Canadian Packaging Magazine Turns 60
By Andrew Joseph

Well... Happy Birthday to us. While I don't believe that any of the folks who originally worked on our first issue are still working with us, it's thanks to their trail-blazing effort that we are here now.
While a lot has changed within the Canadian packaging industry since the 1940s, the general focus of our magazine has not—we still strive to present the latest trends and technologies to you as used by mostly Canadian firms. It's why we're only five short years from senior citizen status, but also why we'll be around for another 60th anniversary and another after that. I'm not sure about any further, because that's when I'm scheduled to retire.
It's funny, but when I joined the team and the packaging industry a scant two-and-a-half years ago, the single solitary fact that I knew about packaging was that it consisted of cardboard boxes. Apparently I was wrong about that—it's corrugated. And it's plastics, adhesives, inks, scanners, associations, labels—it's all that and more.
Our October issue commemorates our 60th year of publishing, though in truth the actual anniversary began at the start of 2007. This issue contains thoughts and comments on the industry by some of Canada's best packaging suppliers who were nice enough to respond to a survey we sent out.
Inside the magazine, we've kept things fairly status quo while tweaking the overall appearance of things—for that we can thank our graphics guy, Mike Jerome. With sustainability a key buzzword in the industry, we've added an "Eco-Pack Now" page, a new monthly section to share all things new and green.
A low-key celebration? Perhaps. It's why there's no exclamation point after the first sentence. 60 years? We're just getting started. See you next month.
Somewhere eating cake.

Andrew Joseph
Features Editor
andrew.joseph@packaging.rogers.com

Last month's poll results:

We asked if information ambiguity on packaging was fair or was more clarity needed? To a person all 100 per cent of you felt that packaging should not be able to hide information from the consumer. I need better questions. I'm listening...

Advertisement

Checker 200 - The Next Generation Inspection Sensor Cognex's new inspection sensor leaves photoelectric sensors far behind. It has built-in lighting, variable working distance, and can inspect over 6000 parts per minute. This fit anywhere sensor checks multiple part features simultaneously, even when part position varies, delivering precisely timed pass/fail results. Click here to View our Online Demo

How Green Is My Package? Very
SunChips, Frito-Lay's popular brand of multigrain snacks, has announced the inclusion of the Green-e designation across the full line of SunChips snacks. The updated packaging will feature the Green-e logo, a designation from the Center for Resource Solutions used with certified renewable energy certificates. The Center is a national not-for-profit organization that administers the Green-e program, and works to increase the amount of renewable energy used worldwide. The SunChips brand will be one of the first national consumer packaged goods brands to include the Green-e logo on packaging.
SunChips brand communications will focus around small steps as part of the brand's Live Brightly campaign. One of those small steps is the support of green energy through the purchase of renewable energy certificates (RECs) to match 100 per cent of the electricity needed to produce SunChips snacks in the U.S. Electricity is one source of energy used to produce SunChips snacks.
The RECs that SunChips brand purchased are part of the PepsiCo REC purchase, announced earlier this year, which matches the purchased electricity use of all of Frito-Lay's US-based facilities, including those manufacturing sites that produce SunChips snacks. This REC purchase allows the SunChips brand to feature the Green-e logo on its packaging. The purchase of RECs helps drive the development of additional renewable energy capacity.
For more coverage on this, read the October 2007 issue of Canadian Packaging magazine.

Fully Renewable and Compostable Paper Cup
Tully's Coffee Corporation, a fully handcrafted U.S. coffee roaster, recently became the first major coffee retailer to adopt a fully renewable and compostable paper cup for its hot beverages.
Tully's program features the innovative ecotainer hot cup from International Paper. Unlike conventional paper hot cups that are lined with a petrochemical plastic to prevent leaking, the ecotainer hot cup is lined with a bio-plastic made from corn. This coating material requires less energy to manufacture and is greenhouse gas neutral. In addition, the cup is the only commercially available 100 percent compostable hot cup certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute.
To further the effectiveness of the initiative, Tully's has also partnered with local compost and recycling organizations to establish the first waste management program of its kind to divert the used cups and other compostable food waste from local landfills to organic composting facilities. These materials will eventually be composted and "recycled" to enrich soil rather than lost to the landfill.
It is estimated that as a result, more than 70 percent of food and packaging waste from Tully's retail stores will now be diverted from local landfills. Cedar Grove Organics will collect and compost Washington Tully's new green cup at local facilities in Everett and Maple Valley.
For more information www.tullys.com or www.internationalpaper.com.

