated f lexible plastic packOnt.—sets a new standard for on-the-go convenaging compartments held together by the product’s ience in the deli meats category with a highly insturdy plastic front panel. novative new multipack format that packs the Each of the four thermoformed air pockets is abbri_2013Feb_MeatPkgAd_Sausage_CP_Layout 1 2/8/13 11:13 AM Page 1 tasty bits of perfectly-shaped, ready-to-eat sausage f lushed with a MAP (modified-atmosphere pack-

aging) gas mixture to provide consumers with a healthy single-serving portion of high-quality meat protein with exceptional f lavor and taste profile, according to Piller’s, and a remarkably low caloric intake.

Designed by the Cambridge, Ont.based branding service provider Milestone Integrated Marketing and expertly converted by packaging films supplier Winpak Ltd. in Winnipeg— the f lexible four-packs come in the Piller’s Pepperoni and Skinny Bites varieties, as well as in the gluten-free Simply Free Minis recipe that is made without the use of any major potential food allergens such as milk, peanuts, tree nuts, mustard, sesame, egg, fish, soy and sulphites.

“This makes them the perfect lunch snack for classrooms with allergy issues,” says Piller’s director of marketing Rita Weigel, adding the “calorie-conscious” sausage bits contain only 70 calories per portion for the chicken Skinny Bites Minis, and 50 calories per pack for the Simply Free Kolbassa Minis product.

N O T H I N G S AY S

F R E S H like FABB R I PAC KAG ING Fabbri Automatic Stretch Wrappers produce highly attractive packages that make your products look fresh and “just packed”. Fabbri Stretch Wrappers use stretch film to package fresh sausage in preformed trays to provide an in-store wrapped appearance. They employ four-way stretch technology to produce tight, over-the-flange, wrinkle-free packages with securely sealed bottoms and a superb case presentation.

And here’s something you might find even more attractive: Fabbri Stretch Wrappers can help increase your profitability.

Fabbri packaging is produced using low-cost packaging materials. And when you factor in its Best in Class low cost of ownership, the Fabbri Stretch Wrapper is your most economical and affordable packaging solution.

Compact and robust servo-driven Fabbri packaging machines are built for speed, versatility and the highest levels of productivity. Fabbri Stretch Wrappers can handle a wide range of tray sizes with no changeovers, producing up to 62 packs per minute. All models feature a user-friendly full-size control panel for easy operation and maintenance. Test the Fabbri at our Reiser Customer Center and see for yourself how it can improve your packaging. Contact Reiser today.

Reiser Canada 1549 Yorkton Court #4, Burlington, ON L7P 5B7 • (905) 631-6611 Reiser 725 Dedham Street, Canton, MA 02021 • (781) 821-1290 www.reiser.com/fabbrisausage 2013

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Leading the food industry in processing and packaging solutions.

“Each of the bite-sized Minis contains 23-percent meat protein and is uniquely packaged to make portioning of the eight grams of protein per pack easy,” says Weigel.

“A simple snip with scissors and the packages divide into four servings for a shot of protein in a lunch or sports bag,” says Weigel, citing Health Canada’s recommended daily allowance (RDA) of protein for pre-teens and teens between nine and 18 years of age is 34 to 52 grams.

“Our new Piller’s Minis are right on trend with consumer snacking data, and meet the consumer demand for snacks that are high in protein, all-natural, easy to portion, and low in calories,” says Weigel, adding that recent consumer research shows 77 per cent of Canadian consumers snack at least once a day and 51 per cent snack at least twice a day, with four out of 10 consumers actually using these snacks as a meal replacement.

4

SEPTEMBER 2015

NEWSPACK

FRESH SOUP PIONEER COOKS UP TASTEFUL PACKAGING INNOVATION & PORTABILITY Despite being the ultimate comfort food through the ages across most cultures, enjoying a hot bowl of hearty soup on the go has always been a tricky packaging challenge and proposition—until now.

Launched earlier this month at the deli/fresh prepared meal sections of major grocery stores across Canada, the new Grab and Go line of fresh soups from Burnaby, B.C.-based Happy Planet Foods, Inc. offers busy working Canadians superb consumer convenience with new 300-ml single-serving microwavable bowls filled with a choice of several gourmet-quality soups made from all-natural and/or organic ingredients in a variety of exotic f lavors.

“Shifting demographics and changing lifestyles were key inspirations behind our new line of fresh soups,” says Happy Planet’s vice-president of marketing Brendan Kelly.

Bean, French Lentil, Thai Coconut and Tuscan Tomato—with each f lavor clearly distinguished by the colorful, high-impact graphics designed by Apropos.

The microwavable rigid containers also come with individual compostable paper sleeves—boasting 100-percent recycled content with up to 80-percent post-consumer material— that act as a safe heat barrier, according to Happy Planet’s brand manager Ursula Klein.

“We wanted our packaging to be as unique at the point-of-sale as our overall approach to the soup category,” says Klein,

noting that Happy Planet was the first food company in Canada to package fresh soup in resalable plastic stand-up pouches a couple of years ago.

“We needed to ensure our packaging would differentiate us from how other soups are marketed,” Klein told the Canadian Packaging magazine.

“Being a fresh product requiring refrigeration, but also needing to be microwaveable, we needed packaging that could maintain both the f lavor and freshness of our authentic recipes and to be microwave-safe at the same time.

“This rigid plastic container proved to be the best available option to maintain the integrity of the product.

“Best of all,” she adds, “it is BPA (Bisphenol A)-free and easily recyclable where the proper facilities exists.”

“With households getting smaller and people’s lives getting busier, more and more people are eating alone at their desks or on the run, driving growing consumer demand for more tasty, healthy and convenient singleserve meal options,” Kelly explains.

“Our new fresh soups in a microwavable container fill that need by enabling consumers to enjoy a delicious, fresh and healthy meal ‘on the go’ that they can truly savor and feel good about eating.”

Loaded with all-natural ingredients and made without any preservatives, these new single-serve soups are currently available in five globallyinspired f lavor varieties—including Happy Planet West African Squash & Cashew, Portuguese Kale & White

SEPTEMBER 2015

5 FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE 105

FIRST GLANCE CUT ABOVE THE REST

COFFEE TIME

The new SUR-PAK VIP-100 model pouch dispenser from AZCO Corp. is a motor-fed, precision cutting machine designed to cut and dispense a wide variety of materials of varying thickness fed from a continuous web, including desiccant, oxygen absorbers, food packs, promotional pro­duct items and other similar products. The new dispenser’s design includes a timing screw to ensure controlled and accurate insertion into bottles at a speed of 200 cycles per minute, while its innovative cantilever design allows for easy cleaning and servicing, as well as enabling product changeovers in 90 seconds and knife replacement in 60 seconds or less, according to the company.

Eagle Packaging Machinery has developed an innovative new case-packing solution for erecting, loading and sealing corrugated containers of 12-, 18- and 24-packs of single-serving coffee pods at a rate of 10 cases per minute. Requiring only one machine operator to run it, the highly automated system—equipped with a high-performance Nordson hot-melt adhesive applicator—is loaded with coffee pods without orienting with a simple infeed conveyor, using a side-pusher to arrange the pods into the desired pack patterns and transfer them to the loading zone. The system’s servo-driv-

AZCO Corp.

401

Economic miracle.

The T 600 traysealer features flexibilty and high-performance. With its quick and easy changeover, simple operation and MULTIVAC Hygienic Design™, simply opt for the better solution.

en, pick-and-place robotic arm then lifts the containers using the venturi suction method and places them into the simultaneously-erected case, which is quickly sealed tight via the on-board Nordson glue system.

Eagle Packaging Machinery

402

FITTING RIGHT IN

The new NPQH fitting from Festo Inc. is designed to withstand a broad range of extreme conditions, according to the company, such as ones typically found in food production environments. Featuring ‘electro-less’ nickel plating for extra resistance to abrasion, chemicals, cleaning agents, lubricants and heat (up to 150°C), the FDA-compliant fitting’s resistance to microbes, hydrolysis and pressure also makes it well-suited for pneumatic applications when matched with the right tubing.

In addition to easy handling, and low insertion and release forces, the highly versatile NPQH fitting is offered in many straight, L-, T- and Y-shape variants to meet many specific application requirements.

Festo Inc.

403

SNACK TIME Designed primarily for highthroughput applications in the snack-food industry, the new model BVR 230 vertical form/fill/ seal (VFFS) bagging machine from Rovema North America utilizes proven reliability of innovative Rotary D-motion seal technology and an integrated weigher to produce up to 180 pillow-bags per minute with superior bagseal quality, according to the company.

Equipped with a mechanical, separately-driven cutting knife to ensure top performance without any synchronization losses, the userfriendly machine is operated by a fully-integrated touchscreen HIM (human-machine interface) ter­m i­ nal for entering, monitoring and adjusting all the necessary packaging process operating parameters such as filling time, sealing time, bag length, set performance, etc., while also automatically calculating optimal operating settings based on user-entered data.

Rovema North America

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SEPTEMBER 2015

PROUDLY CANADIAN

Showcasing over $2,000,000 of finished packaging machinery inventory, the Paxiom System Center is the perfect environment for testing your product on one of our many packaging solutions.

1.888.WEIGHPACK

LAS.VEGAS

MIAMI

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TORONTO

MONTREAL

SHOW PREVIEW

WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS Our special sneak preview of PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2015 exhibition displays

Leading automated material handling systems manufacturer and integrator Intelligrated will demonstrate the company’s broad array of robotic integration capabilities by highlighting each phase of its f lexible integration process—structured to develop turnkey solutions based on customers’ unique application challenges and requirements.

In addition to designing and building custom robotic end-of-arm tooling and auxiliary equipment such as conveyors, sortation and automated storage and retrieval systems to further augment robotic solutions, Intelligrated works with each client to establish a fasible solution concept; perform a detailed systems engineering analysis to solidify technical details; establish an execution plan; and manage the installation and commissioning by dispatching trained personnel to oversee the project’s competition onsite. This process is followed by extensive aftermarket support services—including maintenance, modifications and upgrades—provided by the company’s Lifecycle Support Services group.

Booth #C-3036

Bradman Lake Group Limited will showcase the company’s new FT120 horizontal form-fillseal f lowwrapping machine, designed to deliver high levels of efficiency and seal integrity even in the most challenging heat-seal applications, according to the company. Built to meet and fully comply with the rigorous safety and hygiene standards found in the bakery, confectionery, dry food, frozen food and healthcare industries, the FT120 machine employs the company’s self-styled Future Proof operating principle to handle an extremely wide range of products, formats and sizes to easily meet the demands of the fast-changing markets in the future—enhanced with quick-changeover capabilities and numerous available optional features.

Booth: C-5003

WeighPack Systems Inc. will showcase the company’s highly versatile Bingo Bagger horizontal bagging machine, which utilizes a stationary sealing head to process pre-made wicket bags of either laminate or polyethylene materials at speeds of up to 20 cycles per minute. Well-suited for a broad variety of packaging applications with fresh produce, candy, snack-foods, pasta, baked goods, etc., the Bingo Bagger offers end-users a choice of vacuum-pack and gasf lush options to work with a variety of bag types, including stand-up, handle and resealable pouches.

Equipped with a PLC (programmable logic controller) and an intuitive touchscreen control panel,

8 • WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

the user-friendly machine’s adjustable operating parameters and a low-profile footprint make it especially well-suited for areas with height restrictions, and it is also available with handy valueadded options such as polyethylene sealing jaws and heavy bag support.

Booth #C-4900

product portfolio includes bagging machines, valve bag fillers, FFS machines, robotic case-packing machines, robot palletizers, bag palletizers, case palletizers, stretchwrappers, stretch hooders, and conveyors.

Booth S-6113

Bosch Packaging Technology will display the new 6400-S servo inline machine for filling liquid, viscous and other types of soft food into pre-formed cups. Manufactured by Osgood Industries—recently acquired by Bosch—the S-Series filler features a solid, low-profile, stainless-steel weldment base designed to meet 3-A certification, as well as all other ultra-clean hygienic requirements. The machine’s consolidated tank-style pump features clean-in-place (CIP) capabilities to provide enhanced cleanability and reduced risk of product contamination, whereby the fully-retractable pistons and nozzle stems allow the CIP fluids to f low freely for efficient cleaning of all product contact surfaces. The system’s servo-driven indexing and filling motion provides for smooth and accurate filling with superior control of individual lanes to limit product spillage, while its innovative slide-out systems facilitate easy refills of packaging materials and sampling without stoppages­ for minimal machine downtime at high throughput rates of up to 60,000 cups per hour.

