Packaging World September 2021

Join us for PACK EXPO Booth C-2023

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PACK EXPO Las Vegas Preview

Eager Industry Heads Back to PACK EXPO 38

Mars Wrigley Flow Wraps Candy Bars in Paper 54

Shipper Lands Starring Role in E-comm Unboxing 82

Chef-made RTE Meals use VSP, HPP for Shelf Life 108

P&G, Herbal Essences’ Laser Etching Aids the Visually Impaired

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REPACKAGING THE FUTURE ONE INNOVATION AT A TIME

From engineered fiber-based primary, secondary and tertiary packaging, to automation that optimizes your supply chain, our innovations are reshaping the future of packaging and enabling you to meet your operational goals without compromising productivity.

COME TALK TO US IN BOOTH C-2023 ©2021 WestRock Company. All rights reserved.

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Greener for a Sustainable Future

Got Sustainability Goals?

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FEATURES 38 Mars Wrigley Develops, Tests Paper-based Packaging for Balisto Chocolate Bar As brands eye fast-approaching, self-imposed sustainability deadlines, watch for interesting pilot projects to roll out. This European paper-based flow pack from Mars Wrigley’s Balisto brand of snacks was developed with Syntegon.

46 Hi-tech Bottling Comes to Remote Armenian Mountains A&M Rare’s new, ultramodern bottling plant seems almost surreal in a place where unspoiled scenery and mountain grandeur are on full display.

PACK EXPO Las Vegas is 2021’s most anticipated packaging event.

Whether you’re looking for packaging machinery or materials, and whether your application needs to address sustainability, e-comm, or smart packaging, this event is expected to unleash more than 18 months’ worth of pent-up packaging innovation and collaboration.

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54 E-COMMERCE Shipper Plays a Starring Role In Progressive Unboxing Experience A corrugated shipper’s primary job in e-comm is to get its contents to a consumer’s doorstep intact.

But this one is able to do so with a bit of theater and flair.

66 New Case Packer, Robotic Palletizer, Let Cheesemaker Efficiently Offer Multiple Output Options With a new automated case packer and palletizer, Wisconsin Whey Protein’s cheesemaking operation can now offer its customers bulk cheese in barrels or in blocks.

72 Shrink Sleeve Solution Lets Label Art Shine With a progression of differently decorated labels printed in succession on a roll, this customized shrink sleeve canning operation produces a range of unique, artistic labels during each run of craft beer.

82 Tray Sealer Helps Startup Brand Become a Savory Success Using a combination of vacuum skin packaging and High Pressure Processing, grab-and-go meal startup Torn Apron is producing 4,000 tray packs/week of restaurant-quality meals that have a shelf life from 50 to 60 days.

SHOW PREVIEW

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90 COVER STORY Back to PACK EXPO Las Vegas: Industry Comes Together to Unleash Pent-up Innovation PMMI’s PACK EXPO Las Vegas comes roaring back in 2021 with new features, exhibits, and programs in a hygienic, safety-minded space.

100 Innovation Stage Schedule The Innovation Stages at PACK EXPO Las Vegas bring you the latest advances taking place across the industry. Check out these 30-minute sessions to discover coming trends and technologies that need to be on your team’s radar.

104 Technology

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VISION THE NEW DIMENSION IN GLUING

SEPT 27-29, 2021

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FEATURES

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108 P&G Designs Packaging for the Visually Impaired Tactile notching on PET bottles of Procter & Gamble’s bio:renew shampoos and conditioners goes a long way toward helping consumers with impaired vision differentiate one product from another.

114 Mastering Complex Production Sequences This middle-tier German beer producer offers some 25 varieties of beer in returnable glass bottles, so it needed a highly versatile and automated controls architecture.

118 AUTOMATION Flexibility, High Throughput on Pizza Case Packer 128

The M2000 case packer does the work of three machines, erases downtime and excess mechanical parts, and delivers big on flexibility and throughput.

128 PACK to the Future: The Story Behind the Historical Exhibit at PACK EXPO Las Vegas Take a journey through the history of packaging, explore milestones that shaped the present, and learn more about industry trends influencing the future.

140 Functional Pack Design Evolves as Café Egg Bites Hit Retail Shelves The foodservice channel hatched the egg bites trend with sous vide, but Vital Farms advanced it with a new retail pack format allowing for in-pack baking in CPET trays at the production facility. Consumers simply microwave the MAP trays at home.

150 E-COMMERCE 5 Emerging Trends in E-commerce Package Design The rise in e-commerce in 2020 forced brands to rethink their package design to connect with consumers outside the retail environment. Here are five design trends that resulted and advice on how to select the style that’s best for your brand.

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158 EMERGING BRANDS Growing a Successful CBD Brand Medterra has only been in business for four years, but this brand has been leading CBD sales in U.S. grocery for over 16 months and is expanding rapidly.

166 CP/CM Industry Booming, but Watch Out for Headwinds New report shows that after a short pause at the start of the pandemic, the CP/CM industry ‘has come roaring back.’ Meanwhile, changing supply chain and innovation paradigms are reshaping the industry.

176 Metered Dose Inhaler Line: Centralized Control from Canisters to Pallets A deep dive into a “one machine” concept for a metered dose inhaler line, with system integration for 18 pieces of machinery and components from a variety of OEMs.

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8/24/21 5:44 AM

SSV Sanitary Drum Motors Safe, Efficient & Reliable Conveyor Drive Solution.

8LI EPP WXEMRPIWW WXIIP 77: (VYQ 1SXSV [MXL FIPX TVSƼ PI machined directly onto the drum, drives modular conveyor belts without requiring sprockets, increasing hygiene and eliminating foreign material contamination.

The sprocketless SSV Drum Motor with all drive components enclosed inside the drum is a safer, QSVI Iƾ GMIRX ERH WTEGI WEZMRK GSRZI]SV drive solution, reducing maintenance, operating and energy costs. &TWO RTQƒ NG CXCKNCDNG HQT C XCTKGV[ QH DGNV OCPWHCEVWTGTU KPENWFKPI )CVGU® *CDCUKV® +PVTCNQZ® 8QNVC® 9KTG $GNV® CPF %CODTKFIG®.

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DEPARTMENTS 10

packworld.com VIDEO

COLUMNS

9 28 30 32 36 200 208

Störtebeker’s Circular Bottling Operation

Lead Off The Legal Side The Big Picture Sustainable Packaging Looking Forward Shelf Impact!

Professional Perspective

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NEWS/EVENTS

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Vacuum Skin Pack Automation in Action

10 News 22 Quotables/By the Numbers 202 Industry Watch

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INTERVIEW

24 First Person

PRODUCTS

TAKE FIVE VIDEO

126 Automation Technology 204 Technology

Brushing Up on Toothpaste Innovations

ADVERTISING

206 Advertiser Index

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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!

PODCAST

Behind the Scenes of PACK to the Future pwgo.to/7246

Connect with us:

www.packworld.com/leaders

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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Vertical Conveying Simplified

Ryson makes a full line of spiral conveyors that can satisfy most vertical conveying needs.

Ryson Spirals need less floor space than conventional conveyors and are faster and more reliable than any elevator or lift.

Unit Load Spirals convey cases, totes and packaged goods smoothly on our slat style belts and come in 9 standard slat widths ranging from 6” to 30”. Available in powder coated carbon steel, stainless steel, washdown and freezer versions Mass Flow Spirals handle full and empty bottles, cans and jars in mass up to 2000 units per minute. Available in 4 different slat widths ranging from 6” to 20”.

Narrow Trak Spirals are super compact and designed to handle your smaller loads. Our new 6” and 9” wide nesting slats can endtransfer small cartons and packages or side-transfer small bottles and containers in a single file or in mass at speeds in excess of 200 FPM.

High Capacity Spirals are in response to our customers need to go higher and handle more weight. They can handle double the weight capacity of our regular spirals at speeds up to 200 FPM. The new WT Model comes in a slat width of 30” and 36” and can provide an elevation change of up to 35 feet with only one drive.

Multiple Entry and Exit Spirals allow loads to enter or exit the High Capacity Spirals at intermediate elevations. New special induction and divert conveyors have individually adjustable conveying surfaces to match the spiral pitch, assuring a smooth and reliable operation.

Quality and service come first at Ryson. We are the number one spiral manufacturer in the USA. For application assistance or more information, give us a call or visit www.ryson.com.

RYSON INTERNATIONAL, INC.

Visit us in Booth C-4540

A MEMBER OF APOLLO GROUP

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EDITORIAL 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

ART David Bacho Creative Director

AUDIENCE & DIGITAL Elizabeth Kachoris Senior Director, Digital and Data Jen Krepelka Director, Websites + UX/UI

ADVERTISING Wendy Sawtell Vice President, Sales • wsawtell@pmmimediagroup.com Lara Krieger Production Manager • lkrieger@pmmimediagroup.com Kelly Greeby Senior Director, Client Success & Media Operations Alicia Pettigrew Director, Product Strategy

PMMI MEDIA GROUP Joseph Angel President, Publisher David Newcorn Executive Vice President Sharon Taylor Director, Marketing Amber Miller Senior Marketing Manager Janet Fabiano Financial Services Manager Lloyd Ferguson Founding Partner

Packaging World • PMMI Media Group

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PMMI The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies 12930 Worldgate Dr., Suite 200, Herndon VA, 20170 Phone: 571/612-3200 • Fax: 703/243-8556 • Web: www.pmmi.org

Staff at PMMI Media Group can be contacted at info@pmmimediagroup.com

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LEAD OFF

COMPLETE

Long Road Back to PACK EXPO I just had a curious encounter with my pre-pandemic self. I was notified by email that I’d be receiving a refund for concert tickets I purchased on Feb. 20, 2020 and had subsequently forgotten. The May 2020 concert never occurred, I have no doubt about that, but they must’ve finally gotten around to refunds. I don’t even mind having floated them a small, interest-free loan for 19 months, since it was a pleasant surprise to discover money was coming my way at all. But the experience got me thinking about that period of uncertainty and naiveté, and how far we’ve come to be here, back at PACK EXPO Las Vegas. Unlike that concert, this is really happening.

It turns out that on the morning of that same date, Feb. 20, 2020—or so my credit card statement would have me believe—I’d booked a flight for 2020’s PACK EXPO East, which I would attend March 3 through 5, 2020, two weeks after purchasing forgettable concert tickets.

PACK EXPO East was the first show where hand sanitizer was more of a must than handshakes.

There, I recorded an uneasy UnPACKed podcast with my PMMI colleague Sean Riley where I delicately floated the potential for pandemic-based supply chain disruption, particularly coming from Asian countries where the pandemic was centered at the time. Earlier that day at the convention center in Philadelphia, David Smith, a former Johnson & Johnson exec and now a member of Packaging World’s editorial advisory board among other projects, had warned me of what was likely to come. It did, and then some.

Not a week later, I was at a Chicago sustainable packaging conference where big brand presenters were dropping out at the last minute since their corporate offices forbade them to travel. It was the first time I heard of a Zoom call, as panel presentations were remotely given

by Zoom on a big screen at the conference, and I became acquainted with the now-familiar snags (“you’re still on mute”). At that conference, I was recruiting brands to join in the PACK to the Future exhibit (more on page 128), at the time still slated for PACK EXPO International later in 2020. I took the elevated train (the “L”) home that day for the last time in many months. The next morning, our PMMI Media Group offices closed out of an abundance of caution, and then the tough slog really began. No wonder we forgot about our pre-pandemic plans, like concerts and such.

I only share my personal story of descent into a new pandemic reality since it brings into stark relief how far we’ve come since those uncertain early COVID-19 days. We’ve all been touched by the virus one way or another, some like me lucking out and faring better than others. That’s why it will be such a relief and a pleasure to see everyone in person once again at PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2021.

In addition to all-new show features like the PACK to the Future exhibit mentioned above, don’t miss tried-and-true favorites. You can expect the Innovation Stages to be forward-looking and productive, the Forums to be lively and collaborative, and the Amazing Packaging Race to be inspirational. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Check out a full preview on page 90.

The Las Vegas Convention Center, it bears mentioning, is among the first convention centers in the nation to gain accreditation as a Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) Star Facility. As I type this, a mask mandate indoors at the show is in order, and we’ll be in compliance. We’ll do what we have to do to go on with the show.

Not convinced that we’re back? Don’t take my word for it. Said Jim Pittas, PMMI CEO, in a public video message on Aug. 24, 2021, “The only thing that will keep us from going through with this show is if we’re prohibited from doing so by state or local authorities. We don’t think that’ll happen.”

I, for one, believe him. So welcome back to PACK EXPO Las Vegas. I hope you share my sense of relief. We’ve taken a long road to get here, but here we are. PW mreynolds@pmmimediagroup.com

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NEWS

Kellogg’s UK Rolls Out Cereals Inclusive of the Blind and Partially Sighted In another recent instance of brands designing more inclusive packaging, Kellogg’s UK announced that following a successful trial, new “world-first technology” will be permanently added to all its Europe-bound cereal boxes in 2022 to make them accessible to blind and partially sighted people.

Important information on food packaging, such as allergen details, can often be printed in typeface that’s difficult or impossible for blind or partially sighted people to access. The new boxes will allow these people to use a smartphone to easily detect a unique on-pack code and playback labelling information—by audio—to the shopper with sight loss.

“This announcement from Kellogg’s is a real game changer within the packaging world. It marks a significant step-change in how big brands can put accessibility at the forefront of design and packaging decisions and be a catalyst for change,” says Marc Powell, strategic accessibility lead at the UK charity Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB). “Important information on packaging can often be in very

small print, making it difficult or impossible for people with sight loss to read. Changes like this can provide blind and partially sighted people with vital information for the very first time, giving us the same freedom, independence, and choice as sighted customers. Designing packaging so that it works for everyone makes complete sense and we hope that other brands will follow Kellogg’s lead in making packaging information more accessible.”

Read more about the inclusive packaging trend, and check out links to other articles about it, on page 36.

The company will change all its cereal packaging, beginning in 2022 with the first accessible boxes of Special K appearing on shelf in January.

The idea came to life when Kellogg’s met with children from St. Vincent’s in 2019, a specialist school in Liverpool, UK, for children with sensory impairment. It was the pupils’ insight that inspired the business to look for solutions.

Kellogg’s also hopes that by sharing its experience with other brands there is an opportunity to make the supermarket shelves more accessible for people with sight loss so they can shop more independently and access information from a range of packaging.

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This announcement comes after a successful UK trial last year, in partnership with Co-op, on Kellogg’s Coco Pops boxes. Evaluation of the pilot

by RNIB showed that 97% of the participants agreed that they would like to see more of these accessibility features available on grocery packaging in the future.

Unlike other types of printed codes, the new technology, called NaviLens, includes high-contrasting, colored squares on a black background. Users do not need to know exactly where the code is located on the box to scan it.

“Over two million people in the UK live with sight loss and are unable to simply read the information on our cereal boxes,” says Chris Silcock, head of Kellogg’s UK. “As a company focused on equity, diversity, and inclusion we believe that everyone should be able to access important and useful information about the food that we sell. That’s why, starting next year, we are adding new technology to all of our cereal boxes. I am proud that Kellogg’s will be the first company in the world to use NaviLens on packaging. We know it’s important that all packaging is accessible for the blind community to enable them to make shopping easier, so we will share our experience with other brands who want to learn more.”

The technology allows smartphones to pick up the on-pack code from as far as three meters distance when a blind or partially sighted shopper points their device in the direction of the cereal box. This then alerts the phone, and the shopper can choose to have the ingredients, allergen, and recycling information read aloud to them–as well as reading it on their device using accessibility tools. The technology is currently used across Barcelona, Madrid, and Murcia city’s transport systems, making the cities easier to navigate for thousands of visually impaired citizens.

“The incorporation of the NaviLens codes onto food packaging is a positive step towards a more inclusive and accessible shopping experience for the visually impaired,” says Javier Pita, CEO of NaviLens, the startup company that created the technology. “This allows people with sight loss to shop more independently and make their own food choices.”

—Matt Reynolds

8/17/21 3:45 PM

Sustainability... goes deeper than simply creating responsible packaging.

Visit us at Pack Expo - Booth C-1744

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Printpack can help develop a product strategy that provides achievable solutions to your 2025 sustainability goals through product protection, food waste reduction, and packaging innovation.

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NEWS

Almond Breeze On-Pack AR Experience Maps Orchard-to-Shelf Journey Consumers are increasingly looking to food and beverage brands to supply them with greater transparency on the origins of the products they purchase—especially in categories such as plant-based, organic, and allnatural brands. With this in mind, Blue Diamond Growers reached out to immersive creative and production studio Tactic to develop an on-pack Augmented Reality experience for its Almond Breeze brand that would both educate and entertain consumers of their non-dairy milk, yogurt, and creamer products.

“We reached out to Tactic and started engaging with them in 2019,” shares Almond Breeze Group Marketing Manager Micah Keith. “We saw how some brands were using AR technology to tell their own stories, and we felt this would be a great way to engage our consumers to tell the story of our cooperative of more than 3,000 almond growers and our delicious almond milk products.

“We wanted to give consumers an inside look at the places, people, and work that make Almond Breeze one of the most trusted brands in non-dairy milk products. One of our main goals was to help consumers that already purchase us to understand us even more, and with this experience, we are hoping our consumers will fall even more in love with us and get to know us even better.”

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French’s® is a registered trademark of the French’s Food Company LLC. www.frenchs.com. Valvoline® is a registered trademark of Ashland Inc. www.mcclabel.com.

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According to Tactic President Peter Oberdorfer, the process of developing and executing a branded AR experience begins with a consultation with the company’s brand managers to align with any existing campaigns and to decide on points of emphasis. “In the case of Blue Diamond, they were looking for a way to help activate the store shelves where their products exist, and tell the story of how their cooperative growers in California make the product,” he explains. “We thought that a storybook/ pop-up motif inside the carton would be a great experience for the consumer and an easy, shorthand way of conveying this message with visuals and an audio narration. The team at Almond Breeze loved the initial concepts, and we worked with them to develop a narrative that was in line with their product.”

Tactic’s script, divided into chapters, tells a farmto-table story about the Blue Diamond cooperative of growers, as well as Almond Breeze’s ingredients and packaging. “We tried to boil down the essence of what the brand is about in a series of key scenes that would really convey the hard work, love, and care these families put into delivering the final product,” Oberdorfer says. Tactic also suggested a visual menu of alternating recipes that could be updated dynamically from season to season, as needed.

Unlike many existing on-pack AR experiences, consumers do not have to download an app to access the AR content from Almond Breeze. Using the webAR library from platform developer 8th Wall, Tactic developed the AR experience to be accessible from a dedicated website, ar.almondbreeze.com, which opens up when users point their smartphone at a QR code on the packaging. Once activated, the AR experience reveals a series of animated dioramas that appear within the package, though a portal that slides out from the package’s signature diamond-shaped logo.

To kick off the launch of the web-based AR experience in March 2021, Almond Breeze collaborated with Tactic on an in-store fridge execution. Triggered by a QR code featured on Almond Breeze signage on store refrigerators, the AR experience launched a full diorama of an almond farm on any open space in front of the user.

Featuring a farm with a barn, animated delivery trucks, a field of blossoming almond trees, beehives, a brook, and a roadway, the experience allowed users to freely move around the AR scene at their leisure. The miniature AR farm can now also be accessed by users without a QR code or package, by visiting the dedicated website on their smartphone.

According to Almond Breeze’s Keith, since the launch of the AR experience, the company has had almost

2,500 session startups, with a progressive growth of almost 50% more sessions each month. “Consumers are engaging with the AR experience for 1:18 seconds per view, which is certainly at the higher end of engagement time across all mediums in which we reach our loyal buyers,” he says. “Additionally, we’ve had almost 20% of AR users come back to the experience and try it again, which allows us to both entertain our consumers and continue to share our brand message and promote brand transparency.”

—Anne Marie Mohan

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NEWS

Social Media Buzz for Oreo Thins Limited Edition Camouflage Packaging Oreo produces over 40 billion cookies each year, but only 3,000 packages of Oreo Thins were made available for the “Thins Protection Program” social media sweepstakes, which was held in July. The campaign partnered with Green Giant, Ford, Hanes, and Better Homes & Gardens to create packaging that looks unlike the traditional cookie packaging and can be hidden in plain sight.

Camouflage package designs included an owner’s manual for the 2022 Ford Maverick truck, Green Giant cauliflower riced veggies, Hanes men’s t-shirts, and a BHG cookbook, made to riff on the fact that many parents apparently hide their treats from the kids (or others) in order to get a chance at eating them. Hiding

them in the freezer, the glove box, or even on a shelf in plain sight was a unique marketing campaign that got people talking about where they hide their own Oreos.

Fans were asked to post creative hiding spots for their Oreo Thins, to enter the sweepstakes and get a free package while they lasted. One winner was chosen for a $25,000 grand prize. Many big brands like Ikea, Home Depot, and Xbox also jumped in, with creative posts of their own hiding spots.

Packaging World reached out to brand owner Mondelez for more information about the packaging, intending to ask specifically about possible use of digital printing technology to complete the short run packs, but didn’t receive a response by press time. —Kim Overstreet

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NEWS

Directory of Packaging Suppliers Launches with Better Search, Improved Categorization

This month PMMI launched a directory of packaging and processing suppliers at www.PMMIProSource.org. More than 900 leading suppliers, all members of PMMI, are cataloged and indexed on the site.

The website incorporates several features that make searching for suppliers faster, easier, and more reliable than ever.

Company listings are curated by a full-time editor who ensures they appear in the correct product categories. (The product categories themselves have been reconfigured from scratch, based on actual end-user input.) Summary descriptions that appear on search results pages are edited for clarity while minimizing marketing hype.

A search engine optimized for packaging and processing terminology returns a consistent set of search results for a given product category, regardless of the keyword variation typed into the search box.

Category-specific filters further aid in refining searches. For example, within liquid filling, it is possible to filter by product type (e.g., viscous, non-viscous, etc.), machine type (inline, rotary, etc.), fill type (volumetric, fill by time, hot fill, etc.), certifications and sanitation (CIP, Dairy 3A, etc.), shelf life, and more.

The directory also distinguishes between companies who supply a machine as a standalone machine or integrated as part of a monoblock or multi-machine configuration. The site also differentiates between manufacturers and distributors.

A powerful feature of the directory is the ability to filter any category by package type; for example, it’s possible to quickly isolate companies that supply case packers that work specifically with stand-up pouches, or liquid fillers that fill bulk containers. Extensive illustrations of package

types and machinery and material categories make it easy for less experienced users and transcend language barriers.

Packaging materials and containers are featured extensively in addition to machinery. Users can filter by a wide range of criteria including sustainability tactic (such as recyclable, bio-based, or recycled content), package features (child-resistant, anti-counterfeit, e-commerce, etc.) and much more.

An A-list panel of end-user experts who have decades of experience at

major CPGs guided the development of the categories, filters, and design of the site. In effect, the site was designed by end users for end users.

Questions and suggestions can be sent to prosource@pmmi.org.

—Matt Reynolds

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Colgate, GSK Sink Their Teeth into 2021 AmeriStar Awards This year’s Institute of Packaging Professional (IoPP) AmeriStar Awards should make you smile. Colgate’s Elixir toothpaste tube (visit pwgo.to/7263 for PW’s coverage last month) pack format took home both the Best in Show and Design Excellence Awards, while GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) earned the Sustainable Packaging Award for its plasticfree, 100% recyclable, toothbrush secondary packaging.

According to a press release from IoPP, “AmeriStar judges rated the Colgate Elixir very high not only for its sustainability attributes, but also make it the clear choice for this year’s Best in Show Award. It’s very rare when the same package wins more than one of the top three honors in the same year in the AmeriStar competition, but the judges rated this as a truly exceptional package in multiple ways.”

This award-winning package marries a PET bottle with LiquiGlide technology, enabling the Colgate-Palmolive team to use PET with more viscous toothpastes. The cap opening was developed to dispense viscous toothpaste on a toothbrush while permitting air into the bottle, allowing smooth outflow of toothpaste. Designed for recyclability, it includes a thick-walled PET-E cap to provide a premium aesthetic while retaining compatibility with the PET recyclability stream. The label is a combination printed p-s label, printed in four colors with dual matte and gloss varnishes, as well as two cold foil applications and a reverse printed back label. The bottle itself is produced through a Single Stage ISBM process and assembled with an injection molded PP shoulder shroud and a thick-walled PET-E cap.

Watch a brief video of the Colgate-Palmolive Elixir tech, as well as other advances in toothpaste packaging, at pwgo.to/7264.

Taking home top honors in sustainability was GSK’s first ever 100% plastic-free, 100% recyclable secondary packaging toothbrush. The brand says the launch disrupts the toothbrush aisle with an aesthetically pleasing, consumer friendly, innovative, and fully sustainable concept. The IoPP judges agreed.

The toothbrush twin pack consists of a color matched, thermoformed PaperFoam tray that is compostable and recyclable in the paper waste stream. It is heat sealed to a printed, SBS NatraLock® UltraSeal top card engineered to be used as a plastic clamshell replacement, while maximizing shelf appeal and enhancing sustainability. The top card has a die-cut window glued with clear, heat-sealable compostable cellulose transparent film, allowing the consumer to see GSK’s plastic-free, 100% recyclable, toothbrush the product. Finally, on the back of secondary packaging earned IoPP’s Sustainable the cellulose tray are two paperPackaging Award. based labels, also plastic-free.

All in all, there were 24 AmeriStar award winners in various categories, as well as three student award winners in the competition. Visit the IoPP website at pwgo.to/7265 to view them all. —Matt Reynolds

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Manufacturers of consumer packaged goods are increasingly utilizing analytics to anticipate customer demand and optimize their processes.

According to a report from ABI Research, Industry 4.0 in the ConsumerPackaged Goods Market, overall, digital factory revenue will approach $24 billion in 2030, with spending by CPGs on data and analytics services forecast to reach $4 billion in 2030, up from $500 million in 2021.

“Plant managers walk a tightrope every day. Too little production leads to shortages and lost revenue opportunities; too much production means that perishable products go to waste,” explains Michael Larner, Industrial and Manufacturing Principal Analyst at ABI Research. “Digital threads across the supply chain are essential.”

Production planning is challenging without information from retailers’ point of sales systems, the report notes. CPG manufacturers need to work with retailers, distributors, and supply chain partners to share sales information through the supply chain, from the farmer to the checkout line. “While creating digital threads across the supply chain will take time, in the short term, CPG manufacturers need to ensure that their production plans are informed by as much relevant data as possible,” Larner points out.

According to ABI, CPGs are investing in IoT sensors and analytics to monitor temperatures and humidity levels in their facilities and the condition of ingredients and foodstuffs, alerting staff if conditions change beyond acceptable parameters. Many CPG manufacturers are undertaking ambitious data projects. For example, the report shares, AnheuserBusch InBev is unifying its 27 disparate Enterprise Resource Planning systems (ERPs) into a single system, and Mars is creating a digital thread to provide visibility from the point of origin of its raw ingredients to the point of sale.

Advises the report, digital threads will be essential for CPG manufacturers to meet the needs of their various stakeholders. Concludes Larner, “Manufacturers need work with retailers and supply-chain operators to, among other things, anticipate and prepare for demand surges, have flexibility on their production lines to accommodate trial flavors and new packaging, as well as have the required documentation available for regulators as evidence of how the facility handles ingredients.”

—Anne Marie Mohan

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QUOTABLES

BY THE NUMBERS

85%

The estimated accuracy of the data contained on new carbon footprint labels that will be used by Unilever on approximately two dozen of its products by the end of 2021

$3.3 billion

The amount, in pre-tax proceeds, private equity firm PAI Partners is paying PepsiCo for its juice brands in North America and Europe, including Tropicana and Naked

120,000 The number of U.S. employees of Tyson Foods that will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by November; fully vaccinated employees will receive $200 as a ‘thank you’

57%

The percentage of adults who agree there needs to be more beauty products for people with mobility challenges, according to Beauty Packaging magazine

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“We continue to supply the world with food, though, this remains challenging as the pandemic persists. A reacceleration of COVID cases has brought on new restrictions, causing temporary shutdowns of production in some countries. Meantime, we and the vendors that supply us are having to manage through bottlenecks and shortages of materials, labour and freight, all created by demand-supply imbalances that are also pushing up costs. ... There’s not one of [Kellogg’s more than 50 global plants] that has not been affected in some shape or form. ” –Steve Cahillane, CEO of Kellogg’s, in a conference call with analysts, as reported by FoodNavigator.com in an article, “Kellogg CEO: Severe supply disruptions means ‘2021 is shaping up to be anything but business as usual’”

“Digital twins are no longer a niche concept but rather becoming mainstream with the help of IIoT dashboards and near realtime reporting. The biggest changes in the last 12 months include pandemic response uplift alongside new requirements such as increased factory and shop floor automation; greater data transparency; real-time planning and change management; and better worker augmentation and remote support.”

–Ryan Martin, Research Director, ABI Research, in a release from the company, “Industrial Digital Twins Market Quickly Maturing to Reach US$34 Billion in 2030”

“Implementing innovative and responsible waste solutions like composting serves as an opportunity to address key environmental challenges and bring positive economic impacts to people and communities. While there is still significant need for robust investment in composting infrastructure, the COMPOST Act is a critical step in the right direction.”

–Jessica Bowman, Executive Director of the Plant Based Products Council, in a press release from the U.S. Composting Council, “The USCC & U.S. Composting Infrastructure Coalition Applauds Introduction of Compost Act”

“We support well-designed deposit return schemes. We would like the EC [European Commission] to provide guidance of what welldesigned schemes look like. Unfortunately, that’s not happening. We want to promote bottle-to-bottle recycling. Very often we observe our high-quality PET is collected, recycled and then used for downcycled applications be it textile or recently we even noticed toys. We would like preferential access. We have asked the Commission. We haven’t heard back yet.”

–Wouter Vermeulen, Coca-Cola Senior Director, Europe Public Policy, in an article from FoodNavigator.com, “‘We have sent signals to the Commission for many years.

Somewhere it’s getting lost’: Coca-Cola bemoans poor recycling infrastructure as new EU plastic rules are enforced”

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FIRST PERSON

The Bottling Plant in the Mountains Sheikh Mohammed Mussallam describes what it’s like to build a brand new water bottling company, A&M Rare, in the remote Pambak Mountains of Armenia.

Packaging World:

How did this idea get launched in the first place?

Sheikh Mohammed Mussallam: I’ve run a number of companies in many different fields, some in the construction and telecommunications industries and others in the hotel sector. In my early fifties I found I was keen to try something

new. When visiting friends in Armenia ten years ago, they greatly enthused about the quality and purity of Armenia’s water—and for the first time I learned of the many legends and myths that surround this essential element here.

That’s what launched the idea.

What were the early steps?

