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SAY CHEESE! Thriving cheesemaker making the cut with top-grade packaging Story on page 12

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IN THIS ISSUE: AUTOMATE NOW • PACKAGING FOR SHELF-LIFE

Tsubaki has written the book on keeping your production line moving, when it matters.

Your book is waiting.

Your industry keeps our world fed.

No small feat. It involves a multitude of processes, orchestrated in extreme environments, under highly time-sensitive deadlines.

For when it really matters – Choose commitment to better manufacturing processes. Choose 100% compatibility.

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Tsubaki products are always your best value.

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Tsubaki of Canada Limited, 1630 Drew Road, Mississauga, ON L5S 1J6 Tel: 905.676.0400 / Fax: 905.676.0904 / Toll-Free: 1.800.263.7088 e-mail: info@tsubaki.ca

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Why would a company producing 100% recycled cartons bother to go through the process of obtaining certification from the world’s leading forestry stewardship organization?

Because we can!!!

As the leaders in recycling and sustainable packaging for over 60 years, it only made sense that we be accredited by the world’s leading model for environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable forestry stewardship.

After all, we save a forest of over 14,000,000 trees per year from being cut down to produce paper products.

Sustainable Packaging for a Sustainable Future

By utilizing the latest technology and world class processes in our 100% recycled paper mills, we save the equivalent energy to power 100,000 homes for a full year, divert 3 million cubic yards of waste going to landfill, use 4.2 billion less gallons water and help to remove 1.2 million tons of carbon from the atmosphere.

Why purchase your Forest

Stewardship Council Certified

paper and packaging products from us? Because it demonstrates your Personal commitment to our environment, it shows your customers that you care, and.

Because you can!

Service Driven!TM “Responsive to your needs” Atlantic Packaging Products Ltd. Corrugated Division Scarborough-Progress Ave., Scarborough-Midwest Ave., Brampton, Mississauga and Ingersoll 416-298-8101 • 1-800-268-5620 • www.atlantic.ca Add Ink (Atlantic Decorated & Display) Toronto 416-421-3636 • www.addink.ca

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Mitchel-Lincoln Packaging Ltd. Montreal and Drummondville 514-332-3480 • 1-800-361-5727 • www.mlgroup.com

UPFRONT

AN EPIC KILLJOY

F E B RUA RY 2 0 1 0 VOL U ME 6 3 , NO. 2

EDITOR

George Guidoni • (416) 764-1505 george.guidoni@packaging.rogers.com F E AT U R E S E D I T O R

Andrew Joseph • (416) 764-1529 andrew.joseph@packaging.rogers.com ART DIRECTOR

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Stephen Dean • (416) 764-1497 stephen.dean@packaging.rogers.com PRODUCTION MANAGER

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Celia Ramnarine • (416) 764-1451 deokie.ramnarine@rci.rogers.com

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Oh dear, just when one thinks that Canadians may be allowed a bit of smugness and a collective pat on the back for becoming such a savvy and wellinformed bunch when it comes to making healthier food choices, along comes a major study to discredit our pious, self-serving pretensions to cornering the global market on the the virtues of sensible eating and lifestyle habits.

Any way you slice it, the numbers cited by the NPD Group’s recently-released, 12th annual Eating Patterns in Canada (EPIC) study of our eating trends seem to fly in the face of mainstream conventional wisdom that would have us consuming more home-made meals, selecting more locally-raised produce, paying closer scrutiny to listed ingredients, and doing all those things that are ostensibly making average Canadians more than a match for those mythical, superfit 60-year-old Swedes used by Health Canada years ago to shame us into a bit of exercise and dietary caution.

According to EPIC, “Canadians are eating fewer home-made meals than ever before, gravitating instead to the convenience and nutritional claims of pre-packaged meals, despite recent popular movements encouraging the purchase of locally-grown foods.”

If anything, Canadian consumers are sliding back into their bad old habits, the report suggests, pointing out that Canadians consumed only an average of 380 meals with home-made dishes in 2009—down from 398 in 2008 and way, way down from a high of 423 recorded in 2003.

“Instead of things like home-cooked casseroles made from scratch, Canadians are turning increasingly to the aisles of their local grocery stores for the convenience of single-step frozen meals and meals that can be prepared in 15 minutes or less,” the NPD Group states.

Since 2004, the study claims, the per-capita consumption of frozen foods in Canada has risen by 15 per cent—now standing at

C O V E R S T O RY

COVER STORY

its highest-ever level—with vegetables, ice-cream, french fries, pizza and chicken ranking as the top five star attractions in the grocery store frozen-food aisles.

While expecting Canadians to make their ice-cream and pizzas from scratch may well be a bridge too far at this point, granted, consciously selecting frozen veggies and chicken over the fresh stuff raises serious questions about just how well our consumers are really aware of the importance and virtues of sound nutritional habits and behavior.

As the NPD food-and-beverage industry analyst Joel Gregoire puts it: “A lot of ink has been devoted to the locavore and 100-mile-diet movements, but the vast majority of Canadian households see food in an increasingly practical, utilitarian way where time and perceived nutritional punch continue to rise in importance.”

So what gives? According to Gregoire, shifting demographics and an aging population have a lot to do with this seemingly cavalier attitude to healthier eating.

“Canada’s eating trends in the last decade have been widely influenced by demographics, particularly the dominant boomer cohort, and we can be relatively confident that they will continue to influence food behavior for the next decade,” sa Gregoire.

“Ultimately, aging Canadians living increasingly in an empty-nest dynamic have been searching for easy-to-prepare meal options ... and this will be the trend for the foreseeable future.”

While such a future may well be music to the ears of frozen-food producers and packagers, there are no doubt important implications at play in terms of the Canadians’ individual health and, by extension, the country’s ability to cover the future healthcare costs relating to unfolding consumer trends that at this point in time, at least, tend to raise more questions than they answer.

CASE STUDY

12 Cheese Please! By Andrew Joseph Ontario family-owned cheesemaker strengthens its grip on the marketplace with a sound business strategy, keen customer service, uncompromising product quality, and continuous investment in packaging machinery and equipment.

COVER STORY

FEATURES A U T O M AT E N O W

AUTOMATE NOW

16 Sparkle and Shine! By George Guidoni One of the world’s most celebrated and illustrious champagne producers retools its packaging line process for the 21st century with installation of robotics and other cutting-edge industrial automation technologies.

20 Holding the Line By Andrew Joseph Quebec-based packaging equipment manufacturer expands its fast-growing customer base by leveraging its expertise in turnkey line integration to provide clients with start-to-finish packaging solutions.

22 The Group of Seven By Andrew Joseph Founded 17 years ago by seven enterprising individuals with varied but highly complementary skillsets, Ontario-based manufacturer of replacement change-parts and tooling provides a compelling example of the whole being more than a mere sum of its parts.

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U P F R O N T By George Guidoni N E W S PA C K

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High Liner’s big new catch; Toronto baker’s breadwinning ways.

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New technologies for packaging applications.

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Upcoming industry shows and functions.

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PEOPLE

Career moves in the packaging world.

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CHECKOUT By Rachel Horvath

Joe Public speaks out on packaging hits and misses.

NEXT ISSUE: Bottling, Adhesives, Stretchwrapping & Converting.

CA NA DI A N PAC K AG IN G • F E B RUARY 2010

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Pack High Liner aims to reel in more consumers with new high-end frozen-fish packs

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While many Canadian consumers would like to increase their consumption of fish as part of a healthier diet, many of them have held back in the past by their reluctance to cook fish from scratch at home, as well as the high cost of fish entrées at restaurants.

However, Canada’s leading frozen-seafood processor High Liner Foods is aiming to change all with its recent addition of the Pan-Sear Selects product family to the company flagship High Liner brand of frozen fish and seafood products.

Produced and packaged at the company’s manufacturing facility in Lunenberg, N.S., the Pan-Sear Selects products— seasoned fillets of sole, haddock and wild pacific salmon— can be easily made at home either in a non-stick frying pan on the stovetop or in the oven in less that 20 minutes without adding any oil, according to High Liner, replicating the popular pan-searing method often used at high-end restaurants to cook fish.

Packaged in rectangular folding cartons adorning highimpact graphics created by the Toronto office of package design specialists Anthem Worldwide, a division of global branding services group Schawk, Inc.—and

manufactured by the Waterloo, Ont.-based package converter Beresford Box Company Inc.—each of the 540-gram Pan Sear Selects offerings contains four lightly-breaded fish fillets to provide consumers with a good nutritional omega-3 polyunsaturates, without any hydrogenated oils or transfats, and with minimal count of saturated fats.

Says Gary Oakley, creative director of Anthem’s Toronto office: “Asked to convey a fresh and modernized look for the High Liner products, we communicated the premium nature of High Liner’s products by creating a ‘smart whitespace’ strategy that allowed us to easily introduce innovation, demonstrate consistent and clear communication, and reinforce the credibility behind the High Liner brand.

“The designs are fresh and light through the use of white, with strong appetite appeal through the plated photography, while staying true to the High Liner brand equities,” Oakley says.

“Anthem worked very closely with High Liner to gain an understanding of its brand heritage and visual equities to create a well-proportioned clean package design that expresses the look and taste of restaurant-inspired cuisine,” adds Katherine Brouillard, High Liner Foods senior brand manager.

“When a design direction was approved and validated by consumer research,” she says, “Anthem engaged the expertise of Schawk to ensure the execution of this new premium line, and to guarantee that our vision would become a reality.”

Toronto baker cooks up tasty alternatives to conventional bread staples True innovation is a fairly rare thing in the breadmaking business, but that h a s n’t s t o p p e d an enterprising, To r o n t o - b a s e d f amily business from hitting the local bread market by storm early this year with with a launch of four different low-fat, preservative-free OneBun pre-sliced breads to provide premium, all-natural alternatives to bulky buns and processed rolls.

“Baked bread has been around for more than 5,000 years and has seen relatively few innovations, but we believe the OneBun is a true breakthrough in the industry,” says Alon Ozery, a co-owning partner of the Ozery’s Pita Break, a one-time sandwich shop in downtown Toronto that has evolved into a full-sized commercial bakery specializing in the production of premium, pre-sliced flat sandwich buns shaped specifically to match the shapes of hod-dogs, hamburgers and various sandwich meats, as well as being used as low-calorie bases for pizzas, paninis and other popular convenience foods.

According to Ozery, using less bread to make their sandwiches allows consumers to appreciate the taste of other key food ingredients more fully, while providing a tasty means for keeping their caloric intake under control.

“Our all-natural OneBun is inspired by our family’s commitment to serving the highest-quality bakery items that taste great,” Ozery states, pointing out that OneBun products are completely chemical- and preservative-free.

“The variety of flat sandwich buns we offer gives quality-seeking consumers delicious and healthy choices for burgers, pizzas and more,” he says.

Packaged in plastic bread-bags featuring catchy graphics designed by the Toronto office of global branding consultants Dinnick & Howells, the OneBun bread line is currently available in four varieties, including: • Sandwich Multi Grain Whole Grain OneBun— pre-sliced buns loaded with nine nutritious grains and crushed flax seeds for a hearty sandwich base, shaped to accommodate burgers, bruschetta, mini pizzas and similar round-shaped creations; • Sandwich Flax Whole Grain OneBun—pre-sliced sandwich buns loaded with whole and crushed flax seeds to provide a nutritious source of healthy omega-3 polyunsaturates; • 100 Calorie Multi Grain Whole Grain OneBun— low-calorie, pre-sliced flat buns made with nine nutritious grains and crushed flax seeds to create a tasty and versatile sandwich base; • Hot Dog Multi GrainWhole Grain OneBun—wholegrain hot-dog buns made with nine nutritious grains and crushed flax seeds. Shaped to accommodate cooked hotdogs and sausages, the versatile buns can also be used for soft tacos, omelettes and many other popular recipes.

