Packaging World June 2021

CREATING STABILITY

FOR YOUR OPERATION. westrock.com/automation

JUN2021 packworld.com

Easier to Open and Close

40

Underserved Market Gains Access with Inclusive Pack

Easier to Apply

Easier to Identify

26

Refillable and Sustainable

Digitally Printed Pack Harnesses E-Beam Coating Tech 32

Upcycled InBev Barley Milk’s Aseptic Pack Boosts Shelf Life 36

Easier to Handle

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Robotic Case Packers Capitalize on Counterflow 42

Edge Controls and I/O Speed Hand Sanitizer

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VOL28

NO6

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Features of the new Degree Inclusive pack, in its prototype form, include a hooked cap for easy hanging in a shower or locker room setting, an integral handle in the body to accommodate different grips, a magnetic instead of mechanical closure, and braille labeling for the visually impaired.

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FEATURES 26 Digital Printing, E-beam Coating, and More Now nearing the end of its first year in business, AccuFlex is leveraging digital printing, e-beam coating, Color-Logic software, and both films and zippers that are compostable.

32 EMERGING BRANDS Take Two Foods’ Aseptic Packaging Gives Upcycled Barley New Life 32

Longer retail shelf life and the ability to sell online support this 21st-century company’s mission to extend spent barley’s value in a plant-based milk that fits today’s consumer health demands.

36 Robotic Case Packers Improve Output by 20% German food producer Kühne realizes increased OEE for eight glass packaging formats through new case packers’ faster machine changeover and digital data gathering and networking capabilities.

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40 COVER STORY People with Limb, Vision Disabilities Gain Access with Inclusive Deodorant Pack Design An inclusive deodorant prototype from Unilever’s Degree brand makes application more accessible.

42 AUTOMATION From Empty Warehouse to Sanitizer Bottling in Three Months This new hand sanitizer packaging plant uses a unique automation architecture featuring edge computing to run at the pace of modern business.

48 Brands, Co-Packers Contemplate the Role of OEMs During COVID-19 These CPGs are asking machine builders for clear communication as they maneuver a new supply chain, new material and consumer demands, and a new workforce.

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DEPARTMENTS 8

packworld.com VIDEO

COLUMNS

Robotic Case Packer in Action

7 Lead Off 20 The Legal Side 22 The Big Picture 24 Sustainable Packaging 52 Shelf Impact!

56 The Insider

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NEWS/EVENTS

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8 News 16 Quotables/By the Numbers 54 Industry Watch

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INTERVIEW

18 First Person PRODUCTS

46 Automation Technology 54 Technology

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Evian Water System Reduces Plastic Consumption

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EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Aladin Alkhawam Director, Packaging Operations, Par Pharmaceutical Jan Brücklmeier Technical Application Group Packaging Technology Expert, Nestlé David France Packaging Research Fellow, Conagra Foods 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. 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

Connect with a Leaders in Packaging supplier and support packaging education!

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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 300, Chicago, IL 60611; 312.222.1010; Fax: 312.222.1310. Periodicals postage paid at Chicago, IL, and additional mailing offices. Copyright 2021 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 $200 in the U.S., $285 Canada and Mexico by surface mail; $475 Europe, $715 Far East and Australia 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 300, 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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EDITORIAL

PMMI MEDIA GROUP

Matt Reynolds Editor Patrick Reynolds Vice President, Editor Emeritus @Packcentric Iris Zavala Managing Editor Anne Marie Mohan Senior Editor @PackagingTrends Jim Chrzan Vice President, Content and Brand Strategy Kim Overstreet Senior Content Strategist, Alignment Sterling Anthony, Eric F. Greenberg, Ben Miyares Contributing Editors

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LEAD OFF

Need Operators?

Inclusive Packaging The Unilever brand Degree is introducing a new deodorant product line named Degree Inclusion (page 40) that seems important to me, and I’ll tell you why. Not only is it keenly attuned to the unique socioenvironmental moment we’re all experiencing, it does so in a universally positive way that should cut across any partisan lines. But first, some background.

As has been reported here (pwgo.to/7019) and many other places, a major consumer trend affecting CPGs is the public’s desire for them to take a stand on issues like inclusion, sustainability, and corporate responsibility. Mara Devitt, a Senior Partner at retail strategist and consultant McMillan Doolittle who has studied this effect, said at a recent ISTA (International Safe Transit Association) conference that consumers want— and expect—retailers to take a value stand, and that extends to the brands they sell.

A global research study that McMillan Doolittle cited found that more than 80% of consumers polled were demanding sustainability, social responsibility, and transparency from brands and retailers, and that 44% choose to buy products that are aligned with their own point of view on sustainability or values.

What’s packaging’s role in this values movement? A hefty part of it is on the environmental side of things, of course, and changing pack formats to improve sustainability profiles. But on the social responsibility and social justice side of the values coin, packaging’s role generally is limited to design—the looks, the decoration, and the messaging that appears on the label or container. One exception to this generalization was the redesign of the Mrs. Butterworth’s syrup container, which included a change not only in messaging but in structure, too. But even here the structural change was pretty minor.

Lately we’ve seen many brands venture into this emotionally overwrought space by altering their brand appearance and messaging, as first evidenced in the spate of racially charged mascots that were dropped in 2020. More recently, even companies that didn’t carry baggage of outdated stereotypes as brand identity have waded into these waters and have used packaging to communicate social stances. Case in point, we reported last month on Hershey Brazil’s digital print-driven #HERSHE campaign (pwgo.to/7020) that promoted gender inclusiveness and recognition of female contributions to culture via unique, limited time flow-wrapped film packs.

It’s in this socially aware environment that the Degree Inclusion pack enters the fray, a pack for its time. What strikes me is that the package’s structural design is in itself a stance that uplifts an overlooked group. The package is in itself the vehicle by which Degree includes an underserved population of people with upper limb disabilities. The package is, in itself, access.

In order to achieve its inclusive goal, the pack has to be larger and heavier duty, involves expensive magnets as a closure mechanism, and is molded of durable polyurethane. A cynic might see this as a negative for two reasons; first, it’s likely not the most recyclable material or pack design, at least in its prototype form, for typical Material Recycling Facilities, and it involves several different materials that would need to be separated, and not by the consumer. Second, as an expensive, heavy-to-ship pack, it could be (incorrectly) argued to be prohibitively expensive to consumers. And an exclusive price point would defeat the entire purpose of inclusion.

But both critiques are easily answered by the durable nature of the pack design that allows for it to be refilled over and over again for a useful life, thus amortizing that initial price over, potentially, years. And one would assume the refill packs wouldn’t be onerously expensive.

That concept too applies to its sustainability profile—a durable package used many times over amortizes its material use to potentially net out as more sustainable than single-use packs. With all these things going for it, the Degree Inclusion line of deodorants feels like a package that’s completely of its time. I get the sense that it’s important, and I don’t think it’ll be the last of its kind. PW

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NEWS

Nivea Jars Made from Bio-Based Forestry Byproduct At the end of 2020, Germany-based Beiersdorf announced its cooperation with the global chemical manufacturer SABIC to produce more sustainable cosmetics packaging from SABIC’s TRUCIRCLE™ portfolio of certified renewable polypropylene. Beginning this month, Beiersdorf’s Nivea Naturally Good face care product range will be on the shelves in about 30 countries around the world in packaging made from this material.

Says Beiersdorf, the project to replace petroleum-based plastics with alternative materials began with a comprehensive analysis of the market.

Beiersdorf’s requirements for the material were high, since the company aims to become more sustainable without any compromise on quality.

“Our excellent skin care products obviously include a high-quality packaging, which has to fulfill many requirements,” says Michael Becker, Head of Global Packaging Development at Beiersdorf. “On the one hand, this concerns visual and tactile features that our NIVEA consumers are acquainted to, but packaging recyclability is also an important aspect for us—in line with our vision of a circular economy that we aim to support.”

Because producing its cosmetic packaging from a source of food such as sugarcane or corn was out of the question for Beiersdorf, it chose SABIC’s feedstock concept of second-generation raw material. The certified renewable PP is made from tall oil, which is a byproduct of the forestry industry. Explains Hannah Rasel, Senior Packaging Specialist at Beiersdorf, “The certified renewable plastic we source from SABIC has no visual effects or other adverse properties. Accordingly, the jar made of renewable PP is neither visually nor haptically distinguishable from the previous packaging. In addition, SABIC pursues a holistic sustainability approach with its feedstock concept. That convinced us.”

From idea to implementation, the development of the new packaging took just nine months; Berry Global was brought in to manufacture the jars.

The new packaging for Nivea Naturally Good face care products is

based on the principle of mass balancing, in accordance with the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC PLUS) scheme. The raw material base of tall oil is replacing crude oil, and according to the mass balancing approach, it is integrated seamlessly in the manufacturing process—without the need to establish a separate production process.

Says Beiersdorf, converting the packaging to renewable plastic not only has the advantage of conserving fossil resources, but also reduces CO2 emissions. Approximately 76 g of CO2e are saved per jar produced, a reduction of around 60% compared to the fossil-based jar. The project therefore also contributes to the company’s climate target of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% absolutely across the entire value chain (Scope 1-3) by 2025. Any remaining emissions that cannot be avoided or further reduced during the manufacturing of the product are—for the first time—climateneutralized via carbon offsetting, through afforestation projects.

The Nivea Naturally Good face care range of eight products will be clearly recognizable as “climate-neutralized” on-pack and on shelf.

—Anne Marie Mohan

CleverFoodies Leverages Injection-molded PP for Egg Product Burlington, Vermont-based CleverFoodies has launched Scramble, a vegetable mix for egg dishes, and it’s proving to be a clear success in the U.S. The unique product makes it easier to cook fast and delicious scrambled eggs, omelettes, or frittatas. Users simply whisk a few eggs with milk or water, add their favorite mix-in, cook, and enjoy.

The injection molded RPC Superfos SuperLock® pack has the format and feel of a jar, yet it’s made of polypropylene. With a double-sided print on the click-on screw lid, the package allows maximum space to share brand messages and cooking instructions. The three varieties of innovative vegetable mix—Leafy Greens, Rancheros, or Mediterranean—are retailed in the chilled section, next to the eggs.

“The SuperLock® pack is new to the American market and therefore it is a good match for a new product category,” explains Marc Gascon, owner and co-founder of CleverFoodies. “The lid

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differentiates our products from others, and its oxygen barrier gives us the desired shelf life.

“Our success rests on bringing something new, natural, and tasty to the egg section in the counter. We have a partnership with leading egg distributors, and we have the right pack that lets us use clear and colorful illustrations and leaves space for cooking instructions.

We are pleased with the SuperLock® format, which is eye-catching and conveys the quality of our product.”

Scramble™, which is so unique that it has created its own new product category for convenience food, has been attracting customers in more than 3,000 supermarkets across America, including SuperTarget and Publix. It has even appeared on the weekly TV series Power Pitch on CNBC, where founders of start-ups try to convince a panel of experts that their business has the necessary ingredients for success. —Pat Reynolds

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NEWS

PACK EXPO Las Vegas: The Show Will Go On With more parts of the U.S. opening up as vaccination rates rise, and Las Vegas once again hosting successful conventions, exhibitors continue to book space across four spacious halls for the return of PACK EXPO Las Vegas and Healthcare Packaging EXPO 2021 (Sept. 27-29, Las Vegas Convention Center), the only comprehensive packaging and processing event in the world this year.

“We continuously monitor the industry, and exhibitors and attendees alike are eager to return to conducting business and experiencing new machinery, materials, technologies, and solutions in-person,” says Jim Pittas, president and CEO of show producer PMMI. PACK EXPO Las Vegas offers countless opportunities for ideas from 40-plus vertical markets to cross-pollinate. Healthcare Packaging EXPO provides the broadest range of equipment and technology solutions for life sciences, showcasing targeted solutions for pharmaceutical, medical device, nutraceuticals, and biologics.

Free educational sessions located throughout the exhibit halls will provide chances to grow, learn and accomplish professional goals with continuing to solve their packaging challenges all conveniently under one suppliers showcasing breakthrough technologies, best practices and case roof. A processing-specific Innovation Stage will also feature sessions tarstudies at the Innovation Stages. The Forum, an interactive stage encourgeting the processing sector. aging open discussions with industry experts, the Reusable Packaging Additional pavilions contain targeted solutions. The Package Printing Stage, hosted by the Reusable Packaging Association, and the new PACK to Pavilion will shine a spotlight on the Future Stage are also must-visit digital printing and converting techshow floor destinations to learn nologies, labeling, and coding and about the latest trends and discuss marking solutions. The Containers the future of the industry. and Materials Pavilion showcases The Cold Pressure Council Anthe innovative packages and solunual Conference (Sept. 28-29) will tions that are proven to capture the also take place in conjunction with eyes of consumers, including the PACK EXPO Las Vegas and HealthShowcase of Packaging Innovations, care Packaging EXPO, offering eduthe best and brightest ideas in prodcation on the latest in High Pressure —Jim Pittas, president and CEO of PMMI uct packaging that have advanced Processing (HPP) technologies. All the industry in the past year. The registrants of the CPC conference Confectionary Pavilion will house industry-specific solutions for candy receive complimentary registration to PACK EXPO Las Vegas and Healthand snack food connoisseurs while serving as the home of the Candy Bar care Packaging EXPO. Lounge for networking and industry expert advice with Lounge sponsors PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2021 will also feature the return of the Processfrom the National Confectioners Association. ing Zone with solutions from food processing/systems, food safety, engiThe PACK to the Future interactive experience debuts at PACK EXPO neering, design and construction services, and more. Attendees can once Las Vegas and Healthcare Packaging EXPO, showcasing the industry’s past, again start their search for front-of-the-line processing solutions while present, and future. PACK to the Future will display carefully curated items and machinery from some of the world’s largest consumer packaged goods and packaging companies. Industry experts, futurists, business, and financial leaders will speak daily on where the industry has been, where it is now, and what the future holds for packaging and processing.

