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APR2022 packworld.com FPA 32 2022 AWARDS
Flexibles Deliver Shelf Impact & User Experience 48
Reusable Corrugated Means Auto Parts Savings 56
Automating COVID-19 Vaccine Vials 60
Flexible Pouches Replace Rigid Containers at McDonald’s 68
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Notable among the 2022 Flexible Packaging Association Award winners is the way in which end users interact with the packages. 48
FEATURES 32 COVER STORY 2022 FPA Awards Highlight User Experience, Shelf Impact Sustainability, technical innovation, and print quality continue to be driving forces behind advances in flexible packaging. Noteworthy among the 2022 Flexible Packaging Association (FPA) Award winners was how consumers or end users interact with the packs.
48 Reusable Corrugated Cases Save Auto Parts Supplier $10M in 24 Months A simple, yet ingenious, innovation that allows for reuse of corrugated shippers with partitions for auto parts suppliers helps save Yanfeng Automotive Interiors $10 million over 24 months.
56 AUTOMATION Cartoning and Coding Line Delivers COVID-19 Vaccine Vials 66
Equipment for cartoning, serializing, and case packing vials was designed and delivered in just a few short months.
60 Flexible Pouches Replace Rigid Containers at McDonald’s Rigid containers for back-of-house condiment applications in McDonald’s foodservice settings were wasteful and bulky to store. So, the fast-food giant and its suppliers teamed up to invent a flexible packaging-based applicator solution.
66 Tiny Labels for Lumber Carry Big Functionality Though small, the end tags for Culpeper Wood Preservers’ lumber products adeptly convey the brand message while carrying a number of product details and withstanding chemical treatment as well as harsh conditions.
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DEPARTMENTS 10
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Flexible Pouch Condiments at McDonald’s
Lead Off The Legal Side The Big Picture Sustainable Packaging Shelf Impact! The Insider
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8 News 18 Quotables/By the Numbers 76
Penatwards’ 2021-2022 Trends Report
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Automated Line for COVID-19 Vaccine Vials
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EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Aladin Alkhawam Director, Packaging Operations, Par Pharmaceutical
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Jan Brücklmeier Technical Application Group Packaging Technology Expert, Nestlé
How to Get Started with Cannabis Packaging
M. Shawn French Director – Innovation & Packaging Engineering (Beverage), Danone North America Patrick Keenan R&D Packaging Engineer, General Mills/Annie’s Organic Snacks Mike Marcinkowski Global R&D Officer, GPA Global & Hub Folding Box Co. Paul Schaum Chief Operations Officer, Pretzels Inc.
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David Smith, PhD Principal, David S. Smith & Associates Brian Stepowany Packaging R&D, Senior Manager, B&G Foods, Inc. Jasmine Sutherland President, Texas Food Solutions; Vice President, Perfect Fit Meals
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Packaging World® (ISSN # 1073-7367) is a registered trademark of PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies. Packaging World® is published monthly by PMMI with its publishing office, PMMI Media Group, located at 401 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 1700, Chicago, IL 60611; 312.222.1010; Fax: 312.222.1310. Periodicals postage paid at Chicago, IL, and additional mailing offices. Copyright 2022 by PMMI. All rights reserved. Materials in this publication must not be reproduced in any form without written permission of the publisher. Applications for a free subscription may be made online at www.packworld.com/subscribe. Paid subscription rates per year are $254 in the U.S., $363 Canada and Mexico by surface mail; $605 Europe and South America; $907 Far East, Australia, and other countries by air mail. Single copy price in U.S. is $20. To subscribe or manage your subscription to Packaging World, visit Packworld.com/subscribe. Free digital edition available to qualified individuals outside the United States. POSTMASTER; Send address changes to Packaging World®, 401 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 1700, Chicago, IL 60611. PRINTED IN USA by Quad. The opinions expressed in articles are those of the authors and not necessarily those of PMMI. Comments, questions and letters to the editor are welcome and can be sent to: editors@packworld.com. Mailing List: We make a portion of our mailing list available to reputable firms. If you would prefer that we don’t include your name, please write us at the Chicago, IL address.
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MFlex™
Pressure-Sensitive Label Applicator System
Engineered for Modularity and Flexibility
The MFlex is a completely modular and flexible labeling solution, with the primary purpose of applying pressuresensitive labels to a variety of packages and products. This includes labeling automation solutions for bottles, tapered items, non-round upright items, clamshells, trays, and more. SINGULAR HMI CONTROLS EVERYTHING
SOPHISTICATED MOTION CONTROL
Every MFlex system is controlled from a single color touch-screen HMI. Simple for operators to use, with comprehensive diagnostics for maintenance. Setup parameters are stored as recipes, ensuring fast and accurate product changeovers.
EPI’s intelligent motion control system ensures that every labeling head, axis of motion, and every device is always in perfect synchronization – guaranteeing smooth product handling and accurate labeling regardless of changes in speed or line conditions.
Label Application Configurations: Top Apply, Bottom Apply, Top and Bottom Apply, C-Wrap (3-panel: top, front, and bottom), Side Apply, Wrap (round/cylindrical items), Front/Back, Front/Back and Wrap
Ready to increase the uptime on your packaging line and improve throughput for your operations? Contact a representative at EPI@ProMachBuilt.com today.
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EDITORIAL Matt Reynolds Chief Editor Iris Zavala Managing Editor Anne Marie Mohan Senior Editor @PackagingTrends Natalie Craig Features Editor Jim Chrzan Vice President, Content and Brand Strategy Kim Overstreet Director, Emerging Brands Community Pat Reynolds, Sterling Anthony, Eric F. Greenberg, Ben Miyares Contributing Editors
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Clearing Out the Notebook After two years of all-virtual conferences and exceedingly rare travel, it seems (to me at least) like the dam has broken almost overnight. I’ve noticed I’ve spent the last three Sundays at an airport, and I’m not alone—events in this industry are back in force. Here are a few notes from recent travels. PACK EXPO East. As I type, I’m looking out over the show floor of Day Three at PACK EXPO East in Philadelphia. There are more specifics on page 13, but it has been bustling and the “energy is palpable,” (good description, Carl Melville of The Melville Group). Pharma is big here in the Northeast corridor, and I heard a lot about the trend toward personalized medicine. The upstream ripple effects for pharma producers and their OEM suppliers on the show floor have been more frequent changeovers and equipment that can accommodate. That trend butts up against the great resignation and scarce workforce, making simplified recipe switches and toolless changeovers key. A regional show designed more for making connections than for big splash equipment rollouts, many of the OEMs are keeping their “all-new technology” powder dry until PACK EXPO International in October. “Wait ‘til Chicago,” I heard more than once when asking about what’s new. But things keep marching onward on the materials side. I saw a monomaterial, all PE pouch commercialized in P&G’s haircare brand Pantene in Japan, by supplier Zacros. It’s designed as a refill pouch to support a durable, refillable aluminum pack system, and it may include an integral spout that’s also PE, so the whole system is recyclable. From Veritiv, there were some clever new paperboard cartons made of bagasse/sugar cane, plus a compostable, starch-based panel designed to line corrugated cases for food or meal kits among other markets. Used alongside durable/reusable refrigerants, the remainder of the pack system is curbside recyclable, while still maintaining the cold chain during transport. I assume these are both commercialized somewhere in the market, but I didn’t hear any brand names. Even though these developments are on the materials side, that’s not to say the machinery folks aren’t affected. These new films and materials are harder to run on traditional equipment than their predecessors, mostly multi-layer laminations that were designed with tear resistance and robustness in mind among other things. Several OEMs mentioned some new heat-sealing capabilities that work well on even compostable materials, but I’ll have to again “Wait ‘til Chicago” to learn more. Sustainability in Packaging US 2022. No plane was necessary for me to get to this downtown Chicago conference. Pepsico’s Sameer Talsania MCs the event and does a great job of it. I learned about a soon-to-be commercialized molded fiber closure system by startup Blue Ocean Closures with a small (2-4%) plastic barrier (for the time being, to help accelerate scaling). Being at Pepsico, Talsania’s ears perked up and he asked Blue Ocean Closures’ CEO Lars Sandberg if the cap would run on an existing installed base of high-speed cappers on beverage lines. That seems to be the plan; Sandberg is aiming for a drop-in solution. A panel discussion quote at this event seemed to capture the current state of sustainability. Ian Lifshitz, a VP and Director of Sustainability among other roles at Asia Pulp & Paper, said that he has attended these types of events for a decade, but has recognized a serious shift. He said, and I’m summarizing here, “At these conferences we used to talk about what we should be doing, or what we could be doing. Today? we’re talking about what we are doing. And perhaps more importantly, the right people are at the table now. It’s not just the sustainability champions, now it’s the marketing people, the CEOs, and the CFOs, too.” Top to Top. This is an exclusive annual PMMI event that unites the executive suites of both the OEM and the CPG. It’s fairly closed-door, so we don’t do much reporting. But as a fly on the wall, it was validating to hear how central sustainability is in conversations between brands and their suppliers—both OEMs and converters. It’s baked into practically everything we write about in PW these days, but it really is the biggest conversation happening now, even among the elite leadership in our industry. Labor and supply chain disruption are not far off as top-of-mind conversations. PW
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Spirits Bottle’s Elevated Shape & Decoration Runs on Existing Equipment Michigan’s Iron Fish Distillery says that it’s the state’s first farm-based distillery. Its new Estate Series range of spirits are made with grain grown on the property, and its bottle’s decoration pays homage to the nearby Bestie River and its residents: the eponymous steelhead trout. When company leadership sought unique packaging for this special series, they partnered with Berlin Packaging’s designers at Studio One Eleven. To maintain brand continuity, the design team leveraged the stock bottle shape used for Iron Fish’s other products, but made it taller and slenderer for a sleeker, elevated aesthetic. The company’s distinct fish logo is sculpted into the bottle, as are debossed fish scales, as premium structural details adding dimension and strengthening the brand equity. “We wanted our iconic fish mark to be embossed in glass to replicate the die-cut fish mark we have with our other packaging systems,” says Jesse Den Herder, Marketing Director, Iron Fish. “This would give the series an elevated look while being consistent with our brand standards.” “Taking inspiration from the core line of products and the scales in the label, we transposed the scales from the label into the bottle. The scales were designed and sculpted in such a way to accommodate molding requirements. In addition to the scales, Iron Fish Distillery has an illustrative logo that was modified for three dimensions, and it was also sculpted into the glass,” adds Bradley Wong, Industrial Design Manager, Studio One Eleven. “The bottle required a couple rounds of sampling and modifications to the mold so we could ensure that the definition of the fish would be properly represented in the glass. The goal was for the fish to [appear to] be swimming in the bottle.” The label is a standard pressure sensitive label. The company wanted various elements of the label to have more prominence, so some matte embellishment was used. Navy Strength Rum, Two Peninsulas Whiskey,
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and Mad Angler varieties use a silver BOPP label with matte lamination, while Slightly Lost Barrell Rested Gin uses a 60# brilliant white classic linen label. These are digitally printed on Artex Label’s newest Mouvent digital inkjet press. This new press has an expanded color gamut using a six-color process and white. For a closure, the bottles use a debossed silver synthetic bartop T-cork from Tapi. “Our closure was a black matte bottle capsule that covered the top of bottle with dual logos on either side. We wanted our logo to be prominent on the T-cork every time customers re-opened the spirit.” Den Herder says. While the specialty bottles are a departure from the norm, some continuity was still necessary. Iron Fish still wanted to incorporate current brand standards as much as possible by using existing primary and secondary typefaces. “The challenge was the amount of real estate we had to work with for the label, so we opted for a single wraparound label and maximize every inch,” Den Herder says. “The second challenge was our new use of fanciful names for the spirits, so it shifted the personality. For example, Mad Angler or Slightly Lost. We wanted three inches of shelf-facing space on the label to have consistency with all four spirits. Mad Angler is the only version that diverts from the others, as the type[face] layout it was inspired by fishing licenses from the 1940s.” Despite the shape and structural changes to the bottle, it is able to be filled and labeled with existing equipment onsite at the distillery. Launched in Fall 2021, pre-sell commitments for the release among the brand’s leading liquor store accounts were a near sell out, requiring Iron Fish to accelerate its next shipping container order. —Matt Reynolds
3/21/22 11:15 AM
CBC_Pack
Packaging World, 9 x 10,875 inch, CBC, CC-en
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NEWS
Uni Refillable Body Care System Provides Guilt-Free, Luxury Experience A native of Australia, tech entrepreneur Alexandra Keating is deeply protective of the oceans, which she explains are being ravaged not only by plastic pollution, but also by the toxic ingredients found in traditional beauty care products, including sunscreen—a product used daily by Australians. Shares Keating, a former venture advisor, after trying a number of green products in the body care market, she found them to be lacking in functionality and performance, as well as in design. Therefore, it was at the intersection of sustainable packaging, exceptionally designed, and ethically sourced and efficacious formulations safe for the environment where she planted her flag. In February, the company Keating founded and now leads as CEO launched Uni, a highperformance body-care line made from reef-safe ingredients, in a designforward, refillable, reusable packaging system. “Uni was designed to eradicate future production of toxins and plastic waste that enter the ocean through our products,” says Keating. “That meant looking at every aspect, from upcycled ingredients to a new, innovative system of reuse. But for Uni to make an impact, we had to make a product that people wanted, and it was clear to me that the opportunity was in performance-based products and innovative design.” Five unisex products make up the Uni line: a hand wash, body serum, body wash, shampoo, and conditioner. Formulations feature Uni’s proprietary Marine Complex, a combination of marine actives and ingredients,
combined with super plants. According to the company, all marine extracts are sourced ethically from environmentally sustainable resources, formulated exclusively with skin- and planet-safe ingredients. For the packaging, Keating relied exclusively on the creativity and expertise of Marc Atlan, an internationally renowned creative director known for his visionary work with luxury products such as Prada, Dior, and Tom Ford. Keating says while she gave Atlan full control of the design, the two-and-a-half year project was a collaborative one. A guiding principle was to make the packaging as easy as possible for the consumer to use. For the refillable system, Atlan devised a modular, two-component solution, comprising an outer reusable-shell dispenser and a 12.75-oz, 100% recycled aluminum refill bottle with screw cap that holds the product. First-time consumers purchase both (online only), removing the cap on the refill bottle and twisting it onto the reusable dispenser for use. When the refill bottle is empty, the consumer ships it back to Uni, using a prepaid label. Subsequently, the consumer only need purchase the standalone refill. The packaging system is modern, elegant, and minimalist. The dispenser is white, with the only copy being the Uni Refill System moniker in small copy near the bottom of the shell. The dispensing element is boldly rectangular and is embossed with the Uni logo. The aluminum re-
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fill bottles are likewise simple, with minimal copy in white, against solidcolor backgrounds inspired by the colors of coral reefs. A QR code allows consumers to access the Uni Instagram page. “Uni’s design is sustainable but doesn’t compromise on elegance,” says Atlan. “It’s unique, minimal, and timeless.” In mid-February, Uni got a significant financial boost, announcing that it had received $4 million in seed funding from SOUNDWaves, an ESG investment vehicle led by Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary. Says Kutcher, “The hospitality industry is far too reliant on single-use packaging. The
shift to reusable, refillable, and ocean-safe solutions should be adopted by every player in the industry. Uni has created a sustainable offering that’s better for you and the environment.” Uni products are available on the company’s website as a one-time purchase or on a subscription basis. Prices for individual products sold with a dispenser range from $31 to $43, depending on product, less if part of a subscription. Refills cost from $25.20 to $40. A Starter Kit, with all five products and five dispensers, is available for $143.99. —Anne Marie Mohan
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NEWS
Functional Water Label Design Zigs Where Category Zags Graasi Barley Water is a new line of ready-to-drink organic waters available in three flavors: Citrus Mint, Cucumber Lime, and Lemongrass Ginger. The launch of Graasi Barley Water marks the return of a functional beverage consumed by ancient civilizations to improve health and wellness. “When developing a new line of functional waters, we focused on
unique ingredients that would promote overall wellness and self-care,” Chris LaCorata, Graasi’s founder, says. “Barley water has been consumed by cultures around the world for thousands of years as a general wellness drink. We’re bringing it back and making it better with organic ingredients and immunity-boosting vitamins and minerals.” Graasi Barley Water uses 16-oz long-neck bottles from Amcor, using its Powerflex PET. The PP closure is sourced from Closure Systems International.