Booth #C-2800

Vertical conveying systems specialists Ryson International Inc. will demonstrate the company’s highly innovative new range of Narrow Trak Spiral conveyors, featuring very compact footprint for reduced f loorspace requirements, and ability to handle very small loads across a wide range of operating speeds with optimal product stability. The system’s new six-inch-wide nesting slat can be used both to end-transfer small cartons and packages, or side-transfer small bottles and containers in a single file or en masse at speeds of over 200 feet per minute.

Booth #S-6102

Premier Tech Chronos (PTC) will demonstrate its comprehensive and diverse range of highperformance equipment for use in the f lexible and rigid packaging industries—from custom-engineered application-specific machines to fully-integrated packaging lines. The company’s expansive

Siemens Industry Inc. will unveil the company’s newly-updated Simotion 4.4 motion control system—along with the new Simatic HMI (humanmachine interface) panels— featuring a wide range of motion control functionalities the can be used intuitively and quickly through the innovative graphical user interface, with all parameters selected and modified by the click of a mouse. According to Siemens, the new upgrades enable users to configure complex production machines, including packaging equipment, in easy-to-handle and standardized manner for quick project implementation and startup.

Booth #S-6137

Eagle Packaging Machinery will showcase the company’s new BOXXER T-30 automatic caseerector and bottom tape-sealer, which is capable of running both regular-slotted and half-slotted style boxes at speeds of up to 30 cases per minute. Capable of producing a wide range of boxes, the mobile, compact BOXXER T-30 is equipped with an Omron PLC, a color touchscreen terminal, a high-capacity blank hopper, and easy-access panels with safety switches in operator-friendly configuration available for either left- or right-handed operation.

Booth #C-4900

Mettler-Toledo Product Inspection will unveil its extensive range of inline product inspection solutions for the packaging industry—including Safeline metal detectors and X-ray inspection systems, Hi-Speed checkweighers, CI-Vision machine vision inspection systems, and PCE track-and-trace, serialization and aggregation systems—for ensuring optimal product traceability; perfect product presentation; verified package and label integrity; f lawless weight range compliance: robust detection of physical contaminants; and effective package contents inspection.

Booth C-1814

CANADIAN PACKAGING • SEPTEMBER 2015

SHOW PREVIEW

Regal Power Transmission Solutions will roll out the company’s comprehensive line of energysaving conveying products and drive solutions, new ultra-high-efficiency AC motors, gear reducers and gearmotors, including: • Hub City HERA (high-efficiency, right-angle) gear reducers (see picture) with helical and hypoid steel gearing designed to replace bronze worm gear drives, providing up to twice the torque capacity in the same housing configuration.

• The lightweight aluminum Bravo and LeCentric reducers from Grove Gear, and Globetrotter induction motors; • The SyMAX permanent magnet motors from Marathon Motors.

• The new System Plast NG Evo conveyor chain and Nolu-S wear strips for low-noise, low-friction, dry-running conveyor performance on high-speed beverage filling lines.

Booth #S-5969

FOX IV Technologies, Inc. will unveil the new Tandem II two-color label printer-applicator, which was designed to simplify the generation and application of GHS (Globally Harmonized System) labels by eliminating multi-step GHS label printing processes with one robust system. The systems features two Zebra print stations: one dedicated to red-color printing of required symbols such as red pictogram diamonds; the second for the printing remaining information such as pictograms, warnings and product description. Featuring an Allen-Bradley PLC control system, a modular print engine, and a large full-color HMI (human-machine interface) panel, the system is engineered to provide continuous operation in challenging industrial and warehousing environments, with capabilities to wipe, tamp, tamp-blow, and to apply labels with swiveled vacuum belt onto drums, pallets, boxes and the product itself, if required.

three-di­men­sion­al shapes of objects to be packaged.

According to the company, this capability makes vision recognition more ‘intelligent’ by processing the additional information obtained from the product’s height. This extra dimension is said to make image recognition more accurate and capable of detecting products with low-contrast images—such as detecting white objects on a white conveyor belt— while remaining unaffected by ‘phantom’ product images caused by a soiled belt, spilled bread crumbs, small pieces of debris, etc.

Booth #N-732

Although it is hardly a newcomer to the packaging industry, the newly-formed WestRock Company is planning to make a grand debut at the show under its new corporate name. Formed as a result

of this year’s merger between MeadWestvaco and RockTenn, the Norcross, Ga.-headquartered company boasts a total of 275 manufacturing locations around the globe, employing about 42,000 people. With prominent market presence in both consumer and corru­gated packaging, West­Rock offers its global customer base f lex­ ible, single-source, endof-line pack­ag­ing solu­ t ions in­ corporating the company’s pre­ cision man­d rel-forming ma­chinery and a highly diverse range of corrugated cases to satisfy even the most challenging demands of multiple distribution channels.

Booth #C-1823

LINER-FREE LABELING BOOTH C-2220

#LINERFREE www.liner-free.com

Booth #S-6101

Schubert

North

America will demonstrate the company’s highspeed TLM pick-and-place technology that incorporates an advanced 3-D vision scanner to determine the

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SEPTEMBER 2015 • CANADIAN PACKAGING WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM • 9

ECO-PACK NOW

A Message from PAC

TM

PACK AGING CONSORTIUM

DearIN Packaging HED GOES IN HERE HED GOES HERE Industry Leaders,

HED GOES IN HERE HED

The PAC, Packaging Consortium vision is to be your vital partner and catalyst for the packaging value chain. Our objective is to remain relevant and deliver great value today and be continuously improving for tomorrow.

Connecting industry leaders is a PAC cornerstone. Over the past 18 months, more than 3900 North American professionals have participated in PAC Awards and Competitions, Summits, Seminars, Plant Tours, Trade Shows, Webinars, In-class & On-line training, and Social Activities. SEE BELOW. Today we offer more leading-edge content either in-person or on-line than ever before. The question we ask ourselves and ask you is “what exactly are your needs”, so that we can be your partner and a catalyst to success.

Our PAC product offerings include: • IFS PACsecure, a GFSI recognized food safety standard for packaging materials. Amcor, Atlantic Packaging, Coveris Flexibles, International Paper and Silgan Plastics are just a few of the 55 certified facilities.

• PACed, continuing education through 7 in-class and 15 on-line programs.

• PAC NEXT, an initiative to minimize recovery system costs, while maximizing recycling rates and the value of recycled materials. PAC NEXT has released 12 reports, hosted 12 webinars and organized 7 waste management facility tours throughout North America.

• PAC FOOD WASTE, our newest product developed to maximize the reduction of food waste through prevention HEDextension GOES IN HERE HED GOES IN HERE HED GOES INWe HERE HEDpublished GOES IN HERE and of shelf life utilizing sustainable packaging solutions. recently a groundbreaking LCA and report on Food Waste, Packaging and the Environment: A Coffee Case Study. DuPont will be hosting a PAC Food Waste Summit with presenters from the Food Waste Reduction Alliance, Nestle, Sobeys, Wegmans, and the World Resource Institute on November 12, 2015 in Wilmington.

PAC Global Leadership Awards is one of our most prestigious events – the world class competition has a legacy that goes back to the early 1950’s. We are excited to announce that the competition will expand in 2016 in a partnership with media leader, Package Design. We will host the first ever PAC Leadership Awards Competition in the U.S. This collaboration provides PAC members with a broader North American network and an excellent platform to showcase their innovation. The Gala celebration and Awards presentation will take place at the Package Design Matters Conference on January 21, 2016 in Bonita Springs, FL. As always, PAC strives to be your partner in this ever-changing industry. PAC will continue to grow with our members and the packaging community to provide the best value possible. Join the PAC now. We want to hear from you. Please contact me at 647-993-7600 or jdd@leaderlinx.com.

We appreciate your support.

PAC members enjoy 25-50% off all PAC activities

James D Downham President & CEO PAC, Packaging Consortium

FOOD WASTE

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CANADIAN PACKAGING • SEPTEMBER 2015

EVENTS Sept. 19-20

Oct. 7

Toronto: CHFA East, natural health and organics industry showcase by the Canadian Health Food Association, with pre-show conference on Sept.

17-18, 2015. At the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. To register, go to: www.chfa.ca

Ottawa: Canadian Machine Vision Conference,

by A3 (Association for Advancing Automation).

At the National Research Council of Canada.

Contact Radhi Jagirdar of A3 at (734) 994-6088, ext. 140; or go to: www.A3automate.org

Sept. 28-30

Oct. 7-8

Las Vegas, Nev.: PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2015, packaging technologies exhibition by PMMI-The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies.

Concurrently with the Pharma EXPO trade show of the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE). Both at the Las Vegas Convention Center. To register, go to: www.packexpolasvegas.com

Philadelphia, Pa.: PhillyPack, packaging technologies exhibition by UBM Canon. Concurrently with MD&M Philadelphia, ATX (Automation Technology Expo) Philadelphia, PLASTEC Philadelphia, Design & Manufacturing Philadelphia, Pharmapack North America and Quality Expo. All at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. To register, go to: www.UBMCanon.com/PH15

Sept. 28 - Oct. 1 Toronto: Canadian Manufacturing Technology Show (CMTS) 2015, national industrial equipment and technology exhibition by SME. At the International Centre (Mississauga, Ont.) To register, call 1 (888) 322-7333, ext. 4426; or go to: www.cmts.ca

Oct. 20-22

Sept. 29 - Oct. 2

Oct. 22

Brussels, Belgium: Labelexpo Europe 2015, labeling and package printing technologies exhibition by Tarsus Group Limited. At Brussels Expo. To register, go to: www.labelexpo-europe.com

Toronto: Ontario Craft Brewers Conference & Suppliers Marketplace 2015, by Ontario Craft Brewers. At the Allstream Centre. Contact Christine Mulkins at (647) 242-3686, email pr@ontariocraftbrewers.com; or go to: www.ontariocraftbrewers.com/conference

Oct. 4-7 Ponte Vedra, Fla.: 2015 MHI Executive Summit and Annual Conference, by MHI-The Industry that Makes Supply Chains Work. At Sawgrass Marriott.

To register, go to: www.mhi.org/annual2015

Cologne, Germany: Polyolefin Additives and Com­ pounding 2015, conference by Applied Market Information Ltd (AMI). To register, go to: www.amiconferences.com

Centre. To register, contact OIMP at (519) 763-4558; or go to: www.meatindustryexpo.ca

Oct. 28-29 Chicago: IMDA 2015, annual symposium and exhibit hall showcase of the In-Mold Decorating Association (IMDA). At DoubleTree Chicago North Shore Hotel & Conference Center. To register, contact Ron Schulz at (480) 415-3379; or go to: www.imdassociation.com

Nov. 4 Mississauga, Ont.: Top 50 Packaging Ideas Expo, tabletop exhibition by the Canadian Packaging magazine. At Mississauga Convention Centre.

Contact Stephen Dean at (416) 510-5198; or via email sdean.canadianpackaging.com

Nov. 15-17 Mexico City: Advanced Manufacturing Exhibition Mexico, multishow industrial exhibition by UBM Canon comprising Powder & Bulk Solids, Pack, ATX Automation Technology, Design & Manufacturing, and Quality Expo trade shows.

All at Centro Banamex. To register, go to: www.manufacturingmx.com

Nov. 16-19

Düsseldorf, Germany: MEDICA 2015 and COM­ PAMED 2015, international medical trade fair Oct. 23-24 and international medical technologies exhibNiagara Falls, Ont.: Meat Industry Expo, biennial exition by Messe Düsseldorf GmbH. Both at the hibition of the Ontario Independent Meat Processors Messe Düsseldorf fairgrounds. To register, go to: 1 12/08/2015 12:04:54 (OIMP) association. At the Scotiabank CPX_MPA_canadian_packaging_ad.pdf Convention www.medica.de orPMwww.compamed.de

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SEPTEMBER 2015 • CANADIAN PACKAGING WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM • 11

COVER STORY

THE NUTS AND BOLTS

Leading Canadian nut processor boldly chasing the American dream with startup of a U.S. manufacturing subsidiary to drive future sales and market share growth on the highly promising retail market south of the border.