In 2012 I contacted the Armenian government, which introduced me to a number of extremely cooperative individuals in the ministries of the environment and mining. Together with a Swiss geotechnical company I began looking for the ideal location for such an undertaking. I subsequently found it in Artavaz in the Kotayk Province in the Pambak Mountains about 80 kilometers northeast of the capital of Yerevan. Here, close to one of the largest and most popular Armenian ski resorts in Tsaghkadzor, where the mountains of the Lesser Caucasus reach heights of more than 2,800 meters above sea level, two springs can be found in the midst of totally unspoiled

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FIRST PERSON Read more about Sheikh Mohammed Mussallam and A&M Rare starting on page 46 of this issue.

surroundings. Rare mineral water comes from Anapak Mountain, 2,050 meters up. It contains bicarbonate and is rich in calcium and low in sodium. It’s a gentle digestive stimulant, and with its high mineral content it’s especially suitable for the preparation of baby food. The source of this pure spring water—Aknaler Mountain with an altitude of 2,450 meters—is just five kilometers away; with its low to medium mineral content, this water is extremely balanced.

Did you have to do anything in particular to shield the spring from outside impact?

A&M Rare acquired the terrain and successively dedicated it as a nature conservation area—which proved a real marathon when it came to negotiation. From having the initial idea to the ultimate launch of A&M Rare, it took five years to purchase the full 1,700 hectares of land from the various owners of this sparsely populated stretch of Armenia.

Were there other unusual challenges you had to face?

The construction of the bottling shop alone posed quite a challenge considering the high risk of earthquakes in Armenia. The outer walls are made of solid concrete, the roof of composite panels. In view of the extreme fluctuations in temperature, often icy in the mountains, great attention was also paid to the thermal insulation. It gets down to -25°C here in the winter, with two meters or more of snow not uncommon. When this is the case, the access and surrounding roads have to be kept clear so that the water can be delivered.

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THE LEGAL SIDE

By Eric F. Greenberg, Attorney-at-law

New Food Safety Blueprint: Threat or Opportunity?

There’s an old expression that says, “Those who anticipate the future can see threats, but also opportunities.” Well, anyway, there ought to be. Here’s an example: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is working up a new approach to food safety, one that tries to incorporate new and emerging digital technologies. The agency calls its new plan the “New Era of Smarter Food Safety Blueprint,” and it involves consideration of four key elements: tech-enabled traceability, smarter tools and approaches for prevention and outbreak response, new business models and retail modernization, and food safety culture.

The Blueprint, aiming to “create a safer and more digital, traceable food system” is almost certain to lead to some packaging changes.

With better traceability of food and its ingredients, goes the thinking, we’d all be able to look back at where every component of a food product came from, see how it was raised/grown/processed/handled/held/ distributed, and thereby better get to the bottom of what went wrong.

The development of the Blueprint has a lot of moving parts. FDA has started holding public meetings with stakeholders, requesting public comments, has held informational webinars and podcasts, sponsored a ‘traceability challenge,’ created a new data analysis tool to identify potential disruptions in the food supply, undertaken a pilot study which uses AI for food import screening, and examined alternative ways to conduct inspections, including remote inspections.

Going forward, it’s planning to complete pilot studies, hold a summit with food e-commerce stakeholders, train its own personnel, and update consumer education materials.

How might all this affect packaging? Let’s speculate a bit: First, packaging, meaning labeling, might be enlisted to help traceability by featuring new and different informational QR codes or other batch or lot or date indications. Even if the future of food safety is digitally enhanced, labeling on packages will always be physical, movable signage, and will play a key role in communicating information.

And after all, packaging and labeling technologies that enhance product safety already exist, such as radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags and time-temperature indicators.

Second, the pedigree of packaging component materials, including who made the materials themselves, who converted them, and whether they promote sustainability, might be part of the picture. In the process of trying to capture information about ‘everything about a food’ in order to help assure its safety, the background details about its packaging might be included.

And, importantly, this might happen even if it’s not required or even recommended by FDA, if the idea simply captures the imagination of the marketplace, driven by consumer values-based interests or fears. (As you may know, some NGOs are already paying

more attention to the safety of food packaging substances.)

Can that happen? Well, things like that already have: Remember how in 2018 FDA made clear that suppliers of packaging materials were not among those FDA would require to confirm their compliance with the Food Safety Modernization Act, but then how lots of food companies started asking for it anyway?

My friend Dr. Robert Post told me it’s the tech-enabled aspects of the Blueprint that draw his attention most, and carry the potential for big changes and opportunities for packagers. Post runs a food product and marketing development consulting firm, FoodTrition Solutions, LLC, and has deep and complex experience both in government policymaking and in corporate regulatory positions. He has represented clients in meetings with FDA about the Blueprint.

(Longtime readers of this column know I rely on him for wellinformed input now and then.)

Post is concerned that the simple existence of available technologies could lead to their being required or recommended. Sometimes, he notes, “The minute you decide that you can provide information, someone will decide that it’s necessary that you do,” without giving enough thought to whether it’s practical, cost-effective and scalable for all sizes of companies, or really useful for your purposes.

He is also concerned that this whole traceability effort, and its attendant transparency, could run roughshod over companies’ trade secrets and other confidential business information, such as who its suppliers or copackers are, or its products’ ingredients. In the name of increased safety, he worries, information that is key to a company’s competitive advantage could be simply given away to a government database for all to see.

Also, how is all this newly collected digital data going to be used?

For example, if foodborne illness outbreak data provides numerical grades or scores for specific foods, or even specific package types, will an adverse score reflect poorly, and unjustifiably, on a food or package?

Post suggests that packaging companies would do well to ask themselves, “What are the pieces of information that are most important,” and perhaps set their own standards—practical, costeffective, but still helpful—that captures that information but doesn’t overdo it, and do all that before FDA or private groups decide for them.

If possible, the Blueprint is best seen as a series of opportunities rather than threats, Post notes. It’s best if you can identify a regulatory change before it arrives and figure out a way to meet a newly created need in the market.

Indeed, packagers who think the Blueprint might affect their business should track its progress and let FDA know their views on the various possible data and traceability ideas. More information about it can be found at www.fda.gov/food/new-era-smarter-food-safety. PW

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.

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THE BIG PICTURE

By Sterling Anthony, CPP, Contributing Editor

Good Reasons for Package Redesign on a systems level. Examples include faster line speeds, or increased Since last month’s column was devoted to efficiencies in handling, transportation, and storage. The redesign avoiding misguided reasons for package reshould be as subtle as feasible, such that loyal consumers won’t design (pwgo.to/7277), let’s think about some good reasons to redesign. notice, or, at least, won’t object.

The sequence in which the reasons will be discussed is not meant to Technology. An increased level of automation can be a good suggest an order of importance, nor does this constitute an exhaustive reason for a package redesign. Tighter tolerances can be required, list. These reasons are not mutually exclusive, either; they can overlap. for example. Another need can be making packages run more stably Product change. A package should be product-specific, its design under fast conveying. On a related note, a packaging user might reflecting the requirements of its contents. It follows, therefore, that determine that a different technology better suits its present and a change in the product could justify a package redesign. The type of future needs. One example: glue-applied labels give way to in-mold product change should be one that makes the product more attractive labeling, or perhaps full-sleeve labels. to targeted consumers: in promotional Sustainability. Packaging users are parlance, “New and improved.”

Competition among packaging under constant pressure to reduce their Incidentally, that is not to be confused materials—paper, plastic, metal, environmental footprint, providing a with “New look, same great_______,” good reason for package redesign. A (fill in the blank), which implies that the glass—can justify package Cycle Assessment (LCA) provides problem was the package. redesign. One example can serve Life theory. However, in practice, it’s nonRegulatory mandates. Packaging is for many: a product in flexible discriminating, used by every packaging subject to a variety of federal agencies, their regulations having the power packaging today might be in rigid material supplier to support sustainability claims. The result is a skeptical public. to force package redesign. A familiar packaging later, or vice-versa.

Therefore, it behooves packaging users example is label disclosures, requiring to undertake redesign projects that can strict compliance as to content and generate auxiliary benefits. Source-reduction is an example: given the form. The safety assessment of structural components of packaging often-hurled accusation of “over-packaging,” reductions (that don’t is another province of agencies. Even if an agency allows a certain sacrifice performance) accrue to the bottom line. component’s use (such as with BPA), its prior bad publicity can be Structural changes. Competition among packaging materials— a good reason for a package redesign. Examples are the variety of paper, plastic, metal, glass—can justify package redesign. One packages with labels declaring, “BPA-free.” example can serve for many: a product in flexible packaging today Expand distribution. It’s about place utility: making goods might be in rigid packaging later, or vice-versa. Any such change physically available to potential consumers as widely as possible. The must satisfactorily fulfill the functions of protection, containment, larger retailers, exercising their power within the supply chain, can communication, convenience, and utility. Beyond that, packaging dictate packaging requirements to packaging users. It’s not always users undertake structural redesign for a variety of reasons, possible about a redesign of the primary package, but can influence secondary ones being forecasts (availability and prices) or consumer preferences. packaging, too. That’s the idea behind retail-ready packaging (RRP).

Competitor’s initiative. A competitor makes a splash with a Tertiary packaging is not exempt, as proven by sell-from-pallet package design, putting others in the position of having to decide displays favored by “big-box” stores. how to respond. Choices include dismiss (not recommended), Growth and scale. From humble beginnings, a company increases acknowledge but stand pat, copy, one-upmanship, and something sales, extends its brands into other categories, and needs packaging more measured. The choice should be commensurate with the that projects its new size and scope. The more logical and wellperceived threat, yet consistent with a forward-thinking use of managed the journey has been, the easier it will be to achieve a package redesign as a component of competitive strategy. If not, package redesign that encompasses the ideals that define the brand. a company can find itself constantly reacting instead of practicing On the single category level, growth and scale can be justification for proactive management. going from a stock package to a customized package.

There being a myriad of reasons, of varying validity, for package Cost savings. The objective is not just “cheaper” packaging. Price redesign, the question is: What’s a reliable method for avoiding the reductions are subject to diminishing returns, and, at some point, bad and choosing the good? That’s the topic of the concluding article negatively affect performance. A redesigned package can carry the of this series. Look for it next month. PW same price (or even a slightly higher one) yet result in cost savings

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SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING

By Anne Marie Mohan, Senior Editor

Unilever Expands Refill Trials in the U.K. Guided by the learnings from the Asda trial, for the first time After its experimentation with three refill/ Unilever will be implementing a return-on-the-go model with the reuse models at Asda’s Sustainability expanded program. In this model, shoppers looking for a quicker, Store in Leeds last year exceeded expectations, Unilever is moving grab-and-go purchase can pick up a prefilled, stainless-steel bottle of full throttle ahead with its “test and learn” trials of refillable and product from the shelf and return it in-store once the product is used. reusable packaging formats in the U.K. Continuing its partnership From there, the bottles will be collected for cleaning and refilling. with Beauty Kitchen, a D2C company that successfully developed The expanded trials will also include the refill-on-the-go model, the Return•Refill•Repeat model for its own brands, Unilever will be with touch-free machines manufactured by RBC Group that will be expanding its trials to seven Asda and Co-op stores by year-end 2021. maintained by Beauty Kitchen. Explains Unilever, “The stations being This, it says, will be the first refill trial of its kind at this scale in the U.K. used in the Home Care & Beauty & Personal Care trials have been “We are very much in test and learn mode now, so our current adapted for the current COVID-19 environment, specifically with the focus is on these trials in the U.K.,” says Unilever. “They will enable fitting of closing doors, which means the refill product is shielded us to test different refill models, different store formats and in-store during pouring, and with the addition of QR code technology, which locations, as well as testing the different shopper experiences that allows shoppers to complete the refill process ‘touchless,’ i.e., without could enable long-term use of refillable products. We’re going to be touching the machine’s screen.” gaining as much new insight and learning from these trials as we can, and this will help inform our next steps and what might be possible in the future.”

Unilever’s initial tests with Asda, which began in late October 2020, include seven of the company’s household brands. Persil laundry detergent, Simple liquid handwash, Alberto Balsam shampoo and conditioner, and Radox shower gel are being delivered through touch-free refill machines from Beauty Kitchen; Cif household cleaners are available for in-home refills through a 10X concentrated Ecorefill; and its Pukka and Tips brands of loose tea and tea bags are offered in bulk for packaging in self-serve containers.

Shares Asda, demonstrating positive intent and consumer behavior change in-store, the initial trial resulted in weekly purchases of The reusable bottles for the refill-on-the-go and return-on-the-go systems are made from Persil from the Refill Zone—where the reuse/ stainless steel or aluminum for durability. refill products were grouped—reaching a The reusable bottles for the refill-on-the-go and return-on-the-go third higher than the equivalent single-use pack. systems were designed by Beauty Kitchen and are made from stainless Insights gleaned from the trial, as well as from Unileversteel or aluminum for durability purposes, “to enable them to be used commissioned research, include the following: and reused time and again in the Return•Refill•Repeat model,” Unilever • Ninety-four percent of consumers in the U.K. are more likely to explains. “If they do reach an end of life in their current form, for invest in refills versus buying new products in-store, if available, whatever reason, they are fully recyclable or can be returned for reuse.” and 89% are likely to buy a product because its packaging can be Each bottle has a unique QR code, a feature that provides reused. traceability of the package, allowing Unilever to track the full buy/ • Almost one-fifth (18%) of shoppers want a sealed product option use/refill process and gain better insight on the circular model. and to be able to return bottles to the store (16%). Twenty-five Messaging on the bottle advises consumers to wash the package percent would be interested in a loyalty or reward scheme. thoroughly with warm water and leave it to dry naturally before • Nearly one-third say value for money offered by the Refill Stations returning it to the store. was a key reason for being likely to purchase in the future.

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more sustainable products. By designing packaging to be circular and smart alongside advanced Refill and Return stations, we are making it accessible for consumers to reduce their plastic consumption, track their impact, and change their behavior from one of consuming packaging to reusing it.”

In a rare show of support for a major CPG’s sustainability initiative, Sian Sutherland, co-founder of NGO A Plastic Planet, had this to say about Unilever’s expansion of its refill program: “Imagine a world where we don’t throw plastic packaging away, useful for moments but existing on our planet for centuries. When huge self-confessed polluters like Unilever try to change the system, not just hiding behind recycled plastic as a half-hearted answer, we need to applaud and support them. One day our bathroom and kitchen cupboards will be filled with permanent refillable packaging, and we will look back in wonderment at why we took so long to realize it is the only way forward.”

A touch-free refill-on-the-go machine for Radox shower gel allows users to refill a Unilever’s refill trials will be conducted in five reusable bottle in store.

Asda stores in England, in Middleton in Leeds, Rugby, Toryglen, York, and Milton Keynes; one Asda store in Says Jo-Ann Chidley, co-founder of Return•Refill•Repeat, “Our goal Glasgow, Scotland; and two Co-op convenience stores in England, in is to democratize the circular economy using Cradle-to-Cradle design, Huddersfield and York. PW to work with businesses like Unilever to give consumers access to

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LOOKING FORWARD

By Mike Richmond, PTIS

Inclusivity Needs Packaging, and Packaging Needs Inclusivity The first Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) was founded as an organization in the UK back in 1946. While much has been done since it’s founding through many universities and some companies, more is needed. Packaging has made some efforts and happily we are starting to see a new and refreshed focus on inclusivity by companies who are making a difference through packaging. Creating packaging for the young, the old, and the differently abled is simply a must-do. We have tried for decades to move towards this end via HFES, academia (for example, North Carolina State’s Human Factors and Applied Cognitive Psychology), design houses, and from time-to-time, industry (i.e.

Bayer Aspirin and Advil via easier grip closure materials).

Well, now we have more ammunition to begin to make a difference, and we can thank investors (in particular millennials) in Environment, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) as they are demanding changing in investment portfolios to enhance ESG as a key new global metric. And we can thank companies like P&G, Unilever, Kellogg, Bayer, Target, and others for their diligence and investment to do the right thing.

I virtually attended a June virtual PAC (Packaging Association of Canada) Disruptor Summit and attended a session on the importance and value of inclusivity in packaging.

Sam Latif, the head of inclusivity at P&G (who happens to be blind), was such a delight to listen to and watch.

He started off with a hard punch in the form of the business case.

Globally, there are 1.8 billion people who are differently abled, and they happen to have $8T in spending power. That certainly sold it to the audience attending, and it finally gave me more ammunition to push it to our clients without having to rely on altruism, or answering “why?” with “it’s the right thing to do.”

Well with that difference maker I simply want to point out that when you make the fundamental shift to inclusive design and commercialization, you do a few other things. You build a stronger ESG for the investment community, create new opportunities and delight for up to 1.8B people (which has “wow” factor), and

Watch a brief Packaging World Take Five video on inclusive packaging at pwgo.to/7238. you deliver new topline growth for your company. You also allow packaging to play the role of key enabler while giving the rest of the general population a more delightful experience—by designing for a (comparative) few, you can delight the masses.

And the bottom line for me is when packaging becomes this type of convenient enabler, I simply feel great about it. Here are a few recent examples of inclusive packaging.

Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner (P&G)—The bottles are laser etched for the blind or other potential disablements to be able to tell shampoo from conditioner in the shower.

Coco Pops cereal (Kellogg’s UK)—The brand introduced a new Braille package with simpler and larger graphics, along with information for a NoviLens App that you scan with your smartphone to bring up lots of product information and then hit voice over and your phone reads all the information to the user. Good for blind or sight impaired people.

Degree deodorant (Unilever)— The brand developed a novel package for people with upper limb differences to be able to put on deodorant by themselves using a magnetic closure with a hanger attachment on the package.

There are a number of other examples, but for brevity, the above commercialized projects exemplify the kinds of applications currently being pursued to support at least a portion of the 1.8 billion people globally who could benefit. And with packaging professionals and commitments from P&G and Kellogg’s, both of whom saying they are going to build out inclusivity across their products globally, we anticipate some exciting innovations ahead, plus a lot of smiling people. PW

Read more about the P&G etched bottles on page 108, about the Kellogg’s UK project on page 10 or about the Unilever deodorant from June 2020 at pwgo.to/7239.

PTIS, LLC is a leading business and technology management company focused on Creating Value Through Packaging©.

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Mars Wrigley Develops, Tests Paper-based Packaging for Balisto Chocolate Bar As brands eye fast-approaching, self-imposed sustainability deadlines, watch for interesting pilot projects to roll out. This European paper-based flow pack from Mars Wrigley’s Balisto brand of snacks was developed with Syntegon.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

New materials run on existing equipment

Move from plastic to paper flow wrapping

By Matt Reynolds, Editor Flow-wrapped film packaging has long been the format of choice for confectionery, especially chocolate bars. To a great extent it still is, but times are changing, and so is the material that some candy bars are wrapped in. Consumer packaged goods companies are looking for more sustainable materials. For example, just a few issues ago, Packaging World covered Nestlé’s ‘paperization’ of its popular Smarties line of candies (read more at pwgo.to/7237).

Under the same types of pressures, Mars Wrigley is concurrently investigating the flow-wrapping potential of paper. These major brands are all actively searching for more sustainable packaging alternatives in order to meet self-imposed sustainability goals. For example, as a major Mars business segment next to Petcare and Food, Mars Wrigley is aligned with the Mars Corporate Sustainability Vision to a Healthier Planet. Mars is a core partner of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s (EMF)

New Plastic Economy initiative, and one of the first signatories of the EMF’s Global Commitment to eliminate plastic waste and pollution at its source. The Mars Vision is aligned with EMF to support a circular economy where packaging never becomes waste. To make this vision a reality, by 2025 Mars plans to reduce virgin plastic use by 25% and ensure 100% of its plastic packaging is reusable, recyclable, or compostable.

Beta testing paper packaging With the help of Syntegon Technology, Mars Wrigley is currently rolling out a large-scale test of paper packaging. The product in question is German cult favorite snack Balisto®, and the testing is happening in an un-named, but major German food retailer. The flat, chocolatecovered cookie snack bar is offered in a range of flavor variants and colorful packaging.

The Honey Almond bar hits shelves in a paper-based flow wrap packaged on Syntegon’s HRM horizontal form/fill/seal machine.

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When less established materials like paper are at play, Mars Wrigley recognized that suitable packaging materials need to be developed and tested regarding machine performance criteria and market acceptance.

“As challenging as this process can be, we wanted to go the extra mile to deliver on our sustainability commitment and our commitment to quality,” says Gerben Santegoeds, Global Technology Principal Engineer Packaging at Mars1 Wrigley.

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The company has already launched several pilot projects across Europe. The valuable insights gained from these pilots will then be harnessed to develop sustainable packaging solutions in all categories of Mars Wrigley’s portfolio. One of the pilots now underway at Balisto is with the Honey Almond flavor chocolate bar. A paper-based flow warp material and application system is currently being validated. For this solution to become a reality, Mars Wrigley first had to develop and test a paper-based flow wrap for single bars and multipacks.

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The crunchy snack is packaged in all-paper multipacks at nine bars each.

“This was a real challenge. We needed to reassess the properties and packaging potential of a material that was previously not used for this kind of product,” Santegoeds says, “What barrier properties does paper offer? What about grease retention? And how will it perform on horizontal flow wrappers that usually pro-

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cess conventional film? It was a logical step to seek support from partner experts who fully understand our requirements. Syntegon’s fully integrated approach covers horizontal, vertical, and secondary packaging. This means we had a one-stop shop to develop our value-based solutions and achieve quick time-to-market at scale.”

Mars Wrigley followed a two-track approach for its paper-based project. It included testing paper packaging for Balisto Honey Almond bars

on respective Syntegon machinery. If this proved successful, the company would launch 100,000 multipacks with nine bars each in over 500 stores of the undisclosed German food retailer.

“This called for a paper-based flow-wrap solution that would ensure that our high-quality standards could be upheld and still deliver on our promise to our consumers. This was the benchmark we had to reach,” Santegoeds says.

Keeping the crunch Finding the matching solution wasn’t trivial. Primary paper packaging has direct contact with the product and fundamentally different properties than plastic packaging. Shelf life was not the only challenge: since Balisto is a chocolate-covered cookie bar, the packaging must also offer oil-mark resistance and minimal permeability attributes. The new package should also be able to keep moisture out and ensure the proper biscuit crunch.

“Even the most sustainable packaging would be useless if quality didn’t match consumers’ expectations, and our high standards in food safety, product quality, and integrity,” Santegoeds says.

Read a recent article about another similar project with Nestlé’s Smarties candies at pwgo.to/7237.

Syntegon had already been working on paperbased flow-wrapping solutions when Mars Wrigley shared their strategy and presented their pilot flowpack projects. Eager to make their flow wrapping machinery future-proof, the OEM had launched its “paper-ON-form” retrofit kit for a wide range of traditional horizontal flow wrapping machines. It comprises a paper flow-wrap forming unit and sealing tools for cold sealing applications. The tool allows processing of barrier papers without wrinkles, scores, or cracks, while the customized cold sealing tools gently create the sealing seams.

“The solution was exactly what we were looking for at the time,” Santegoeds says. “We decided to run first packaging and shelf-life tests on Syntegon machines.”

Clearing the hurdles As is the case with most innovation, some challenges needed to be overcome.

“During the first tests, the paper tore when folded,” Santegoeds says. “We needed to find a way of wrapping the bar without destroying the required barrier.”

Moreover, the paper must be shapeable and allow for both transverse and longitudinal seams. “The initial learnings at Syntegon were important to pave the way.

We didn’t see them as setbacks, but rather as valuable insights we could build upon,” he adds.

The trials revealed whether the machinery and

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Watch this Take Five video about Nestlé’s and Mars Wrigley’s respective plastic to paper flow wrapping projects and pilots at pwgo.to/7278. packaging materials performed well together. Fortunately, they did.

Over several months, Mars Wrigley and Syntegon tested different paper variants from different suppliers. They gained more and more

insights on how the materials run on the machines. Step by step, the R&D and engineering departments of both companies partnered their way to the right folding parameters.

“A key driver of our collaboration was the willingness to challenge each other. We constantly discussed results with people who are absolute experts in their field, until we had the matching solution for our Balisto bars,“ says Santegoeds. The FSC®- and PEFC™-certified packaging developed from special paper consists of more than 90% natural fibers.

Holistic approach through the whole process The success of the initial packaging tests is based on Syntegon’s “paper-ON-form” solution developed in Beringen, Switzerland. It helped to implement paper packaging on the HRM flow wrapper for single bars at Mars’ Balisto production site in Viersen, Germany. The multipack was a special challenge. Despite its size, the single bars must remain stable in the pack.

The bars produced in Viersen will be available in over 500 EDEKA shops until late autumn 2021. The region covers five federal German states, an area big enough to deliver conclusive results after several months.

“The test will provide us with comprehensive information on how the new packaging performs under production conditions, in retail and in the everyday lives of consumers,” Santegoeds says. “We can use the pilot to realign our packaging in more Mars business units. When it comes to Syntegon, once more the project revealed the company’s packaging strengths, which we will gladly fall back on in the future. We are convinced that we will be able to further optimize the results with our partner from the packaging industry.”

Far from being the only paper-based flow wrapped product ever, Mars Wrigley says the Balisto bar is another step in the right direction. PW

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Hi-tech Bottling Comes to Remote Armenian Mountains A&M Rare’s new, ultramodern bottling plant seems almost surreal in a place where unspoiled scenery and mountain grandeur are on full display.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

Overcoming challenging terrain

Perfecting container design Sheikh Mohammed Mussallam has plenty of experience in running companies ranging from construction to telecommunications to the hotel business. Back in the 1980s he’d managed a family-run operation for bottled drinking water. He thus began developing the ambitious notion of returning to this field of business, this time with a premium product he could market the world over: natural Armenian mineral and spring water from a firm known as A&M Rare.

As far back as 2012 Mussallam contacted the Armenian government, which led him to a number of extremely cooperative individuals in the ministries of the environment and mining. He eventually found what he was looking for in Artavaz in the Kotayk Province in the Pambak Mountains. Here are two springs fed by rare mineral water coming from Anapak Mountain. Following extensive research and analysis, the high quality of this water has been certified by several recognized organizations for a period of five years. These include Geotest in Switzerland, SGS Institut Fresenius in Germany, Zenith Global in Great Britain, and the Armenian National Academy of Sciences. It took Mussallam five years to purchase the full 1,700 hectares of land from the various owners of this sparsely populated stretch of Armenia—but he knew that this was where his bottling plant belonged.

Mussallam is not a man to compromise. For him the absolute purity and unadulterated quality of his water have top priority. “Our products are completely natural and not treated in any way whatsoever,” he says.

“I like to say that the only ‘machinery’ we need to transport the water from the mountain to our plant is gravity.”

He’s particularly enamored of the untainted natural landscape and its special charm at all times of the year. He also loves the culture of the country, whose people he finds especially open, cooperative, and welcoming. This also applies to the political and regulatory conditions for investors.

Partners and suppliers Either carbonated or still water can be filled on the glass line. A decorative gold overcap completes the bottles’ elegant look.

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As his partner for certification, approval, and basic technical concerns, Mussallam chose SGS-TÜV Saar, which advises and supports him on all issues of system, building, machine, and also product safety. It was on recommendation of this company that Mussallam eventually came into contact with the German machinery maker KHS. “It was important to me that we also adhere to the highest possible standards when it comes to production and filling,” he explains. “For me, this

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includes the provision of high-tech equipment in the form of lines and machines on the one hand and the availability of after-sales service in this rather remote part of the world on the other. What particularly won me over to KHS was that I could procure practically everything from a single source and that we can have a KHS engineer on site at any time within just 48 hours.”

The Saudi businessman also finds it important that the chemistry’s right, which explains why he’s formed quite a friendship with Oliver Schneider, Deputy Head of Sales at KHS. “Even if Mohammed’s relatively new to the business, Shown here is the PET bottle blowing and filling equipment. Like the glass line, bottle sizes he knows exactly what he wants and what he’s filled on this blow/fill line include 330-, 500-, and 800-mL. doing,” says Schneider. “He’s positively burstblow molder/filler block, the glass bottling system has a block comprising with ideas, which we’ve been able to help him realize with great ing a rinser and filler. interest and commitment right from the start. He really appreciates “In order to meet the high demand for product quality, both blocks this—and this helped us to quickly form a really trusting relationship.” and the capper are housed in their own hygienic room,” Schneider exThe experts from KHS have been involved in many parts of the projplains. “The filling section is separated from the packaging and palletizect from the planning of the building and its infrastructure through the ing section that’s positioned in the warehouse area behind a partition.” technical concept to the design of the bottles, labels, and packaging.

Both lines are equipped with a KHS Innoket Neo SK labeler that dresses KHS has installed two lines, one for PET and one for one-way glass, both the bottles with pressure-sensitive, transparent labels in a no-label look. with capacities of up to 12,000 bottles/hr. Bottle sizes filled on both The packaging area of each line also features an Innopack Kisters lines include 330-, 500-, and 800-mL. While the PET line has a stretch

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Free Download: 2021 Beverage Trends In this report, beverage manufacturers discussed the operational challenges the industry faces to meet consumer demands, material supply shortages that are driving change, and why IIoT automation and robotics implementations like the one described in this A&M Rare article are advancing at unprecedented levels to increase output. Visit pwgo.to/7123 to download the free report. PW

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WP wrap-around case packer. What’s more, an additional partition inserter has been fitted on the glass line. “This places a corrugated partition in each box to prevent the glass bottles from knocking against one another,” notes Schneider. “In a country like Armenia, logistics is rated differently than in Western Europe, especially if we look at the state of the roads.” Unlike the usual practice in this capacity range, where palletizing is often done by hand, both lines include a fullyautomatic KHS Innopal PBL-1 palletizer.

Automation was a key “Alongside flexibility Mohammed attached enormous value to having a high degree of automation in this section,” says Schneider. “This was undoubtedly one of the criteria that tipped the balance in favor of KHS.” The factory layout is also very efficient: the glass and PET lines are placed opposite one another almost as mirror images in what’s known as a comb arrangement. “It was important to us that we’d be able to operate the lines with as few people as possible,” Mussallam stresses. “As a result, that’s why we also don’t refer to our engineers as operators but as monitors who watch over the line, if you like.”

Mussallam also has very exact ideas and expectations regarding the packaging. He’s opted for a minimalist cylindrical glass bottle shape with a concave bottom that’s sealed with a 28-mm roll-on threaded aluminum cap over which is applied a blue snap-fit decorative cap injection-molded of PET as wide as the bottle. Either carbonated or still water is filled into the glass containers. Currently the PET bottles hold only still water, but carbonated water will come later. The primary closure on the PET bottles is injection-molded of PP, and applied over it is a gold decorative cap like the blue one on the glass bottles. Designing the bottles, says Mussallam, called for a lot of clever engineering—and patience—from KHS. “Each individual detail of both the PET and glass bottle was designed to reflect the brand’s premium positioning and at the same time ensure maximum food safety,” he says.