Boasting product shelf-life of seven days, the OneBun sandwich buns are currently sold at all Metro supermarkets locations in Ontario, as well as at Longo’s, Sobey’s Urban Fresh, Pusateri’s Fine Foods, H i g h l a n d Fa r m s , The Big Carrot, The Garden Basket and Fiesta Farms retail outlets in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) region, in addition to a growing number of specialty food stores in the local markets. february 2010 • CANADIAN PACKAGING

GLANCE

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O C TO P U S ’ S G A R D E N

EAGLE EYE

The new Octopus 808 Twin Automatic Rotary Ring series stretchwrapper from ITW Muller—outfitted with dual film carriages for wrapping up to 150 loads per hour—is engineered to provide extremely high throughput by wrapping loads twice as fast as conventional machines with less film changes, whereby the two film carriages operate simultaneously but independently to facilitate optimal load containment. The high-speed performance of the Octopus 808 Twin can provide users with opportunities to combine multiple production lines into one wrapper, according to the company, saving both space and money. Featuring a high-performance prestretch system claimed to obtain film savings of up to 25 per cent, the Octopus 808 Twin can also be programmed to continue wrapping utilizing a single carriage in the event of a film break to minimize downtime, and it can be outfitted with an optional Auto Roll Changer feature for automatically replacing depleted or broken film rolls.

Equipped with Omron controls and Nordson’s ProBlue glue-applicating system, The new Vassoyo Air tray-ere tor from Eagle Packaging Machinery—designed specifi cally as a high-performance forming solution for showcase trays—incorporates the company’s innovative method of forming doublewalled side panels and a triple-wall end panel from a flat corrugated blank to ensure that the tray remains strong and durable.

Capable of forming cartons from six- to 11-inches-deep at speeds of up to 20 trays per minute, the quick-changeover tray-erector folds the tuck-in panels 90 degrees before the blank is moved through feed rollers, where the glue is quickly applied to all the four panels. The vertical panel is then folded over and flat against the side panels, and the blank is pushed through the forming section to have the last flaps folded into place to complete the showcase tray.

ITW Muller

The new StreamOne polyester lidding from Rollprint Packaging Products, Inc.— designed as an ecofriendlier alternative to traditional mixed-polymer laminates without sacrificing performance—features a wide sealing window to run on horizontal form-fill-seal units, enhanced with an innovative a tamper-evident feature that turns white at the point of contact with the tray when it is removed, without leaving residue on the flange. Because the lidding material is made entirely from polyester, it can be recycled in the “number one” recycling stream along with the tray, according to the company, whereas traditional laminated combinations can only go into other adjacent streams—making disposal trickier. Designed to ensure superior sealing to PET (polyethylene terephthalate) or PETG (polyethylene terephthalate glycol) trays, the new StreamOne lidding delivers at least 50-percent downgauging, while its inherent versatility makes it well-suited for applications such as catheters, syringes, IV connector sets, razors, frozen meals, etc.

Rollprint Packaging Products, Inc. F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N C I R C L E 405

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N E W W AY T O C O N V E Y

Stretchwrapping specialists Wulftec/M.J. Maillis has leveraged its end-of-line packaging expertise to launch a new economicallypriced, 2,500-poundcapacity, powered-roller pallet conveyor that features a simple design with clean lines and a minimal number of components, according to the company. Backed by a three-year warranty, the new conveyor can be supplied in different lengths, widths, heights and operating speeds to match the exact user application requirements, enhanced further by the use of nonproprietary parts, easy-to-integrate system controls, and the company’s exclusive advisory service for complex conveyor lines.

Wulftec/M.J. Maillis F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N C I R C L E

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W E I G H TO G O

Weighpack Systems has designed a new, completely integrated high-speed packaging system for automated bagging of lightweight baked goods—comprising a 14-head Primo Weigher and dual VS horizontal baggers in a unique arrangement that dramatically reduces product travel time between the scale and the bagger. By eliminating the Primo Weigher’s individual lane chutes and a catch-box system for double-staging the products, Weighpack claims to have increased production rates by 40 per cent—successfully cycling at more than 60 bags per minute of pita chips in increments of 200 grams—in smooth-running operations whereby the VS bagger automatically positions a pre-made wicketed bag, opens it and for waits for product to load, after which it side-shifts the bag to the sealer, positions a new bag, and repeats the cycle.

Weighpack Systems F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N C I R C L E

Eagle Packaging Machinery F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N C I R C L E

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STREAMLINED LOOK

THE BIG PLUS

The new PatternJet Plus hot-melt dispensing applicators from Nordson Corporation—boasting a new flexible design and easy-to-change replacement components to enable greater custom configuration to apply a wide variety of adhesive spray patterns faster, more accurately, and with less material waste—can be easily integrated into a wide range of high-speed packaging and general product assembly operations, according to the company.

Fully compatible with the company’s patented Universal range of nozzles and Signature spray technology, the userfriendly PatternJet Plus design employs a dedicated valve to facilitate integrated process-air heating and cycling for exceptional cleanliness between pattern changes—increasing product aesthetics while reducing adhesive use and waste.

F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N C I R C L E

Compact and intelligent conveyors • • • • • •

Easy to integrate Plug and play modules Gentle product handling RFID prepared High uptime Low power consumption

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www.flexlink.com FlexLink Systems Canada, Inc. · Canada

Nordson Canada, Limited 403

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CA NA DI A N PAC K AG IN G • F E B RUA RY 2010

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ECO-PACK

NOW

NESTLÉ LIGHTENS UP FOR A SMALLER CARBON FOOTPRINT Leading bottled-water producer Nestlé Waters Canada is continuing to lighten its carbon-footprint with the launch of what the company claims to be one of the lightest bottles in the Canadian beverage industry on the market today.

Weighing a mere 9.16 grams, the newgeneration 500-ml Eco-Shape polyethylene terephtalate (PET) bottles weigh 27 per cent less than the company’s original Eco-Shape containers launched in 2007, according to Nestlé, and 60 per cent less than its first PET containers introduced in 2000.

Rolled out last month for the company’s bestselling Pure Life and Montclair brands, the fully-recyclable Eco-Shape bottles demonstrate the Puslinch, Ont.-headquartered company’s continued commitment to ongoing diversion of plastic beverage containers from landfills across Canada, according to Nestlé Waters Canada president Gail Cosman.

“Our first-generation Eco-Shape bottle was a significant step and is credited with reducing our plastics requirements by 4.59 million kilograms annually since 2007, while also

reducing CO2 emissions by eight per cent annually,” says Cosman. “It has also reduced our high-pressure compressed air consumption by 40 per cent, which has reduced our hydroelectricity consumption considerably.

“In the last five years, we have reduced CO2 emissions by 30 per cent for every liter of water produced,” notes Cosman, adding that the plastic caps used for the new Eco-Shape containers weigh only a gram each.

Operating in Canada since 1970 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nestlé Waters North America of Greenwich, Nestlé Waters Canada employs about 450 people at bottling facilities in Puslinch and Hope, B.C., as well as at distribution facilities in Puslinch, Chilliwack, B.C., and Laval, Que. Serving over 145 retail customers across the country, the water-bottler says it has undertaken a number of innovative measures in recent years to reduce its eco-footprint, including: • Manufacturing its own bottles at each of its bottling facilities to save the energy required to ship truckloads of empty bottles into its plants. According to Nestlé, this practice eliminates the need to truck 20,000 trailer-loads of empty plastic bottles per year, while saving 12 million kilograms of GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions annually.

• Shipping more than 80 per cent of its products directly from

ECO-FRIENDLY LAMINATE AN ULTIMATE REWARD While some packaging materials and components are inherently more sustainable than others, a new joint venture between Innovia Films and Sun Chemical offers compelling proof that a good mix of right technologies and commitment to the cause can overcome just about any packaging sustainability challenge out there.

Based in North East Lincolnshire, England, the recentlyformed Ultimate Packaging Limited believes it has developed the wold’s first truly biodegradable and homecompostable printed laminate for the food industry by using hybrid biodegradable inks, to reverse-print Innovia’s Natureflex film, and laminating the material with a proprietary biodegradable adhesive to metallized Natureflex.

Ultimate Packaging technical manager Derek Gibson explains:“Until now, only a small coverage of standard inks could be used to enable products to pass the EN13432 standard and to be rated as biodegradable, but the new Sun Chemical hybrid inks allow for total print coverage on food packs, while the biodegradable adhesive applied to bond

these two Innovia materials means that this product can be classed as being made from totally biodegradable components.”

First used on a promotional tea package design, the Ultigreen laminate was printed on a recently-installed 10-color Imperia model flexographic press from SOMA Engineering, according to Gibson, who says his company’s new product development team is already working on other packaged-food products utilizing the new ink and adhesive technology.

“This really is an exciting development for us and we believe that it has enormous potential,” says Ultimate Packaging sales and marketing director Chris Tonge. “It is only the first of several new products that will set our family-run business apart from our competitors.”

LONG-TERM VISION FOR CARBON-FREE FUTURE Achieving big goals requires long-term vision and commitment—something that Swedish paperboard producer Iggesund Paperboard has been displaying in abundance over the years in its unwavering quest to become a completely CO2-free manufacturer.

Guy Mallinson Last year alone, the company has managed to reduce emissions of fossil carbon-dioxide by 65 per cent at its Iggesunds Bruk facility—producer of the company’s flagship Invercote paperboard range— which is a rough equivalent of emissions from about 17,500 cars per year.

According to Iggesund, the dramatic reduction was achieved mostly through a combination of improved energy efficiencies at the plant and a greater use of biofuels for its power needs.

“Even before this move our business operations were already highly robust and sustainable,” says Iggesund business director Guy Mallinson.

“Almost 95 per cent of Iggesunds Bruk’s current energy consumption is from biofuels,” he adds,“and we only have one more investment step left before our vision of a pa8

perboard mill totally free of fossil CO2 will be a reality.

“It is our goal is to be totally self-sufficient in electricity and independent of fossil fuel.”

Mallinson relates that Iggesund has been implementing a long-term environmental improvement strategy at Iggesunds Bruk for decades to achieve virtual energy selfsufficiency—now supplying most of its own energy needs by using heat captured from ins production process and producing about half of its electricity supply, most of it derived from biofuels.

Moreover, the surplus heat produced by the mill is also used to dry timber at a nearby sawmill and to heat almost 1,000 homes in the local village, according to Mallinson.

“We’re not just good at cutting carbon-dioxide emissions; we’re a world leader when it comes to operating a major process industry with minimal environmental impact,” Mallinson states.

“Our job, and there is no contradiction involved, is to deliver a first-class product at a competitive price,” Mallinson points out, “so we can’t respond in a short-term, erratic way like public opinion sometimes does.

“By sticking with our long-term approach to the environment, we evaluate all environmental aspects when making every investment decision, because industries are forced by necessity to see the overall picture.”

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the company’s plants to retailers, with the average shipping distances from source to shelf estimated at 250 kilometers— less than 10 times the average shipping distance for fresh fruits and vegetables; Starting to use hydrogen fuelcell-powered forklifts at plants and distribution centers, as well as hybrid vehicles for sales calls; Completing a $15-million warehouse expansion last year at its Puslinch distribution center—reducing the number of trucks traveling to and from that facility by 1,500 per year; Continuously reducing the size of its paper labels since 1998. With its current labels now 35-percent smaller than the previous ones, the company estimates to have saved over 20 million pounds of paper during that time; Reducing its use of corrugated packaging by 88,000 tons over the last five years to save an estimated 528,000 trees, with a 15-precent reduction in the use of corrugate last year driven by the elimination of cardboard side-walls from most of its 24-packs of bottled water; Working on developing a next-generation bottle made entirely from recycled materials or renewable resources by 2020.