So promising, in fact, that in late spring Trophy started up a full-f ledged roasting and packaging facility just outside of Buffalo in Cheektowaga, N.Y., enabling it to serve its fast-growing list of U.S. customers right from their own home turf.

Operating under the banner of Redland Foods Corp., the wholly-owned subsidiary represents an epic new chapter for a company that has prospered in Canada in large part through continuous product innovation, premium product quality and formidable packaging capabilities, as evidenced by the nearly 2,000 different SKUs (stock-keeping units) in a highly diverse product portfolio.

“This project has actually been in the works for the last two years,” relates Redland’s vice-president of operations Luis Javier Rendon, who remarkably also serves in the same official capacity for Trophy’s two Canadian production facilities.

While the sheer scale of such multitasking would seem daunting to most of us, the affably upbeat Colombian native clearly seems to relish this latest professional challenge in his illustrious 11-year stay with Trophy Foods.

While the company had initially considered simply exporting some of its Canadian output to U.S. customers, Rendon says there is no substitute for being where the action is, which right now is mostly in the U.S. private-label segment.

“We also learned that the Trophy brand name was already trademarked by another U.S. food brand, which played a part in reshaping our strategy for the U.S. market,” Rendon told Canadian Packaging on a recent visit to the ultra-clean, 65,000-square-foot facility that is still mostly in its infancy in terms of reaching its ultimate production capacity.

Redland Foods vice-president of operations Luis Javier Rendon in front of the company’s recently-installed turnkey stand-up pouching line employing the Swifty Bagger 3600 horizontal bagging machine built by WeighPack Systems.

BY GEORGE GUIDONI, EDITOR PHOTOS BY JOHN PACKMAN

T

he vast U.S. snack-food market can be a very tough nut to crack for foreign-based companies hoping to cash in on its virtually limitless growth potential and opportunities.

But reaching for the stars is nothing new for the Mississauga, Ont.-based Trophy Foods Inc., one of Canada’s leading producers of many different varieties of edible nuts sourced from all over the globe.

Founded in 1967, the company worked relentlessly over the years to become a well-trusted and highly respected co-packer and bulk nut supplier for leading Canadian retailers, including Loblaws, Sobeys, Walmart, Safeway and others.

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Over the last four years, it has also enjoyed great success with its own f lagship Trophy brand of processed nuts and dried fruit and berries—served straight-up or as primary ingredients in trail-mixes and chocolate-covered confectionaries—building it into a major product category stalwart in the Canadian snack-food market.

Packaged in many types of f lexible packaging formats—including the popular resealable standup pouches—the Trophy brand also retails in various-sized PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic jars and composite cans at the lion’s share of major grocery outlets across Canada.

Servicing its far-f lung domestic retail and foodservice client base nationwide from two busy, high-volume manufacturing plants in Mississauga and Calgary, the company has recently set its sights

WeighPack also supplied Redland plant with fully-automatic, 14-bucket PrimoCombi weighscales for high-precision dispensing of bulk product into the Swifty Bagger.

CANADIAN PACKAGING • SEPTEMBER 2015

COVER STORY

Installed at the Redland Foods facility earlier this year, the fully-automatic Swifty Bagger 3600 machine from WeighPack Systems forms the heart of the plant’s RSU (resealable stand-up) pouching line, producing an average of 40 stand-up pouches per minute in continuous operation that is designed to facilitate remarkably quick product changeovers.

A video monitor on top of the Swifty Bagger 3600 provides machine operators with real-time camera footage and operating status for the PrimoCombi scales above.

“This is a big investment for Trophy Foods, and we had to make sure we get everything right in terms of succeeding the U.S., where fast growth in the private-label segment is having a huge impact on the retail market across many food product categories,” says Rendon.

Although currently accounting for a tiny fraction of Trophy’s total annual output of six million cases—representing 32 million kilograms of processed product—the Redland plant already employs 15 full-time people to run its state-of-the-art roasting equipment and a high-performance, turnkey packaging line to produce several private-label SKUs of stand-up pouch and pillow-bag packages for a leading U.S. retailer.

“Our management fully expects this facility to become a high-volume and efficient operation like we have in Mississauga and Calgary,” he relates.

“That means producing the same full range of edible nuts, making confectionary products such as chocolate-covered almonds, cashews, raisins et al,

and supplying bulk shipments of whatever edible stallation at a food manufacturing facility in western nuts and dried fruit our customers require,” RenCanada. don says, noting that a good portion of the com“I exchanged business cards with WeighPack’s pany’s products are retailed by in-store bulk bins. salesperson Derek Chandler, and soon after the “There is still a lot of work ahead of us at this show WeighPack personnel came to our Missislocation,” Rendon acknowledges, “but we’re off to sauga plant to follow up on our conversation,” a promising start so far, thanks to some excellent Rendon recalls. equipment we have installed onto our RSU (re“I told them exactly what we were looking for in sealable stand-up) packaging line.” terms of speed, output and f lexibility, and they took Expertly designed, laid out and integrated to take it from there,” says Rendon, holder of an MBA deadvantage of ample extra f loorspace—earmarked gree and a P.Eng. license in industrial engineering for future capital expansion in coming months— with 30 years of experience in food manufacturing the packaging line employs two horizontal formboth in Canada and back in his native Colombia. fill-seal (VFFS) bagging machines at the heart of “Historically, we’ve been using rotary baggers at its operations. our Canadian plants, so we had to be convinced This includes the recently-installed Swifty Bagger 3600 system supplied by the renowned Montreal-headquartered packaging equipment manufacturer WeighPack Systems Inc., which Rendon calls the real star of the show in the packaging area.

As Rendon relates, he personally approached WeighPack at its lively exhibiting booth a couple of years ago during the PACK EXPO International 2012 trade show in Chicago, soon after reading a Canadian Packaging article citing a Brian Paul, president and chief operating officer of Trophy Foods and Redland USA, successful Swifty Bagger in- unveils the Redland brand name at the recent Snaxpo 2015 trade show in Chicago.

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COVER STORY

Produced on-site and stored in high-capacity gas tanks (inset), the nitrogen gas mix is used for flushing stand-up pouches inside the bagger to ensure one-year shelf-life.

that a linear bagging machine would meet our needs,” he relates. “To their credit, WeighPack did everything in their power to do that.

“They appointed a fully-dedicated project manager to work with me on this installation on 24/7 basis, from initial drawings and layout sketches right through the trial product runs and equipment customization, which was all done at their Montreal facility,” Rendon recalls.

“Even after proving to us that this machine would be able to bag at our required speed of over 40 bags per minute, they only shipped it after we completely signed off on it.

“After the machine arrived in January, WeighPack sent in a technician, at their cost, who spent a full week here taking us through the installation Equipped with heavy-duty Baldor Electric motors (inset) for optimal power distribution, the new high-capacity, state-ofand startup, and he did not leave until it was totally the-art roaster manufactured by Heat and Control, Inc. enables the Redland Foods facility to turn out a diverse array of synchronized with our process. high-quality kettle-cooked, oil-cooked, seasoned and other processed nut products for the company’s fast-growing list U.S. customers at high throughput rates.

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their excellent service and attention to detail,” Rendon extols. “Naturally there were some changes that needed to be made as we went along, but that happens with any major installation, and WeighPack did everything we asked of them.”

Providing virtually f lawless operation since startup, the Swifty Bagger 3600 machine has been running between 12 and 14 hours a day at the Redland facility, which is quickly getting itself primed up for the busiest season of the year leading up to Christmas, according to Rendon.

“It is working perfectly for us,” he beams.

“It is simple to clean, easy to operate, very safe, has minimal preventive maintenance requirements, and provides us with very fast and efficient product changeovers.

“It has also proven itself very good at handling unusual products like f laxseed, which is traditionally very hard to bag at high speeds,” says Rendon, noting that the average one-hour product changeover time on the Swifty Bagger is about half the time required to perform a changeover on the rotary-design baggers.

“We looked at everything available in

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CANADIAN PACKAGING • SEPTEMBER 2015

COVER STORY

Installed to perform reliable inline inspection of all the free-flowing bulk product discharged from Combi weighscales down inside the Swifty Bagger 3600 system positioned directly below on the floor level, the high-sensitivity Phantom series metal detection system from Fortress Technology plays a key role in the plant’s strict quality control process.

Redland Foods plant supervisor Syed Fareed helps to assembe a pallet load of corrugated shipping boxes filled with stand-up pouches coming off the Swifty Bagger 3600 system in a simple five-layer, nine-box pattern on top of the signature-blue CHEP shipping pallet before hauling it off to the nearby Cousins Packaging stretchwrapper.

the market,” Rendon ref lects, “and we found WeighPack to offer us the best option for our needs.

“It offers the same speed that we have with our rotary systems,” he says, “and when you also compare the price, maintenance costs, the parts costs, changeover time and all other variables, we are very happy with our investment decision.”

In fact, Rendon confides that he is already in talks with WeighPack about an installation of another bagging line at the Redland plant in the near future, as the facility is aiming to become a two-shift operation, fully-certified to the BRC (British Retail Consortium) global food safety standards, in time for the busy pre-Christmas rush.

“What I like about working with WeighPack is that they offer you the whole package,” says Rendon, relating that the Swifty Bagger 3600 was installed by WeighPack at the same time as the fully-automatic, high-precision, 14-bucket PrimoCombi weighscales that dispense bulk product from the mezzanine level

A model 9232 small-character inkjet coder from Markem-Imaje applies required variable product information to all the filled bags and pouches.

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COVER STORY

A Lenze SMV Series inverter drive (inset) regulates the AC motor control of the incline conveyor used to dispense free-flowing bulk product into large bulk bins for cooling.

overhead down to the bagger in precise quantities.

“WeighPack looked after all our needs: from opening the bags and putting them onto the conveyor right through weighchecking, making the shipping boxes with the Eagle boxformer, packing those boxes with the finished bags, and taping the boxes together.”

Rendon adds he is especially fond of the bagger’s

Sourced from Brazil, the high-quality cashew nuts are stored inside the massive 500-kilogram-capacity Buckhorn plastic totes (inset) for cooling prior to packaging.

user-friendly Allen-Bradley PLC (programmable logic control) functionalities and the real-time camera system that enables operators to keep an eye on how well the Combi scales overhead are doing their job during a run.

“We can always see what’s going on with the scale, for each and every bucket,” he enthuses.

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“The camera on top of the scale lets us know immediately if a bucket is down, if the product is not f lowing properly, if the vibrator is not running well, and any other abnormalities, which we see in real time via a separate display terminal on the f loor level.

“No other equipment manufacturer was able to provide this feature to us,” says Rendon, who currently spends an average of two to three days a week at the Redland facility as it continues to come up to speed.

“To the best of my knowledge, this Swifty Bagger is WeighPack’s first machine installation of its kind in the nut business,” Rendon concludes, “but in light of what it is enabling us to do at this new plant already, it will not be the last.”

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SEPTEMBER 2015

SHOW PREVIEW

PUTTING MEAT ON THE TABLE L

Ontario meat industry showcase a real magnet for packaging innovation

ife rarely stands still in today’s highly competitive meat business, where simply staying put where you are is a sure recipe for falling behind.

And with Ontario’s meat and poultry sector accounting for nearly a quarter of the $39 billion generated by the province’s food-and-beverage industry last year, any ambitious packaging business worth its salt owes it to itself to attend next month’s Meat Industry Expo in Niagara Falls, Ont. Produced every two years by the Guelph, Ont.based Ontario Independent Meat Processors (OIMP) association, this year’s event is already shaping up to be the most comprehensive and wide-ranging showcase of meat processing and packaging excellence in the association’s history, according to the group’s president Cory Van Groningen.

“Packaging equipment and materials have always featured prominently at our show in the past, and it will probably take on even greater importance at this year’s event because of a major ongoing drive by many of our members to add value to their products,” says Van Groningen, co-owner of the vertically-integrated, family-owned meat processor VG Meats of Simcoe, Ont. “With the low Canadian dollar, Ontario has suddenly become an attractive exporting region for some major U.S. and other foreign markets, and many of our members are naturally very excited by the new business opportunities that represents for them,” says Cory, the eldest of four Van Groningen brothers who jointly own the VG Meats farming, slaughtering, processing and packaging business started up by their grandfather in 1970.