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“We went with a PET bottle for a couple reasons,” LaCorata says. “First, it’s easily recyclable. Second, we’re selling most of our products online and we wanted a durable packaging solution that ships well and is easy to carry around for the on-the-go, busy consumer.” The film is flexographically printed in six colors, and Graasi went with a shrink-wrapped bottle from the neck to the bottom to give it a greater surface area to promote the brand. With the functional water category being so competitive, and so modern and clean-line-focused, design agency Brightly Creative cut against the grain with its label treatment. “If you look at the functional water space, it’s pretty serious in terms of branding,” LaCorata says. “We wanted to show that functional waters, hydration, and immunity can be fun. We wanted our flavors to stand out by incorporating them into the graphics beyond just showing pictures or illustrations of the fruit. It’s much more engaging to show a cucumber car with lime wheels than a drawing of a cucumber and lime.” —Matt Reynolds
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PACK EXPO EAST Returns, Bigger than Ever PACK EXPO East 2022 continued its strong run of record-breaking events, welcoming more than 6,600 attendees across 95,000 net sq. ft. of show floor, making it the largest PACK EXPO East since its inception, according to show producer PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies. “PACK EXPO East continues to meet every benchmark as the premier regional packaging and processing event in the Northeast,” says Jim Pittas, President and CEO, PMMI. “Exhibitors and attendees really enjoy the opportunity for extended conversations that serve as the foundation for real, actionable business relationships.” The opportunity to make valuable connections extended beyond the trade show floor. PACK EXPO East’s opening day winded down with a Taste of Philly reception, offering attendees and exhibitors the opportunity to continue show floor discussions over drinks and regional foods. The networking continued following the opening reception, as young professionals in packaging and processing connected during PMMI’s Young Professionals Networking Reception at SPIN Philadelphia. A highlight of the show’s second day came after show hours as well when 170
industry professionals gathered for the Packaging and Processing Women’s Leadership Network (PPWLN) networking event. Throughout the three days, accessible education on the show floor provided attendees and exhibitors alike potential solutions, best practices, and industry breakthroughs on The Innovation Stage. The Forum was standing room only with free interactive sessions on the latest industry trends. Content from the Innovation Stage Sessions will be available online via PACK EXPO Xpress through April 29th. Additionally, view contact information, product information, and more from the companies who exhibited at PACK EXPO East. PMMI heads to Mexico City for the next event in the PACK EXPO portfolio of trade shows, EXPO PACK México 2022 (June 14-17; Expo Santa Fe). For more information and to register, please visit www.expopackmexico.com.mx. Registration is also officially open for PACK EXPO International’s return to McCormick Place, Oct. 23-26, 2022, in Chicago. Registration for the show is $30 until Sept. 30, after which it increases to $130. For more information and to register, visit packexpointernational.com. —Sean Riley
•Robotic Palletizers •Integrated Bagging Lines •Collaborative Robots
Let’s talk about your project today! News_0422.indd 13
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NEWS
Colgate Rolls Out Monomaterial Recyclable Tube, Tells People to “Recycle Me!”
Colgate-Palmolive has been promoting and building up to a recyclable toothpaste tube for some time now (read a 2021 Packaging World column on the topic at pwgo.to/7528), but it’s finally a commercialized reality. To alert consumers that the tube is now recyclable, Colgate is including on the tube’s front panel a prominent “Recycle Me!” message as well as a stylized image of three tubes in the shape of the well-known “chasing arrows” recycle symbol. “As the global toothpaste leader with a brand found in more homes than any other, we want to lead in waste reduction and, in particular, making toothpaste tubes a part of the circular economy,” says Dana Medema, Vice President & General Manager, Oral Care for Colgate-Palmolive in North America. “The Recycle Me! Tube is designed to educate and engage consumers and the recycling community, who are both essential to progress.” Colgate-Palmolive’s tube is the first to be recognized by external authorities, specifically the Association of Plastic Recyclers, as recyclable. It’s made from HDPE, the same plastic used for milk and detergent bottles.
Removing the aluminum layer that has for so many years served as the product protection component was a key to making it recyclable. Replacing aluminum as a barrier material is EVOH. Multiple layers of blown HDPE are extrusion laminated to a blown coextrusion that includes EVOH. The recyclable tubes for the U.S. market are made in Colgate’s Morristown, Tenn., facility. And according to Colgate-Palmolive, the recyclable tube has on average an estimated 25% smaller carbon footprint and a 40% lower water footprint. The Recycle Me! tubes are available online and at major retailers for the following: • Colgate® Total Whitening 4.8 oz, MSRP: $3.99 • Colgate® Max Fresh Cool Mint 6 oz, MSRP: $2.99 • Colgate® Optic White Advanced Sparkling White 3.2 oz, MSRP: $4.99 • Colgate® Cavity Protection 6 oz, MSRP: $1.67 Two additional points are worth noting. First, Colgate is sharing its recyclable tube know-how with other companies, including competitors. This decision was made in recognition of the simple fact that for recyclable tubes to succeed, it requires a critical mass of tubes on shelf that meet recycling standards. Second, Colgate-Palmolive is developing a recyclable tube pilot program in partnership with peer companies and working with a leading MRF (Municipal Recycling Facility) and re-processor in the U.S. The pilot will focus on one county or municipality to test how educational efforts can build tube recycling rates and assess the quality of the tube material that is collected for reprocessing. The data will be used to define easy-toaction best practices for tube recycling to be shared with communities and recyclers around the country. PW Read about all of the innovation coming from Colgate-Palmolive’s packaging operations, including this toothpaste tube, in Packaging World ’s annual View from the Top.
POSITIONING SYSTEMS FOR PACKAGING MACHINES Electronic, bus-compatible position indicators with target /actual value comparison and intuitive operation Automated fieldbus-/Ethernet compact actuators: easy commissioning, fast amortization Mechanically compatible: SIKO positioning systems are mechanically interchangeable
SIKO Products Inc., www.siko-global.com News_0422.indd 14
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NEWS
Loop Reusable Packaging Platform Now in 25 Kroger Stores Through a first-of-its kind partnership in the U.S., America’s largest grocery retailer, The Kroger Co., and circular reuse platform Loop, developed by TerraCycle, are offering a selection of products in-store in reusable packaging. The initiative launched in late February 2022 in 25 Kroger-owned Fred Meyer stores in the Portland metro area. Kroger kicked off the initiative with products from more than 20 leading consumer packaged goods companies as well as items from its own brand. Says Kroger Group Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Chief Impact Officer Keith Dailey, “Kroger is committed to achieving lasting positive change for billions of people and for our planet. To do this, we’ve developed a shared-value ESG [Environmental, Social, and Governance] framework that unlocks greater business value as we work collectively to create more resilient, equitable, and sustainable systems. Our pioneering and exclusive partnership with Loop is an illustration of this commitment, and we are honored to be the first grocery retailer partner for Loop in the U.S. and work with our brands and consumer packaged goods partners to advance our mission.” While Kroger is the first U.S. retailer to bring Loop instore, several overseas chains—Carrefour in France, Tesco
REUSABLE RUBBER BANDS CAN DRASTICALLY REDUCE THE CARBON FOOTPRINT CREATED EACH YEAR FROM SINGLE-USE PLASTICS.
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in the U.K., and Aeon in Japan—are already up and running after participating in online tests. Explains Tom Szaky, founder and CEO of TerraCycle and Loop, a lot of the things that are more challenging online for the Loop platform get solved in-store. “When we had our online learning platform, and we did that in five countries, people had to shop twice,” he says.” They’d have to shop online and then whatever they couldn’t find there, which obviously is a lot of things, they’d then shop for in-store. By putting Loop physically in the store, you eliminate the need for the consumer to shop twice. You also make people want to trial one or two products. It’s very difficult to make an online reuse model work for trial purchases, unless the customer is doing big basket sizes.” The new Loop assortment at Fred Meyer includes products from a number of well-known food and household brands, such as Cascade, Clorox, Gerber, Pentene, and Seventh Generation, among others, as well as Kroger’s Simple Truth brand. Consumers can purchase these CPGs’ products in durable, reusable packaging, paying a deposit for the containers. When the packages are empty, the consumer brings them back to the store, placing them in a collection bin managed by Loop. The consumer then gets their deposit back—either through the Loop app or, if the bin is electronic, via cash. Loop then collects the containers and takes
them to one of their sorting and cleaning facilities, where they undergo a rigorous hygienic cleaning process. They are then sold back to the originating CPG for refilling, completing the circular process. Since its inception, the Loop platform has been about making reusable packaging as convenient for consumers as disposable packaging: buy it anywhere, throw it away anywhere. In-store deployment will provide this convenience. As more retailers begin offering Loop in their stores, more collection bins will be available into which consumers can discard their empty packaging—allowing them to dispose of it anywhere. “That’s why growing the in-store network is absolutely critical to make the Loop concept happen,” says Szaky. Ramping up to implement Loop in 2022 are retailers Walgreens, in 70 of its stores, and Ulta Beauty. And, in late-breaking news, Loop announced in March that Burger King has launched Loop in five of its New Jersey restaurants. QSRs already using the platform include McDonald’s in the U.K. and Tim Hortons in Canada. For the Burger King program, Tupperware has designed and produced a resealable container in which the restaurant can package its signature sandwiches and burgers, including the fan-favorite Whopper. —Anne Marie Mohan
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universal1.com 3/21/22 11:27 AM
18 PW APR2022
BY THE NUMBERS
$85M
The amount Molson Coors says it plans to invest in its operations to transition 30 of its beer brands from plastic rings to paperboard wrap carriers by yearend 2025
2027
The year in which traditional Universal Product Codes (UPCs) will shift to 2D barcodes and QR codes, a transition called for by GSI US in its Sunrise 2027 program
78%
The number of food and beverage companies in a new survey from Mazars that reported they have passed on at least some of their inflation costs to their customers; just 2% have been able to pass on 100% or more
580B+ The number of new PET bottles produced each year—most of which contain little to no PCR material— by 800 PET manufacturing plants worldwide, according to BeverageDaily.com
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QUOTABLES
“We learned with amazement and bewilderment the attempt to apply in the worst possible way a discriminatory, penalizing and fundamentally wrong system like the Nutri-Score also to alcoholic beverages. It is an affront to the intelligence of consumers and a slap in the face for a sector that has represented, for centuries, not only an economic wealth, but above all a model of life and civilization. Labelling a food or a drink in red, or even black as in our case, means to pillory and criminalize a product without associating it with the methods or occasions of consumption.” –Micaela Pallini, President of Italian wine federation Federvini, as quoted in an article from BeverageDaily.com, “Nutri-Score creator backs alcohol warnings on label as Italian wine sector brands any move ‘an affront’ to science”
“In cases where consumers had no choice but to buy more than they needed in pre-packed packaging, this [plastic packaging] could actually increase food waste. It calculated that if these five products [apples, bananas, broccoli, cucumber, and potatoes] were sold loose, and the bestbefore dates removed, it could save more than 10,300 tonnes of plastic and about 100,000 tonnes of food from being wasted each year—the equivalent of 14m shopping baskets of food.” –Marcus Gover, Chief Executive of Wrap, in an article from The Guardian, “Plastic packaging increases fresh food waste, study finds”
“We can’t wait to introduce our guests to Target Zero because we recognize their growing calls to find products that fit within their lifestyle, designed with sustainability in mind. Our aim with Target Zero is to keep delivering on their needs through our ever-evolving product assortment, as well as to give brands investing in reduced-waste products and packaging an opportunity to have those products highlighted by Target.” –Jill Sando, Executive Vice President and Chief Merchandising Officer for Target, as quoted in a press release, “Target Announces Target Zero: A New, Curated Collection of Products Aiming to Replace Single-Use Packaging”
3/21/22 9:56 AM
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FIRST PERSON
Waste-Free Products Need Packaging, Too Even though this laundry soap is zero waste, sustainable packaging is needed for e-comm and brick-and-mortar sales. The average American uses and throws away 110 pounds of single-use plastic every year, with only 8% of plastics getting properly recycled. As more brands shift their focus to more sustainable packaging, some companies like Tangie by Waste Free Products are figuring out how to eliminate packaging waste entirely. Angie Ringler, the founder of Tangie, started making chemical-free natural cleaning products in her central Florida garage to help alleviate her own set of skin sensitivities. But once her non-toxic laundry detergent turned into a high-demand product for people across the country, Ringler encountered a huge packaging waste problem. Since 2012, she has been focused on delivering her natural laundry soap with innovative packaging and formulation with the motto of zero waste, zero water, zero single-use options, and zero plastic packaging.
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Packaging World:
As a small brand, how did you arrive at being able to offer a sustainable package?
Angie Ringler: When I wanted to start selling my laundry soap, I used traditional packaging, which was plastic bottles with sprayers. I knew that shipping these gallons of liquid laundry soap seemed so wasteful to me and it just felt wrong. So, my business model was to sell the soap wherever I could drive it, which wasn’t sustainable, but I did
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it for a while. I started wondering where all the bottles were going, and whether I was still a part of the solution if I was pushing all this wasteful packaging out into the world. My first solution was to put on the label, “Return this bottle for $2 off of your next purchase.” This way, I could get the bottles back. I maybe only got two dozen bottles back, but it might as well have been none. I wondered how I could make natural liquid laundry soap without being a bottle pusher. I reformulated my liquid products into three and half-ounce laundry concentrate blocks that dissolve in water to make a gallon of liquid laundry soap. Now, it didn’t need a bottle. I am really trying to stick to only two types of packaging, which are paperboard and aluminum, because those are the items that recyclers are incentivized to make sure that they get recycled.
Tangie is advertised as being waste-free. What role does packaging play with a waste-free lifestyle or product? You can order Tangie products online with or without packaging. The soap bars are sturdy on their own. So, when you order something package free, we’re simply taking a little piece of recycled kraft paper
and wrapping it around the soap, and then, we put it into a paper, padded envelope. All the packaging is compostable, recyclable, and we purchase carbon credits through Terrapass to offset 100% of our carbon footprint by investing in strategic forest preservation projects.
How did you find suppliers that aligned with your sustainability and eco-friendly goals for Tangie? When I started looking for packaging, I wanted a company that could tell me what they’re doing with the forest or how they are handling wastewater. My packaging supplier in Oregon, Your Box Solution, only picks from sustainably managed forests, where they can trace where the wood is being plucked from to make sure that they’re also planting the trees in its replacement. Doing things like that is important to me, and because I don’t have control over that aspect of my business, I kind of must rely on my packaging printer to hold up that side of the business for me. They’re using sustainable inks and the equipment they use is green certified. Continued on page 22
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22 PW APR2022
With waste-free packaging, whether you’re selling in-store or online, how do you maintain strong branding? When you order a packaged laundry soap online, it comes in a corrugated paste box with the Tangie branding, and you can also order a usage sticker to place on the reusable container of your choice. This sticker has some usage directions and branding. In-store, owners usually make signage of their own, or we assist them in making
FIRST PERSON
signage that shows our brand and how-to-use information, but because all these stores have very different displays and setups of how they’re doing things, they’re not all the same.
Do you see the waste-free lifestyle influencing consumer demands and packaging for larger brands and companies in the future? I feel like consumer demand is pushing it. I’m just a little fish in a big pond, and I’m doing it. I’m offering the ability for people to deliver package-free things. How can the bigger players not offer the same thing? Now, I get that it’s an issue when you’re talking about stocking a product on a very traditional grocery store shelf, right? It can’t just be sitting out there naked, as great as that would be. I don’t see a way for that to happen for many products, even though, when you walk into Whole Foods, they’ve got a table in the beauty section where they’ve got raw bars of soap. That wouldn’t have happened 10 years ago, but it’s happening today. So, in a way, that’s going to come into play more. A lot of wholesalers that I sell to have zero waste stores where you can buy products without a package. They are being creative with the way that they can offer products without a package. But it’s not like a big grocery store where you’re walking up to the counter and a clerk needs to scan a UPC. Those are the finer points that would have to be worked out. I got to believe at some point, we can figure out a way to sell less packaging waste. —Natalie Craig
Getting Started with Sustainable Packaging Looking for information on how to get started with sustainable packaging? This Packaging World primer provides an overview on what sustainable packaging is, what’s driving the push for more sustainable packaging, and how to reduce the environmental impact of packaging. Includes links to resources. Download this free PDF today at pwgo.to/7345.