KRAFT’S WEIGHT LOSS A GAIN FOR SUSTAINABILITY While losing weight may well be one of the most challenging New Year’s resolutions to keep, it’s becoming old hat for the Northfield, Ill.-headquartered packaged foods giant Kraft Foods Inc., which has started the new year having shed some 150 million pounds (116 million kilograms) off its worldwide packaging consumption in 2009—putting it two years ahead of the company’s own packaging reduction targets.

“Our global team of employees is doing a phenomenal job creating opportunities to reduce packaging material while assuring convenience and safety,” says Jean Spence, executive vice-president of research, development and quality.

“We’ve invented a tool to help us design more efficiently and we’re finding smarter source materials—reducing our footprint and thinking differently about packaging end-of-life,” says Spence, equating last year’s efforts to taking more than 150 fully-loaded jumbo jets from Kraft’s global supply chain.

“We’re sharing ideas, challenging and motivating one another, so this is truly a collaborative team effort,” says Spence, crediting the achievement to Kraft’s three-pronged strategy of utilizing more efficient packaging design; using more sustainable packaging ingredients; and leveraging innovative partnerships with key suppliers.

Some of the company’s more striking examples of packaging reduction in North America last year include: • Twelve-percent size reduction in the packaging of Oreo cookies retailed in the U.S. (see picture), while switching to 100-percent recycled paperboard; • Using the company’s EcoCalculator software to redesign the Oscar Mayer Deli Creations brand packaging to use 30 per cent less paperboard—preventing 1.2 million pounds of packaging from going to U.S. landfills; • Switching the packaging for Maxwell House, Yuban and Nabob coffee brands retailing in North America from steel cans to composite paperboard for a 30-percent weight reduction—diverting about 8.5 million pounds of packaging from landfills in the U.S. and Canada; • Working with leading recycling companies such as RecycleBank and TerraCycle to develop innovative ways to reuse its discarded packaging to make new products.

FEBRURY 2010 • CANADIAN PACKAGING

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FEBRUARY 2010 • CANADIAN PACKAGING

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PACKAGING FOR SHELF-LIFE

Manufactured by ATS Engineering in Brampton, Ont., the model VP8-16 rotary-turntable filling, sealing and overcapping machine enables quick packaging of soft cheeses into a broad assortment of plastic containers ranging in volume size from 180 grams right up to one kilogram.

ANDREW EDITOR

BY ANDREW JOSEPH, FEATURES EDITOR •BY PHOTOS

BY JOSEPH, SANDRAFEATURES STRANGEMORE

Salerno Dairy Products senior management team includes (from left): Angelo Fidenza, chief executive officer; Anna Fidenza, director of human resources; Barbara Cortina, director of accounts payable; Dino Cortina, vice-president; Robin Ghosh, general manager.

CHEESE TO PLEASE Ontario cheesemaker carves up a bigger slice of the market platter with high-performance packaging machinery and continuous process improvement

I

f cheese really is milk’s great leap towards immortality, as the renowned American writer and broadcasting pioneer Clifton Fadiman once put it so deftly, it would be a pretty safe bet that the folks in charge of Hamilton, Ont.-based cheesemaker Salerno Dairy Products Limited are in it for the long run.

Founded in 1962 by Carmine Marzaro, who left his native Italian province of Salerno to start a new life in Canada,

the family-owned producer of Italian-style cheeses has already experienced all the key trappings of living the classic Canadian dream—escaping poverty in the old country, striking gold in the New World, diversifying to serve an increasingly multiethnic client base—and the future could hardly look brighter.

“We now sell our cheeses all over Canada, the U.S. and the world,” says Robin Ghosh, general manager of the company’s 120,000-square-foot central manufacturing facility, located in a busy industrial park on the outskirts of Canada’s steelmaking heartland.

formats—whole, shredded, grated, brick, etc.—Salerno has made a conscious effort in recent years to expand its product portfolio in a way that more accurately reflects Canada’s ever-evolving consumer base, Ghosh relates.

“Canada is obviously a very ethnically-diverse country, so we began presenting a wider variety of cheese recipes from around the world to reflect this multicultural mélange,” says Ghosh, citing the company’s growing offerings of Kosher and Halal-certified products, as well as pausterized-only and low-fat cheeses.

GROWING REACH

A high-precision, 14-head Yamato scale ensures quick and accurate dispensing of shredded cheese products into their respective hoppers.

12

“Our overseas sales are now a growing niche market for us, with our products being exported to Mexico, Middle East, Korea and even Africa,” Ghosh told Canadian Packaging on a recent visit to the Hamilton facility, which employs 150 people on a three-shift, six-days-a-week schedule to produce over six million kilograms of cheese products per year.

Now owned by the second-generation Marzaro family clan, the Salerno plant—housing 12 production and seven packaging lines under its roof—supplies nearly 70 per cent of its output to foodservice industry customers, according to Ghosh.

“The foodservice sector is very important for us; we supply cheeses to institutions, pizza retailers, and other types of further-processors and food manufacturers right across North America,” Ghosh explains.

About 15 per cent of the plant’s production is dedicated to co-packing cheese products for other food companies, according to Ghosh, with the remainder finding itself retailed under the Salerno brand label throughout major Canadian supermarket chains such as Loblaws, Zehrs, Fortinos, Sobeys and Superstore.

Producing and processing its cheeses in all the popular

Said to be one of the largest cheese-cutting machines on the market, the made-in-Germany Holac AUT 200 slicer is capable of turning large blocks of cheese into finely-processed cheese shreds at rates of up to 2,800 kilograms per hour.

FEBRUARY 2010 • CANADIAN PACKAGING

PACKAGING FOR SHELF-LIFE

extols Ghosh. “I can honestly say that there is absolutely nothing wrong with its performance.

“I can’t even comment about Reiser’s service for it yet because it’s really been problem-free for us so far.”

Manufactured by the Canton, Mass.-based food processing and packaging equipment group Reiser, which operates its Canadian subsidiary in nearby Burlington, Ont., the Repak RE25 utilizes an innovative ‘rapid air forming’ technique to achieve highly effectively distribution of film onto all of the cheese-blocks’ corners.

This feature has allowed Salerno to start using a thinner forming film, Ghosh reveals, translating into noticeable A plant employee places bricks of cheese into pockets of the recentlyinstalled Reiser Repack RE25 horizontal vacuum-packing machine. film savings.

Ghosh says he is also impressed with the machine’s fourSalerno the flexibility of lengthening its footprint with a Freshly-packed pillow-bags of shredded cheese coming out of point lifting system on the forming and sealing dies that simple addition of a few components, or even altering its one of the plant’s Ultima ST vertical form/fill/seal baggers from generates very strong closing pressure—ensuring better Hayssen Packaging Technologies. web widths to accommodate changing requirements. package integrity and reliability. publicite Stand OUT:Mise en page 1 08/02/10 09:36 Page 1 Continues on page 14 Moreover, the machine’s modular construction allows Still, the company’s Italian roots are well-reflected in the fact that the production of soft cheeses such as Bocconcini, Ricotta and Mascarpone, semi-soft varieties like Mozzarella and Provolone, and hard-cheese classics Caciocavallo, Crotonese, Parmesan, Romano, etc., account for the greatest share of Salerno’s sales and output.

“Mozzarella is the cheese we produce in the greatest volumes,” says Ghosh.

“It is a big niche for us, and because we have the ability to produce many other types of cheeses—unlike many of our competitors who only make Mozzarella— we have successfully exploited this niche to become a true competitive force in IML decoration is offered on several products, from retail to bulk sizes, the industry.” providing the highest graphic quality and the most flexibility for multiple SKUS. Despite its solid competitive credentials, Salerno is certainly not the type of company to take its hard-earned success for granted—especially in the context of a mid-sized firm having to compete against multinational food giants with vastly deeper pockets and greater economies of scale.

To defend and grow its market share, explains Ghosh, Salerno is constantly reinvesting in new production machinery and streamlining its workflow process to remain a high-productivity manufacturing enterprise.

STAND OUT W I T H I P L s W I D E R A N G E O F C O N TA I N E R S

SIZING UP

“Our size offers us an opportunity to be flexible in the way we operate,” he reasons.

“Because our runs aren’t as great as some of the larger-scale cheese producers, and because we’re not running extremely high-speed equipment, we can have product changeover done in a relatively short time—meaning we can easily accommodate special, smaller-run customer orders,” he explains.

Because Ghosh’s job comes with the responsibility of making sure that all of the plant’s multiple production and packaging lines are always performing at optimal efficiency,“I am always on the look-out for equipment that can perform better than what we currently have,” he confides.

Last summer, his open-ended search for better equipment led to the purchase of a new Repak RE25 horizontal form/ fill/seal packaging machine—a stainlesssteel, washdown-ready, vacuum-packing system that Salerno now uses to package big blocks of Mozzarella cheese ranging from one to five kilograms.

“It’s a very good and fast machine,”

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PACKAGING FOR SHELF-LIFE

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The Multivac R230 thermoformer is one of several high-performance vacuum-packing machines used by the Salerno plant to grow and diversify its product range.

CHEESE TO PLEASE Continued from page 13

A Salerno line operator using the S8 Master model small-character inkjet coder from Markem-Imaje to apply lot and best-before information onto the passing cheese-packs.

“This is a very nicely-designed machine,” says Ghosh.“I am certainly not the type to purchase new equipment just for the sake of having new equipment, but this is definitely a machine that can grow with us.”

Above all, the RE25 really delivers on its promise of improving the product’s shelf-life performance, according to Ghosh.

“It has a side vacuum that takes out more water—an important thing for us, because having excess water staying within the package actually reduces the vacuum seal performance,” he explains.

“The RE25 gives us a much better vacuum-pack, which

Industrial Components & Services

Kinecor Solutions

ensures our cheeses get the maximum shelf-life that we believe they should have,” says Ghosh, while complimenting flexible packaging producer Packall Packaging Inc. of Brampton, Ont., for supplying the high-quality pre-printed top film used on the Repak machine, along with the clear bottom film supplied by Cryovac.

In addition to the RE25 machine, Reiser also supplied Salerno with a SuperVac GK169B vacuum chamber packer— utilizing a Digimat 5 computer control for packaging odd-shaped cheese cuts—and a Holac AUT 200 dicer, claimed to be one of the largest cheese-cutting machines in the market.

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“It comes with multiple cutting grids that we can easily swap out to produce various sizes of shredded or grated cheeses,” explains Ghosh.

“With its innovative feed system, we can process four- to five-pound blocks of cheese fast enough to utilize our two Hayssen packagers at the same time.”

Manufactured by Hayssen Packaging Technologies, the two Ultima ST vertical form/fill/seal baggers both boast high-precision 14-head Yamato scale checkweighers for accurate measuring and dispensing of shredded and grated cheeses produced by Salerno.

Other key packaging and production machinery employed at the Hamilton plant include: • Two ATS VP8-16 rotary machine pail and tub fillers for packaging soft cheeses into 180-, 454-, 475-, 500-, 620-gram and one-kilogram tubs.

Both of these lines are outfitted with small-character S8 Master inkjet coders from Markem-Imaje—as is the Repak RE25 vacuum-packer—for printing lot and best-before information at printing speeds up to 5.4 meters per second.

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The Salerno plant makes extensive use of the high-performance IQ3 metal detectors from Loma Systems throughout the facility’s packaging operations to ensure optimal product quality control.