When it came to secondary packaging of individual bottles, the bottles are not held together with shrink film but packed in groups of twelve in attractively designed wraparound corrugated cases that are then stacked on pallets. This is done on machines also supplied by KHS, the Innopack Kisters WP, with integrated

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Read more about Sheikh Mohammed Mussallam on page 24 of this issue.

The wraparound case packer includes a fully automated corrugated partition inserter. fully automated partition inserters. This excellently prepares them for what’s often a long journey. For with a population of less than three million, a certain amount of competition, and a high percentage of imported water in Armenia, Mussallam reckons on only selling about 10% of his output on the home market. He exports the rest to Russia or Europe, for example. That’s why he’s had his water certified according to EU standards—and to the U.S., the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait— and of course to his native Saudi Arabia.

The investment Mussallam has made in Armenia’s Pambak Mountains represents a total of €22 million ($26.8 million U.S.) with around

€6.8 million ($8.29 million U.S.) going into the technology alone. The geographical conditions meant that delivery of the new equipment was a demanding exercise. Transport routes in the mountains are by nature rather restricted. The machines weigh several metric tons, meaning it’s not so easy to move them up to an altitude of over 2,000 meters, especially in wintery conditions. “Communication also required a certain amount of flexibility,” says Massallam. “If you want to assemble people from Saudi Arabia, Armenia, and Germany and an installation team from Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Russia, you sometimes need two interpreters to move things forward.”

Workers and managers for the new facility were carefully chosen.

“We chose the best candidates from the universities,” says Massallam.

“We didn’t attach too much importance to experience because we can fully rely on the quality of the training. The pros from KHS teach our colleagues the necessary skills to make them the best in their field.” He can now hardly wait for his two lines to be running at full capacity in the near future so that he can start devoting his time to his next project: Mussallam is already dreaming of a second bottling plant with a big returnable glass line so that he can convince even more consumers of the legendary benefits of water from Armenia. —Pat Reynolds

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All a gift recipient needs to do is cut a single taped edge of the shipper, and the OPF corrugated case pops open and lays flat to present the gift inside. See the process in action at pwgo.to/7022.

Shipper Plays a Starring Role In Progressive Unboxing Experience A corrugated shipper’s primary job in e-comm is to get its contents to a consumer’s doorstep intact. But this one is able to do so with a bit of theater and flair.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

Secondary packaging’s expanded e-comm role

Clever structural design

“Shop by Ethos” concept

By Matt Reynolds, Editor Founded in 2015, Knack is a Seattle-based online, direct-to-consumer (D2C) gifting company that provides 100% made-to-order and personalized gifts from a sizable stable of trendy gift vendors. With business split roughly 60/40 between corporate gift business and individual, one-off personal gifts respectively, categories include spa, quarantine & workfrom-home, coffee & tea, gourmet food, bar & wine, chocolate & confections, home entertaining, stationery & office, family games, and even ethos (see sidebar on page 58). Customers are asked to mix and match gift items and every order is different, so every package is custom.

“Packaging is, of course, very important to this business. We use a gift box that is lovely and has a lot of customization associated with it,” says Laura Jennings, founder and CEO. “People who are giving Knack gifts can upload logos, upload photos, they can leave a video message for their gift recipient.”

A QR code, digitally printed on either the packaging itself or the gift card portion of Knack’s gift package—again, everything is custom-

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izable—is the delivery mechanism for those video messages. All the recipient requires is a smart phone to hover over the QR code, and the personalized message plays.

“And also, we automatically produce a [bespoke] webpage for every custom gift,” Jennings says. “The gift recipient can come to the site via that QR code and learn about all the merchants who are featured in the gift. They can see other information from the gift-giver and they can even send a thank you from that site. The unboxing experience is very much a part of why our customers turn to Knack. It’s intensely personal.”

Extending the experience to the shipper Clearly, there’s a lot of custom flair and targeted thoughtfulness going on inside the internal gift box. Knack then puts that gift box in a shipper to get it to the recipient and to keep it protected in transit. In many D2C plays, this is where the custom feel ends—the standard kraft corrugated shipper with requisite dunnage. Sometimes clever printing

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on the shipper or bright colors can enliven the secondary protective packaging, but the real “unboxing” experience happens with the internal contents, rarely the shipper.

PS AZ PMMI turns 9 x 5_4375 01RZ 1 31.08.20 Knack that on its vek.pdf head by using a cleverly 10:22 designed shipper, thereby extending the unboxing experience outward to the shipper it-

self. Called the Easy Pop shipper by Knack, the box—marketed as the Ta-Da Box™ by Salazar Packaging—delivers a “wow” moment as it pops open to reveal its contents.

“The unboxing experience, it’s really important. That’s why we gift wrap,” Jennings says. “The packaging of a gift says a lot about the gift and the care that the giver put into it. When we started working with Salazar, we started off thinking, ‘Well, we’ll just do a custom RSC,’ which lots of people do. We’ll just customize the kind of net standard H-box.

But we talked to Dennis [Salazar] about what our customer cares about.

Even inside the box, we have this notion that there’s a gradual unveiling of the gift. You’ve got the shipper, then you’ve got the gift card and the belly band. And then when you take the lid off, there’s actually a sheet of vellum. So it’s really an experience. When you see a video of it in action (pwgo.to/7022), it’s almost like the pearl in the oyster. Then, all you have to do is open one side of that box—it’s sealed by a single piece of tape—and the box pops open and presents the gift to the recipient.”

Adds Salazar, from a blog post from January 2021, “We were happy to quote on [Knack’s] box usage but also offered several other design options. We know that tall (over 4-in) die-cut mailers are expensive, so one of the samples we showed them was a basic one-panel folder that could substantially reduce the amount of board used, and thereby their cost per unit. However, we also noticed that our design could “pop” open for a great presentation. With some tweaks by one of our favorite designer friends, we were able to enhance that unveiling. You can almost hear the “Ta-Da” as the flaps fly open and the gift inside is exposed.”

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Sustainability considerations

The Salazar shipper boxes are custom made to precisely fit Knack’s standard-sized internal gift boxes, so there’s no necessity for extra dunnage, no shipping of air, and no waste in the package system. This application of the Ta-Da Box uses a 200#, B-flute, kraft out/white in corrugated board, with approximately 65% recycled content that is 100% recyclable and re-pulpable.

The single piece of tape that holds the OPF shipper in its 3D format from Knack to a gift recipient’s doorstep is water soluble adhesive tape that can enter the recycle stream without having to be removed from the corrugated by the consumer. Printed tapes that aren’t water soluble, often those that use cross-thread reinforcements, really should be completely removed from the corrugated to make them fully ready for the recycle stream. Plus, Jennings just preferred the more natural, streamlined COMPLETE SNACK PACKAGING SOLUTIONS look of the tape, and its unbranded nature adds to the mystery and anticipation of the outside of the box.

• Accumulation “And then another thing, and this is kind of a minor • Horizontal motion conveying thing compared to the right-sizing and material reduc• Incline, belt and bucket conveyors tion, but it’s also super easy to recycle,” Jennings adds.

• Filling and multihead weighing “The corrugated box is already broken down once it’s • Bagmaking and casepacking opened since only the thin piece of tape needs to be • Checkweighing and seal checking broken for the OPF design to flatten itself into a recy• Foreign object and defect inspection • Controls and information systems cle-ready 2D sheet of corrugated.”

Knack customers care a lot about sustainability, as well. It’s a huge issue for the brand, particularly as an e-commerce business, because although corrugated is recyclable, brands are just producing so much of it. The Easy Pop (Ta-Da Box) shipper is a one-panel fold (OPF) format that Jennings says, “uses about 45% less corrugated than a traditional RSC and a lot less than a tuck mailer, which a lot of e-commerce companies use.”

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Shop by Ethos for Brands that Stand for Something Since the crucible of 2020, the already existing trend of consumers wanting brands to stand for something—usually on sustainability, social responsibility, or both—has only intensified. Recognizing this consumer sentiment, Knack has set up, among its more traditional ways to shop for gifts, a “Shop by Ethos” option on its site.

Using a drop-down menu, consumers can shop for gifts by filtering for the Ethos of the vendor company.

“We have more than 600 products on our site that people can mix and match, so we have hundreds of merchants,” Jennings says. “Let’s say your recipient cares about sustainability, or cares about supporting female-owned businesses, or cares about the product being made in the U.S.A., you can actually shop our site with those filters in place. You can get products that support your own values, or the values of your gift recipient.” PW

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Decorating the shipper Knack’s Easy Pop shippers are flexographically printed on two sides using a standard decorative format—the customization of the gift contents it carries usually doesn’t extend to the shipper itself. Even so, if a corporate customer had enough volume to make it cost effective, the brand could print custom on a certain shipper order.

According to Salazar, for order quantities from 1,000 to 3,000, “cus-

tom flexographic printing is available inside and out, as well as other techniques and finishes such as offset printing, litho label, or even digital printing. Keep in mind the MOQ for some of those other printing methods could be higher.”

In the case of the Knack shippers, Salazar produces six different sizes to accommodate the three different footprints and three different depths of internal gift box. For all of these six sizes, the external face of the shipper is printed in one color, white on the untreated kraft background. It serves to start the consumer experience and build anticipation, stating simply, “Someone has sent you a gift,” along with the Knack logo.

The belly band holding the gift card only is affixed to the lid, not the bottom portion of the gift carton. This allows a single belly band size to accommodate different carton heights/depths, as long as the lid is the same size.

“This was important to us to place on the outside because people are suspicious when they get boxes and they didn’t order anything,” Jennings says. “We wanted to make it clear on the outside that this was a gift. This is not a mistake. We know you didn’t order anything from us. Somebody sent you this. But with all the color on the inside, we wanted the outside to be plain so that when a recipient opens the box, that’s where they get this pop of color.”

That pop of color comes in the form of a pale orange, which covers the entire interior of the shipper.

Salazar reverse prints the orange color direct-to-board with water-based inks onto white board. The same white printing on top of the orange background reinforces Knack’s branding, web address, and logo, so a recipient can begin to get ideas on where to purchase their next gift.

Digital printing and track and trace The gifts that the shipper carries arrive in a twopiece paperboard gift box from Vivabox. Jennings says that while the lid is rigid paperboard, the bottom portion is collapsible, and are shipped as lay-flat containers to save space and avoid “shipping air” from the

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paperboard converter to Knack. These packs are erected and packed by hand at pack out stations.

“We have a really sophisticated print shop,” Jennings says. “We have two Konica Minolta c3080 digital print systems, plus a Duplo 618 cutter/slitter. Each one of these cards is different since customers are uploading their photos and logos, not only writing and recording their unique gift messages. Also, we have a set of what we call message

stamps, maybe 14 or 16 of them, that gift givers can choose or they can upload your own.”

To manage the true “batch size of one” nature of so many completely unique packs, the tri-folded gift cards are printed with a perforated back edge with a 1-in overhang. This portion of paper is printed with a UPC code, plus other critical information (high-priority, air vs. ground shipping, etc.) that the operator scans then removes during pack out.

That overhang tag with UPC code and additional information is then affixed by the operator to the secondary package, the Easy Pop corrugated shipper, marrying the original printed card to the external shipper it is delivered in. This allows Knack to track these many disparate gift cards, and also the gifts they are paired with by the operator, throughout the supply chain.

“We know where it is at every handshake, from when it’s been printed, when it’s been packed, when it’s been made, and when it’s been shipped, all the way to the recipient’s door,” Jennings says. “We don’t really get returns in this business, but let’s say a gift giver gave us the wrong address and a gift came back to us because the address was wrong. We can just scan that UPC code on the outside and deal with that without ever having to open the box, which would create scrap. We contact the customer and reroute it.”

All Your Package Printing Answers in One Place The PACKage Printing Pavilion returns as a highlighted feature in the North Hall at PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2021, to be held Sept. 27-29. This pavilion will shine a spotlight on digital’s advantages for shortrun, on-demand, cost-effective, variable data, and personalized packaging as well as labeling, coding and marking solutions.

If you’re dealing with any of the following, this is a spot for you to visit: • SKU proliferation • Micro marketing efforts • Sustainability • Traceability As consumers look for smarter packaging options, advancements in digital printing are more critical than ever, making this pavilion a must-see for all show attendees. Visit www.packexpolasvegas.com to learn more and register to attend. PW

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dard sized offerings. The brand uses a local Seattle partner, Girlie Press, to print, die-cut, and score the flap slit. These belly bands are affixed to the rigid paperboard lid of the box, adhering to the inside bottom of the lid, rather than wrapping the entire box.

“There’s an efficiency to this approach that’s related to logistics,” Jennings says. “We have six box sizes, but we only have three sizes of lid because some of the boxes only differ in depth. So we had to have three footprints, but then the boxes get deeper for six total formats. Affixing the belly bands only to the lid Gift card customization via digital printing allows for entirely unique, batch-size-one gifting. instead of the entire box means we don’t have to account for the multiple box depths. We only have to stock three sizes of belly band, even though we have six box sizes, so it’s very efficient.”

The final piece of the packaging system includes a paper belly band This efficient, flexible belly band strategy aligns with Knack’s wider using two die-cut slits. Into one slit (the width of the card itself), the attitude toward packaging. As a premium, bespoke D2C gift service, the right-most third of the tri-fold gift card is inserted so as not to be visible packaging issues for Knack have revolved around how to create someon the finished pack. The other slit is a small C-shaped flap, emblathing that’s appealing, but flexible enough that it can be easily customzoned with the circular Knack logo in gold, that holds the gift card in ized in terms of what the gift giver sends to the recipient. place atop the paperboard gift box.

“So every bit of this, including the vellum, can be printed by a spe“It’s quite securely held. It’s easy to get the card out, but it stays in cific customer,” Jennings says. “And then, that shipper was the last piece place during shipping,” Jennings says. that we really needed to think through and make what arrives at peoThis belly band is available for custom messaging via the digital ple’s doorsteps something special.” PW print shops, but there’s enough volume that Knack uses a range of stan-

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New Case Packer, Robotic Palletizer, Let Wisconsin Cheesemaker Efficiently Offer Multiple Output Options With a new automated case packer and palletizer, Wisconsin Whey Protein’s cheesemaking operation can now offer its customers bulk cheese in barrels or in blocks.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

Packaging/processing integration

Space & footprint optimization

Functional pallet patterns

By Matt Reynolds, Editor Throughout the cheese industry, companies produce bulk cheese in a wide range of different varieties that we don’t see on the retail shelf. These companies then supply to customers who either use the cheese products in formulating other food products, or reformat the bulk cheese into wedges, slices, shredded cheese, or other configurations for consumer use. One of these companies is Wisconsin Whey Protein, a company best known in the industry for its superior quality whey products, but which, since 2015, has also produced bulk white cheddar cheese, one of the most popular cheeses among both consumers and the companies that incorporate it into finished food products.

The Massman Automation compact cheese block case packer (above) packages 40-lb blocks in protective cases for safe shipment and handling. The automated system pushes cheese blocks into wraparound corrugated cases (left), which are then sealed and palletized.

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Until recently, the company packaged nearly 1.4 million lbs of bulk cheese on a weekly basis into 500-lb corrugated barrels, a popular option for bulk cheese shipments. In 2019, in recognition of other options to expand its cheese output packaging operation from packaging output only in barrels, it would add a 40-lb block format that was better suited for more cheese varieties and new customers’ needs.

“We decided to also offer our cheeses in 40-pound blocks in addition

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to the 500-pound barrels to meet those new customer demands,” says Vern Kind, Wisconsin Whey’s master cheesemaker. “Our production levels would remain essentially the same, but customers would now be able to choose in which format they wanted their cheese delivered– barrels or blocks.”

Wisconsin Whey Protein and Stainless Technologies are sister companies with common ownership. A new cheesemaking line was developed and installed by Stainless Technologies, which designs, manufactures, and installs turnkey dairy processing systems, including infant formula lactose, whey protein, and cheesemaking systems. The end-ofline portion of the new line, which packages the blocks for shipment, consists of a Massman Automation Cheese Block Wrap Around Case Packer that automatically case packs the blocks of cheese, then feeds the cases directly into a Massman robotic palletizer to prepare them for final shipping. The new cheese processing line feeds plastic-wrapped, vacuum-sealed, 40-lb blocks of white cheddar, Monterey Jack, or parmesan cheese to the case packer infeed conveyor, which then carries them into the new integrated end-of-line packaging process.

Case packaging and palletizing During the case packing operation, the cheese blocks enter the case packer on a conveyor that moves each against a corrugated liner that then wraps around three sides of the block before it continues into the erected case. This liner protects the block and its protective plastic wrapper from damage as it is moved into the case, preventing the plastic wrap from tearing and exposing the cheese to the air. This feature, which according to the company is unique to Massman’s 40-lb block wraparound case packer, enables the system to continuously pack as many as 25 blocks/min.

The case packer wraps the erected case around the block, then closes and seals the flaps. A key feature of the Massman case packer is the ability to square the case from all four sides, including the top, to ensure a perfectly square case. After sealing, the case conveys to a labeling area where informational labels are applied that identify the production batch, the date produced, an ingredient list, and any customer-required information.

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A Fanuc robot palletizes packaged blocks, still warm from processing, in a “chimney” format to facilitate cooling.

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The fully automated Wisconsin Whey end-ofline system was configured to fit the cheese maker’s available space.

Next, the blocks move on to a Massman Robotic Palletizer. The blocks are fed and accumulated on a zoned conveyor that minimizes surge. A Fanuc robot moves the blocks via a vacuum end-of-arm-tool (EOAT) to the waiting pallet, building full pallet loads of 54 blocks. Since the cheese blocks are still warm at this point, the pallet loads are built in an open “chimney” format to allow the cheese to cool evenly. When filled, pallets are moved from the palletizer by a forklift to a storage facility where the cheese undergoes sampling for quality analysis before shipping to customers. Once a pallet load leaves the palletizer, a pallet dispenser automatically conveys an empty pallet into position to receive the next load of blocks.

Installation and integration The Stainless Technologies team has deep expertise in installing turnkey dairy operations, including integrating cheese production lines with packaging operations. It installed the cheesemaking portion of the new line, after which Massman Automation installed the packaging elements and integrated the two parts of the production line in collaboration with Stainless Technologies technicians. The installation included programming the entire integrated end-of-line operation, including controls for the Fanuc robot as it built pallet configurations.

As in the case of most machinery installations, the case packer and

the palletizer themselves were not modified, but the arrangement of the equipment within the Wisconsin Whey space was, including adjusting the length of conveyors between the elements, and the controls to integrate their movement.

“The installation was seamless, and the trial runs were successful right away,” says Kind. “We collaborated with Massman’s team both before and during the installation to coordinate the cheesemaking and packaging parts of the line.”

One minor glitch occurred at the very end of the line. The empty pallets being automatically conveyed into place for the next pallet load tended to hang up on the system’s slides. Adding silicone strips to the slides soon overcame that. The only other challenge was a maintenance issue: handling so much corrugated material produces a light dust around the case packaging area, which can coat the lenses of the various photo eyes that control parts of the operation. Regular cleaning as part of the daily operation has eliminated that problem.

Results In the days before Wisconsin Whey added the block configuration line, processing a vat of cheese would produce about 12 barrels of cheese, each weighing about 500 pounds of finished cheese. The new line by contrast produces about 150 blocks of cheese, each containing about 40 lbs of finished cheese, from the same-sized vat.

This not only enables Wisconsin Whey to meet the needs of those customers requiring product in 40-lb blocks, but it also enables the plant to make other American and hard Italian cheese varieties not normally packaged in the barrel format, therefore expanding its customer base.

Currently, Wisconsin Whey is operating the new line for a full shift several days a week. As it continues to develop the growing market for the 40-lb blocks, it expects to extend that to an everyday operation. PW

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Shrink Sleeve Solution Lets Label Art Shine With a progression of differently decorated labels printed in succession on a roll, this customized shrink sleeve canning operation produces a range of unique, artistic labels during each run of craft beer.

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Labeling on inconsistent surfaces

By Matt Reynolds, Editor Collective Arts Brewing (CAB) combines the creativity of craft beverages with the inspired talents of artists from around the world. The brewery features limited-edition works of art on its labels and aims for the liquid on the inside to be as diverse and creative as the artists it profiles. The company was founded in 2013, and after two years contending with scarce capacity among contract brewers, in 2015 it took the plunge with a brewery of its own in Hamilton, Ontario.

After starting with beer in bottles, the company eventually switched exclusively to beer in cans. It grew quickly into ciders in bottles, hard teas in cans, and the latest craft beverage darling—canned ready-todrink (RTD) cocktails. The company is even doing some distilling, gin mostly, in larger multi-serving bottles. This means the number of SKUs and possible formats is growing exponentially. So grows the opportunity for uniquely decorated labels across the product range.

Lots of labels The artistic concept is about as packaging-forward as craft breweries venture, but it leads to some tough packaging automation decisions from an operational standpoint. It’s one thing for a craft brewery to eschew printed cans in favor of shrink sleeves or p-s labels on bright stock. That practice is pretty common in an industry known for small batches, seasonal varieties, and brewery collaborations in volumes too low to meet printed-can MOQs. But it’s another thing to use multiple different labels on the same brand and batch of beer. All but a few of CAB’s beer brands, including the highest volume core brands, use at least four different labels at once, with each of the four labels featuring a different piece of artwork.

Take, for example, the beer brand Life in the Clouds, a New Englandstyle IPA. On any given batch run of this brand, the company will be producing cans with one of four different label treatments. What’s more, that artwork is swapped out at least three to four times per year.

If beer and art connoisseurs decided to collect them, they might find 12 to 14 differently decorated cans of Life in the Clouds in 2021.

“Getting all of that art onto our cans and bottles is a bit of an art in and of itself,” says Jeff Tkachuk, VP, Finance and Operations, Collective

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Four different pieces of artwork are printed in succession on the PETG rollstock used to shrink sleeve cans of beer at CAB, resulting in four differently decorated beer varieties coming off of each batch run.

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Arts Brewing. “Our most common format is loose 16-oz cans going into a 24-count corrugated tray. When the cans come off the line, we want to have an assortment of all four different pieces of artwork going into each tray. We don’t want to produce trays with 24 pieces of the same artwork on each can. We want to make sure we’re getting a nice distribution of all four pieces of artwork. We want to end up with an evenly mixed pallet.”

That might be technically possible with printed cans, but it would be prohibitively difficult at most craft breweries. It would entail buying a whole lot of large, complex collation equipment, keeping inventory of several different can styles, and paying a premium for low volume/ high variety printed cans.

We also asked Tkachuk if the latest tech—direct digital printing onto cans—might be another route to accomplishing this. But as an emerging methodology, digital printing direct to cans is still an expensive prospect. He also sees the image quality, including how much of the can that can be covered in decoration, as a drawback. Digital printing directly on cans might need a few years of adherence to Moore’s Law, whereby a technology decreases in price while increasing in quality, before it’s ready for prime time.

“I know there’s some digital printing tech that will only print between the heel and the shoulder, but I think there is some technology that will print up onto the shoulder, so the digital print technology is evolving, and it certainly is going to be a good fit for us. But at this point, and given our volumes, the digital printing just doesn’t make sense for our entire portfolio because they’re still pretty slow, plus I think the quality still has a way to go.”

Familiar shrink sleeve is the answer Shrink sleeve labeling, however, makes the high-variety label concept attainable in extremely high quality, since label suppliers are able to convert a single, contiguous roll of PETG label stock with four different labels in succession. The result is a repeating progression on the roll from label 1 to label 4, then back to label 1 and so on. While the products themselves aren’t true rainbow packs— the beer brand is the same in each can style— there are still four possible art pieces on any given can, so a tray of 24 has an even distribution of four differently decorated labels.

“Quality always comes first for us, both on the outside and the inside of the can,” Tkachuk says. “I think making sure that the art is being presented in the best possible format is a big deal for us. Shrink sleeves give us that ability because the sleeve covers 100% of the can, from the shoulders to the heel, letting the artwork stand on its own.”

Using shrink sleeve labels wasn’t a new concept to CAB—operators had been using them since it started its bricks-and-mortar brewery in 2015. But in its more formative state, the brewery had been using cans that were pre-sleeved by a third party on a much slower filling line.

Back then, CAB was just running two five-head Cask filling lines in tandem with the pre-sleeved can.

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The mandrel-based shrink sleever used at Collective Arts typically runs between 200 and 220 cans/min, but could speed up to 300 cans/min.

“We were constantly pushing the pre-sleeved can suppliers to get the sleeves up higher on the container, to avoid that silver line on the shoulder between the seam and the can. It’s less aesthetically pleasing if it’s visible, and a big part of our concept relies on the aesthetic, on the art,” Tkachuk says. “But in asking our suppliers to go higher, we ran the risk of going too high with the seam and allowing it to impact the lid-seaming process, leading to scrap and waste. That was always in the back of our mind. If we really wanted to get a sleeve up as high as possible, but not impact the integrity of the seam, we really needed to apply the sleeve post-fill.”

Another advantage of post-fill sleeving is that low-fill scraps are almost always caught, thanks to over/under fill level inspection, upstream from the shrink sleever. Under- and over-fill scrap will be a less expensive brightstock can, not a value-added decorated can. It might be a nickel or a dime per fill-level scrap, but it adds up. Plus, the brewery already had its depalletizer, a traditional mezzanine-level depal with twist air rinse conveyance that carries empty cans into the low-level

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A secondary factor in selecting this specific make and model was the ability to shrink sleeve labels with both horizontal and vertical microperforation. This optional module perforates vertically or horizontally and provides precise servo-controlled cutoff registration. The system eliminates the need for the typical suite of knives and blades used to separate individual sleeves from the roll.

“The PDC perfs the sleeve, and then it just shoots it down on the mandrel. I’m estimating here, but I’m guessing we’ve run 50 million cans through that sleever, and we’ve replaced the perf mechanism once,” Tkachuk says. “We’d heard feedback from some others using the knives that they’re great when they’re sharp and they’re perfectly aligned, but if they’re not, they can give you some troubles. We couldn’t afford to have any of those types of issues where if the knives were a little dull, or they weren’t aligned 100% properly, we didn’t want to

Dual banders ensure that the sleeve is in the right position when it leaves the sleever and enters the shrink tunnel. The first is set to a higher tension than the second to deal with variations in condensation or moisture on the cans. filler. Figuring out where a pre-fill shrink sleever would fit into that dynamic would have been difficult.

“There’s a number of different reasons why we wanted to sleeve post-fill, but it certainly presents its own challenges. You have a cold, wet can moving at 300 cans per minute that you’re trying to put a sleeve on, so we did a tremendous amount of work on how we get that can in a presentable format for the sleever. That means we have to heat and dry each can before sleeving, but it’s most important that we temper that heating—we don’t pasteurize our beer, so we don’t want to be doing any damage to the liquid inside by heating it [more on this later, when we describe the full line],” Tkachuk says. “Then, since this was our first foray into sleevers, we probably spent more time on the sleever than we did on anything else, at least when it came to equipment. There’s a handful of fillers that can run at speed, but sleevers we didn’t know a lot about, so we did a lot of due diligence.”

Taking the plunge Having determined that shrink sleeve was still the best option for CAB’s needs and having committed to the methodology as a long-term solution that they’d rely on for the foreseeable future, they decided to invest in a piece of shrink sleeve equipment that, after a lot of research, they considered best in class—the PDC R300 Sleeving Machine.

“PDC gave us the most confidence that they could consistently get a sleeve on a can at 300 cans per minute in a post-fill environment. That was the conclusion we came to, and that’s why we went with them,” Tkachuk says. “If we were doing a higher volume of printed cans, maybe we wouldn’t have gone the high-end route. But because all of our cans are sleeved, we could not afford to have issues with the sleever. It’s running every day. Every time we produce beer, that sleever is running.”

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Brightstock cans are filled on a 28-head rotary filler (above) and seamed (left) within a monobloc enclosure. have to deal with downtime. The perforation technology seemed to be the best fit for us.”

The system also allows for an optional vertical perforation running lengthwise down the cylindrically shaped label. A benefit of this feature might be allowing consumers to easily remove the PETG material from the aluminum brightstock for easier recylcing. This is certainly market dependent, right down to the municipalities.

“Here in Canada, even within Ontario, different municipalities have different ways they recycle, but most recycling doesn’t require the sleeve to be removed,” Tkachuk says. “If there’s a market that requires that, it’s something we can easily accommodate.”

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More Craft Brewing and Distilling Resources Common concerns amongst craft producers include: space constraints, implementing automation, small-batch changeover, outsourcing and packaging considerations. Learn more from Craft Breweries and Trends, a 20-page whitepaper from PMMI’s Business Intelligence.

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Label placement on inconsistent can surfaces Anyone who has seen a high-speed shrink sleever in action knows that the cylindrical labels are shot down from the mandrel onto the waiting containers below with such a force that they can bounce a bit off the underlying conveyor, rebounding back up in a way that might unfavorably overlap the shoulder of the container while missing the heel of the can. If a container entered the shrink tunnel with a misaligned sleeve position, the beer would need to be relabeled or scrapped. To combat this, many systems use a rubber-wheel based banding mechanism between the sleever and the tunnel to gently nudge high-rebound labels back to flush with the bottom of the container, right at the conveyor level. Stock PDC machines use this mechanism as well.

“Now, that works great on a perfectly dry, empty can. But because the surface of our cans can be somewhat inconsistent—some might be a little bit drier, some might have a little bit of moisture or condensation on them, and there are ambient temperature and humidity differences between summer and winter—it was difficult to dial in the machine so you were getting a consistent application of the sleeve,” Tkachuk says.

If the cans were consistently a little wet, or a little moist, it would be just a matter of dialing in the single bander to compensate. But there is no such consistency, and when a drier can comes through the bander won’t be correctly calibrated. Consequently, the label will be pulled with too much force, causing it once again to bounce off of the conveyor below and come to rest too high on the can. This inconsistency required a custom fix.

“What we did was we added a second set of banders,” Tkachuk says. “The first one is a little bit more aggressive to get that sleeve down and into position on moist cans. When a bone-dry can comes through, and the label had bounced a bit from the first bander, the second one more gently feathers it on and into place. These two back-to-back banders of varying tensions make sure, regardless of what’s happening on the surface of the can, that sleeve is in the right position when it enters the tunnel, and we’re getting the best shrink.”

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The full packaging line The full canning line at CAB accommodates both 12-oz and 16-oz cans, and general cruising speed is around 220 can/min, with capability on the shrink sleeve of 300 cans/ min. The line opens with an overhead depalletizer from Ska Fabricating, which conveys brightstock cans through a twist rinser and an air-blade on the way to an operator-level, CFT 28-head rotary filler and seamer in a monoblock enclosure. A knife removes any foam or head between the fill and the seam.