“The f lip side of the coin is that this has created the tightening of domestic supply for the Ontario consumers, making protein affordability an important issue for the industry,” Van Groningen points out.

NEW NORMAL “But that is the ‘new normal’ for the entire Ontario meat supply chain nowadays, and it will have as many challenges as opportunities to make sure that everybody benefits.

“At the end of the day, a rising tide should lift all boats,” he states.

This rising tide is certainly welcome news for Ontario’s manufacturing base in general, with the food-and-beverage industry accounting for a 25-percent share of total manufacturing employment in the province.

Formally established in 1980, OIMP is a well-respected and authoritative representative voice of the independent meat and poultry processors in Ontario, working closely with agricultural and commodity organizations and various levels of government.

Now numbering 332 members—meat and poultry processors, retailers and wholesalers, industry suppliers, and notfor-profit organizations—OIMP has

naturally drawn a fair number of well-known packaging companies to its “associate” membership ranks, including the likes of Multivac, VC999, Samuel Strapping, Harpak Ulma, Reiser and Unipak, among others.

“The packaging exhibitors always add a good energetic vibe to the Meat Industry Expo,” says Van Groningen, who is currently serving the first year of his second consecutive two-year term as OIMP president.

“There is a lot of friendly competitive banter and one-upmanship that goes on between the different packaging suppliers on the show f loor, which is what all good competitors do,” says Van Groningen, adding the two-day event is expected to draw over 600 visitors, representing about 300 different companies and organizations.

“They will see lot of packaging equipment and materials, many industry consultants, ingredient suppliers, refrigeration equipment, cleaning supplies, pest management services, corrugated packaging ... all the different products Cory Van Groningen, and services that an President, OIMP industry like ours uses on a daily basis,” Van Groningen says, noting that all of the available 80 exhibits at the host venue, Scotiabank Convention Centre (see picture), have been booked solid since summer.

“It’s a show where you can always learn something new just by seeing it—be it a new packaging material or a piece of equipment that will save you money in your process, and help your business progress,” say Van Groningen, stressing the important role of packaging in helping smaller-sized meat businesses in the province add value to their products in order to grow their market share and open up new markets.

“We grow some world-class meat in the province and we process some very good products,” he says, “and we really need to get this message out into the consumer marketplace by implementing full product traceability capabilities into our packaging and labeling, so that consumers can make well-informed decisions about the meat products they purchase and where they come from.”

To register in advance for Meat Industry Expo 2015, held Oct. 24-25, at the Scotiabank Convention Centre, please go to: www.meatindustryexpo.ca

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SEPTEMBER 2015 • CANADIAN PACKAGING WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM • 17

BOXMAKING

IN PRIME FOR BIG TIME

Prominent Canadian paperboard manufacturer thrust onto the global stage with new corporate ownership and vastly expanded core competencies and product range

From Left: General manager Kevin Rooney, director of sales Mike Sharpe, and vice-president of sales and marketing Louis Lemaire pose near the entrance driveway leading to the newly-renamed Graphic Packaging International Canada ULC boxmaking plant in Mississauga, which employs about 110 production staff to produce a highly diverse range of lithoprinted folding cartons for a large number of leading Canadian food-and-beverage producers and brand-owners.

BY GEORGE GUIDONI, EDITOR PHOTOS BY COLE GARSIDE

B

igger may not always necessarily mean better in today’s fast-changing world of global commerce, but for major players in the fiercely competitive paperboard packaging business, size really does matter—big time!

And you don’t get much bigger these days in the folding-carton industry than the Atlanta, Ga.-headquartered paperboard giant Graphic Packaging International, Inc., whose recent entry into the Canadian marketplace earlier this year already shows all the makings of an epic game-changer.

With annual revenues of US$4.4 billion and a firm grip on the Number One market share position for paperboard packaging in North America and making significant strides to become the market share leader worldwide, Graphic Packaging is certainly a company that can afford to be choosy when it comes to major acquisitions outside of its domestic base.

So when it swooped in to acquire the former Cascades Boxboard Group mills and foldingcarton plants from the venerable Canadian pack-

18 • WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

aging and tissue products powerhouse Cascades Inc. late last year, it obviously must have liked what it saw in terms of future market growth potential, a strong manufacturing and client base, formidable technological prowess, and a highlyskilled workforce that offered a nice complementary fit for Graphic Packaging long-term business objectives and ambitions.

That said, it has certainly been a fast-paced learning curve for management and employees at the newly-named Graphic Packaging International Canada, ULC business unit, according to its vice-president of sales and marketing Louis Lemaire.

“There has certainly been a big cultural difference on the sales side of the business, which is natural when you go from a company operating four plants to one running 28 manufacturing facilities across North America,” says Lemaire, who served with Cascades in various sales capacities for 22 years prior to the acquisition, which formally took effect on Feb. 4, 2015.

“Being the largest folding-carton company in the world, Graphic Packaging’s traditional strength lies in serving big national accounts of huge well-

known CPG (consumer packaged goods) brands,” Lemaire says, “whereas the Cascades Boxboard business was built mostly on serving smaller regional accounts.

“So there is naturally a big difference in sales culture and strategy because you approach accounts like that in different ways,” Lemaire told Canadian Packaging on a recent visit to the company’s boxmaking plant in Mississauga, Ont., which makes a diverse range of litho-printed folding cartons for many well-known Canadian food brands.

The Heidelberg Speedmaster printing press forms the heart of the Mississauga facility’s printing operations.

CANADIAN PACKAGING • SEPTEMBER 2015

Ink on canvas by artist: Arcade Latour

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hubergroup Canada Limited, 2150A Drew Rd, Mississauga, L5S 1B1 hubergroup USA, Inc., 2850 Festival Dr, Kankakee, IL 60901 Canada: 905 671 0750 • USA: 815 929 9293 www.hubergroup.com

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BOXMAKING

Installed at the Mississauga plant less than three years ago, the $5-million Heidelberg Speedmaster lithographic press replaced two older printing presses at the plant with one state-of-the-art, six-station press running at speeds up to 15,000 sheets per hour.

Kept in meticulously clean state at all times, the high-speed, 64-inch Heidelberg litho sheetfed press currently operates two full daily shifts, seven days a week to produce high-quality folding cartons for the Mississauga plant’s expansive Canadian client base.

A fully-automatic, high-speed Bobst carton packer automatically arranges finished cartons coming off the nearby folder-gluers into neat stacks ready for shipment.

Supplied as part of a fully-integrated ink management system by hubergroup, 50-gallon metal paint drums refill automatically to keep the press running.

“But this capability and access to regional accounts is something that Graphic Packaging was looking for when it decided to expand into Canada,” Lemaire reasons.

“Because they were already servicing just about all the national accounts out there, regional accounts represented the next best growth opportunity for them.

“It’s a completely different proposition for us,” Lemaire says, “and we are all very excited by it.

“The challenge for us now is to synchronize all those different competencies in a ‘One team, one message’ way that we can take to market under our new corporate identity,” Lemaire states.

Adds Mississauga plant’s director of sales Mike Sharpe: “Instead of having plant-specific sales teams like before, our sales people are now selling through the whole Graphic Packaging network of 28 plants.

“So the capabilities in our sales team’s toolbox are now vastly different from what they were before,” Sharpe explains, “while the opportunities are also greater than they have ever been before.

“It really allows us to springboard on to some of those national accounts in Canada to which we had little access before.”

Such changes in mindset and focus are also correspondingly mirrored on the operations side of the business, according to Mississauga’s plant’s general manager Kevin Rooney, who has been with the company for over three years.

“It’s a difference between a centralized and decentralized mode of operation,” says Rooney.

“Under Cascades each plant operated as a single entity, responsible for its own sustainability and profitability,” Rooney relates.

“With Graphic Packaging each plant is its own separate cost center that focuses not on the plant but on customer opportunity,” he continues.

“It is the central organization that decides what plant is best-suited for the job at hand in terms of cost, quality and the ability to deliver.

“So instead of bringing the business to a specific plant, it is all about providing the best fit for the customer,” Rooney proclaims.

“That is a huge difference.”

22 • WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

For all those internal differences and learning curves, Lemaire is quick to stress that the company’s existing Canadian client base—served by the Mississauga facilities and its sister plants in Winnipeg and Cobourg, Ont.—will remain as well-served as it has ever been.

“We have always been very much environmentally-focused in our Cascades days and are wellknown for our many environmental efforts,” says Lemaire, pointing out that nearly 80 per cent of the Canadian plant’s boxboard output is produced with CRB (coated recycled board) carton grades made from 100-percent recycled fibers, with SBS (solid bleached sulphate) and SUS (solid unbleached sulphate) accounting for the rest of the folding-carton production.

“We intend to continue using CRB as much as possible in Canada because that’s what our customers want and expect from us, as a Canadian company,” Lemaire states, noting that the use of CRB in Canada is generally much more widespread and commonplace than it is in the U.S. Along with a CRB mill in East Angus, Que., the three Canadian-based Graphic Packaging plants today operate as part of the parent company’s Consumer Packaging Division business, which accounts for about a half of its annual worldwide revenues.

Although the three plants currently account for a relatively tiny five-percent share of the division’s total sales, Lemaire and his colleagues are fully confident that with the new capabilities and competencies to which they now have access because of the acquisition, the sky really is the limit for what they can accomplish going forward—especially when it comes to innovation and new product development.

Says Lemaire: “In the Cascades days, everything that had to do with innovation and marketing was all handled locally by the local sales team, whereas now we are part of a huge corporate family that actually has its one dedicated Innovation and Design department, a marketing department, and all kinds of support teams that we did not have in the past.”

Lemaire relates that the company’s four global innovations centers—including locations in Atlanta, Carol Stream, Ill., and two more in the U.K.—provide a world-class platform for superior customer service and breakthrough packaging innovation.

“We can actually bring our customers to these locations that we have and work together to help them develop new packaging and new designs that

CANADIAN PACKAGING • SEPTEMBER 2015

BOXMAKING

Clean, safe conveying

One of the two state-of-the-art Bobst model SP 142 die-cutters housed at the Mississauga boxmaking facility springs into action to cut out precisely measured carton blanks of the Stella Artois beer packs just coming off the Heidelberg Speedmaster printing press at speeds of up to 6,000 sheets per hour.

Close-up of some of the high-quality printing inks supplied to the Mississauga plant by hubergroup.

Designed for maximum available production time and operating convenience, the new modular belt conveyor in stainless steel is robust, safe and easy to clean.

The standardized design and modularity make changes of the production line easy. It’s the smart, long-term investment in your bottom line and your operators!

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A close-up look inside one of six color stations of the Mississauga plant’s 64-inch Heidelberg Speedmaster sheetfed offset press with clear-coating capabilities.

will work for them right there by providing them all the expert designers, engineers, equipment specialists and all the other key people you need to develop not just a good-looking package, but also one that performs most efficiently on their filling equipment and other packaging machinery,” Lemaire relates, adding that the Canadian plants are also now able to offer their customers a much greater range of solutions, including micro-laminations, Z-Flute cartons, active microwave packaging, and other cutting-edge packaging options.

“The sales team now has a whole new product line to offer that it did not have before,” he remarks, and for our customers it’s a great advantage any way you look at it.

“So whereas in the past we tried to sell our cus-

tomers the best folding carton possible,” he states, “we’re now offering them the best package possible, because we have all these alternative solutions at our disposal to do that.”

Rooney agrees: “Whatever the operational changes we are going through right now, we are absolutely convinced that they will benefit us not only here in Mississauga but also at the other two Canadian plants, no doubt.

“Although for me personally the changes have resulted in a more narrow focus on process efficiencies and driving out costs,” he acknowledges, “there is a lot to be said for being able to focus on a much more defined set of responsibilities.

“This shift in focus is also positively amplified by the opportunity to learn best practices from dozens

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SEPTEMBER 2015 • CANADIAN PACKAGING WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM • 23 85x381_EN_WLX_150901.indd 1

2015-09-03 09:07:

BOXMAKING

Louis Lemaire (left) and Mike Sharpe discuss the various marketing and performance advantages enabled by the introduction of paperboard egg-carton lidding, which was developed at the company’s Mississauga and Cobourg operations for leading egg packaging manufacturer Hartmann Canada to replace the standard, dull-looking molded-fiber tops.

of other Graphic Packaging plants,” Rooney points out, “instead of just from the other two plants.