PACKAGING FOR SHELF-LIFE

All milk shipped to the Salerno plant goes through a thorough pasteurizing process in a stainless-steel Qualtech vat, with the entire process stringently monitored via an Allen-Bradley PanelView Plus 1000 operator interface.

multimillion-dollar, on-site wastewater treatment system, as well as installation of additional ultra-filtration equipment that enables the company to process the byproduct whey—once considered to be a waste—into a protein concentrate widely used in formulation of bodybuilding supplements.

And while like many other Canadian cheese producers, Ghosh thinks Canada’s antiquated milk supply quota system could use a long-awaited overhaul, he says the company is doing many things right to keep rising through the dairy industry’s ranks in coming years despite the occassional regulatory headaches.

“We have done quite well so far, in large part by constantly upgrading our produc-

tion and packaging equipment,” Gosh sums up,“but I can also assure you that Salerno is nowhere near done growing its business just yet.”

F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N O N :

Reiser Canada Packall Packaging Inc. Cryovac Canada, Inc. Multivac Canada Inc. ATS Engineering Inc. Hayssen Packaging Technologies Yamato Corporation Markem-Imaje Qualtech Inc. Rockwell Automation Tetra Pak Canada Inc. Loma Systems Bizerba Canada Inc.

printer is used for lot-coding key product data onto the corrugated cartons used for shipping the filled soft-cheese tubs and pails.

• A Qualtech Inc. stainless-steel pasteurizer, controlled by Rockwell Automation’s Allen-Bradley PanelView Plus 1000 operator interface; • Five OST cheese-making vats supplied by Tetra Pak Canada Inc.—each controlled by the PanelView Plus 1000; • Seven IQ3 metal detection systems manufactured by Loma Systems; • Seven Bizerba S8 Masters combination scale-labelers.

The SupeVac GK169B vacuum chamber machine supplied by Reiser utilizes a Digimat 5 computer control to ensure precise packaging of oddshaped cuts of cheese.

“It’s important for us to have the best quality equipment we can find, because not only are we looking for efficient production, we also need to ensure that our cheeses are made and packaged in the safest manner possible,” says Ghosh, citing the company’s all-important HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) food-safety protocol certification; an on-site quality assurance laboratory staffed with six full-time scientists; and outside lab testing to ensure optimal product safety.

SAFETY FIRST

“Salerno is fully committed to the focus of safe work practices for both our products and employees,” Ghosh asserts.

“In 2006 we implemented the WorkWell Occupational Health Program that was approved by the Workplace Safety & Insurance Board.

“We strictly adhere to this health-andsafety program to ensure that our employees work in the safest environment possible,” says Ghosh.

As for Salerno’s environmental record, Ghosh points to the recently-installed,

FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE

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BY GEORGE GUIDONI, EDITOR

AUTOMATE NOW

Left: Traveling on either side of the Cermex F272 tray-erector along two opposite infeed lanes, the passing bottles of Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin champagne are gently picked up in alternating sequence from both sides by the AN110 gantry packer and delicately lowered into the corrugated trays below in perfect top-to-tail formations.

SPARKLE AND SHINE!

Right Clockwise: A long stairway leading to the underground cellar network; a custom-designed Veuve Clicquot Loveseat forms part of the decor at VCP’s retail boutique; built by the ancient Romans, the underground chalk caves provide a perfect storage environment for VCP champagne bottles; bottles of Veuve Clicquot champagne range from the 0.188-liter ‘piccolo’ size to the massive 12-liter ‘Balthazar.’

P

roducing one of the world’s most illustrious, acclaimed and sought-after luxury brands is a highly rewarding way to earn a living on many levels.

But even for the famed French champagne house Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin (VCP), there is no such thing as free lunch in today’s hypercompetitive global economy, where continuous product and packaging innovation—along with impeccable product quality and a world-class manufacturing skillset—carry far more weight than colorful history and past glories.

Fortunately for VCP, located on the outskirts of Reims in the heart of the storied Champagne region in France’s northeast, top-notch quality and groundbreaking innovation have always played key roles in a truly remarkable 228-year company history—from its early glory days as a champagne supplier of choice to the tsarist Russia’s Romanov royal dynasty to its modern-day status as the second-largest producer in a global champagne market estimated at about $6 billion annually.

Founded in 1772 by Philippe Clicquot-Meuron, who died in 1805 to leave his widowed wife, Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, in charge, the company flourished under Madame Clicquot’s guidance in the following decades—in large part thanks to her breakthrough development of the riddling rack, which enabled a much more efficient and economic production of larger quantities of high-quality champagne.

ranging from several prominent champagne and spirits brands to high-end fragrances and cosmetics to designer fashions and leather goods—which is currently estimated to command about an 18-percent share of the global champagne market.

Nowadays producing about 30 million bottles of champagne per year and exporting to more than 150 countries, VCP is continuing to push the industry’s technological and marketing boundaries, as evidenced by the recent installa-

LEADING ROLE

RUSSIAN RUSH

By 1814, VCP was selling about 30,000 bottles of its bubbly per year in Russia alone—compared to the rest of the industry’s combined sales of about 300,000 bottles—while becoming a highly respected and sought-after brand among European aristocratic and haute bourgeoisie circles, with demand often outstripping the sparkling winemaker’s capacity to keep up.

In 1987,VCP became part of the LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) group of luxury goods companies— 16

tion of a fully-automated, turnkey end-of-line packaging system outfitted with best-in-class robotics, servodriven motion control, machine-vision sensors and other trappings of cutting-edge, 21st Century manufacturing technology.

Designed and started up last July by French end-of-linepackaging system specialists Cermex—a subsidiary of the Tetra Laval-owned group Sidel—the Line 5 installation at VCP was showcased last December to members of the global packaging industry press as a testament both to VCP’s forward-thinking vision and Cermex’s world-class turnkey line integration skills, which have enabled the 40-year-old equipment manufacturer to pass an impressive milestone of 10,000 machine installations in 2009.

Since first partnering up with VCP in 1994, Cermex had already supplied the company’s packaging facility with about 20 different machines—nurturing a healthy, longenduring business relationship that, nevertheless, was only one of many reasons why VCP picked Cermex to execute an ambitious project culminating in the champagne industry’s first-ever, one-of-a-kind packaging line handled by robots and other fully-automated equipment.

A pair of Fanuc M710 robots load filled Design Boxes in three-layer stacks onto the WB4580 wraparound case-packer below, which quickly packs them into corrugated cases at up to 25 cycles per minute.

According to Cermex sales promotion manager Jean-Marc Passemard, VCP’s rigorous supplier selection process ultimately zeroed in on Cermex thanks to its technological pedigree and long-proven competence in coming up with a turnkey solution that would fully address the project’s three main technical objectives: • Robot integration—aimed at improving the packaging line speed, precision and occupational safety and ergonomics, while simplifying product collating, case-loading, layer-card insertion, product arrangement, etc; • Automated format changeovers—requiring precise motorization of setting points and ‘robotization’ of tooling and changeovers; • Optimal quality control—ensuring maximum product FEBRUARY 2010 • C AN ADI A N PACK AGI N G

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CERMEX AND VCP

Famed champagne house retools for the future with sparkling packaging automation

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protection and QC at each stage of the process to guarantee high-impact, shelf-ready packaging for retail customers.

“Our industry lead in terms of robotics, command of speed, ergonomics, and automation of format changeovers— as well as the ability to produce reliable solutions which protect the products and their packaging—contributed significantly to the award of this contract,” says Passemard, while also crediting the company’s renowned proactive focus on R&D (research-and-development) activities.

According to Cermex, which posted revenues of about $120 million last year, the company typically spends about eight per cent of its annual turnover on R&D—employing 130 people out of a total workforce of about 550 staff.

Churning out around 400 new packaging machines per year—mostly assembled in France at Cermex factories in Corcelles-Les-Cîteaux (case-packing and palletizing) and Lisieux (shrinkwrapping and continuous case-packing)— the company estimates to test about 1,000 new products, components or processes each year, averaging 10 to 12 new commercial product launches.

With its international client base—about 70 per cent of annual turnover is generated by exports—comprising customers in the food, alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, personal-care, home-care, pharmaceutical and pa-

The AN110 gantry packer uses custom-designed suction cups to ensure gentle handling of the high-quality decorative Design Boxes without leaving any marks from accidental denting or scuffing.

per industries, the company’s invaluable multisector expertise is naturally enhanced with a high level of technical competence in handling all sorts of primary packaging formats, including cartons, plastic or glass bottles, bags, etc.

“And regardless of what types of secondary packaging we deal with, be it wraparound blanks, trays, shrinkwrap film, etc.,” Passemard points out,“our daily involvement in so many different markets enables us to pick up on all the evolving new packaging trends and to use that knowledge to design original, high-performance solutions.

“With our multisectoral knowledge, Cermex is able to transpose innovative concepts from one sector to another, while incorporating new specific parameters and application requirements.”

BUSY YEAR

There was certainly no shortage of such exacting requirements and challenges in regards to the VCP Line 5 project, which Passemard estimates to have taken a full year to execute from original concept to the line startup last July.

Having commissioned the line in large part for handling VCP’s newly-launched Design Box—an elaborate retail presentation box for 750-ml bottles of the company’s flagship Veuve Clicquot Brut Yellow Label brand—the Cermex engineering team was challenged to provide a solution that not only delivered significant throughput and productivity improvements, but also ensured that the highquality decorative boxes, produced by the Swedish-based SCA Packaging, would retain their pristine deluxe look through all rigors of the packaging line and the following distribution stages.

“These Design Boxes were created to increase Veuve Clicquot’s perception as a luxury product and reinforce its position as an innovative champagne house,” says VCP engineer Stéphane Bernelas, adding that the bright-yellow cartons—printed on top-of-the-line MAN Roland offset presses by a local corrugated packaging supplier Seyfert Packaging Champagne—are all made from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified paperboard.

With zero tolerance for product and packaging imperfections being a standard measurement for quality control in the luxury goods industry in general—and champagne business in particular—finding the right mix between high-speed, high-payload product transfer and safe-and-gentle product handling was made even more daunting by space constraints of the modest-sized VCP plant, which employs 150 to 200

Integrated with a pair of Fanuc robots outfitted with custom end-of-arm tooling for extra gentle product handling, the WB4580 wraparound casepacker quickly forms a corrugated case around stacked layers of trays holding three bottles per layer in a top-to-tail arrangement.

full-time workers over the course of a year.

For all those obstacles, a year of close collaboration between Cermex andVCP engineers ultimately paid off with a uniquely-configured, 25-meter-long, U-shaped Line 5 capable of reaching speeds of up to 8,500-bph (bottles per hour)—more than doubling the 4,000-bph maximum speed of the line it replaced (also installed by Cermex in 1997)—in smooth-running, low-noise operation whereby the entire line runs itself, with occasional human intervention for light tooling changeovers and machine maintenance.

“This installation is both unusual and innovative in many respects,” says Passemard, pointing out the line’s impressive flexibility that allows it to handle 16 different packaging formats—based on various combinations of SKUs and secondary packaging options—with built-in capacity to handle more formats in the future as retailing and shipping requirements change.

“This performance is even more remarkable given that all the many innovations that have been incorporated in a very compact footprint,” adds Passemard, explaining that U-shape design, productive use of overhead space to convey products through some packaging stages, and innovative machinery, such as a combination case-packing/palletizing system, have all contributed to keeping the footprint requirements as low as possible—without encroaching on Continues on page 18

getting complex film structures exact is business as usual.

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AUTOMATE NOW SPARKLE AND SHINE! Continued from page 17

the plant’s two other bottling lines.

