Beverage

Twister takes a whole new shape

For its Twister brand juice beverage, Tropicana North America has launched a 1.75-L (59.3-oz) heat-set bottle made of polyethylene terephthalate that the Bradenton, FL, firm describes as "the first heat-set, hot-filled (180°+) rectangular PET bottle" for a juice beverage in the U.S.

February 28, 1998

Beverage: Page 292

Beverage

Drum containment unit

Rand Materials Handling Equipment (Pawtucket, RI) has introduced a 4-Drum Containment Unit with a removable drum pallet that allows the drums to be loaded at floor level and lifted on or off the sump base by a forklift truck.

January 31, 1998

Conveying & Product Handling

Saving more than just peanuts

Bookstore chain Borders Group moves to a customized loose-fill system for distribution of its products to stores nationwide. Yearly savings are in excess of one million dollars.

January 31, 1998

Conveying & Product Handling

Foam dunnage computes for GT's software

Minnesota is no stranger to snow. But at GT Interactive's Plymouth plant, located in suburban Minneapolis, a far different kind of blizzard was hampering operations.

January 31, 1998

Conveying & Product Handling

Robotic palletization protects Sandvik

Automated lifting and stacking of heavy boxes onto pallets helps this maker of mining products avoid worker injuries and $120ꯠ of additional labor costs.

January 31, 1998

Beverage

DOJ kills Reynolds/Alcoa deal; will it chill Reynolds/Ball talks?

In late December the U.S. Department of Justice moved to prevent Reynolds Metals Co. (Richmond, VA) from selling its Muscle Shoals, AL, aluminum can stock rolling mill to Alcoa (Pittsburgh, PA).

January 31, 1998

Dairy

Should paperboard buyers turn white with fright?

EPA "cluster" rule forces bleached pulp mills to spend millions to clean up air and water emissions. Quality, cost, even availability may become a question mark.

January 31, 1998

Beverage

Smirnoff 1.75 L relaunched in proprietary PET

Hoping to boost sales, United Distillers and Vintners, Hartford, CT, has relaunched its Smirnoff premium vodka in a proprietary 1.75-L polyethylene terephthalate package whose rollout was to be completed this month.

January 31, 1998

Beverage

Bottled water taps Kidz' market

In recent years, bottled water has made quite a splash with adults. Now Hinckley & Schmitt Bottled Water Co. of Chicago is aiming at kids with Kidz Water(TM), a fluoridated bottled drinking water.

January 31, 1998

Beverage

Supplier news: Domestic acquisitions, agreements

Greif Bros. Corp. (Delaware, OH) has signed an agreement to acquire KMI Continental Fibre Drum, Inc., Fibro Tambor, and Sonoco Plastic Drum, Inc., all wholly owned subsidiaries of Sonoco Products Co.

January 31, 1998

Beverage

'Message on the bottle'

"The perfume bottles which grace a dressing table and the beverage bottles which languish in the cupboard speak volumes about their owners," writes Mary Lewis of London-based design consultancy Lewis Moberly.

December 31, 1997

Beverage

Servo-driven case packer for pouches

Designed for drink pouches, Schneider Packaging Equipment (Brewerton, NY) has introduced a servo-motor-operated pouch case packer. It automatically packs irregularly shaped pouches (with or without straw attached) into five-panel wraparound corrugated cases at speeds over 20/min.

December 31, 1997

Inspection, Sorting & Weighing

Combo checkweigher/metal detectors save space for Keebler

Compact and highly accurate, combo checkweighers and metal detectors at Keebler's Macon, GA, bakery are meeting special needs.

December 31, 1997