“As a result, we now have unbelievable benchmarking competencies to help us become the best business we can be,” Rooney states.

“The way that a Graphic Packaging plant is run is dramatically different from what we had in the way they implement ‘lean’ manufacturing practices and continuous improvement processes,” says Rooney, pointing out that Graphic Packaging is also very receptive to new ideas from outside.

“The way they now deal with workplace safety at their plant has actually been borrowed from the way we approached it as part of Cascades,” Rooney reveals, “but the speed with which they implemented it throughout their organization is remarkable.

“So when we finally learned that we would be acquired by the world’s largest folding carton company, there was a big feeling of relief amongst all our employees.

“All acquisitions are tough on the people involved,” Rooney says, “but Graphic Packaging showed a lot of class and respect—not only to the Cascades culture but to Canadian culture in general—by having their senior people come up here to make presentations within 48 hours of the purchase being announced, answering some very hard questions in a very honest way.

“The way they handled the whole change process, by inviting us to join them on an exciting new journey, made it a very positive experience for most of our employees, many of whom have been

working here way before Cascades was even the owner,” he adds.

Lemaire concurs: “It really did become very positive once we learned that Graphic Packaging, the top dog in the field, would be acquiring the business, given their proven track record of growth and profitability.”

Already enjoying prominent market presence in Europe, South America and Asia, eventually moving into Canada was likely always in the cards, Lemaire reasons, pointing out that the well-proven ability of the Mississauga, Cobourg and Winnipeg plants to serve regional customers, requiring smaller production runs, became an attractive proposition.

The Canadian market is different from the U.S., no doubt, and it is a lot easier to buy a company that is already established in the marketplace, rather than starting from scratch.”

To illustrate the point, Lemaire notes the highly lauded launch of the new paperboard lids for egg trays produced by the Brantford, Ont.-based egg packaging manufacturer Hartmann Canada, which manufactures the standard molder-fiber egg cartons for various egg producers in Eastern Canada.

Launched at major retailers about a year ago, the new lid covers give the cartons a whole new premium look and feel with bright, full-color graphics and a whole new array of branding, merchandising and marketing opportunities, while also providing far better shelf stability with their f lat and sturdy surface when stacked on top of one another.

“The egg brand-owner can now print recipes on the back of the panel, insert promotional coupons, provide environmental product information and product descriptions, offer recipe suggestions and generally do all those extra marketing things that you could simply not do with molded fiber,” says Lemaire, noting that the printed f lat-top panels still provide an excellent sustainability option by virtue of being both recyclable and being made from recycled board.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE 117

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CANADIAN PACKAGING • SEPTEMBER 2015

BOXMAKING lable and a renewable material,” says Lemaire, calling the new combination molded-fiber/boxboard cartons “a great innovation success.”

In a similar vein, the Canadian plants have also enabled Graphic Packaging to enter the fast-growing Canadian craft brewing segment of the beer market—service from the Winnipeg plant—while the vastly upgraded Cobourg facility has taken its f lexographic printing capabilities to a whole new level of print quality and excellence, rivaling anything produced on lithographic printing presses, Lemaire reveals.

“All of our three plants are well-equipped, wellsituated, and are looking forward to being able to optimize delivery to Canadian customers under the new corporate structure,” Lemaire concludes.

“The future looks full of promise, and we are looking forward to fulfilling that promise.”

For More Information: Developed to help egg producers position their products in the more upscale tier of the segment, the new paperboard packaging lid produced at the Cobourg facility helped the hybrid 12-pack egg carton scoop up Package of the Year honors at last year’s North American Paperboard Packaging Competition of the Paperboard Packaging Council (PPC).

Lemaire explains that the three-year egg carton redesign project—involving both the Mississauga and Cobourg plants—was undertaken to allow egg producers to enter the upper top tier of the egg

market, which is currently dominated by cartons formed from rigid plastic film.

“Environmentally speaking you are generally a lot better off with paper because it is both recyc-

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FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE 119 17-08-2015 09:23:34

SEPTEMBER 2015 • CANADIAN PACKAGING WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM • 25

PACKAGING FOR FRESHNESS

STAND UP AND DELIVER

Ontario produce processor uses flexible stand-up pouching technology to achieve eye-catching shelf-presence for its innovative value-added products

Freshline Foods vice-president Noel Brigido shows off some of the company’s fresh-cut produce in eye-catching, high-quality stand-up pouch packs provided by Tempo Plastics, and filled via its high-tech WeighPack Systems Swifty Bagger 3600 filling-bagging machine at the processor’s 55,000-square-foot facility in Mississauga, Ont.

ANDREW JOSEPH, FEATURES EDITOR PHOTOS BY JOHN PACKMAN

I

n the produce industry, creating something innovative is no longer the domain of the farmers growing the vegetables and fruits, as it exclusively once was long ago.

For one Ontario-based company, it prefers to invent its own innovation processes, with new f lavors and products and even through technology.

Located in Mississauga, Ont., Freshline Foods offers a compelling case in point. First opening its doors in 1997, the fast-growing company is considered to be one of Canada’s premier processors of fresh cut value-added fruits and vegetables.

A key member of a larger family of companies that provide fresh produce solutions from field to fork, Freshline with its 200 employees and 55,000-square-foot facility focus on the processing and packaging of fruits and vegetables.

“It all began with Bamford Produce, a fourthgeneration food service distribution company that was established in 1881,” Freshline vice-president Noel Brigido told Canadian Packaging during a recent visit to the facility.

Along with Bamford Produce and Freshline, other companies in the group are: Fresh Advancements, an importer and wholesaler of fresh produce; Bamford Family Farms who provide local growing of many varieties of apples; Bay Growers who offer up-to-date apple growing, storage and packing facilities; and F.A. International Inc., a global commercial transportation company specializing in logistics and supply chain management.

26 • WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

“Local initiatives are extremely important to Bamford,” notes Brigido, “which is why we at Freshline purchase Ontario produce whenever possible.”

Obviously not all produce is available year-round in Ontario, but Freshline—while offering local, organic, specialty and value-added pre-cut produce—says it will always source the freshest available products daily from both local and from major growing regions all over the planet.

Through its 900-plus SKUs (stock-keeping units), Freshline offers up everything from sliced watermelon, tubs of portioned fruits, vegetable trays and fruit trays with dipping sauce all for the food service, industrial and retail market segments.

It all sounds like standard fare, but as Brigido says: “Freshline likes to find fresh ways to package things to create new opportunities for itself, our customers and for the consumer.”

In November of 2014, Freshline debuted its plan to expand its fresh cut apple product offerings when it launched its new Flavoured Apple Slices, a new tasty product it has targeted towards children and adults alike.

“We have two f lavors—Niagara peach-f lavored apples, and Concorde grape-f lavored apples,” says Brigido adding that Freshline is working on additional tastes. “But when you bite into an apple splice, it tastes like a peach or it tastes like a grape.

Customers have found the taste sensation to be exquisite.”

He adds: “Working alongside Food Freshly North America, Bamford Family Foods and Bay Growers, we have developed a new process of f lavoring apple slices that maintains the apple’s tex-

ture and visual appeal while utilizing all natural f lavorings.

“The f lavoring also allows us to extend the shelflife of the product.”

For Freshline, the result is an apple infused with natural f lavors of peach and grapes that are crispy and crunchy that maintain its natural feel without any sugary or sticky coatings.

The f lavored slices are packed in a user-friendly 400g pack, and a snack-size 55g pouch, achieving North American distribution in January of this year.

For all of its sliced apple products, Freshline cores the apples, and then slices them into eighth—skin intact, before bathing it in ascorbate to prevent discoloration, followed by—if necessary—another bath in a secret f lavorful concoction to create the Flavored Apple Slices products, before heading off to various production lines for packing.

Along with ready-to-eat sliced apples in clamshell packs, Freshline also packs the product in stand-up pouches, designed, and manufactured for them by Tempo Plastics Limited of Innisfil, who also provide the packaging for another innovative product.

Debuting in June 2015, Freshline calls its new Juice Kit a convenient way to add more nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables into a convenient meal plan.

“More and more, everyone has a busy lifestyle, but are still keen on following a healthy diet,” mentions Brigido. “Juicing has grown over the years to where it has become a mainstream meal replacement for many customers.

“So we’ve created a meal solution that is both healthy and convenient.”

The first entry into the Juice Kit portfolio is a Kale Boost kit that includes: fresh-cut kale, carrot, apples, celery, beets and ginger packed within a 340g (12oz) pre-printed clear stand-up pouch.

“Our Juice Kits are packed with healthy, fresh, pre-cut and pre-washed produce in an ingredient combination that will provide the customer with a satisfying experience,” relates Brigido. “With the Juice Kit, whether busy and on-the-go, or simply looking for an easy meal solution, consumers can easily create their own nutritional juices or smoothies in moments.”

The innovative Freshline Foods Juice Kit packed with pre-washed, and pre-cut fresh veggies and fruits provides a healthy and convenient meal solution.

CANADIAN PACKAGING • SEPTEMBER 2015

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The Secret Ingredient behind the Freshest Produce

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Yes - our industry’s new quality standard has a name - TimeFresh™.

Of course you can’t engineer a solution this good without keeping a few secrets. Then again, do you really care? You’ll know your produce will stay fresher for longer, without preservatives. Just as fresh as Mother Nature intended.

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www.tempoplastics.com/timefresh FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE 120

PACKAGING FOR FRESHNESS

The robust 14-head PrimoCombi weigher from WeighPack Systems accurately portions apple slices by weight into buckets to distribute into a Swifty Bagger 3600 below.

The WeighPack Systems Swifty Bagger 3600 provide fast and efficient packing of product in high-quality TimeFresh stand-up pouches manufactured by Tempo Plastics.

Labels applied to tubs of fresh-cut produce via a model Alpha 86 HS manufactured by Weber Marking Systems for quick, reliable and trouble-free package identification.

Atlantic Packaging Products provides corrugated packaging solutions for all Freshline Foods’ shipping needs ensuring safe transport of its fruits and veggies to customers.

Brigido is extremely high on the high-quality stand-up pouches created by Tempo Plastics.

The partnership between the two businesses began in March of 2011 when Freshline began using Tempo Plastic’s TimeFresh technology for both rollstock VFFS (vertical form-fill-seal) bags and pre-formed pouches for produce packaging for both institutional and retail service markets.

According to Tempo Plastics senior technical advisor Michael Taylor, the relationship has constantly involved new packaging technology on behalf of Freshline, with various packaging options rising to the forefront.

“We began supply our TimeFresh stand-up pouches to Freshline in the autumn of 2011, eventually supplying both it and a standard f lexible

pack option to them,” relates Taylor.

Tempo Plastics has been a leading practitioner in the Canadian market for MAP (Modified Atmosphere Packaging) and, according to Taylor, with the introduction of TimeFresh, a fresh range of pouches, bags and film with custom-tailored permeability rates has taken pouch technology to the next level

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CANADIAN PACKAGING • SEPTEMBER 2015

PACKAGING FOR FRESHNESS

A Markem-Imaje 9232 small-character inkjet printer applies best-before and lot code data to Freshline packages.

An Emplex bag sealer from Plexpack provides excellent seal integrity for Freshline Foods.

Freshline utilizes a Phantom model metal detection unit from Fortress Technology as part of its food safety initiatives.

“Our TimeFresh packaging is actually designed for the fresh-cut and whole food markets because it maximizes freshness and extends product life,” explains Taylor, describing how near-invisible laser–cut perforations help maintain and protect the pack’s integrity and limit contamination risk— a win-win for the consumer, and customer.

As an option, Taylor says the TimeFresh products are available with an ethylene gas absorption and anti-fog properties.

“Basically,” sums up Taylor, “the TimeFresh packaging allows products to be kept natural without preservatives increasing distribution chains through its ability to extend product shelf life, and improving retailer profits with decreased product shrinkage and spoilage.”

On the mechanical side, Freshline has made some astute purchases, including an inclined infeed conveyor, a Bingo Bagger, a V-15 single lane netfilling machine, a VerTek 750 vertical form-fill-seal machine, a Swifty Bagger 3600, and a PrimoCombi 14-head multi-head weigher—all from the Montreal-headquartered WeighPack Systems with the first purchase occurring in 2003 and continuing to this day.