Location Change: Gallus/BHS Technology Seminar
Gallus and BHS are hosting an exciting technology seminar that is now being held at Cadmus' production facility in Charlotte, NC scheduled for November 1, 2007.
Cadmus has installed multiple press systems from Gallus/BHS for inline production of high end folding carton and has agreed to open its doors for this day only to host the event at its Whitehall production facility.
Specialists from across the industry will focus on one key topic: How to add value to the box while improving the efficiency. You will see a dynamic mix of presentations and action - including the live demonstration of the newest inline paperboard converting machine system for the first time in the Americas in a production environment.
Get more information and register online at www.gallus-packaging.com or www.bhsworld.com. You may contact Gallus/BHS via e-mail info@gallus.org or phone 1-215-677-9600.

FKI Logistex Offers New Robotic Hi-Speed Palletizing System
FKI Logistex, a global leader in integrated material handling solutions, has announced the launch of its new high-speed robotic palletizing solution, which uses multiple robotic arms to achieve palletizing rates significantly higher than those reached by typical robotic palletizers. In addition to increased throughput, companies that implement the new FKI Logistex robotic system can benefit from increased floor space savings and lower cost of ownership.
The FKI Logistex high-speed robotic palletizing cell enables four-way orientation of cases, which is ideal in an industry trending toward smaller packages and full pallet displays in big-box and club stores. With full control of package label positioning, customers can easily showcase the same graphics on all four sides of the pallet, or orient barcodes to streamline scanning operations.
For sales and marketing information, contact Jill Smith, marketing communications coordinator at FKI via 1-314-995-2363 or by e -mail at jill.smith@fkilogistex.com. You may also visit the company website at www.fkilogistex.com.

Wal-Mart: How To Go Green
Wal-Mart presents its Sustainable Packaging Technical Conference and Exposition on November 13, 2007 at the Toronto Congress Centre. Entitled "How to Go Green", Wal-Mart continues to lead their sustainable packaging initiative into the Canadian market place introduced on June 21, 2007. Over 400 Wal-Mart vendors (including fresh foods, bakery, personal care, toys, hardware, electronics etc) will attend.
Hosted by both Wal-Mart Canada and the PAC (Packaging Association of Canada), confirm your participation with Lindsey Ogle at logle@pac.ca.

Sonoco's Division Gets New Name
Sonoco, one of the largest diversified global packaging companies, has renamed its global recovered paper operations as Sonoco Recycling, and repositioned the business unit to combine the Company's long-established recycling capabilities with new market-driven environmentally sustainable services such as waste management consulting.
Sonoco annually collects about 3.5 million tons of recyclable materials. Collections are expanding to include not only old corrugated containers and other paper, but also plastic, metal, glass and other recyclable materials. Sonoco Recycling collects and processes recyclable materials through 46 locations in North America and Europe, operates a fleet of trucks with 1,300 trailers and has a team of recycling professionals, many who are experts in waste management and manufacturing process improvement.
Additional information is available at www.sonoco.com.

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Partnership Promotes Tray Sealers & Quality Control Systems
Heat and Control, Inc. , Ishida Scales Mfg., Co. and Multivac, Inc. have entered into a strategic partnership to market Ishida tray sealers in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Along with having market responsibility for Ishida's tray sealing equipment, Multivac will also be able to provide Ishida quality control equipment and CEIA metal detectors to food processors and packagers as part of a total equipment solution from a single source. As a key OEM partner of Heat and Control and with close cooperation of Heat and Control's technical resources, the integration and marketing effort will be directed by Multivac.
This new partnership will be highlighted at the upcoming AMI Show in Chicago, where the companies will feature a representative variety of equipment from the Ishida and CEIA product portfolios.
Ishida is a world leader in providing systems for high-speed packaging lines. For more information on Heat and Control—a leading manufacturer of food processing, packaging and product handling—visit www.heatandcontrol.com or call 800-227-5980.
For further details on Multivac, a leader in horizontal form-fill-seal packaging equipment as well as other packaging technologies call 800-800-8552 or see www.multivac.com.