While space is at a premium both within the packaging plant—perched directly above a network of chalk caves where the champagne is cellared, dating back to the Roman Empire days—it is also a precious commodity on the supremely compact Line 5, where ensuring that the fast-moving 750-ml bottles of bubbly, made from extrathick glass by leading bottlemakers Saint-Gobain and Owens-Illinois (O-I), never come in contact is a paramount requirement.

This necessity is driven both by safety considerations— packing about seven kilograms of pressure per bottle carries an omnipresent risk of a nasty bottle explosion—and the uncompromising product quality and integrity imperative for high-end champagne producers, whereby even a CorpTraysealerFood_CP_J:Reiser 9:46 AM Page 1 tiny scratch on a bottle’s label6/4/09 is deemed an unacceptable product defect.

This naturally requires extremely gentle and delicate product handling on all the Sidel and Intralox conveyors forming the backbone of Line 5 operations, which Cermex has capably executed with the use of specially-designed robotic grippers near the start of the line—such as the use of suction cups for gripping the bottles without scuffing them—and custom-designed tooling for extra-delicate stacking of filled trays and boxes in the downstream stages.

The Line 5 kicks into its daily routine with a pair of Cermex F27240 tray-erectors, from where two lanes of corrugated trays—produced in two different versions to accommodate boxed and unboxed bottles—merge into a single lane, with a Machine vision sensors from Cognex are used to verify the presence, positioning and quality of product labels and barcodes attached to the cases of VCP Design boxes coming out of the WB4580 wraparound case-packer.

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119

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photocell inspection station instantly rejecting any trays with below-par gluing, squaring or other imperfections.

The trays then travel on to a Cermex 250-kg-payload AN110 gantry packer to meet up with the finished 750-ml bottles—fed into the gantry packer via two parallel conveying lines positioned on either side of the tray infeed line.

The gantry packer continuously picks the bottles by alternating from one infeed lane to another until reaching the desired quantity of six or 12 bottles, with the robotic end-effectors also tipping the bottles from a vertical to a horizontal position as they are being lifted, so that they are perfectly placed in top-to-tail layout into the corresponding trays.

From there, a custom-made, flighted, servo-driven “step-by-step bracket conveyor” transfers the packed corrugated trays at smooth, precise intervals—programmed to move in oval-shaped path to ensure that the trays never come into contact—to the Cermex WB4580 wraparound case-packer.

Fully integrated with a pair of highperformance Fanuc M710 model packing robots—six-axis, 50-kg-payload robotic arms programed to pick and layer the passing Design Boxes or the corrugated trays in swift, 90- and 180-degree movements—the WB4580 wraparound case-packer quickly builds and folds a corrugated case around each squareshaped pack of boxed or trayed product put together by the robots at speeds of 25 cycles per minute.

Remarkably, all the product changeovers—including switching to and from Design Boxes and corrugated trays—is handled in less than 20 minutes after a program selection on the system’s HMI (human-machine interface) terminal to by the operator to change the tooling.

“These product changeovers used to take up to two or three hours on the previous line,” notes Passemard, explaining that it is the robots themselves who carry out the lion’s share of all heavy lifting off and on the tooling racks during changeovers, with human operators only handling pieces that weigh under five kilograms.

“So this is not just a powerful pro-

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Boasting two infeed lanes and a servo-driven collation table, the Cermex P4320 automatic palletizer pre-stacks two or three complete layers of corrugated shipping cases prior to transferring them onto the shipping pallets.

ductivity solution for the VCP plant; it is also a huge improvement in occupational safety and ergonomics, whereby human operators never really have to come in contact with the product at any point in the process,” Passemard points out, crediting the use of top-of-the-line control technologies—including Movidrive servo inverters from SEW-Eurodrive and Telemecanique automation components from Schneider Electric—for automating the tool-change process.

“The whole line has been designed to make sure that all the key elements are easily accessible by the operators for maintenance and cleaning,” he adds, “with the all-glass machine enclosures also enabling easy viewing of the entire line process.”

Before the fully-packed cases reach the end-of-line palletizing area, they pass by one of four labeling stations—each integrated with a Zebra model 110PAX4 thermal-transfer print engine—where one of labelers prints out the product name and champagne variety and the other generates a product barcode, with the two stand-by labelers ready to spring into action right after the next product/ format changeover.

“This Line 5 project is a perfect illustration of Cermex’s anticipation strategy, which is based on lessons drawn from observing market evolution and the analysis of future requirements,” says Passemard, crediting both the Cermex and VCP engineering teams for their input in seeing this “highly original and ambitious” project carried out so successfully.

“Incorporating cutting-edge technologies to fully automate the packing operation that handles no less than 16 different formats—along with specially-designed tooling and quality control systems throughout the process to guarantee the integrity of fragile products—provides a good example of Cermex’s ability to provide highperformance, value-added customized solutions at a competitive price.”

F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N O N :

SEW-Eurodrive Company of Canada Cognex Corporation Schneider Electric Fanuc Robotics Canada Ltd. Intralox Company Saint-Gobain Containers, Inc. Owens-Illinois Canada Corp.

Sidel Canada Inc. Cermex SCA Packaging Zebra Technologies Corporation

450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460

Please note that the above article was written courtesy of a recent site visit to VCP facilities by Canadian Packaging in December 2009, which was primarily sponsored by Cermex.

CLEAR VISION

A pair of Cognex vision sensors then verify the presence, positioning and quality of the printed product labels and barcodes attached to the traveling cases, which then pass by two checkweighing stations to make sure that the cases are complete, and move onto an Ambaflex spiral conveyor to begin their descent to the palletizing stage.

Said to be a unique, one-of-a-kind combination palletizing and casepacking system, the patented Cermex P4 palletizer—equipped with a servodriven infeed to ensure smooth, continuous operation without sudden jolts and abrupt stops/starts—pre-stacks the boxes into two or three complete layers prior to transferring them onto a finished pallet, swiftly turning the boxes in 90- or 180-degree twists to execute the preprogrammed stacking patterns.

Building an average of 8.5 layers per minute, “this palletizer can also serve as a buffer zone to let the cases accumulate during product changeover,” notes Passemard, stressing the high-performance system’s inherent space-saving benefits in for keeping the line’s footprint compact and self-contained.

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BY ANDREW JOSEPH, FEATURES EDITOR

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Left: A high-speed PTK-1700 Series open-mouth bagger for powders and granulates undergoes extensive testing at the PTS plant.

Above: Premier Tech System’s state-of-the-art, 400,000-square-foot headquarters and central production complex in Rivière-du-Loup, Que.

HOLDING THE LINE eing a true one-stop-shop is a tough act to pull off in an industry as diverse as packaging machinery and equipment, but that certainly hasn’t stopped the Premier Tech Systems (PTS)—a business unit folks at of parent company Premier Tech’s Industrial Equipment Group—from asserting itself as one of the leading single-source suppliers of end-of-line packaging equipment in North America.

Employing some 400 people at a 400,000-square-foot headquarters and assembly facility in Rivière-du-Loup, Que., the fast-growing company today also operates Canadian sister plants in Drummondville and St-Léonard, Que., and Caraquet, N.B., as well as a newly-purchased facility in Salt Lake City, Utah, with additional combined workforce of about 150 people.

By any measure, it’s been a remarkable growth story for a business founded not so long ago primarily for the purpose of being an internal supplier of automation systems and technologies for the parent company’s Premier Horticulture division.

“Although our parent company [Premier Tech] has been in business for over 85 years—structuring its business around three core segments of horticulture and agriculture, environmental technologies, and industrial equipment—PTS itself was formed in 1989 specifically for the purpose of creating many different types of automated bagging technologies to help Premier Horticulture, one of North America’s largest sphagnum peat moss producers, to package their plant-based products more efficiently,” PTS vice-president of sales and marketing Simon Roy recently told Canadian Packaging.

EARLY DAYS

According to Roy, that early experience had laid a solid growth platform for the automated packaging systems upstart, quickly expanding from its bagging machinery roots into the manufacture of wrappers, conveyors, weighing and feeding systems, volumetric feeders, robotic and conventional palletizers, and load securing systems.

Along the way, Roy explains, PTS has developed formidable complementary skills as a supplier of complete integration services—capable of delivering state-of-the-art turnkey packaging lines to its fast-growing ranks of happy customers across an increasingly diversified range of industries and geographic regions.

Generating worldwide revenues of about $100 million last year, nowadays PTS supplies its end-of-line packaging 20

solutions to many prominent clients in the chemical, foodand-beverage, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, tissue and other industries, Roy relates.

Roy says PTS enjoys a notably strong presence in the North American markets for dry-solid products, with multiple system installations across Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.

Says Roy:“We are actively involved in markets for petfood (dog and cat), animal feed/cut (all non-domestic animals), lawn-and-garden (mulches, soils, topsoils, compost, stones, etc.), peat moss, wood shavings, wood pellets, de-icing salt, building materials and insulation (rockwool, fiberglass, cellulose, cement, Simon Roy, concrete mixes, mortars, etc.), Vice-President, Sales and Marketing, and foodstuffs such as flours, Premier Tech Systems. sugars, starches, sweeteners, spices and other ingredients.”

According to Roy, a lot of the credit for the 20-yearold company’s stellar growth record can be attributed to its acquired know-how and expertise in packaging systems integration, complementary software systems development, and deployment of sophisticated remote monitoring solutions based on extensive use of Ethernet and other modem technologies.

“For quite a long time now, PTS has been very successful in providing turnkey packaging solutions—covering everything from handling raw materials right down to the stretchwrapped pallets,” Roy explains.

“All of our dosing (weighers and fillers), bagging, palletizing, load securing and material handling systems have been specifically designed, manufactured and integrated by our teams to ensure that the various components of the production line communicate with each other in the most effective way possible,” he adds.

“Integration not only saves the customer time and effort,” Roy asserts, “it also makes a production line run faster and more effectively.”

Despite the current economic recession, the virtual parity between the U.S. and Canadian currencies, and the highly competitive nature of the packaging equipment industry, Roy states that PTS has positioned itself well to withstand

the harsh economic environment of the day.

“As every exporter to the U.S. will agree, watching the Canadian dollar go from $1.57 to nearly par with its American cousin has made it a lot tougher to do business in the U.S., which accounts for approximately 45 per cent of our sales,” Roy acknowledges.

“But I believe we have responded well to the challenge by adjusting the way we do business and by embracing all of the ‘lean’ principles—including lean manufacturing, lean design and lean office practices—which has greatly improved the outlay of costs on our side,” he reasons.

Despite the related cost-cutting, Roy maintains that the company’s commitment to proactive R&D (research-anddevelopment) has remained as strong as ever—driving continuous improvement and innovation in the technologies and solutions supplied to PTS costumers.

“We’ve been able to innovate in the pet-food industry with our state-of-the-art packaging lines that can reach far superior speeds than previous technologies could in the past,” Roy points out.

“And the same goes for the feed and seed industries, where our ongoing efforts in the direction of E-strategy—entailing monitoring, recipe management, remote cameras and other new approaches—is truly starting to set us further apart from our competition.”

Similarly, PTS is not adverse to pursuing new growth opportunities through acquisition when the right opportunity comes along, as evidenced by last spring’s purchase of the equipment division of Graphic Packaging International Inc. in Salt Lake City—spurring an ahead-of-schedule launch of the new STONEPAK integrated valve bagging systems for the building materials segment.

“With this recent acquisition and integration, PTS has strengthened its position as a North American leader in the industrial flexible packaging industry,” says Roy, explaining that an opportunity to add a leading brand of valve bagging equipment with ultrasonic sealing capabilities and automation modules for precise bag placement was just too good to pass up.