The first station after the fill and seam is a Filtec level inspection device, which again rejects overs and unders prior to any added value, like sleeving or date coding. A warmer is next on the line, which carefully brings the beer up to a sleeve-ready temperature. Twist conveyance then overturns the can line to pass underneath an EBS Inkjet System, which codes the beer with packed-on or best-before data prior to a final round of drying before hitting the sleever, well-described above.

After the two banders have precisely positioned the label, cans enter the shrink tunnel, part of the PDC system and precisely specified for the upstream sleever.

“Obviously, the faster you run, the longer a tunnel you need,” Tkachuk says. “As the beer is in there, we’re potentially exposing the product to heat, so we needed to make sure the actual shrink process was not adding any heat to the actual liquid.”

As CAB first put the system through its paces, operators tested the liquid’s temperature pre-tunnel and post-tunnel. This revealed the tunnel imparted a negligible 0.5°C beer temperature pickup.

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The versatile tray former and packer handles printed corrugated trays and paperboard cartons of multiple formats, but the largest volume SKUs tend to be 24-count trays of 16-oz loose cans.

“It was a big concern for us, but quickly was dismissed,” he adds.

Secondary packaging is a bit more fragmented as it’s completely format dependent, but most often it entails a 24-count corrugated trays of loose 16-oz cans, which are then shrink-wrapped and hand-palletized. The tray former from DMM forms and glues corrugated trays around each 4 x 6, or 24-count can format.

“What we like about the tray packer is it will also do cartons,” Tkachuk says. “If we’re doing a 4-pack or a 6-pack, or a 12-pack, we can do printed paperboard for 12 or 16-oz formats. And we can easily flip between loose cans in a tray and a paperboard carton format, so changeover isn’t a problem.”

For all of its U.S. sales, CAB uses PakTech HDPE can handles. While can handle application is currently manual, Tkachuk envisions installing a mechanical applicator at some point. He would expect that to be an in-line installation, to benefit from the tray packer downstream. And when doing paperboard or loose cans, the line flow would simply flow through the can handle applicator unmolested, right into the tray and carton former.

Looking ahead, another automation investment that might be in the cards down the line is a palletizer, particularly considering the multiple format capabilities of the tray and carton former. PW

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Tray Sealer Helps Startup Brand Become a Savory Success Using a combination of vacuum skin packaging and High Pressure Processing, grab-and-go meal startup Torn Apron is producing 4,000 tray packs/week of restaurant-quality meals that have a shelf life from 50 to 60 days.

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By Anne Marie Mohan, Senior Editor While many people found operating a business successfully during a pandemic to be an extremely challenging endeavor, Joe Cavey thought it would be the perfect time to take a leap of faith and launch his.

Based in Eldersburg, Md., Torn Apron produces restaurant-quality, grab-and-go meals that cater mainly to business travelers and other people on the move. Says Cavey, “When thinking about the question, ‘Why do this?’ the very first thing that came to mind was, ‘If not now, when?’ The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a tremendous amount of change and pending transformations. Our economy, specifically foodservice, will be forever changed. In thinking about my offerings, the pieces of the puzzle that I feel are missing from convenience fresh foods are quality and availability. My cuisine solves both of these problems.

“The consumer wants fresh foods that are flavorful, minimally processed, nutritious, and of restaurant quality. Retail and foodservice operators want to serve high-quality fresh food, but struggle with perishability and waste. Torn Apron offers the quality the customer seeks with the supply chain availability and shelf life the retailer needs.”

Making this flavorful, minimally processed, nutritious, and restaurant-quality food possible is Torn Apron’s use of vacuum skin packaging. VSP is a tray-sealing process that removes oxygen from the package, preventing microbial growth and product oxidation to extend shelf life.

In December 2020, Torn Apron installed a ReeEco automatic tray sealer from Reepack, supplied by Ossid, a ProMach product brand and a master distributor of Reepack in North America.

To further enhance the shelf life of the meals, while also preserving the flavor, nutrition, color, and freshness of the products—without the use of preservatives—Torn Apron is coupling VSP with High Pressure Processing (HPP, formerly called cold pasteurization), done by tolling partner Universal Pure.

VSP ‘marries function and fashion’ Torn Apron’s founder and Chief Culinary Officer, Joe Cavey, viewed the pandemic as a perfect opportunity to launch the type of meal products consumers were craving.

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As noted, for Cavey, rather than being an obstacle, the COVID-19 pandemic presented an opportunity for him to create the type of product line consumers were craving during a tumultuous time. “One thing I discovered in the early parts of COVID was that a lot of menus shifted a bit toward meal solutions, so it made me think that this may be the right

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markets, convenience stores, coffee shops, healthcare facilities, and other locales. Cavey, whose official title is Torn Apron Chief Culinary Officer, is a chef, and he prepares each and every meal to be ready from the microwave in minutes.

“I thought the timing of it was good because when people go back to work, whatever that looks like, they’re not going to be going out to restaurants as much as in the past. I think people will be looking for solutions either at home or at their desk,” Cavey says. “If I can offer something of restaurant quality that crosses over to a lot of demographics that traditionally buy a lot of prepared foods, I think that’s a winning formula.

“Torn Apron is a meal solution that offers the retailer a very high-quality product that can be in the same display case as traditional grab-and-go items, but doesn’t Torn Apron’s chef-prepared, restaurant-quality grab-and-go meals are packaged in have the same perishability and supply chain challengvacuum skin packs that let the bright colors of the fresh ingredients shine through. es that shorter-life, more perishable items have.”

In looking for a packaging solution, Cavey says he visited several suppliers and kept his “ear to the ground” on what some time to launch Torn Apron,” he says. “People seem to want more packof his colleagues were using. “Ultimately I wanted to find a packaging aged foods that are high quality, clean label, and have some extended option for Torn Apron that married function and fashion and was as shelf life, not only for the consumer themselves, but for the retailers.” sustainably produced as possible,” he says.

Unlike other prepared meal companies that follow a business model VSP technology combines a thin, transparent, high-barrier skin film catering directly to consumers, Cavey tailored Torn Apron to offer dethat is draped over a thermoformed tray or formed plastic container licious, chef-prepared meals for sale in hotels, grocery stores, micro-

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Filled trays are conveyed into the ReeEco tray-sealing machine, where film is draped over the tray, a vacuum pump removes the oxygen surrounding the product, and the film lidding is heat-sealed to the tray.

filled with product. During the tray-sealing process, a vacuum nozzle removes all the ambient oxygen and the atmosphere that surrounds the product, after which the film is heated and sealed to the bottom or to the flanges of the tray.

One of the many benefits of VSP is that it removes the oxygen necessary for bacteria, mold, mildew, and yeast to live and reproduce— which is enhanced, in Torn Apron’s case, through the use of HPP. It also prevents oxidation, which occurs when fats and pigments in food are exposed to oxygen molecules, causing them to lose flavor and color. Oxidation also causes food products to lose vitamin C and A, making them less nutritious. And, by preventing the product from being exposed to oxygen, it helps maintain the fragrance and color of packaged foods.

Notes data from Torn Apron’s website, at 21 to 35 days, the refrigerated shelf life of fresh red meat packaged using VSP is considerably longer than meat packaged using stretch-wrap or modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), at 3 to 5 days and 12 to 15 days, respectively.

Machine is the right mix of performance Once Cavey decided on VSP for his meal packaging, he researched several OEM packaging suppliers and found that the Ossid/Reepack brand had all the characteristics of operation, customer support, and value he was looking for in a tray-sealing machine.

“After taking a tour of their facility in North Carolina, meeting the team, and seeing the machinery, it just became a no-brainer,” he says. “It was the right mix of performance for what I need. It’s a fully automatic machine, but it was entry-level, so, it was the perfect blend of startup functionality yet with enough capacity to get me to the next level.”

Echoes Tony Kaufman, Northeast Regional Sales Manager, Ossid, “The ReeEco is a good investment for Torn Apron simply because it’s a smaller machine with a smaller footprint [120 in. long x 67 in. high x 36 in. wide], however it does all the styles of packaging that they would need for the

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package they’re looking for and that they’re doing right now.”

The stainless-steel ReeEco is capable of doing MAP and ambient packaging, in addition to VSP. It’s a low-power, energy-efficient unit that does not require compressed air to operate; it uses only electricity, excluding any pneumatic support. A standard infeed conveyor offers three loading positions, and easy changeover with interchangeable tooling allows the machine to run three tray sizes, from 270 x 120 mm to 270 x 385 mm, with a 100-mm maximum height.

Watch a video of the ReeEco in operation at Torn Apron at pwgo.to/7240 Other features include an automatic output belt conveyor, a userfriendly control panel, the capability to use print-registered film, and a date-coding option.

Film and tray offer sustainability, aesthetics Cavey received his ReeEco tray sealer in December 2020 and began packaging his first meals in early February from an expanded location in Owings Mills, Md. He’s currently offering eight different meals, such as Moroccan Style Pot Roast, Meatballs Marinara, and Roasted Sweet Potato Curry. All his meals are vacuum packaged in a 4 x 8-in. thermoformed tray.

The tray itself provides another benefit important to Cavey: sustainability. “I feel it’s incumbent on me to produce foods using the most sustainable methods possible—in terms of seasonal, locally sourced ingredients, minimizing food waste, and utilizing a tray that displays our meals in a high-impact way, staying mindful that the tray is produced in as eco-friendly a way as possible.”

Supplied by CPT Packaging, the rectangular, Go-Green Easy Peel black multilayer polypropylene tray with EVOH contains post-consumer recycled

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Custom Factory Automation Solutions for: ² Robotic HPP Automation/Material Handling/Load & Unload ² Waterjet Cutting ² Robotic Case/Tray Packing ² Robotic Palletizing/ Depalletizing

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content and results in up to 50% less scrap and a 28% lower carbon footprint versus conventional thermoforming processes. It is also recyclable.

The material used to seal the tray, referred to as a “second skin,” is Sealed Air’s Cryovac brand Darfresh™ VSP rollstock film. The film offers a high oxygen barrier and provides a clear view of the food, allowing consumers to see the fresh ingredients inside. This clean appearance was another feature that attracted Cavey to the packaging.

“I’m very presentation-focused when it comes to food,” he says. “As a chef I really want the food to be the standout, I’m not very big into really elaborate sleeves with a lot of artwork. I want my label to convey the brand in a minimalistic way, and let the color and beauty of the food pop through, and that’s what the vacuum skin packaging does.”

During meal preparation, the film “tents” and provides a steam release at the 2 min 30 sec mark in a standard 1200-watt microwave oven.

HPP further extends shelf life

I NNOVAT ION DRIVEN BY

S A F E T Y / F L E X I BI L I T Y / P E R FO R M A N C E Columbia’s innovative and flexible palletizing solutions are engineered to meet the unique needs of any application. We manufacture high level, floor level and robotic palletizers, load transfer stations and provide complete system integration.

Following packaging, the products are transported to Universal Pure, where they are processed using HPP. HPP is a non-thermal pasteurization technique that instead of using heat, uses extreme pressure (up to 87,000 psi) to comprehensively crush and inactivate foodborne bacteria and other illness-causing, vegetative pathogens (including E. coli, Salmonella, and Listeria monocytogenes), molds, and yeasts. In doing so, HPP also maintains the optimum attributes of fresh products over an extended shelf life without compromising the nutritional value of the food.

During the HPP process, the Torn Apron meals are loaded into a basket that is then conveyed into the HPP chamber. Here, water is pumped into the chamber to help apply isostatic pressure. Product is then held at that pressure—up to 87,000 psi, as noted—for a period of time specific to that product to inactivate microbial activity. After exiting the chamber, the VSPs are unloaded, after which Torn Apron picks up the refrigerated product for distribution.

According to Cavey, whereas non-HPP products have a shelf life of 24 to 28 days, HPP products provide a shelf life of 50 to 60 days from the date of manufacture.

Tray sealer is fundamental to Torn Apron’s success Torn Apron is currently packaging up to 1,000 meals a day, four days a week, for distribution mainly throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. In the coming months, Cavey says he’s planning on adding another eight meals to his lineup and possibly a second tray size. With the ReeEco’s interchangeable tooling, he estimates changeover from one tray size to another will take less than10 minutes.

Nine months after it was installed, Cavey says the ReeEco automatic tray sealer is doing its part to help make Torn Apron into a successful startup. “Ossid and Reepack are providing a foundation for me to grow this business; they’re part of the foundation, and they are absolutely a fundamental part of my business right now,” he says. “I spent a lot of time and energy investigating different suppliers. I was only going to buy something new, from someone I trust, and who would stand behind their products. Ossid and Reepack have done that; my trust has been well-placed with them.” PW

LEARN MORE

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SHOW PREVIEW

Back to PACK EXPO Las Vegas: Industry Comes Together to Unleash Pent-up Innovation PMMI’s PACK EXPO Las Vegas comes roaring back in 2021 with new features, exhibits, and programs in a hygienic, safety-minded space.

With the most anticipated re-entry into in-person events in packaging, PACK EXPO Las Vegas—along with the co-located Healthcare Packaging EXPO—triumphantly returns to the Las Vegas Convention Center September 27-29, 2021. Produced by PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, this is the biggest gathering in North America of suppliers and manufacturers of packaging goods and services, including those for pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

During the past 18 months of uncertainty and distancing, PMMI and the PMMI Media Group kept busy in developing new show features, new exhibits, and even new ways to participate, all with special emphasis on safety and hygiene. Find out what’s new, what’s now, and what’s next at PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2021 in the following pages.

Exhibit Location/Hours SEPTEMBER 27-29

Las Vegas Convention Center Las Vegas, Nev. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday and Tuesday 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday Registration, which includes access to both PACK EXPO Las Vegas and Healthcare Packaging EXPO, is $100. To learn more about the advanced packaging solutions that will be on display, as the educational and networking opportunities, and to register, visit www.packexpolasvegas. com. PACK EXPO is committed to ensuring your safety while providing the same experience you have come to enjoy at our events. Visit the show website for more information on the PACK Ready health and safety plan.

PELV2021_Preview.indd 90

PACK to the Future Exhibit Debuts We are going PACK to the Future in the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center this September at PACK EXPO Las Vegas and co-located Healthcare Packaging EXPO. Take a journey through the evolution of packaging and processing. We’ll explore how packaging developed as civilizations and trade evolved, how the industrial and scientific revolutions led to rapid innovations and mass production, and how the digital revolution is shaping the future of packaging. See how packaging has contributed to commerce and benefitted mankind.

Highlights specific to the machines on display: • Check out Roby the Robot, the first dedicated packaging robot invented by Gerhard Schubert, courtesy of Schubert Group. Roby was introduced to market in 1981 and was used to package pralines and chocolates.

• See the first packaging PLC, an original Modicon PLC, courtesy of Siemens. The Modicon PLC was introduced in 1968.

• We have on display one of the first liquid filling machines from the early 1900s, courtesy of Septimatech Group.

• Have you ever seen an early cartoning machine? We’ll have one that was built by R.A Jones in 1922 to package crayons.

• See a model of one of the first automated glue labelers for the pharmaceutical industry manufactured by NJM, a ProMach product brand, sold to Abbott Labs in 1937.

Flip to page 128 to read all about how PACK to the Future exhibit came together after two years of curation. You’ll also be able to check out a schedule of the PACK to the Future Stages.

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The Processing Zone, now with its Own Innovation Stage Back by popular demand, The Processing Zone returns to PACK EXPO Las Vegas and Healthcare Packaging EXPO 2021, but this time it’s packing an educational punch. In today’s manufacturing environment, processing and packaging are coming together as an integrated system, making it more important than ever to bring both packaging and processing solutions under one roof. Start your search for front-ofthe-line solutions such as homogenizing, heat treating, forming/sizing, and coating in The Processing Zone.

SHOW PREVIEW More Returning Favorites: The Forum A growing staple in the PACK EXPO portfolio of trade shows, the Forum will return to PACK EXPO Las Vegas in the Central Hall with its interactive industry knowledge exchange. The Forum offers free, 45-minute learning sessions on the latest industry trends, including hands-on activities, small group discussions, and Q&A each day of the show.

Leading organizations that will be holding interactive sessions at The Forum include: • OpX Leadership Network • Contract Packagers Association (CPA) • The Organization for Automation and Control (OMAC) • PMMI Business Intelligence

THE FORUM SCHEDULE MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 27

With the return of The Processing Zone to PACK EXPO Las Vegas, you will have the opportunity to discover solutions to help increase efficiency, achieve total system integration, and ensure safety. No matter what industry vertical you serve, you’ll be sure to find the processing solutions you need to move your business forward.

New in 2021 is the Processing Innovation Stage, which will focus on the latest breakthroughs in processing specifically. No registration is required; these are free to attend and learn something as you give your feet a break. The Processing Innovation Stage is conveniently located in the North Hall at PACK EXPO Las Vegas.

Speaking of Innovation Stages…

Now an entrenched institution in the PACK EXPO family of events, these free, 30-minute seminars on breakthroughs and best practices are presented by suppliers throughout the day at various Innovation Stages in North and Central Halls. No registration is required; stop by whenever you can to take a break and learn something new.

Check out the full schedule of all Innovation Stages, including the Processing Innovation Stage Schedule, on page 100.

10:30 AM - 11:15 AM Driving Packaging Line Performance Moderator: Ronald MacDonald, Chairman at Organization for Machine Automation and Control (OMAC), and Sr. Principal Engineer R&D at Nestlé Product Technology Center, PetCare 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM Where are You on the Automation Timeline?

Moderator: Donna Ritson, President, DDR Communications LLC, for PMMI Business Intelligence 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM New Innovation and Partnership Models Propel Contract Manufacturing Growth in a New Decade Moderators: Carl Melville, president, The Melville Group, for the Contract Packaging Association (CPA) 2:30 PM - 3:15 PM Risk Assessment of Legacy Machinery Moderator: Bruce Main, president, Design Safety Engineering, Inc. (DesignSafe)

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28

10:30 AM - 11:15 AM Cybersecurity: Know Where to Look for Vulnerabilities Moderator: Donna Ritson, President, DDR Communications LLC, for PMMI Business Intelligence 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM Risk Assessment of a 3D Model Machine Moderator: Bruce Main, president, Design Safety Engineering, Inc. (DesignSafe) 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM The Weak Link: Will Your End-Users Prevent or Cause a Cyber Attack?

Moderator: Ben Spencer, IT Coordinator, PMMI Internet Technologies 2:30 PM - 3:15 PM Go Big or Go Home—Leveraging Resources in Today’s World of Challenging Food and Beverage Manufacturing Moderator: Jill Costelow, Co-CEO and Co-Founder, Cultivate Group, for the OpX Leadership Network 3:30 PM - 4:15 PM Key Trends in Robotics Applications Moderator: Jeff Burnstein, president, A3 - The Association for Advancing Automation

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29

10:30 AM - 11:15 AM Getting the Most out of the New PMMI ProSource Online Directory Moderator: Dave Newcorn, Executive Vice President, PMMI Media Group 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM Latest Global Food Packaging Trends (Post-COVID Trends) Moderator: Soha Atallah, Vice President, World Packaging Organisation (WPO)

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Eagle Product Inspection

te d De e l le nt al ina r pa am n U ont entnce C t s i s a Conrform Pe er High ughput Thro Hygienic Design

Visibly focused.

At Eagle, we focus on advanced x-ray systems that help automate product inspection so you can focus on the visible needs of your business, like lower operating costs, improved operations and increased line efficiencies.

With industry leading technologies like SimulTask™ PRO and PXT™, the next level of inline inspection, you’ll experience superior contaminant detection and higher quality products, all at a lower cost of ownership.

SEE US AT BOOTH C-1506

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See how Eagle’s advanced inspection technologies outperform the competition.

www.eaglepi.com/visibly-focused

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SHOW PREVIEW

Reusable Packaging Learning Center Learn the latest trends in reusable packaging and find out what kinds of benefits you could realize. Discover how implementing a reusable packaging system can improve material handling performance, reduce operating costs, create new economic values, and lower environmental impacts in your supply chain.

Packaging & Processing Women’s Leadership Network (PPWLN) Breakfast: The New World of Work Everyone has had to work differently over the past year, with some of those adjustments driving long-term transformations in the way we work. Things like increased digitalization and automation on the plant

floor, the push for diversity and gender parity, and how to attract the next generation workforce—together are creating the new world of work.

The Packaging & Processing Women’s Leadership Network (PPWLN) breakfast at PACK EXPO Las Vegas and Healthcare Packaging EXPO (Tuesday, Sept. 28) will bring together a panel of experts to discuss different perspectives on how to thrive in this fast changing world. First, PPWLN welcomes Tracey Noonan, co-founder and CEO of Wicked Good Cupcakes, as our keynote speaker.

Noonan and her daughter turned a small home-based baking business into a multimillion-dollar corporation through creativity, persever-

Technology Excellence Awards Honor Achievement The always-of-interest Technology Excellence Awards return to PACK EXPO Las Vegas and Healthcare Packaging EXPO 2021. The awards recognize exhibitors’ innovative technology they have developed that has not previously been shown at a PACK EXPO or Healthcare Packaging EXPO. Voting will take place live, starting when the show opens on Monday, Sept. 27 at 9 a.m.

It will continue through noon on Tuesday, Sept. 28. There are three ways to vote: onsite, on the official show mobile app, and online. During this time window, visit pwgo.to/7247 to cast your vote among the finalists.

The Technology Excellence Awards 2021 Finalists are as follows:

General Packaging Finalists

Food/Beverage Finalists

• Simpl-Cut®. Solves two major weaknesses inherent in the design of traditional roll-fed labelers and offers exceptional performance and flexibility. P.E. Labellers, Booth C-3122

• CanReseal® Beverage. Can-end design adds threading just below the double-seam so consumers can screw and unscrew the cap. Canovation, Booth N-9430

• XPlanar Flying Motion System. Flying motion control system unlocks new possibilities in packaging, food & beverage, and pharmaceuticals. Beckhoff Automation LLC, Booth SL-6149

• High Speed Case Packer for Thermoformed Trays. Highspeed thermoform case packer runs at 264 trays/min to accommodate ultrafast upstream thermoformers. Delkor Systems, Inc., Booth C-3814

• Partbox. 3D printer replaces held-part inventory, ensuring spare part availability and eliminating costs and risks of waiting times, logistics, and transport. Schubert North America LLC, Booth SU-7651

• KeelClip™1600. Paperboard clip packaging machine solution for multi-packs of beverage cans fits CPGs’ sustainability agendas. Graphic Packaging International, Booth C-2442

General Processing Finalists

Personal Care/Pharma Finalists

• HPP In-Bulk Technology. Allows high-volume processing of HPP beverages in bulk, prior to bottling. Hiperbaric, Booth SL-6271

• AmSky™ Recycle-Ready Pharma Blister Package.

Alternative to PVC/foil blister packs uses HDPE polymer in both lidding and forming material. Amcor Healthcare Packaging, Booth SL-6631

• Hygienic Spiral Conveyors. Hygienic spiral conveyors use only side-drive, edge-driven technology. SideDrive Conveyor Co., an NCC Automated Systems Company, Booth SL-6127 • ROCKET RACK®. Pre-engineered, factory fabricated sanitary support system for process pipe, electrical conduit, and other installations. Rocket Rack, Robroy Industries, Booth SU-7122

PELV2021_Preview.indd 94

• CanReseal® Personal Care/Cannabis. Can-end design adds threading just below the double-seam so consumers can screw and unscrew the cap. Canovation, Booth N-9430 • Flowpack Flexible Pouch. Mono-material pouch is a sustainable liquid packaging solution for personal care and cosmetics. Zacros America, Inc., Booth SU-7955

8/19/21 1:19 PM

Consumer safety

Your partner in food safety.

Product traceability

Inspecting primary packaged products with X-ray combines traceability and quality control, making them an integral part of food production.

With X-ray technology, you can establish transparent and reliable food production while ensuring the safety of each product before it reaches the store shelves.

X-ray inspection

More about the benefits of X-ray as a critical control point:

Mekitec LLC • +1 855 2268307 • info@mekitec.com

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SHOW PREVIEW

ance, and an investment from Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary. Recently acquired by Hickory Farms, Noonan will reflect on her experience of scaling an e-commerce business and managing a growing workforce, and will share her insights into how the food and beverage industry is evolving.

Following her keynote, Noonan will join Yolanda Malone, vice president of global RD Foods at PepsiCo, and AJ Jorgenson, vice president of strategic engagement at The Manufacturing Institute, for a candid conversation about the new world of work, what it means to the future of manufacturing, and what we can do to make a difference. Visit pwgo.to/7244 to RSVP for the event. Note: To attend, you must be registered for PACK EXPO Las Vegas. Register at www.packexpolasvegas.com.

Notable Pavilions • After a successful launch in 2018 at PACK EXPO International, the PACKage Printing Pavilion will focus on the advantages of digital printing showcasing the latest in cost-effective solutions for smart, short-run, on-demand, cost-effective, variable data, and personalized packaging. It is located in the Central Hall.

• The Containers and Materials Pavilion: Check out the latest innovations in paperboard, glass, metal and plastic, flexible and resalable packaging, as well as containers and materials. Located in the Lower South Hall.

• The Showcase of Packaging Innovations®: Sponsored by WestRock.

Award-nominated packaging solutions will be on display and located within The Containers and Materials Pavilion.

• The Reusable Packaging Pavilion: Sponsored by the Reusable Packaging Association (RPA) this pavilion will showcase sustainable packaging solutions to help reduce waste, cut costs, and gain supply chain efficiency. Explore reusable transport packaging products and services and see innovative reuse solutions from over 30 exhibitors. Located in the Upper South Hall.

• The Confectionery Pavilion: Sponsored by NCA. Learn about the latest trends and technologies relating to aeration, batch refining, shaping, cluster production, and more. Located in the Upper South Hall.

Plan Ahead, Download the PACK EXPO Las Vegas Mobile App Download the PACK EXPO Las Vegas Mobile App to your smartphone in advance of the show to start developing your show plans.

• Free to download and use • Search exhibitors, products, and sessions • Create and save a personal agenda • Use an interactive mapping tool • Engage with My Show Planner (below)

My Show Planner Attendees should also visit www.packexpolasvegas.com where they can view floor plans, search exhibitors by keyword or product category, schedule meetings in advance with exhibitors, and more. To keep track of all the new additions as well as old favorites, attendees can use My Show Planner to check the schedule of booth activities, add itinerary sessions, and plan routes around the show floor. PW

• The Workforce Development Pavilion: This is PACK EXPO Las Vegas’ one-stop-shop for resources to strengthen your current workforce and grow the existing workforce. Learn about PMMI U offerings, including popular training workshops. Schools will present mechatronics, packaging and processing offerings, and you can meet students interested in careers in the industry.

Industry-specific Lounges Attendees can network, gain insights and recharge at the Candy Bar Lounge, sponsored by Syntegon Packaging Technology and hosted by the National Confectioners Association. It is located in the Confectionery Pavilion, Upper South Hall, Booth US-7201. A reception will take place on Tuesday from 3:30-5:00 p.m.

Workforce Development PMMI is offering popular training workshops in Las Vegas to coincide with PACK EXPO Las Vegas • Risk Assessment Workshop: September 25-26, 2021.

• Certified Trainer Workshop: September 27-28, 2021.

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SHOW PREVIEW schools as they bring in robots they have designed and built themselves and show them in action. Come watch these fun demonstrations and feel free to ask questions.

In-Booth Product Demos & Education In-booth product demonstrations and education are musts to have on your PACK EXPO Las Vegas agenda. Take these opportunities to get to know suppliers and their products in depth, ask questions, and listen to questions that others ask. You may very well discover an innovative application for a new technology that is a perfect solution to your production challenge.

Co-located Healthcare Packaging EXPO Student Opportunities PACK EXPO Las Vegas offers programs and activities aimed at getting students excited about careers in packaging.

The Amazing Packaging Race, sponsored by Emerson, is designed to show university students exciting possibilities in the packaging industry.

In this fun and educational event, teams from colleges and universities across the U.S. race around the PACK EXPO Las Vegas show floor to complete tasks at the booths of participating exhibitors.

Also, the Future Innovators Robotics Showcase, sponsored by Rockwell Automation, features robotics teams from Las Vegas area high

Healthcare Packaging EXPO offers the widest range of equipment and technology solutions for life sciences, serving as the only event with packaging and processing suppliers showcasing targeted solutions for pharmaceuticals, medical devices, nutraceuticals, and biologics alongside crossover solutions from related industries, such as food and beverage. PW

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INNOVATION STAGE SCHEDULE

Processing Zone Innovation Stage presentations are indicated in blue.

Innovation Stage schedule as of August 9th, 2021

The Innovation Stages at PACK EXPO Las Vegas bring you the latest advances taking place across the industry. Check out these 30-minute sessions to discover coming trends and technologies that need to be on your team’s radar.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2021 10:00 AM 2021 and Beyond: Where Packaging Sustainability Meets E-commerce How to Automate a Sustainable, Minimal Material Packaging Solution for Cans Sealing The Deal: Unlock Savings Without Compromising On Speed

Dassault Systemes Graphic Packaging International Shemesh Automation

10:30 AM Processing Zone State of the Industry: How Food and Beverage Processors Move Past the Pandemic

ProFood World

11:00 AM Connecting Your Supply Chain Network to Build Resilience Eye on the Environment: Combating Food Waste with Flexible Packaging Conventional vs. Robotic Palletizing: Making the Right Choice

Specright Glenroy, Inc. Honeywell Intelligrated

11:30 AM Processing Zone Using IoT to Improve Process Cleaning System Efficiency

Sani-Matic

12:00 PM State of Snacking: Opportunity and Innovation Abound Improving the Future of Delivery Today Advances in Sustainable Hotmelt Adhesives

SNAC International Rehrig Pacific Henkel Corporation

1:00 PM CI Successes from 700 Food, Beverage and CPG Manufacturers How to Upgrade Your VFFS Bagger from Heat to Ultrasonic Technology Protecting your Products, Brand and Reputation in an Online World

Redzone Production Systems LAKO Tool and Manufacturing, Inc. Amcor Flexibles North America

1:30 PM Processing Zone The Latest HPP Packaging Innovations for Juices & Beverages

Hiperbaric

2:00 PM Sustainable Adhesive Free Labeling Moving Away From Shrink Wrap: How Bumble Bee Seafood Is Transitioning To More Readily Recyclable Packaging Depalletizer Machine Condition Monitoring via IIoT Solutions to Maximize OEE

Felins, Inc R.A Jones Emerson

2:30 PM Processing Zone Food Safe Facility Drainage Design

3:00 PM

Is a Compostable Pouch the Right Package for You? Easy Machine Development and Customization with an Open Automation Ecosystem and App Store Training : Investing in Manufacturing Performance & Operational Resilience.