FirstPerson_0422.indd 22
3/21/22 9:38 AM
Tested For Reliability
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3/21/22 9:39 AM
24 PW APR2022
THE LEGAL SIDE
By Eric F. Greenberg, Attorney-at-law
Uh Oh In late February, the United Nations Environmental Assembly, representing officials from 175 countries, adopted a resolution aimed at ending plastic pollution and said it would work toward creating an international, legally binding agreement about it by 2024. A UN press release said the agreement is the most important “international multilateral environmental deal since the Paris climate accord.” This agreement could result in a supercharged version of antiplastics measures of the type we’ve seen for years. In short, uh oh. As you probably know, there have long been state or local or even national environmental laws worldwide that target packaging and specifically plastics, especially single-use plastics. Those laws do lots of different things, for example calling for packaging to be recyclable, or be made of recyclable materials, or be biodegradable, or be made of less stuff than before, or might give you your choice of those options. Also, more and more examples of “extended producer responsibility” laws are placing financial or other burdens on packaging makers or users. But now comes this big international treaty with its ominous potential, and it’s scary. Then again, how much worse can it be than the present? Maybe some standardization of the approaches to plastic waste would end up being helpful. Bans on materials wouldn’t be, but provisions for large-scale infrastructure for recycling, for example, would. Two things are obvious: First, sorry, packaging pals, but packaging will probably always be part of public policy discussions of what to do about solid waste. As far back as at least the 1980s, packaging was about 1⁄3 of municipal solid waste in the U.S., and today it’s about 28%. Second, and obviously, no one, including plastics makers and users, likes those photos showing absurd amounts of plastic waste floating in oceans and waterways. The question is what to do about it, with some voices advocating doing away with plastic articles themselves, while industry and others want to see better solid waste handling solutions. The crux of the UN group’s resolution on March 2 is a new international effort to “end plastic pollution,” according to the group’s summary, which added, “Heads of State, Ministers of environment and other representatives from 175 nations endorsed this landmark agreement that addresses the full lifecycle of plastic from source to sea. Plastic production has risen exponentially in the last decades and now amounts to some 400 million tons per year—a figure set to double by 2040.” If you read the four-page resolution, you see that the bad news is that a lot of the wording is vague and general, but the good news is that a lot of the wording is vague and general. That is, it isn’t certain what kinds of measures the ultimate treaty will call for, and how mandatory or voluntary they will be. Also, there should be ample opportunities for input into the final treaty’s provisions over the next two years. The advance copy of the draft resolution I reviewed
emphasizes the importance of including all relevant stakeholders in discussions of the final treaty. It also recognizes that national or local priorities for how to attack the problem should be given prominence, and that both voluntary and mandatory standards have their place. Interestingly, as if reading the minds of concerned industry observers, the UN Environment Program’s executive director, Inger Andersen, was specifically asked in a Q & A document whether the agreement that comes out of this process would “cover creation of plastics as well as disposal,” and whether the agreement is likely to cover “just ocean pollution, or all plastic pollution” and whether “different types of plastic or ingredients in plastic [will] be banned or treated differently” (Yes, they asked her a compound question that would be objectionable at a trial.) She answered, in part, that “We seek rapid, ambitious and meaningful global action to curb the scourge of plastic pollution and this means incorporating different views to arrive at a framing that allows us to meet a range of economic, social and environment objectives.” She continued, “Member States will need to consider in their negotiations the different types of plastics and additives within them, especially to allow plastics to be recycled safely and to foster a circular plastics economy.” The Plastics Industry Association, the industry’s leading voice in public policy debates, issued a statement from its president and CEO, Tony Radoszewski, that reminded folks of the many benefits of plastics, welcomed the discussion at the UN, saying in part, “Our members share the goal of keeping any of the products they manufacture from ever getting into the environment,” and that they look forward to participating in the UN process. Michelle Carvell, of industry environmental consulting group Lorax EPI, said that while some countries or regions have taken actions such as banning single-use plastics, the UN action actually has some welcome features, noting that “The UN treaty comes at a good time. Rather than the legal mandate, I believe the best part of this development is to provide a collaborative platform for different countries to share policy and facility building knowledge.” She also said its broad approach means that “the plastics treaty is expected to have a much bigger impact than national/regional plastics ban or EPR. On the other hand, due to the amount of stakeholders, it could take relatively much longer than regional regulations . . . to finalize the legally binding global agreement. Larger compromises on the scope of regulated plastics products and enforcement are also expected.” Underlying all this is that question of whether plastic pollution represents a problem with plastic as such or with waste handling and personal habits. Here’s hoping that rather than making plastics a permanent pariah worldwide, the UN group hears from enough industry advocates to appreciate plastics’ many advantages, and that any decisions it makes are well-informed and practical. PW
Eric Greenberg can be reached at greenberg@efg-law.com. Or visit his firm’s website at www.ericfgreenbergpc.com. INFORMATIONAL ONLY, NOT LEGAL ADVICE.
LegalSide_0422.indd 24
3/21/22 9:47 AM
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3/18/22 3:19 PM
26 PW APR2022
THE BIG PICTURE
By Sterling Anthony, CPP, Contributing Editor
Alternatives to Wood Pallets: Part Three Let’s knock on wood, and cite shortcomings of wood pallets that afford other material formats niche opportunities. Plastic. An ever-ready criticism of plastic pallets is that they are sourced from non-renewable petroleum. The counter-defense is that they are recyclable. The recycling is straightforward, given that only one material, HDPE, is involved. Furthermore, HDPE can be repeatedly recycled without degradation of its properties. Once the sustainability issue is addressed, promoters of plastic pallets are quick to recite a list of advantages over wood. One is that it weighs less, which benefits transportation costs in addition to facilitating manual handling. Despite being lighter weight, plastic pallets are durable and have considerable load-bearing capacity. They are less likely to cause damage to loads (or their handlers) because they have neither splinters nor fasteners (nails, screws, staplers). They can be delivered having been cleaned by steam or waterjet, making them attractive to such industries as food & beverage, pharmaceutical & medicine, or cosmetics, etc. On the debit side, the injection molded unibody construction of plastic pallets does not accommodate simple, part-replacement repairs. Such construction, however, with its tighter dimensional tolerances, benefits automated palletizing and automated warehousing operations. And then there’s price; plastic pallets are substantively more expensive. Their initial outlay only makes financial sense if plastic pallets are used for multiple trips. That level of management and retention means that plastic pallets are best suited either for a user’s closed-loop system or a rental pool. As for the latter, the largest player in the U.S. is iGPS, with its ability to incorporate RFID tags onto the pallets for tracking and tracing. The biggest boon to plastic pallet rentals has been their acceptance by major retailers, including big-box stores. Retailers are enamored of not having to contend with piles of empty pallets, since they are hauled away by the pool owners. Another appeal is aesthetics; plastic pallets present better, especially in sell-from-pallet displays. As much as smaller brands may want to ride the plastic pallets train, they might not qualify for a ticket. That’s because there is a threshold annual quantity before renting becomes financially feasible, said to be around 10,000 pallets. Paper. The constructions vary, including corrugated, solid fiberboard, honeycomb, and molded pulp. Some are of virgin fibers, others incorporate recycled and waste materials. Some are stackable, others nestable. Being paper, however, all are hygroscopic, subject to absorbing moisture from the atmosphere. Even more of a concern, if paper pallets get outright wet, say from water, their performance becomes unreliable. Although indoor storage might seem a simple
BigPicture_0422.indd 26
Read Part Two of Sterling Anthony’s series on pallet management.
solution, it comes at the opportunity cost of not being able to use the space for other purposes. Paper pallets can be a viable choice for light- to moderate-sized loads. Even so, their reuse is risky. Their one-trip use is best tolerated by retailers that operate an on-site compactor because paper pallets can be thrown in with corrugated boxes for baling. One-trip use also is suitable for international shipments (contingent on meeting load-bearing requirements). Paper pallets are cheaper than the cheapest one-trip wood pallets. An additional benefit is that, unlike wood, they don’t have to be heat-treated or fumigated to meet international mandates against wood-boring insects. Paper pallets are at their cost-effective best when they require no enhancement. When, for example, they are wax impregnated to improve water resistance, their price advantage over wood (and plastic) narrows, without a proportional narrowing of comparative performances. From another perspective, non-paper additives complicate recycling. Some paper pallets are promoted with such terms as “specialty” and “industrial-strength.” They’re meant to foster favorable comparisons not only to other paper pallets but also to pallets of wood and plastic. Caveat to prospective buyers: ask suppliers for test results that backup performance ratings. Beyond that, prospective buyers should conduct trials under conditions of transportation, handling, and storage. Hybrids. The idea behind hybrids is to combine wood, plastic, and paper for a synergistic effect. The possible combinations are limited only by the imagination, as continually proven in the marketplace. Depending on the specific composition of the pallets, their suppliers attempt to woo buyers with target features. A few examples should suffice for many. A wood pallet has its end deck boards capped with plastic bumpers that protect against damage from forklift impacts. The supplier claims that the reinforcement gives the pallet a 10-year service life. A plywood pallet has a thick elastomer coating, a combination that’s lightweight and durable. As with the preceding example, this one also boasts a 10-year service life, along with RFID compatibility. A pallet is made by compression molding, using heat and pressure to bond wood chips and an adhesive. The pallet is meant for single-trip. As a last example, a pallet has a wood frame onto which corrugated is glued. This pallet, too, is meant for single-trip. Summarizing this three-part series: supply chains can’t operate without pallets. Therefore, pallet management should be assigned its deserved priority. PW
3/21/22 9:31 AM
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3/18/22 3:20 PM
28 PW APR2022
SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING
By Anne Marie Mohan, Senior Editor
Mars Petcare Retort Pouches use Certified Circular PP While it may have been blue-sky thinking just over a decade ago, the recycling of multilayer films for food-safe applications through processes other than mechanical is now a reality and is being adopted at a rapid pace. One of the latest brands to embrace advanced recycling is Mars Petcare, a division of Mars, Inc., which is launching a new pouch for its Sheba wet cat food that incorporates, on average, 30% recycled polypropylene from advanced recycling technology. The first such structure for wet pet food, the Sheba pouch is not only food safe, but it can also withstand the retort process. The initiative is the result of a collaboration with petrochemical firm SABIC and flexible film provider Huhtamaki and was undertaken as part of Mars’s commitment to reduce its use of virgin plastic by 25% and use 30% recycled content across its product portfolio by 2025. Explains Graeme Smith, Global Sustainable Packaging Director, R&D, for Mars Petcare, “A significant proportion of our current product portfolio is packaged in flexible plastic packaging, which provides excellent barrier and protection for food safety, while still retaining conveyance to our pet parents in a very effective and efficient way. We do however recognize that these materials can have challenging effects on overall carbon footprint as they can be difficult to recycle. For this reason, we investigated several different options to lower the overall impact to the environment, and by adding food-safe recycled content to this solution, we believe we have managed to gain a great balance of environmental impact, while maintaining food safety.” The Sheba pouch is converted by Huhtamaki and incorporates as part of its multilayer structure SABIC’s PP BCT18F impact polymer for retort pouches, part of the company’s Trucircle portfolio. The Trucircle advanced recycling process involves taking mixed plastic waste and recycling it through pyrolysis into an oil that can be used as the feedstock to produce a range of plastics with the same characteristics and functionality as virgin plastic. According to SABIC, one of the most critical issues that had to be overcome by the joint development team for the Sheba pouch was receiving approval for the complex, new packaging structure, as it needed to be able to withstand a retort temperature of 135°C for 60 minutes. “As with any packaging process, particularly when food-contact approval is needed, there are strict protocols that are required to be followed when validating new materials,” says Smith. “The process
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here was no different, and given the application for this material requires high temperature and pressures to ensure food safety and shelf life, even greater attention need to be paid for the transition to appear seamless to our pet parents. “The seal strength in particular was a focal point, as without good physical properties here, the food packaged would not actually pass the process required for it to be processed and appear on shelf. This, along with significant shelf-life testing and palatability were also required to guarantee that food loss is kept to a minimum and the great flavor and nutritional value is maintained.” Smith adds that through the continued, dedicated approach of SABIC and Huhtamaki, Mars Petcare was able to successfully process Huhtamaki’s film made with SABIC Trucircle resin for the Sheba retort
application. Through this supply chain, Mars Petcare has also been able to confirm, by way of the International Sustainability Carbon Certification Scheme (ISCC), that its product has a mass balance impact on the reduction of fossil fuel consumption. Mars Petcare is rolling out the new 35-g gusseted pouch for Sheba wet cat food throughout several European markets this year, with the U.K., Poland, and Switzerland as top three in terms of amounts. The company also has hopes to expand its use of the certified circular material to other brands in its portfolio, depending on availability. “The future availability of these advanced recycled materials is slowly becoming more transparent, and with this increased visibility, we will be able to plan and schedule increased rollout of these products with more accuracy,” Smith says. “Having carried out the due diligence and hard work in approving these materials along with ongoing trials and approvals with advanced recycled materials in general, we hope to be able to accelerate our rollout across our product range throughout 2022.” PW
3/18/22 3:05 PM
Pets are reliable, loyal, and full of love. We provide these same benefits through our sustainable flexible packaging solutions for pet food and treats including recyclable, post-consumer recycled, & high barrier packaging. Proudly assembled in the USA. From start to finish Glenroy® can help brands every step of the way.
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3/18/22 3:07 PM
Inspection & Testing Equipment The following companies are leading suppliers of checkweighers, metal detectors, package & material testing equipment, vision inspection systems, and x-ray systems. To see all product categories, please visit Packworld.com/leaders. CheCkweighers
CheCkweighers
Raptor Checkweighers Enhance Equipment Hygiene
Maximize OEE and Boost Your Profits
Raptor series Checkweighers are built for efficiency. The unique conveyor can be easily unclipped from the system to sanitize and equipment maintenance can be accomplished without using tools, improving food safety and enhancing the ease of use.
Our checkweighers are available in a wide range of sizes and configurations to handle nearly any container type or package design even at high production rates to ensure accurate product delivery, reduced giveaway, and an optimized production processes.
Metal detectors
Metal detectors
Accurately detect metal in 50 - 100 pound bags of dry product
Metal Detection with Automatic Reject In-Stock for Quick Delivery
Bunting’s meTRON™ 07 CI can detect 316 stainless steel as small as 2.0mm and ferrous/ non-ferrous metal particles as small as 1.5mm when inspecting bags of dry product between 50-100lbs. For more information visit www.buntingmagnetics.com
Metal detectors
Eriez Xtreme Metal Detector conveyor systems are now available with fully automated reject devices for continuous production with no belt stoppage. Includes Air Blast or Push Arm reject devices with integrated controls, easy-to-use touchscreen interface.
Package & material testing equiPment
Protect Consumers and Your Brand
High Speed Leak Inspection for Non-Pressurized Plastic Containers We offer a broad range of solutions for keeping metal contaminants out of your bulk, packaged, gravity fed or pumped products for ultimate food safety and brand protection. All systems are backed by custom engineering and nationwide field service.
TapTone’s Compression and Dual Sensor Compression systems identify leaking containers on high speed bottling lines. Accurate leak detection as small as 0.508 mm (0.020 in) or 0.152 mm (0.006 in) (application, system. and container dependent)
Vision inspection systems
Vision inspection systems
Regulatory Compliance and Brand Protection
HC-A-V combines precision checkweighing with dual camera inspection
Our systems perform accurate label and package quality inspections on all types of packaged products at high speeds, Systems can also prevent label mix-up, one of the leading causes of recalls, to ensure brand protection and avoid costly lawsuits.
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The HC-A-V builds upon precision checkweighing with a company-developed vision control system that checks items from both above and below. It can handle up to 200 items per minute and is applicable for a broad array of consumer packaged goods.
3/14/22 4:24 PM
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Future leaders IN PACKAGING SC
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These market-leading companies participating in Packaging World’s 2022 Leaders in Packaging Program are named sponsors of PW’s Future Leaders in Packaging scholarship. This year’s recipient is Alexandria Technical & Community College, Mechatronics program. We appreciate the support of all participants on behalf of packaging education.
X-ray systems
X-ray systems
The Anritsu X-ray Advantage
X-Ray SHARK BULK Inspection Systems Anritsu X-rays come standard with HD imaging that outperforms competitors in finding metal, bone, glass and stone contaminants. Our XR75 series offers long component life plus easy operation & maintenance.
High accuracy X-ray inspection system for bulk flow materials. Detects high-density materials such as metal, ceramic, stone, plastic, or glass. Integrated rejection unit: Single or multi flap as well as air jet option to minimize product waste when rejection occurs.
X-ray systems
X-ray systems
Ensure Your Products are Free From Contaminants
TDI Packsys
By combining high-resolution, low energy x-ray technology with innovative hardware and high-performance image processing, our systems detect and reject all types of dense contaminants, measure product mass, and check for missing or broken product.
TDI Packsys is your trusted source for inspection and packaging solutions. Our expert team is here to assist with customized solutions tailored to your specific application. • X-Ray Systems • Metal Detectors • Checkweighers • Packaging Automation
Converting & Package Forming Equipment The following companies are leading suppliers of converting equipment. To see all product categories, please visit Packworld.com/leaders. Converting equipment
Converting equipment
Advanced Robotic Packaging Systems
MULTIVAC Redefines Packaging Setting Higher Market Standards The Trayfecta® G Series Former is our most versatile former. With a 5-axis servo control, it is capable of producing retail ready packages, stackable club trays and standard shipping cases with just a simple changeover.
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The RX 4.0 thermoformer is designed to offer maximum reliability and consistent pack quality at a faster process speed, while maintaining more reliable, easier operation. The X-line redefines thermoform packaging & sets new standards in the market.
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2022 FPA Awards Highlight User Experience, Shelf Impact Sustainability, technical innovation, and print quality continue to be driving forces behind advances in flexible packaging. Noteworthy among the 2022 Flexible Packaging Association (FPA) Award winners was how consumers or end users interact with the packs.