Established in 1991, Weighpack Systems is a Montreal-based manufacturer with a recently opened Mississauga System Center for sales and services, and operations in Las Vegas and Miami delivering quality-built packaging systems globally.

“While it’s true that we have been partners with WeighPack for a lot of years and still utilize machines purchased over 10 years ago, the point is they are robust and continue to work very well for us,” explains Bigido.

Constructed from stainless steel and standard food-grade components for all contact parts, the Bingo Bagger remains unique in the marketplace, according to WeighPack, as one of the few solutions that can automatically vacuum or gas f lush at the sealing station with human labor.

Using pre-made wicketted bags, the Bingo Bagger automatically opens, fills and seals the pouches with horizontal seal jaws, rather than a traditional rotary heat sealer thereby reducing the length of the machine and its cost.

Purchased new, Brigido says an

11-year-old VerTek 750 bagger has been an easy to set-up, operate and maintain machine that has easily provided an ROI (return on investment) for Freshline.

Designed for a low-cost of maintenance using off-the-shelf parts, the VerTek 750 easily interfaces

with auxiliary equipment on the production line.

“Freshline Foods has put their trust in WeighPack Systems for over 12 years, I very much value their commitment to us and ensure that their every need is addressed promptly as if their business was our own. I have a lot of respect for Noel and will never

SEPTEMBER 2015

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FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE 122

PACKAGING FOR FRESHNESS

The TimeFresh stand-up pouches from Tempo Plastics maximize freshness and extend shelflife of the product.

let him down,” relates WeighPack vice-president of sales Nicholas Taraborelli, adding that the great working relationship between the two companies has helped each other grow over the years.

In March of 2014, Freshline made a pair of major capital investments, purchasing a PrimoCombi com-

bination scale and a Swifty 3600 bagger for premade pouches.

The PrimoCombi is the first open-frame combination scale with an electronic control panel that can be conveniently located anywhere. Its robust design eliminates the risk of water penetration within the controls of the scale by separating the electronics, as opposed to the more traditional location of placing it in the base of the scale where, for proper sanitation to be performed all side panels would have to be first removed.

The PrimoCombi uses a Windows-based 360 operating system, and possesses a 15-inch color HMI (human-machine interface), a robust stainless steel enclosed PC panel and, for harsh environments, is also available with IP-67 visage.

Adds Taraborelli, “Our Primo 360 software operates on a Windows platform includes Crystal Reports, Skype, triggers and alerts, as well as automatic scheduling, and can be serviced remotely

free of charge via LogMeIn from any of our global facilities.”

After product is carefully measured and doled out by the PrimoCombi scale, the produce is released into the machinations of the Swifty Bagger, a machine that Brigido provides high praise to for its ease-of-use, cleanability and robustness.

Taraborelli says the Swifty Bagger’s design allows operators to physically see the entire filling process from the front of the machine, noting how some competing rotary-type baggers possess blind spots making servicing a two-person process.

“For Freshline, keeping everything clean is very important, so having a machine like the Swifty Bagger where we only have to open up the clear lexan doors at the front to access the 24-inch bag filling area—well, that’s a one-man cleaning job that can be done in mere minutes,” extols Brigido.

The Swifty Bagger is designed for food safety, with all the cams set in the back of the machine, with the bag filling assembly conveniently located at the front.

“It’s a nice design,” Bridgio notes.

“The product will never touch the mechanics of the machine.”

As well, Taraborelli says the easy-to-adjust bag magazine ensures that pre-made bags will always enter the Swifty Bagger perfectly square, providing a consistent pack with a perfect seal.

With regards to the WeighPack relationship with Freshline, Taraborelli says: “I enjoy working with a straight shooter like Noel, as his expectation s are clear, which in turn has allowed us to be a successful part of their growth.”

Freshline is certainly a successful company—thanks in part to its sister companies and innovative concepts for fruits and vegetables but also, as Brigido notes, because of the partnerships the company has fostered with its equipment suppliers, like Tempo Plastics and WeighPack Systems.

“Both have been instrumental in helping us provide nice clean packaging for our innovative products, as everything we sell at Freshline is visual,” says Brigido.

“The clamshell packaging is clear, the tubs for our Snacker line of fresh veggies is clear, there’s clear view space on the pouches holding our Juice Kits and sliced apple products, and we do that for a reason,” sums up Brigido. “We have nothing to hide when it comes to the freshness and quality of our fruits and vegetables, and when the customer can see what they are purchasing, we’re confident that Freshline will continue to make inroads in this very competitive market.”

For More Information: WeighPack Systems Inc. 480 Tempo Plastics Limited 481 Atlantic Packaging Products 482 Weber Marking Systems Canada 483 Plexpack Corporation 484 Fortress Technology Inc. 485 Markem-Imaje 486 FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE 123

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TALES FROM THE BAR SIDE

Feisty Ontario craft brewer jumps through all the right hoops in relentless pursuit of hop perfection

(From left): Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery president Peter Chiodo, Omron Automation & Safety account manager Ralph Nymann, Flying Monkeys automation specialist Chris Mavreas, and Omron industry marketing manager for food and beverage/packaging Laura Studwell with six examples of quality beer produced at the Barrie, Ont. craft brewery.

ANDREW JOSEPH, FEATURES EDITOR PHOTOS BY COLE GARSIDE

W

hen most people think of f lying monkeys, they probably recall the horrible little winged creatures that attacked Dorothy, Toto et al in The Wizard of Oz book and movie—or maybe they’ve had a beer or three.

Situated in the tres cool downtown section of Barrie, Ont., Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery has taken the art of beer to new heights with a wonderfully eclectic variety of tasty craft beers wrapped with witty monikers and brilliant psychedelic packaging.

The brewery first opened its doors in 2005 as the Robert Simpson Brewery named in honor of the long-passed first mayor of Barrie and himself a founder of a local brewery in the 19th century.

For various reason, the company then changed the name to Flying Monkeys in 2009, a progressive step that actually brought the brewery more intune with the far more interesting personality of the brewery’s owner.

“Flying Monkeys is a little left of center,” head simian and company president Peter Chiodo told Canadian Packaging magazine during a recent visit to the 9,000-square-foot brewery and its 50 employees. “The brewery name was inspired by a

32 • WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

certain period of time, including: SuperCollider2.0 Double IPA at 10.4% ABV (alcohol by volume); 12 Minutes to Destiny Hibiscus Pale Lager at 4.1%; Acadian Groove Canadian Maple Porter at 10%; The Chocolate Manifesto Triple Chocolate Milk Stout at 10%; The Matador 2.0: El Toro Bravo Dry Rye Ale (aged on Spanish cedar) at 10.1%; and the six more regular brews that still don’t look or taste like a regular beer—Hoptical Illusion Almost Pale Ale 5%, Netherworld Cascadian Dark Ale 6%, Smashbomb Atomic IPA 6%, Genius of Suburbia 3.8%, Antigravity Light Lager 4% and Flying Monkeys Amber Ale 5%.

As evidenced by the beverage monikers, Flying Monkeys likes to utilize some interesting ingredients in its beer concoctions.

The 12 Minutes To Destiny beer is a pink-tinged ale made from Cascades hops and steeped with hibiscus f lowers, fresh raspberries and orange peel, and despite it sounding overly fruity, Chiodo says the hibiscus f lower actually adds a tartness to the f lavor that makes it all come together into one refreshing beer.

“We actually have an area of our brewery that makes three hectoliters in a test vat where we constantly have several different recipes in various stages of production in an effort to create the next Flying Monkeys taste sensation,” explains Chiodo. “Sometimes it’s magic like with our peppery Matador 2.0 or the sweet Amarillo f lavor in the Hoptical Illusion Almost Pale Ale—and then sometimes ingredients you swear should blend together to provide an exquisite taste instead taste like a monkey’s… well, you know.

“But that’s why we enjoy the whole experimentation process here at Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery. It’s tricky, but it’s a lot of fun.”

Chiodo isn’t your typical Canadian brewer. Although he grew up in Toronto, he is a graduate of the University of Alabama and the University of Mississippi, loves his NCAA football, likes hockey but isn’t fanatical about it. From out of a romance novel he married his college sweetheart, Andrea, who now utilizes her talents and Ph.D in literature

sign I have on my back porch: ‘Don’t make me get out my Flying Monkeys’.

“It is indeed from The Wizard of Oz, which is really a pretty trippy adventure.”

Whether it’s a little left of center or trippy, the independent, locally-owned craft brewery is not one for a ‘normal or straight’ beer, but rather seeks to push the envelope by creating beers with unique f lavor profiles that aren’t weird for the sake of being weird but rather are beers with f lavors that taste surprisingly good.

With a nod to the more experimental Europeans, Chiodo says, “We make beers you don’t typically get in Canada, f lavorwise. As well, our beers are generally highergravity beers, a technique that results in a higher alcohol content.”

Nowadays, the brewery produces 23 brands a year Different in so many ways, the Chocolate Manifesto Triple Chocolate Milk Stout beer most available only for a bottle of Flying Monkeys comes in its own individual paperboard carton package.

CANADIAN PACKAGING • SEPTEMBER 2015

BOTTLING Complaints about distribution aside, Chiodo and the Flying Monkeys team are quite high on a new technology recently purchased.

“We like to have a lot of fun making our beer, but we are very serious about how we create it,” says Chiodo.

“We brew our beers to taste, not necessarily to style, giving plenty of respect to the ever-changing boundaries of the craft brewhouse.”

Omron Automation & Safety, a division of the Japanese Omron Corporation, recently sold Flying Monkeys Brewery an easy-to-use technology that automatically controls the fermenting vat’s temperature along with the analog valves, as well as providing a monitoring of tank levels.

According to Omron Automation And Safety ac-

Flying Monkeys utilizes a new NA HMI (human-machine interface) from Omron, part of its Sysmac NJ control system showing Fermenter tanks 11 and 12—the screen allows the operator to view tank temperature, level and various control valves necessary to monitor the fermenting process.

to design the fantastic images on the beer bottles and packaging while taking a firm hand in the marketing of the Flying Monkeys beer.

“Andrea has been instrumental in helping Flying Monkeys achieve distribution in the U.S.,” begins Chiodo. “It really is a dream come true for us all to increase our distribution by getting into America.”

Also available at the brewery’s walk-in store located on premises, as well as restaurants and bars throughout the province, Chiodo notes that they are still only producing around 10,000 barrels of Flying Monkeys beer a year, but is always ready to up the program, but not by selling his soul.

“Being a craft brewery is different from being a large brewery,” begins Chiodo. “The big breweries just look at the brand, whereas for craft breweries it’s all about the culture.

“Big breweries have caught onto to that and try to be hip, but it’s a culture you have to live,” he explains. “It’s not about Smashbomb Atomic IPA or Hoptical Illusion Almost Pale Ale—those beers are only part of who we are.

“We’re Flying Monkeys and we’re real people brewing beer and experimenting with crazy ingredients. We’re trial and error—probably lots of error, but that’s who we really are.”

Simply put, Chiodo describes himself as just a normal guy who likes beer and who happens to have got together with some great people to open up a craft brewery.

Flying Monkey president Peter Chiodo (left) and automation specialist Chris Mavreas are very happy with the Omron technology that makes its brewing process more consistent.

“But that doesn’t mean we’ll bottle up anything we don’t think people will like,” explains Chiodo. “We know that beer is like art, and it takes into account that people have different tastes, but we are all into pushing the boundaries with our beer flavor profiles.

“Our beer has even been into space,” mentions Chiodo in such a casual manner that one isn’t sure if the easy-going brewer is pulling your leg.

Turns out he wasn’t.

On June 4, 2015, on a homemade platform and balloon holding three GoPro video cameras, back-up battery packs, an altimeter and recovery beacon, Flying Monkeys launched a bottle of SuperCollider2.0 Dry IPA from the brewery’s rooftop up to the boundaries of space.

With the beer still liquid at an altitude of 109,780 feet above the Earth, the balloon burst and beer and platform began a controlled decent via parachute.

Following the beacon, the Flying Monkeys recovery team drove 116 kilometers over three hours to find it intact in a forested grove.

“We did it to celebrate our 10th year of operation, and because it was something weird that we thought we should do,” states Chiodo, adding, “If we can launch our beer into space, it can’t be as difficult to get our beers into the stores.”

