PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2021 Technology Excellence Awards Winners Unveiled

The winners of the 2021 Technology Excellence Awards at PACK EXPO Las Vegas and Healthcare Packaging EXPO (Sept. 27-29; Las Vegas Convention Center), owned and produced by PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, are Canovation, P.E. Labellers, and Hiperbaric.

After months of narrowing down more than 100 qualified entries, two days of on-site voting allowed PACK EXPO Las Vegas and Healthcare Packaging EXPO attendees to be the ultimate judge of the most innovative new technologies at the show.

“Congratulations to our winners and their outstanding technologies. It was a tough task to narrow down all the innovative entries that the panel received,” says Laura Thompson, Vice President, Trade Shows, PMMI. “We are proud to continue to convene the best the industry has to offer and look forward to the Technology Excellence Awards growing stronger each year.”

The 2021 Technology Excellence Award Winners include:

Food and Beverage – CanReseal® Beverage

CanReseal’s approach to resealability can be configured in multiple ways to suit the of the product application and brand requirements.CanReseal from Canovation is a can-end design that adds threading just below the ubiquitous double-seam. This allows a metal closure to be screwed into the top of the can to create an air and liquid-tight seal. Stated simply, CanReseal’s design effectively adds threads to today’s modular assortment of can body sizes and diameter options, turning commercially available beverage cans into resealable, aluminum cups.

CanReseal’s approach to resealability can be configured in multiple ways to suit the of the product application and brand requirements. With the CanReseal Ring-End (CRE™) configuration, the whole top of the can is open to allow the most utility for still and carbonated beverages. The familiar Stay-On Tab opening method for cans, universally known to consumers, is also an option to now become resealable with CanReseal (CSOT™).

CanReseal features a design that is compatible with standard can body sizes and types. Manufacturing is the same as conventional cans, plus the closures are made using the same processes as the can lids. A strong advantage, says Canovation, is that existing manufacturers can easily convert their production lines, making rapid global scalability possible.

General Packaging – Simpl-Cut®

Simpl-Cut’s design features a single, dual-function vacuum drum for label cutting and transfer intended to simplify operations.P.E. Labellers’ latest offering, Simpl-Cut, roll-fed labeler solves two major weaknesses inherent in the design of traditional roll-fed labelers and, according to the company, has proven to offer exceptional performance and flexibility.

For decades, manufacturers of soft drinks, bottled water, and personal care products faced two main challenges to OEE: hot-melt adhesive build-up on the cutting drum and utilization of complex cutting blades that lead to intricate, lengthy changeovers. Simpl-Cut’s design features a single, dual-function vacuum drum for label cutting and transfer intended to simplify operations. Glue is applied before the label is cut, allowing the label roll to protect the drum from glue build-up, thus reducing the number of times labelers are cleaned from two per shift to once per day.

The second benefit of the single-drum design is that cutting is achieved on the vacuum by pulling labels across fixed knives, resulting in the elimination of complex cutting blades and decreasing knives changeover time from two hours to two minutes.

Offering greater flexibility, customers can run hot-melt adhesive and preglued labels on the same Simpl-Cut machine. In addition, Simpl-Cut drums can be configured with up to five stations per vacuum drum, allowing customers to run new containers outside of the specified size range without sacrificing production speeds or quality.

General Processing – HPP In-Bulk Technology

Hiperbaric In-Bulk technology is a global innovation for the high-volume processing of High Pressure Processing beverages.Hiperbaric In-Bulk technology is a global innovation for the high-volume processing of High Pressure Processing beverages. This range of equipment is based on a patent-pending concept in which beverages are processed in-bulk prior to bottling.

According to Hiperbaric, this new technology reduces steps, simplifying the process and offering the highest HPP operation productivity in the world, along with the lowest processing cost and lowest energy consumption. In addition, it allows for the use of any type of container after HPP processing, regardless of material, design, or size. This includes carton brick, carton bottles, glass bottles, bag-in-box, PET bottles, and more.

The design of the equipment allows it to obtain a filling efficiency of 90% of the total volume, approximately double that of in-pack technology. The process begins with liquids filling the inlet tank. After pressurization, the HPP beverage fills the outlet tank through sterilized tubes and is ready to be bottled in an ultra-clean filling line.

The Hiperbaric 525 Bulk model can reach a maximum throughput capacity of +4,000 L/h or 1,300 US gal/h compared to 3,200 L/h or 900 US gal/h delivered by the largest in-pack model, an increase of 30% to 40% capacity.

Personal Care/Pharmaceuticals – CanReseal® Personal care/Cannabis

The Technology Excellence Awards Panelists included:

• Ronald Puvak, Executive Director, Contract Packaging Association
• Matt Reynolds, Editor, Packaging World
• Jane Chase, Executive Director, Institute of Packaging Professionals
• Tim Koers, Packaging Consultant
• Pat Reynolds, VP Editor Emeritus, Packaging World

Read this story on the successful return of PACK EXPO Las Vegas.