Networking opportunities abound at PACK EXPO Las Vegas and Healthcare Packaging EXPO, including a Packaging & Processing Women’s Leadership Network breakfast with a keynote presentation and an Emerging Leaders Network event for young packaging and processing professionals For updates directly from the Las on the rise.

Vegas Convention Center on all the With its PACK Ready health and safety program, PACK EXPO Las Vegas latest encouraging developments for and Healthcare Packaging EXPO is prepared to welcome the industry back PACK EXPO Las Vegas and Healthcare safely, employing thorough and up-to-date protocols for a safe and sucPackaging EXPO, listen to the cessful in-person event. Visit pwgo.to/7023 to learn more. unPACKed with PMMI podcast with Registration, which includes access to both PACK EXPO Las Vegas and Laura Thompson, PMMI Vice President, Healthcare Packaging EXPO, is $30 until Sept. 3, after which the price inTrade Shows. Visit pwgo.to/7024 to listen for free online, or creases to $130. For more information on the event and to register online, find UnPACKed in your favorite podcatcher. PW visit packexpolasvegas.com and hcpelasvegas.com. —Sean Riley

We continuously monitor the industry, and exhibitors and attendees alike are eager to return to conducting business and experiencing new machinery, materials, technologies, and solutions in-person.

Podcast: PACK EXPO Las Vegas is Back

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NEWS

Redesign Highlights Home-Prepared Meal Possibilities This past year, more people than ever prepared meals at home, with 71% of Americans stating that they will continue this trend after the pandemic, according to food and beverage agency Hunter. To meet increased consumer demand, Land O’Frost, Inc.’s Bistro Favorites hand-seasoned, natural deli meat brand introduced a full packaging redesign with the help of design agency Little Big Brands.

Bistro Favorites is one of the fastestgrowing natural deli meat brands, reaching 42% growth in consumer sales in 2020. The revamped Bistro Favorites packaging is designed to evoke a modern bistro, along with the new artisan flavors—Maple Bourbon Uncured Ham, Cajun Style Turkey Breast and Savory Herb Turkey—bringing to life the ingredients and flavor that make preparing food at home enjoyable.

Bistro Favorite’s pack structure, which is uses MAP, remains unchanged. It consists of an APET/ PET semi-rigid structure that is thermoformed into a tray. The tray is lidded with 142GA OPET/Ink/ADH/2.75M PET peel-reseal film with EVOH/anti-fog, then labeled with a paper structure pressure sensitive label. But the appearance is strikingly new.

“When we conducted consumer research, our consumers conveyed that Bistro Favorites was the main reason that they would pick up the package,” says Candace Cage, Brand Manager

at Land O’Frost. “We adjusted Bistro Favorites as the primary brand name displayed on the new packaging, but we understand the importance of Land O’Frost as the endorser. The word ‘Bistro’ alludes to the artisan flavors, and ‘Favorites’ brings forward the everyday approachability of the brand. We are a consumer-centric brand and every decision made is done first and foremost with the consumer top of mind.

She continues, “we also wanted to make sure that we left the legacy Land O’Frost logo on the new packaging as part of our endorser strategy. We understand that for our current customer base that it is really important that the Land O’Frost logo remains as a way to ensure the same familiarity to the Bistro Favorites that they are already used to and would still get moving forward. When making updates to any branding, we want to make sure to leave some legacy aspect, which is why we’ve kept the Land O’Frost logo at a reduced size.”

The overall design changes for Bistro Favorites were made to evoke a modern feel, including the black chalkboard and flavor elements that evoke freshness and a love of food consistent with Land O’Frost consumers’ interests. The updates were consumerdriven through research with current and potential purchasers and were carefully executed to remain familiar to current users, while still allowing growth into new users. —Matt Reynolds

100% rPET Water Bottle Reduces CO2 Emissions Using Earth Day this past April as the occasion, Brands Within Reach (BWR), the exclusive North American distributor of Danone’s Volvic water, launched in the U.S. Volvic’s 100% rPET bottles, made from 100% recycled materials. The commitment continues to reduce CO2 emissions through the use of rPET material.

This follows a June of 2020 announcement that Volvic achieved B Corp™ Certification and CO2 neutrality certification by The Carbon Trust as part of its sustainability efforts.

“Carbon neutral certification for the Volvic brand means that the lifecycle carbon footprints of its products have been transparently calculated and certified, and a carbon reduction plan is in place to ensure its emissions will be reduced,” says Dillon McEvoy, Danone Global Team. “To reduce its carbon footprint, Volvic has been continuously increasing the proportion of recycled materials in the bottles (in 2020 on average up to 30%), knowing that the use of rPET allows us to save up to 50% of carbon emissions versus a virgin plastic bottle. Since the certification, Volvic in Germany, Switzerland, and the USA switched to using 100% rPET across their entire portfolio, and small formats in France.”

Some brands seeking to switch to rPET have reported difficulties sourcing it. But as a Danone brand, long-term contracts for Volvic products

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have been secured with selected partners to deliver the volumes and quality needed to reach the commitment of 100% rPET across the entire Volvic portfolio by 2025, according to McEvoy. It also has been reported that bottle producers have to adapt to a material that behaves slightly differently than virgin PET, but Volvic has been able to overcome those challenges, too.

“About 90% of our preforms are produced at Volvic, and only 10% are produced externally by preform makers. The process is as follows: the injection workshop receives the granules from the rPET supplier, they dry it, and inject it into a press to make preforms. Then the preforms are blown and bottled on the bottling lines,” McEvoy says. “We face some changes in the injection process and we have to adapt temperatures and time of drying as well as the temperature and pression of injection. However, this is already the case when we use virgin PET from different suppliers. It is the job of the injection technician to adapt the process depending on the characteristics of the PET, virgin or recycled, according to what material is being used.”

Adds Olaf Zachert, CEO of BWR, “Volvic is a natural spring water—a pure force from nature. With the introduction of the rPET Volvic bottle, we are offering U.S. consumers the natural spring water paired with more sustainable packaging.” —Matt Reynolds

5/18/21 7:25 AM

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NEWS

Morton Salt’s Packaging-Based AR Experiences Seek to Erase Food Waste Morton Salt says it’s “salty about food waste.” According to The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a typical household of four tosses $1,600 worth of food each year. With close to 35% of all food produced in the U.S. going uneaten, Morton has begun an initiative to inspire home cooks to turn forgotten foods into something delicious with their Erase Food Waste augmented reality experiences, accessible through July 2021 via QR codes on specially marked culinary salts or through the company’s Erase Food Waste AR site at.

Since 2017, Morton Salt has been raising awareness around food waste through its Erase Food Waste initiative, inspiring action to change how people think about food waste in an effort to reduce the amount that goes to landfill.

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The first AR promo is a cheeky, immersive experience that features nine vignettes starring overripe onions, forgotten fruits, and leftover legumes, sharing tips, tricks, and recipes that make it super simple to reduce food waste at home. Two “couch potatoes” binge on Netflix, a grapefruit takes a staycation, onions do yoga, and avocados plug into hip hop. Says Morton, each one provides a pinch of inspiration for no-waste recipes written for the work-at-home, play-at-home, cook-at-home era, such as “You’re on Mute Mac and Cheese” and “Staycation Smoky Paloma.”

The second AR experience, Choose the Right Salt, helps cooks learn which culinary salts will enhance their dishes. The AR experience is part of Morton Salt’s integrated marketing campaign that launched in October to celebrate and support its new packaging roll-out (see pwgo.to/6090). According to the company, packaging is one of the iconic brand’s biggest touchpoints.

Says Denise Lauer, CMO, Morton Salt, “The answer to ‘what’s for dinner?’ is often right in front of us—in our fridge and our pantry. Morton’s AR experiences can help you become a better cook and use what you have at home—and we hope they bring a smile to your face as well!

“Using the right salts the right way is one of the simplest ways to elevate your everyday cooking.

You can cook well and help save the environment.”

Says Morton Salt, the rich, web-based AR experiences from Next/Now Digital include graphic detail that is normally limited to video games or broadcast motion graphics.

The new campaign includes in-store, digital, influencer, and social media activations. Consumers can activate the experiences online by purchasing specially-marked Morton salts at Walmart and Kroger (while supplies last) and scanning the QR code hidden under a special sticker. QR codes appear on Morton Kosher Salt, Table Salt (plain and iodized), Sea Salt (coarse and fine), and Himalayan Pink Salt (coarse and fine). —Anne Marie Mohan

5/18/21 7:25 AM 5/3/2021 8:33:07 AM

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4/23/2021 11:29:32 AM 5/18/21 7:25 AM

16 PW JUN2021

QUOTABLES

BY THE NUMBERS

78%

The percentage of food and beverage executives who are already preparing for the next global pandemic, with 50% anticipating an event within the next decade, and 30% within the next four years, according to a new survey from AIB Intl.

$50

billion

The estimated size of the cannabinoid market in 2025, according to analytics firm BDSA

2

The number of alcohol-free options Heineken has pledged will be in most markets by 2023, driven by its Heineken 0.0 beer brand and a portfolio of 130 non-alcoholic line extensions

60%

The amount of materials that could be reduced in pasta packaging if a new technology that transforms flat objects into a 3D shape—developed by the Morphing Matter Lab at Carnegie Mellon University—is used for pasta

QuotablesBTN_0621.indd 16

“The global pandemic has undoubtedly expedited the shift to a digital world. And we’re structuring the organization around this opportunity. We’ve been digitizing the enterprise for several years and have stepped up our evolution into an organization that can skillfully execute marketing, commercial, sales and distribution, both offline and online. We’re also leveraging existing pockets of excellence in e-commerce around the globe.”

–James Quincey, Chairman & CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, in an article from Beveragedaily.com, “Coca-Cola: ‘Our 2021 innovation pipeline has been shaped and coordinated for scale and impact’”

“The calls for switching away from plastic altogether, in favor of materials like paper or glass, can help for some products, but there is no perfect packaging material. There are pros and cons to the environmental footprint of every material and CPG companies are increasingly making packaging decisions based on what minimizes that footprint.”

–Meghan Stasz, Vice President of Packaging and Sustainability for the Consumer Brands Assn. (CBA), in a report from the organization, “The CPG Post-Pandemic Outlook”

“Kroger’s new drone delivery pilot is part of the evolution of our rapidly growing and innovative e-commerce business—which includes pickup, delivery, and ship and reached more than $10 billion in sales in 2020. The pilot reinforces the importance of flexibility and immediacy to customers, powered by modern, cost-effective, and efficient last-mile solutions. We’re excited to test drone delivery and gain insights that will inform expansion plans as well as future customer solutions.”

–Jody Kalmbach, Group Vice President of Product Experience for Kroger, in an article from the company, “Kroger and Drone Express Partner to Provide Grocery Delivery by Drone”

“COVID-19 did not create the need for digitization, but it certainly accelerated it. As a high-value element of digitization, augmented reality adds a visual element to a data-heavy system that can sometimes devalue the human worker.

AR brings the worker back into the equation and creates a synergistic relationship between worker and IT/OT systems where each component benefits from the other.”

–Eric Abbruzzese, Augmented and Virtual Reality Research Director at ABI Research, in a press release from the company, “Industrial Augmented Reality Approaches US$70 Billion Total Market Value by 2025, Spurred by Digitization and Connected Workers”

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4/13/21 9:57 AM 5/19/21 2:59 PM

18 PW JUN2021

FIRST PERSON

PepsiCo Embeds Sustainability Throughout Business Jason Blake, Chief Sustainability Officer for PepsiCo Beverages North America, shares how the company is incorporating sustainability in every area, with a focus on innovations in packaging that will help the company reach its ambitious carbon reduction goals.

Packaging World:

What is your background and how did it lead to your current position?

Jason Blake: The way I’d like to start answering the question is by saying it starts with two things about PepsiCo. One is our Winning with Purpose vision and the mission of creating smiles with every sip and every bite. That’s what we strive to do for our consumers. At the same time, PepsiCo is a place that really takes seriously the development of executives and leaders within the company. So I think it’s important to start there because my career illustrates the fact that PepsiCo wants to be great at what it does, but it also strives to be great at developing leaders.

I’ve spent my career in a host of roles at PepsiCo, starting with corporate strategy and development, looking at M&A transactions for the company, and then I matriculated through a series of field sales, as well as customer sales roles, and then, most recently, I was leading up our customer management function for large-format and channel strategies for Frito-Lay North America. I took a step away from PepsiCo for a while and then returned in this role [Chief Sustainability Officer].

It’s important to ground in the fact that PepsiCo, specifically the North American beverage business, made the decision that the person to lead this sustainability agenda within the sector is someone who has deep operating experience and a general management mindset.

The reason for that is to be able to embed sustainability into our business. It’s time for us to have it be central to what we do, and PepsiCo thought it was important for someone with my operating experience to lead that effort at this particular time.

FirstPerson_0621.indd 18

What does your role entail?