Closed-loop Enteral Feeding Pouch Wins Top Honors Designed for tube-fed patients, the EnteraLoc™ is an innovative 510(k) FDA-approved enteral device—a flexible spouted pouch with leakproof seal—for direct-connect delivery of nutrition in a safe and convenient manner. Beyond winning FPA’s Highest Achievement Award, the system garnered an impressive four Gold Awards in Packaging Excellence, Sustainability, Technical Innovation, and Expanding the Use of Flexible Packaging. Marketed by Medtrition, EnteraLoc was developed by Vonco, with contribution from nutritionDay (in the U.S.), Hoffer Plastics Corporation, Truitt Brothers/Baxter’s Foods (formulation and filling), GEDSA, and Oley Foundation. The company reports that it is the first seamless, closed-loop system that combines nutritious meals with a flexible pouch, leak-proof seal, custom-designed spout, and direct-connect ENFit® device in one complete enteral feeding system. In the U.S. alone, more than 1 million patients are placed on feeding tubes to sustain life and/or improve healing. Vonco sought to improve nutrition/hydration by providing a convenient method of gastrointestinal delivery that is simple, safe, no mess, and portable, eliminating the at-times messy dissolving and mixing steps. Traditional methods of enteral feeding include bottles, cans, or Tetrastyle packs with modular liquid nutrients, and can require measuring cups, syringes, gloves, and towels. Patients and caregivers risk clogged or occluded tubes if the nutrient is not properly mixed or thin enough. Vonco highlights that a common challenge in tube-fed patients is the difference between prescription and administration: “Clinical studies show patients are administered less than 50% of prescribed protein due to the time it takes nursing to prepare and deliver these products.” EnteraLoc offers a simple connection, and a squeeze of the innovative pouch quickly and safely administers nutrients. EnteraLoc with the ENFit connector—the ISO 80369-3 connector design—results in higher rates of administration improved compliance and outcomes. The ENFit connector on the end of the feeding tube will only connect with an ENFit-compatible enteral port. It delivers products includ-
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ing liquid protein and fiber modulars, both blended and non-blended. With a product used in a range of settings—hospital, long-term care facility, rehab facility, or home care setting—ease of use is key. The flexible package allows for near total evacuation of the product, with a leak-proof seal that prevents leaks in transit, warehousing, or use, resulting in less waste. It eliminates the need for traditional enteral packaging in the form of rigid bottles or Tetra -style packs. When compared with rigid plastic bottles, the lighter and more portable package uses up to 60% less plastic while requiring approximately 50% less energy to produce. The design requires fewer trucks for transportation compared to rigid containers, reducing carbon footprints associated with shipping. The system is a contract manufactured medical device sold by brand owners (using their liquid or blenderized formula) direct to hospitals, health systems, and home care patients. As a turnkey solution, EnteraLoc reduces complexity, as well as costs and risks of sourcing, manufacturing, and distributing enteral feeding. “We’ve dramatically reduced the risk to brand owners by offering
turnkey contract manufacturing services,” says Kyle Vlasak, VP of Sales at Vonco. “Our enteral feeding system can be fully customized by the brand owner, including preferred formulation, pouch designs, shapes, sizes, hang holes and spout locations.” Products are available in several sizes to meet patient needs (60mL, 250mL, 330mL, 500mL, 1000mL). The EnteraLoc spout was designed specifically to accommodate high-speed filling; the caps can be used in the same feeder bowl system, enabling an easy changeover on the filling line. Customizable for formula brand owners, the pouch features a laminated and custom-printed structure suitable for the harsh retort environment, also required for high protein formulations. It features rotogravure retort grade printing in vibrant colors. Available QR codes and peel-off labels increase patient engagement. For patients and caregivers, the system represents a time-saving and dignified feeding option offering mobility in an easy-to-grasp pouch. As Vonco highlights, feeding with EnteraLoc may only require 25% of the time it used to with traditional feeding components, allowing nurses to concentrate on other tasks at hand. —Keren Sookne
High Quality Gold Print Earns Gold Award in Printing The Repêchage® brand of skin care products promises “Beauty from the Sea,” and it delivers with its Vita Cura line of products based on sustainable, Maine-harvested seaweed (95 to 99% seaweed content). An upscale branch of this product line, titled the Vita Cura Gold collection, recently launched with what the company calls its Vita Cura B3 Lifting Mask. This is an at-home sheet mask that combines kappaphycus alvarezii extract and caesalpinia spinosa fruit extract to create an invisible film on the surface of a consumer’s skin. This provides an immediate lifted and contoured appearance. The face mask needed a singledose pack that would simultaneously deliver on luxurious looks and nearly three-year’s worth of shelf life. Supplier and converter LPS Industries, LLC leaned into the gold theme with highquality flexographic printing satisfying the prestige-brand appearance. The gold printing was good enough to earn it a Gold in Printing in the 2022 FPA Awards, as well as a Silver Award in Shelf Impact. Meanwhile, the laminated structure of film, adhesive, and foil provides 36-month shelf life.
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“This pouch has an upscale, salon[-quality] shelf appeal and outstanding detailed printing with gold layered tones,” says Paul Harencak, VP, LPS Industries. “[It uses] finely layered gold tones with [a] gold flood coat, and features distinct color separation and clean, detailed lines with reflective center image. We have a talented in-house graphics department, an eight-color wide print press, and we make and mount all of our own plates, so we control every aspect of the printing to finest of detail.” Converter and printer LPS also worked in concert with the brand owner’s lab to conduct round-robin testing. It sent die line art for brand approval to ensure every detail of the image was correct, including the reflective center artwork achieved via detailed layering and blocking of the image while printing. “We love the package—the look, the printing, and it’s of great quality,” says David Sarfati, COO of Repêchage. “We also love the way that the product has great longevity [shelf life] on the shelf for almost 36 months, so we’re very happy with it. Consumers do, too, as we’re selling it in more than 50 countries.” —Matt Reynolds
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Scrumptiously Printed ‘Box Pouch’ Expands Distribution, Consumer Convenience for Gourmet Popcorn Popcornopolis is known for its gourmet popcorn in “wildly delicious flavors,” made from American-grown, non-GMO corn, and packaged in an iconic clear-film triangular tube. In early 2020, the company approached long-time packaging supplier Bryce Corp. to develop a new packaging option for its products— one that could be merchandized in a variety of retail outlets, maintain the integrity of the popcorn, stand out on shelf, and give consumers the option to reseal the contents. Says Popcornopolis Senior Brand Manager Paige Robinson, “With that in mind, we wanted to delight the customer and ensure their second snacking experience was as delicious and fresh as the first.” The resulting package from Bryce is a Totani flat-bottom, stand-up “Box Pouch” made from a multilayer, high-barrier film construction, printed in high-definition flexo, and fitted with a Presto Fresh-Lock press-to-close zipper. Said by Bryce to be “truly one of a kind in the segment,” the exquisitely rendered Popcornopolis Double Drizzle Pouch is the winner of an FPA Gold Award for Shelf Impact. Shares Bryce Corp. VP Research and Development Patrick
Clark, Bryce’s goal for the functionality of the package was to create a structure that improved product freshness and shelf life via excellent moisture, oxygen, and light barriers and allowed for package integrity throughout distribution. To meet these requirements, it selected a five-layer, extrusion-laminated film, made from PET/white opaque polyethylene/metallized PET/PE/ linear low-density PE. Explains Clark, the layers were chosen, respectively, for high print quality, heat stability for pouch manufacturing, and high tensile strength; adhesion, stiffness, opacity, and puncture-resistance; moisture, oxygen, and light barrier and opacity; adhesion and puncture-resistance; and high seal strength, puncture-resistance, toughness, and hermeticity. The box-pouch style, manufactured by Bryce on a Totani Box Pouch machine, offers a number of advantages for the Popcornopolis brand. Among them, says Clark, is shelf stability, as the sturdier base prevents tipping, “spectacular” on-shelf presentation, a larger primary display panel and two side panels for a total of five printable surfaces, and an easy open-andreclose feature—a first for the ready-to-eat popcorn category—
PET
Sleeve Seal shrink sleeve labelers take guess work out of labeling for the highest efficiencies. Easy and affordable to operate with multiple format options.
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that not only provides consumer convenience, but also helps reduce food waste. For the bag graphics, Popcornopolis created a design incorporating the brand’s iconic tube packaging. Says Clark, “Converting the cone-shaped pouch to an opaque structure required focused attention to detail to create an image on all sides of the box
PET & rPET P roducer
Converters/Bottlers
pouch that accurately depicted the delicious popcorn inside.” Because the structure is different on the gussets and the front and back panels, Clark explains that the job required two different color separations “The images had to match visually as they cascaded across the different panels of the package,” he says. “Using Expanded Color Gamut separations in the process images allowed a larger gamut and more grey levels to overcome the impact of the metallized film in the structure.” The bag is flexo-printed in nine colors, including ECG Orange and pearlescent inks. Clark says Bryce also used FM (frequency modulated) screens in the highlights to provide as much detail in the popcorn as possible. He adds that the job also required a color match of the popcorn inside the clear tube and a field of popcorn exploding outside the image. The bag, in a 7.5-oz size, was introduced to retail in March 2021 for five indulgent popcorn varieties and according to Robinson was received by consumers with unanimous delight. The new offering is available via the Popcornopolis website, as well as in select retailers nationwide. —Anne Marie Mohan
Consumers/Collectors
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ENABLING A PET CIRCULAR ECONOMY. DAK Americas, an Alpek Polyester Business, is the We are growing our recycling initiatives to meet the needs of today’s consumers and brand companies who are demanding PET products with a recycle content. By actively participating and enabling circular economies, we are fostering increased sustainability and reduced impact on the environment.
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Tyson Meal Kit Shines Through in Flexible, PE-Stream-Ready Carrier Pouch Tyson® Brand, the ubiquitous protein producer best known for chicken, has a corporate goal of incorporating better, more sustainable plastics in its brand packaging. One example of it working toward this goal is in a new package design for its Instant Pot Meal Kits, which use Amcor’s AmPrima™ Recycle Ready Pouch. For their efforts, the Tyson and Amcor meal kit pouch collaboration received a 2022 Gold Award from the FPA for Expanding the Use of Flexible Packaging. The pouch, says Amcor, is a future-ready new flexible technology. The Tyson Meal Kit outer carry pouch, made of new AmPrima PE Plus proprietary film, showcases the next-generation flexible packaging materials now available to sustain the drive toward recyclable plastics and reduction of virgin and harmful materials, a common goal of the top 100 consumer goods brands, including Tyson. The film solves one of the flexible packaging industry’s biggest sustainability challenges. Many mixed-material flexible barrier films perform very well as packaging and on production lines, but are unable to be recycled. Amcor conducted years of research on how to replace layers that aren’t compatible with the PE film recycling stream. The new material delivers high levels of clarity, stiffness, and heat and abuse resistance—qualities that are unavailable in any other recycle-ready films on the market today, according to the company. As in other Amcor AmPrima films, the drop-in AmPrima PE Plus solution is fully functional with appropriate price/value. That means it’s not only a sustainable solution, but a highly practical one that’s good for brands and business. The new material will not compromise filling performance, graphics or printing, or barrier properties, according to the company. In this Instant Pot Meal Kit application, the film is used in a new flexible carrier pouch, which allows Tyson to make significant improvements over the existing three-part rigid packaging system. Based on an ASSET™ environmental life cycle assessment, the new pouch exhibits sustainability improvements that can be illustrated in relatable, real-life ways. For instance, it provides an 80% reduction in overall carbon footprint (fossil fuel), the equivalent of 62 cars driven for one year. It also uses 84% less water to produce, the equivalent of 9,200 10-minute showers. It provides an 80% reduction in non-renewable primary energy demand, equal to 2490 CFL lightbulbs burning for one year. And it provides a 75% reduction in baseline packaging weight, from .060 kg to .015 kg per package. These dramatic gains provide a promising alternative for a wide range of brand packaging applications, extending the use of flexible packaging into sustainable new territory, and reframing the plastics narrative through a more positive lens. The large, clear pouch gives consumers a 360-deg view of the fresh kit ingredients. Because the graphics are reverse-printed into the outer carrier (eliminating the need for a label), brand graphics are not impacted by the high-humidity, high-abuse environments of food distribution and retailing. Since the materials are recycle ready and are eligible for the How2Recycle Store Drop-Off logo, the package allows Tyson to further influence consumer engagement and provide the sustainable choices today’s consumers seek. After all, according to a 2021 survey conducted by the Boston Consulting Group, 67% of consumers consider it important that the products they buy are in recyclable packaging, and more than half take sustainable packaging into consideration during purchase. —Matt Reynolds
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SY N T H E T I C PA P E R
THERE ARE SOME PLACES YOU DON’T WANT BRAND RECOGNITION. Make landfill-free your brand’s goal. Include YUPO® as part of your package design future with recyclable, liner-free YUPO IML, which becomes part of your blow-molded bottle. Think of your brand’s “end-of-life” and “Do it on YUPO.TM ” • Design for a circular economy
• Design for recyclability
• Design for proper collection and sorting • Design for efficiency – no liner waste
THE SOLUTION TO YOUR SUSTAINABILITY DEADLINE
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The Compact 24 is a monoblock machine integrating the critical process of counting tablets or capsules. This monoblock design includes: • Higher production efficiencies. • Easy cleaning, fast changeover time. • 2D, 3D & NIR product vision inspection. • Single tablet reject capability. • Product count verification with inline check weighing. • Servo driven rotary capper with torque control. “Easily upgrade any production line with a Compact 24 and start getting your Return on Investment NOW!” MARCHESINI GROUP USA, WEST CALDWELL, NJ T. 973 575 7445 - INFO@MARCHESINIUSA.COM marchesiniusa.com
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KitKat Mini Moments Make a Big Shelf Impact Nestlé Middle East launched KitKat Mini Moments in 2018 for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) region. KitKat Mini Moments are made with 100% certified sustainable cocoa and are individually wrapped inside a flexible, stand-up pouch. The pouch, designed by Emirates Printing Press LLC, is not only recyclable, but it was also recognized with a Gold Shelf Impact Flexible Packaging Achievement Award from the FPA for its matte coating. To create the package structure, the pouching parameters had to be set carefully for good sealing quality and finish of the pouch since the full lamination is orientated polypropylene (OPP) film and polyethylene (PE)-based, according to Joseph Binoy, Senior Sales Manager of Emirates Printing. To make the lamination recyclable, OPP non-heat sealable film and metalized biaxially-oriented polypropylene (BOPP) are used on both sides of the treated material instead of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and metalized PET. The pouch also has laser scoring for easy tearing by the consumer. “In coordination with the customer, the recyclable pouch was developed as a sustainability initiative,” says Binoy. “Mono[-layer] material contributes to the sustainability of this package. [We used] dominating red and matte colors with the three-dimensional shape to grab attention on the shelf.” —Natalie Craig
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Recyclable Stand-Up Pouch Boasts Luring Design In the Middle East, Nestlé is known for its Mackintosh’s Quality Street Confections. The brand’s latest addition to the line of confections were dates in three different flavors: praline hazelnut, caramel hazelnut, and toffee almond. The dates are individually packed to maintain a smooth texture and sold in a striking stand-up pouch. The pouch, made of biaxially-oriented polypropylene (BOPP), metalized BOPP (MET BOPP), and polyethylene (PE), was recognized with a Gold Flexible Packaging Achievement Award in the Printing category from the FPA for its use of rich, vibrant colors and appealing visual effects. Emirates Printing Press, LLC, achieved the package’s look with eight-color gravure printing that makes the pouch distinctive with a matte surface and a high-resolution product image. The stand-up pouch was designed for the Middle East region with the goal of creating an impact on the shelf, while also making the package recyclable to be more environmentally friendly. The pouch was also designed with a resealable zipper to keep the product fresh longer. —Natalie Craig
LIQUIDS IN BAGS VERTICAL FORM FILL SEAL MACHINES BY GENERAL
Ahmad Tea Awarded Gold in Printing for Anti-Counterfeit Package Ahmad Tea has a rich 35-year history, which started in Hampshire, England, and reaches more than 80 countries today. Because of the brand’s global popularity, it sees a lot of counterfeit products being sold into the market, according to Joseph Binoy, Senior Sales Manager of Emirates Printing Press LLC. Especially with its Cardamom Tea. When encountered with this problem, Emirates Printing suggested to the brand that it use a cast and cure printing technique on the front panel of the quad seal pouch, which is made of high-barrier metalized PET film. The cast and cure technology gives the package a holographic effect that is difficult to replicate, preventing the counterfeit duplication of the product. “This tech requires an in-built system in our state-of-the-art rotary flexo[graphic] line,” Binoy says. “The transfer of the holo[graphic] image requires precision fast drying glue and registration.” Additionally, the cast and cure technique improves overall aesthetics, which landed the company a Gold Flexible Packaging Achievement Award in the Printing category. The package is printed in eight colors using reverse printing and after the lamination process completes, the surface cast and cure is printed with a separate process. —Natalie Craig
VFFS single tube and multi-lane models accommodate fill volumes from 1 ml to 3 gallons or 10 liters with free flowing to viscous products in pillow, 3 side seal, 4 side seal and square bottom bags. General has manufactured VFFS machines for packaging liquids in bags for over 50 years. All of General’s broad range of liquid fillers are designed and made in-house. General designs and builds applicators for caps, pumps, and other dispensing devices. For more information, please contact:
General Packaging Equipment Co. 6048 Westview Drive • Houston, Texas 77055 P: 713-686-4331 • F: 713-683-3967 www.generalpackaging.com sales@generalpackaging.com
