Packaging World May 2023

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The Recycling Partnership’s new Recycle Check platform provides consumers with local, package-speci c recycling guidance to people across the U.S. They simply scan an on-pack QR code, perhaps at the point of disposal in front of the bin, to learn if the empty package in their hands can be recycled. An up-to-date database of recycling capabilities at 9,000 U.S. municipalities informs the platform, and brands like General Mills are piloting the project.

24 California Initiative Promotes Milk Jug Circularity

A consumer education campaign from the California Milk Advisory Board promotes the sustainability bene ts of the HDPE milk jug and encourages consumers to ‘Recycle the Jug.’

32

Disruptive Bottling System Closes the Loop

The Boomerang Bottling System allows customers to sanitize, lter, ll, and cap single-serve water bottles on-site in reusable glass or aluminum containers that can be collected and re lled on-the-spot.

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COLUMNS

5 Lead Off

20 The Big Picture

22 Sustainable Packaging

44 Shelf Impact!

48 Professional Perspective

NEWS/EVENTS

6 News

12 Quotables/By the Numbers

INTERVIEW COVER STORY

14 First

Aladin Alkhawam Director, Packaging Operations, Par Pharmaceutical

Jan Brücklmeier Technical Application Group Packaging Technology Expert, Nestlé

M. Shawn French Director – Innovation & Packaging Engineering (Beverage), Danone North America

Patrick Keenan R&D Packaging Engineer, General Mills/Annie’s Organic Snacks

Mike Marcinkowski Global R&D Of cer, GPA Global & Hub Folding Box Co.

Paul Schaum Chief Operations Of cer, Pretzels Inc.

David Smith, PhD Principal, David S. Smith & Associates

Brian Stepowany Packaging R&D, Senior Manager, B&G Foods, Inc.

Jasmine Sutherland President, Texas Food Solutions; Vice President, Perfect Fit Meals

The opinions expressed in articles are those of the authors and not necessarily those of PMMI. Comments, questions and letters to the editor are welcome and can be sent to: editors@packworld.com. Mailing List: We make a portion of our mailing list available to reputable rms. If you would prefer that we don’t include your name, please write us at the Chicago, IL address.

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CONTENT

Matt Reynolds Chief Editor

Anne Marie Mohan Senior Editor @PackagingTrends

Iris Zavala Managing Editor

Sean Riley Senior News Director

Pat Reynolds, Sterling Anthony, Eric F. Greenberg, Ben Miyares Contributing Editors

David Bacho Creative Director

PMMI MEDIA GROUP

David Newcorn President

Elizabeth Kachoris Vice President, Digital

Kelly Greeby Senior Director, Client Success & Media Operations

Jen Krepelka Director, Digital Media

Mike Prokopeak Senior Director, Content & Brand Growth

Trey Smith Senior Director, Events

Sharon Taylor Director, Marketing

Joseph Angel Founding Partner and Executive Vice President, Industry Outreach, PMMI

Lloyd Ferguson Founding Partner

Staff at PMMI Media Group can be contacted at info@pmmimediagroup.com

Lara

Questions

Soda Brand Redesigns Reflect a Cultural Shift

In the pantheon of big brands that have made indelible visual imprints on the national consciousness, Coke and Pepsi have to rank at or near the top. I’m old enough (just barely) to remember the cola wars of the 1980s and the arms race that spawned the likes of New Coke, Pepsi Clear, and a host of other evolutionary dead ends. Maybe that’s why it caught my attention when a flurry of soda brands—the flagship Pepsi soda brand itself alongside several other PepsiCo and Coca-Cola Company brands—recently unveiled new visual identities and logos. In isolation, these redesigns wouldn’t be unusual. What struck me was the cluster of them in spring 2023, with Fanta and 7UP joining Pepsi in changing their respective brand livery (flip to page 44 for more). This recent string of design updates comes on the heels of Coca-Cola and Sprite both adopting black script logos on-pack to signify Zero Sugar, and Sprite switching to clear bottles, at the end of 2022. Was this spate of facelifts just a coincidence, or was there some sort of invisible hand behind it? I asked this question of Daryl Weber, brand strategy consultant with brand agency Major7, Coca-Cola Company alumnus, and author of the 2016 book “Brand Seduction.”

“I think there is a cluster of change happening right now,” he says. “My hunch is that these things do generally come in waves because they are both reflecting culture, and leading culture. A brand’s positioning and its ads are usually a reflection of the aspirations of people at a moment in time. As the culture shifts, brands will try to evolve to keep up with those changing dynamics.”