Simply put, it’s my responsibility to deliver the agenda of sustainability across the broad North American beverage portfolio. That includes everything from brand Pepsi to Naked Juice to Bubly and to new and emerging platforms like SodaStream, and looking at how we embed things like water efficiency, reducing our climate impact, and building a packaging strategy, to get to 100% of our packaging being recyclable, compostable, or renewable. It’s really about getting that embedded into the business processes we have within PepsiCo, and it includes things like our Sustainable from the Start program, which is a platform that will bring sustainability upfront as we innovate.

If I were to say what else is entailed in this role, we really believe sustainability has the ability to deepen our relationship with our consumers as well as our employees. So, thinking about ways to authentically engage our consumers and our employees through the lens of this journey of sustainability we’re on is another big part of my role at the company.

You mentioned Sustainability from the Start. Can you explain what that is?

Yes. So it’s unique to PepsiCo. It’s a set of tools, but it’s also, if you think about the mindset, about how we innovate in our business. It’s about bringing sustainability in very early on in the discussion around product innovation, packaging innovation, so that we have a fulsome understanding of the decisions we’re making in the business.

I don’t view my role, or the role of our sustainability team, as saying yes or no to decisions; it’s about ensuring our general managers have a full picture of the decisions they’re making, the innovation they’re putting out, and the impact they have across climate, water, and agriculture and the range of things we know are important to the sustainability journey. And then, making very deliberate decisions about how we’re going to ensure that products either at launch or very shortly thereafter are in line with our sustainability goals across the various pillars that we define as important to the sustainability journey.

What are PepsiCo’s carbon reduction goals, and how does packaging fit into that?

As a company, one of the biggest levers we have to pull to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions [GHGs] and reach our carbon reduction goal is packaging. It’s [packaging] about a quarter of our footprint. We’ve got to find ways to address that. What we want to do specifically is, one, we need to lean in and find ways to collaborate to drive a circular economy. The second thing, tying back to Sustainable from the Start, is we need to look at all our innovations and understand the GHG profile of new innovation we’re putting out into the market. So it’s this deep connection of the various pillars, understanding the impact our packaging portfolio has on the other pillars, and then ensuring the

5/18/21 6:38 AM

19

Read more of Packaging World’s exclusive interview with Jason Blake at pwgo.to/7018. reducing carbon emissions. Naked Juice, also, will be in 100% rPET. Our Bubly portfolio is illustrative, more so than something we can point to that’s made a big impact. But we’ve made the bold move of switching that entire portfolio out of PET and into aluminum, which we know is recycled at a much higher rate (see pwgo.to/7017).

But, I would point back to initiatives like Sustainable from the Start that are really bringing to the surface, for a company like PepsiCo, the real issues we’ve got to grapple with. They’re bringing visibility early on in the innovation process so that we’re bringing products to market that are helping us achieve these longer-term goals. The other thing I’d point to is platforms like SodaStream, where we can reduce or build platforms around multi-use vessels and other ways to get products into the consumer’s hand that don’t rely on single-use vessels. We think that’s going to be a big change. But the important thing here is the journey we’re on and the bold steps we’re taking, whether they are brand-specific or specific to new platforms we’re looking to build.

PepsiCo’s premium water brand LIFEWTR will be rolled out in 100% rPET this year. way we innovate fully captures the impact it’s going to have on the broader ambition of the company.

We’ve doubled our climate ambition by 2030 to reduce GHGs by 40% by 2030. In fact, we’re going to get to net zero by 2040, which is important because that’s 10 years ahead of Paris [The Paris Agreement]. These include reductions across Scope 1 [direct emissions], Scope 2 [indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, heating, and cooling], and Scope 3 [all other indirect emissions that occur in a company’s value chain] emissions. So we’re also looking outside our four walls in our direct operations. But again, if you think about packaging being 25%, give or take, of that footprint, you can’t deliver that goal without addressing the packaging impact on those goals. So, these things are highly interconnected, and we’re well down the path of understanding the interconnection and understanding the big levers we’re going to have to pull to deliver these goals.

Why does packaging comprise such a large part of your GHG footprint?

When you think about our packaging, that [percentage] comes down significantly as we get away from fossil fuel-based PET, virgin PET. That’s still a big part of the portfolio today. We’ve got to transition that and reduce that. We’ve got to increase recycled content. We’ve got to look at alternative materials.

What packaging initiatives has PepsiCo undertaken so far that have had the most impact on reducing carbon emissions?

This is a journey, and we’ve got to take a long view that says, “We’ve got to continue to drive towards a reduction.” But if I were to point to a couple, we’re going to have our LIFEWTR portfolio in 100% recycled PET this year—we think that’s a big lever to pull with respect to

FirstPerson_0621.indd 19

What is the biggest challenge for PepsiCo, as well as other CPGs, in meeting 2025 targets around packaging sustainability? What needs to happen to make these goals a reality?

Part of it is the journey we’re already on, which is integrating this into the business. I like to talk about talent within the organization, and we’ve got people who are career sustainability professionals, and they’ll have wonderful careers at PepsiCo in sustainability. But, at the same time, we’ve got to build the competence more broadly across the organization around sustainability. We need finance executives, we need marketing executives, we need supply chain executives, who aren’t necessarily sustainability executives, to understand how central this is to what we do. That level of sustainability competence inside a company drives internal alignment about the big and important things.

The second thing is, it’s not a challenge, it’s an opportunity. We’ve got these large brands that have direct relationships with consumers, and they have a real opportunity to articulate to consumers what they’re doing in this space and how the consumer can help them along this journey and engage in this journey. The key is they’ve got to do it in an authentic way—it’s got to feel authentic to the consumer of that brand. We know that about two-thirds of all consumers have some level of sustainability filter with which they look at the brands they’re most loyal to. And if you’re not meeting the mark, you run the risk of consumers making other choices. So we’ve got to find ways to really tell our story about sustainability.

The final really big challenge is this multi-stakeholder approach.

These problems we’re talking about and these targets we’ve set for ourselves require us to work with people and organizations that sit outside our four walls. That, sometimes, at a company like PepsiCo, is super challenging because we’re so driven to achieve results.

Sometimes it takes a little longer to bring others along on the journey, and that’s going to be hard, but we’ve got to have the patience and the diligence and the discipline to keep after it because I firmly believe we need this multi-stakeholder approach in order to solve the problems, or else we’re going to make incremental progress—we’re not going to make transformational progress. —Anne Marie Mohan

5/18/21 6:38 AM

20 PW JUN2021

THE LEGAL SIDE

By Eric F. Greenberg, Attorney-at-law

Short But Important New Allergen Law you think you always hate “regulation” and that less is always better It’s a law, but it’s two pages long. That’s than more—and lots of folks are saying that is their view nowadays— perhaps the most remarkable thing about then you hate this. it. It’s not some omnibus, thousand-page monster that legislators The widespread support by legislators and the lack of significant don’t seem to even read before they vote on it. No, this time, Congress resistance to this new example of “regulation” perhaps reflects the passed a law and it made a significant change to the food label and to very real health and safety issue that food allergies represent. FARE, packagers’ related obligations, and yet it’s only two pages long. the Food Allergy Research and Education advocacy group, says 32 It’s called the FASTER Act of 2021, for the “food allergy, safety, million Americans have food allergies, including one in 13 children, treatment, education and research act of 2021,” and it added sesame and that food allergies can be life threatening, saying “Each year in to the list in the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of Major the U.S., 200,000 people require emergency medical care for allergic Allergens whose presence in food has to be disclosed on the label reactions to food.” of a food in interstate commerce. The sesame requirements kick in The original eight major allergens were said to be responsible for starting January 1, 2023. over 90% of food allergies, though FDA says “More than 160 foods have The new law also requires the Secretary of Health and Human been identified to cause food allergies in sensitive individuals.” Food Services to report to Congress within 18 months about existing safety activists have targeted sesame for addition to this list for some federal activities relating to various aspects of food allergies, such as years, and other candidates will likely be considered in the future. data on their prevalence and development of diagnostic tests and I often tell seminar attendees and students new therapeutics, and recommend ways to The widespread support by that the biggest issue you can get wrong “expand, enhance, or improve” them, and regarding a food label that creates a direct about ways to improve the process of further legislators and the lack of and serious health issue is failing to disclose additions to the definition of major food significant resistance to this the presence of a major allergen. FDA data allergens.

Sesame joins the other eight major new example of “regulation” from the first five years of its Reportable Food program, which requires food comallergens required by law to be disclosed on perhaps reflects the very real Registry panies to report to FDA when they are aware food labels, either via ingredient lists or a health and safety issue that of a food in commerce that creates a hazard separate “contains” statement. They are milk, to health, showed undeclared allergens eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, food allergies represent. accounted for more reports than Salmonella peanuts, wheat, and soy. contamination or Listeria monocytogenes contamination in four of the The whole purpose of these legal requirements is to give notice five years, accounting for as many as 47% of the reports in the fifth to allergic people of the presence of the allergen so they can avoid year of that program. FDA noted that “Bakery commodities account it. Allergens might lurk in flavorings or other ingredients that aren’t for the most reports relating to undeclared allergens for all five years.” otherwise required to be individually revealed in a food’s list of Third, the key question of “when” is a little tricky. The new FASTER ingredients, or packaging components, hence the need for the special Act says the change in the law applies to products that are introduced disclosure requirement. or delivered for introduction into interstate commerce on or after In addition to having to disclose it on the label, packagers have to the effectiveness date of January 1, 2023. Admittedly, that’s technical get information disclosures from suppliers and impose manufacturing legalese that doesn’t clearly answer the common questions packagers procedures as part of their preventive controls programs to make sure have about the start of the new requirements, and FDA hasn’t said yet to suss out the presence of allergens and to, for example, avoid crosshow it will implement the start of the new requirements, especially contamination of other foods. the label requirement.

Such a simple, straightforward idea and such a short law, and yet the But if they do it as they did when the original eight major addition of sesame as a major allergen is curious from several angles. allergens requirements began, they will say that any food that is First, let us pause briefly to take note of the bizzarro fact that it labeled on or after the effectiveness date of January 1, 2023 will have passed unanimously in the U.S. Senate. Zowie, maybe there’s hope for to comply, but products labeled before then that do not comply, but our divided nation after all. (On the other hand, it passed 415-11 in end up in interstate commerce after the effectiveness date, will not the House, close but no unanimous cigar.) have to be removed. But we’ll see. PW Second, this is an example of, pardon my language, “regulation.” If Eric Greenberg can be reached at greenberg@efg-law.com. Or visit his firm’s Web site at www.ericfgreenbergpc.com.

INFORMATIONAL ONLY, NOT LEGAL ADVICE.

LegalSide_0621.indd 20

5/18/21 5:27 AM

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22 PW JUN2021

THE BIG PICTURE

By Sterling Anthony, CPP, Contributing Editor

Approved Vendor Lists for Packaging An approved vendor list (AVL) is a document central to vendor management (for related reading, see “Packaging’s Vital Role in Vendor Management,” Packaging World, May 2021, or visit pwgo.to/7029). The centrality is simple: one has to have vendors first, in order to manage them.

An AVL indexes the vendors that are authorized to supply specified products (and/or services) to the subject buyer. To have practical value, an AVL must be regarded as an edict, deviations allowed only under extenuating circumstances. When what’s being supplied has to do with packaging, the establishment and management of that portion of an AVL pose a variety of challenges.

the manufacturer. Regardless of whether the listed vendor is the manufacturer or an intermediary, it’s essential to list the name, phone number, email, etc., of a contact person.

What is procured from the vendor should be listed by description, and when applicable, by specification. When a vendor supplies different categories of items, an AVL should be able to convey that fact without being clunky. Another situation that an AVL should readily make clear is when a vendor supplies packaging that’s of the same type but is differentiated across the buyer’s brands. There are other possible combinations, but the point is that an effective AVL is one that can present them with at-a-glance clarity.

To have practical value, an AVL must be regarded as an edict, deviations allowed only under extenuating circumstances.

When what’s being supplied has to do with packaging, the establishment and management of that portion of an AVL pose a variety of challenges.

Any approved vendor only is as reliable as the approval process that it underwent. Approval criteria for packaging needs to be exacting, reflecting packaging’s multi-faceted roles in the manufacture, marketing, and distribution of goods. Although not to the exclusion of all other considerations, criteria always should involve price, quality, and performance. The three are interrelated and the relative importance of any one is application specific. For packaging that’s subject to stringent federal regulations, for example, quality and performance are non-negotiable. Nonetheless, the buyer should pursue price negotiations aggressively, but in good faith.

Because of the many inclusions that can fall under the rubric of packaging, its portion of an AVL can be quite populated, even for modest-sized companies. Keeping the list current requires the necessary additions and subtractions, as partnerships are formed and dissolved. Personnel within the buyer’s company also undergo additions and subtractions. Therefore, an inquiry into any vendor’s status never should be solely dependent on the recall of an employee.

Any AVL—as is true of all aspects of vendor management— should be computer-supported, software-driven, and accessible to all stakeholders throughout the buyer’s company. That advice speaks to form. A related matter is that of content, which is to ask, “what information should an AVL convey?” The answers lend themselves to who, what, when, where, and how.

A company name should be used to state who a vendor is. As obvious as that might seem, there are pitfalls to be avoided. In the case of a distributor, for example, the vendor is not necessarily

BigPicture_0621.indd 22

The when-issue can provide a variety of information. For example, it could relate to the history of the relationship, analogous to when a credit card states, “member since _ _ _ _.” Continuing the analogy, when the relationship is contractual, it’s important to have renewal dates readily accessible to those responsible for devising strategy.

Where the supplies are coming from (i.e., sourced) can present complications. Take the example of a supply chain wherein the vendor and the buyer have multiple facilities. There is utility not only in knowing who supplies whom, but also any allowed interchangeability/substituting. Another wrinkle is added when a vendor is foreign.