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Nestlé Canada’s Smarties Pouch Moves from Plastic to Paper In mid-2021, the big news from Nestlé Europe was its successful transition from flexible film to paper packaging for 419 SKUs of its popular Smarties brand chocolate candies. It was two years in the making and a first for the confectionery industry. At the same time, Nestlé Canada had the same ambitions for its bottom-gusseted, stand-up Smarties pouch. For this, it enlisted the help of American Packaging Corp. (APC). Given the paper used by Nestlé Europe did not have the required FDA approvals in the U.S. and Canada, APC needed to chart its own course in creating the paper replacement. Its development of a recyclable SUP made from paper with a plastic-free barrier earned APC two FPA Gold Awards, for Packaging Excellence and Technical Innovation, and a Silver Award for Sustainability. APC Manager of Innovation & Sustainability Jeff Travis explains that the key goal of the project was to mimic the functionality of plasticbased packaging while maintaining speed on press. “Developing a paper structure to replace conventional plastic can be challenging, since there are key differences when it comes to printing, pouch-making, and package performance,” he says. The bag material developed by APC and converted into premade pouches for Nestlé Canada comprises Forest Stewardship Council-certified, surfaceprinted paper, a heat-resistant overlacquer, and a water-based dispersion coating. The key in selecting Read how Nestlé Europe the paper was to find a grade that could meet the created paper requirements for toughness, high print quality, seal packaging for strength, and consumer acceptance, without the 419 Smarties addition of film. Nestlé Canada especially required SKUs. the material to be durable enough to handle forming and tucking of the SUP’s bottom gusset, merchandising with a hangtag, and handling. APC arrived at a toughened grade of paper (specifications are proprietary) that not only met VibFeedersAd.qxp_Layout 1 2/12/21requirements 12:37 PM Page 1 for robustness and durability, but
also enabled a synergy between a special heat-seal coating and the paper’s fibers. The material begins its conversion by being gravure-printed in an average of nine colors, depending on variety. The proprietary overlacquer, applied in-line on the press, adds heatresistance, protects the surface-printed paper from rubbing and scuffing in use, and offers the required coefficient of friction needed for the material to run smoothly on the conversion equipment. The alsoproprietary dispersion coating—applied on a separate coater to accommodate longer drying times—was selected by APC for its enhanced seal performance and resistance to chocolate and grease. Applied in a very thin layer, the coating has been shown not to interfere with repulpability, making it recyclable. Concludes Travis, “Achieving the optimal combination of paper and coating was key to this sustainable packaging. This was rewarding in reducing dependency on fossil-fuel materials and giving consumers a paper structure that offers sufficient durability, presence on shelf, and product protection.” —Anne Marie Mohan
Long Overhang, High Capacity
Vibratory Feeders With 100% more capacity (45 tph) and twice the available tray size/mass than our next largest feeder, Eriez high capacity 76 Series Electromagnetic Vibratory Feeders are designed for packaging applications with high head loads or needing exceptionally long overhang. •Handles high head loads •Exceptionally long overhang •Up to 45 tph •High speed and high deflection drives
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Eriez.com | 814.835.6000 3/21/22 10:55 AM
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Paper Cosmetic Tube Changes Game for Skincare Products WoW Skin Science, an Indian skincare company, will package its range of Vitamin C face wash with UFlex’s Kraftika paper tube. The brand has been able to enhance its sustainability footprint and has positioned its face wash with much more confidence on the retail shelves. The Kraftika tube was developed to reduce plastics and the overall impact on the environment compared to that of a traditional plastic tube used for skincare and cosmetic products, and it was recognized with a Gold Flexible Packaging Achievement Award for Packaging Excellence from the FPA. The tube also won a Silver Award for Expanding the Use of Flexible Packaging and another for Technical Innovation. The tube is made with Forest Stewardship Council(FSC) certified virgin kraft paper, which helps reduce the tube’s body weight by up to 45%. To strike a balance between sustainability, performance, and aesthetics, biaxially-oriented polypropylene (BOPP) film is laminated to the kraft paper and is further laminated to barrier polypropylene (PP), which provides necessary barrier properties to extend shelf life. The cap of the tube is made of PP, but UFlex is evaluating ways to reduce the cap size and increase the paper content of the entire package. The tubes have strong barrier properties with a low moisture absorption rate and high bursting strength, which provide all the features of plastic tubes while being more ecofriendly. The tube offers a rustic paper look and feel with matte finish film and rotogravure printing. “The need to develop a tube that has multiple attributes and casts the least impact on the environment was a long-felt need,” says Aarti Laxmanan, Head of Corporate Communication, UFlex. —Natalie Craig
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Digitally Printed Hershey Wrappers Celebrate Women challenge of replicating the brand’s iconic metallic lettering, but in blue, yellow, and red on a digital press was Printpack, which has been honored with a Gold Award in Shelf Impact from the FPA for its efforts. The Celebrate SHE Campaign was undertaken as a form of unique media and a vehicle to celebrate acts of courage and determination by women. As part of the campaign, Hershey created a small batch of bars with wrappers emphasizing the SHE in its name, capitalizing the letters and printing them in different colors. Four versions were created: three of the four used a single, but different color for SHE, the fourth used all three colors. According to Mark Brogan, Senior Director of Marketing for Printpack, one of the challenges of the project was that Hersey wanted to keep the silver metallic look for the other letters, however silver metallic ink was not available for digital printing. “Printpack colTough and reliable. Engineered to work hard so you don't have to. laborated with [prepress company] Phototype and Hershey to develop the metallic look,” he explains. Perfectly positioned, with its name containing the three letters “SHE,” The Hershey Company tweaked its packaging for the first time in its history in March 2021 in support of International Women’s Day—an initiative near and dear to Hershey and its customers. Taking on the
Printer Applicators
Read more from Packaging World about the Hershey’s campaign.
Bio-based Material Brings Pouch to Life
3138-TS Versatile workhorse serves many industries and a variety of applications. 3138-N Merge The model of choice when speed and greater label placement accuracy are required. 3138-N DAT Dual Action Tamp technology for multi-panel applications. We offer most OEM print engines.
Lamb Weston launched what it says is a truly circular sustainable packaging scenario for its line of Alexia Organic frozen potato products. The film used in the packaging of this product is partially made from plant-based starches, 16% by weight, including processing bi-product from the manufacturing of french fries—the very product being packaged. Not only is this packaging replacing plastic material with bio-based content, but it is also finding a new home for french fry bi-product. Supplied by American Packaging Corporation, The pack earned a 2022 FPA Gold Award for Sustainability and a Silver for Packaging Excellence. This unique level of circularity also caught Packaging World’s eye last year. Use the QR code at right to access the article we published on it. —Matt Reynolds
888.664.8111
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essentially becomes the brand ambassador. It’s like an ad, but better, due to its potential social impact. This puts packaging in the realm of more than just protection and is a way to advance the use of flexible packaging.” —Anne Marie Mohan “After several iterations, a white screen over metallized foil replicated the silver-metallic look of the brand. The print web was reverse-printed and adhesive-laminated to the sealant film.” The limited-edition bars were distributed to the first 1,000 visitors at each of Hershey Chocolate World locations, in Hershey, Penn., New York’s Times Square, and Las Vegas. Says Brogan, to minimize waste and obsolete inventory, and to ensure the four versions were equally distributed, they were run in an A-B-C-D sequence on the press. “The bars went from concept to creation in a mere four weeks,” he adds. The campaign generated considerable earned media, Brogan shares, with hundreds of posts, reposts, and likes on social media platforms. The story was also covered by local and national news outlets, for additional earned media. “The idea of using limitededition products as a form of media means the packaging must take center stage,” he says. “The packaging
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ENERGY EFFICIENT
44 PW APR2022
DRYING Paxton’s high efficiency blowers and air delivery devices improve drying of cans and bottles for high quality labeling and coding, while using 60–80% less energy, typically giving a one year ROI.
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Nearly Half PCR, Beachbody Pouches are Eye-Catchers In a recent product launch, Beachbody® partnered with American Packaging Corporation (APC) to debut its Cookies & Creamy flavored Shakeology® brand stand-up pouch. This pouch is novel as it incorporates 45% post-consumer recycled (PCR) content at a minimum, earning it Gold recognition in the 2022 FPA Awards for Sustainability. But the recognition didn’t stop there. It’s also great looking pack, taking home a Gold Award in both Packaging Excellence and Shelf Impact, as well. “While the initial push was to bring to market very quickly, it was important that we do our due diligence in the areas of product integrity and supply chain concerns with regards to PCR availability,” says Sanford Fitelson, Senior Manager, Packaging, Beachbody. “Beachbody is very pleased with the results and so excited about the progress we’ve made that we’ve continued our sustainability journey into other areas.” The pouch is a flexographically printed multi-material lamination of PET, MET PET, and LLDPE produced at APC’s Story City, Iowa facility. “We designed the packaging to make sure it provided robust performance, including maintaining the barrier and stiffness,” says Seth Holmen, Corporate Director of R&D and Technical Solutions, APC. “One interesting fact about the package is that two of the three layers used to create this package have 90% PCR in them, which is a very high level of recycled content. We wanted a consumerfriendly package that was easy to open and that would grab the consumer’s attention from a print/ graphic quality standpoint, all while transitioning to post-consumer recycled content.” According to Fitelson, flexible packaging saves a lot of space. It takes 11 trucks to transport a year’s worth of empty bags to his manufacturing/filling sites. Conversely, it would take 177 trucks to transport empty jars and caps to those filling sites. Meanwhile, consumers are starting to seek out these qualities. For instance, what once were perceived as superficial flaws in PCR—at least in comparison to pristine, fossil fuel-based virgin resins—are now seen as negligible. Or better yet, they are seen as visual evidence that the pack is indeed more sustainable. “An interesting fact about all flexible materials containing PCR is the appearance of small bumps, which is PCR content on the outside of the package. After shelf life and performance testing was complete, we produced a full lot of finished product and tested it with our customers to see if there was any negative feedback or perceptions before the full launch,” Fitelson says. “The good news is the minor cosmetic differences were not seen as a negative to our customers.” Quite the opposite, the packs look great. The quality of the photographic images APC produced was key, as well as a combination of the highest-quality separations, HPE Flexo™ high-resolution plate imaging, state-of-the art printing presses, and the most skilled press technicians that use tried-and-true methods to achieve the desired outcome, Holeman adds. While it launched in Beachbody’s new Cookies & Creamy flavor, the project went so well that the new PCR pouch material was rolled out across all of the brand’s flavors, including all single-serve packets. The company is also converting other flexible pouches and singles used for its Daily Sunshine, 3-Day Refresh, and an entire new lineup of Ladder brand of supplements. —Matt Reynolds
PA X T O N P R O D U C T S . C O M
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Digital and Flexographic Printing Create Appealing Birdseed Package Volkman Pet Products is known for its Featherglow line of quality bird seed blends. Recently, the company updated its packaging and added a carbon dioxide flush to eliminate oxygen from the product and ensure that its customers get a fresh bag of quality seed. Creating a fresh, pest-free seed product can be a challenge since insect eggs and larva can be hard to detect when seeds and grains are being harvested and then packaged. To showcase the freshness of its product while also creating a package that stands out on shelves, the company partnered with PPC Flexible Packaging (PPC) on its Volkman Seed Featherglow Large Parrot Bag. This bag immediately draws attention with its vibrant colors and captivating image of a blue-and-gold macaw, and a see-through window allows shoppers to ensure the product is fresh and pest-free. According to PPC, this package was printed on both digital and flexographic printing presses to meet SKU and production
run requirements, which is normally a difficult challenge in quality matching. Using Project Blue, a patented anilox and screening technology that delivers ultra-high-definition quality comparable to 300-line screen, PPC met the quantity needs of the customer while also matching the digital quality. As a result, the Volman Seed Featherglow Large Parrot Bag was awarded a Gold Flexible Packaging Achievement Award in the Printing category from the FPA. —Natalie Craig
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Frito-Lay Achieves Ambition for a Quieter, 100% Bio-based Snack Bag You may recall the infamous compostable, bioplastic bag launched by PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division in 2010 for its SunChips brand snack (see pwgo.to/7527)—you know, the one that caused an uproar among consumers due to its unprecedentedly loud crinkling noise? PepsiCo was ahead of its time, but it never gave up on its ambition to create a compostable material capable of replacing the plastic used for its single-use snack bags. In fall 2021, it realized this goal in the form of an industrially compostable bag made primarily from proprietary, non-food, plant-based materials for its Off The Eaten Path chip brand. Frito-Lay partnered with Printpack to develop the bag, which has earned the supplier Gold and Silver FPA Awards for Sustainability and Packaging Excellence, respectively. Rest assured, with the new bag, Printpack made noise reduction a priority. Explains Mark Brogan, Senior Director of Marketing for Printpack, “It was observed early in the package development that the increased rigidity and stiffness of the bio-based material made the overall package more audibly
distinguishable, that is to say, louder, during normal handling than the existing, non-compostable offering. To that end, special sound/frequency dampening technology was employed in the structure to reduce the overall volume and range of sound produced during product enjoyment.” Brogan notes that the OTEP bag is unique in that the entirety of the materials used—among them, the print web, barrier sealant webs, inks, and adhesive—had to meet current, often stringent, third-party certification requirements for industrial compostability. He shares that the proposed structure in its entirety underwent third-party certification testing over several months prior to receiving approval for final commercial launch. Printing of the new bag material required a number of process enhancements, Brogan notes. “Due to the historically rougher printing surface of bio-based film materials coupled with the unique formulation of the compostable inks, graphic separations for the standard packaging structure were insufficient and had to be redeveloped,” he says. To ensure the highest level of graphic quality could be
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stable bio-based materials to be processed acceptably. According to Frito-Lay, which invested in the project as part of its pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) strategic end-to-end sustainable transformation, producing the materials used for the bags creates approximately 60% fewer GHG emissions than traditional packaging. To further the use of the material across the CPG industry, PepsiCo has made the technology available for license to other companies at no cost. The industrially compostable OTEP bags were introduced in September in Whole Foods Market stores and in other select retailers. Consumers are alerted to the change via new copy on the packaging that broadcasts its compostability, a claim that is supported by an on-pack Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) icon for Commercially Compostable Certification. A QR code advises consumers how to compost the bags: They can either sign up for TerraCycle’s recycling program and mail the packaging to them using a prepaid shipping label, or they can locate a local composting drop-off location through an easy-touse database. —Anne Marie Mohan
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SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING
Reusable Corrugated Cases Save Auto Parts Supplier $10M in 24 Months A simple, yet ingenious, innovation that allows for reuse of corrugated shippers with partitions for auto parts suppliers helps save Yanfeng Automotive Interiors $10 million over 24 months. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
Reusable corrugated cases
Innovation in case partitions
By Anne Marie Mohan, Senior Editor If you were to ask someone outside of packaging what the industry is all about, most likely you’d get a response such as, “It’s something about boxes.” But industry insiders know that packaging is a vast, complex, technology-driven business that touches consumers’ lives every day. In this environment, even the most mundane-looking box may be the result of careful engineering and innovation that imparts greater performance, functionality, and sustainability. Such is the case with the P2 returnable corrugated shipping case for the automotive industry, designed by Rudy Youell, formerly President of American Corrugated Prod-
With the P2, the partitions are glued directly to the box. This eliminates the air cells, allowing for more items per box, and it also provides the case with greater strength.
Standard corrugated shippers with partition inserts for auto parts require air cells, or open spaces, around the entire inside wall of the case, reducing the number of parts that can fit in a box.
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ucts and now CEO & President of P2 Packaging. The P2 shipper uses custom-designed partitions for auto parts and can be easily collapsed for return and reuse. It’s a simple concept, yet it’s one that has saved customers in the auto industry millions of dollars. Yanfeng Automotive Interiors is one of the beneficiaries of these savings. The Chinese-owned global automotive supplier of interior trim components, with U.S. headquarters in Novi, Mich., has been using P2
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Packaging for six years—first as a one-way shipper, and beginning in 2019, as a reusable box. According to David Colclough, Senior Buyer – North American Packaging for Yanfeng, after just 24 months, the company saved $10 million by reusing the shippers. The cost savings are the result of a number of factors, mostly stemming from the increased number of parts that can be shipped in each custom container and the reuse of the box. But there are many other soft-cost savings, including improved stack strength and ease of use, more efficient warehousing, and greater sustainability. “In the 30 years I’ve been involved with automotive packaging, nothing has moved the needle like the P2 concept,” says Colclough. “If I can save Yanfeng $10 million across a dozen programs, I’m certain the P2 would save a large OEM like Ford or Tesla $100 million or more. If implemented across the entire automotive industry, the P2 could easily save a billion dollars.”
these components was a rigid plastic tote. Explains Colclough, “Rarely does it make sense to use returnable containers for shipping parts that distance [for Yanfeng, parts come from Mexico] because of the freight cost, which is $4,000-plus for a truck from Michigan to Mexico. The beauty of a P2 design is that it can be collapsed and returned for reuse, in some cases over 10 times. The return ratio is approximately 13:1, which is considerably better than anything else I’m aware of.”