FoodSafe Drains Presto Products Company Bosch Rexroth Premier Tech

3:30 PM Processing Zone Sustainability Excellence in Manufacturing Awards

4:00 PM

Analytics based Asset Performance Management & Remote Monitoring for the Enterprise Reimagining Plastic Mailers with Innovative Fiber-based Pouches and on-demand Automation.

Optimize Packaging Operations, Ensure Compliance and Protect your Brand

B&G Foods, Conagra, Smithfield, Liffey Meats LLumin, Inc. WestRock Markem-Imaje continued on page 102

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When it’s time for automation, nobody picks and places you where you need to be like Kawasaki.

If you’re headed to PACK EXPO, put booth SU-7522

MATERIAL HANDLING • PACKAGING

on your short list. Kawasaki will be ready to discuss all of your end-of-line automation needs.

PALLETIZING • PICK & PLACE • SORTING

BOOTH SU-7522

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continued from page 100

INNOVATION STAGE SCHEDULE

Processing Zone Innovation Stage presentations are indicated in blue.

Innovation Stage schedule as of August 9th, 2021

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2021 10:00 AM Vinyl-free Blister Solution, Designed to be Fully Recyclable New Guide Rail System Tackles Safety Concerns & Product Guidance Issues A Look Back at Track: The Evolution of Intelligent Transport Technology

Klöckner Pentaplast, Health & Protection and Durables Span Tech Beckhoff Automation

10:30 AM Processing Zone Improve Performance with Spiral Immersion Processing

FPS Food Process Solutions Corp

11:00 AM Improving Packaging and Line Efficiency for Food Bowl and Tray Applications Industry 4.0’s ‘Factory of the Future’ Is Already Here Sustainability in Healthcare Packaging: Opportunities vs. Challenges

WestRock Domino Amjet Inc. Amcor Healthcare Packaging

11:30 AM Processing Zone High Pressure Processing (HPP) - Latest Trends including Packaging, Plant Based Foods, Pet Food and Red Meat

JBT Corporation

12:00 PM Beyond the Machine: Solving Manufacturing Challenges Through Advanced Digital Solutions Resistance is Futile: Trayless Ground Meat is the Next Frontier in Sustainability Bottling 101: Are You Getting the Maximum Performance from Your Packaging Line?

Rockwell Automation Harpak-ULMA Packaging POWER Engineers

1:00 PM New Automation Technology Solutions Can Innovation Curtail the Plastic Apocalypse?

How has COVID-19 Changed the way we Audit our Suppliers?

Syntegon Packaging Technology Canovation International Society of Beverage Technologists

1:30 PM Processing Zone Manufacturing 2022 and Beyond–Why Automation Alone is Not Enough

ProFood World

2:00 PM How Sustainable Label Options Can Help Achieve Your Goals Smart Innovations for Food and Beverage Manufacturing Robotic Valve Placers for Safe Consistent Production

Fort Dearborn Company Siemens Digital Industries nVenia

2:30 PM Processing Zone The Power of a Systematic Approach to Process Improvement

3:00 PM

Hot Melt Adhesive with Improved Low Temperature Performance Digital Transformation Requirements to Consider for Code Verification

Deville Technologies Bostik SICK, Inc. METTLER TOLEDO

3:30 PM Processing Zone Manufacturing Innovation Awards

MWC, Kraft Heinz, CTI Foods

4:00 PM

Sustainable Bundling for E-Commerce Not Business as Usual Automation Lightweighting and Beyond

Felins, Inc. Schneider Electric Amcor Rigid Packaging

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2021 10:00 AM

Using Quantitative Leak Test Data to Enhance Certainty of Shelf Life Enabling Freedom of Design by Leveraging Wireless Technologies How Market Forces are Reshaping the Contract Packaging / Manufacturing Industry and the Brands it Serves

11:00 AM

The Future of Snack Packaging How OEMs can use Machine Data to Add more Services to their Offerings Innovative Packaging Solutions for a Sustainable Future

12:00 PM

Packaging Automation Takes Flight with Flying Motion Technology Curbside Recyclable: Meeting eCommerce Demand Sustainably To Be Determined

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INFICON SMC Corporation of America International Society of Beverage Technologists SNAC International LLumin, Inc. Flexopack S.A. Beckhoff Automation Georgia-Pacific Corrugated To Be Determined

8/17/21 2:59 PM

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Visit the link below each item for more info.

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TECHNOLOGY

Flow Sensor Emerson will showcase its AVENTICS™ Series AF2 flow sensor that monitors air consumption in pneumatic systems, enabling actionable insight around air consumption and leakage. Booth SL-6307

Emerson pwgo.to/7267

RFID Labelers

Checkweighers

WLS, a ProMach product brand, will introduces its latest RFID labelers designed to apply RFID labels to vials, bottles, tubes, syringes, and medical devices.

Booth C-3518

Mettler-Toledo Product Inspection will demonstrate its FlashCell Load Cell Technology on its C-Series checkweighers.

Booth C-1814

WLS pwgo.to/7274

Mettler-Toledo Product Inspection pwgo.to/7269

Energy-Efficient Adhesive Melter Robatech will showcase its Vision adhesive melter designed to melt thermoplastic hot-melt adhesives. Booth SU-7937

Robatech pwgo.to/7271

Washdown Horizontal Cartoner PMI KYOTO Packaging Systems will exhibit its washdown horizontal cartoner for frozen foods such as prepared meals, ice cream novelties, and more. Booth C-3036

PMI KYOTO Packaging Systems pwgo.to/7266

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Shrink Bander for Bottles Deitz will launch the Pharmafill Shoulderless Bottle Bander, a TE shrink bander designed to enable pharmaceutical, nutrition, cosmetics, and other packagers to automatically apply shrink bands to bottles with no lip or shoulder. Booth SL-5801

Deitz Co. pwgo.to/7272

Hygienic Spiral Conveyor SideDrive Conveyor will debut its modular hygienic spiral conveyors designed with side-drive, edgedriven technology from Intralox. Booth SL-6127

SideDrive Conveyor Co. pwgo.to/7275

8/17/21 2:58 PM

Less Effort, More Control

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Visit us at booth #N-16002 PELV2021_Products.indd 105

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8/18/21 12:51 PM

Visit the link below each item for more info.

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TECHNOLOGY

Capper NJM, a ProMach product brand, will introduces its beltorque® BT-ICL Lite Capper designed to cap up to 150 bottles/min. Booth C-3514

NJM pwgo.to/7270

Protective Paper HexcelPack will showcase its HexcelWrap cushioning paper designed to ensure product protection and packing simplicity, replacing environmentallyharmful alternatives.

Booth SU-8425

Checkweigher with Dual Camera Inspection WIPOTEC-OCS will introduce to the North American market the HC-A-V checkweigher designed for a variety of consumer packaged goods, including food and beverage items. Booth SL-6106

HexcelPack pwgo.to/7268

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THE LIGHTLINE CARTONPACKER

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The lightline machines from Schubert can be delivered quickly and are exceptionally attractive in terms of price. With the preconfigured machines, customers can adapt more flexibly to market trends and significantly shorten their time-to-market.

The LIGHTLINE CARTONPACKER consists of a single compact machine frame, and packs boxes, cans, bags or bottles into cartons and trays with or without a lid, wrap-around cartons and RSC cartons. It offers an affordable and space-saving possibility to automate packaging processes with the most efficient technology on the market while ensuring the highest availability and packaging quality.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO PACK?

WHAT TYPE OF CARTON SHOULD IT BE?

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P&G Designs Packaging for the Visually Impaired Tactile notching on PET bottles of Procter & Gamble’s bio:renew shampoos and conditioners goes a long way toward helping consumers with impaired vision differentiate one product from another.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

Tapping into under-served markets

Laser etching

By Pat Reynolds, VP Editor Emeritus Procter & Gamble has introduced tactile notches on the PET bottles of its Herbal Essences bio:renew line of shampoos and conditioners so that consumers with impaired vision can easily differentiate shampoo from conditioner when in the shower.

“Our goal at P&G is to start a conversation around accessibility in packaging design,” says Sumaira Latif, Special Consultant for Inclusive Design, P&G. “By doing this, we can help more companies to produce products that can be used and enjoyed by everyone, regardless of their circumstances.”

Simple tasks—like telling the difference between bottles of shampoo and bottles of conditioner—can be a real challenge for those living

P&G pioneered its tactile notching approach on this line of shampoos and conditioners.

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Check out page 36 for an opinion column about how and why the time is right for brands to be more inclusive with pack design. with a visual impairment. Even for consumers with poor or reduced sight, it can be difficult to identify products while in the shower or bath, where sight aids such as glasses, contact lenses, or magnifiers are not typically used. P&G recognized this issue and set out to find a solution.

“It may seem like a small thing, but there are hundreds of these little things that visually impaired people like myself have to spend time checking and rechecking each day,” continues Latif, who is registered blind herself. “If you want to be independent, if you want to be confident, you don’t want to be asking family members ‘What bottle is this?’ especially in such a private location as a shower.”

Using Braille may seem like a solution here, but Latif recognized that a very limited number of people who are blind or visually impaired are Braille users. “Most people with visual impairments cannot read Braille—it takes months, if not years to learn, and really you have to start young to develop the sensitivity. Most people develop visual impairments in later life, and Braille is no longer an option,” says Latif. “It was important that we invent a feature that could be universally recognized and would work for people who haven’t had the opportunity to learn Braille.”

With her colleagues at P&G, Latif came up with the innovative idea of including tactile notches on the bottles to enable them to be easily differentiated by touch. To keep design costs and production impacts to a minimum, Latif and her P&G colleagues sought a Domino laser solution where the notches would be made on the packaging line rather than during the blow molding process. Using a laser coder to etch the markers during production seemed like an optimal solution. But the team knew there would be complexities involved in marking the bottles without compromising the packaging or negatively affecting production efficiencies.

“We process hundreds of bottles a minute on each bottling line,” notes Latif. “Changing a manufacturing process is complicated when

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you’re dealing with those kinds of quantities. We needed a solution that would fit into our existing production lines without having a negative impact on production line speeds.”

“We approached several different coding and marking suppliers with the brief, and Domino stood out as the only supplier dedicated to working truly collaboratively with us to find the most appropriate design and solution for creating the markers,” says Kevin Higgins, Engineer at P&G.

Listen to an episode of UnPACKed with PMMI, about how cultural shifts in 2020 impact brands seeking to be more inclusive. Visit pwgo.to/7028.

The decisive factor was Domino’s scientific expertise and highly collaborative and iterative design testing to uncover the best solution for the inclusive bottle design. The P&G team was invited to visit Domino’s specialist laser testing labs in Hamburg, initially to discuss the requirements for the project, and then again for a two-day working session to identify the best possible solution.

Options considered “The initial brief from P&G was for coding the bottles with triangle, circle, and square symbols,” says Dr. Stefan Stadler, Team Lead at the Laser Academy. “From initial testing it was ascertained that these symbols would be difficult to distinguish by touch, so we presented some different options that could be more easily differentiated.” The chosen design features a row of raised lines on the bottom of the back of the shampoo bottles with two rows of raised dots in the same place on conditioner bottles.

The key to the project’s success was in ensuring that the laser did not puncture the bottles or weaken the barrier strength of the substrate. The Laser team identified the bottom of the bottle, where the plastic is at its thickest, as the best location for the tactile labeling, where it would be easily identifiable without compromising the integrity of the packaging.

Domino’s Laser team used a 3D microscope to analyze the etching depth across nine different colored PET bottles with two different coding modes: moving and stationary. The absorption rate of the colored bottles was measured using a FT-IR spectrometer to ascertain whether there was a correlation between coding depth and plastic color.

“We discovered that laser absorption at the tested wavelengths is independent of the color of the bottle,” says Stadler. “The same solution could be replicated using different colored PET, which means that a wide range of product brands could adopt this, regardless of the color of their bottles. This means that it could be an easy step for other manufacturers to follow P&G’s lead and adopt the same marking method.”

To ensure that the laser solution would not compromise the product packaging, Domino’s Laser team spent more than a week testing the parameters of the laser to establish the most appropriate specifications.

A 3D-profiling report detailing the testing process reassured the P&G team that introducing this laser solution would not affect the integrity of the product at any point during the supply chain.

“Bottle integrity is of the utmost importance to us because this is the first thing the consumer sees and

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The chosen design features a row of raised lines on the bottom of the back of the shampoo bottles with two rows of raised dots in the same place on conditioner bottles. the last thing they touch,” says P&G’s Higgins. “The bottle not only has to look good, it also has to perform throughout its entire life, so any compromise to its integrity was a concern for us. Through measurements and modelling, we were able to find parameters that not only delivered the tactile feel we wanted but also did not compromise our bottle integrity.”

To ensure the new stripes and circles approach would work for consumers, P&G presented the newly-coded Herbal Essences bio:renew bottles to the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) in the UK for consumer testing. A follow-up focus group with visually-impaired consumers overwhelmingly approved of the new inclusive bottle design.

Following successful consumer feedback, P&G began using Domino’s laser solution to mark Herbal Essences bio:renew shampoo and conditioner bottles at various manufacturing plants in the US and at selected contract packers from January 2019. The inclusive bottle design was a hit, receiving many positive reviews from those living with partial

or complete sight loss, with active bloggers and spokespersons for the blind community sharing their experiences online.

On 4th May 2020, Latif took part in a webinar hosted by the people behind BE MY EYES, an innovate web-based application for blind or visually impaired people, which enables users to be connected to volunteers via videocall who can assist with visual tasks. As part of the webinar Latif spoke about the challenges faced by blind and visually impaired people at home, and in the workplace, and how more companies are working to make their products accessible to those with disabilities—including P&G with their new coded bottles.

“I was happy to hear about the new-and-improved, tactile shampoo and conditioner bottles,” writes Blogger and BE MY EYES user Tia Wojciechowski, who sat in on the webinar. “Almost all shampoos and conditioners are in matchy-matchy twin bottles. I guess people like it better that way, because it looks cuter in their bathrooms. Now there are bottles that are cute and tactile!” PW

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The Varioline packaging system works with ten robots, distributed among four modules, which enables the machine to handle a total of 18 different packaging variants.

Mastering Complex Production Sequences This middle-tier German beer producer offers some 25 varieties of beer in returnable glass bottles, so it needed a highly versatile and automated controls architecture.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

Intralogistical excellence

How controls boost production

By Pat Reynolds, VP Editor Emeritus The Störtebeker Braumanufaktur of Straslund, Germany, shows a pioneering spirit not only in regard to new types of beer it offers in returnable glass but also in terms of how it has expanded its production capacities and greatly optimized the controls systems that underpin production.

Filling, packaging, IT, and intralogistics have all taken a big step forward thanks to solutions all provided by Krones, solutions that enable the brewery to cope successfully with even the most complex production sequences.

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Watch a video of the Störtebeker operation in action at pwgo.to/7235 Krones’ scope of supply included not only a new energy-efficient bottling line rated at 40,000 returnable glass bottles an hour but also a high-bay warehouse with just under 30,000 pallet slots from System Logistics, a member of The Krones Group. Also featured is full-coverage networking of the production operation with solutions from Syskron,

8/19/21 5:50 AM

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also part of The Krones Group, and Triacos, a Syskron subsidiary. The existing bottling line, a new bottling line, a kegging line, and the highbay warehouse—plus the empties sorting system and goods-dispatch zone—are all interconnected via a floor track system.

The principal task here was to streamline the complex work sequences involved, thus upgrading the production operation’s efficiency.

“As I always say, here on our premises we’ve got ten breweries in one

because each of our beers is packed in its sort-specific crate,” says the brewery’s owner Jürgen Nordmann. Störtebeker’s beers—all 25 varieties—are offered in the brewery’s own uniquely distinctive crates and likewise in closed paperboard six-packs. This is why the brewery opted for the Krones Varioline packaging system, which is capbable of handling not only crates and closed baskets but another 16 different packaging variants as well.

‘Most modern version’

A SCALE FOR ANY APPLICATION

Krones points to Störtebeker’s Varioline system as the most modern version currently up and running.

It is the first to feature the new TIA (Totally Integrated Automation) control system from Siemens, enabling a maximum degree of automation to be achieved.

Yet another beneficial side effect is this: the layout installed at Störtebeker takes up only about half the space that more traditional packaging machinery offering the same output would need.

The fully automated high-bay warehouse and the associated warehouse control system were delivered

by System Logistics. The warehouse with its eight aisles provides just under 30,000 slots that are served by six storage and retrieval units. The floor track system supplies the warehouse both with empties, like bottles and crates, and with ready-for-sale packages.

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Furthermore, Störtebeker decided to have Syskron’s subsidiary Triacos modify its existing SAP system to suit the new production landscape, and to link it up to various IT solutions from Syskron’s SitePilot Suite, such as Line Management, Line Diagnostics, and Manufacturing Intelligence. The brewery has thus succeeded in harmonizing purchase orders, business processes, and production planning with each other to maximum effect. Thanks to Edge Device, moreover, Störtebeker has been able to integrate its existing Krones glass line into the overall concept.

“When we concluded the contract with Krones in 2017, it was important to us that Krones would be supplying not only the bottling line but also the intralogistics with the high-bay warehouse, and that the customizing work needed for the SAP system, plus the SitePilot automation solutions, were all constituent parts of the order,” is how Jürgen Nordmann sums up their requirements. “We had already turned our attention to the subject of Industry 4.0 at quite an early stage and went looking for some suitable partners.

With this investment, we have taken another crucial step in that direction, and we hope we’re now in good shape to meet and master the challenges of the future.” PW

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OEM APPLICATION NOTE

Flexibility, High Throughput on Pizza Case Packer The M2000 case packer does the work of three machines, erases downtime and excess mechanical parts, and delivers big on flexibility and throughput.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

Linear transport

Compact machine footprint

says Mike Grinager, Vice President of Technology for Brenton. “We also had to deliver a high throughput of 15 cases per minute without product damage. This is complicated by the fact that pizzas on the line are stacked as many as 15 high in variable orientations while they speed down the packaging line.”

Brenton eventually decided that these demands necessitated a mechatronic linear transport system for the company’s popular M2000 intermittent-motion, side-load case packer machine. “This led us to the eXtended Transport System (XTS) from Beckhoff, which we found could adapt to these product changes on the fly,” says Grinager. “Using XTS, we developed a pitch-less M2000 machine that expertly handles a completely random infeed timing of all pizza shapes, orientations, and SKUs, including display-ready and bulk packaging.”

A true mechatronic solution, XTS offers linear motor characteristics with constantly cycling movers on an endless path.

Movers can accelerate, brake, position, and synchronize themselves on the fly with automatic collision avoidance provided in TwinCAT 3 automation software.

XTS movers can take up absolute and relative positions, they can group and accumulate, they can create clamping forces in motion, drive through curves and along straights, recover energy through regenerative braking, and use return and outward paths for transport purposes.

XTS greatly reduces jams and downtime as it moves perfectly stacked pizzas into cases.

Simple XTS motor modules form a Shown here is a freshly erected case on the right and two stacks of pizzas about to be pushed complete unit with the movers and guide into the case on the left. rails. The desired geometries, lengths, and radii are determined by the number and type of the components shrink wrapped in plastic. This end user sought an OEM that could deselected, with various options for 22.5-, 45- and 180-deg modules to liver high flexibility through more automated changeovers and a strong enable circle, clothoid, and S-curve designs as well as open straight segwillingness to customize the equipment, especially on the infeeds. ments. The XTS movers contain magnetic plates that, together with the “This application presented a challenge as we had to eliminate coils in the motor modules, generate propulsive forces. Movers absorb change-out flights for different sized products. Switching from 10-inch the attractive forces of the magnets on both sides and can move at to 15-inch pizzas required time-consuming mechanical adjustments,” One of the biggest companies within the ProMach, Inc., group of brands, Brenton manufactures integrated end-of-line packaging systems and machines, specializing in case packing, cartoning, robotic palletizing, and material handling for the food, beverage, and pharmaceutical industries.

Recently Brenton was asked by a major U.S. contract packager to take on a challenging case packing application for frozen pizzas. This fastpaced facility required machinery that could handle random timing infeeds and 26 different frozen pizza SKUs that were either boxed or simply

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AUTOMATION

high speeds with acceleration greater than 100 Mechanically robust encoder flags on wireless m/s2. Mechanically robust encoder flags on the XTS movers communicate their position to wireless movers communicate their position to motor modules via EtherCAT. The Brenton the motor modules via the EtherCAT industrial M2000 has 12 of these movers.

Ethernet protocol.

Brenton soon found how quickly users get XTS tracks up and running. “Our local Beckhoff sales and support team visited Brenton offices with a complete XTS starter kit to do a handson demonstration that showed exactly how the technology worked as I watched,” says Grinager.

“All of my questions about how to adapt linear transport technology to our current production challenges were answered by easy-to-follow XTS configuration changes in the standard TwinCAT engineering environment. It all took mere minutes. We have grown very pleased with Beckhoff support, during the sales process and after the install—this service is at the high level that our own customers expect from us.”

Discussions between Brenton and Beckhoff for additional machines with XTS. “It was great to see the Brenton team started in January 2020. Most programming occurred in June and July of quickly accomplish a successful application and secure long-term custhat year, and the OEM’s first XTS-equipped machines shipped in August tomer benefits by incorporating Beckhoff’s XTS technology,” said Dennis 2020. Since then, Brenton has already received a third order from the Sowada, Regional Sales Engineer for Beckhoff USA. “Brenton’s willingcontract packaging company and there are quotes from other customers

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ness to update and redesign an already successful machine with a new concept to meet higher customer expectations has paid dividends on this project as well as future projects in their pipeline.”

12 movers The upgraded M2000 machine now features 5.5 meters of XTS track with 12 movers to control the frozen pizza infeed. “With the XTS, the

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M2000 can easily handle pizza stacks, regardless of their weight, shape, and orientation,” Grinager said. “That’s the beauty of this machine—it takes a stack of 15 shrink-wrapped circular pizzas and can quickly adapt to an infeed of pizzas already in square packaging—all with minimal changeovers.”

A series of buckets on the M2000 holds the pizzas as XTS takes them around a 180-deg corner to grip and stabilize stacks until they are loaded spine-first, spine-last, or mixed (the “spine” is the back edge of the carton, the side that folds and is not cut or glued). Using two movers in tandem, the XTS grips the buckets for fast and secure transport to case packaging steps. The XTS can also relax and straighten the pack pattern when pushing in or out, and buffer product in front of the load station to give other production processes extra time if needed. “XTS greatly reduces jams and downtime as it moves perfectly stacked pizzas into cases,” Grinager says. “None of this was possible with other systems we evaluated.”

Brenton’s first XTS application had to handle a heavy payload for this application type considering the tall stacks of pizzas. In addition to their efforts with Beckhoff, Brenton worked with Bishop-Wisecarver in the U.S. to integrate a HepcoMotion GFX guidance system, which can accommodate high payloads.

The XTS controller is a standard Beckhoff C6930 control cabinet Industrial PC. The machine controller connects to a CP2915 15-inch Control Panel display with five-finger multi-touch capability. Despite the highly dynamic motion control involved, the XTS only utilizes about 15% of the CPU bandwidth in the C6930 IPC, leaving ample reserves for other automation functionality.

The TwinCAT 3 runtime on the C6930 and EtherCAT close all XTS drive loops, which provides extremely fast XTS module-to-module handoffs in production.

Later iterations of the Brenton M2000 also include high-speed EtherCAT I/O systems with a variety of EL series I/O, including 8-channel high-density (HD) terminals—all with easy DIN rail mounting. “Interoperability between the EtherCAT I/O system from Beckhoff and other fieldbuses is very helpful,” Grinager says.

“Establishing connectivity with EtherNet/IP devices was easy for the Brenton Engineering team,” says Patrick Triemert, Application Engineer at Beckhoff USA. “However, with its extremely high-speed and synchronization, EtherCAT is the perfect bus for mechatronic applications like XTS.” Brenton has experienced impressive throughput from the XTS-equipped M2000 machine. The M2000 is now able to carton as many as 41 different SKUs and up to 27 cases/min, which equals 140 frozen pizzas/ minute. The machine can also implement up to 26 different pack patterns, including more complex spineto-spine, display ready, and commercial patterns at 12.5 cases/min. “One XTS-equipped M2000 machine can actually do the work of three conventional case

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AUTOMATION

around 30 minutes down to just five minutes with XTS. Brenton saved at least 200 hours of engineering time for the infeed section of the M2000 and dramatically reduced complexity by removing about 100 parts from the infeed, such as chains, flights, pushers, and rotation mechanisms. “These types of components add no value to the machine, so getting rid of them frees up the Brenton machine shop and assembly team to focus on other work,” Grinager said.

In addition to supporting well-established packaging markets for Brenton, XTS is opening up many new project types for the OEM, particularly in pharmaceutical applications where they have even more potential to expand market share. “XTS supports many new machine designs for projects that we might have passed on previously,” Grinager said. “We now have in our reach new concepts that are faster, more flexible, and can reduce machine footprint by The XTS controller on the Brenton M2000 is a standard Beckhoff C6930 control cabinet as much as 50%. Following our initial XTS sucIndustrial PC. cesses, Brenton is also researching XTS Hygienic for washdown applications in food manufacturing and the XPlanar flypacking machines,” Grinager says. ing motion system for the most challenging material handling requireAfter eliminating many of the change-out steps, Brenton reduced ments in the industry.” —Pat Reynolds the typical downtime required for remaining infeed changeovers from

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Margaret Knight’s flat-bottomed bag machine patent model. Courtesy of the Smithsonian, National Museum of American History.

PACK to the Future: The Story Behind the Historical Exhibit at PACK EXPO Las Vegas Take a journey through the history of packaging, explore milestones that shaped the present, and learn more about industry trends influencing the future.

By Matt Reynolds, Editor Be sure to visit PACK to the Future, a packaging exhibit that has been nearly two years in the making, on display at PACK EXPO Las Vegas and Healthcare Packaging EXPO, September 27-29 in the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The exhibit traces the evolution of modern packaging from its roots in the Industrial Age to the present and explores current trends that are shaping the near future. The largest feature of the near 10,000 square foot exhibit is a timeline of packaging facts, images, artifacts, and machines spanning 250 years from the mid-1700s to the early 2000s. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) contributes an educational

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display on regulations that transformed package labeling. Presentations by packaging industry experts and business leaders on topics such as sustainability, smart packaging, and new technologies occur hourly each day on the PACK to the Future stage (schedule on page 136).

From the beginning PMMI and curators of the exhibit Jack Aguero, president, Aguero Associates, and Brent Meyer, president, Meyer Communications, wanted PACK to the Future to be more than a “once-upona-time-in-packaging” citation of dates. They saw the project as a way to share some interesting educational stories and showcase many of the people who helped make the packaging industry what it is today.

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Jack Aguero Jack Aguero has been in the packaging industry for 25 years. He served on the board of PMMI and was Chairman of their Business Intelligence Committee. He is also on the Board of Directors of Septimatech, a PMMI member company, and an advisor to OMAC, the non-profit which created the ISA standard called PackML. He and Brent Meyer helped create the Robotic Zone exhibit for PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2019.

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PACK to the Future Advisory Board Mark Green, President, Mark Green & Associates Rebecca Oesterle, Chair Board, Institute of Packaging Professionals Paul Pezzoli, Vice-President (retired), Kellogg Company David Smith, President, David S. Smith Associates Chuck Yuska, President (retired), PMMI Ronald Yakubison, Executive Director, Global Packaging Technical Operations, Merck & Company Pat Reynolds, Editor Emeritus, PMMI Media Group Sean Riley, Senior Director, PMMI, Media and Industry Communications Ken McGuire, Research Fellow, The Procter & Gamble Company Bill Crist, CEO (retired) Kliklok-Woodman, a Syntegon Technology Company Yours Truly, Matt Reynolds, Editor, PMMI Media Group

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Listen to a conversation between Jack Aguero and PMMI’s Sean Riley about the nearly two-year process of delivering a curated packaging history exhibit to PACK EXPO Las Vegas at pwgo.to/7246 Aguero and Meyer are quick to point out that PACK to the Future couldn’t have happened without the support of numerous people and organizations within and outside the packaging industry. An 11-member Advisory Board with packaging bona fides provided guidance and opened doors to their contacts at CPGs, machinery and materials companies, trade organizations, and universities. The 28 historic packaging and processing machines, dating from the late 1800s through the 1980s, are all contributed by machinery manufacturers. Hundreds of photos, facts, and stories are available for the exhibit because archivists at CPGs, museums, and other organizations generously shared content and time to work with Aguero and Meyer.

“A constant throughout this project has been the extraordinary enthusiasm and the willingness of people to give their time and share their resources and knowledge,” Aguero says. “I think it’s a testament to the people in our industry and the importance of these stories.”

PACK to the Future Contributors The following organizations provided information, images, machines, or artifacts for the exhibit. Without their cooperation, support and enthusiasm, PACK to the Future wouldn’t have been possible.

All-Fill Inc. Amazon Amcor plc Anheuser-Busch Anritsu Infivis Avery Dennison Corporation BestPack Packaging Systems Boston Dynamics, Inc. Bush Brothers and Company Campbell Wrapper Corporation Can Manufacturers Institute Canovation Collectors Weekly Columbia/Okura LLC. The Coca-Cola Company Cozzoli Machine Company Detre Library & Archives, Senator John Heinz History Center Diagraph Marking & Coding, an ITW Company Drop Water Felins USA, Incorporated General Mills, Inc. George Eastman Museum Glass Packaging Institute Google Patents Graphic Packaging International Heat and Control, Inc. The Hershey Company Hormel Foods Corporation HP Inc. IoPP-Institute of Packaging Professionals The J. M. Smucker Company Johnson & Johnson Kellogg Company

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Kliklok LLC, A Syntegon Company Library of Congress Merck & Co., Inc. Michigan State University MSSC LLC. Multivac, Inc. New England Machinery, Inc. New York Public Library NJM Nord Gear Corporation Ohio State University Old Dutch Foods, Inc. Omega Design Corporation Omron PAC Machinery PDC International Corporation Polypack, Inc. The Procter & Gamble Company R.A Jones, a Coesia Company Rovema North America, Inc. Schneider Electric Schubert North America, LLC Science Museum Group Collection Septimatech Group, Inc. Smithsonian, National Museum of American History SNAC International Spee-Dee Packaging Machinery, Inc. Tetra Pak Urschel Laboratories, Inc. U.S. Bottlers Machinery Co. U.S. Food & Drug Administration Wikipedia WIPOTEC-OCS, Inc. Wrapade Packaging Systems, LLC.

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“The delay also gave us an opportunity to continue researching and locating new sources and information,” adds Meyer. “This extra time helped us fill in some gaps and uncover some great content. It was during the pandemic that Merck introduced us to contacts at the Smithsonian.”

From PACK to the Future: A Sneak Peek “Packaging has played a crucial role in the development of trade, commerce, the preservation of food, medicine and development of other products,” Aguero says. “Packaging and the development of civilization are intertwined.