He says that getting his beer into the LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) stores was a bit of a challenge—something few craft beer companies have managed to do—but it is able to sell six packs of six different beers in over 600 LCBO locations throughout Ontario.

“It’s weird, it doesn’t matter how many awards we’ve won for our beer, but I do understand that the LCBO has limited shelf space and tries to balance out the three categories of spirits, beer and wine,” Chiodo notes. “But the Beer Store is a monopoly.”

The Beer Store is an entity owned by a triumvirate of Labatt (AB InBev), Molson Coors and Sleeman (Sapporo), and Chiodo says that if he wants his beer to be sold there, Flying Monkeys has to pay a listing fee.

“If we were to ship a six-pack, 12-pack and 24pack to all 440 Beer Stores in the province, it would cost $250,000 in listing fees,” reveals Chiodo. “And while I could afford limited distribution, the returns would not match the investment.

“It turns out space isn’t the final frontier for Flying Monkeys.”

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BOTTLING

Using a demonstration box, Omron account manager Ralph Nymann discusses with Flying Monkeys automation specialist Chris Mavreas the basics of how an industrial control system can further increase the craft brewery’s production consistency.

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Below: a worker uses ULine stretchwrap to secure kegs supplied by MicroStar Logistics to a pallet.

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An SEW-Eurodrive motor helps power the brewing process at Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery.

count manager Ralph Nymann, “Over the next few months we are adding more technology to the Flying Monkey’s facility that will include additional control systems for the brewhouse—where the brewmaster controls all aspects of the beer process—as well as the packaging line situated in the facility’s lower level.

“When the project is complete, this will be a selfsustained brewhouse run via programmed recipes.”

The control system being utilized is the Omron Sysmac NJ501 MAC (machine automation controller) with distributed NX I/O, along with—currently—two seven-inch NA HMI (human-machine interface) displays for operator control and guidance.

An additional larger operator screen interface is also being added partially for operator guidance, but also it will be used during the facility tours the brewery does on a daily basis to better explain how the brewing process works.

As Nymann states, future plans will include additional control systems for the brewhouse—which features an additional 70- valves and temperature and level controls, as well as additional drives for motor control—and a system for the brewery’s cleaning process that will include the monitoring of caustic conductivity.

“The next installation phase will also include the ability for Flying Monkeys to connect the Omron Sysmac NJ501 controller via an iPad for remote monitoring and control of the whole brewing process,” notes Nymann.

For Omron, the Sysmac NJ501 MAC is the f lagship of the controller lineup.

“It is a freshly redesigned hardware platform containing a powerful Intel Atom processor which has more than proven itself capable of handling harsh and wet work environments,” explains Nymann.

“Because Omron has shifted away from the rigid ASIC-based architecture, it allows the NJ-series to be more adaptable and scalable, providing greater f lexibility without compromising the expected Omron reliability or robustness.”

For Chiodo, the ease with which the Sysmac NJ501 controller helps him perform his work is what is key.

“That’s the bottom line, isn’t it,” he grins. “Although we always have someone around watching the brewing process, we are only human—sort of.

“The Sysmac controller we have in place now, and the ones we will have in place shortly will help us create our beer in a more systematic manner ensuring we can provide our customers consistent quality with every batch,” says Chiodo.

According to Omron, the unification of advanced motion control with machine logic in one unit provides machinery with a fantastic advantage as the NJ-series seamlessly combines two prominent application requirements to reduce hardware and development cost.

“The ‘handshaking’ and other intermediate steps needed with multiple systems that create overhead, inefficiency and delay are all eliminated while functionality and performance are increased,” notes Nymann, adding that Omron’s tying in of vision via a built-in EtherCAT interface, configured from the same software environment as the logic and motion, makes the solution unprecedented.

All logic, motion, I/O, and vision response refreshing are all executed in the same control period which sounds like techno babble, but it provides precise sequence and motion control which provides The Flying Monkeys brewmaster with superb control over how the beer is created.

Situated away from the brewing process, Flying Monkeys houses its packaging lines in the basement where it fills barrels and glass bottles.

Along with an automated glass bottle rinser and a Maxima bottler, equipment on the lines includes: • a Krones labeler; •A rol bottle cap crowner; • I DD keg washer; • corrugated cartons produced and supplied by Moore Packaging;

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If any problems arise concerning this document, please contact Oyster Studios on +44 (0)1582 761212.

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CANADIAN PACKAGING • SEPTEMBER 2015

BOTTLING • a Videojet Marsh coder to apply lot code data onto the cartons; •U Line stretchwrapping for pallet wrapping; • Stainless steel kegs supplied by MicroStar Logistics.

For Chiodo, while fully aware that Flying Monkeys is first and foremost a business, he still insists that everyone involved have fun at work when having fun is appropriate.

“We keep things loose at work, and I think it shows by the large walk-up traffic we generate at the in-brewery shop and for the facility tours we operate,” says Chiodo. “It’s always different.

“There is no end result because we don’t end our results,” sums up Chiodo “We’re always looking to see what strange and wonderful ingredients we can put into the mix to create that next fantastic tasting beer.

It’s an artistic canvas, and we’re still painting our craft.

“It’s an exciting time to be a beer aficionado.”

For More Information:

With distribution across North America, ULine’s Toronto office supplies Flying Monkeys with all its stretchwrap needs to safely secure kegs and bottle packs to pallets.

Flying Monkeys utilizes a Krones labeler to provide quick and neat wraparound labels along the neck and body of its glass bottle packaging.

Omron Automation & Safety 475 Krones Machinery Company Ltd. 476 Arol S.p.a.

477 IDD Process & Packaging, Inc. 478 Moore Packaging Corporation 479 Videojet Technologies Inc. 480 ULine 481 MicroStar Logistics 482

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PACKAGING FOR SHELF-LIFE

MUSCLES ON A SHELF

Canadian strongman leverages his bodybuilding know-how to muscle in on the energybar market segment

Packing plenty of power, S.C.L. Canada Inc. co-owner Hugo Girard (left), stands alongside Dorfin sales manager Pierre Marquette (center) and VC999 sales manager of distribution in Canada Carl-Michel Cloutier (right), holding examples of the Hugo energy bar packed on a VC999 RS355 thermoformer.

ANDREW JOSEPH, FEATURES EDITOR PHOTOS BY FRANCK DELAGE

W

anting to be the strongest man in the world is a widely-shared childhood dream for young boys the world over.

Alas, few go on to develop the dedication and willpower to even take the initial steps toward such a goal, and fewer still are willing to maintain the long-term rigors of intense physical training to achieve it.

But there are always exceptions, such as Hugo Girard, a 12-year-old boy who grew up to fulfill his not-so-naive dream. Although now retired from the sport of competitive body-building and global strongman competitions, that man is now involved in the manufacturing business producing a retail energy bar directed at the average joe who could use an all-natural boost during the day.

When Hugo Girard was not yet a teenager, he began weight training after watching a strongman competition on television telling his mother that, “I will become a world champion one day.

“And, after 20 years of intense focus and training, I did exactly as I planned,” Girard to Canadian Packaging during a recent interview.

On the road to success, Girard became a police officer with the police force in Gatineau, Que.,

36 • WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

which allowed him to take a leave of absence when necessary to focus on his sports career.

Pity the poor criminal in the Gatineau, Que. area, as Girard at his peak packed an extremely solid and sculpted 330lbs (150 kg) onto his 6’-2” (1.88 meters) frame.

Good to his word, Girard over the years became a Strongman Super Series world champion in 2002, a four-time World Muscle Power champion, and sixtimes won the Canada’s Strongest Man competition.

After becoming involved in a various business ventures, Girard finally found a couple he could really put his heart into. One is his co-owned gym Pro Gym St-Jean, a 43,000-square-foot facility in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC, and the other is his aptly named Hugo energy bar.

After starting up production of the Hugo energy bars in early 2014, he added six shareholders in the autumn of that year to form S.C.L. Canada Inc., a manufacturing company whose fully pumpedup name appropriately stands for Strongman Champions League Canada Inc. “I believe that the key to success is ‘believe-conceive-achieve’, and I have tried to live by that tenet— and so far life has been pretty good,” explains Girard.

“It’s what has led me to this energy bar project.”

Initially, Girard’s sales point was to sub-contract the Hugo energy bar production solely for the

gym market, but that has changed as the company nowadays manufactures and packs the energy bars in-house at its 14,500-square-foot facility in SaintJean-sur-Richelieu.

And the concept just kept growing, Girard ref lects.

“As I became more involved with research and development and even marketing, I soon realized that I was limiting myself,” he notes.

“The Hugo bars aren’t just a gym-product,” Girard says, “but rather was also quite suitable for the mass public market.”

According to Girard, S.C.L.’s Hugo energy bars are a perfect snack or even a meal replacement, with it being 100-percent natural with its ingredients, gluten-free, and very high in protein (17 grams) and fiber (eight grams).

The ingredients in the 100-gram Hugo bars consist of pure gluten-free certified oats and natural honey.

For anyone performing outdoor activities when one needs a quick fix for a long-lasting energy boost, Girard says his Hugo bars will do the job.

“As I did with my previous career as a professional athlete, I never did things halfway, and as such would not and will not skimp on the quality of the energy bar’s raw materials,” relates Girard.

“The customer will always get a high-quality product from S.C.L. Canada.”

CANADIAN PACKAGING • SEPTEMBER 2015

PACKAGING FOR SHELF-LIFE Currently under federal inspection by the CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency), S.C.L. expects to be HACCP ( Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point)-certified shortly for exportation purposes.

With a production capacity of up to 50,000 bars per week, S.C.L. and its nine employees produce six different Hugo energy bars, with tasty f lavors that encourage consumption: Original, Date, Zante Currant, Cranberry, Carob and Banana Carob.

“The response to the Hugo energy bars has been quite good since its inception,” explains S.C.L. Canada president Francois Vanier. “We’re still a young company, but the demand has been increasing every month.

“And with consumer demand continuing to increase, at least it is comforting to realize we are set-up to handle the increased production.”

Along with the energy bars, S.C.L. offers Hugo Energy Drink, an electrolyte energy boosting beverage available in six f lavors in the 750ml bottle, and five f lavors in the 500ml version.

Adds Vanier: “If you look at his website, Hugo has other brands and products that are subcontracted out but are mainly produced for the gym industry. S.C.L., however, is also working on other products we can manufacture for the food industry, aiming at that same athletic clientele.

Regarding the Hugo energy bars, Vanier says that only being able to find the products at the gym are over, and it has now available in some 300 retail stores in Quebec, though he did let it slip that the company is on the verge of finalizing a deal that will see the energy bars distributed through a network that hosts 11,000 retail outlets throughout North America.

The S.C.L. facility runs two production and packaging lines for the Hugo bars, owning an industrial oven, a mixer, filler, labeler and inkjet printer.

However, it is one recent capital expenditure—a special thermoforming machine—that has S.C.L. ready to take on the competition.

“Our brand new thermoformer may be unique in Canada,” notes Vanier, “but what we like about it is that it provides a strong outer package to ensure our product arrives in the consumer’s hand in one-piece.

Purchased via Dorfin Inc, S.C.L. uses a new model RS355 thermoformer manufactured by VC999 to create an easy-toopen package that is also tough enough to protect the all-natural Hugo energy bars.

For S.C.L., help came in two forms via Dorfin Inc., a 61-year-old family-operated distribution company that supplied S.C.L. with the thermoformer via its packaging division. Through its consumer division it is a purchasing and importation specialist for such companies as Dollarama, The Dollar Store and Giant Tiger.

“It was because of Dorfin purchasing product for such companies in our consumer division that we also happened to become an expert in aluminum foils, which has served a cross-purpose in helping us work with VC999 on the packaging,” says Dorfin sales manager Pierre Marquette, adding that the company also provides S.C.L. with packaging films, paperboard shelf-ready presentation boxes for retail, corrugated cartons for shipping, stretchfilm for pallet loads, and even packing tape to seal individual cartons.

While the quality of Dorfins’ work certainly helped seal the deal, Marquette was able to muscle in with the energy bar manufacturer thanks to a chance connection—he, too had been active in competitive bodybuilding and had first met Girard in 2009 via the sport.