“Purchasing this company was an important part of the puzzle we needed to have, as the lack of this particular technology was a hole in our portfolio of products,” reveals Roy. “When you want to attack the building materials industry, one needs to have a valve bagging line, and I think we now have a superior one to help us become a major player in that sector.”

FEBRUARY 2010 • CANADIAN PACKAGING

PHOTOS COURTESY OF PREMIER TECH SYSTEMS

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Quebec manufacturer of packaging equipment expands its integration capabilities to pave the way for solid future business growth

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Noting that PTS has completed a total of nine such acquisitions since 1995, Roy singles out the relatively recent buyout of Montreal-based material handling equipment manufacturer GescoFAB, which significantly increased PTI’s capabilities in supplying end-of-line packaging solution for handling hard goods such as boxes, trays, cans, jugs, drums, etc.

“Because we wanted to expand our reach within that market, it really wasn’t too much of a stretch for us to see the possibilities in that sector’s end-of-line solutions,” Roy remarks.“It just made good business sense.

“We’ve been known in the past for having solutions for all flexible applications, such as bags, but since we have a plethora of engineering and design capabilities to go along with our palletizing, converting and load-securing options, it was a relatively simple step for us to move into hard goods.”

An SEW-Eurodrive motor lends its power to an open-mouth bagging system being assembled at the Premier Tech Systems production facility.

choices for their specific application needs is at the very core of all PTS business activities and strategic decision-making.

“Because we provide all of the

TOP CLASS

Because PTS positions itself as top-tier supplier of packaging equipment and related integration services, Roy says it is vitally important for the company to use ‘best-in-breed’ components and subsystems from the world’s leading OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), including: • SEW-Eurodrive, a leading supplier of gearmotors and related drive engineering technologies; • SMC Corporation, a renowned global supplier of pneumatic devices and technologies; • Siemens, one of the world’s leading suppliers of electrical drives and other industrial devices and controls; • Rockwell Automation, manufacturer of the popular Allen-Bradley range of electronic components and controls; • Fanuc Robotics, one of the world’s most prominent manufactures of pickand-place, packing and palletizing robots.

Says Roy:“We have structured ourselves with a team whose sole purpose is to provide our customers with integration services—ensuring optimal communication between equipment pieces and integration of all remote monitoring and optimization services, along with some third-party equipment such as labeling systems, tag placing or metal detection devices and so on—to make sure that all the pieces of equipment are doing their jobs, and that all of their activity is recorded through our information systems.”

At the end of the day, asserts Roy, helping the customer make the best equipment

services a customer might require, and thus have a very good understanding of all aspects of a production line, it helps us in our ability to work with our customers, to guide them through the process, and to put together the best overall solution that suits their application needs and production levels,” Roy sums up.

“And while we are momentarily satisfied with our business portfolio,” he concludes,“we are still always looking for ways to expand our levels of expertise so that we can serve the customer even better.”

F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N O N :

Premier Tech Systems SEW-Eurodrive Co. of Canada SMC Canada Siemens Canada Rockwell Automation, Inc. Fanuc Robotics Canada Ltd.

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BYEDITOR ANDREW JOSEPH, EDITOR

BY ANDREW JOSEPH, FEATURES • PHOTOS BYFEATURES COLE GARSIDE

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From left: Jim O’Keeffe, vice-president of marketing and sales, and Sharron Gilbert, president and chief executive officer, pose alongside one of the Septimatech’s storage solutions for change-parts at the company’s showroom in Waterloo.

Septimatech’s recently-released Unison Modular Flex Guide System can easily adjust up to 80 feet of rail along any conveyance system with a simple turn of wheel.

THE GROUP OF SEVEN Ontario quick-change parts maker glides through the economic storm with customer-centric culture and world-class manufacturing skillset

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ne of the very few upsides of an economic recession is that it inevitably separates industry leaders and shining lights from pretenders and also-rans lacking the competitive skillset and inner strength to cope with the tough going.

Which bodes very well in terms of future prospects for the likes of Septimatech Group Inc., Waterloo, Ont.based industrial systems designer and manufacturer that was actually hiring new staff throughout last year—just as most of Canada’s manufacturing base was shedding jobs at rates not seen since the Great Depression.

According to company president and chief executive officer Sharron Gilbert, the company—founded in 1993 by her father Peter Fenton and six other enterprising packaging professionals with varied backgrounds in design engineering, sales and marketing, manufacturing and quality assurance, administration and service—managed to hold its own during the recession in large part by reaffirming its commitment to the company’s seven core founding principles.

“All of our employees follow a seven-part ‘Leadership

Septimatech designs and manufactures custom change-parts and subsystems to enable quick machine parts and tooling replacement.

22

Legacy’ that was formulated by my father: be committed to the customer; deliver superior quality; act with trust and honesty; do business with class and dignity; cooperate and share responsibility; communicate openly with others; and take leadership and share the excitement of being part of Septimatech,” says Gilbert.

“It’s a big part of our cultural identity,” Gilbert told Canadian Packaging on a recent visit to the company’s modern, 16,000-square-foot manufacturing facility that now employs 52 people to manufacture change-parts, components, tooling and subsystems for custom container handling applications in the food-and-beverage, pharmaceutical, personalcare and home-care products, OEM (original equipment manufacturer) and other industrial sectors.

MIND THE GAP

“It was nice to have that 20-cent differential between our Canadian and U.S. dollar before, but when that differential began to shrink, we put together a strategy that would help us make a profit even if it were to hit par,” relates Gilbert, saying the company achieved this goal with a keen focus on cutting internal costs within its process management and production workflow, as well as making better use of its workforce.

“Septimatech took a hard look at itself and realized that if it was to not only survive but succeed in this economic climate, we were going to have to make a few changes in how we did business.

“We would never lose sight of our seven core business values,” she says,“but we knew we needed to trim the waste in how we operated.”

While becoming a leaner enterprise became a top priority, Gilbert points out that the company never wavered from its firm commitment to R&D (research-and-development), which she credits to helping it become a leader in the manufacture of quick-change tooling, change-parts, feedscrews, label handling components, parts storage solutions, feedscrew drive systems, and guide-rail adjustment devices.

“We’re always looking for ways to stay ahead of the curve with regards to product and container motion control, so that all of our computer-engineered designs and manufacturing procedures can help the customer succeed,” explains Gilbert.“Because when they succeed, we succeed.

“And since we’re in the business of helping our customers achieve their production goals more efficiently, we needed to do the same within our operations.”

Vice-president of sales and marketing Jim O’Keeffe credits the company’s seven co-founders—who used the Latin word septima (seven) to come up with the name Septimatech—for maintaining its customer-centric corporate culture even after the passing of Peter Fenton.

“Our core business is to provide easy-to-implement solutions for production lines that will increase machine performance and optimize line efficiency,” states O’Keeffe.

“We do this by providing our niche market clients with three key items: What they want; how they want it; and when they want it.”

Gilbert and O’Keeffe both agree that their Septimatech is especially well-positioned to cope with the recessionary pressures because many of its customers simply don’t have the budgets for high-ticket capital investment projects— making them more likely to spend what they have on enhancing the performance of their existing machinery with the sort of products manufactured by Septimatech.

“Nowadays companies aren’t looking to reinvest large amounts of money with capital investments into brand new equipment,” says Gilbert.“But because companies still want and need to improve how they operate, they can spend far less on upgrading their equipment and achieve virtually the

Utilizing a unique manufacturing process, the custom-designed feedscrews provide accurate fit for container all types of shape profiles, as well as gentle rate acceleration and smooth container transfer.

FEBRUARY 2010 • CANADIAN PACKAGING

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to perform the changeover; most parts weigh less than nine kilograms (20 pounds); and we use our ‘puzzle-cut’ manufacturing technique to make sure that the parts can only fit together in one particular way—making it virtually impossible to put the parts on incorrectly.

“The RXNT change-parts system we created increases productivity and profitability by reducing changeover production downtime and increasing throughput by providing complete container control through all the steps of the process,” says O’Keeffe, adding that Septimatech can manufacture its parts from many different materials to suit the customers’ application requirements—including the lightweight, highly durable UHMW (ultra high molecular weight) polyethylene that can be color-coded with 81 different combinations for simple product identification.

GUIDING LIGHT

A Systematech engineer utilizes the pinpoint accuracy of a Faro Fusion portable measuring arm to ensure precise alignment, calibration and inspection with accuracy of within 16 microns.

same results with the products that we offer.”

One such noteworthy product is the comprehensive line of RXNT (Rapid eXchange NoTools) change-parts— designed specifically to enable manufacturers to speed up their once-tedious changeovers in a cost-effective manner, with minimal machine downtime.

“We follow the 5-S principles of lean manufacturing in the way we design our systems: sort, simplify, shine, standardize and sustain,” O’Keeffe explains. “So we simplified our change-parts to make sure that no tools are required

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Another popular Septimatech product offering is the recently-launched Unison Modular Flex Guide System—an innovative guide rail adjustment solution designed to let conveyor system users change up to 24.4 meters (80 feet) of guide-rail along any conveyor shape, including straight, S-bends, crossovers and corners, from a single position.

“Depending on one’s needs, the customer could purchase an off-the-shelf format or a custom-designed Unison system,” says O’Keeffe.“In fact, by purchasing off-the-shelf, the customers need only to order the exact pieces they need for their specific applications.

“The nice thing is that should the customer later discover a need to expand or alter their current conveyance system, the Unison solution is modular, which makes it easy to change and install.”

Because most of the work done by Septimatech involves

A Septimatech design engineer utilizing 3D computer modeling software to verify a new starwheel design for a non-standard shape bottle filler.

the retrofitting of parts and systems on over 225 different types of machines, the company’s in-house design team makes extensive use of 3D (three-dimensional) simulation software systems to ensure the manufacture of preciselymachined, perfectly-sized parts and components.

“There’s no point in us looking at a starwheel on a bottling line and merely adding a component unless we are sure it will not adversely affect the rest of the production down the line,” states O’Keeffe. “Septimatech is all about doing its due diligence.”

Adds Gilbert:“For us, it’s all about solving the customer’s problem. Because of Septimatech’s size, we have a relatively short decision tree, which means our response time is quicker.

“And for us, having a fast turnaround time, smart and courteous staff, and being able to offer an affordable alternative to purchasing new equipment are all key parts of what has helped Septimatech grow its business, unlike many of our competitors.”

F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N O N :

Septimatech Group Inc. FARO Technologies Inc.

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CANADIAN PACKAGING • FEBRUARY 2010

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events EVENTS

Feb. 23 Mississauga, Ont.: Efficient Plants, Safer People, seminar

by Paper Packaging Canada (PPC). At Mississauga Convention Centre. Contact Michelle Connolly at (905) 458-1247; or via email: mconnolly@paperpackaging.ca

April 19-23 Hannover, Germany: Hannover Fair 2010, international industrial technologies exhibition by Deutsche Messe AG. At Hannover Exhibition Grounds. In Canada, contact Co-Mar Management Services at 1 (800) 727-4183 or (416) 690-0331.

Feb. 23-25 Toronto: Cold Chain Management & Temperature Control Summit, Canadian pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries exposium by the International Quality & Productivity Center (IQPC). At Westin Harbour Castle.To register, go to: www.coldchainpharm.com

April 21-23 Montreal: SIAL Canada, international food show by Comexposium. At Palaids des Congrès de Montréal.

Contact Thierry Quagliata at (514) 289-9669, ext. 2232; or go to: www.sialcanada.com

March 8-10 Orlando, Fla: Global Plastics Environmental Conference, by the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE). At The Florida Hotel & Conference Center. Contact Lesley Kyle at (203)740-5452; or go to: www.4spe.org March 9-11 Guangzhou, China: Sino-Pack, packaging technologies exhibition by Adsale Exhibition Services Ltd. Concurrently with the China Drinktec exhibition.