The betterment of mankind through packaging is a consistent theme. We hope people get the sense of that as they walk through the exhibit.”

“There are numerous innovations in materials or machinery that made food, healthcare and other products safer or even possible,” adds Meyer. “Gail Borden’s development of sweetened condensed canned milk was in direct response to his desire to save the lives of children Corking tables at H.J. Heinz Company, 1901. Courtesy of H.J. Heinz Company Photographs, who didn’t have access to fresh milk. Borden and numerous people like him asserted themDetre Library & Archives, Senator John Heinz History Center. selves on the present to make the future better.”

One of the things that stands out in the exhibit is the prominent role Aguero credits this enthusiasm as one of the major reasons PACK to women played in packaging from the very beginning. Margaret Knight, the Future stayed on track during the uncertainty created by the panthe first women to receive a U.S. patent, designed the first machine demic. The exhibit was originally planned for PACK EXPO International to make flat-bottomed paper bags in the 1870s. Before her invention, in 2020 but was postponed due to the pandemic. The delay created both flat-bottomed bags were made by hand. The existing bag making machallenges and opportunities. chines, considered the first dedicated packaging machines, only made “One of the biggest challenges on the project was that during the envelope-style bags which were limited in what they could hold. Knight, pandemic many people couldn’t access their archives or content in known as the “female Edison,” received 26 patents in her life in packagtheir offices,” Aguero says. “Despite the personal and professional uning and other industries. certainty, they stuck with us and followed through.”

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Women packaging Kellogg’s Corn Flakes in 1931. Image courtesy of Kellogg’s Historical Archives.

Many people are aware that large numbers of women entered the workforce during the World Wars but aren’t aware that women began working in large numbers during the Industrial Age. Packaging was considered a well-paying job for women compared to many options. In the late 1800s and early 1900s many of the roles were filled by women. By 1907, more than one-third of the employees on Kellogg’s packaging lines were women. This was common in other companies as well. Heinz offered free weekly manicures and hot showers for women who worked their packaging lines in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It helped ensure food safety and was seen as a perk not offered by many jobs of the day.

Later in the mid-1900s, the numbers of women in the packaging industry dwindled. The return of women to packaging has slowly been increasing again in recent decades, particularly in leadership roles. PMMI will host a Packaging and Processing Women’s Leadership Network breakfast on Tuesday at PACK EXPO.

Read more about the Packaging and Processing Women’s Leadership Network Breakfast, held during PACK EXPO Las Vegas, on page 94.

Aguero and Meyer also found that inspiration for packaging machinery and innovations didn’t always come from within the industry. Otto Rowedder, who invented the first machine to slice and wrap bread in 1927, was a jeweler. Clarence Birdseye, who invented the process and machinery for Quick Freezing, was a fur trader in Canada when he discovered that fish that was frozen almost immediately after being caught retained its flavor when thawed. John Van Wormer, the person who in-

IN

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PACK to the Future Presentation Schedule The PACK to the Future Stage is located at N-9830. Presentations occur hourly on each day of the show.

Sa

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 No Strings Attached: When Packaging Machinery Goes Wireless

10:30 AM - 11:00 AM

The Evolution of Pharmaceutical Packaging - Past, Present, and Future

11:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Using AI to Achieve the Next Level of Operational Efficiency for your Packaging Machines

12:30 PM - 1:00 PM

Unpacking the Cannabis Opportunity

1:30 PM - 2:00 PM

Innovative Heating and Sealing Systems Needed on Packaging Machinery to Process Sustainable Materials

2:30 PM - 3:00 PM

Pain Points for Brand Owners: How Can Smart Packaging Make a Difference?

3:30 PM - 4:00 PM

» » » »

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 Re-Positioning Packaging as the Environmental Solution

10:30 AM - 11:00 AM

How can the Industrial Edge Deliver New Insights for Packaging Machines?

11:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Building a Stakeholder Coalition for Policy Progress: The Recycling Leadership Council

12:30 PM - 1:00 PM

The Transition of Packaging to a Digital World Through Data

1:30 PM - 2:00 PM

No Strings Attached: When Packaging Machinery Goes Wireless

3:30 PM - 4:00 PM

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 Next Generation Industrial LiDAR Sensing Technologies Coming to the Packaging Industry

10:30 AM - 11:00 AM

Seeing Through Walls: Harnessing Augmented Reality to Improve Machine Maintenance and Repair

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vented the paperboard milk carton and the machine to form, fill, and seal them in the 1920s was a toymaker. Fred E. Lins was a sausage maker who became a packaging machinery manufacturer after his FELINS string tying machine became a success in the 1920s. An early FELINS string tying machine is on display in the exhibit.

The Swedish inventor of Tetra Pak, Ruben Rausing, was watching his wife make sausages by tying off the ends in the 1940s and wondered whether a similar system could be applied to milk. He came up with the iconic aseptic triangular tetrahedron paperboard-based package to store liquids without refrigeration.

Throughout the historical timeline there are threads of continuity, innovations that are still being used today, signs of gradual improvements, examples of persistence overcoming initial failures, and ideas waiting for technology to catch up. The first self-heating can was developed for soldiers during WWII but was In 1951, Tetra Pak launched their innovative deemed unsafe for the general public. To- tetrahedron package and machine that formed, day mass produced self-heating packages filled and sealed a tube of milk in one continuous are on the verge of reality. Paper bottles motion. Tetra Pak launched the first machine were first developed in the early 1900s for aseptically filling bacteria-free milk in 1961. and are now seeing a resurgence in the Images courtesy of Tetra Pak. effort to improve sustainability.

“As people walk the exhibit and listen to the speakers, we hope they not “A surprising part of the story of packaging is how much our indusonly take pride in what they see, but possibly experience the next great try continues to resurrect a good idea whose best times may be yet to innovation in packaging.” come,” Meyer says. “As we move toward a future with reusable conAguero and Meyer point out that it’s impossible to fully tell all the tainers and more natural textile, plant, or fiber-based materials, we are stories they found or completely share the wealth of content in a tempocoming full circle by taking many of the concepts used in early packagrary exhibit at PACK EXPO Las Vegas. PMMI is looking at repeating PACK ing that were sustainable and making them better.” to the Future at PACK EXPO International in Chicago in 2022. An audio “The ability of humankind to make things, faster, easier, efficient, tour that expands on some of the existing content is also in discussion. convenient, and more sustainable is the story of packaging,” Aguero says.

But even in its current, inaugural format, the exercise has proven fruitful and rewarding. The two hope the exhibit conveys that “The Story of Packaging” is the story of people who saw a better way and made it happen—men and women who were makers and inventers, visionaries and innovators, risk takers and entrepreneurs. It’s a story about human imagination, competition, and cooperation, a story that’s shaped by, and a shaper of, progress.

The two ask you take a brief journey through some of the achievements and turning points and continuity that brought us here today. It is more than a collection of facts; it is a record of people who asserted themselves on the present to change the future.

Modicon created the “It is your story,” Aguero and Meyer conclude. “See your there.” PW

first programmable logic controller (PLC) in the United States in 1968.

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PACK to the Future is just one example of the new and exciting programming at PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2021. Read a full preview of the show and all it offers on page 90.

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Functional Pack Design Evolves as Café Egg Bites Hit Retail Shelves The foodservice channel hatched the egg bites trend with sous vide, but Vital Farms advanced it with a new retail pack format allowing for in-pack baking in CPET trays at the production facility. Consumers simply microwave the MAP trays at home.

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By Matt Reynolds, Editor Prior to the pandemic, a new breakfast trend had been sweeping the U.S. Popularized by major café chains in quick service or foodservice settings, sous vide-cooked mini-omelets called egg bites containing classic but elevated ingredient pairings were quickly becoming a breakfast staple for busy café patrons on their way into the office in the morning. The pandemic temporarily disrupted the foodservice category, but the secret was out about sous vide egg bites—the market had been created, the demand had been nurtured, and Americans needed it filled.

Meanwhile, keenly watching this foodservice trend unfold was Vital Farms, a Certified B Corporation that offers a range of pasture-raised foods nationwide. The company was founded in 2007 by husbandand-wife Matt and Catherine O’Hayer with 20 Rhode Island Red hens, a 27-acre plot of pasture in Austin, Texas, and an unwavering commitment to animal welfare. The pair aspired to produce ethical food and a sustainable business. Instead, they built a transformational one. Today, Vital Farms partners with over 200 small family farmers to produce egg

Vital Farms’ Egg Bites use a unique packaging and processing approach, baking the product inpack prior to MAP sealing.

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The lidding material is a polyethylene-based multilayer structure with an EVOH barrier. The lidding is flexographically printed in four colors and uses a transparent window to display the egg bite within. Nutrition Facts straddle the bottom of two egg cups on the back of the pack. and dairy products. Every hen is humanely treated and every egg is pasture-raised. Vital Farms continues to elevate its (and the industry’s) standards, continuing Matt’s commitment to a philosophy called Conscious Capitalism, founded in the belief that the free market can and should do good.

By volume, the company is now the number one pasture-raised egg brand in the U.S. and the number two egg brand overall. Vital Farms initially made its name as a shell-egg company—selling whole, premium pasture-raised shell eggs in traditional 12- to 18-egg cartons (though with an interesting twist, more on that in the sidebar below). A few years after its founding, Vital Farms broadened its brand, building on its success as a trusted pasture-raised egg brand, and expanded to new categories.

‘Cluckin’ Great’ Egg Carton Redesign Sustainably speaking, egg cartons have come a long way since the days of expanded polystyrene. And, with a new design from Denmark-based Hartmann Technology for Vital Farms’ 12-ct, pasture-raised shell eggs, they’ve come even further.

Building off a design that was already an eco-friendly and aesthetic step above the molded pulp carton, the new egg packaging combines a molded-pulp base with a carbon-neutral, recycled-content SBS (Solid Bleached Sulfate) lid that is 100% recyclable and provides exceptional shelf presence.

Before the redesign, Vital Farms was using Hartmann’s recyclable Hybrid egg package. The stock carton has a traditional molded-fiber base made from 100% recycled paper and a lid made from SBB (Solid Bleached Board), a virgin fiber paperboard that is 100% recyclable, compostable, and biodegradable.

“However, they [Vital Farms] now wanted to raise their stake in the ethical market,” says Hartmann. “So in August 2019, we set to work to produce a customized carton made from 100% recycled material.”

Shares Vital Farms Senior Brand Manager Heather Fitzpatrick, “We’re always seeking ways to raise the standards in anything we’re doing, while prioritizing the needs of our valued stakeholders. Our decision to update our Hybrid carton was a natural next step of our continuous efforts to prioritize the environment as a stakeholder and raise the standards for ourselves and the category.”

The new carton took 14 months to engineer. “We wanted to ensure we were thoughtfully hitting all the requirements from

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The new 100% recycled-content lid now has a longer front flap, providing more billboard space. the key stakeholders of the project and doing it the right way, not just the quickest way,” says Fitzpatrick. “We collaborated with Hartmann on research and development and then had significant testing to ensure the carton met everyone’s needs throughout the entire supply chain, including our Egg Central Continued on page 144

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“We now have several products that are extensions of our shell egg business, including hardboiled eggs, liquid eggs, and our newer convenient breakfast products Egg Bites and Breakfast Bars,” says Jermaine Harvey, Director of Contract Manufacturing, Vital Farms. “Like our shell egg business, we partner with small family farms on the dairy side to produce our butter and ghee products from pasture-raised cows. The pasture-raised cows receive the same care and humane treatment as the hens that produce our shell eggs. We will never compromise the ethical standards we have practiced since day one.”

By now, you can see where this is headed. Since the sous vide egg bite category was essentially a new one, a yolk-colored gold rush to meet consumer demand was on in recent pre-pandemic years. Vital Farms was early to throw its hat into the egg-bite ring believing it had a secret weapon in the category—a higher quality egg bite made with the ethically sourced ingredients for which Vital Farms is known.

Not to mention, while foodservice hatched the egg bite trend, an opportunity to crack the retail space was there for the taking. Vital Farms already had deep connections with like-minded retailers, including

Continued from page 142

Station crewmembers who help pack cartons, our retail and grocery customers, and consumers. Several quality tests were crucial to ensure the new lid material did not compromise the carton functionality and protection. One of the biggest challenges was integrating the darker colors of the CRB [coated recycled board] fibers to ensure the brand colors were not compromised.”

The new, custom Hybrid carton uses the same recycledcontent molded-pulp base but the lid is now made from 100% recycled paper and is Greenchoice 100™ certified, which means it’s carbon-neutral, as the CO2 emitted during its production is offset by new tree plantings, paid for by Vital Farms. Shares Fitzpatrick, the new lid is expected to save 33,000 trees in 2021.

As mentioned, the lid also offers greater billboard space, with a larger front flap, decorated with handcrafted, chalkboard-style graphics, offset-printed in four colors. Adding a whimsical touch, one of the tabs of the carton base pokes through an area on the lid where there is an illustration of a hen, providing the bird with a 3D wing.

This quirkiness matches another feature of Vital Farms’ packaging that has been a staple of the shell-egg carton since 2010: The Vital Times newsletter. During packaging, a tiny newsletter is inserted into every carton. Each issue includes a number of entertaining and educational stories and imagery.

For example, “National Edition, Vol 13, Issue 1” contains “5 Cluckin’ Great Tips From the Girls on the Grass, Blast Those Winter Blahs,” information on “Naturally Hygge Hens,” and a picture of the “Bird of the Month,” Mellow Macy.

“We believe The Vital Times is a meaningful way to educate consumers about animal welfare and also spark some joy—with the hen cartoons and much anticipated ‘bird of the month’—before they cook their eggs,” says Fitzpatrick. “We know dozens of fans who enjoy collecting every issue or save them on the refrigerator.”

Another way the company educates its consumers is through its Transparency Initiative, launched in January 2020.

Through this program, Vital Farms prints on every carton a code that consumers can use to go online to its website and view 360-deg video footage of the farm where the eggs in that specific carton were laid.

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Information inside the lid advises consumers how to access 360-deg video footage of the farm where their eggs were laid.

“We want everyone to enjoy seeing hens doing what they do best—roaming the pasture, foraging for insects, sampling seasonal grasses, and maybe relaxing in the shade,” says Becca Simmonds, Associate Brand Manager and Traceability Project Lead for Vital Farms. “Each partner farm is unique, but they all offer abundant outdoor space that meets our leading standards for the hens, all year round.”

According to the company, the 360-deg pasture videos will be updated at least twice a year to ensure consumers get an accurate view of the hens’ environment.

Says Fitzpatrick, the Traceability Initiative feature is now the most visited area on the company’s website. She adds, “We’ve heard many stories from our community who love using our traceability program to teach their kids about the food system.”

This loyal community has also provided an “overwhelmingly positive” response to the new carton, as well. Shares Fitzpatrick, “We’ve received numerous comments and feedback from consumers that they appreciate our carbon-neutral packaging and Vital Farms’ continuous efforts to raise the standards of our packaging.”

The custom Hybrid package was rolled out by Vital Farms in October 2020 and is being used for three of its 12-ct shell eggs varieties: Pasture Raised, Organic Pasture Raised, and Non-GMO Pasture Raised. —Anne Marie Mohan

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Whole Foods Market. From that confluence of trends and events, Vital Farms’ Pasture-Raised Egg Bites were born.

Says the company website, “We took our pasture-raised eggs (that you know and love!), combined them with pasture-raised cheese, humanely raised meats, and veggies to create a protein-packed breakfast. Now you can eat like a morning person without waking up like one.”

Every pack comes with two Egg Bites, has 16 to 18 g of protein per serving, and is ready to eat after just 45 seconds in the microwave.

Available in four flavor combinations—uncured bacon and cheddar; uncured ham, bell pepper, onion, and cheddar; roasted red pepper and mozzarella; and sun-dried tomato, basil, and mozzarella—these singleserve refrigerated egg bites are certified gluten-free and packaged in microwavable, recyclable, BPA-free packaging, the company says.

Out-of-the-shell thinking The café-popularized blueprint for egg bites uses a cooking technique called sous vide. Using this method, the raw ingredients are vacuum sealed together in a thin film, then suspended in a liquid solution that’s kept at a precisely controlled temperature as the product cooks.

This means vacuum packing and sous vide processing of the egg bites would occur first. Then, the cooked product would be cooled, the film removed, and the bites flash frozen in ensuing steps. Only after freezing would the finished bites be packaged and refrigerated for grab-and-go using gas-flush MAP (modified atmosphere packaging).

But in a bid to create some market differentiation—this was the wild west of egg bites, after all—Vital Farms’ sales and marketing teams had a “wild idea” (according to Harvey) to create a baked product that looked more homestyle with toasted notes, while consolidating the processing and packaging steps by baking in-pack rather than processing, then packaging. And since they’d be baking in the pack at the production facility, couldn’t the pack also withstand a microwave in the consumer’s home? And finally, could in-pack baking, instead of sous vide, provide yet another point of differentiation by imparting a hint of crisped, browned crust to the egg tops via dry heat cooking using a tunnel oven?

Revisiting packaging materials to enable a better process The company enlisted Greg Levy, President of Point Five Packaging, to help develop a food-grade CPET MAP packaging solution. What resulted is, as far as we know, novel in the market. As a material, CPET is known for a crystalline structure that allows it to hold up well in high-temperature environments. But CPET can be temperamental to the uninitiated and requires precision in how much heat it can withstand, and for how long. Plus, its use in conjunction with this new egg bite application was uncharted territory. Levy went about charting that new territory.

Retail-Ready Packaging in the form of a printed chipboard carton or caddy ensures each pack’s transparent, product-forward window greets consumers.

“We work a lot with modified atmosphere systems, and CPET is a really nice functional alternative to polypropylene for the microwave because it’s got a nice barrier property to it so you can gas flush products inside of it. And then you’ve also got the microwavable capability and then also the ovenable capability. We like CPET a lot, and we do a lot of custom shapes, colors, sizes with CPET in addition to this application.

But this is a perfect example of us using what we call our concept-tomarket process. This is where we sit with customers and we develop a solution, or they tell us what they want to do, and then we come up with the full packaging solution around their idea.

“Obviously we wanted to keep the amount of material used to a minimum to avoid over-packaging. And then I think the next leg of it was in asking ourselves, ‘What does Point Five bring to the table? What are our capabilities?’ And this kind of problem-solving is our sweet spot.”

After rigorous testing of the MAP process itself, testing the shelf life of an in-pack-baked product sealed into MAP, and a lot of container gauge and shape trial and error, the partnership of Point Five and Vital Farms hit upon a repeatable solution.

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“I think that’s why other people haven’t used this kind of process in the past,” Levy concludes. “Since we were actually putting these trays through an oven, the design and the gauge of the container itself were critical. It required a lot of work to get it right.”

While CPET can withstand heat better than most plastics, all plastic is prone to some deformation at high temperatures. Levy sought additional protection from deformation via a robust container, but in a way that avoided overpackaging with too much material. That was one major needle to thread.

Ensuring snug seals The other big wild card that needed to be accounted for was the seal between the CPET tray and the lidding that would be added during the MAP process. Keep in mind, the seal flange would be a surface that had just gone through the baking process with a splash-prone liquid egg product in close proximity. The very baking process itself—whether high heat or product in the seal path—could negatively impact the seal.

“In this case, R&D was probing these trays to the point where we arrived at a design where we can deposit and bake without deforming the tray and without disrupting the seal surface so it could still perform with good shelf life,” Levy says. “In a lot of cases, when a brand runs into obstacles like these, they shoot down the project and go another direction.

But we kept on it until we had it.”

“This package design that resulted is also microwave safe at home. It allows people to cook Vital Farms Pasture-Raised Egg Bites in the package they come in, versus having to pop them out of their package and heat them in a separate dish in the microwave,” Harvey adds.

The lidding material is a polyethylene-based multilayer structure with an EVOH barrier. The lidding is flexographically printed in four colors and uses a transparent window to display the egg bite within.

Harvey says that the quality of the ingredients used in all four flavor varieties of Vital Farms’ Egg Bites as well as the hint of crust from being baked instead of sous vide are differentiators among the competitive set that consumers can taste.

The packaging format uses a carefully calibrated CPET tray that resists deformation under heat and can be microwaved in consumers’ homes.

RRP improves marketability Since it was important to make the product itself visible, even on the shelf or in the cooler case, the company opted for retail-ready packaging (RRP) that would present the product through the transparent window. Secondary packaging for the CPET MAP packs entails six-count RRP-format printed chipboard display cartons that Levy calls caddies.

Two chipboard caddies are then loaded into corrugated cases for 12-ct master case to be sent to retailers.

“The caddies lift out of the case and sit on shelf in a vertically facing posture with the printed lid facing outward toward retail consumers,” Levy says. “That was another critical design element we had to consider in this project—making sure it had a strong shelf presence.”

Top-of-market shelf life

Lidding equipment ensures a tight MAP seal with gas flush after the product-filled trays have been baked and sufficiently cooled.

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For a fresh protein product, shelf life could be a concern. But with the MAP and nitrogen/carbon dioxide flush, these Vital Farms Egg Bites packs boast nearly three months of shelf life, leading the category. The MAP process consistently achieves less 1% of residual oxygen, with figures closer to 0.5% to 0.7% residual oxygen most common when tested.

“We believe we are producing egg bites differently,” concludes Harvey. “The typical process is to deposit the egg bite in a totally separate depositing unit, where it is processed, then frozen, then is bulk packed as a frozen bite. And then it’s repackaged and shipped refrigerated to go into the market. But with our method, ours stays fresh even though it’s never frozen.” PW

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5 Emerging Trends in E-commerce Package Design The rise in e-commerce in 2020 forced brands to rethink their package design to connect with consumers outside the retail environment. Here are five design trends that resulted and advice on how to select the style that’s best for your brand.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

Match color to product ingredients

Balanced, symmetrical vs. natural, realistic design

By Shayne Tilley, Contributing Editor While e-commerce was already well established before the pandemic, 2020 certainly prompted widescale changes in online shopping behavior that appear permanent. As retailers fought to continue operating after closing their physical stores, we also saw unprecedented e-commerce adoption as both business owners and consumers worked to keep up with this new retail reality.

This was brave new territory for many small businesses that, among many other things, now had to consider how they could continue making meaningful connections with their customers in a socially distanced world. Suddenly, the box in the mail became the only chance for brands to have a physical interaction with buyers—and this has had an interesting effect on packaging design!

When looking at the design trends shaping e-commerce packaging this year, there is a clear theme. Thanks to the astronomical rise of online shopping, we’ve seen an increasing number of brands turning away from plain or stock packaging. Instead, boxes are now looking like works of art in their own right as brands aim to deliver a little piece of their personality straight to customers’ doorsteps.

Let’s take a look at five of these artful trends shaping packaging right now.

1. Solid, all-over color Probably one of the most simple but effective trends in e-commerce packaging design right now, this style sees products packaged in single, solid colors.

Unlike other trends, which make use of in-

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tricate illustrations or bold typefaces, it’s the use of bold, bright, and often unconventional shade choices that draw the buyer in. The correct color choices can both create a specific aesthetic for your products as well as give customers subtle clues about the ingredients.

For example, Los Angeles-based superfood smoothie maker TUSOL Wellness uses a range of shades directly representing the hero ingredient of each of its individual smoothie sachets, making each flavor easily recognizable.

The color choices are also paired with a shiny, metallic material, giving each sachet a luxurious look and feel.

While this trend is a lot more understated, it is an incredibly powerful way to ensure products stand out against the competition.

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2. Hyper-simplistic geometry Another design trend shaping (literally) the packaging world right now is the use of simple yet striking geometric concepts. Here, designs incorporate straight and neat lines and tight angles paired with distinctive colors to make an unforgettable impression on customers.

While geometric patterns may look plain at first glance, the superpower of this design style is in its abstract simplicity. Instead of straight up showing or telling customers with illustrations or imagery, these clever geometric elements give them hints of what to expect when they open things up. For example, the grid-like design on California’s Sincere Cider uses various elements and colors inspired by apples to evoke the crisp, clean flavors to be found within.

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3. Product names front and center It’s time to let your product names do the talking with the use of striking typography that makes each word feel like a piece of artwork in itself. Rather than placing a logo, brand name, or illustration center stage, the names of the products themselves are now the star of the show. Any additional design elements are simply used to make the name stand out.

As this style leaves no doubt as to what the product is called or does, it is the perfect trend for product-focused businesses that are looking to increase brand awareness. Through the use of creative and eye-catching lettering, this design style has the unique ability to give a product a distinctive personality all its own.

Unlike most traditional supplement companies, Minnesota’s Crystal Star has leveraged this trend on its simple yet stylish packaging to appeal to customers seeking alternative wellness products. Pairing strong typefaces with clean, bright colors for the product names on its bottle labels, these products can entice older and younger generations alike.

4. Organically shaped color blocking Undoubtedly one of the most popular design trends right now, this style beautifully merges the shift towards increasingly environmentally conscious consumer sentiment and the overarching art-inspired design trend seen right now in e-commerce.

Color blocking as a concept isn’t exactly new. But doing so with softer and more natural colors, shapes, and textures? That’s very 2021. Rather than clear, straight, lined boxes of color, these are collages of unbalanced, unevenly weighted shapes overlaid with freckles, squiggles, and spirals.

Whether abstract or portraying scenes found in nature, these designs are a welcome breath of fresh air for so many of us who spent the majority of the past 12 months cooped up inside. A great example can be found with clean skincare brand ORPHEUS, which uses soft organic shapes and colors on its packaging to create the image of a stunning ethereal landscape that is a nod to the Resurrection Flower found in its products.

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5. Picture-perfect symmetry It’s not uncommon for the top design trends each year to appear contradictory. In fact, it’s almost expected! Not everyone likes the same pizza toppings, so to speak. While some designers and brands are experimenting with imperfect shapes and unusual patterns, we’re also seeing packaging that swings in the complete opposite direction by playing with order and balance.

Whether incredibly complex and tight illustrations or looser, more disconnected patterns that leverage negative space, the visually satisfying nature of symmetry elicits a sense of calm, order, and grounding— starkly contrasting the chaos of the last year. A perfect example can be seen on the bold and almost hypnotic symmetrical patterns on the beer cans of Costa Rica’s Numu Brewing.

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Watch a quick Packaging World Take Five report on design trends. Where is monochromatic appropriate? When should we go imperfect and natural, and when should we go symmetrical and abstract? Visit pwgo.to/7276 for the five-minute video.

Now it’s time to get started!

Whether you’re an e-commerce business looking to level up your packaging game this year or a fresh, new brand just starting out, tapping into design trends can be an easy yet effective way to ensure your brand stands out and leaves a lasting impression on customers. But when the design trends all look so incredible, deciding which style is right for your brand can be a bit daunting. In this instance, it can be helpful to ask yourself a series of questions before you start the product packaging design process.

• What is the product? Of course, you need to know how big it is, what shape it is, and what it does to inform the logistical side of things. But by breaking it down even further, you can draw out inspiration for the type of design you’re going to use. What ingredients is it made of? Does it have a particular scent or texture? As we saw with these trends, often the design—whether it’s a pattern, illustration, or clever use of colors—is so much more than simply an embellishment.

• Who’s buying the product? Your packaging should appeal to your ideal customer, so it’s important that you know who that customer is before designing your packaging. So next you need to ask yourself, who’s your target audience? What do they value and need? Are they old or young? Are they environmentally conscious? Are they on a budget, or do they have a higher disposable income? By homing in on your ideal customer and what’s important to them, you can narrow down your design choices to something that’s truly going to catch their eye.

• Who are you as a brand? Finally, ensure you know who you are as a brand. It’s all very well creating stunning packaging, but if it doesn’t mirror your values, purpose, and personality, it’s not going to create a seamless brand experience. This doesn’t mean you can’t experiment with quirky design, but it should fit within the parameters of your overarching brand narrative. Are you playful or serious? Are you luxurious or cost-effective? Energetic or stoic? And most importantly, what do you stand for?

The answers to the above questions will help you form a blueprint that will guide every facet of your packaging design—from fronts, logos, copy, and colors right through to the materials and different layers you use.

With many consumers realizing that shopping online is beneficial for their daily lives, there’s no doubt that e-commerce looks set to be the norm for many of us. And with the effects this has already had on ecommerce packaging design, it’s likely we can expect to see plenty of beautifully designed packages arriving in our homes for the foreseeable future. PW Shayne Tilley is Head of Marketing for 99designs, the global creative platform by Vistaprint.

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Growing a Successful CBD Brand Medterra has only been in business for four years, but this brand has been leading CBD sales in U.S. grocery for over 16 months and is expanding rapidly.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

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Industry standards

Innovation and expansion

By Kim Oversteet, Senior Content Strategist, Alignment The retail sales component, however, was a “curve ball,” according to Hartenbach. “Our first product that we sold did not even have a UPC on it…and when we tried to sell it into wholesale, we thought a 20% discount off MSRP was going to be perfect, and we were kindly educated that that was not how you sell into wholesale.”

The pair saw an opportunity to market the product and “lead by education.” Hartenbach said, “We were confident in the product, we were confident in the price point. We were ultimately confident that the product was going to work and so our theory was if we could educate consumers on what they should expect in our CBD product, then they were naturally going to come back to Medterra.”

Hartenbach brought CRO Natasha Cuda into the company to grow the retail side. Said Cuda, “We had differentiation points from the very beginning. And that was what really led to our successes. I think number one was a lot In the beginning, Hartenbach and Larsen of the other CBD brands in the space really were just trying to supply high-quality, veriweren’t looking at retail quite yet.” One examfied CBD to other brands. “But shortly thereple of this differentiation, said Cuda, is when after,” said Hartenbach, “we started looking the brand started in the CBD space with two, at what people were doing with the CBD 3.4-oz topical creams, and had been accepted products that we were ultimately supplying Medterra’s Relief + Recovery Cream contains into CVS and Walgreens. At “the very last minCBD for, and we thought that people were CBD and organic ingredients such as menthol ute,” the retail stores requested a change to charging too much money, and the consum- and arnica, and is THC free. the price points on those products, and within er experience was miserable.” Dark packagfour weeks, Medterra “created two new SKUs at the correct price point ing, no THC-free alternatives, and low potency were other issues that and the correct size to be able to really work with that CVS and Walgreens Hartenbach saw with the offerings on the market, and he said they realconsumer, who was used to a typical price point coming into their stores. ized there was an opportunity to create their own CBD products.

That SKU,” said Cuda, “is now the number one CBD cream in America.

Hartenbach said that he knew there are minimum thresholds for CBD So, I think that’s the beauty and the benefit of being with a startup comto be effective, so the goal was to bundle a better customer experience, a pany—we have that nimbleness, we have that flexibility, to be able to more affordable product, and one that ultimately works better. Medterra do what works best for you and what works best for the entire category.” was launched online, and within six weeks it had sold in all 50 states.