“When I first entered into talks with S.C.L. Canada in late 2014, I discovered they had a problem with their protein bar in that the f lowwrapper they were using to form the product’s outer film package wasn’t able to adequately prevent it from being damaged,” explains Marquette.

“But since I had just started working alongside VC999, I was pretty sure I could find a solution that would work perfectly for S.C.L. by utilizing MAP (modified atmosphere packaging).”

Marquette contacted VC999 Canada Ltd. sales manager of distribution in Canada Carl-Michel Cloutier, who parlayed his own expertise to not only provide the right thermoformer machine for the job, but also the right package for the customer.

Working alongside S.C.L., Cloutier managed the project helping develop a completely new package look, including sizes and shapes to be easy-to-open for the consumer—keeping in mind that the main consumer at the time was the athlete and that some high intensity athletes such as runners, bikers or ironman competitors are not able to stop to eat when a boost of protein can help make the difference between losing and winning.

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PACKAGING FOR SHELF-LIFE The machine selected to perform the packing duties is the RS355 high production rollstock rigid thermoformer from the Kansas City-based VC999.

“When I initially made inquiries with several thermoforming equipment manufacturers, S.C.L.’s primary requirements were for the machine to have a forming capacity with four different dies and be able to perform gas f lush and vacuum packing,” recalls Vanier. “And VC999 answered the call.”

The RS355 is fitted with special corner rounding punch systems and squeeze knife systems that allows S.C.L. to create packages with straight cutting or perforated cutting.

Says Cloutier, “This cutting technology allows them to form and cut film up to 900 microns in thickness and offers them the ability to make different final configurations like family packs attached via perforations or to just create individual packs.”

The quick-energy boost, 100-gram all-natural Hugo energy bars from S.C.L. Canada come in six flavors.

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The machine is mounted with two vacuum pumps manufactured by Busch Vacuum Technics Inc.—one at the forming station and another at the sealing point.

The RS355 utilizes MAP gassing technology to provide additional retail shelf life to the all-natural Hugo energy bars.

“The maximum speed of the VC999 RS355 thermoformer in the modified atmosphere packaging mode is 64 packs per minute for the 100-gram bars, and 128 packs per minute for a 50-gram unit,” extols Cloutier, adding that with the technological advancements within this machine, the user is able to obtain a gas residual of only 0.02 percent or less.

Vanier is quite happy with the throughput speeds of the VC999 RS355 thermoformer.

“We are now running it at 32 bars per minute, with a standard shift producing about 10,000 in a regular production run.”

The films used on the RS355 for the Hugo energy bars and purchased via Dorfin are two different types of VC999 XtraPlast division-manufactured Aquasun films.

“To create six different prints of the non-forming top film, S.C.L. uses a f lexible laminated Aquasun 60 micron film made from coex water-cooled films that is an easypeel, high-barrier film printed in rotogravure high resolution,” notes Cloutier. “And for the forming bottom film, S.C.L. utilizes our Rigid Aquasun high barrier 300 micron clear film.”

Adds Girard, “All together it provides us with a very attractive and protective package that, thanks to the MAP increases the all-natural product’s shelf-life.”

For S.C.L., it knows that it is still a relatively young company, but as Girard points out, it is well on its way to bulking itself up. “(At the time of the interview) It’s still too early to know what our yearly sales will be,” states Girard. “But we are satisfied in knowing that we are producing a unique energy bar that is not only 100 percent natural and good for you, but that it tastes good, as well.

“As any body builder can tell you—it takes time to get bigger and stronger, but at least we feel good that we are on the correct path to achieve our goals sooner, rather than later,” sums up Girard.

“Thanks to Dorfin and VC999, we have a perfect package that not only stands out on the retail shelf, but provides the Hugo energy bars with a safe and secure pack that is easy to open.

“It’s win-win. We’ll get to the top yet.”

For More Information: Dorfin Inc. 470 VC999 Canada Ltd. 471 Busch Vacuum Technics Inc. 472

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SEPTEMBER 2015

SHOW PREVIEW

MASTERS OF THEIR CRAFT

D

ouble-digit growth in a f lat market and a sluggish economy is a rare happy story these days, but that’s the story you’ll be happy to hear at next month’s Ontario Craft Brewers Conference and Suppliers Marketplace 2015 in Toronto.

Produced by the Ontario Craft Brewers (OCB) association, the group’s annual forum and showcase will provide the expected 800-plus attendees with a rare insight in how the province’s craft brewing segment has managed to make extraordinary market share gains in recent years in spite of a tough regulatory regime that severely impedes the consumers’ access to the wide variety of authentic, seasonal, specialty and other locally-made beers produced by the association’s membership—comprising over 30 brewers from across the province.

Organized under the theme Crafting Quality, the full-day event—taking place Oct. 22, 2015, at the Allstream Centre on the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) fairgrounds—will feature dozens of presentations on all the different aspects of achieving success in the craft-brewing business, as well as allow participants to taste and sample the vast multitude of different beer styles produced by the province’s smaller-sized, independently-owned brewers united by their shared passion for product authenticity and traditional recipes based on the use of only all-natural, pure ingredients.

“The result is a variety of distinctive, f la­vorful styles and taste profiles that appeal to beer lovers with a sense of discovery and adventure,” says OCB, adding its member-companies currently offer more than 250 distinct brands based on either traditional brewing styles (Pilsner, Vienna-style Lager, Munich Dunkel, Weiss Beer, Nut Brown Ale, etc.) or the highly innovative styles such as Hemp, Cranberry Wheat, Cask-conditioned Lager, Mead, and Coffee Porter.

“The craft segment of the beer industry has really been booming in the last couple of years,” says Sybil Taylor, communications director with the popular Toronto-based microbrewer Steam Whistle Brewing and chair of this year show’s planning committee.

“We have finally been able to tap into the Ontario consumers’ growing demand for locally-produced, all-natural products of all kinds,” says Taylor, “and craft beer brewed in Ontario—using locally-grown hops and produced in accordance with traditional processes and techniques—is really resonating with consumers in a big way.

“These consumers demand true product authenticity, along with great taste and high quality, and Ontario-based craft brewers have

SEPTEMBER 2015

39

proven themselves to be as good at delivering those qualities on a consistent basis as anyone else in the world,” Taylor told Canadian Packaging.

Adds Taylor: “This year’s conference will offer packaging and labeling suppliers an exceptional opportunity to tap into this fast-growing market segment through highly informative conference presentations and an opportunity to network with the craft beer industry’s leadSybil Taylor, ing bright lights and key deSteam Whistle Brewing cision-makers.”

To register for the event and to learn more about OCB, please go to: www.ontariocraftbrewers.com

When the norm won’t do

Don’t monkey around When the crafty brewers at Flying Monkeys went looking for an automation partner that could match their unconventional brewing methodology, they turned to Omron’s vast array of innovative solutions.

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SINGLE LIFE NOT SO SIMPLE IN PACKAGING WORLD

I

consider myself to be a fairly simple man who enjoys the everyday convenience of a wide variety of food products— sourced locally and worldwide—conveniently packaged to stay fresh until required. Be it my favorite Thai dish, shipped in a can and all ready to heat and serve, or my box of snack-pack chips from Costco to give me instant gratification whenever the mood strikes, products like that make me feel like I’m the king of a single-serve world. But if I really were king, my first decree would be to do away with the single-serve coffee brewing systems like the Keurig Brewing System from Keurig Green Mountain, Inc. With its pod-like K-Cup, Keurig and other single-serve systems like it, are now ubiquitous in offices, homes sand grocery-store aisles all over the land. As I continue to resist hopping aboard the K-Cup bandwagon, I was disheartened to see the Maxwell House K-Cup brand from Kraft Foods making its grand entry into the single-serve segment this past summer. Given some estimates that you could circle the earth more than 10 times with discarded KCups from last year alone, having another major brand adding to this mess hardly seems like a step in the right direction. For all the convenience of an outer peel-off plastic seal to protect the coffee pod from contact with the air, the fact that it is largely unrecyclable only compounds the non-recyclable structure of the perforated plastic K-Cup coffee pod itself. Although a recent LCA (life-cycle assessment) study from PAC, The Packaging Consortium claims that single-serve coffee actually has a smaller impact on the environment than regular drip coffee over the entire life-cycle of the product, I am more reassured by Keurig’s recent launch of the new K-Mug pod, made from recyclable polypropylene.

For now, the new pod is only compatible with the

newly-launched Keurig 2.0 home-brewing system, but it’s a start. And if the company delivers on its promise of making all of its single-serve offerings recyclable by 2020, I may even reconsider my normal daily practice of brewing for one from bulk.

Coffee may be leading the single-serve charge, but the podification of things is rapidly accelerating across many food categories, as evidenced by the Toppers brand of f lavored tuna from the Markham, Ont.-based Clover Leaf Seafoods. The 150gram offering of tuna chunks bathed in one of four sumptuous sauces—including the tastefully spicy tikka masala—comes in a single-serving, microwaveable, podlike container topped off with the EZ Peel foil lid. Peel it off, put the vented plastic cover back on, and in 45 seconds of microwaving on ‘high’ setting you have a very tasty and healthy protein topping to dress up your rice, pasta, baked potato or other carbs of your choice. Moreover, I feel morally reassured by the Dolphin Friendly seal on the product labeling—albeit I’m less sure the caught tuna would share that sentiment—along with the No. 5 recycling symbol noting the bowl’s compatibility with most recycling streams.

The Patak’s Original line of no-fuss Indian dishes from Lanchashire, U.K.-based AB World Foods Ltd. strays away from the single-serve theme, but not by much. The brand’s Cooking Sauce For 2 – Spicy Cumin & Ginger pack offers a nice blast of heat for consumers looking for exotic f lavors with minimal cook-

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX R.S. # ADVERTISER 128 ABB

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R.S. # ADVERTISER

Page

37

123 Premier Tech

30

121 Balluff

28

101 Ryson International

125 Bradman Lake Inc.

34

105 Schneider Electric

119 Farm Credit Canada

17

115 Schubert Packaging Machines 20,21

109 Festo

11

117 SEW-Eurodrive

116 Flexlink Systems Canada Inc.

23

120 Tempo Plastics

27

Name

129 Harlund Industries

38

112 Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.

16

Title

111 Harpak-ULMA Packaging, LLC

15

110 Uline Shipping Supplies

14

Company Name

131 Heidelberg

IBC

114 hubergroup

19,25

118 Meyer 106 Multivac Canada Inc.

25 6

127 VC999

35

102 Videojet

1

108 Weber

9 7

39

107 Weighpack

124 Packaging Tecnology

33

122 Yaskawa-Motoman

p 40 cpac sept 2015 Checkout p 40.indd 40

24,35

132 Unisource Canada Inc, a Veritiv Co. OBC

130 Omron

40 • WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

5

29

Paul Pethick is writer and editor with Invivo Communications Inc., a pharmaceutical communications services firm based in Toronto.

SEPTEMBER 2015 PRODUCT INFORMATION

104 Reiser

IFC

Mondelez Canada Inc., was single-serving it up in style when it released its “To Go!” 334-gram package of Ritz brand crackers under the Christie product label. Containing eight individuallywrapped, 41-gram single-serve sleeves—each packing about 13 crackers per cello-packed roll— the new format provides a perfect portion size to enjoy on the go, be it served up as your kid’s school snack or as a tasty addition to your own lunch bag. Taking its “To Go” theme one step further, the Ritz brand deftly designs valueadded convenience into the cardboard box itself with a perforated grab-and-go f lap for easy access to the contents either laying f lat, or functioning as a mini pop-can dispenser that lets the stacked rolls of crackers drop to the bottom, layer by layer, as soon as the bottom roll is removed. Remarkably, I have yet to come across a single broken cracker since discovering this little bit of inspired package design innovation at my local grocer. Way to roll with the changes, Ritz, way to go indeed!

FREE

103 Atlantic Packaging Products Ltd. 2

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ing and preparation effort. The high-impact tantalizing graphics decorating the 200-ml stand-up pouch depict a mouth-watering recipe suggestion of cooked beef cubes sitting on a bed of rice and covered with the sauce, evoking memories of the great curry houses of England. My only objection is that I don’t think the 200-ml portion size is really enough for couples who love Indian food as much as myself and missus, but that’s something I’m willing to suck up to the last drop.

Photos by Paul Pethick

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