The pandemic might have precipitated the greatest cultural shift in 100 years, so his observation certainly tracks. Some of the trend lines in late 2019 may have already been pointing to where we are now—a digitally proficient populace doing much of our shopping online and more of our work from home—but the pandemic gave culture a push, and the pace of change accelerated before settling into our “new normal.”

Through the early pandemic years, roughly 2020 through now, Weber thinks a lot of brands publicly laid low, tried to soldier through, and kept most visual elements the same. According to several media outlets that track culture and design, visual branding that targeted our sense of nostalgia actually got a boost during the depths of the pandemic, as people turned to familiarity and homespun comfort during stressful times.

“But now it feels like the world is moving on. We’ve come out of it, and we’re feeling maybe there’s a new energy in the culture right now,” Weber says. “I think the brands are now reflecting that, sort of a new phase we’re entering in culture. They’re making sure they are feeling modern and fresh and relevant to the feeling that’s going on in culture.”

The fingerprints of the highly digital pandemic era are all over the new logo and visual identities currently being launched. The logos aren’t strictly static—Pepsi especially focused on motion, with moving, .gif-style digital logos in its quiver of new brandmarks and logos. Fanta, too, unveiled a mixed-media ecosystem of Lucas Wakamatsu illustrations and Tim Marsella photographs that act almost like stop-motion clips.

While their existence is noteworthy, these digital brand marks exist entirely online or on a screen. There isn’t a practical application for them on the analog packaging itself, whether that’s a multipack carton, a label on a PET bottle, or a printed aluminum can. And it’s on these analog packaging spaces, familiar in a retail setting, that Weber says brands must be careful not to go too far afield from the visual identity that consumers recognize. He references an infamous 2009 carton packaging redesign of Tropicana.

“They did a very modern new package, and it was unrecognizable to consumers. Their sales tanked right after they launched these into supermarkets, so they quickly reverted to the original packaging and it was widely seen as a huge mistake,” Weber says. “It has become a case study in going too far from what consumers know and love about you.”

Pepsi’s latest redesign is bold in the sense that it’s a major departure from the logo and design associated with it for the past 14 years. But even with changes in typeface and color, the globeshaped logo remains, providing visual continuity from the previous identity to the new one. Even a vibrant challenger brand like Pepsi, known for reinventing itself every so often, realizes the value of on-pack brand equity, and won’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. PW

mreynolds@pmmimediagroup.com

Persil’s capsules in plastic-free packaging and its Ultimate Liquids range will now feature a new enhanced Accessible QR (AQR) code on their packaging.

with the device’s con gured accessibility features to display information in larger text or in audio-described and voice-guided formats.

“For us, this is bigger than Unilever, and we see it as a rst step in helping make packaging more accessible for everyone,” says Unilever’s Laundry marketing director, Nadine Slyper. “We’re pleased to be exploring Accessible QR codes as a business and hope to see other companies and accessibility apps join in this conversation.”

The technology that makes the AQRs more detectable works by adding additional markings to existing QR codes.

“Although QR codes have been in mainstream use almost 30 years now, they have lacked the important ingredient of accessibility,” says Zappar CEO and co-founder Caspar Thykier. “This is really about helping make a small but important everyday quality-of-life improvement in people’s lives.”

This simple enhancement means brands can integrate a layer of accessibility and use their existing code scheme without taking up any additional space on-pack.

The aim is to create a more inclusive experience in-store and at home for the UK’s 2 million blind and partially sighted people. The AQRs were created in partnership with augmented reality specialists Zappar and in collaboration with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB). Once accessed via smartphone, the code provides product, usage, safety, and recycling information in a structured way that has been designed with blind and partially sighted users in mind. The AQR also interacts

On-Pack QR Makes Persil More Accessible Tyson Pilots Flow-Wrap Packs for Case-Ready Beef

Tyson Foods’ fresh meats division has introduced ow-wrap packaging for its case-ready portfolio. According to Tyson, by using ow-wrapping technology, it is able to use less plastic than with its conventional tray-and- lm-wrap packaging, use less energy during production, and keep its products fresher three times longer. This solution is currently being tested with its caseready ground beef products with ample expansion opportunity across case ready.

“We’re pleased to offer a straightforward and immediate way for retailers to meet the demands of the environmentally conscious consumer while also doing our part to minimize plastic waste,” says Rikki Ingram, director of Fresh Meats Marketing for Tyson Foods. “A recent consumer tracking survey [Midan Marketing, Meat Consumer Tracking Survey April 2022] showed consumers are willing to pay 20% more for more sustainably produced fresh meat products. New packaging, like ow wrap, is one way suppliers can help retailers meet consumer demand.”