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Designing an optimized shipper The idea for the P2 came to Youell during his time at American Corrugated Products, a business he started with his father in 1983 and sold in 2016. The company’s customer base was the automotive industry, a market Youell says is very competitive. “They would constantly insist on cost savings and price concessions from their suppliers,” he says. “The P2 was a way to help save our customers money without eroding our margins. The increased container density was our main focus initially, but the concept has now evolved into a semi-returnable design that can be reused, in many cases over 10 times each. This is saving our customers millions, and the positive impact on the environment is astonishing.” Traditionally, auto parts suppliers use an expendable corrugated box with a separate, slotted partition inside to ship parts. There are several drawbacks to this design. First, when the partitions are created for the cases, they have tabs at the end of each divider, which create what are referred to as air cells. The air cells consist of open space around the entire inside wall of the box. This reduces the number of parts that can fit in each case. “You have to have the air cells to hold the partition together,” Youell explains. “A lot of times you could eliminate the tabs, but then the partitions kind of wobble.” Wasted space is also many times found at the top of the box. “They [auto parts suppliers] put the parts in boxes where, if the part is 12 inches deep, the case will be 16 inches deep,” says Youell. “If you ask them why, it’s because they only want to have certain box sizes in their plant. There’s just so much wasted space in the current automotive supply chain, it’s ridiculous.” Another drawback of the traditional shipper used by auto parts suppliers is that it’s single-use. Until the P2, the only other option for a returnable container for
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case with greater strength, as the partition creates a corner post-type structure along the side of every cell. According to Youell, P2 Packaging is actually able to use material with a lower weight than is traditionally used for a standard shipper. The P2 system is available in four configurations: the partition only, the P2 HSC (half-slotted container), the P2 RSC (regular slotted container), and the P2 FOL (full overlap). It can also be made from fiberboard and plastic corrugated, in addition to fiber-based corrugated. To efficiently manufacture the boxes, P2 Packaging developed a glue machine that speeds up the assembly process and allows the converter to better control the quality of the box. P2 Packaging’s licensed North American suppliers—Anchor Bay Packaging, The Royal Group, and Concept Packaging Group—custom-design the partiPROCESSING AND PACKAGING SOLUTIONS tions and boxes for each auto part to maximize the density of the shipper. According to Youell, it’s much • Food processing systems more viable for a customer in the auto parts industry • On-machine and process area seasoning application • Conveying and product handling to invest in the tooling for a custom box design than • Multihead/combination scale weighing and filling it would be for those in other industries, given how • Snack bagmaking and case packing long the auto parts box design will be used. “Let’s say • Metal detection and x-ray an auto maker comes out with a new car,” he posits. • Check weighing and seal checking “Once we design the case to maximize a part, such as • Controls and information systems a steering wheel or another interior part, they won’t change that part for probably six years.” Whether the case is used for expendable, semi-reWe are successful when you are successful. That’s why we apply creativity, engineering excellence, and turnable, or returnable applications, the customer still determined perseverance to every project to help saves money with more auto parts per shipper and a our customers get the performance their business more streamlined inventory.
While the idea for the shipper, in hindsight, seems like a no-brainer, Youell did encounter challenges during the project. One was finding a robust enough design that could actually be used multiple times. Another was designing it for ease of use, so that the box could be collapsed with minimal effort. With the P2, the partitions are glued directly to the box. This eliminates the air cells, allowing for more items per box. It also provides the
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Cost savings plus more benefits One of P2 Packaging’s biggest cheerleaders is Yanfeng’s Colclough, an automotive packaging professional with three decades of experience, both as a packaging engineer and as a buyer. His company operates more than 20 plants across the U.S., Mexico, and Canada and deals with nearly every automotive OEM in North America, including Ford, Tesla, BMW, GM, Kia, and VW, to name a few. The company ships millions of parts annually, with finished goods shipped in returnable packaging such as steel racks, injection-molded totes, and collapsible bulk containers. However, for component parts shipped between two different Yanfeng plants and from its Tier 2 suppliers to its manufacturing plants, the company had been using the standard, single-use box with slotted partition. Colclough learned about the P2 from Youell, whom he had worked with some years previously when American Corrugated supplied Yanfeng with traditional, single-use shippers. Six years ago, Yanfeng began using the P2 as a oneway shipper to improve its container density. According to Colclough, the average cost of a cutting die for a custom P2 shipper is $3,000, but the savings are farreaching, even if the case is only used once. “Every P2 is
LOOKING BACK. PRESSING FORWARD. ALWAYS INNOVATING.
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former shipper with separate partition only allowed for 25 parts, while a P2 with the same footprint has 42 cells, resulting in a 68% increase in box density. The skid density of the traditional shipper was 500 parts, while the skid density for the P2 is 1,008, resulting in a 101% increase. More cases on a pallet means more products on a truck. In fact, in another example, this one for a center console applique for Tesla, a redesign of the former packaging, which held 12 parts, to a P2 holding 32 parts, resulted in a skid density of 192 parts versus 96, and a truck density of 11,520 versus 5,770, eliminating 58 trucks from Michigan to California in one year. Colclough lists a number of other benefits of the P2 beginning with design and development process, which he says is very easy and can be done quickly—“in days, not weeks or months.” He adds, “I personally create almost all P2 designs used at Yanfeng, but the designers at all three companies are excellent and can easily work from CAD data or prototype/production parts to develop P2 designs. Prototypes are then cut on the sample table. We almost always send a trial shipment using The P2 system is available in four configurations and in several the P2 design to verify we don’t have any quality concerns.” different packaging materials. Once the P2 is in the warehouse, the benefits continue, as the shipper is easy to set up and assemble, with a sturdy partition that won’t fall apart. custom, which allows you to size the box/cell to get the best density,” he In addition, operators do not have to install the partition into the box, explains. “Not only can I typically get more cells in a box, but I can usualwhich saves time and labor. The P2 also has excellent stack strength, which ly eliminate wasted head space at the top of the carton, which frequently Yanfeng confirmed through early testing at a Smithers package testing lab allows me to fit another layer or two on a pallet. It’s not uncommon to in Lansing, Mich. And, the P2 reduces inventory, as Yanfeng only needs to get a 100% increase in skid density by switching over to a P2 design.” inventory a single part number that includes the box and partition. In one example, Colclough shares how, for a Ford pull handle, the 22_0583_Packaging_World_APR Mod: March 9, 2022 9:22 AM Print: 03/09/22 page 1 v2.5
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Reusable strategy pays off In 2019, after hearing of the success another auto parts supplier achieved using the P2 as a returnable shipper, Yanfeng decided to try this strategy for a Ford Explorer program. Recalls Colclough, “When we launched the first Ford program where we intended to return the P2 boxes, we had no idea how successful it would be. Most of Yanfeng was skeptical because it’s not the norm to reuse corrugated boxes. Nobody in the automotive industry to my knowledge was doing this on a large scale. Our initial hope was that we would get three turns from each box. To help track the number of turns, we put a barcode label on the P2 boxes. Mexico would scan the boxes before they were loaded with parts. We quickly accumulated data showing we were consistently getting more than five turns from just about every box and in some cases, over 10 turns. “That was an overwhelming success, and now the P2 is used on every new ai16468344255_2022 half page 9x5.4375.pdf 1 3/9/2022 launch atenercon Yanfeng andad has become our
Parts shipped to Yanfeng use a P2 HSC with a common cover over an entire layer of boxes. 8:00:28 AM
standard packaging option for all parts shipping out of Mexico.” Currently Yanfeng is using upwards of 60 unique P2 designs. While the box can be manufactured in several styles, Yanfeng primarily uses the HSC-style case, with a common cover over an entire layer of boxes. In most cases, the box portion of the design is 32 ECT C-flute, although, says Colclough, in some cases it might use a heavier material, such as a 44 ECT or double-wall material. For the partitions, most of Yanfeng’s designs use Eflute material, but it also uses chipboard partitions, Nomar (non-abrasive paper coating)-coated materials, and some polychip partitions. Originally, the boxes used by Yanfeng were taped closed at the bottom. “Just recently we started implementing a locking-bottom design to eliminate the need to tape the boxes,” says Colclough. “This will make collapsing the boxes much easier, because we will no longer need to cut the tape.”
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Another tweak made to box was the elimination of shipping labels. “When we tried to peel the labels off, the liner would tear,” explains Colclough. “We started placing a couple of placards on the outside of the box similar to what is used on returnable packaging. Now the labels can easily be peeled off without damaging the box.” All of the P2 boxes are printed with graphics on the exterior that detail the part, the program, and the return-to location. The graphics also help differentiate the P2 boxes from the other boxes used at Yanfeng’s locations. For the return process, once incoming parts are unloaded from the P2 boxes at Yanfeng’s U.S. sites, the shippers are collapsed completely flat and are placed into an overpack, for better stacking on the return trip. Estimates Colclough, between 60 and 80 P2 cases can fit on one pallet. The pallets are then picked up at each individual Yanfeng plant and routed through its consolidation network for transportation to Mexico. Says Colclough, “We can return a P2 box for approximately $0.60 to $1.10 each. This includes the freight expense, along with the cost for an overpack and heattreated pallet. We usually repurpose boxes we receive from other suppliers for the overpack. This reduces cost and waste.” Colclough uses an example of a new program comprising 10 different auto parts to summarize the savings that can be realized from reusing the P2 box: “The P2 design is slightly more expensive than the traditional box and partition combo [$2,106,351 versus $1,744,668], so if the P2 boxes are not returned, it will cost Yanfeng an additional $360,000. If the boxes are returned and reused just once, it will save Yanfeng $530,000. If the boxes are returned six times, that number jumps to $1.1 million in savings.” He adds that the cost of return logistics for the P2 needs to be added into those figures, which for Yanfeng’s designs is around $1 per box.
light the impact and importance of various types of packaging on our carbon footprint.” Yanfeng’s elimination of 58 trucks per year with the P2 shippers for the Tesla program is one very clear sustainability win. Another is the savings in packaging material and waste reduction. “By reusing the box six times, you keep five boxes out of the waste/recycling stream,” says Colclough. “Just imagine if this was done across the automotive industry for all applicable parts.”
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Inherent sustainability As P2 founder Youell shares, one aspect of the P2 container that sometimes gets buried when focusing solely on the materials and logistics cost savings of the system is its tremendous sustainability impact. According to estimates from P2, using its packaging versus a traditional shipper with partitions saves 2,114 trees, or 53 acres of trees, and reduces CO2 emissions by 372,000 lb (based on a 25,000 P2 box order, with a box measuring 24 x 24 x 24 in. with partition). This was also a consideration for Colclough in selecting the P2, as Yanfeng has an extensive sustainability roadmap and associated KPI (key performance indicators). “Our European plants are the leaders on this front,” says Colclough. “Most of the current emphasis globally is around clean energy and product development opportunities, but I’m part of the Sustainability Ambassador Team and working to high-
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A ‘no-risk’ proposition According to Youell, the P2 shipper has been in use by auto parts companies since 2010, initially for oneway shipments and, beginning in 2015, for reuse. But the number of companies embracing this packaging is still small, especially given the staggering cost savings its current customers have achieved. The largest hurdle for new customers, he surmises, is a resistance to change.
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Colclough agrees, saying that it’s difficult to introduce change into an existing work environment. You have to establish new processes and bring skeptical team members on board, he says. Project ownership is also required, driven by an internal champion. He adds that implementing the P2 returnable shipper system also requires cooperation from multiple plants and various departments, and most of all, “support from upper management is critical,” he says. “Implementing the P2 design at Yanfeng was a change, and many people/organizations struggle with change,” Colclough adds. “It took a little while to gain some traction, but eventually the numbers spoke for themselves, and management has been very supportive. As I’ve said, there is nothing else in the packaging industry that was going to save us this type of money—with almost no capital investment. The payback is immediate, and there is literally no risk.” PW
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Cartoning and Coding Line Delivers COVID-19 Vaccine Vials Equipment for cartoning, serializing, and case packing vials was designed and delivered in just a few short months. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
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By Keren Sookne, Director of Editorial Content, Healthcare Packaging With time being of the essence amid a pandemic, numerous lines for packaging COVID-19 vaccines were installed or reconfigured to meet public health needs. A major pharmaceutical CMO in the U.S. required one such expedited line for cartoning vaccine vials. They sought out ESS Technologies, Inc.—an OEM specializing in health sciences—and Videojet because of their long-standing experience in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. The new line was identical to one that the companies had provided approximately one year prior in 2020. At about the time that first line was up and running, the CMO approached ESS and asked how soon they could procure a second line. Having been deemed an essential business at the outset of the pandemic, Walt Langosch, global business development at ESS, explains they “were vetted by the Department of Defense, and we were told that this project takes priority over everything else we were doing.” ESS sent its quote in Sept. 2020. “Usually, a line of this size and complexity would probably take around 10 to 11 months, but because it was for COVID-19 and it was a priority, we had it installed and running in February 2021,” he says.
Cartoning vials
Videojet and ESS worked together to ensure the carton arrived at the coder in the right orientation. (Image credit: ESS Technologies, Inc.)
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Coming off of a Weiler Labeling Systems (WLS) VR-72 Labeler at 150 vials/min, capped five mL vials arrive at the ESS VC 30 cartoner where they are placed in a 2x5 pattern into a 10-count carton. A Fanuc SR-6iA SCARA four-axis robot erects the carton and at the next station, a partition is inserted. Cartons and vials are conveyed to the Fanuc LR200iD robotic loader, which places the vials in the carton, followed by an SR-3iA robot that inserts a pre-folded leaflet on top of the vials. See a similar line in action at pwgo.to/7529.
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ing vacuum and/or gripper technologies to create an end effector that The system closes the carton’s top flaps, and cartons are laser will handle almost any product shape. Allen Bradley controls and color marked with the lot, expiration date, and a 2D barcode by a Videojet touchscreen HMIs make the robotic systems easy to operate.” 3340 CO2 laser marking machine. The Videojet 3340 laser system is ideal for high-speed pharmaceutical serialization applications, providing marking speeds of up to 2,000 characters/sec. Videojet and ESS worked together to ensure the carton arrived at the The pharma CMO opted to have the code graded, needing to meet coder in the right orientation. the customer’s regulatory requirements and pass a certain level of acAn ESS TaskMate® system utilizing a Fanuc LR Mate robot with ESS-designed end-of-arm tooling (EOAT) picks up cartons and shows them to a camera for verification. “We manipulate the carton to code the end panel because the carton is traveling narrow-side leading down the conveyor,” explains Langosch. “When it’s on the end panel, we must pick up the carton, code it, read it with the camera, and then set it down in a different orientation to facilitate the case packing operation.” A CEL5 robotic case packer erects the case and places it on a vacuum table as product arrives at the collation station. Cartons then go into the case, and filled cases are labeled with aggregation data by a Domino labeler with a Zebra print engine. An overhead camera shoots into the case to verify that the first layer is in, then the second, and so forth. Everything is fail-safe and must be proven to be “good.” The system visually inspects to ensure there are 10 vials, a leaflet, and a coded carton. Notably, the Fanuc systems are the only robots that the CMO has at their facility, and ESS uses Fanuc robots exclusively in their applications. Columbia’s innovative and flexible palletizing solutions are engineered to ESS Technologies has been an exclusive Authorized meet the unique needs of any application. We manufacture high level, System Integrator for FANUC America since 2000. ESS floor level and robotic palletizers, load transfer stations reports that with the highest meantime between failand provide complete system integration. ure of any commercially available robot, Fanuc robots offer years of reliable performance in addition to their flexibility and ease of programming. “The wide range of Fanuc robots, offering solutions for both light payloads and heavy ones, allows ESS to integrate them for machine loading and unloading, pick-and-place, case packing, palletizing, and material handling,” says Langosch. “ESS designs the custom end-of-arm tooling us-
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curacy to be considered good. David Wales, Videojet OEM sales engineer, says, “With barcodes, if it’s an internal code that’s not customerfacing, usually it’s read-or-no read versus ABCD grading. However, if the packaging is customer-facing, the manufacturer abides by a certain regulation—usually pharmaceutical GS1 standards—and needs to be a certain grade to pass. If it doesn’t meet specifications, it is rejected.” Native software and laser firmware help Videojet lasers like the 3340
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CO2 system to meet these requirements with precise, vision-ready codes marked on the packaging. The CMO is aggregating to the case, and the code is graded at the case level, as well. The facility did not have enough room for an automated palletizer, so cases are hand-palletized. Every case is scanned before it goes out to a pallet.