How supplies are received speaks to logistics, of course. However, the “how” also can relate to the manner by which a vendor does what is does, via technologies, procedures, policies, and the like—tangibles that play into how well the parties fit.

Given the vast variety of form and content that an AVL can take, priorities need to be set. All vendors need to be accounted for, but not equally. Best practices advocate classifying vendors as either critical, important, or useful—a continuum based on the impact a vendor has on the buyer’s operations. AVLs typically are multi-sectional. The basic information is presented upon landing on a vendor, and other information accessible via links. That way, stakeholders can navigate in accordance with their interests.

AVLs should be regarded as living documents and composed, maintained, and managed as such. That’s the sure-fire way to make the approved the improved. PW

5/19/21 4:41 PM

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5/19/21 4:43 PM

24 PW JUN2021

SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING

By Dan Felton, Executive Director for AMERIPEN

A Flurry of Federal Bills As the country begins to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, federal lawmakers have revived or introduced four bills related to packaging end-of-life management in recent weeks. The Realizing the Economic Opportunities and Value of Expanding Recycling Act, the Recycling Enhancements to Collection and Yield through Consumer Learning and Education Act, and the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act have been reintroduced to the 117th Congress with no substantive changes.

(See pwgo.to/6096 for a summary of each.)

On March 2, lawmakers introduced to the House of Representatives the new Climate Leadership and Environmental Action for our Nation’s (CLEAN) Future Act. This comprehensive climate action bill includes language impacting packaging by adopting many provisions from the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act, including a pause on building new plastics facilities, restrictions on chemical recycling, and the establishment of a national bottle bill.

The legislation establishes post-consumer recycled content standards for beverage containers and other packaging, as well as standardized labeling on covered packaging to clarify their recyclability. It also calls for a task force to create a national extended producer responsibility (EPR) system for packaging and containers. The bill could give the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency further jurisdiction over packaging requirements and restrictions.

In addition to these particular bills, AMERIPEN anticipates the introduction or reintroduction of other packaging-centric legislation, including the Plastic Waste Reduction and Recycling Act and Save Our Seas (SOS) Act 3.0 throughout this year. We also are aware of advocacy efforts to include recycling issues in any federal infrastructure legislation that may advance, plus industry efforts to recognize the efficacy of chemical recycling.

History of federal engagement The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) from 1976 provided a framework for federal oversight by the EPA, particularly for hazardous materials, but gave states the power to manage their own waste streams, granting most authority for recycling to states and municipalities.

Little federal policy on packaging and waste disposal has been enacted since RCRA’s inception; most activity has been at the state level. However, that began to change when national discourse over plastic debris expanded from a solid waste issue to a global environmental, economic, and human health issue, particularly in the past several years. The SOS Act 2.0, which was signed into law in December 2020, was a continuation of several acts of Congress to curb ocean and marine debris affecting coastal communities and aquatic life, starting with the Marine Debris Act of 2006.

Subsequent laws, including the initial SOS Act 1.0 of 2018, ramped

up research, prevention, removal, and response efforts, culminating with the current 2.0 version that focuses on research and funding for infrastructure development.

We see a similar trajectory of federal interest in other areas of the environmental protection conversation—particularly global climate change. The CLEAN Future Act is one example. As packaging becomes more recognized as interlinked to global environmental concerns such as ocean health, climate change, and health and safety, we expect to see more federal engagement.

Pros and cons of increased federal involvement Federal policymaking can be crucial to harmonizing efforts between state and local governments and the packaging industry; many within our industry have been promoting a national approach.

Consistent approaches to data, definitions, and requirements can reduce complexity and limit the continuous patchwork of varying state regulations.

Federal intervention means more money for end-of-market and other innovations and for infrastructure development. Federal government participation also translates into shared responsibility with state and local governments and the industry to advance a circular economy for packaging.

In addition, federal regulations—and the bills currently in consideration—typically call for a variety of research initiatives, which, in turn, will likely inform future policies and decision-making.

Our ability to leverage national research will help further advance sustainable packaging systems and ensure we can proactively offer solutions that benefit not only our industry, but also the people and economies we serve.

While offering some advantages, federal legislation also offers some challenges for resolving environmental concerns surrounding packaging and its end of life, and for navigating systems designed for local control. National-level policymaking doesn’t take into account regional circumstances and limits the industry’s ability to respond to local opportunities and needs. The pace of change is also slower at the federal level—we need faster responses to the challenges facing our industry than federal policy typically provides.

What’s next?

While the pandemic and economic recovery will likely remain a priority in 2021, there is a lot of pressure on Capitol Hill regarding the CLEAN Future Act. As it moves forward, which aspects will be retained and their result on the industry is unclear. However, packaging continues to be integrated into environmental discussions, so we should view the bill as a bellwether for more federal legislation.

This year, AMERIPEN will work to ensure that any policy set at the federal level helps create greater harmonization and the ability for producers to work toward viable packaging circularity. PW

AMERIPEN represents the U.S. packaging value chain by providing policymakers with fact-based, material-neutral, scientific information.

SP_0621.indd 24

5/19/21 2:53 PM

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26 PW JUN2021

Digital Printing, E-beam Coating, and More Now nearing the end of its first year in business, AccuFlex is leveraging digital printing, e-beam coating, Color-Logic software, and both films and zippers that are compostable.

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Efficient pouch-making

I T

Achieving sustainability goals

By Pat Reynolds, VP Editor Emeritus In 1980, at the tender age of 25, Tom O’Brien launched a commercial printing firm in North Carolina called AccuLink. Partly because the business was an early and eager adopter of digital printing technologies, it grew and prospered. But by 2014 AccuLink, like most commercial printers, was in serious decline, their business eroded by various online platforms that reduced the need for direct mail, posters, brochures, and other printed products on which commercial printers had long depended.

AccuLink was rescued in 2015 when it reinvented itself by becoming a fulfillment house for digitally printed web-to-print items: coffee mugs, mouse pads, personalized cards, blankets, Christmas ornaments, and so on. By this time O’Brien had plenty of digital printing systems from HP Indigo, but none of his business activity had anything to do with packaging. Not that he didn’t want it to. “By 2019 I knew I was missing out by not being involved in packaging, and I wanted to be in it so bad I couldn’t see straight,” he recalls. “But I just didn’t have any The electron beam coating and laminating system is one of several strategic investments experience in packaging, which I felt was abso- in machines, methods, and materials that AccuFlex opted for as a way of scoring lutely essential. So I chose to say no.” sustainable packaging points.

Then he was introduced to Tim Mages, a 30ing, they were winning awards for the digitally printed pouches they year veteran in flexible packaging who had recently parted ways with a were producing. previous employer and was looking for a new opportunity. Mages and AccuFlex Packaging is built around HP Indigo’s 20000 roll-fed digital O’Brien quickly became convinced that, together, they could break into press. Capable of handling media thicknesses from 10 to 250 microns the ever-so-promising field of digitally printed packaging. By 2019 they and web widths to 30 inches at speeds to 19,500 sq ft/hr in four-color began issuing purchase orders for the following equipment: mode, it produces print quality that rivals offset and gravure. And be• an HP Indigo 20000 roll-fed digital press cause it’s a digital press that requires no printing plates, it opens up • a Suncentre slitter numerous opportunities for short-run quick-change production.

• a Suncentre pouch-making machine Oftentimes the substrates being converted at AccuFlex are designed • an electron-beam coating and laminating system with sustainability in mind. “Right from the start we really wanted to do • a Suncentre spout inserter compostable packaging,” says O’Brien. Which is why the firm brings in In 2020, just two weeks after officially launching AccuFlex Packag-

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a steady supply of NatureFlex™ cellulose film from Futamura. Actually they buy it from S-One Labels and Packaging, which buys it in volume from Futamura and remarkets it as Re-Earth. This arrangement works well for AccuFlex because if on Monday they need two rolls of Futamura metallized compostable film, they can get it on Tuesday or Wednesday from an S-One warehouse in Atlanta. “It means I don’t have to inventory a lot of material myself,” says O’Brien.

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The advantages of e-beam Also notable in the newly constructed 13,500-sq-ft food packaging manufacturing site adjacent to the AccuLink facility is the electron beam coating and laminating system. It’s one of several strategic investments in machines, methods, and materials that O’Brien opted for as a way of scoring sustainable packaging points in a marketplace where being perceived as green seems more important every day. As AccuFlex President Tim Mages explains, by using e-beam as opposed to more conventional thermal or solventless laminations, an entire plastic substrate can easily be eliminated from the kind of three-layer lamination that is ubiquitous today.

“What you see typically today for numerous applications,” says Mages, “are three-layer laminations. The outside layer is reverse-printed polyester, and then adhesive laminated to it is a metallized polyester that traps the printing. The third layer is a sealant layer.

With e-beam in place, we can purchase a two-layer lamination of metallized PET and 3.5-mil metallocene LLDPE. We then surface print this prelaminated structure, run it through the e-beam coater, and go straight to pouch-making. Not only do we eliminate the time needed for curing that would be necessary if we were doing solventless laminating, we’re also eliminating one whole layer of polyester.”

The one application where e-beam lamination, as opposed to e-beam coating, is called for is when a customer wants a soft matte finish. “Today you just can’t get the soft matte effect you want from a coating,” says Mages. “So in this case we buy a soft matte polyester or OPP, reverse print it on the 20000, and e-beam laminate it to the sealant layer.”

An e-beam coating system relies on radiation curing, just like UV curing systems. But it uses electron

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emphasize quick turnaround and greater sustainability. If a converter can buy from us a ‘pre-lam’ of metallized NatureFlex and sealant layer, they don’t have to reverse print polyester and then thermal laminate a layer of metallized polyester plus thermal laminate a sealant layer.

Nor do they have to build in curing time of 24 to 48 hours before shipping thermally laminated material to their customers. They can surface print our pre-lam, e-beam coat it, and go straight to pouch-making in the same day. Recognizing nearly three years ago that this new model was beginning to establish itself, we wanted to become a source that would let converters buy from one turnkey provider an integrated system including not only an e-beam curing system from PCT but also the unwind, secondary unwind, and rewind station, and even a flexo deck if need be. And from that same turnkey source they would also buy the NatureFlex rollstock.”

Compostability a key goal One example of the pouches that AccuFlex prints and forms. beams as opposed to UV light. The e-beam system at AccuFlex emerged from a partnership of S-One, Custom Design Applications, and PCT Ebeam and Integration. S-One now offers the technology to the marketplace as an integrated system called CatPak. Tom Hauenstein, Global Sales Director at S-One, explains how this came about.

“The pouch-making business is changing to a model that needs to

Another strategy adopted by AccuFlex to shore up its sustainable bona fides is its use not only of compostable films but of bio-based reclosable zippers. While the rollstock comes from Futamura, the biobased reclosable zipper material comes from Elplast. According to SOne’s Hauenstein, dealing with these bio-based materials has its own set of challenges. Not only are there a variety of bio-based sealant layers to pick from—PLA, PBS, PBSA, Ecovio—you also have to pick the right compostable certified adhesive to marry the NatureFlex to the biobased sealant layer.

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“Everyone’s gotten very efficient when it comes to laminating polyester to a linear low density polyethylene sealant layer,” says Hauenstein. “But it’s a labor of love sorting through the compatibility of all these new bio-based materials. And we have to test the finished structures if we want to certify them as being truly compostable. That might involve $15,000 and 90 days of evaluation.

“Some bio-based sealant layers are really strong and stretchy. So if

you’re doing a vertical form/fill/seal package and you’re dropping in potatoes or something heavy, that would be what you want. But other bio-based sealants are more brittle and rigid, and those hold up better in a standup pouch because they actually help the sidewalls of the pouch stand up. Moisture resistance, too, is an issue, so if the package’s contents are moist that has to be taken into account. We really have to hold the customers’ hands a bit and understand clearly what each application involves.”

Seen here from the film infeed station is the pouch-making system operating at AccuFlex.

Bio-based zippers, says Hauenstein, are another whole can of worms. “If the bio-based sealant layer is, let’s say, PBSA and the bio-based zipper is made of BASF’s Ecovio—which is a mix of a couple of different bio-based materials—what temperature do I use to marry the zipper to the pouch? Bio-based sealants typically seal at lower temperatures than the triedand-true linear low density polyethylene. So speed and tooling design and temperature settings on your pouch-making enter the picture in a critical way. Believe me, it’s tricky.”

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Unique decorative effects Which brings us to AccuLink’s use of Color-Logic software, a metallic color communication system for creating decorative effects on metallized substrates. “I create a file in Color-Logic and send it to the Digital Front End of the HP Indigo 20000,” says O’Brien. “The DFE pushes it through the RIP [Raster Image Processor], which basically then tells the press what dots to put down, where to put them, and whether to lay them on top of each other or not.”

Wherever the design file calls for the metallization to be masked out, Color-Logic software tells the press to lay down opaque white. But where the design calls for metallic colors to shine through, the software tells the press to lay down cyan, magenta, or yellow picked from a swatch book that is produced off of AccuFlex’s

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20000 press. Which makes the swatch book AccuFlex’s own unique color system.

“It’s an accurate representation of substrate, inks, press condition, and the coatings found only at AccuFlex,” says Color-Logic Sales and Marketing Director Mark Geeves. “So where the design calls for a red metallic color, the press deposits not only the desired color but the precise shade of that color—a CL217-S as opposed to a CL218-S.” Geeves describes the metallic color system as “the most affordable system in the world for decorative effects. Only five inks are required to produce 250 metallic colors. It’s that converter’s own swatch book. There is no guesswork.”