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Heinz Adds Snap To Baked Beans
HJ Heinz, famous for its baked beans, has launched in the U.K. its microwaveable Snap Pot, a revolutionary new plastics packaging concept made possible by the multi-layer thermoforming expertise of RPC Bebo Plastik.
Fully microwaveable, the Snap Pot can be heated in only a minute. The Snap Pot concept consists of four individual 200g portions integrated into a splittable four-pack.
The arrival of the Snap Pot marks a major change in the packaging of Heinz Beanz—which has retailed only in the traditional tin can format since the product's 1901 launch. The packaging shift was prompted by two important changes to British eating habits: the need for smaller portion sizes, as single households in Britain have risen by 30 per cent in the past thirty years; secondly, more convenience in a busy world.
The multi-layer PP/EVOH/PP barrier construction enables the Snap Pot to be stored while maintaining the high standard of taste and freshness expected from the tin can format.
Each Snap Pot is closed with lidding film, which is branded with the Heinz logo and inkjet printed with cooking instructions. The overall impact of the multi-pack is enhanced with a carton sleeve, whose larger decoration area covers the lids of all four pots. The Heinz Hoops pasta product is also launched in the Snap Pot format alongside Baked Beans.
For more information, e-mail: info@rpc-beboplastik.de or visit www.rpc-beboplastik.de.

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NEW EQUIPMENT

Model SHA-CW-600 Combo Filler/Checkweigher
The SHA-CW-600 "Combo" built by All-Fill, Inc. of Exton, PA is a single, integrated auger filler and inline checkweigher for fully automatic container movement, positioning, filling, weighing and rejection for a wide variety of powder, granular, and liquid products. Consisting of a standard 8' chain conveyor, fill head and AlphaCheckweigher, the Combo provides a centralized, economical solution to packaging needs for a variety of industries. All filling and weighing functions are selected and controlled from a single, easy to use Touchscreen control panel. Simplified menu selections and icon-based screen graphics are used to specify all major machine function and weighing parameters for up to 50 different products, containers, weights, and applications. The standard offering is further complimented by a selection of accessories and options to tailor the machine to specific operating requirements and conditions, including servo fill motors, container lifting and vibration, three or five zone checkweighing operation, and automatic rejection of out of tolerance containers.
Visit www.all-fill.com for more information.
The Canadian agent for All-Fill products is Alex E. Jones & Associates: www.alexejones.ca.



Cognex's New Panel-Mount Viewer
Cognex Corporation, the world's leading supplier of image-based sensors, recently revealed its SensorView 350 (see photo), a compact, industrial, panel-mount display for its Checker 200 Series inspection sensors. The SensorView 350 allows operators to view production images of the parts that Checker is inspecting without a PC. With an IP65 rating, the SensorView 350 features a simple interface for displaying images of passed or failed parts, along with status indicators and results statistics to more easily monitor the production process.
More information may be found at www.cognex.com.

Sun Chemical Intros MTG UV Hard Coat System
New from the Parsippany, NJ-based Sun Chemical, screen printers now have an ink system solution that holds up better to the high heat and immense pressure used in manufacturing formable plastic parts. Recently launched, the MTG UV hard coat system can be used to make formable and non-formable automotive, appliance, cell phone, and medical parts.
The MTG-FORM is the only formable UV hard coat system available on the market. With extraordinary elongation properties, MTG-FORM UV ink can stretch up to 1.5 inches as plastic parts, such as air conditioning and radio dials in cars, become three dimensional.
By using either the MTG-FORM or MTG-NFTM, hi-tech automotive manufacturers can avoid the expensive and burdensome use of nitrogen curing products. In addition to passing the aggressive specifications for automotive and hi-tech applications, MTG has excellent mar and scuff resistance and outdoor durability. Both MTG sets can be used as standalone hard coats or can be blended together to alter the desired finish, and are available in either matte, gloss or texture clear finishes.
For more on MTG, call 630-587-5216 or visit www.sunchemical.com/commercial.