Jay Hartenbach has learned a few things about selling to retail since he left his job at IBM in 2017 and partnered with college friend J.P. Larsen to start CBD company Medterra. At the Natural Products Expo West conference, Hartenbach said he understood the technical side of CBD with his background in biomedical engineering and master’s in engineering management, and he understood e-commerce and direct-to-consumer marketing as he’d launched an online skincare company in grad-school. But selling to retail—including packaging requirements such as UPC codes, was a learning curve.

At the conference, Hartenbach, along with Medterra’s Marne Velasquez, CBO; Natasha Cuda, CRO; and Rhiannon Richards, Director of Communications & Strategic Partnerships, spoke to Packaging World about the project.

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Certification and regulation When the company was supplying CBD to other retailers in the early days, compliance was very important, said Hartenbach, “because we had to make sure that we could stand behind the product.” Careful sourcing of where the CBD came from is an approach the brand took with all the ingredients that were included in the products, but one problem with the industry at the time was that there wasn’t a uniform

standard. The U.S. Hemp Authority—a group of over 30 independent CBD manufacturers and retailers—was created to determine what the set standard could be. Hartenbach said there was quality testing to make sure companies were making appropriate marketing claims and putting the same amount of CBD in the product that was stated on the label. “And so,” he said, “because we were born in that world of having strict compliance as a wholesaler, that really was our differentiation.”

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He said it’s important to recognize “if we do it in a correct manner, thinking about what we can make this industry, then CBD has got a lot more longevity.

This isn’t a fad; this is a product that’s really helping people, so we’ve got to be good stewards of the industry.” And, he added, “the net of it is a CBD industry that the FDA can be more comfortable with, that consumers can be more comfortable with which I think is ultimately what we’re trying to achieve. I think there’s a misconception with CBD that we don’t want regulation, that this is a cowboy industry. The leading CBD brands are demanding it. We are reaching out to the FDA saying, ‘you have to put these regulations in place because we’re going to hold ourselves to the product quality that we just talked about, the marketing claims that we just talked about’—because if you’re doing it the right way, that’s good for business and it’s ultimately good for the consumer.”

Research and education “When we started in 2017,” said Hartenbach, “there was a fair amount of research internationally that supports CBD being used for a variety of conditions, but it was pretty sparse, and when Medterra got to the size and scale that we were able to afford our own testing,

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we established a partnership with the Baylor College of Medicine to do our own internal testing.”

Medterra is currently creating safety data, based on a suggestion by the FDA, and they send out monthly legal newsletters to all of their retailers, providing updates state-by-state, as well as sharing other studies that they’re participating in.

Hartenbach said there’s been difficulty in the marketplace sharing consumer education because of the fine line between consumer education and what the FDA or legal departments will call a ‘claim.’ “We have to be very cautious of what we say on shelf and our packaging.

In fact, one of the key things we’ve just started rolling out is QR codes.

They have always been on our package, but now we’re really trying to elevate the on-shelf experience by adding QR codes, and also guiding dosage on trays that are going into retail, as well as signage,” he said.

E C

Expansion Medterra launched 45 products in 2020. Said Velasquez, “The pandemic did not slow us down. We worked with our medical advisory board—we have five doctors that we work with developing products.

We really develop a goal for the product: What problem are we trying to solve for the consumer? Then we work with the doctors, and we work with consumers, to test the products. We have a very robust quality process in place. Then we do some online consumer testing; we have different portals that we use for both quantified and qualified consumer discussions. We have, I would say, an innovation engine. In fact, I think Jay has put the brakes on for 2021. It’s probably coming more from Natasha who’s saying, “Can I have a moment to sell these 45 products before you keep bringing new products to shelf?”

R S

Medterra Pets line of chews and drops for cats and dogs include formulations for joint support and calming CBD. Medterra expanded its own brand with the addition of a full-spectrum product line. This gives us a chance to offer some CBD 101: As Velasquez explained, “There’s a hemp extract. You can extract the CBD and that would be called CBD isolate, at which point there’s very low risk, if any, of there being any THC because you’re separating out the CBD from the extract. Then you can create what we call a ‘broad spectrum’ where you’re pulling out THC and only leaving CBD and the other minor cannabinoids; the CBNs, the CBVs, the CBAs, the CBGs, and these are becoming very interesting and exciting components of the hemp world. A full-spectrum product has CBD, it should have a meaningful level of minor cannabinoids, but then also some THC.”

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Said Hartenbach, “If we were going to make a full-spectrum product, then we were going to really lean in. We were going to make it full spectrum. There are so many brands out there that claim to be full spectrum with non-detectable amounts not only of THC, but other cannabinoids.

So, it was a CBD isolate with just a little hemp flavoring in and they would call it full spectrum and mislead the consumer. We do a good job with the minor cannabinoids, but also the terpenes and the flavonoids, because of the unique extraction process that we do, we have a ton of terpenes. The terpene profile on this is also I think a huge part of why it works so well.”

Added Velasquez, “We have products that are isolate, we have a broad-spectrum line, and now we have this exciting full-spectrum line.

And we took it upon ourselves—because there is no FDA guidance over what those terms actually need to mean and what your formulation has to be in order to call it that. We really took a hard line and we said, “Look, we are not going to have a CBD product that has a fairy dusting of other minors in it and then some THC so that we can claim that. We are going to hold ourselves to a formulation requirement that we will have one to every five parts of CBD.” Medterra is also acting as an incubator for smaller brands with promise. There are currently two brands the company is working with: five CBD full-spectrum line, and Vena, which is focused on the women’s journey in CBD and is currently launching a skincare line.

Said Velasquez, “We know that different brands speak to different people and have different brand identities and different brand focuses.

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There are consumers who are using CBD for aging, joints and muscles, and for their physical ills because they’re maybe older, or they’ve played a lot of competitive sports, or whatever is going on with them physically. That consumer base has a different messaging and a different voice than the 20 years old’s who are worried about finals and wanting to take CBD to help them with their stress levels. So, we have brands that we think complement one another, but also don’t compete with one another in terms of which consumers they’re speaking to.” PW

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CP/CM Industry Booming, but Watch Out for Headwinds New report shows that after a short pause at the start of the pandemic, the CP/CM industry ‘has come roaring back.’ Meanwhile, changing supply chain and innovation paradigms are reshaping the industry.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

Contract packaging/contract manufacturing market

Long/short term effects of COVID-19

By Anne Marie Mohan, Senior Editor Despite the colossal challenges faced by businesses resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the contract packaging/contract manufacturing (CP/CM) industry in North America is one market that met those challenges and is alive and kicking. In fact, it’s bounding forward at a growth rate that’s “rarely seen outside a Petri dish.” That’s according to Carl Melville, COO of The Melville Group, whose firm produced the recently released sixth edition of CPA, The Association for Contract Packagers and Manufacturers’ State of the Industry Report.

“This is a great time to be in our industry,” says Melville. “In spite of probably the biggest shock to our economy, certainly since the Great Depression, our industry has done phenomenally. After a very brief pause, it has come roaring back.”

According to the report, the CP/CM industry is forecast to grow at a 10.2% CAGR through 2025 to reach $121 billion in revenue, up from $67.5 billion in 2019. That number is slightly down from the 11.9% projection made in the last report (2017/2018), but still twice the rate of those industries it serves. “Our industry has been around a long time, and it’s continuing to experience double-digit growth,” says Melville. “I think we should celebrate that.”

However, he cautions, while celebrating these numbers, CP/CMs also need to be aware of a number of industry headwinds—some resulting from the pandemic, some exacerbated by the pandemic, and some that had already begun gaining steam pre-COVID-19. Among them are the expanding value chain, SKU rationalization, repatriation rates, the era of upstream sustainability, and labor cost differentials/labor shortages.

Along with these issues, the report also covers (among many other things) the short- and long-term effects of COVID-19, the status of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity, and packaging equipment statistics, which were provided by PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies (see graphic at right).

Business, M&A activity thriving As defined in the report, CP/CMs are companies that provide contract packaging, contract manufacturing, and secondary packaging services for food and Consumer Packaged Goods companies. It does not include private-label producers. The report covers CP/CMs in North America (the

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North America Equipment Investment by CP/CM Industry, by Equipment Type, 2019 (USD Billion)

18.0%

Others

3.6% 3.8% 4.1% 4.4%

Closing Wrapping & Bundling Palletizing Cartoning

7.9%

Form, Fill & Seal

9.1%

Bottling Line

13.6%

Case Handling

14.9%

Labeling Decorating & Coding

20.5%

Filling & Dosing

2019

PMMI Provides Equipment Data As part of the 2021 State of the Industry Report, PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, contributed information on the use of packaging equipment

by CP/CMs. The information comes from PMMI’s 2020 report, Contract Packaging and Manufacturing Packaging Operations, Trends and Challenges.

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U.S. and Canada) and includes input from 150 industry insiders—i.e., industry practitioners, CP/CM owners, CEOs, executives, customers, and vendors. To these insights, The Melville Group added qualitative and quantitative primary and secondary research.

As noted, the CP/CM industry continues to exhibit significant growth, despite the turbulence caused by the pandemic. “This was a very essential business last year, and CP/CMs, for the most part, have done incred-

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ibly well,” says Melville. “We’ve added a lot of value to the economy.

We’ve kept the food supply open, and we kept it safe. We should all be very proud of the work we’ve done in food and CPG, as well as in delivering PPE and all the other things our industry has done.”

M&A activity, which had been setting new records every year for the previous 10, took a pause in early 2020. As Melville relates, the bond market froze up during the early days of the crisis, but as the year progressed, M&A activity began to pick up in a big way. In fact, Q3-2020, saw a $1 billion deal. “New co-creation happens for every big merger that occurs, and there are still more folks entering the space,” Melville adds.

According to M&A information provided by investment banking firm Blaige & Company, there is almost $1 trillion of capital sitting on the sidelines ready to be invested. Melville clarifies that this isn’t just for the CP/CM industry, but this includes several sectors of which the CP/CM is one. Continued industry consolidation through M&A will have a transformative effect on the industry, he says, with significant impacts on the supply chain, investments, and how customers interact with suppliers.

“As these larger and larger platforms form, as they’re taking company A, B, and C and making company X, and then combining that with company Y to create an even larger organization, the value propositions for customers are changing,” says Melville. “The number of services a customer can receive from a given provider changes, and the scope of that supply chain continues to enhance the value chain.”

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Being able to provide customers with more services along the full supply chain will be an important differentiator, as one of the headwinds discussed in the report is how customer expectations continue to grow. Among the reasons cited are budget cuts, changes within legacy food companies, and small, upstart firms looking for a more expansive suite of services.

These growing expectations present both a challenge and an opportunity. According to Melville, the biggest challenge for a CP/CM is not just how to serve those needs, but also how to serve them without adding to their cost structure. “As you know, the kiss of death for a CP/CM is to become their customer. Then it becomes almost impossible to adds value,” he says.

Customers are also increasingly looking for innovation from their CP/CMs in nearly every area. “Brands are continuing to grab for innovation with both hands anywhere they can find it,” says Melville. “These are some of the larger, more successful companies in the country and in the industry, but they’re under incredible pressure from the channel—be it e-commerce or grocery retail—to produce innovation. They are looking for innovation anywhere they can find it, and CP/ CMs are already a source for that.”

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CP/CM Post-COVID Sentiments

“My firm will emerge stronger following the COVID-19 pandemic” 3%

Strongly Agree

23%

Strongly Disagree

47%

11%

Agree

Disagree

16% Not Sure

CPA_Report.indd 170

These include innovations in product, packaging, materials, processes, equipment, formulation, and business and financial areas. Says Melville, “Brands are looking toward their suppliers and saying, ‘Not invented here is dead on arrival. So bring me some packaging innovation.

What can you do for me that I can’t already do for myself?’” According to the report, customers value process innovation above all else. They are looking to CP/CMs to present them with ways to do things better than they can themselves, either on a cost, quality, volume, or speed-to-market basis, and they’re looking for capabilities or equipment that they don’t have or that don’t have the same constraints as their equipment.

“The brand relationship, now even with the largest food companies, has become much more strategic, sophisticated, and tightly bound,” Melville says.

The impact of SKU rationalization and repatriation Another headwind covered in the report is the emergence of largescale SKU rationalization, forced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Explains CPA Executive Director Ron Puvak, “That [the pandemic] was the first time in history brands have been able to reconcile a lot of SKUs, and say, ‘Look, we just can’t produce these anymore, the volumes aren’t high enough. We need the capacity for other things.’ All of the large beverage folks as well as the food people have had to rationalize their SKUs, which has had a big impact. And of course, part of this is because people have reverted back to trusted brands and comfort foods—give me the basic Cheerios, give me the basic Corn Flakes, those kinds of

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According to the report, 70% of those CP/CMs questioned said that customer interest in sustainability initiatives have increased and will continue to become more important in the years ahead. For those CP/ CMs who have a sustainability story to tell, they believe this will be an important differentiator.

However, says Melville, greenwashers need to be careful. He adds, “They always needed to be careful, but I would say even more so in this era because customers are now paying closer attention to this, and the numbers bear this out.”

Another aspect of sustainability CP/CMs need to look at is their ability to work with new packaging materials and formats. Increasing demands by consumers for more sustainable packaging—e.g., lighter weight, recycled-content, recyclability, new materials, etc.—as well as potential Extended Producer Responsibility and packaging-related legislation are prompting CPGs to make significant changes in LONG TERM their packaging. While CP/CMs may not be making deDecreased Repatriation Rates cisions about these changes, their ability to adapt their equipment and processes to handle the new packaging Exacerbated Labor Shortages will be important to their success.

products—and that’s driven up their capacity and those needs.”

Puvak believes SKUs will creep back up, as “innovation continues to be the lifeblood of these brands,” but they probably won’t return to pre-pandemic levels. “It’ll be more controlled, probably rationalization in volumes of a particular market or product, but no, we’re not going to have six rows of cornflakes on the shelves forever,” Puvak says.

What does this mean for CP/CMs? Short term, it has resulted in lost business, as CP/CMs often handle a brand’s “long-tail SKUs,” as Melville refers to them, or incremental brand extensions that make up a small percentage of a brand’s volume. These are the products brands moved away from during the pandemic to focus on their core products.

THE COVID EFFECT: SHORT TERM n

Spikes/Panic Buying/ Out of Stocks

n

SKU Rationalization

n

Trusted Brands/Comfort Food

n n n

Accelerated Automation Investments

Labor challenges are here to stay

Pre-pandemic, CP/CMs were increasingly challenged by a lack of available labor. COVID-19 drastically escalated that problem, the report shows, with employees n New Projects/Increased n Customer Oversight Practices reluctant to work in factory environments where they Volumes may be exposed to the virus. n Food-flation When asked if they believed the labor shortage n Pause in Product/Package was temporary and will improve in 2021, 51% of CP/ Innovation CM respondents strongly disagreed, 39% disagreed, and 4% agreed. The number of respondents who strongly agreed: zero.

However, also as a result of COVID-19, CP/CMs were the beneficiaries Coupled with the labor shortage is expense of labor. Labor arbiof a tremendous amount of new business resulting from the increased trage—or the fully loaded cost of a legacy food company employee volumes of product required to meet the needs of consumers who were versus a CP/CM employee in a similar role—used to be a huge Delta, staying at home. While Melville notes that some of those projects will says Melville. “That number continues to approach zero,” he says. “It’s eventually be brought back into the food companies from which they not there yet, but as it approaches zero, CP/CMs lose one of the biggest came, he says that most CP/CMs believe this repatriation of product will levers they have.” happen slowly—a trend supported by The Melville Group’s research. “So With COVID-19, CP/CMs were also forced to pay bonuses and hazard a lot of the projects that were liberated, for lack of a better term, into pay. “And sometimes, some of these things stick,” says Puvak. “I don’t the CP/CM channel may not be going back into those legacy food facilithink hazard pay will stick, but definitely bonuses and things like that ties, and that’s excellent for our industry,” he says. for performance may.”

Not only is there a shortage of labor, but the industry talent gap is also worse than it ever was. Says Melville, “We’ve told a generation of folks that this isn’t the place for their career, but in fact, there are great Sustainability—which was, in the 2017/2018 CPA report, a “checkcareers in this industry, and we need to work on changing that.” Some the-box item”—is way beyond that now, according to the 2021 report.

CP/CMs are working to change that, the report indicates, through initiaSays Melville, in the past, data showing an interest in sustainability at tives such as apprenticeship programs. the supply chain level by CP/CMs and their customers just wasn’t there.

Too address the labor shortage, CP/CMs are using a number of “But this time around, it was a sea change—it was a really big deal,” he recruiting strategies. These include greater use of temp agencies, insays. “It’s an item that’s getting investment and attention.” creased advertising, more work in brand development, and increased Today, CP/CM customers are asking their providers hard questions social media spending. Also—and this is quite telling of the magnitude related to their supply chains, such as questions on ethical sourcing of the problem—in the 2017/2018 report, 12% of firms reported they audits, how wastewater is treated, how close they are to zero landfill, were willing to loosen their hiring guidelines to recruit employees; in and their energy use—the last two of which were found to be the bigthe 2021 report, that number rose to 48%. gest categories. n

Foodservice CMs Hard Hit/ Pivoting

n

Revisiting the JIT Revolution (Just in Case?)

The era of upstream sustainability

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Automation offers a solution Traditionally one of the advantages CP/CMs have had over their CPG customers has been their flexibility to quickly pivot to new projects through the use of mostly manual operations. But COVID-19 and the requirements for social distancing challenged this lever as well. Says Melville, “Social distancing—this is one I heard repeatedly when doing research for the report. ‘We had 12 people on a line, now we can only

have six. So what do we do? Do we extend the line into space we don’t have? Do we reconfigure the floor? Do we cut speed by 50%?’”

This challenge, coupled with the labor shortage and the end of labor arbitrage is driving a growing number of CP/CMs to implement downstream automation. But labor issues aren’t the only drivers. The adoption of automation in CP/CM environments is also being driven by customer pressures for a wider variety of products, advancements in the flexibility and ease of programming of the equipment, developments in collaborative robots, or “cobots,” and lower costs.

Those packaging machines that offer high-speed changeover flexibility and easy wash down, as well as cobots that are adaptable and easily programmable are ideal for the CP/CM environment.

“Automation growth is surging in the CP/CMs,” says Puvak. “And it’s not just the larger, more prolific CP/ CMs—it’s across the board, because people are beginning to realize they can’t rely on the workforce like they used to, and they need to have this more flexible workforce. And that’s kind of a way to look at automation—it’s a flexible workforce.”

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Says Melville, “I think it’s critical for people to understand that there will be changes to this marketplace in the way we operate going forward. Don’t expect that everything will go back to where it was two years ago.”

But despite numerous headwinds, “compared to where we thought we might be in the darkest days of March [2020], the next five years look extremely bright,” Melville says. “As opposed to our legacy customers, we’re opening new facilities, both brown and greenfield at a significant clip, M&A money is continuing to pour in, and brands are continuing to demand new things from CP/CMs, and they are rising to the occasion.

“We’re a very creative industry, and we will solve the labor problem, both the cost and the availability problem. And automation is one way to do it. It’s a problem, but I know we will overcome it, and most CP/CMs are quite bullish on their long-term ability to do so.” PW

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An MGS Stealth CT Cartoning module loads pouches and literature into a carton that is then weighed and serialized.

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Metered Dose Inhaler Line: Centralized Control from Canisters to Pallets A deep dive into a “one machine” concept for a metered dose inhaler line, with system integration for 18 pieces of machinery and components from a variety of OEMs. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

Full line integration strategies

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Collaboration during pandemic

No m Syn and and part one

By Keren Sookne, Director of Editorial Content, Healthcare Packaging “Digital disruption has reached the healthcare sector, and with it comes an imperative for life-science companies to retool core technology to remain competitive,” says McKinsey and Company about the changes underway in healthcare automation.

One manufacturer taking this to heart is Kindeva Drug Delivery (“Kindeva”), with their recent endeavor to implement 18 machines and components into a “one machine concept” for their new metered dose inhaler (MDI) line developed by MGS Machine.

The project began in November 2018, and Kindeva was established as a standalone company in 2020. After establishment, Kindeva’s business model persists as a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) that develops and manufactures complex drug and combination products for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Kindeva wanted the one machine concept, taking bulk inhaler canisters all the way through multiple layers of packaging, case packing, and palletizing. With so much to focus on bringing a new inhaler to

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market, it wanted to collaborate with a company that could deliver the entire packaging line as one.

The vision was that any operator that walked up to the line would have one common interface, with a cohesive look between each piece of the system including the same buttons, stack lights, programming, messaging, and startup/shutdown procedures. From an operator standpoint, they wanted all 18 machines to “feel” the same.

Selecting a partner Heading the project was Jeff Annesley, U.S. Engineering Manager at Kindeva, who previously worked at 3M for 15 years as a project engineer for multiple divisions. Annesley says, “This is a very large line that’s very complex. We sent a relatively high-level RFI with product characteristics and process requirements, casting a pretty wide net.” Not only did they need to ensure that the vendor they chose was capable of building this system, they wanted a level of interest and enthusiasm that would help to narrow it down.

Jeff was introduced to Minnesota’s MGS Machine by a colleague who was working on a project with the OEM that was roughly the same size and order of magnitude as the MDI line. “Within a week, I was up there with my manager and that was the first time I met Russell [Kostreba, of MGS]. He had built the machine and asked if we wanted to see it run. He ran the whole line himself by touching one button,” says Annesley.

“At that point, I looked over at my manager and said, ‘I think we may have found the vendor.’ Of course there was a lot of due diligence that we went through to get to securing the deal with MGS.” Having a technical expert at the outset who understood the details of such a complex line (and that it could be done) helped solidify the decision. Annesley notes, “One thing that really puts MGS in a unique position is that in addition to a salesperson, they also have an application engineer to interact with during the RFP.” After they were awarded the contract, the magnitude of the project led MGS to create a role for a project technical lead, which Russell Kostreba ended up filling.

Once selected, MGS provided a shop tour to walk through some of the ways that they could integrate smaller projects. “There was a variety of projects out on the shop floor to show different types of capabilities and we introduced people on our team to help Kindeva understand how we would shepherd a project like this. There’s an entire team of people that it takes to make something like this happen, so during that visit, we tried to expose the team from Kindeva to who those people would be, what those technologies might be, and our capabilities,” says Josh Pangier, Director of Project Management at MGS.

OEM sourcing and purchasing With 18 machines to consider, sourcing was a critical part of the journey. MGS took responsibility for most OEM sourcing, purchasing, installation, and controls. “There were some OEMs that we specified—in particular Brooks Machine & Design for the tray unloading station,” explains Annesley. “Coming off of the fill line we have a canister that gets placed into trays, so a strategic decision was made early on to have the same vendor provide the design of the tray loading

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180 PW SEP2021

Depalletized canisters are oriented for automated processing.

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3. Thanks to an advanced safety system and two pallet positions, the operator can exchange a full pallet without stopping the palletizing process.

station on the end of the fill line and the unloading station at the beginning of the packaging line because the common piece there is the trays storing the canisters. We wanted to make sure that there was clear communication and machine design compatibility between the end of the fill line and the beginning of the packaging line.”

Pangier says, “In any type of automation process, no matter where it is on a packaging line, it’s not just about building the machine but about how it interfaces with the commodity and the end users’ processes. We learned all kinds of details between Kindeva, MGS, and Brooks and it took collaboration amongst all the parties to make that part really successful.”

Ultimately, the line combines 18 machines and components from over 10 suppliers into that one machine concept, starting with bulk canisters and ending with aggregation of cases to pallets.

1. Depalletizing & Tray Unloading Module

Purpose: The Depalletizing & Tray Unloading System from Brooks Machine & Design automatically takes bulk canisters stored in trays on pallets and singulates them onto a conveyor.

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2. Spray Testing Module

Purpose: The Brooks Machine & Design Spray Testing Module automatically tests each individual canister for proper discharge.

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3. Canister Checkweigher

Purpose: The Mettler Toledo Canister Checkweigher weighs canisters to ensure that there is an appropriate amount of product to provide patients with a full quantity of doses.

Details: Canisters are passed over a precision weigh cell—underweight and overweight canisters are rejected. Valid canisters are sent downstream.

4. Canister Labeling Module

Purpose: The Accraply Canister Labeling Module applies labels with product information onto each canister.

Details: Each label is printed with a lot code The Canister Labeling Module from Accraply applies labels with product information and expiration date. Proper printing is verified us- onto each canister. ing an integrated Optel vision inspection system.

Labels with an invalid lot or date are rejected while valid canisters are applied to each actuator and placed into a starwheel. A vision system sent downstream. Labels are wrapped around the canister and a vision is used to verify label placement and actuator cap presence. Actuators system inspects each canister to ensure the label is present and propwithout a cap or proper label do not receive a canister. Canisters from erly applied. Canisters that do not have a properly applied label are the Mettler Toledo Canister Checkweigher are singulated and placed rejected. Valid canisters are sent downstream. into a starwheel. A linear servo inserts the canisters into the actuators when the components are properly aligned in the starwheels. The fully 5. Inhaler Assembly Module assembled inhaler is inspected by a vision system to ensure the dose Purpose: The MGS Inhaler Assembly module assembles individual counter on the actuator has the correct number of doses displayed. components into the final inhaler and verifies proper assembly.

Fully assembled inhalers that have passed all inspections are picked up Details: Bulk Actuators are dumped into a hopper; a centrifugal by a robot and placed into the Flow Wrapping Module. bowl is utilized to singulate and orient them. Labels are dispensed and

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6. Flow Wrapping Module

Purpose: This Campbell Wrapper Flow Wrapping module wraps the assembled inhaler in a sealed foil package that also contains a desiccant pack.

Details: A desiccant feeder dispenses a desiccant pouch and combines it with a fully assembled inhaler. The foil for the pouch is printed with a lot and date code that is inspected by an integrated Optel Vision

system. The desiccant and fully assembled inhaler are wrapped and heat sealed into a pouch.

7. Leak Detection Module

Purpose: The Bonfiglioli Leak Detection Module verifies the integrity of the pouch.

Details: Pouches are loaded into a vacuum chamber where a vacuum leak down test is performed. Any pouches that fail the leak down test are rejected, while good pouches are sent downstream.

Prior to the MGS assembly module, bulk actuators are dumped into a hopper; a centrifugal bowl is utilized to singulate and orient them.

8. Pouch Checkweigher

Purpose: The Mettler Toledo Pouch Checkweigher weighs pouches to ensure all components are present inside the pouch.

Details: Pouches are passed over a precision weigh cell—underweight and overweight pouches are rejected. Valid pouches are sent downstream.

9. Pouch Accumulation Module

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Purpose: The Ambaflex Pouch Accumulation Module provides a buffer of material to absorb the imbalance in product flow that would otherwise impact overall production.

Details: A vertical spiral conveyor is used to provide approximately four minutes of product accumulation.

10. Stealth CT Cartoning Module

Purpose: The MGS Stealth CT Cartoning module automatically loads the finished pouches and two pieces of literature into a carton that is then weighed and serialized.

Details: Two pieces of literature are picked, inspected, and then placed into a conveyor. Finished pouches enter a vision guided Fanuc robotic infeed where they are picked and placed onto the previously placed literature. Cartons are automatically fed, opened, loaded with pouches and literature, glued, and closed. Cartons are then weighed via a Mettler Toledo system to ensure all components are present.

Overweight and underweight cartons are rejected.

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Linear servos insert the canisters into the actuators when the components are properly aligned in the starwheels.

Valid cartons are printed and inspected by a printer and camera controlled by an integrated Optel Serialization System. Cartons that fail the vision inspection are rejected and valid cartons are sent downstream.

11. Stretch Banding Module

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Purpose: The Omega Stretch Banding Module combines serialized cartons into one stretch-wrapped bundle.

Details: Product enters the module where they are upstacked into a product matrix. The product matrix is discharged through a stretch wrap film and the film is heat sealed to create a completed bundle.

12. MatriX Case Packing and Palletizing Module

Purpose: The MGS Stealth MatriX Case Packing and Palletizing module combines stretch wrapped bundles into groups and loads them into a case. Cases are closed, labeled, serialized, and automatically placed onto a pallet.

Details: Stretch wrapped bundles are inspected by an integrated Optel camera that aggregates cartons into bundles. Stretch wrapped bundles are upstacked and organized into a specific matrix. Cases are automatically opened and fed to a load station where the specified matrix is inspected by an Optel camera that aggregates the bundles into a case. The fully loaded case is closed and discharged to a labeling station.

The integrated Label-aire labeler dispenses and applies a serialized case label that is subsequently inspected by another integrated Optel Camera. An MGS palletizer robot picks up the cases and positions it in front of another Optel Camera for final aggregation of the case to the pallet.

13. Central Control System with Marquee Monitoring

Purpose: True to its name, the MGS Central Control System provides a central control and monitoring station for the entire line as well as final integration of the Optel Serialization System.

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System integration The original plan was to design and build the MGS portion of the line “in parallel with sourcing a number of components from OEMs and then integrating them all together at one time.

That looked good on paper—and then reality hits and you end up working through issues,” Pangier says.

Some product and process development went on concurrently according to Annesley, with MGS playing a key role in some instances.

For example, the original pouch didn’t fit into its carton so they couldn’t get started on system design until that was sorted. “We may not be experts at trying to fit products in cartons, but MGS is and that’s a key strength,” he notes.

The Omega Stretch Banding Module combines serialized cartons into one stretch“Meanwhile, we’re off sourcing other parts of wrapped bundle. the project that were solid. I think we did nine or 10 revisions of the schedule over that two-year period,” says Pangier.

Details: The MGS Central Control System allows a single person to “It’s all about hitting the end user’s market window—if they’re not succontrol the entire system if local module control is not desired. Funccessful, we’re not successful. We spent a lot of time collaborating on tionality includes the ability to start/stop, monitoring production and schedule adjustments or pivots. Throw in the global pandemic and it maintenance data, set and change recipes, initiate product integrity was even more challenging. The leak tester and the front-end Brooks challenges, and perform final pallet labeling and aggregation. The Cencomponents ended up being the last pieces in that were most affected tral Control System also controls the Marquee Display Monitors that by the pandemic.” allow operators to see real time data for the entire system.

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MGS helped OEMs integrate requirements into their machines so the operators would have the aforementioned similar feel to each component. In cases where MGS saw that an OEM wasn’t solving an issue, they took on the challenge internally. Some pieces of equipment were thought to be turnkey, but as the team found gaps, MGS made their own alterations to ensure a better result.

Part of the success came from personnel at Kindeva. Kostreba says,

“Jeff is excellent at project management, and management of people and meetings. Everything’s informative and the people he selected were great at their jobs. So from our standpoint, I felt like we had an army of Kindeva experts to keep us on our toes because they would help to find gaps and then we would fill the gaps with our own little army of experts.

Probably the best part of the project is the number of experts doing their job well, working like we were one team instead of two companies.”