When asked if printing, e-beam coating, slitting, and pouch-making are all one in-line process, O’Brien says it’s more like “near-line.”

In other words, rollstock spends some time as Pouches coming off of the pouch-making system go into this spout inserter. work-in-process (WIP) as it progresses from one As just one example, O’Brien points to a package now in the works that converting process to another—but not much. He also says that not will include compostable metallized NatureFlex, a compostable zipper all material printed, coated, and slit at AccuFlex proceeds to in-house reclosure feature from Elplast, the metallic special effects made possipouch-making. “Some of the material coming off the slitter goes to cusble through the Color-Logic software, and a new variable-data-printing tomers who mount it on their form/fill/seal machines,” says O’Brien. tool from HP Indigo called Collage that will make it possible to produce Both O’Brien and Mages are excited about what their fledgling cona run of 10,000 units where no two packages will be the same. PW verting company will be able to do with its unusual mix of technologies.

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Take Two Foods’ Aseptic Packaging Gives Upcycled Barley New Life Longer retail shelf life and the ability to sell online support this 21st-century company’s mission to extend spent barley’s value in a plant-based milk that fits today’s consumer health demands.

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Aseptic shelf-life boost

Major brands partner in upcycling

By Matt Reynolds, Editor Sarah Pool and Matt Olsofsky, co-founders of Take Two Foods, LLC launched their company commercially in March 2020, but the genesis of the company began much earlier, in 2016. At the time, Olsofsky was Global Director of Logistics for brewer Anheuser-Busch and Pool was a Global Director at ZX Ventures, the innovation arm of Anheuser-Busch parent AB InBev. The beverage giant launched ZX Ventures to develop ways to diversify the brewer’s markets and to foster and support innovative entrepreneurs who would take new products into those mar-

kets. That support continues today and includes providing access to AB InBev’s subject matter experts worldwide and investing in many of the participating entrepreneurs’ startup companies.

To develop ways to upcycle the brewers’ spent barley remaining after the brewing process, ZX contacted Pool, known on the West Coast for her award-winning work to commercialize vegan and plant-based foods, to lead the effort. The primary goal of the project was to find a practical way to reintroduce the still-nutritious spent barley into the food chain.

The Take Two Foods initial product line includes four milks, with more products planned.

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Once Pool had put forward the idea for barleymilk, she, Olsofsky, and other ZX experts spent almost four years developing and refining the product chemistry and production technology that would create a barleymilk of optimum consistency and flavor that would appeal to consumers seeking healthy, plant-based alternative products. Once the formulas for the four initial flavors and the production technology were in place, the operation was re-launched as a new standalone company, Take Two Foods. Anheuser-Busch remains an investor in the company, as well as its sole supplier of spent barley.

Processing and packaging the products The spent barley, which Anheuser-Busch formerly either sold as livestock feed or simply sent to a landfill, rather than being unceremoniously dumped, is now handled at breweries as a food product, with new stainless-steel chutes and storage facilities. It is then trucked to the facility of the co-manufacturer that processes and packages Take Two Foods products. There, it is processed using aseptic technology into four variet-

Matt Olsofsky (left) and Sarah Pool founded Take Two Foods with the support of AB InBev.

Healthy for both people and the planet “By creating nourishing, functional and affordable plant-based milk using upcycled spent grain,” says Pool, “Take Two Foods tackles food waste, dependence on animals for food, and greenhouse gas emissions.

We keep valuable nutrition in the food supply chain for longer, and we are maximizing natural resources and contributing to a circular economy.”

Beer production uses only the sugars, or malt, in the barley. The remaining constituents of the grain— including plant protein, fiber, and other nutrients— remain intact. The basic ingredient in Take Two milk is the rejuvenated barley, but the benefit of the years spent with ZX Ventures refining formulas and processes resulted in identifying other healthy ingredients that could maximize the products’ nutrition, taste, and performance.

These include such ingredients as pea protein to offer a complete plant protein and coconut and sunflower to provide healthy fats. As a result, barleymilk contains at least 5g of complete plant protein per serving, 50% more calcium than dairy milk; healthy fats like MCTs (medium-chain triglycerides) from coconut and monounsaturated fat from sunflower; and at least 50% less sugar than other flavored milks.

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ies of barleymilk. Future plans include other plant-based dairy products.

The growth in the aseptic packaging market is being largely driven by a dramatic shift in consumer preferences toward organic and natural foods and beverages that often require sterile, preservative-free aseptic processing and packaging. To the consumers in this market, Olsofsky points out, aseptic processing signifies product quality. At the same time, aseptic packaging enables producers to deliver and stores LA102-Half-Page-Island-Spread-2.pdf 1 7/21/20 10:26 AM

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to shelve its plant-based products such as milk without the need for refrigeration. For example, aseptic packaging gives Take Two Foods barleymilk a shelf life of up to 12 months.

It also means that these products can be sold online and delivered via “normal” (i.e., unrefrigerated) logistics service. On the West Coast, for instance, Take Two Foods’ barleymilk can be purchased online for direct delivery from Take Two Foods as well as at retail stores.

Currently the company is producing four flavor varieties of its milk: Original (unsweetened), Chocolate, Vanilla, and Chef’s Blend (specially formulated for cooking, baking, and frothing). All four flavors of milk are packaged in 40-oz (1.2-L) rPET (recycled polyethylene terephthalate) bottles produced by Merrimack Valley Plastics, LLC, a subsidiary of Envases USA. After filling, bottles are immediately capped with Silgan Closures 38 mm VFJ aseptic closures molded of PP (polypropylene). Olsofsky, experienced in both food production and packaging, chose this packaging combination carefully.

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“Having one bottle configuration for multiple products minimizes inventory and significantly reduces costs,” he says.

Take Two chose the Silgan Closures 38-mm VFJ aseptic closure because it features a plug seal that provides the ability to reseal the bottle once the foil seal is removed.

Filled, sealed bottles are then labeled with a fullbody shrink-sleeve label produced by Worldpack, Inc. The labels carry the Take Two logo and flavor information, and are color-coded to instantly identify each flavor variety.

Growth today and tomorrow Currently, consumers can order barleymilk online from Take Two Foods and from home delivery service MilkRun™ in several locations, and in the near future from Amazon. They can also purchase Take Two Foods’ four barleymilk varieties in many natural foods stores on the West Coast from Seattle to Los Angeles and in

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Corona Launches Pilot Beer Pack Made from Upcycled Surplus Barley Corona says it is the first global brand to leverage technology and processes three years in development by AB InBev’s Global Innovation and Technology Center (GITEC). This new technology gives the essential beer ingredient new life as a sustainable packaging solution. The new packaging will launch with an initial 10,000 six packs rolling out as a pilot in Colombia, followed by Argentina later in 2021 as Corona looks to scale the new solution globally.

Non-wood fibers from barley straw waste are upcycled for Corona six packs in Colombia.

Felipe Ambra, Global Vice President of Marketing, Corona, says “Starting with our own packaging, we assessed where we could make changes within our production and supply chains to make a real difference. We are proud to announce this first step in reinventing the future of packaging for our industry.”

Barley straw, a leftover from farmers’ harvests, is used in a unique pulping process built to handle its relative fragility. Combined with 100% recycled wood fibers, this process creates a paper board to produce new packaging that is as strong and durable as a regular six pack, but better for the planet.

Turning barley straw into paper fiber uses 90% less water in its production than the traditional virgin wood process, along with less energy and fewer harsh chemicals. Using leftover barley straw is also far more productive

Idaho, as well as in some large grocery stores, including Whole Foods. As sales growth continues, Take Two’s future plans include targeting markets in other areas known for enthusiastic support of non-traditional healthy foods, including the Northeastern states, then leveraging the success of barleymilk in those locales to generate interest in other areas of the country.

“For those people interested in eating healthier foods,” points out Pool, “the entry to plant-based eating is often through plant-based milk. That helps drive plant-based foods into the mainstream market, impacting the health both of consumers and of our shared environment.” PW

than the equivalent area of woodland, and Corona sees this as one path forward to eliminate the need for virgin trees and raw material from their supply chain in the future.

Upon completion of the pilot, AB InBev, Corona’s parent company, will review rolling out the technology to other brands. —Kim Overstreet LA102-Half-Page-Island-Spread-2.pdf 2 7/21/20 10:26 AM

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Robotic Case Packers Improve Output by 20% German food producer Kühne realizes increased OEE for eight glass packaging formats through new case packers’ faster machine changeover and digital data gathering and networking capabilities.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

Robotic case packing According to Hamburg, Germany-based Kühne, its delicatessen food products are “Made with Love.” They are also made with a laser focus on high efficiency, in both product and packaging processes. Since 1722, the family-owned business has been developing innovations in food that reflect the nutritional and cooking habits of their time. Among Kühne’s current offerings—many of which are category leaders—are vinegar and dressings, gherkins, sauces and mustard, cabbage and sauerkraut, vegetables and antipasti, and “better-for-you” baked vegetable snacks sold through retail and foodservice.

Watch a video of the two new robotic case packers at Kühne at: pwgo.to/7000 In July 2020, the company installed two new robotic case-packing lines from Gerhard Schubert GmbH for its remoulades, barbecue sauces, and salad dressings to achieve the speed and flexibility needed for its different package formats. The new machines feature Schubert’s digital customer platform and industrial gateway, which provide analysis of key production figures that can improve OEE (Overall Equipment Efficiency) and allow Schubert to monitor the machines to improve efficiency as well as recommend preventative maintenance measures.

Digitally networked production

Robots allow for gentle, efficient handling With the installation of the two new lines, Kühne switched from case packing via a traditional grouping chain to robotics. Explains Andreas Keller, Sales Account Manager at Schubert, “Due to the high noise level and risk of breakage, the production managers at Kühne wanted an alternative to the grouping chain.”

Schubert’s TLM packaging machines comprise modules that each handle a different function of the packaging process via robotics, while its Transmodul single-axis transport robot runs on a rail system that passes through all the sub-machines. At each end of the rail section, a turning unit on the Transmodul enables unloaded modules to travel back to the other end on the lower track. To hold items in place during transport, the Transmodul is equipped with a vacuum blower. Data and signals are transmitted wirelessly.

The decision by Kühne to purchase two new lines was driven by the different performance levels of the upstream filling stations. The first line packs two sizes of remoulade jars, while the second handles six formats of the company’s Made for Meat barbecue sauces and its vinaigrette salad dressings, packed in round glass bottles. On both lines, the

One of the two robotic case packing machines handles six formats of Made for Meat barbecue sauce (shown) and salad dressings in glass bottles.

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Two pick-and-place robots pick two bottles at a time from the product conveyor and place the desired number of bottles to be packed on the Transmodul with the erected cases.

packaging process takes place in counterflow.

During operation of the first line, the process begins when two case blanks at a time are destacked by an F3 three-axis robot, specially designed by Schubert to remove materials from a magazine. The cases are then erected and placed on the Transmodul transport robot by an F2 robot. The F2 is controlled by two servomotors and can carry out any movements in a 2D working field of approximately 3.9 x 2.6 ft.

In the next station, four F4 four-axis pick-and-place robots take two jars at a time from the product conveyor and place the desired number of jars to be packed on the Transmodul alongside the erected boxes.

The Transmodul then moves to the next station, where the two finished jar formations are gripped by an F2 robot and placed into the cases. At the last station, another F2 robot seals the cases and places them onto an outfeed conveyor. Together, the four modules complete case-packing of the jars at 210 jars/min.

The second line operates in the same way, the exception being that there are just two F4 robots in the case-filling station, in contrast to the four used in the first line. The line operates at speeds to 120/min.

According to Keller, the robotic system has solved challenges Kühne had been experiencing with changeover time with its former systems.

With the previous equipment, he says, format changes—for example from remoulade jars to sauce bottles—had to be scheduled around two shifts. The flexible TLM solution handles changeover in a maximum of 20 minutes, without tools, including changeover of the grippers of the F4 robots for the products (with bayonet lock), the magazine plates, the box folding frames, and the Transmodul pick-up plates.

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Big Data propels big improvements Integrated into every new robot-based TLM packaging system, including those purchased by Kühne, is Schubert’s industrial gateway, GS.Gate, as well as its GRIPS.world customer platform. Says Schubert, “Big Data is the new currency in the packaging industry, as well as everywhere else. But storing machine data alone is not enough. If you want to profit from sustainable packaging machines, you need a meaningful analysis of the important key figures and 100% protection against attacks from the Internet.”

As Schubert explains, its GS.Gate gateway evaluates all machine data

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and networks the Kühne lines with the GRIPS. world digital platform “while adhering to the highest security standards.” Based on the current production data and reports that are generated automatically on a weekly basis, Kühne can identify potential areas for optimization across the entire packaging process. For example, the targeted analysis of error messages can increase machine availability.

Until it acquired the new case-packing machines, Kühne used an OEE calculation program for its production meetings, with part of the data acquired from records kept by machine operators on individual production lines. However, these records did not consistently list the interruption times because the elimination of a malfunction naturally took priority over the documentation process for the machine operators.

This resulted in certain inaccuracies in the documentation, which the company urgently wanted to minimize. To this end, Kühne and Schubert are now working hand in hand on a new type of evaluation, as Kühne has allowed Schubert access to the platform.

