Beverage

Ready-made, portable beer cooler pack

Miller Brewing Co., Milwaukee, WI, and Curwood, a Bemis Company, (www.curwood.com) are recipients of an FPA Gold Award for Packaging Excellence in recognition of the Curwood Express Tote™ marketed as the Miller Lite Chill Bag.

March 9, 2007

Leaders (UNIVERSAL TAXONOMY PFW): Page 402

Prepared & Canned Foods

Retorted pouch-within-a-pouch protects sensitive yeast products

Wyeast Laboratories, Inc., Hood River, OR, a leading producer of pure liquid yeast products (fermentation cultures) for beer- and wine-making, and Ampac Flexibles (www.ampaconline.com), a unit of Ampac Packaging LLC, have earned FPA’s 2007 Highest Achievement Award, including Gold Awards for both Packaging Excellence and Technical Innovation. These awards are in recognition of the “Smack Pack” 50-mL and 125-mL retortable stand-up pouch packaging system for Wyeast’s home brewer’s and vintner’s lines of products.

March 8, 2007

Dairy

Flexible filler doubles pack speeds

Dual-head auger filling system with integrated checkweigher easily adapts to different powder density, humidity, and temperature conditions.

March 8, 2007

Prepared & Canned Foods

The ice boxes cometh with repackaged clarity

Boxed trays of premium ‘shelf-stable ice’ as purified water receive a primary and secondary packaging revision.

March 8, 2007

Beverage

Shapely bottles add pizzazz

Aluminum bottles are becoming more commonplace in beer, requiring brewers to look for other decorating options to command attention on store shelves. Pittsburgh Brewing Co. is focusing on package shape as a differentiator for its Augustiner Lager brand.

March 8, 2007

Fruits & Vegetables

Focusing on the value of packaging professionals

As packaging professionals, most of us have to deal with the process of hiring new talent at some point in time. We will have to identify a candidate, make an offer, and persuade our candidate to accept.

March 8, 2007

Prepared & Canned Foods

Frozen treat package mimics energy drink can

Hershey’s Ice Cream, Harrisburg, PA, has co-branded with Hammond, IN-based Swanel Beverages Inc., the manufacturer of an energy drink called Banzai, to create Banzai Energy Ice. The 4 oz treat is packaged in a squeeze-up tube made of solid bleached sulfate from Solo Cup Co. (www.solocup.com). Hershey fills the tubes using a Flex E Fill Rotary Filler from Solo Cup Co. and heat seals them with a thin foil lid, also from Solo Cup.

March 8, 2007

Fruits & Vegetables

Why manual palletizing can be more costly than automating

New white paper from FKI Logistex debunks common myths that prevent companies from automating their palletizing operations. Provides criteria to evaluate the true cost of remaining with a manual palletizing operation.

March 8, 2007

Dairy

Sustainability News Digest

-Noteworthy Items Gleaned From World News-

March 8, 2007

Beverage

Homework and ingenuity produces light-up bottle

Homework and three years’ of globetrotting legwork produces TY KU, a sake liqueur filled in a bottle that lights up whenever it’s lifted.

February 23, 2007

Beverage

A-B re-embraces teardrop bottles

It's back to the future for Anheuser-Busch's new Michelob bottles debuting now.

February 22, 2007

Beverage

Masterfoods Europe searches for modular packaging machinery

The concept of modular packaging machine design has multiple benefits, not the least of which is flexibility to respond to market requirements. This fact is increasingly influencing investment decisions.

February 20, 2007

Prepared & Canned Foods

Frozen treat tube mimics energy drink can

Hershey's Ice Cream cobrands with Banzai energy drink manufacturer Swanel Beverages Inc. to create Banzai Energy Ice in a 4-oz squeeze tube.

February 16, 2007