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The central control system (CCS) operates, as the name implies, as a master control system while every machine operates in the background as its own machine. The programming for the modules remains in the modules themselves.

The CCS monitors what each machine is doing and communicates back and forth. Kostreba explains, “Machines upstream and downstream communicate with each other individually for stop or wait commands, and the central control system can also start and stop machines, go to dispatch configuration, half speed, full speed, etc. Then it reports all of that information for everybody in the room to know what’s going on.”

Annesley says, “A requirement from the beginning was that these equipment modules all have to operate as a single unit. In order to do that, you have to have an orchestrator so there can be that level of coordination between each module. That was something that I would say uniquely positioned MGS because they understood that from the very beginning. This wasn’t necessarily the case with all vendors—there are different ways you can approach this. MGS also had very capable technical employees, their control staff had a great understanding of the standards that needed to be put into place and communicated to each one of these OEMs so that they can speak the same language and be coordinated by a single central control station.”

Operators can start and stop the system from the CCS or locally at the machine. MGS had to develop programming to ensure that this is done safely. Local maintenance can be done on one module without stopping the entire system.

As was mentioned above, a key goal of the project was to have each OEMs’ technology shine in its particular role, while still ensuring that an operator at Kindeva could walk up to a machine and see the basic control was the same as for other machines. Each machine has its own HMI. MGS did not ask OEMs to change their HMIs—their core standards are the foundation of their equipment—but messaging and content look the same to make the operator experience as easy as possible.

“We were adamant that it had to have a certain kind of button layout, and very standardized controls when it came to basic start and stop functions. Then laid over the top of that was the central control sys-

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The MGS Central Control System offers central control and monitoring for the entire line as well as final integration of the Optel Serialization System. tem, which gives visibility to the whole line,” Pangier explains.

OEMs have different ways of interfacing with the CCS. “From a technical standpoint, we had to translate that. We designed an interface box and sent it to the OEMs and said, ‘Put this box in and interface in this way and give us this information and we’ll handle the rest.’ Everything

uses Ethernet for communication. We had to lay out that expectation, otherwise I think that each of the OEMs would have provided what they provide through their own lens,” says Pangier.

Not every OEM was as understanding, so in some cases, MGS stepped in and fixed a system’s programming themselves instead of debating about scope. With such a large system and a set deadline, the project team would hold status meetings with OEMs. If an issue was difficult to resolve, MGS would say, “Let’s work on it for this long and if we can’t break through, here’s the stop point” in which the MGS controls department would take over to remain on schedule, according to Pangier.

Case in point: Nearing the deadline, there was an error in handling emergency stops with bad product in process. The source of the issue was a conveyor running through the checkweigher, which came from an outside supplier. “We found an error in that could let bad product downstream. This required pulling in that supplier’s engineering team in Europe to get them to understand what we wanted, but their solution was that we needed to expand everything by about four feet. Of course, there wasn’t room to expand that much with walls on both sides,” says Kostreba. “It was already built on our shop floor when this was happening. So our controls people used the CCS to monitor the safety network.

We installed mechanisms to make sure that bad product never made it through. So we solved the problem because their solution was going to take months and our solution took days.”

Ultimately, MGS absorbed all the delays and challenges and delivered the machine a week early, during COVID-19.

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Monitors save millions Putting strategically placed monitors on the line may sound like a small add-on. But Kostreba estimates that the TV/monitor information display system they installed for another customer saves $26 to $52 million per year, based on the product running and time saved.

In a larger system, operators are working in various locations and don’t necessarily have visibility into other areas. There can be considerable downtime caused by an operator who’s stopped and assumes they’re waiting on someone else when the issue is actually at their part of the system. Diagnosing takes time, too, in realizing there’s a problem, and walking back and forth between HMIs and machines. Says Kostreba, “If you go in real operator speeds trying to figure out what’s going on— not being an expert—it can take a minute and a half. We timed this just watching operators at a different facility. Every problem is different, of course. But when you take that one minute or a minute and a half saved on one stop, all you have to do is save five minutes an hour to get those millions saved on that specific customer’s process. Five minutes per hour saved is pretty realistic. When you start having big machines, long distances to walk, and complicated mechanisms where you forget what’s going on, or people stand and stare at something thinking it’s not their problem, five minutes an hour is really easy to save.”

The monitors give a line-level view of everything that’s happening—machine data, errors—so operators can just look up. They are located in such a way that from almost anywhere in the room, they can see a monitor and know what’s happening in other parts of the line.

Marquee Display Monitors allow operators to see real-time data for the entire system.

Saving even seconds on each error means big savings annually.

“So they naturally, by looking at the monitors, can kind of check each other. Every customer has a goal that they’re trying to produce a certain amount of product and our information display system helps them without having to walk around to know where they need to go in the system,” says Pangier. After a while, when the machine stops, everybody looks up and immediately knows what to do.

Many people may not understand the value of such monitors right away. “I knew that it was something that would be of benefit, but I didn’t realize how useful it would be and how the operators would re-

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spond to it,” says Annesley. “Once the operators saw that it would allow them to understand about the other areas of the line, it just became the line that everybody wants to work on because they’re informed, and the machine functions in a way that they can understand. That makes everybody’s job that much more enjoyable because they’re not confused and frustrated when they’re working on a machine. That was when it clicked for me, even though this was a scope change and added cost, I

realized this is really going to help these operators.”

If people feel like they’re productive and able to address issues— rather than being confused and frustrated—the end result is going to be higher productivity, which is the ultimate goal. (On a project for another customer, MGS had installed the carefully placed monitors on a second line. Operators clamored to work on that line, so much so that the customer retrofitted monitors on their first line as well.)

Collaboration for problem solving in real-time Kindeva benefitted from MGS’ collaborative approach to projects where engineering, sales, and machine builders all work hand-in-hand. Less emphasis was placed on titles—it was more about everyone at both companies working together to get the project done.

“When we had a couple of commodity problems such as getting materials into the facility, I dealt with a lot of people I wouldn’t expect to in the procurement process. I texted somebody that worked at the factory to get a measurement for me—that was three minutes instead of three weeks of emails,” Kostreba notes. “I met with one of Jeff’s employees and the manufacturer of the labels about the adhesive. I was directly in contact with their vendor to handle label issues.”

Fast Facts: Remote Services and FAT 1. Much of the project took place in person—75% of the line was at MGS prior to the pandemic. The remaining 25% was installed and started up at MGS without full supplier support.

2. The team employed Kindeva’s Microsoft Holo Lens, while MGS invested in laptops, webcams, and gimbals. They met with Kindeva remotely via Microsoft Teams.

3. MGS had protocols in place to get a small number of visitors on site–this was scaled down from the norm.

4. Visitors were onsite for key milestones: • For the As-Built Review, all but two components were at MGS. Kindeva could see components hooked up, but not necessarily running yet. At this point, Kindeva sent in the lift for film rolls to test and use in-line as part of the FAT. They also sent all reject bins, elevated platforms, etc. so MGS was working with real production items for testing.

• At the Optel integration point, product was moving through the line so Optel’s vision systems could be tested. PW

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From an operator to a packaging engineer to someone responsible for the adhesive on the MDI labels, everyone had a seat at the table rather than having to have everything flow through Annesley, Kostreba, and Pangier to get distributed. Says Pangier, “Things get lost that way, so it would have taken much longer under a different format especially with a project of this magnitude. A lot of it hinges on how teams are structured and whether you’ve got that level of collaboration. It’s not just about the equipment—it’s the equipment, the process, and the people—and then putting that all together.” PW

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By Dr. R. Andrew Hurley, PhD, Contributing Editor

Budgeting Bliss After a semester of helping students craft packages for design competitions, I ask them to do something that never fails to generate a lot of blank stares: create a budget for their package. Before I give them any direction on how to create a budget, I assign homework that asks, “How much will it cost to manufacture your package design?” If there are 10 teams in the class, this is what generally happens: 1. Three teams will be unable to deliver anything but a random guess. While some will stumble upon accurate predictions, others come up with mind-boggling calculations using numbers from goodness-knows-where.

2. Three teams will review the cost of similar products on Uline to approximate the cost of their projects.

3. Three teams will find similar stock packaging and determine the cost-weight ratio or cost-volume ratio and multiply to arrive at their final figure.

4. One team (usually the team struggling the most with their design) will act like a buyer, calling a supplier and convincing a kind salesperson to deliver a quote. Many of these teams have learned to divide and conquer, with each calling a different supplier, resulting in multiple quotes. It’s an impressive boost for their morale and smiles abound on presentation day.

The students report their budget estimates alongside their designs.

The standard distribution is high, from beautifully complex packages that cost $15 a unit to the efficient standard design coming in under a dollar.

Student perspectives immediately change (for the most part) when they see how much their design costs. This is when they really learn what the “I” means in ROI, especially those who create complex designs or octagonal cartons. No matter the complexity of their design, I have them approximate costs for labor, printing, and complex finishing. For whatever students assign for hourly labor, I have them add 40% to that to account for those unforeseen expenses that inevitably happen. Those with the most complex designs are often surprised at how much it costs to pay someone to assemble that crazy insert they designed. Needless to say, redesigns often follow. The team that benefits most from the budgeting process is usually the one that expended the least amount of effort. It’s a lesson learned by the

entire class: Students act as brands, and they all benefit by bringing in a packaging supplier as early as possible.

Personally, I would like to thank those of you who were kind enough to provide itemized quotes for these young men and women who will never actually complete their orders. Some of you really test the students, for which I am exceptionally grateful. I really enjoy the stories they share about the times when you quizzed them on the number of colors, told them that their windows were too close

to the cut lines, and provided recommendations on where to reduce materials. And so they learn. Because of you, my students get realworld feedback on their projects and develop connections for the rest of their careers.

For these students to really understand budgeting—a necessary skill regardless of where you work—we need your continued support.

Each substrate and production process is unique and requires folks like you who are willing to invest in a little community service to help students understand the real inputs needed to have a precise output.

I would love your support in my class. Would you be willing to be a guest judge for our packaging design presentations? Can I let my students know they can email you when it is time to gather quotes for their projects? My goal is to give my students a taste of the whole design process, letting them sample all the different steps involved.

A successful package is more than just a snazzy design, a whole lot more, but even the best design won’t make it to the shelf if it costs too much to make. It would be absolutely fantastic if I could give them access to some real-world knowledge from the people who do this kind of work every day. PW

Dr. R. Andrew Hurley is an Associate Professor at Clemson University. He can be reached at me@DrAndrewHurley.com.

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Companies Markem-Imaje acquired Blue Bite LLC, a manufacturer of innovative workflow software solutions for brand owners and product marketers.

Bosch Rexroth launched The Rexroth Store, an e-commerce portal that provides easy access to product and account information, CAD files, and the ability to verify system designs with Rexroth product engineers.

BluePrint Automation acquired Jongerius Hanco B.V. Fanuc recently produced its 750,000th robot, representing a record high point in the robotics industry. ePac Flexible Packaging entered into a global agreement with Scantrust.

Ranpak Holdings Corp. invested in the Pickle Robot Co., a manufacturer of robots designed for automated sorting, loading, and unloading of packaged goods within logistical lines.

WeighPack Systems’ New Product Unit (NPU) will focus on creating new business opportunities through innovative research and development practices.

Diagraph Marking and Coding announced the rebranding of Allen Coding GmbH to ITW Diagraph GmbH. Harpak-ULMA relocated its global headquarters to a new, expanded facility that will feature an advanced state-of-the-art customer experience center.

Nosco began carton and label production at its Packaging Innovation Center in Pleasant Prairie, Wis. Toly and Sulapac entered into a business partnership to align both companies with their long-term vision of creating new sustainable and innovative solutions.

Nutra-Pack Systems launched to provide packaging equipment for the nutraceutical industry.

Exair launched an updated website offering faster speeds, updated themes, and improved interface.

Aranow, Barcelona, Spain, partnered with AlliedFlex Technologies as its exclusive North American sales and marketing partner.

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ABB acquired ASTI Mobile Robotics Group.

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Balaji Jayaseelan was named Vice President of Sustainability for Berlin Packaging.

Allpax, a product brand of ProMach, moved to a new facility in Covington, La.

People Eriez appointed Gareth Meese Regional Sales Director-EMEA and Eric Adams Managing Director for Eriez-Germany.

Tom McDaniel was promoted to President of the Pharma Business Unit for ProMach.

TricorBraun appointed Susan Bergethon Senior Vice President and General Counsel and acquired SGB Packaging Group.

Shruti Singhal was appointed CEO of Chroma Color.

When you know the ropes in the beverage industry, you know Orion delivers the win.

In Memoriam

Learn more about the beverage industry champ MA-DX LoPro:

Gordon Mylius, Founder and CEO of Del Packaging, passed away on July 4, 2021.

www.OrionPackaging.com/BeerBeverage

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8/18/21 1:01 PM 8/6/2021 8:01:30 AM

Venting, Dosing & Closing FLUXX® Packaging using the X-tra

www.fluxx-sabeu.com

SABEU expands to the Americas, and explains the X-tra Thanks to its decades of market and applications experience “SABEU – Plastics & Membrane Technology” manufactures a high-quality product line under the FLUXX® trademark within the packaging segment of its business. SABEU is pursuing aggressive and ambitious targets particularly in the development of this business division which includes the Venting, Dosing and Closing segments. Dispensing Taps, Degassing Solutions (Inserts, Caps and Membranes) as well as Screw Caps are product groups within the wide-ranging portfolio that provides the “X-tra” in quality, durability, food conformity and price competitiveness to ensure their expansion is nothing short of a huge success!

Optimal Venting is recognized with the FLUXX® Degassing Inserts which can be pressed in several closures. They are fitted with water and oil repellent membranes guaranteeing that gaseous substances can escape, so there is no pressure build-up or drop in pressure in any of the many containers it is suitable for. The membranes are not moistened by liquids, so they remain fully breathable, and the container retains its original shape. The true advantage the products have over the others is the patented drip-off edge that ensures the membrane remains gas permeable. Due to the expertise in plastics and membranes, the inserts can be adjusted to match specific applications. In addition to the single inserts, ready-to-use Vented Caps in DIN 45, 50, 51 and 61 are also available – same thread sizes as standard Screw Cap without venting as well.

Unique Dosing is found with the FLUXX® Dispensing Taps and has been used in the decanting of liquids for decades – today available from DIN 38 to 71 and with 3⁄4 or 2” threads. The Dispensing Taps offer superior leak-tightness and are known internationally as the tap to use with bottles, canisters, and drums. There is a wide range of products to fit most any need. The product design of our taps includes a supporting drip-off edge and convenient lever. These Dispensing Taps are demanded for applications such as: liquid food, hygiene and care products, cleaning agents, agrochemicals, petrochemicals, and hazardous substances. The unique twin-chamber ventilation system delivers fast and clean dispensing without gurgling or dripping.

Reliable Closing is the real solution SABEU delivers with the high-quality FLUXX® products. All the products ultimately close a container securely. SABEU considers what they manufacture as part of the most important element when moving, storing, or transporting liquids. When asked, Sales Manager for the Americas, Jennifer Hughes stated, “We know what we do may not seem particularly important, but we believe it is the most important part. We help our customers secure and feel confident that as they protect the integrity of the substance and transport, store and move these liquids that people and places are safe. There are no leaks, no dripping, no swelling or shrinking and that keeps us all safe. So, see what we do is a big responsibility, and we take great pride and ownership in that.“ SABEU is growing and expanding, and Jennifer Hughes had this to say about SABEU’s current plans: “We have experienced incredible growth and demand over the past few years. We responded by increasing and automating our production and developing and expanding our portfolio. When our customers ask for more, we are going to deliver. Now, we are putting down roots in North and South America. We are adding resources and we are committed to helping our customers get Contact Jennifer the quality products they need when they need them at a fair price. We are also going to keep asking for a meeting at PackExpo what else they need and how we can solve problems together, because we are part of the packaging Las Vegas 2021! ecosystem and we know we have an important part, and we are fully committed to delivering the X-tra!” www.fluxx-sabeu.com

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9/13/21 7:29 AM

Visit the link below each item for more info.

204 PW SEP2021

TECHNOLOGY

Thermoform Machine Multivac launches the F 286 thermoform machine suitable for producing vacuum and MAP packs for snack products. Machine can produce up to 240 packs/min.

Multivac pwgo.to/7251

Case Packer Pearson Packaging launches the RTL-HV modular case packer designed for flexible products, such as bags, pouches, or flow-wrapped items requiring horizontal and vertical loading.

SCARA Robots Fanuc’s family of 4-axis SCARA robots now includes the SR-3iA, SR-6iA, SR12iA, and SR-20iA models with 3-kg, 6-kg, 12-kg, and 20-kg payload capacities, respectively, and a range from 400 to 1,100-mm in reach.

Pearson Packaging Systems pwgo.to/7252

Fanuc pwgo.to/7094

Ink for CIJ Printers Diagraph offers 1088 Yellow Bottling Pigmented Ink for the Linx 89xx Series printers, designed for use in harsh manufacturing environments.

Diagraph pwgo.to/7093

Canister Wipe Packaging Machinery

Roller Chain Conveyor Glide-Line’s configurable steel roller chain conveyor system features dynamic traction control with a built-in accelerator to assist with faster start-up.

Glide-Line pwgo.to/7249

Shemesh Automation’sTKS200 canister wipe packaging machinery is designed to run at a consistent speed of 200 packs/min and a maximum speed of 220 to 240/min.

Shemesh Automation pwgo.to/7253

Pallet Conveyor mk North America launches the VersaFlex P08, a small, flexible chain pallet-handling conveyor system that carries loads up to 22 lb/pallet and can be easily altered to adapt to product changes.

mk North America pwgo.to/7250

Technology_0921.indd 204

Spout Inserter for Pouches AlliedFlex’s Bossar BMS 2.6 PMP spout inserter can handle pre-made corner-cut standup pouches, inserting the spout on-line, then automatically filling and sealing the pouches.

AlliedFlex Technologies pwgo.to/7248

8/18/21 3:17 PM

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AD INDEX

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

PAGE

ADVERTISER WEBSITE

PAGE

Aagard www.aagard.com

113

EBS Inkjet Systems www.ebs-inkjet.com

163

ADCO Manufacturing www.adcomfg.com

160

Econocorp Inc. www.econocorp.com

162

Advanced Barrier Extrusions www.abxpackaging.com

161

EDL Packaging Engineers, Inc. www.edlpackaging.com

194

AFA Systems Inc www.afasystemsinc.com

191

ELPLAST America Inc. www.elplastamerica.com

AFM - American Film & Machinery www.afmsleeves.com

111

Emerson Industrial Automation www.emerson.com

199

Airguard Packaging www.airguardpackaging.com

195

Encoder Products Company www.encoder.com

174

All Packaging Machinery www.allpackagingmachinery.com

197

Eriez Magnetics www.eriez.com

16

ESS Technologies www.esstechnologies.com

80

All-Fill Inc. www.all-fill.com

51

Alliance Rubber Company www.rubberband.com

126

Fallas Automation Inc. www.fallasautomation.com

AlliedFlex Technologies, Inc. www.alliedflex.com

145

Fibre Box Association www.corrugated.org

AmbaFlex Inc. www.ambaflex.com

8

26

117 Targeted Cover

FlexLink Systems www.flexlink.com

180

Anritsu Product Inspection www.anritsu.com/infivis

127

Focke & Company www.focke.com

56

Arrowhead Systems Inc. www.arrowheadsystems.com

183

Formost Fuji Corporation www.formostfuji.com

83

B&R Industrial Automation www.br-automation.com

189

Fortress Technology Inc. www.fortresstechnology.com

182

Beckhoff Automation www.beckhoffautomation.com 78, Targeted Cover

Garvey Corporation www.garvey.com

34

Bevcorp www.bevcorp.com

12

Georgia-Pacific Corrugated corrugated.gppackaging.com

63

Blueprint Automation, Inc. www.blueprintautomation.com

84

GrandBell Co., Ltd. www.gbell.co.kr/home

12

Bradman-Lake Inc. www.bradmanlake.com Brenton www.brentonengineering.com

181 60

Graphic Packaging International www.graphicpkg.com

149

GR-X Manufacturing www.grxmfg.com

97

Brother USA Machinery www.usabrother.com

125

Harpak-ULMA www.harpak-ulma.com

85

Busch Vacuum Solutions www.buschusa.com

193

Heat and Control, Inc. www.heatandcontrol.com

58

BW Flexible Systems www.bwflexiblesystems.com

167

High Tek USA hightekusa.com

15

BW Integrated Systems www.bwintegratedsystems.com

185

Hitachi America www.hitachi-america.us

47

BW Packaging Systems www.bwpackagingsystems.com

53

Honeywell Intelligrated www.intelligrated.com/en

59

CAMA North America www.camagroup.com

68

Hoosier Feeder Co. www.hoosierfeedercompany

79

CASSEL Inspection www.cassel-inspection.com

131

ID Technology www.idtechnology.com

23

Charter Next Generation www.charternex.com

165

INSITE Packaging Automation www.insitepackaging.com

77

Chase-Logeman Corporation www.chaselogeman.com

33

ITW Hartness www.hartness.com

61

Cloud Packaging Solutions www.cloudeg.com

187

K2 Kinetics, LLC www.k2kinetics.com

103

Clysar LLC www.clysar.com

110

Kawasaki Robotics robotics.kawasaki.com

101

Columbia Machine, Inc. www.palletizing.com

88

King Plastic Corporation www.kingplastic.com/

Columbia/Okura LLC. www.columbiaokura.com

98

Krones, Inc. USA www.krones.com/en/

CTM Labeling Systems, Inc. www.ctmlabelingsystems.com

62

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

14 31 40, OBC

DEKKA www.dekkaindustries.com

168

LEIBINGER Coding and Marking Systems www.leibinger-group.com

Delkor Systems, Inc. www.delkorsystems.com

133

Mamata Enterprises, Inc. www.mamatausa.com

Diagraph Corporation, An ITW Company www.diagraph.com

123

Markem-Imaje www.markem-imaje.us

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

37

49 152 41

MASSMAN Automation Designs, LLC www.massmanllc.com

178

Dorner Manufacturing www.dornerconveyors.com

192

Material Transfer & Storage www.materialtransfer.com

154

Douglas Machine Inc. www.douglas-machine.com

159

Matrix Packaging www.matrixpm.com

55

Duravant www.duravant.com

57

Matthews Marking Systems www.matthewsmarking.com

Eagle Product Inspection www.eaglepi.com

93

Mekitec US www.mekitec.com

95

Eastey Enterprises www.eastey.com

29

Mettler-Toledo Product Inspection www.mt.com/pi

42

September ad index.indd 206

105

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

www.packworld.com/leaders

ADVERTISER WEBSITE

PAGE

ADVERTISER WEBSITE

PAGE

Morrison Container Handling Solutions www.morrison-chs.com

120

Sharp Packaging Systems www.sharppackaging.com

71

Mpac Langen www.mpac-group.com

147

Shemesh Automation www.shemeshautomation.com

19

Multi-Conveyor www.multi-conveyor.com

13

Shurtape Technologies www.shurtape.com

169

Multifeeder Technology www.multifeeder.com

170

Shibuya Hoppmann www.shibuyahoppmann.com

137

Multivac Inc. us.multivac.com

135

Sidel Inc. www.sidel.com

156

Nalbach Engineering Company, Inc. www.nalbach.com

50

Signode Industrial Group www.signode.com

48

Nercon www.nerconconveyors.com

18

Siko www.siko-global.com

70

New England Machinery, Inc. www.neminc.com

112

Simplex Filler www.simplexfiller.com

Nita Sentient Labeling Systems nitalabelingequipment.com

129

SKC Films, Inc. www.skcfilms.com

Nordson Corporation www.nordsonadhesive.com

121

Sleeve Seal www.sleeveseal.com

Norgren www.norgren.com

115

Somic America, Inc. www.somic.us

25

65

Sonoco Products Co. www.sonoco.com

89

122

Span Tech www.spantechconveyors.com

39

Norwix www.norwix.com Novembal www.novembal.com Nuspark Inc. www.nuspark.com

35

Orion Packaging Systems, Inc www.orionpackaging.com

202

134 1 109

Squid Ink Manufacturing www.squidink.com

27

STA, LLC www.sta-tapes.com

143

PakTech www.paktech-opi.com

44

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

130

PDC International Corp. www.pdc-corp.com

75

Starview Packaging Machinery www.starview.net

153

P.E. North America www.penorthamerica.com

198

Pearson Packaging Systems www.pearsonpkg.com

43

Sullair www.sullair.com

52

Syntegon Packaging Technology, Inc www.syntegon.com

177

Pepperl + Fuchs, Inc www.pepperl-fuchs.com

124

TDI Packsys LLC www.tdipacksys.com

179

PFlow Industries www.pflow.com

130

Texwrap Packaging Systems www.texwrap.com

186

91

The Reynolds Company www.reynoldsglue.com

119

9

TNA North America Inc www.tnasolutions.com

139

PIAB www.piab.com PMI KYOTO Packaging Systems www.pmikyoto.com PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies www.pmmi.org

67, 151, 201, 205

Pneumatic Scale Angelus www.psangelus.com

188

Precision Automation Inc www.precisionautomationinc.com

99

Printpack Inc. www.printpack.com

11

Quadrel Labeling Systems www.quadrel.com

45

R.A Jones & Co. www.rajones.com

73

Regal Beloit Corporation www.regalbeloit.com

20

Reiser www.reiser.com

69

Rennco LLC www.rennco.com Robatech USA ww.robatechusa.com

164 3

Ronchi America, LLC www.ronchipackaging

81

Ryson International, Inc. www.ryson.com

7

SABEU Gmbh & Co. LG www.sabeu.com

203

Schneider Packaging www.schneiderpackaging.com

184

Schubert North America www.schubert-na.com

107

Serac www.serac-group.com

IBC

Serpa Packaging Solutions www.serpapackaging.com

198

Shape Process Automation www.shapetechnologies.com

September ad index.indd 207

87

TopTier Palletizers www.toptier.com

21

Triangle Package Machinery Company www.trianglepackage.com

17

U.S. Tsubaki, Inc. www.ustsubaki.com

196

Uline www.uline.com

106

Universal Labeling Systems, Inc. www.universal1.com

24

Vacuum Barrier Corporation www.vacuumbarrier.com

190

Van der Graaf www.vandergraaf.com

5, Targeted Cover

Verst Logistics Packaging www.verstlogistics.com/pack

155

Videojet Technologies Inc. www.videojet.com

171

Weber Packaging Solutions www.weberpackaging.com

157

Weightpack, Inc. www.weightpack.com

132

WestRock www.westrock.com

IFC

Wexxar Bel www.wexxar.com

64

WIPOTEC-OCS, Inc. www.wipotec-ocs.com

175

Yamato Corporation www.yamatoamericas.com

116

Yaskawa America Inc. www.yaskawa.com

141

Yaskawa America, Inc., Motoman Robotics Division. www.motoman.com

173

YUPO Corp. www.yupousa.com

12a

9/9/21 1:11 PM

208 PW SEP2021

PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE

By April Bonner, CPP

How One Packaging Engineer Solved Remote-work Obstacles A typical and more ideal way of working is “in-office.” When working in a cross-functional project team, it is easier to work with the different functional teams when you are able to see them every day. If there is an issue or if you need to simply ask a question, you could just walk to the person’s desk for a quick resolution. Working on a remote team is very different from an “in-office” environment and requires more communication and other soft skills to have a successful project.

Just by habit, I initially was approaching this project just as I would if it were an “in-office” or non-remote project environment. I learned quickly that I had to change my approach.

Since 2017, I had been working remotely on a project where the entire cross-functional team—except for me—was in one central location. Just by habit, I initially was approaching this project just as I would if it were an “in-office” or non-remote project environment. I learned quickly that I had to change my approach. Here, I am going to explain some of the issues and situations I faced and what I did to overcome them.

Early on in the project, one issue I faced was my team members not fully trusting me. Since this was a remote project, it is hard to develop meaningful relationships with team members. As a packaging engineer, one of my daily tasks is to work with product development so I can develop the best possible packaging system for the product. The problem was that the team was fighting against me on what packaging to use. As the subject matter expert, this was very frustrating for me. In order for us to be successful, I knew I had to do something to win my team’s trust.

Two-step approach First, I started to take frequent trips to their physical location to meet the team face-to-face and develop those relationships. My manager encouraged me to take as many trips as possible because he also knew the importance of building relationships within a remote project team. Second, it was important to respectfully inform the team who the packaging subject matter expert is—me! Before their former company was acquired by my company, the team was accustomed to outsourcing packaging, and they were responsible for

all the packaging design inputs to give to the third-party vendor. Once I had those conversations with the team and frequently visited the site, things were a lot better.

Another issue I was facing throughout the project was communication. I quickly realized that email communication was not going to cut it for this project. Not hearing from my team for days was not always a good thing and there was always a chance for miscommunication. For example, I had not heard from anyone on my team in a couple of days waiting to receive information on how to proceed on a task. As it turns out, they were waiting on me to complete the task. So, days went by, and the task had not been worked on.

Another factor is that it’s hard to read tone through email, and that makes it difficult to understand exactly what my team members are trying to say. The simple solution is to pick up the phone and talk with your team members. So much was resolved when I actually called my team to get an understanding of tasks and responsibilities.

This solution was hard for me because I am a little shy; making a phone call was not always my first choice. My manager, however, explained how important dialing out was for this project. I am grateful to have overcome my shyness because calling my team members was the best thing to help get the project launched.

It’s hard to read tone through email, and that makes it difficult to understand exactly what my team members are trying to say. The simple solution is to pick up the phone and talk with your team members.

In summary, if you are working on, or will work on, a team remotely, it is important to develop good communication skills. I recommend that you establish meaningful relationships early on in the project by meeting the team face-to-face at the site and also getting together outside of work. This will help you get to know your team personally. Having a good rapport with your team is vital for project success. I also recommend making calls or setting up a verbal meeting with your team members as your first line of communication. Effective communication when working in a remote environment is very important. It reduces confusion on tasks and any issues can be resolved quickly. Implementing these skills has resulted in great relationships and continued project success. PW

The author, April Bonner, is a Packaging Engineer II at Smith & Nephew and an IoPP Certified Packaging Professional.

For more information on IoPP, visit www.iopp.org.

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WHERE PROXIMITY IS THE FIRST STEP TO SUSTAINABILITY Celebrating 40 years in America’s heartland, Serac Inc provides sustainable manufacturing in an ever-changing global environment. We are here to service and support the Americas, your complete line solutions provider!

SBL bottle manufacturing

Visit us at Pack Expo, Booth #1958. Our customer-centric approach is based on proximity with a vision of sustainability.

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PET bottles are 100% recyclable approved for food contact.

8/9/21 2:32 PM

t PACK See us a Vegas s a L O P EX -2214 Booth C

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