Results Once the customer had the system in place, an ESS technician visited the site to check all the connections and test the system. Then there were weeks of testing and validation before the final PQ run. The line needed quite a bit of flexibility in order to produce other formats and products. “Though the line that we built was dedicated to COVID-19 at the time, they also wanted this line to be able to run the other nine or 10 products that they were running on the first line,” explains Langosch. “There were some changes that we made to this second line, because they had been running the first line for six or seven months and they could pinpoint some improvements. Then we went back to line #1 and made the same changes, so they are identical.” With other product formats in mind, a key feature that the CMO is taking advantage of is ESS’ commitment to 15-min changeover or less, with no tools. This is important to the customer when they’re changing over from one item to the next, which depends on market demands. “All movements of the robot are preprogrammed by ESS. The operator changes to another format via the HMI and the robot motions are changed automatically,” Langosch says. Unlike many traditional pick-and-place systems that may require adjustments to multiple axes, the Fanuc multi-axis robot only requires an EOAT changeover, which involves loosening thumbscrews, replacing the EOAT, and tightening thumbscrews. Videojet installation and support teams worked with ESS to take the necessary actions in meeting the accelerated timeline. “Our service team, the largest in the industry, flexed our expertise and team to optimize the installation. We have also expanded our service and support reach into customer locations through our VideojetConnect™ Remote Service. It enables remote access capabilities for technicians to troubleshoot issues. It’s been a good benefit to have during COVID—our technicians don’t make changes, but they can view the laser and what the customer is seeing onsite,” says Wales. “That’s something that we were adding before COVID happened. It just was a huge benefit—a lot of plants weren’t letting our technicians in. So, to be able to view that during the pandemic has been a big feature that’s helped us out. It helps to diagnose and resolve any issues, and if further functionality is impacted, we can have the right repair
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they give us access, we can look at their robotics and PLC and make changes. It gets them running faster, and it’s good training experience for their people because they can watch everything that’s happening and participate,” says Langosch. For other lines, ESS has a preventative maintenance program in which a series of sensors on motors look for vibration, heat transfer, and other parameters.
Watch this brief video of the packaging line cartoning, coding, and case packing vials of COVID-19 vaccines. The line for cartoning, serializing, and case packing COVID-19 vaccine vials was designed and delivered in mere months. (Image credit: ESS Technologies, Inc.) components defined and on hand to support a site service call.” ESS also offers remote access with their robotic or PLC programs for customers who want the option. Many in the pharmaceutical industry do not want outside companies going through their firewall, but on occasion, they see the benefit and they can get approval to do so. “If
“They’re in the Fanuc robots, as well. We deploy anywhere between 45 and 50 robots a year in similar applications, so their predictive maintenance program and our predictive maintenance program together provide insight for the customer,” he adds. With the success of this line, the CMO is already looking to purchase another similar cartoner, case packer, and coding solution from ESS and Videojet for a different product’s line. PW
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Flexible Pouches Replace Rigid Containers at McDonald’s Rigid containers for back-of-house condiment applications in McDonald’s foodservice settings were wasteful and bulky to store. So, the fast-food giant and its suppliers teamed up to invent a flexible packaging-based applicator solution. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
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By Matt Reynolds, Chief Editor While the Golden Arches need no introduction, it’s important to remember that the global giant relies on a robust supply chain with massive suppliers that fly just under the consumer-awareness radar. Some interesting packaging innovations spring up from partners in this supply chain. Established in 1947, Golden State Foods (GSF) is one of those partners and is one of the largest diversified suppliers in A A the foodservice industry. Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., the global company has more than 50 locations on five continents and supplies over 125,000 restaurants in B 40 countries. It produces and distributes liquid products, proteins, produce, and dairy to leading restaurant brands around the world. According to leadership, GSF’s creed and values are at the very heart of the business. “If you spend a day at Golden State Foods, you’ll not only see those things, but you’ll hear the words, you’ll see the behav- The FlexPrep portion-dispensing device is in action here in a foodservice setting. It uses iors where it’s really what I call our com- pouches (inset image) with two coextruded transparent films (A) to form the pouch body, and a pany’s promise, and it’s our job to keep blue spout (B) for pressure-based dispensing. that promise,” says Brian Dick, COO at GSF. consistent experience, regardless of the restaurant location. The quickSealed Air, a supplier of flexible packaging materials and equipservice restaurant requires portion control and efficient use of limited ment, recognized that innovation and improvement were part of its back-of-house space—something rigid containers couldn’t provide. customer GSF’s values. So, it recently approached the food manufacturer—along with GSF’s customer McDonald’s—with an innovative solution for condiment and sauce dispensing. At the time, the fast-food chain had been using rigid containers, which it said were expensive and The three stakeholders collaborated to develop a solution for backproved to be bulky in back-of-house storage, inefficient to ship, and of-house condiment dispensing, called FlexPrep® from Cryovac®. After created operational challenges. careful testing, iteration, and a partnership with Franke Foodservice The iconic McDonald’s brand aims to provide each customer with a Systems, the solution became ready for prime time in 2021. The dis-
A flexible packaging-based solution
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The FP2052 vertical form/fill/seal system (right) produces 90 pouches/min. Operators at Golden State Foods inspect condiment-filled pouches (below) coming off the vf/f/s line, ready for secondary packaging.
pensing system has earned awards from the Association for Dressings & Sauces, and more recently, GFS’s Liquid Products North America division was recognized from within with an Innovation Award. FlexPrep portion-dispensing pouches are formed and filled using Sealed Air’s unique equipment at GSF facilities in the U.S. Golden State Foods then distributes the final package to its customer’s locations where back-of-house employees use the pouches, paired with the custom dispensing unit, to provide portion-controlled consistency for each meal.
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Packaging system structure “Two coextruded films are used to create the final flexible package. This package is recycle-ready, as it has passed APR RIC4 testing protocol demonstrating compatibility in mechanical recycling,” says Jaime Hansen, Director of Marketing, Fluids, Sealed Air. “The clear body material [A] and blue spout [B] [see photo on page 60] are both multilayer coextrusions containing polyolefins and polyamide materials—all of which are designed to provide critical abuse performance and critical barriers to oxygen, should the application require it. The blue spout is precisely designed to open under a specific amount of force, only then allowing the pouch contents to exit the package. This technology enables the pouch to remain hermetically sealed until its point of placement in the dispenser and advancement of the plunger, which through pressure, opens that small area of the package.” The blue spout is a frangible seal area of the package permitting the evacuation of product when pressure is applied by the dispensing device. While the blue spout keeps the package sealed during distribution and storage, it’s easy enough to open at the correct time to allow for dispensing. The pouch is loaded into the dispenser with the spout down, and the tab is placed into the opening. This blue spout is approximately 1-in. wide and cut to be 1.25-in. long, then applied to the body material during the form/fill/seal process on the packaging equipment. “We have two body materials we offer for this solution,” Hansen says. “The main difference between them is the level of barrier delivered. The specific applications today with GSF use a medium-barrier material.” In order to form and seal this package format, Sealed Air says an operator will need a Cryovac brand FP2052 or FP3002 vertical form/fill/seal system. The main selection driver between the two models is speed. The FP2052 produces at 90 packs/min, double the output of the FP3002 (45 packs/min). The package is heat sealed, which does not impact the product, according to the company. In this application, a double-walled corrugated case constitutes secondary packaging as it leaves GSF for transport to customers like McDonald’s. The pouches are collated into groups of five and dropped into the case such that the final pouch configuration is five across by six high, or 30 20-oz packages per case.
Watch a video illustrating the entire FlexPrep portiondispensing system lifecycle, from forming and filling on a vf/f/s at Golden State Foods, to use and disposal at the foodservice end user.
Sustainability story As mentioned, the pouch is recycle-ready. The unfortunate circumstance is that, today, the commercial infrastructure does not exist to handle food-contaminated flexible packaging. So, these pouches’ end of life currently is the same as the incumbent: landfill. They still make for less overall waste to landfill, when comparing against traditional rigid alternatives like paperboard canisters, according to Sealed Air.
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But the FlexPrep portion-dispensing pouches deliver several sustainability benefits across their lifecycle. Compared to a paperboard canister format, it provides an 85% reduction in package weight, yield improvement of up to 10%, more product per pallet, and fewer trucks on the road, resulting in an overall decrease in greenhouse gas emissions over the life of the product, according to the company. There’s also less waste thanks to improved shelf life. “Shelf life is determined by each customer and is specific to each application,” Hansens adds, “but we have found as much as a 2x increase in shelf-life with a transition to CFP from a paperboard canister.” Additionally, FlexPrep Portion Dispensing pouches are Designed for Recycling (D4R) and approved for labeling as RIC#4, polyethylene (PE). Sealed Air evaluated this material for recyclability following international protocols published by the Association of Plastics Recyclers (APR) for benchmark testing of flexible plastic packaging, and this package has demonstrated compatibility with the PE flexibles mechanical recycling stream.
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Pouches are collated into groups of five and dropped into a double-walled corrugated case such that the final pouch configuration is five across by six high, or 30 20-oz. packages per case.
Results Today, GSF packages more than 250,000 pounds of sauce per day using just three Cryovac brand FlexPrep portion-dispensing systems with plans to install additional systems. After moving from the prior rigid format to FlexPrep portion-dispensing systems, GSF’s COO Brian Dick says the company has benefited from a decreased equipment footprint, which has created valuable floor space. It has also been able to reduce labor requirements, with single-operator functionality. And related to sustainability, the company has realized decreased shipping costs from lower material weight. “We’re so thrilled to bring this exciting solution to life, as we’ve innovated together with McDonald’s, our customer partner of more than 65 years, around a shared vision for the future of sauce-dispensing technology,” says Eric Treon, Group VP, global McDonald’s business unit at GSF. “Our trusted, values-driven partnership with McDonald’s and
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Foodservice end users say the flexible pouch system saves backof-house space compared to its rigid container predecessors (above). Foodservice workers simply introduce the hermetically sealed pouches to the dispensing system, use, and dispose of the empty remaining pouch (right).
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longstanding, collaborative relationship with Sealed Air enabled GSF to successfully pioneer this innovative solution in our customer’s U.S. restaurants and prove its potential as a revolutionary innovation for the global quick-service restaurant industry.” Speaking of GSF customers, the iconic fast-food chain in the partnership has also been pleased with the switch to Cryovac brand FlexPrep portion-dispensing pouches because of the demonstrated value from an improved sustainability profile, higher product yield, more efficient use of back-of-house storage, and increased optimization for back-of-house operations. “What began and was proven in the U.S. to improve efficiencies, reduce waste, heighten sustainability, and ultimately reduce cost has steadily gained confidence throughout the McDonald’s system as the desired solution that will benefit owner/operators around the globe,” says Hope Bentley, Senior Director, Strategic Sourcing, McDonald’s USA. Poised for international expansion into Canada and Asia Pacific this year, the portion-dispensing solution will soon serve up reliably rationed sauce in QSR meals on multiple continents. With the capability to support a variety of pouch sizes and condiment viscosities, the sauce server offers enhanced flexibility and seamless interchangeability for QSR’s limited-time product promotions. PW
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Tiny Labels for Lumber Carry Big Functionality Though small, the end tags for Culpeper Wood Preservers’ lumber products adeptly convey the brand message while carrying a number of product details and withstanding chemical treatment as well as harsh conditions. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
Label printing Beauty is, as they say, in the eye of the beholder. That surely is the case for product labeling and packaging, which comes in all shapes and sizes to help products get noticed and stand apart from competitors. But what do you do when all the “packages” look the same, as is the case with pressure-treated lumber? You make the label your broad canvas and take full advantage of a very small footprint, one measuring just 7⁄8 in. tall x 2 in. wide. Every piece of pressure-treated lumber, whatever the size, requires a label. Actually, the industry refers to them as “end tags” because that’s where they are applied—to the end of the board. Heading down the highway, you may have seen truckloads of pressure-treated boards at some point. Too small to read as they pass by, the tags look functional at best. Held firmly in place with a staple, they are able to withstand 70-plus MPH gusts and all sorts of weather conditions. Though the tags are unreadable, you may have noticed they have
End tags for Culpeper’s pressuretreated lumber, which are stapled to the end of the product, use a solid-color background to differentiate type.
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different colors from one bundle to the next. It’s hard to miss that, even at 70-plus MPH with a turbulent wake of mist. For the DIY person who knows his or her way around a home improvement store, chances are they recognize these colored lumber tags as identifying the Culpeper Wood Preservers brand of pressure-treated lumber. “The end tag is literally our brand packaging,” says Chris Brown, Director of Business Development and Marketing for Culpeper Wood Preservers. “It is a vital source of product and application information, but also a major part of our branding platform. The end tags also have to build trust and deliver peace of mind for our customers, from weekend do-it-yourselfers to seasoned contractors.”
No small job to produce tiny labels Despite their petite size, the tags require a large amount of printing expertise to produce. The front of each tag features a solid color treatment to reflect product type. Reverse-printed copy and graphics allow the white color of the tag stock to show through, making the small copy easy to read. There are also various combinations of the solid color with black ink for specifications. Some tags feature an alternate color for the product name and type. The back of each tag is printed in black. The tags are flexographically printed by MidSouth Design using proprietary ink systems. The opaque white material is a 5-mil polypropylene with a twosided matte finish. The construction offers strength and rigidity, so the tags will not rip or tear when stapled to the boards. “Protecting the Culpeper brand identity and reinforcing their positioning is always top of mind,” says MidSouth Design Senior Account Manager Ben Schneider. “These tags provide instant brand recognition with visual consistency in both layout and the use of color as a distinguisher of the product category. “We use every bit of available space on the tags to effectively leverage the Culpeper graphics and detailed user information. And with a label that’s just
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seven-eighths of an inch by two inches, we have to be extremely precise. There is no margin for error.” Culpeper applies the tags prior to chemical treatment of the wood. Because of this, the tags are engineered with added durability to withstand full exposure to the treatment chemicals. For example, Culpeper has a treating operation in Lancaster, Mass. They treat the wood yearround at the facility, so when the wood comes out of the treater in the winter, it freezes. Still, the tag must hold up against all the elements.
customer support. And that support begins with the end tags. “They have to confirm the customer’s decision to use our products. That’s why every tag must be completely readable. They also have to be front and center on the end of every board at retail and on the job site. When you consider the level of information those tags have to carry, legibility is a must and losing even one in transit is not acceptable.” —Anne Marie Mohan
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The 5-mil PP tags feature reverse-printed copy and graphics that allow the white color of the tag stock to show through, making the small copy easy to read. In addition, tagged lumber on a job site is subjected to all types of weather conditions. The printing cannot fade or smear, so there is a higher level of UV resistance and added protection from abrasion. As for the tagging process, that’s done in the lumber yard. Culpeper uses the MidSouth Tagger™, a pneumatic stapler engineered by the supplier that automatically feeds a single tag from a roll and simultaneously staples it in place. Compared to holding a stapler in one hand and a roll of tags in the other, the MidSouth Tagger combines both functions into a single action. Says MidSouth, this increases productivity and speedto-market for Culpeper.
Legibility, reliability are vital Lumber end tags do not require approval from Underwriters Laboratories, but they do offer compliance information about the chemical preservative, affiliation with a third-party inspection agency, industry standards regarding use, a warranty statement, and the treating plant location. “While some people might look at Culpeper products as just wood boards, we take our packaging and branding efforts very seriously,” says Brown. “It comes down to how we represent the Culpeper brand with
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By Anne Marie Mohan, Senior Editor
Pentawards’ Top 10 Packaging Design Trends for 2021/2022 After evaluating 2,000 entries in its annual packaging design competition, Pentawards pulls out 10 prominent trends drawn from the winning work, compiling its first trends report. If ever there were an organization qualified to create a report on packaging design trends, it would be Pentawards. The organization is a global platform and community for packaging design that holds a competition each year to recognize excellence in the field. Since it began the awards in 2007, it has received more than 20,000 entries from more than 60 countries across the globe. In 2021, despite the ongoing challenges presented by COVID-19, it still received a whopping 2,000 entries from across five continents. “Entries to this year’s Pentawards showed how design can not only help solve crucial issues both in business and for the planet as a whole, but how it can also transform categories, reach new audiences, and bring delight and fun to people’s lives at a time of global uncertainty,” says the Pentawards team. “The caliber of work has been groundbreaking, hitting a new level of creative excellence, even under such circumstances.” Given the “groundbreaking” array of winning packages, Pentawards decided to compile, for the first time, a report highlighting 10 design trends drawn from the winning work. Says the team, “Together, they reveal the creative zeitgeist of the time, but also give us a glimpse into the future.” Following are abbreviated descriptions of each of the trends they spotted, along with some examples from among the winning packages.
1. Surprising takes on traditional packs This year’s entries included a number of brands offering surprising takes on what would normally be expected with packaging for particular product categories. One example is packaging for everyday household gloves, which usually follow a fairly simple and standard design. “However,” says the report, “packaging for Stoic steps well outside its comfort zone, with bold and unexpected packaging that reflects the strength of its rubber gloves, by showing the fork attempting to pierce through what looks like ‘rubber’ packaging.” The report notes that brands have also been playing with new
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takes on formats. The packaging for Glass Canned Wines plays on the surprise of discovering a product that is not usually found in this type of container. The different glasses and color wines used in the images on-pack help the consumer navigate this new format, while providing a fresh and contemporary take on wine consumption.