Says Stefan Knoth, Technical Support at Kühne, “Compared with our previous method, it is a real advantage that we now have a tool that Two finished bottle formations are gripped by an F2 robot and placed into cases. automatically records the reasons for disrupwith Schubert’s system development department, we intend to intetions and downtimes. The weekly report provided by Schubert for this grate further upstream and downstream machines into the system to purpose provides an initial overview of the entire line’s performance. process error messages from these systems as plain text in real time,” he Detailed statements are possible with the program’s extensive analysis says. “We now have a powerful tool that provides us with excellent supfunctions. Another highlight is the ECO dashboard for recording and port in systems analysis and increased overall line effectiveness. evaluating power and compressed air consumption. This allows us to “We are already achieving 20% more output than before, according provide detailed data to our energy management system.” to the OEE evaluation. The Schubert family has done an excellent job.”

He also sees the possibility of exporting the processed data as a use—Anne Marie Mohan ful add-on and using it for further evaluations. “In the future, together

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According to Stefan Knoth, Technical Support at Kühne, the GRIPS.world industrial gateway has helped the company increase OEE by 20%.

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In the first episode of UnPACKed with Packaging World’s sister publication Automation World, Director of Content David Greenfield reveals some of the truths and myths about automation during the past year. Were robots adopted at a higher pace, or did use stay the same? What vertical markets saw the largest benefit? Are there specific robotic technologies he sees as offering the most potential for CPG production operations?

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People with Limb, Vision Disabilities Gain Access with Inclusive Deodorant Pack Design A durable, refillable deodorant prototype from Unilever’s Degree brand makes the application process more accessible.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

Durable, refillable packaging Degree Deodorant, a Unilever brand and maker one of the world’s best-known antiperspirants, introduces what it calls the world’s first inclusive deodorant for people with visual impairment and upper limb motor disabilities: Degree Inclusive.

One in four Americans has a disability, yet products are rarely designed with this community in mind. According to the brand, across the beauty industry, there is currently no deodorant product suitable for people with upper body disabilities to use. Twisting a deodorant cap, turning a dial on a stick, or pushing down on a spray with limited arm mobility is a real challenge. In addition to meeting the needs of those with disabilities, Degree Inclusive offers refillable packaging to limit waste impact and a gender-neutral fragrance.

Degree partnered with an inclusive team from brand & design agency Wunderman Thompson, including occupational therapists, engineers and designers from SOUR, consultants, and people living with disabilities across the globe to create a prototype for Degree Inclusive. Driven by a mission to make the deodorant application process more accessible, Degree Inclusive has been designed with the following features as noted in the brand’s product development video (visit pwgo.to/7016 to view).

• A hooked cap design and integral handle on the base for onehanded usage • Magnetic closures that make it easier to take the cap off and put it back on for users with limited grip and/or vision impairment • Enhanced grip placement for easier application for users with limited grip or no arms • A braille label with instructions for users with vision impairment • A larger roll-on applicator to reach more surface area per swipe To ensure this original prototype is effective and accessible, Degree is now currently in a beta program to engage and get input from people living with disabilities. In partnership with The Chicago Lighthouse, Open Style Lab, and the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Degree has invited 200 people with disabilities in the U.S. to trial the prototype design and share their feedback with Degree on its concept, product features, and messaging, to help improve the innovation for its future commercial launch.

“As a brand that’s committed to inspiring confidence in everyone to move more, Degree believes no one should be held back from experiencing the transformative benefits of movement,” says Kathryn Swal-

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Socially responsible brands

The Degree Inclusive prototype is currently in application testing and trials in the U.S.

low, Global Degree Brand Vice President. “More than 60 million people in the U.S. live with a disability, yet products and experiences are still not designed with this community in mind. With Degree Inclusive we hope to inspire bold action across the industry to ensure that people with disabilities have an equal playing field.”

The brand says that Degree Inclusive marks the beginning of its frontier into accessible design and says it looks forward to making further progress on its long-term commitment to create equitable access to movement for all.

“Breaking stereotypes unleashes creativity and drives growth. Degree Inclusive challenges what a deodorant product should be. It’s a breakthrough accessible design that genuinely serves the needs of peo-

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RE-FLOW ACCUMULATION CONVEYOR

As the Degree Inclusive project rolls out, look for commercials depicting real athletes who benefit from the inclusive deodorant pack design. Watch the brief commercials at pwgo.to/7014 or pwgo.to/7015 to see the application in action.

ple with visual impairment and upper limb motor disabilities,” adds Aline Santos Farhat, EVP of Global Marketing and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Unilever.

Pack development Developing an entirely new pack out of whole cloth for a specific community involved a lot of R&D. Degree sought out prototyping and design consultant SOUR to take this process on.

“In addition to desk research and expert interviews, we collaborated with eight people living with diverse disabilities to explore challenges in deodorant application, co-ideate solutions, and gather feedback on design iterations,” says Pinar Guvenc, Partner at SOUR. “The design is inclusive of people with limited mobility or visual impairments, while also bringing ease in application and flexibility in use to a broader audience.”

The studio 3D printed various iterations in-house in order to test ergonomics. After several iterations, Guvenc shared the 3D print prototypes with the co-creation panel, including other stakeholders, to gather feedback on the form and ergonomics. This feedback led the company to the final prototype.

“The final prototypes have been scaled for the trial through reaction injection molding, using PU [polyurethane],” Guvenc says. “The pack consists of four components: The hook cap, the thread body that allows for the pack to be refillable, the base and the roll-on ball. The base is hollow to house deodorant content, and the hook cap is hollow to store the roll-on ball.”

Six magnets are used, three on each end of the cap and the base. SOUR had to ensure that the cap did not attach to the base incorrectly, misleading the visually impaired users to assume the cap was closed when it wasn’t. So, the magnets are situated in a way that would only allow for the hook to make a 180-deg turn, and make sure it’s a tight close either way.

The magnets also provide auditory confirmation for the visually impaired on closure as well, so SOUR used a number and configuration that delivered an audible “click” sound, and a tactile “click” feel. The separation does not require much force when pulled down, either when hanging by its hook, or when held on the other hand. At the lip of the base, a molded teal-colored collar “label” includes the product description in print, and in braille for the visually impaired.

Still in beta-testing, neither retail pricing for starter kits, nor pack design or price for refills, are available yet. Packaging World will follow this story through commercial launch. —Matt Reynolds

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AUTOMATION

OEM APPLICATION NOTE

From Empty Warehouse to Sanitizer Bottling in Three Months This new hand sanitizer packaging plant uses a unique automation architecture featuring edge computing to run at the pace of modern business.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

Scaling up via used equipment With demand for hand sanitizer more than doubling across the U.S. and annual growth of more than 20% expected in coming years, 2020 presented the cleaning industry with a big financial opportunity. Emerald 66 Enterprises (E66) mobilized resources to meet this need, setting up shop in an empty denim processing plant in Seminole, Okla.

In just three months, E66 had three automated packaging lines producing as many as 1 million HDPE bottles of hand sanitizer a week in a cGMP-compliant facility, and it continues to expand its core capabilities at a rapid clip. “When we say we do stuff quick,” says E66 Chief of Operations Robert Bodnar, “we’re talking days, not weeks or months.”

Managing manufacturing data a bottling and packaging operation, E66 management made it clear that they needed to move fast. They were competing against low-paid, high-volume workforces operating manually and believed they could use technology to do more with a smaller, better-paid workforce.

“Each piece of equipment had to be intelligent because E66 management is so keen on information,” says Thomas Coombs, Principal Engineer at NACI. “We had to make every conveyor and every device smart.”

Coombs planned to use edge computing—a design technique that adds general-purpose data processing and connectivity capabilities to traditional real-time control and sensing applications—to build an information management system at the same time that he scaled up production capabilities. He did this using the Opto 22 groov family of industrial edge controllers and I/O. Also important to point out is that E66 had also determined that the quickest way to build a new packaging process was by acquiring a variety of equipment at auction. The state of equipment on arrival varied widely, so NACI had to get creative in order to design a cohesive system at the speed that E66 needed.

Unique architecture To address the circumstances the team faced, NACI employed a unique architecture that enabled separate control systems to function together and also laid a foundation for E66’s data acquisition goals. At the top level, NACI used a groov EPIC edge programShown here is the rotary filler/capper running on one of the five packaging lines that mable industrial controller, which combines PLC control with embedded HMI, OPC UA, and secure gateway E66 now has running smoothly in its Oklahoma facility. functions in a single backplane. The EPIC controller Let’s step back to the summer of 2020 and examine the technolosupervised the packaging lines and connected disparate devices so they gies and techniques E66 and system integrator Northeast Automation could freely communicate over a common communications protocol.

Company, Inc. (NACI) used to achieve competitive advantage in a chalAny equipment that arrived with a defunct control system was intelenging market environment. When NACI was hired to come up with grated directly into this network as simple remote I/O.

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Where packaging machines had functional controllers, on the other hand, these were left in place and loosely coupled to the main process using Opto 22’s groov RIO edge I/O modules. These modules provide software-configurable, multi-signal I/O channels and are powered over Ethernet (PoE), making them quick to deploy. NACI placed a module in each piece of packaging equipment upon arrival, connected any I/O wires, and identified the types of signals the equipment provided. These I/O signals were then integrated into the groov EPIC network in parallel with the existing PLC I/O connections, which continued to function independently.

NACI manufactured several of these VFD control panels for local conveyor control using Opto 22’s groov RIO. “The ease with which you can do this,” says Coombs, “means you’re talking about a half-hour of wiring. Your biggest problem is finding the documentation from the original packaging machinery manufacturer.”

NACI also engineered an additional layer of control independent of the groov EPIC by building limited local control into each groov RIO module through NodeRED, an embedded, open-source IoT platform from IBM. Living up to the ambition to make every device smart, NACI added motors, photo eyes, load cells, and other instrumentation to many pieces of semi-automated and dumb equipment, connected these to local groov RIO modules, and added Node-RED logic to make them work together and report process data up to the supervisory level.

A former Oracle engineer himself, E66 COO Bodnar has been involved in much of this design. “The toplevel process in the EPIC is turning on two or three packaging lines. If you have a conveyor coming in and you have another one going out, they may not be running at the same speed. You’ve got cappers that are

running at different speeds. You’ve got label printers and all these different components all kind of running at different speeds, so it’s kinda neat to be able to say, okay, what if we use the groov RIOs to control, for example, the inbound and outbound conveyors and case packers and things like that? It’s all simple stuff, like turning on and off motors to run a conveyor and trying to match up to how fast a filling machine is spinning. They’re kind of like little islands of automation.”

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AUTOMATION

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This loosely coupled, distributed architecture allowed NACI to assemble their packaging lines without modifying any of the existing control systems that came as part of their purchased equipment. This strategy ultimately saved them development time, and in three months, Coombs and his team had 15 pieces of equipment up and running spread across three packaging lines.

At this point in their rapid development, E66 now has five packaging lines, each of which represents an end-to-end process including conveyors, fillers, cappers, print-and-apply labelers, case packers, and palletizers. Equally impressive is how management was able to roll with some unexpected punches. For example, they originally built their contract packaging business around packaging and distribution for a single large customer. But when that customer suffered a financial setback and had to shut down, E66 had to pivot and become a contract packager for multiple customers. The firm now works with both alcohol- and water-based sanitizers as well as a variety of packaging types, including injection stretch blow molded PET and extrusion blow molded HDPE. They’re even moving into self-manufacturing some of the containers they fill.

Automation grew from processing a high volume of single-formulation, one-gallon containers to working with a variety of sanitizer chemistries in different batch sizes and packaging form factors: from small two-, four-, six-, and eight-oz containers, hand pumps, and spray bottles, to large jugs in excess of one gallon.

Fortunately, NACI’s decision to use loosely coupled packaging lines made it easy to modify individual segments without interrupting their data collection and process integration. In combination with on-site building of electrical panels and the use of 3D printing for rapid prototyping of new mechanical components for the packaging lines, E66’S investment in edge-oriented automation allowed them to retool very quickly and break even on their initial investment within six months.

“There are a lot of good things you can deliver in manufacturing that people might admire, things like quality or throughput,” says Bodnar. ”Being nimble isn’t often on that list. But it’s fun to be nimble in your approach to manufacturing, and I think that’s one of the things Opto 22 has really helped us with.”

Ambitious goals As E66’s process expands, so do its ambitions for building out a data infrastructure. In addition to using Node-RED to augment the production process, E66 has begun tapping into the core connectivity functions of the platform to move data from each groov device into relational and

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time-series databases, financial software, and other connected systems. And since Node-RED is a free, open-source application, E66 is adding it to their back-end systems as well so they can push data down into the control system.

“You might want to trip a lot number forward on a device or increment something based on a date that’s somewhat arbitrary, based on a business event, not necessarily on a machine event,” Bodnar explains. “You can send that over to the control system fairly easily, or just get summarized data from the control system and publish that back to your business systems. It gives you a very lightweight way to run an operational bus or hub.”

For example, E66 purchased a stand-alone pallet wrapping machine that used a proprietary circuit board design and offered only a limited operator interface. However, by adding load cells, connecting them to a groov RIO module, and feeding that data to Node-RED, E66 could readily verify the weight based on the known pallet contents and communicate the pallet number, lot number, shipping weight, and date to its central database to create bills of lading automatically.

Bodnar, who describes his career as back and forth between giant enterprise application integration (EAI) companies, like Oracle, and manufacturing and consumer products companies, was impressed by the ease with which E66 could integrate business and operations data.

“I’ve done smart grid stuff for a bunch of cities and things like that on the big integration systems,” says Bodnar. “We would have multiple enterprise data buses for operational data, reporting data, back-office data, or for communicating with different kinds of devices. I was thinking about how insanely hard that was. It would have been so much easier with Node-RED in an Opto device.”