Both at China Import and Export Fair Pazhou Complex.

To register, go to: www.2456.com/sino-pack or www.2456.com/drinktec March 30-31 Shanghai, China: Luxe Pack Shanghai, international luxury packaging exhibition by IDICE MC. At Shanghai International Convention Center.To register, go to: www.luxepackshanghai.com April 13-15 Dallas,Tex.: Innovation takes Root, global forum on bioplastics and manufactured fibers by NatureWorks LLC. At Four Seasons Resort & Club.To register, go to: www.InnovationTakesRoot.com April 14-16 Orlando, Fla.: RFID Journal Live, radio frequency identification technologies conference and exhibition by RFID Journal. At Orange County Convention Center.

Contact RFID Journal at (631) 249-4960; or go to: www.rfidjournalevents.com/live

May 11-12 Mexico City, Mexico: Label Summit South America 2010, labeling technologies conference and exhibition by Tarsus Group plc. At Hilton Mexico City Reforma.To register, go to: www.labelexpo.com May 16-20 Orlando, Fla: ANTEC 2010, plastics industry exhibition and conference by the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE). At Marriott Resort & Convention Center Orlando. Contact Lesley Kyle at (203)740-5452; or go to: www.4spe.org May 18-20 Montreal: MMTS (Montreal Manufacturing Technology Show), by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME). At Place Bonaventure.To register, go to: www.mmts.ca May 19-20 NewYork City: Luxe Pack NewYork, luxury packaging exhibition by Luxe Pack Monaco. At Metropolitan Pavilion.To register, go to: www.luxepacknewyork.com May 29 - June 2 Istanbul,Turkey: IPT Istanbul 2010, annual paper/carton/ corrugated production and processing machinery and paper-based packaging technologies exhibition,

by TUYAP Fairs Inc. At TUYAP Fair, Convention and Congress Center.To register, go to: www.iptistanbulfair.com June 16-19 Bangkok,Thailand: ProPak Asia 2010, international processing, filling and packaging technology fair for Asia by Allworld Exhibitions. At Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Center. In Canada, contact Canada Unlimited Inc. at (416) 237-9939; or go to: www.propakasia.com

April 18-21 Albuquerque, N.M.: TAPPI 2010 PLACE, conference by the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI).To register, go to: www.tappi.org

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Working with KINECOR goes a lot further than just delivering the right part.

Through KINECOR’s knowledge of your process and our extensive product range, we can help reduce your total acquisition costs. We keep production lines moving through proactive help to avoid breakdowns, therefore minimizing costly downtime and improving your production efficiency.

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For more information, please visit our website at www.kinecor.com or contact us at 1-866-KINECOR

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June 22-25 Mexico City: EXPO PACK Mexico, international packaging technologies exhibition and conference by the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute (PMMI). Contact PMMI at (703) 243-8555; or go to: www.packexpo.com June 29-30 Barcelona, Spain: Digital Label Summit, digital labeling technologies conference and exhibition

by Tarsus Group plc.

At Hotel Rey Juan Carlos I. To register, go to: www.labelexpo.com July 14-15 Miami, Fla.: MATTECH 2010, material handling, manufacturing, packaging and supply chain technologies exhibition by B&B Expositions. At the Miami Beach Convention

Center. Contact B&B at (941) 320-3216; or go to: www.mattech.us July 14-16 Shanghai, China: ProPak China 2010, international processing, packaging and end-line printing exhibition

by Allworld Exhibitions. Concurrently with the China BevTek 2010 exhibition. Both at the Shanghai New International Expo Center. In Canada, contact Canada Unlimited Inc. at (416) 237-9939; or go to: www.propakchina.com July 22-23 Tokyo, Japan: Label Forum Japan 2010, labeling technologies conference and exhibition by Tarsus Group plc and Label Shimbun. At Bellesalle Shiodome.

To register, go to: www.labelexpo.com Sept. 14-16 Chicago: Labelexpo Americas 2010, labeling technologies conference and exhibition by Tarsus Group plc.

At Donald E. Stephens Convention Center.

To register, go to: www.labelexpoamericas.com Oct. 4-8 Baltimore, Md.: Corrugated Week 2010, joint fall meetings and supplier trade fairs of the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI) and the Association of Independent Corrugated Converters (AICC).

At the Hyatt and Hilton hotels.To register, go to: www.tappi.org or www.aiccbox.org Oct. 17-20 Norfolk,Va.: TAPPI PEERS Conference, technical symposium on Pulping, Engineering, Environment, Recycling and Sustainability (PEERS) by the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI).

To register, go to: www.tappi.org Oct. 20-22 Monaco: Luxe Pack Monaco, luxury packaging exhibition

by Luxe Pack Monaco. At Grimaldi Forum.To register, go to: www.luxepackmonaco.com Oct. 27 - Nov. 3 Düsseldorf, Germany: K 2010, international trade fair for plastics and rubber by Messe Düsseldorf. Contact Messe Düsseldorf North America at (312) 781-5180; or via email: info@mdna.com Oct. 31 - Nov. 3 Chicago: PACK EXPO International 2010, international packaging technologies exhibition and conference by the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute (PMMI).

At McCormick Place. Contact PMMI at (703) 243-8555; or go to: www.packexpo.com Nov. 2-4 Orlando, Fla.: 2010 Automation Fair exhibition and 2010 Manufacturing Perspectives conference

by Rockwell Automation Inc.To register, go to: www.automationfair.com Nov. 18-20 Mumbai, India: PackTech India 2010, international packaging technologies exhibition by Messe Düsseldorf.

Concurrently with the drink technology India exhibition

by Messe München. Both at the Bombay Exhibition Centre. Contact Messe Düsseldorf North America at (312) 781-5180; or via eamil: info@mdna.com Nov. 22-25 Paris, France: EMBALLAGE 2010, international packaging exhibition by Comexposium. At Paris Nord Villepinte Exhibition Centre.To register, go to: www.emballage.com Dec. 8-10 New Delhi, India: Labelexpo India 2010, labeling technologies conference and exhibition by Tarsus Group plc. At Pragati Midan.To register, go to: www.labelexpo.com februry 2010 • CANADIAN PACKAGING

people People

l The Canadian Packaging magazine extends deep sympathies and condolences to the family, colleagues and business associates of long-time veteran of the Canadian pulp and paper industry John Thomas Woolley, who passed away last month in Mississauga, Ont., at the age of 91. A decorated Lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Navy in WWII, he began his successful 67-year career in the corrugated container industry with Hygrade Containers of London, Ont. in 1945—followed by employment with Canadian International Paper, Domtar, Cameron Packaging and Propak, which he joined in 1983 and remained with the company until about a month before his death. A well-respected and popular packaging industry professional, he was celebrated by members of the Association of Independent Corrugated Converters (AICC Canada) as an “icon of the industry” on his 90th birthday, with an academic scholarship established in his name.

semblies for material handling, packaging and other industrial applications, has appointed Charles Collier as sales director for the company’s European operations.

Collier

l ORBIS Corporation, Oconomowoc, Wis.based manufacturer of reusable plastic containers, pallets and dunnage, has appointed Mark Gorzek as vice-president of finance. l PolyOne Corporation, Cleveland, Ohioheadquartered manufacturer of specialized polymer materials, has appointed Vincent Shermo as vice-president and controller.

l Martin Automatic Inc., Rockford, Ill.-based manufacturer of automatic splicing unwinds, automatic transfer rewinds200 and x tension controlTCO, sys- CC-en31-AZ040_09/09 Canadian Packaging, Format 273 mm, tems for the converting industries, has appointed l German pharmaceutical packaging Gavin Rittmeyer as vice-president of sales and products and medical devices manufacturer marketing.

Gerresheimer AG has appointed John Kelly as North American director for the Kelly company’s pre-filled syringes business, reponsible for sales in Canada and the U.S.

l Anchor Packaging, St. Louis, Mo.-

based manufacturer of upscale take-out packaging products for the restaurant and foodservice industries, has appointed Brian Grant as manager of foodservice sales for the West Coast region.

l Swedish-based paper packaging group SCA Packaging has appointed Michael Cronin as president of the company’s European packaging business and operations.

Cronin

l Neopac, Fairfield, N.J.-

Life is liquid. (2)

Measure twice.

Cut once.

based manufacturer of the Polyfoil range of tubes for pharmaceutical, personal care, cosmetics and bioGeiger technology industries, has appointed Andreas Geiger as head of innovation and development, Thomas Kaufmann as head of quality management, and Martina Kaufmann Christiansen as director of sales for the phrarmaceutical business.

l Wharton, N.J.-based DMI, contract manufacturer and co-packer of cosmetics, personal-care products, health-and-beauty aids, Piccione nutritional supplements and OTC pharmaceuticals, has appointed Lori Piccione as sales and marketing executive. l Consumer packaging products

conglomerate Silgan Holdings Inc., headquartered in Stamford, Conn., has appointed Adam Greenlee as chief operating officer—in addition to his current duties as executive vice-president.

l Pharmaceutical pack-

Czarnopys

aging products manufacturer Cortegra of Fairfield, N.J., has appointed Mary Czarnopys as sales representative for midwestern U.S.

l Bunting Magnetics Co., Newton, Ks.-based manufacturer of magnetic as-

High operating costs are often the result of short-sighted investments made without sufficient due diligence. At Krones, we listen carefully to your goals for your line or production facility. We ask a lot of questions, measure and calculate again and again. And provide you with concepts featuring the best technology, greatest cost efficiency and least environmental impact – custom cut to fit your organization. We can’t make the investment decision for you. But we can make it easy.

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Find out more at: www.krones.com/en/solutions

CIRCLE

107

C H E C KO U T

B Y R A C H E L H O R V AT H

Travel-friendly packaging always makes for perfect company

••• As for the honeymoon, a trip-of-a-lifetime 14-day Mediterranean cruise, I made it a point to travel as light as possible—making sure not to waste an inch of space or an ounce of weight in my checked-in luggage allowance.This set the stage for an interesting shopping excursion to obtain some essential travel-size toiletries and other necessities. My first stop, always a trustworthy source whenever I travel, was a local outlet of the famed New York City-based boutique body products retailer Kiehl’s LLC, where I picked up a few larger-than-average, 75-ml bottles of shampoo, condi-

tioner and skin lotion.

Packing at least 50 per cent more product than the run-of-themill 35-ml to 50-ml toiletry containers typically stocked at mainstream drugstore outlets, these containers are just the ticket for longer trips—being smallish enough to pass the airports’ stringent fluid size restrictions for carry-on luggage. I’ve always been attracted to Kiehl’s simple, recyclable plastic bottles—whereby all the key product information is ingeniously tucked into expandable, peel-and-stick plastic labels—with their firmly-snapping plastic closures ensuring reliable leakproof travel. As a loyal store customer, I also usually manage to sweet-talk staff into throwing in a few 5-ml sample packs— lightweight, self-contained and supremely convenient skincare supplements that are brilliant additions to bring along on shorter one-day journeys.

••• For me, the hallmark of an outstanding travel-friendly package is a brand’s ability to replicate all the consumerfriendly attributes and features of a regular-size product in a scaled-down version. On this count—the Secret baby powder invisible antiperspirant from Procter & Gamble Inc. fits the bill to a tee. Aside from being shorter than the 45-gram and 73-gram sizes of the brand found in the non-travel store aisles, the 14-gram version provides identical surface area as the regular sizes—making it just as functional—as well as the same-size product-dispensing dial at the bottom of the container to ensure the same high level of user-friendliness.