PEOPLE

New European Sales Appointment
Rotoflex International has named Ralph Beier to the position of sales manager, Europe. Beier possesses more that 20 years sales/management experience leading high technology companies in machine vision, industrial automation and pharmaceutical process control industries. For immediate inquiries, please contact Beier 1-905-670-8700, by e-mail at ralphb@rotoflex.com or visit the company website: www.rotoflex.com.

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2007

October Courses At The GFTC
The Guelph Food Technology Centre (GFTC) has released its curriculum for October 2007. These one and two-day courses while dealing with food-related issues are packed with information progressive companies should know.

• Oct. 29; Organic Market: Regulations, Opportunities & Challenges
• Oct. 30-31; Food Plant Sanitation

For more information, contact Marlene Inglis at 519-821-1246, ext: 5028 and visit the website at www.gftc.ca.

December 4-5
Philadelphia: 2007 Sealing Technology for Packaging Processes, seminar for engineers explores mechanics of various sealing methods and offers practical problem solving techniques. Information is available at www.SeminarsForEngineers.com, e-mail info@SeminarsForEngineers.com or by phoning 1-877-755-2272.

2008

January 22-23
Paris: Perfumes, Cosmetics and Design. Organized by Oriex, international packaging and design innovation tradeshow for perfume and cosmetic industry. At Cite des Sciences et de l'Industrie. To register, please visit www.pcd-congress.com.

February 6-7
Paris: Pharmapack, international pharmaceutical tradeshow organized by Oriex. At Cite des Sciences et de l'Industrie. To register, please visit www.pharmapack.com.fr/Pages/EnInscription.htm.

March 11-12
Paris: Aerosol Forum. Technological showcase & conference on the aerosol industry, organized by Oriex. At Cite des Sciences et de l'Industrie. To register, please visit www.aerosol-forum.com/Pages/EnPresentation.htm.

March 4-6
Chicago: Plastics USA 2008, American plastics industry tradeshow. At McCormick Place West. Contact Robert Martino at 914-478-0754 or via e-mail: bob@martinocommunications.com.

April 24-30
Düsseldorf: interpack 2008, international packaging technologies exhibition. At Düsseldorf Trade Fair Center. Contact Messe Düsseldorf (Canada) in Toronto at 416-598-1524, by fax at 416-598-1840, or by e-mail at messeduesseldorf@germanchamber.ca . More information may also be found at www.messe-duesseldorf.de.

Clemson Offers Courses For Packaging Professionals
South Carolina's Clemson University packaging science department is offering three short two-day courses each summer that are geared towards packaging professionals.
Courses:

• May 19-20, 2008: Packaging Fundamentals, including packaging: functions, materials, forms, development and testing, the environment, laws and regulations, and future trends.
• May 21-22, 2008: Packaging Design & Development, provides skills to develop packages and packaging systems and more;
• June 10-11, 2008: Food Packaging Essential, provides an overview on basics needed by food packaging professionals and those who interact with food packaging industry.

Clemson has been offering the courses for the past six years, with all courses taught in the labs—featuring hands-on activities with equipment—by professors with expertise in fields such as transport packaging, rigid packaging, flexible packaging, food, healthcare/pharmaceutical, design and printing.
Click on the following link to view descriptions of the courses and to go to the registration page:
http://workgroups.clemson.edu/CAFLS0320_PACKAGING_SCIENCE/
index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=8&id=22&Itemid=40

May 29 - June 11
Düsseldorf: drupa 2008, international print media exhibition. At Düsseldorf Trade Fair Center. Contact Messe Düsseldorf (Canada) in Toronto at 416-598-1524, by fax at 416-598-1840, or by e-mail at messeduesseldorf@germanchamber.ca. More information may also be found at www.messe-duesseldorf.de .

Oct. 7-9
Birmingham, England: Interplas 2008, international plastics and rubber exhibition. At National Exhibition Centre. Contact Chris James at +44 2089 10 7769 or by e-mail Chris.James@reedexpo.co.uk.

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