As demand grows, E66 continues to expand its automation and diversify its business. It is adapting to accommodate new functions like on-site container molding, bulk product blending, and additional quality control procedures.

E66 now is able to process a variety of sanitizer chemistries in different batch sizes and packaging form factors.

Bodnar says he is defying the industry norm of investing in a multi-million dollar build for an automated facility and instead is “putting in just enough automation to double my business, literally, which is going to make the company’s year. And then I can grow into that. And I’m not going to have to go back and rip and replace everything ... We’ll tweak things, but I’m not going to have to throw away anything that I do because I can scale it.”

Recently, E66 has also spun up a lucrative technology division that is using groov devices to develop filling equipment for overseas export. In one example, using groov EPIC and RIO, NACI took an inline mixer design from concept to implementation in about five days, including a mobile operator interface built using the EPIC’s embedded HMI server, called groov View. By Thomas Coombs’ estimate, NACI implemented the controls in about four hours for a system E66 will sell for $50,000.

“The fluidity and dynamics of modern manufacturing requires extremely fast response to changing market demands,” adds Coombs. “With groov EPIC and groov RIO, Opto 22 puts dynamic manufacturing data at the edge of the production line and into enterprise systems simultaneously in real-time.” —Pat Reynolds

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AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGY

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Drive System for Conveyor Applications Siemens’ Sinamics G115D compact drive system is specifically designed for horizontal conveyor applications.

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Brands, Co-Packers Contemplate the Role of OEMs During COVID-19 These CPGs are asking machine builders for clear communication as they maneuver a new supply chain, new material and consumer demands, and a new workforce.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

Preparedness for new materials

Operator training

Virtual FATs

By Stephanie Neil, Editor-in-Chief, OEM The PMMI virtual Executive Leadership Conference (ELC) in April brought together three representatives from CPG companies who shared their experiences on the manufacturing and packaging floor during the pandemic, while offering advice to OEMs on how to help with their future needs.

The panel, moderated by Packaging World editor Matt Reynolds, included: Lisa Rathburn, vice president of engineering and continuous improvement for T. Marzetti Company, which makes products for both retail and restaurants, and is in the midst of major expansion projects across several plants, adding nine manufacturing lines in a 12-month period.

Mark Mikol, senior director at Schwan’s Company which, now an affiliate of South Korea-based CJ CheilJedang (CJCJ Food, Americas), is also in expansion mode which includes building state-of-the-art production and packaging facilities with an investment in automation.

And Rick Rice, a controls engineer at Crest Foods Co., Inc., a manufacturer of consumer products with a global dairy stabilizer business, and which also has a large contract packaging division.

The conversation touched on the typical hot topics of remote access, managing inventory during supply chain disruptions, and virtual factory acceptance tests (FATs). But the panel also made a plea for more machine flexibility in order to handle different packaging materials, as well as help training the next generation workforce on existing machines, and, in general, just more transparency.

As an example, at T. Marzetti, there was a simple component needed for a control panel which is nor-

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Lisa Rathburn

Mark Mikol

mally in stock, but this time around it was not available due to supply chain disruptions related to the pandemic. That resulted in engineers trying to connect across regions and with different distributors, working together to find out where they could source the component. “One of the things we’re trying to do is broaden our understanding of where there are limits in the equipment supply chain,” Rathburn said. “Our ask is for communication, so that we’re aware of any constraints early on. As OEMs start to see constraints in their supply, I’d like them to communicate it to us as customers so that we can plan around it.”

Supply chain disruptions also had a major impact on the materials side. “We’ve had a lot of material changes because of shortages, so as we’re thinking about new equipment we want that equipment to be flexible, and to be able to run slightly different specs of materials,” said Schwan’s Mikol. “So that’s one thing for the OEMs to keep in mind that was really highlighted to me as supply issues came in. If the board can be a little bit weaker, a little bit different type of grade or some other things, it’s important to make sure that your equipment is flexible enough to handle that.”

Managing equipment, materials, and FATs

Rick Rice

In response to the CPGs’ requests for more equipment flexibility related to materials, an ELC audience member asked if the panelists ever discuss material changes with machinery OEMs? And, do they provide machine builders with material to test before moving into production?

As a former machine builder who moved to the end

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LIP2021_A

Each of the following market-leading companies* participating in Packaging World’s 2021 Leaders in Packaging Program are named sponsors of PW’s Future Leaders in Packaging scholarship. This year’s recipient is Purdue Northwest (PNW), College of Technology. We appreciate the support of all participants on behalf of packaging education.

M *These logos represent some of the recent Leaders in Packaging Participants. Sponsor recognition will alternate every other month. ©2021 PMMI Media Group

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user side at Crest Foods, Rice acknowledged that the most frustrating thing about starting out a new project as an OEM is not knowing what material the machine will run. “You get three-quarters of the way doing your build and then find out, ‘Oh yeah, and we use metallized film,’ or ‘we use reflective film,’ and it really throws a wrench in the system.”

Now, as a CPG and co-packer who is buying that equipment, Rice has leveraged his relationship with some of the OEMs that he’s worked

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with—or for—in the past, and there’s many conversations to be had around machine capabilities. Such as, “Your brochure says this, but what will it really do?”

“It’s not that we’re trying to push the envelope. As a co-packer, our run rules change all the time,” Rice said. “We’ve got a couple of [clients] who are really innovative and they will change up packaging in midstream. They’ll want to make a box with a rounded edge on it instead of a standard box. How do we avoid having a machine that was used for a particular product run and then just set it aside and never use it again? So flexibility is very important. And because of the changes in the individual pouch and materials for pouching lately, we want to have conversations about what else could it potentially run, and what would it take to change your machine to suit the new packaging trends that are coming?”

Mikol echoes the need for equipment flexibility due to material changes and shortages, but notes it’s a good conversation to have with OEMs during the design phase as well as the factory acceptance test (FAT).

“As to the learning here with COVID and other things, I think we may bring more than one material to future FATs, just to have some understanding of what the limits are of the equipment. It just depends, too, on coordination and location. We have frozen products, which sometimes are challenging to send overseas.

So, how do you test those? And then materials as well.

Overseas cartons are different than North American cartons, and all those types of things.”

OEMs were also curious to know if the virtual FATs from the past year have translated into successful site acceptance tests (SATs). The answer: It depends on the sophistication of the machine and the people involved.

“Regardless of whether an FAT is virtual or in-person, if the FAT is for a technology that we’re familiar with, the project carries a lower risk, and the startup post-FAT typically goes a lot more smoothly,” said Rathburn. “If the technology is new to us, then having plant people physically present at an FAT to learn alongside the technicians would be better than trying to conduct it virtually. Because we know we can’t replicate our production in the machine shop environment, there will always be start up activities that we’re going to have to learn and work through in our plants.

Because of this, I don’t think we will switch to doing all FATs virtually going forward; there may be some, but I think our decision will be based on how complicated the technology is for us, and if we have done it before.”

Rice adds that Crest Foods has sent non-technical people to the virtual FAT due to the shortage of skilled technicians available, thinking they could do the same kind of walkaround as an experienced tech would do.

But it didn’t work as well. “Somebody who’s non-technical doesn’t look at a machine like the people who are actually going to work on it, or fix it, or run it, and it wasn’t as successful for us,” he said.

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People impact the process

those types of things, we’re looking forward to seeing a show and actually talking to people live, and looking at new technology.”

Just as Rice mentioned, having the right level of technical expertise “I’m big on in-person as well,” echoed Rice. “As an OEM, I was attendis important to the success of any project. So having the right skillset on ing the shows all the time and it was a great time to network with other staff is needed with the increasing complexity of machines, and conpeople. As it is, certainly, as a CPG. If I get to leave the plant, then I can stantly changing consumer requirements. With that in mind, Packaging solely focus on being with the OEMs and truly getting into what’s good World’s Reynolds asked the panel how they address employee training, for us and what’s good for our future.” PW and how can OEMs help out in that regard?

For many CPGs, Crest Foods included, there is a workforce that has been using the same packaging machines for 35 years, but now the people, and maybe even the machines, are retiring. “Suddenly, we realize we’re putting people in front of machines that really don’t have the core understanding of them,” Rice said.

“I think we are going to have to re-engage OEMs and bring them back to the table.”

That re-engagement may be in the form of virtual COMPLETE SNACK PACKAGING SOLUTIONS training. “Virtual allows for you to not cut out a slice of the day and say, “Here’s when the training’s going to be,” • Accumulation and take those people away from their regular jobs that • Horizontal motion conveying they’re doing,” Rice said. “Virtual will, much like stream• Incline, belt and bucket conveyors ing services on TV, allow you to engage when you want to • Filling and multihead weighing engage. And yes, OEMs are going to be a big part of that, • Bagmaking and casepacking and it starts with a mindset change at the CPG level.”

• Checkweighing and seal checking Rathburn agreed that OEMs play an important role • Foreign object and defect inspection in training the workforce of the future. “At Marzetti, • Controls and information systems our mission statement is to ‘nourish growth with all that we do’, which includes the growth of the emWe are successful when you are successful. ployees, by developing them and giving them time to That’s why we apply creativity, engineering do training,” she said. “The harder part is developing Helping you bring excellence, and determined perseverance to training for troubleshooting the unexpected. How do every project to help our customers get the your best products you teach people to troubleshoot under the pressure performance their business demands—whether measured by flavor, efficiencies, sustainability, of daily production? This is where I think the OEMs to market. improvement, or innovation. can help. They teach their field technicians to troubleDelivering Results. shoot, and perhaps there is some better methodology, With Heat and Control, you other than reading a manual, that could be leveraged have a partner with the scale by our plant operations and maintenance teams.” to support your success, the OEMs can also benefit from providing energy-saving innovation to advance your equipment or offering other types of services, which operations, and a commitment CPGs will pay for. “If the business case plays out, we’ll to quality that will help you offer pay for it,” said Mikol. But if a service requires remote better products for consumers. access, there’s still challenges to overcome, specifically around infrastructure. “At Schwan’s, we are notorious for adding a little bit every year, and as you do that it’s really not all tied together. So, as we’re looking to expand, especially our big plants, we’re looking to have it all connected. I think that the challenging thing always is how do you control that connection from the outside, and how do you give access and all those types of things. So, we’re in the process of working that.”

Amid all of the talk about remote access, virtual FATs, and virtual training, when asked about attending PACK EXPO Las Vegas in September, the panel agreed info@heatandcontrol.com | heatandcontrol.com that in-person is the best approach to such a big event.

“We can’t wait to get back,” said Mikol. “I think with people now getting vaccinated and wearing masks and

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LOOKING BACK. PRESSING FORWARD. ALWAYS INNOVATING.

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By Anne Marie Mohan, Editor, Shelf Impact!

Shapely, Reusable Steel Can is a Motor Oil First For Paul Drake, founding partner and Creative Director of global design agency JDO, his firm’s work in 2019 on a reusable, stainless-steel container in a contemporary, elegant design for Shell’s Helix Ultra Net Zero Carbon lubricants range is a good example of the “lane-change moment” the CPG industry is experiencing—of which, he said, “we don’t get many.”

“As an industry, I think we have become more and more aware of the wastefulness of everything we do,” he says. “I believe COVID and other things are forcing a lane-change moment. There’s an opportunity to look at the world differently. I think it’s [reusable packaging] long overdue; we desperately need it.”

From a design standpoint, he adds, the opportunity to “design the perfect pack for a product,” rather than designing around the constraints of the supply chain, such as manufacturing tolerances, palletization, shelf-ready packaging, brand standout on shelf, etc., is an exciting one. “There’s a whole new potential for what a package does and how we live with it,” he says. “In theory, it might be beautiful and more elegant, and we might keep it at home for longer.

And from that perspective, it’s very exciting.”

The Shell container was designed for trial use in France in the Loop circular shopping platform, which allows consumers to purchase products in reusable packaging that is returned for cleaning and refilling (see pwgo.to/5405). When it announced its involvement in Loop in May 2019, Shell said it was “the first lubricant company to create a reusable container for motor engine oil in this century.”

It added that its Shell Helix product is a perfect fit for the Loop system, due to the brand’s PurePlus Technology, which comprises lowviscosity and low-friction formulations. “Just like Loop aims to reduce impact on our planet, using Shell Helix can result in greater fuel economy, leading to lower CO2 emissions,” the company remarked.

In designing the container, JDO had to meet three key goals: durability for use up to 100 times, cleanability with Loop’s industrial processes, and lifecycle optimization, meaning it could be responsibly disposed of at end-of-life. Stainless steel met all these requirements.

But JDO envisioned something beyond the standard, round containers being used by the majority of brands on the Loop platform.

“Stainless steel is a lovely thing,” Drake says. “It fits so well in the kitchen and in the bathroom, and in all the places we use consumable products. So obviously, every brand that jumped on the Loop train grabbed a stainless-steel vessel. But it was so difficult to do anything custom at the time. They all ended up in similar formats and pack shapes, and the brand romance was lost.

“So we asked ourselves, ‘Can we do something that’s stainless steel, but still delivers on that feeling of motoring and excellence and on the Shell values of geometry and precision, but with an approachability?

How can we get all of that into a pack rather than just put it into a

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stainless steel jerry can? Can we convey the personality of the product and the brand even with a returnable package?’”

The answer to all those questions was “Yes,” but the process was not without its challenges. JDO was given just two months to deliver the package to Shell, and the designer’s aspirations were ambitious.