••• Being something of a sun worshipper, I often find myself frustrated with sunscreen products taking up far more than their fair share of space in my luggage—with multiple bottles in varying SPF strengths and application formats also inviting stern disapproval from my husband, who simply detests the stuff on principle despite his English-pale

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX • Tisma Vertical Cartoner TC-50E BL • Cremer 12 Lane Tablet/Capsule Counter TO-1230 • Qty 2. 48 Thomas Accela Coaters 48-M-111 • Austin-Gordon Desiccant Dispensers PD-202 • Kalish LabelIt Wraparound Labeler Model 7200 • Patterson Kelley 10 Cu Ft “V” Blender • Uhlmann Thermoforming Blister Machine UPS 1.1 • IWKA Cartoners, Model CP60 and CPK-1 • Uhlmann Vertical Strip Packaging Machine, HS4 • Brunner Horizontal Cartoner Mdl CMI-11 • Hayssen Ultima Vertical Form Fill Sealer CMD-12-16 • Omega Bottle Unscrambler 20-RP1-6

Packaging Materials Sales International Packaging Materials Supplier is currently seeking a Sales Representative for their Ontario and Western Canada territories. Knowledge of the food manufacturing industry a plus, but not required. Travel is required, home office. Comprehensive benefits program, travel budget and auto allowance make this an attractive opportunity. This company is rapidly growing in Canada and around the world, don’t miss your opportunity.

Submit your resumes via Fax to 518-751-1587 or by Email to applynow@midwestcareerspecialist.com

X-RAY INSPECTION SERVICE What would you do if you have or suspect Foreign Object Contamination?

RISK IT? SCRAP IT? INSPECT IT? Reclaim good product so you can ship with confidence & protect your brand reputation. CFIA approved x-ray system detects metals down to 0.8 mm. Stainless (even foil packaging) as well as glass, stone, bone, etc. Case-size also available.

Onguard Product Inspection Inc. Tel: 905-631-8456 Fax 905-631-9307 info@onguardinspection.com www.onguardinspection.com

26

R.S. NO. 101 102

PAgE

ats Engineering 15 Atlantic Packaging 4 Products Ltd. 13 103 Danafilms 17 7 104 Flexliink Systems Canada 105 Harlund Industries Ltd. 23 106 IPL Inc. 13 107 J.W. Winco 25 108 Kinecor 14 109 Kinecor 24 110 Krones Inc. 25 111 Markem-Imaje Ltd. 11 112 Multivac Inc. 21 113-118 QuickLabel Systems, An Astro-Med Product Group 9 119 Robert Reiser & Co. Inc. 18 120 SEW-Eurodrive Co. of Canada 27 121 Septimatech Group 23 122 Tsubaki of Canada Ltd. 2 123 VC999 Packaging Systems 6 124 Videojet Technologies 3 Canada Ltd. 125, 126 WeighPack Systems Inc. 19, 28

skin easily getting sunburned even under fairly limited exposure. Hence I was totally psyched to have come across the Ombrelle’s 60 SPF stick from Montreal-based Ombrelle Canada. Packaged in an oversized chapstick-type tube, the leakproof 9-gram contraption—proudly boasting credible approval from the Canadian Dermatology Association no less—is perfectly shaped for quick and easy application onto the face, ears and neck whenever you are feeling yourself starting to bake beyond the comfort zone. Best of all, the non-greasy stick texture even convinced my husband to allow me to coat his face for a trip to the Great Pyramids under blistering desert sun—saving him from untold pain and agony afterwards.

••• As for greasy stuff, I’m really compelled to commend the Polysporin brand’s new Poly To Go First Aid antiseptic/pain-relieving spray applicator from Johnson & Johnson Inc. I’ve always been a big fan of the product’s miraculous pain-reliving and germinhibiting powers when treating minor cuts, but my admiration was always tempered by the gunky, flaking metallic tube that always oozed out way too much product for a simple application, with the excess gel inevitably managing to coat the outer packaging or applicator several times before the tube was used up. But it is a whole new ball-game with this no-mess, no-nonsense 7.7-ml contraption—already enjoying widespread use for breath-freshening sprays—which just needs a simple press of the trigger to dispense a perfect dose of soothing pain relief each and every time.

Rachel Horvath, vice-president of television production at Lone Eagle Entertainment Ltd. in Toronto, is currently producing the second season of the Carlawood reality TV series, starring Canadian comedienne Carla Collins, which is set to air on TVtropolis and Slice channels in the fall.

FREE

PRODUCT INFORMATION

FEBRUARY 2010

CIRCLE THE R.S. NO. THAT MATCHES THE NUMBER ON THE ADVERTISEMENT OR ARTICLE OF INTEREST.

FAX THIS BACK TO US AT (416) 764-1755 Name ________________________________________________________ Title__________________________________________________________ Company Name_________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________________ City__________________________________________________________ Prov. ____________________________P/Code_______________________ Telephone_____________________________________________________ Fax___________________________________________________________ Email Address__________________________________________________ FEBRUARY 2010 • C ANAD I AN PAC KAGI NG

PHOTOS BY ELENA LANGLOIS

Getting married a few months ago was naturally an eye-opening experience in many different ways—including sudden awareness of the significant environmental impact of all the related festivities and rituals. The waste generated from a traditional wedding can be truly unbelievable: Just think of all the paper used for those ‘save the date’ cards, shower and wedding invitations, response cards and, ultimately, all the elaborate but excessive packaging that accompanies each and every wedding gift. Really, why must bedsheet sets come in so much plastic wrap and cardboard? In this light, I am compelled to give a hearty shout-out to online registries in general, and to the William Ashley China gift registry department specifically, for helping keep my Big Day’s eco-footprint fairly modest, while brightening my many morning trips to the mailbox with arrivals of lovely, distinctive pearl envelopes announcing another purchase from my gift registry. Once the wedding was over, the used iconic matte gold boxes and fabric ribbon bows of William Ashley’s ultraelegant gift wrapping became a welcome new feature around my household—with the boxes used as decorative storage bins in my hall closet and elsewhere, and the eye-pleasing bows cleverly employed by a close friend to create a stunning goldribboned Christmas tree concept for the past festive season.

Thank you my dear generous friends: I look forward to entertaining you all with my gorgeous new china!

MECHANICAL DRIVES

SEVERE DUTY CORROSION PROTECTION

the

F-SERIES SNUGGLER ®

Parallel Helecal Gearmotors SEW-Eurodrive’s F-Series parallel helical gearmotor lives up to its name as the ideal drive for tight space conditions. This compact drive, with its multiple mounting configurations, is a rugged alternative to right angled gearmotors.

SEW-Eurodrive has introduced a new line of aseptic gearmotors to meet the high levels of hygiene crucial to the production of food and beverages, as well as the stringent demands of the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. SEW has solved this challenge with the aseptic design of helical, parallel shaft helical, helical-bevel and helical-worm gearmotors made entirely of smooth stainless steel, cooled by pure convection cooling — eliminating conventional fan and cooling ribs, which prevents the build-up of germs and bacteria on the surface and allows for easy regular cleaning.

CORROSION PROTECTION PRODUCT RANGE Power ratings from 0.34 to 2.0 HP Can be mounted directly onto R, F, K, S-Series gear units in all standard positions FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE

131

F-SERIES PRODUCT RANGE

Get off Easy for a Change.

Power ratings from 0.05 to 336 HP Output speeds from 0.06 to 464 rpm (based on 4 pole motor) Output torques to 159,300 lb-in.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE

127

K-SERIES Helical-Bevel Gearmotors SEW-Eurodrive’s K-Series right angle helicalbevel gearmotors deliver maximum performance and reliability with 95%+ efficiency and high torque density. Durable gearing designed for long service life makes this drive an ideal choice for demanding around-the-clock applications.

K-SERIES PRODUCT RANGE Power ratings from 0.05 to 615 HP Output speeds from 0.05 to 326 rpm (based on 4 pole motor) Output torques to 442,500 lb-in.

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S-SERIES

With TorqLOC ®. The keyless hollow shaft mounting system.

Helical-Worm Gearmotors SEW-Eurodrive’s S-Series right angle gearmotors offer helical-before-worm gearing combining durability with power-packed performance in a compact design that requires no motor belts or couplings.

S-SERIES PRODUCT RANGE Power ratings from 0.05 to 46 HP Output speeds from 0.05 to 257 rpm Output torques to 35,400 lb-in.

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AC MOTORS

TorqLOC’s corrosion-resistant, stainless steel design makes it the perfect choice for production line wash-down environments.

and Breakemotors SEW-Eurodrive’s squirrel-cage motors and brakemotors deliver exceptional performance and reliability combined with low maintenance.

Designed for continuous duty under tough service conditions, these low-noise brakemotors are used wherever fast, safe braking is a major application requirement.

While hollow shaft mounting systems offer advantages over traditional securing methods, they’re extremely susceptible to corrosion. As a result, getting a gearbox off the shaft is difficult, often impossible. The revolutionary TorqLOC makes things easy for a change.

TorqLOC is a compact, keyless hollow shaft mounting system that offers manufacturers operating in wash-down environments an unrivalled solution for coupling drive systems to their machinery.

With a keyless design that fits a variety of standard shaft sizes without additional machining, TorqLOC reduces operating costs and allows simple, fast assembly by eliminating the need to cut keyways or turn solid shafts to exacting tolerances.

Made from bronze and nickel-plated steel, TorqLOC’s tapered bushings are inherently corrosion-resistant, making the system ideal for wash-down environments. And with no corrosion problems, TorqLOC ensures fast and easy removal, even after years of use.

With a flexible mounting system and corrosion-free components, you now get off and on easy with TorqLOC. Driving the World FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE

AC MOTORS PRODUCT RANGE

120

Power ratings from 0.25 to 100 HP 2-, 4-, 6-, 8-, 4/8-, 2/6-, 2/8-pole plus others Integral brakes to fit all frames FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE

Toronto (905) 791-1553 130

Montreal (514) 367-1124

Vancouver (604) 946-5535

www.sew-eurodrive.ca

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When it really matters, trust Tsubaki

Forget about hydraulic hassles.

The NEW Tsubaki Zip Lifter gets the job done that hydraulic lifts can’t.

Visit TsubakiZipLifter.ca for more information.

Tsubaki of Canada Limited, 1630 Drew Road, Mississauga, ON L5S 1J6 Tel: 905.676.0400 / Fax: 905.676.0904 / Toll-Free: 1.800.263.7088 e-mail: info@tsubaki.ca

Forget about hydraulic hassles.

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Tsubaki of Canada Limited, 1630 Drew Road, Mississauga, ON L5S 1J6 Tel: 905.676.0400 / Fax: 905.676.0904 / Toll-Free: 1.800.263.7088 e-mail: info@tsubaki.ca

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Hydraulic hassles?

The NEW Tsubaki Zip Lifter goes where hydraulic lifts can’t and gets the job done!

Visit TsubakiZipLifter.ca for more information.

Tsubaki of Canada Limited, 1630 Drew Road, Mississauga, ON L5S 1J6 Tel: 905.676.0400 / Fax: 905.676.0904 / Toll-Free: 1.800.263.7088 e-mail: info@tsubaki.ca

When it really matters, trust Tsubaki

The NEW Tsubaki Zip Lifter gets the job done...

without hydraulics!

For more information: TsubakiZipLifter.ca

Tsubaki of Canada Limited, 1630 Drew Road, Mississauga, ON L5S 1J6 Tel: 905.676.0400 / Fax: 905.676.0904 / Toll-Free: 1.800.263.7088 e-mail: info@tsubaki.ca

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Tsubaki: The choice for chain

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