2. Color as the key visual Maybe in an attempt to brighten consumers’ lives in what has been a gloomy year for many, there has been a trend for bold color being used as the key visual on packaging—often instead of the product itself or its ingredients. According to Pentawards, some of this year’s entries pushed the use of color to new levels, from using unprecedented amounts of color to highlight flavor and taste, to disrupting the category by helping the product stand out from competitors. SAGA Gin is one example. It uses an iconic, extra-large yellow wax seal to make it more distinctive on-shelf, while creating a unified look across its packaging.
3. Sustainability made obvious Reads the report, “We know that sustainability is one of the most important issues facing the packaging industry, and indeed the planet. In line with this, we are seeing more and more brands talking about their sustainability credentials and showcasing their efforts to develop more sustainable, planetfriendly packaging.” In particular, it adds, the judges spotted a trend for making this as obvious and transparent as possible through the package design.
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Download the full Pentawards Trends Report 2021-2022 at pwgo.to/7524. One such brand is vegan dishwashing detergent OceanIQ, whose packaging is made from 100% recycled fishnets retrieved from oceans worldwide. The packaging instantly reflects its brand purpose, and its name is deliberately misspelled to create a brand that addresses the smart use of plastic waste. In addition, label illustrations highlight the animals that the brand seeks to protect.
4. Highlighting mental health As the report notes, mental health has always been a sensitive societal issue, with diseases such as depression leading to approximately 700,000 deaths a year, according to the WHO. And, it says, not surprisingly, countries worldwide have seen a rise in mental health issues since the pandemic. A theme reflected in this year’s entries was around using packaging as a platform to open up conversations around people’s mental wellbeing. For example, U.K.-based Frahm, a small, family-run e-comm business that takes sustainability and mental health very seriously, created something memorable for the packaging for its men’s jacket that reinforces its Tough Beautiful mantra. The packaging uses macro shots of native U.K. beetles—“nature’s tough and beautiful little creatures.” The corrugated cases are closed with custom packaging tape that has an “Open Up” message, highlighting that money from each purchase is sent to a mental health charity.
5. Diversity and inclusivity Another trend was packaging that highlights the diversity of individuals across the planet—whether that be based on sexuality, disability, ethnicity, gender, or age. For Levain Bakery’s e-commerce packaging, the “cookie lover’s parade” illustration features a variety of characters of different ages, abilities, ethnicities, and genders. It presents a more wholesome and inclusive view of New York City, where the bakery is based. In the vein of packaging that’s more accessible for disabled people, coffee brand Only for Your Eyes, which raises awareness of the millions of blind people in the world, developed a label for its bottle that is printed exclusively in Braille, using screen-printed ink and varnish.
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6. Protest and propaganda Notes the report, “Packaging, like any form of art or design, can be a great outlet for communicating societal issues and cultural events, or becoming a symbol of a movement.” Limited-edition packaging from SK-II Pitera is an example of how brands are using the visual language of protest and propaganda to draw in younger consumers. Packaging for the skincare brand was inspired by the insight that this demographic chooses brands that promote self-expression rather than restrictive beauty ideals. Each pack uses various handcrafted techniques, including “tapeography,” hand-drawn marker typography, and mixed-media collage using vintage street art posters that resemble urban graffiti.
7. Optimizing packaging for e-commerce During the 2020 pandemic, reliance on online shopping grew by as much as 77% and is still growing strong, notes the report. It adds that there are three things to consider with online packaging: “One, that it looks good online, two, that it can be easily delivered to a person’s home without getting damaged, and three, the sustainability
impact of the additional packaging that would normally not exist if purchasing in-store.” Taking all three into account is the packaging for Moët Hennessy’s Eminente Reserve rum, which was launched in 2020 during COVID-19 and is sold exclusively online. Explains the Pentawards team, the packaging uses a huge variety of hues and textures, from the “crocodile skin” glass bottle and wooden stopper to embossed, debossed, and gold hot stamp details, “all of which shine in digital and social media.” The packaging also has strong sustainability and provenance credentials, allowing the brand to tell rich stories about the product through online marketing.
8. Packaging as a canvas According to the Pentawards team, over the years, it’s seen many examples where illustrations have been developed as part of a brand story and used across a range of packaging. “But something we noticed this year was packaging being used for the actual canvas for the art itself, rather than a vessel you simply stick art onto,” it says. One of this year’s winning entries was used as a canvas for nature. For both Vinho do Mar and Black Sea aged wines, bottles were submerged under water for a number of months as part of the aging
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process, not only for the product, but also to “age” the package in a unique and novel way. According to the report, using the packaging as a canvas to let nature make its mark has particular relevance now, where sustainability is such a hot topic and brands are aligning with more planet-friendly or “natural” messaging.
9. The rise of wraparound illustrations An extension of the “packaging as a canvas trend,” the Pentawards team also spotted a number of brands using graphics that travel across packs to create larger, composite visuals when placed side by side. “While this has been a technique designers have used in the past, it now seems to be reaching a new level of
popularity,” the report notes. One delightful example is the blue cat on Milgrad’s dairy drink packaging, which wraps around the packaging and across the range, inviting consumers to interact with it from a distance on the supermarket’s shelf layout.
10. Packaging as transformative storytelling As the report notes, creating a connection with consumers is a crucial part of packaging design, and in many cases this year, the Pentawards judges saw packaging designs that transcended the product itself to become their own storytelling device. The Horror Ray torch, or flashlight, is designed for children attending summer camp. The package design for the product transforms this simple utility item into a product loaded with evocative storytelling. Says the report, “The design brings to life the special ritual of telling horror stories in tents or around the campfire, with spooky stories written on the back of the packaging and its characters illuminated on the front with the torch’s light.” PW
END OF LINE MEETS TOP-OF-THE LINE. Dozens of craft brewers and wineries of all sizes have increased the efficiency of their operations by partnering with Standard-Knapp. After all, we have been reinventing end-of-line packaging machinery for over a century. Whether you’re in the market for a top-of-the-line case packer or looking to speed up bottle loading with our EZ Picker, Standard-Knapp has the solution for you. Visit us in Minneapolis! May 2-5, 2022 Booth 1205 63 Pickering Street, Portland, CT USA www.standard-knapp.com www.eol.group
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72 PW APR2022
TECHNOLOGY
Vf/f/s Packaging System Compact Horizontal Cartoner PMI KYOTO launches the KC-100F continuous-motion, all-servo compact horizontal cartoner capable of either automatic or hand-loaded product infeed.
PMI KYOTO Packaging Systems pwgo.to/7512
tna solutions’ tna robag® 3e vf/f/s packaging system is designed to produce up to 250 bags/min with wastage as low as 0.1%.
tna solutions pwgo.to/7366
Recyclable Poultry Packaging DS Smith offers the Greencoat® recyclable, coated wax replacement packaging box designed for the poultry industry.
DS Smith pwgo.to/7490
Recyclable Unsupported Film Nobelus launches cellulose-based EcoElement™ CLS unsupported, 100% plastic-free film. The 80-ga film is available in both matte and gloss finishes.
Nobelus pwgo.to/7513
Compact, X-ray Inspection System Mettler-Toledo launches the X34C X-ray inspection system designed specifically for the detection of contaminants in small, individually packaged products at high speeds.
Digital Printing Technology
Mettler-Toledo pwgo.to/7514
Amcor launches Impresssions, a digital printing technology developed in collaboration with MGJ that enables brands to customize closure liners, such as the underside of bottle caps.
Amcor pwgo.to/7488
Fume Extractors for Laser Applications Videojet launches its line of Videojet Xtract™ fume extractors for use with Videojet laser marking systems.
Videojet Technologies pwgo.to/7487
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Recyclable Jars Quadpack’s QLine monomaterial jars are available in 100% PP.
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3/21/22 2:21 PM
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74 PW APR2022
TECHNOLOGY
Customized Option for Horizontal Automatic Bagger
Inkjet Coder Markem-Imaje launches the 5940 G Touch Dry inkjet coder designed to provide label-free and high-resolution coding, branding, and text on secondary packaging, including corrugated.
PAC Machinery offers a customized air expeller option for its Magnum automatic horizontal bagger suitable for compressing, bagging, and sealing a variety of items.
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AD INDEX Search Packworld.com for additional information on any of the advertisers listed or visit their website directly ADVERTISER WEBSITE
PAGE
ADVERTISER WEBSITE
PAGE
A-B-C Packaging Machine Corp. www.abcpackaging.com
11
Label-Aire, Inc. www.label-aire.com
Alliance Rubber Company www.rubberband.com
16
Material Transfer & Storage, Inc. www.materialtransfer.com
10
Allied Technology LLC www.allied-technology.com
7
mk North America, Inc www.mknorthamerica.com
21
BluePrint Automation www.blueprintautomation.com
47
Marchesini Group Usa Inc. www.marchesini.com
38
Cama North America www.camagroup.com
69
Modular Conveyor Express www.modularconveyor.com
64
Columbia Machine, Inc. www.palletizing.com
57
Morrison Container Handling Solutions www.morrison-chs.com
59
Columbia/Okura columbiaokura.com
13
Nercon Conveyor Systems www.nerconconveyors.com
41
DAK Americas www.dakamericas.com
35
New England Machinery, Inc. www.neminc.com
45
Dekka www.dekkaindustries.com
58
Nita Labeling Systems www.nitalabeling.com
19
Domino Amjet Inc. www.domino-na.com
36
Novanta www.celeramotion.com
23
EDL Packaging Engineers, Inc. www.edlpackaging.com
63
Novembal www.novembal.com
67
ELPLAST America Inc. www.elplastgroup.com
22
Pepperl + Fuchs www.www.pepperl-fuchs.com
70
Enercon Industries www.enerconind.com
52
Eriez Magnetics www.eriez.com
40
PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies www.pmmi.org
61, 73
Focke & Company www.focke.com
6
Formost Fuji Corporation www.formostfuji.com
53
Fortress Technology Inc. www.fortresstechnology.com
46
General Packaging Equipment www.generalpackaging.com
39
Glenroy, Inc. www.glenroy.com
29
GRA Services International www.graservices.com
74
Heat and Control, Inc. www.heatandcontrol.com
50
ID Technology www.idtechnology.com
5
IAI America, Inc. www.www.intelligentactuator.com Intralox www.intralox.com
65 1
ITW Air Management - Paxton Products www.paxtonproducts.com
44
Kaufman Engineered Systems, Inc. www.kes-usa.com
62
KHS AG www.khs.com
12
King Plastic Corporation www.kingplastic.com
20
Klöckner Pentaplast, PHD www.kpfilms.com Krones www.kronesusa.com
IFC 9
42, 43
Schneider Packaging Equipment Co., Inc. www.schneiderequip.com 54 Serpa Packaging Solutions www.serpapackaging.com
38
Shurtape Technologies www.shurtape.com
25
Sidel Inc. www.sidel.com
49
Siko Products, Inc. www.siko-global.com
14
Sleeve Seal www.sleeveseal.com
34
Sparck Technologies www.sparcktechnologies.com
27
Squid Ink Manufacturing www.squidink.com
15
Standard-Knapp, Inc. www.standard-knapp.com
71
ThyssenKrupp Rasselstein GMPH www.thyssenkrupp-steel.com
55
Triangle Package Machinery Company www.trianglepackage.com Uline www.uline.com Unified Flex Packaging Technologies www.unifiedflex.com Universal Labeling Systems, Inc. www.universal1.com
3 51 IBC 17
Van der Graaf www.vandergraaf.com
OBC
Westrock www.westrock.com/aps
OFC
YUPO Corporation America www.yupousa.com
37
Connect with a Leaders in Packaging supplier and support packaging education!
www.packworld.com/leaders
April ad index.indd 75
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76 PW APR2022
THE INSIDER
By Ben Miyares, Packaging Sherpa
More Cheering than was Warranted… The clapping and cheering of Flip to page 24 for Legal Side columnist delegates attending the United Nations Eric Greenberg’s take on the UN agreement. Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2) to end plastic pollution and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) for a legally binding Global forge an international legally binding agreement by 2024 was, if treaty on plastic pollution. The roster of environmentally engaged understandable, unwarranted. It brought to my mind an oftenorganizations signed on with EMF already includes large and small misquoted quip from Mark Twain, who, when asked if rumors that he packagers including Apple, Beiersdorf, Clif Bar, Clorox. Coca-Cola, was dying were accurate, supposedly said something like: “The reports Colgate-Palmolive, Danone, Diageo, Ferrara, Ferrero, Henkel, Innocent of my death are premature and exaggerated.” Drinks, Johnson & Johnson, Kellogg, Keurig-Dr Pepper, Mars, McCain, To be sure, the 175 or so delegates to the UN Assembly in Nairobi McCormick, Molson-Coors, Mondelez, Nestlé, L’Oréal, PepsiCo, Pernod earlier this year had a lot to be proud of. Heads of state, ministers of Ricard, Reckitt, SC Johnson, Stanley Black the environment, and other government & Decker, Tupperware, and Unilever. and NGO representatives endorsed a Packaging converters, as they landmark anti-plastics agreement, which track the interests of their customers, they characterized as addressing “the full are also engaged in the “anti-plas” lifecycle of plastic from source to sea.” movement. Among those on EMF’s list: In a joint statement of support and ALBEA, ALPLA, Amcor, AptarGroup, Arca congratulation, the World Wildlife Fund Continental, Bell Holding, Berry Global, and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation Constantia Flexibles, Coster, Dynapack called the UNEA endorsement “a key Asia, Envases Universales de México, moment in the effort to eliminate Futamura, Graham Packaging, Greco plastic waste and pollution on a global & Guerreiro, Greiner, INGRUP, Jabil scale. The mandate agreed by UN Packaging Solutions, Klöckner Pentaplast, member states opens the door for a Greeting the 1500 UN Assembly delegates in Logoplaste, Mondi, PAC Worldwide, legally binding treaty that deals with Nairobi was this Giant Plastic Tap art installation, Paccor Packaging Solutions, Pðppelmann the root causes of plastic pollution, #TurnOffThePlasticTap, by Benjamin Von Wong. Holding, Reborn, Serioplast Global not just the symptoms. Critically, this The materials used in the piece come from Africa’s Services, Silafrica Plastics & Packaging, includes measures considering the entire largest slum, Kibera. Silgan Plastics, TC Transcontinental, lifecycle of plastics, from its production, Termoencogibles, and Tetra Pak. Their collaborations with customers to product design, to waste management, enabling opportunities have already had a significant impact on reducing solid waste of to design out waste before it is created as part of a thriving circular whatever material it is composed. End users and their packaging economy.” Many plastics industry officials are not so giddy. supplier cohorts are genetically engineered to conserve resources Plastic production has risen exponentially in the last decades and, which, after all, is the definition of waste reduction. according to the UN, now amounts to some 400 million tons per year When the time does come that pollution—not just the plastic and is expected to double by 2040. There’s also been a dramatic rise kind—is eliminated, we’ll all have something to cheer about. But the in marine plastic waste. The UNEA treaty aims to slow the growth of end times for pollution aren’t here yet. UNEA-5.2 was a milestone on plastics by imposing some legally binding restrictions on it. the path to pollution’s end. Perhaps, as Inger Andersen, Executive If the UNEA delegates were cheering anything beyond the setting Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) declared, UNEAof a two-year distant deadline for figuring out how some even further 5.2 was “the most important international multilateral environmental away goal of ending plastic pollution might be addressed by the deal since the Paris accord.” stultifying ideas they have in mind, they are misguided. Their hugs There is a much to do before the vision of the “Nairobi Agreement” and fist bumps over their regulatory win are certainly premature and can be realized. Delegates returning from the wood-paneled exaggerated. conference chamber of UNEA are finding collegiality much harder to If their dreams of a world without pollution do become realities, achieve in the real world in which plastics pollution struggles for a the delegates will owe a debt of thanks to the more than 70 businesses presence on the agenda of public concern. PW and financial institutions that have so far signed on to the call from Ben Miyares, Packaging Sherpa, is a packaging market and technology analyst and is president of The Packaging Management Institute, Inc. He can be reached at bmiyares@packmgmt.org.
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P
’S
NG WO RL AGI D CK A
Future leaders IN PACKAGING SC
H O L A R S HIP
Each of the following market-leading companies participating in Packaging World’s 2022 Leaders in Packaging Program are named sponsors of PW ’s Future Leaders in Packaging scholarship. This year’s recipient is Alexandria Technical & Community College, Mechatronics program. We appreciate the support of all participants on behalf of packaging education.
More Information: packworld.com/leaders ©2022 PMMI Media Group
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P
’S
NG WO RL AGI D CK A
Future leaders IN PACKAGING SC
H O L A R S HIP
Each of the following market-leading companies participating in Packaging World’s 2022 Leaders in Packaging Program are named sponsors of PW ’s Future Leaders in Packaging scholarship. This year’s recipient is Alexandria Technical & Community College, Mechatronics program. We appreciate the support of all participants on behalf of packaging education.
More Information: packworld.com/leaders ©2022 PMMI Media Group
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