Initial sketches showed a container with a contemporary, considered, and elegant design. “There was that need to make it feel special and premium, but there was also a functional need,” says Drake.

Functionally, motor engine lubricant containers traditionally have a handle to allow for pouring of the product. This feature is also a strong category cue. But to be cleaned effectively in the Loop system, the reusable Shell container could not have a through handle. “And, because of the volume [1 L], it didn’t really need one,” Drake explains.

The reusable stainless steel container is designed for 100 uses, effectively eliminating 100 plastic lubricant containers.

“But we wanted to allude to it. So we sculpted a recessed area into the surface, with a ridge on the spine of the bottle that’s really lovely and tactile to hold, especially in the stainless steel.”

The neck of the bottle, which is capped by a distinctive, stainless steel closure, is angled diagonally to allow for air evacuation as the consumer pours the product, resulting in a smoother pour. A one-piece pressure-sensitive label—removed during the cleaning process—covers the front and back panels and wraps around the rounded, soft edge of the container.

5/19/21 4:38 PM

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The final design was beautiful to behold, but complex to produce. For the 200 containers required

by Shell for the Loop trial, JDO had to find a company that was large enough to have the metal pressing equipment needed to make the containers, but agile enough to handle such a small run. They found a partner in U.K. company Chasestead, a low-volume sheet metal and fabrication engineering company.

Based on CAD information from JDO, Chasestead first created the tooling and then pressed stainless steel sheets into the forms of the two halves of the container. They then CNC-machined out the flashing on the edges of the forms and robotically welded them together to create the containers. “It was a hybrid of a handmade state-of-the-art technology and a rapid turnaround process,” Drake relates.

While Shell did conduct a trial of its Helix Ultra Net Zero Carbon lubricants range in the stainless steel container on the Loop platform in Paris, the product is not currently available on the site.

Concludes Drake, “Beyond finding a solution to reduce waste, we saw our design of a reusable modern-day jerry can for Shell Helix as an opportunity to disrupt the category and increase consumer satisfaction. Not only do the new cans have a sleeker, ownable look, but they also feature durability and functionality that would not have been possible to achieve in disposable packaging.

It illustrates the many possibilities that reusable structures have to elevate brand experiences through premiumization and innovation.” PW

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5/20/21 5:28 AM

Visit the link below each item for more info.

54 PW JUN2021

TECHNOLOGY

X-ray Inspection System Eagle Product’s Eagle Pack 720 PRO with material discrimination X-ray technology detects and rejects a range of contaminants, including glass shards, metal fragments, and some rubber and plastic compounds in plastic containers, cartons/ boxes, and pouches.

Horizontal Flow Wrapper

Eagle Product Inspection pwgo.to/7008

Formost Fuji introduces the VX II horizontal flow wrap machine for flexible packaging.

Formost Fuji pwgo.to/7009

P-S Labeler Accraply introduces the Sirius 100 p-s labeling machine for fast-moving, highly flexible production lines. It is designed to minimize downtime with toolless changeovers.

Accraply pwgo.to/6006

PACKAGING FLEXIBILITY FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW One Machine – One Footprint – Unlimited Options

The latest addition to the world of multipacking is our new TriWraptor™ TSUP (Tray/Shrink/Unsupported/Pad) Packer.

Within the TriWraptor TSUP’s footprint lies the ability to package PET, glass, HDPE, steel, aluminum and fiberboard into tray, film, U-board, pad and unsupported configurations. Added to this flexibility are the high reliability, robust construction and simple operation that make Standard-Knapp a leader in packaging machinery.

Antibacterial Laminates Nobelus added two antibacterial laminates to its portfolio, PlatinumOPP and LuxeFilm ScuffProof, designed for label, flexible packaging, and point-ofsale applications.

Nobelus pwgo.to/7010

Recyclable Bag-in-Box Packaging for Water Scholle IPN’s bag-in-box packaging features a recycle-ready, all-PE structure (including bag film, spout, and dispensing tap) that can be produced in sizes ranging from 2- to 23-L for retail or homeoffice delivery markets.

Scholle IPN pwgo.to/7011 Standard-Knapp, Inc. 63 Pickering Street, Portland, CT info@standard-knapp.com www.standard-knapp.com

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5/27/21 8:35 AM

INDUSTRY WATCH

Companies Morrison Container Handling is celebrating its 50th Anniversary. It also hired Paul Thames as Southeast Regional Sales Manager and Brett Gill as Midsouth Regional Sales Manager.

Pinnacle Packaging, a Chicago-based distributor of packaging, shipping, and industrial supplies, was certified as a Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) with the Veterans Business Program in Illinois.

55

AD INDEX Search Packworld.com for additional information on any of the advertisers listed or visit their website directly ADVERTISER WEBSITE PAGE

A-B-C Packaging Machine Corp. www.abcpackaging.com 29 Aagard www.aagard.com

Targeted Cover

ABB Motors & Mechanical www.baldor.com OBC Advanced Barrier Excursion www.abxpackaging.com

25

Allied Technology LLC www.allied-technology.com

7

ProAmpac is building on the European success of Rapid Action Packaging’s (RAP) fresh-food-to-go packaging portfolio by expanding into North America.

Buskro, Ltd. www.buskro.com

53

Clysar LLC www.clysar.com

50

Amcor announced its investment of $10 million to $15 million in ePac. The investment will include a minority ownership interest in ePac Holdings LLC and funding for more ePac locations.

Domino Amjet, Inc. www.domino-na.com

Targeted Cover

Dorner Manufacturing www.dornerconveyors.com

6

Emerson Industrial Automation www.emerson.com/packaging

43

Heat and Control, Inc. www.heatandcontrol.com

51

High Tek USA hightekusa.com

13

HLP Klearfold www.hlpklearfold.com

21

Jokey Treplás moved into its new production facility in Spain where it will operate in the future under the name Jokey Iberica.

ID Technology www.idtechnology.com

5

Intralox, Inc. www.intralox.com

1

Oliver Inc. acquired Boutwell Packaging.

James Alexander www.james-alexander.com

People

Klöckner Pentaplast Food & Consumer www.kpfilms.com

Intralox is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Brenton and Orion responded to their customers’ needs by expediting the design and building of end-of-line packaging and stretch-wrapping systems as part of Operation Warp Speed.

46

Label-Aire, Inc. www.label-aire.com

IFC 34, 35

Michelman, Inc. www.michelman.com

45

Modular Conveyor Express www.modularconveyor.com

44

Michelman hired Gianluigi Rankin as Global Marketing Manager for Digital Printing and Heather Ecke as Account Manager for Flexible Packaging for its Printing & Packaging Business Segment.

Nercon www.nerconconveyors.com

41

Novembal www.novembal.com

28

Amcor Rigid Packaging named Dan Murphy Vice President of North America Operations and Rodrigo Lecot Vice President and General Manager of Latin America.

nVenia www.nVenia.com

15

Packaging World www.packworld.com

49

OMAC announced the new members of its board of directors for the period of three years. They are: Mike Hogan, Milacron Plastics Technologies Group LLC (OEM); Christopher Hough, ProMach (OEM/Technology Provider); and Kjell Erik Meier, Tronrud Engineering (OEM).

PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technology www.pmmi.org

Matt Venezia was named Vice President of Global Equipment Sales for BW Flexible Systems.

J Mitchell was named Operational Excellence Director for BW Packaging Systems.

Acyr Borges was hired as Division Managing Director for ProSys Servo Filling Systems.

IMA Group appointed Thomas Fricke as Commercial Director of IMA Pharma.

Norwix Inc www.norwix.com

9, 47

17, 23, 27, 31, 39

Schneider Packaging www.schneiderpackaging.com

33

Serpa Packaging Solutions www.serpapackaging.com

53

Specialty Equipment www.specialtyequipment.com

14

Standard-Knapp, Inc. www.standard-knapp.com

54

Syntegon Technology GmbH www.boschpackaging.com

11

Triangle Package Machinery Company www.trianglepackage.com U.S. TSUBAKI www.ustsubaki.com

3 30

Mark Suchy was promoted to the new position of Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing for The Massman Companies.

Van der Graaf www.vandergraaf.com

32a

Weber Packaging Solutions www.weberpackaging.com

IBC

Matthew Hirst was appointed Executive Vice President Commercial for BillerudKorsnäs.

WestRock www.westrock.com

OFC

In Memoriam Joseph Allen Hall Jr., ESS Technologies, passed away on April 7, 2021.

IW_AdIndex_0621.indd 55

Connect with a Leaders in Packaging supplier and support packaging education!

www.packworld.com/leaders

5/18/21 5:36 AM

56 PW JUN2021

THE INSIDER

By Ben Miyares, Packaging Sherpa

Innovating Toward Green Can the supply of/demand for recycled goods and bio-based materials replace geobased packaging materials (metal, glass, plastics) without creating bio-based supply choke points? Demand for recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) drink bottles in the U.S. and the European Union already is showing evidence of a coming tightness—if not outright shortages—in the coming year. New and inventive alternative sources are the aim of numerous collaborative research strategies.

Packers, bottlers, and their packaging partners are teaming up to debut inventive sustainable packaging material compositions and formats. One example of this “new generation design thinking” is a 5-L evian® “(re)new in-home water appliance” currently being piloted as an e-commerce offering in London and Paris. The evian appliance— shipped (two to a zippered corrugated box) to 200 English and French consumers—is a dispenser consisting of a thin-walled, 100% recyclable rPET “bubble” holding evian water. The “bubble bottle” uses 66% less plastic than 3.33 1.5-L bottles holding an equivalent amount of water.

Watch the Evian in-home water dispenser in action at pwgo.to/7026.

Snapped into the throat of the bubble is a plastic spigot which, when placed in the base of the dispenser and triggered, releases water from the bottle. As the water is decanted, a vacuum is created in the bottle and the smooth thin wall (the “skin”) of the bubble deforms. When empty, the dispenser signals for replenishment.

Simpler and much smaller than the evian tech is a cacao pod-shaped bottle used by Blue Stripes Urban Cacao for a line of cacao water drinks.

The 10.5-fl-oz (210-mL) rPET bottle is designed by Israeli industrial designer Iris Zohar to resemble a cacao pod. The bottom half is molded to look like the striated shell of the cacao plant, and the top portion like the pulp and seeds of the plant. An in-mold labeled (IML) plastic shrink band over the lower portion of the pod-bottle carries nutritional, marketing, and recycling data. The unlabeled upper portion of the bottle is blown to resemble seeds in the pulp of the fruit. Specialty blow molder Captiva Containers produces the rPET pod-bottle.

Academic research on plant-based packaging is widespread. But the economics of producing bio-materials is not commonly the focus of preliminary academic studies. The cost of bio-alternatives, and the economics of manufacturing them on a commercial scale, often remains to be determined by subsequent study and experimentation.

Recent academic explorations suggest intriguing possibilities for a cornucopia of sustainable packaging origin materials.

Canadian researchers at Memorial University of Newfoundland, for instance, report that fish heads, bones, and other salmon offal are among the locally-available resources they can use to produce a biodegradable polyurethane-like cushioning material for transport packaging and other applications.

Meanwhile, Yale, the University of Wisconsin, and the University of Maryland are collaborating on the quest for a new bioplastic derived from sawdust. The wood powder bioplastic exhibits high performance characteristics yet researchers report in the journal Nature Sustainability that it will “degrade entirely in the space of three months.” In a nod to real world economics and sustainability, the researchers are keenly aware that large-scale production could require “massive amounts of wood, which could have far-reaching implications on forests, land management, ecosystems, and climate change.”

AIMPLAS, the Spanish Research & Technology Center, is working to develop a new biodegradable packaging system to lengthen by at least 15% the shelf-life of fast-browning produce like avocado. They call their effort the Guacapack project. Funded by the Valencian Innovation Agency (AVI), the project is led by ITC Packaging in collaboration with the Universidad de Alicante’s research group on Polymer and Nanomaterial Analysis. The secret to the avocado’s 15%+ longer life, researchers believe, is both the oxygen barrier IML employed in the injection-molded polylactic acid (PLA) cup holding the avocado, and the use of natural avocado antioxidants.

Scientists at Ames Laboratory and Clemson University use a ballmilling process to break down polystyrene for recycling. The one-step, room-temperature ambient-atmosphere process uses no solvents.

Ball-milling is a technique that agitates materials with metal ball bearings in a milling vial until a desired chemical reaction occurs.

“This method represents an important breakthrough that enables dismantling of a polymer simultaneously with its breakdown under ambient conditions, that is, ~300ºC below the thermal decomposition temperature of the pristine material,” says Ames Laboratory Senior Scientist Viktor Balema. “We think this proof of concept is an exciting possibility for developing new recycling technologies for all kinds of plastics, and that will contribute to establishment of the circular economy.” The research was funded in part by Ames Laboratory’s Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program.

One research project not skirting economics is at the University of Delaware’s Center for Plastics Innovation (CPI) where they’ve developed a direct method to convert single-use polyolefin packaging waste including plastic bags, yogurt cups, plastic bottles, bottle caps, etc., into ready-to-use molecules for jet fuels, diesel, and lubricants. The project uses approximately 50% less energy than other technologies, and it doesn’t involve adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, an emissions savings over other commonly used techniques. It can be done in just a couple of hours at a temperature of about 250ºC. The CPI research uses catalysts composed of zeolites and mixed metal oxides to break down plastic solids into smaller carbon molecules. “Alone these two catalysts do poorly. Together, the combination does magic, melting the plastics down and leaving no plastic behind,” says lead researcher Dion Vlachos, UD professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering. PW

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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5/19/21 11:05 AM

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