According to Tyson, ow-wrap packaging uses approximately 50% less plastic and 50% less energy in the manufacturing process as compared to traditional expanded polystyrene product packaging and was developed to extend the freshness of meat.

Currently the QR codes can be detected by accessibility app Zapvision with integration into Microsoft Seeing AI, one of the world’s leading accessibility apps. Unilever’s ambition is to work with other accessibility apps to support wider integration of the technology and to expand the reach across different categories and countries. As the technology is rolled out, for example, Unilever will work with Microsoft to collate user feedback from the blind and partially sighted communities to optimize the technology so that further improvements can be made.

Persil’s capsules in plastic-free packaging and its Ultimate Liquid range will have the new enhanced codes on-pack by the end of March and the brand has committed to adding Accessible QR codes to their full range by end of next year.—Matt Reynolds

The packaging’s airtight environment also helps maintain color and freshness and allows for a product to be frozen without impacting quality.

Tyson adds that other bene ts of the packaging format include no leaks, drips, or mess, clear packaging for more product visibility, and easy opening with convenient tear openings.

—Anne Marie Mohan

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Tesco Collaboration Recycles Thermoformed PET from Tray-to-Tray

In what it calls an industry rst, Tesco has begun recycling used plastic food trays back into packaging, creating a fully circular packaging solution for its range of core chilled ready meals.

The change is in collaboration with thermoformed packaging supplier Faerch and will see customer-recovered PET trays—collected via European curbside waste—recycled and converted back into food-grade plastic trays.

Tesco’s ready meal trays already contain up to 75% recycled content, predominantly from cleaner and easier-to-recycle PET bottle ake plastic. Through the new Tray 2 Tray by Faerch program, a minimum of 30% recycled tray content will be included in the new core chilled ready meals trays.

“We are determined to close the loop on our packaging—for it to be fully recyclable and contain recycled content wherever possible,” says Adele Kearns, packaging development manager at Tesco. “We remain committed to reducing our environmental impact, and helping our customers to do the same, as we work together to protect our planet.”

A phased rollout of the new trays took place in April across Tesco’s core own brand chilled ready meals. The collaboration will ensure that high quality food-grade PET is kept within the supply chain, rather than being down-cycled, and demonstrates that PET packaging from trays can

be fully recovered and recycled at an industrial scale.

Tesco also works alongside suppliers to drive change across products— eliminating all hard-to-recycle material from UK packaging in 2019—and supports industry action including the UK Plastics Pact, which tackles the impact of plastic waste.

Faerch’s PET tray recycling plant, Cirrec, takes used post-consumer food trays and recycles them back into new food trays that it says are of the same quality and in an in nite number of cycles.

The amount of post-consumer recycled content in food packaging is a key indicator for sustainability and circularity, and consumers and legislators expect full transparency, according to project stakeholders. Faerch uses independent third-party auditing to verify pre-consumer and post-consumer recycled content levels in food packaging, allowing for full transparency of the packaging content through certi cation.

The Tray 2 Tray by Faerch partnership will affect all Tesco’s core range of ready meals. Rollout of new recycled trays being used in products will be completed by the end of summer 2023. —Matt Reynolds

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Biden Order Aims to Replace 90% Fossil-based Plastics with Bio-based Polymers

Proclaiming that “the world is on the cusp of an industrial revolution fueled by biotechnology and biomanufacturing,” a new report from The White House Of ce of Science and Technology Policy details Executive Order 14081 from President Joe Biden that calls for displacing 90% of today’s petroleum-based plastics with recyclable-by-design bio-based polymers over the next 20 years.

The E.O. was signed Sept. 12, 2022 and is titled, “Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe, and Secure American Bioeconomy.” In it, the President lays out his vision for a whole-of-government approach to advancing biotechnology and biomanufacturing by creating a research agenda that outlines the foundational and use-inspired R&D needs that will lead to solutions in health, climate change, energy, food security, agriculture, supply chain resilience, and national and economic security.

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“The E.O. also launched a National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative to ensure that, beyond R&D, we have the domestic capacity to make the United States all the bio-based products we invent here,” the report continues. “This will create new jobs, build stronger supply chains, and contribute to our climate goals.”

The report focuses on the E.O.’s 10 “Bold Goals,” which are grouped into four themes, “where biotechnology can play a critical role in reducing GHG emissions and removing carbon from the atmosphere.” Theme 2 focuses on alternative processes to produce chemicals and materials and comprises two goals:

• Develop Low-Carbon-Intensity Chemicals and Materials: In ve years, produce more than 20 commercially viable bioproducts with more than 70% reduced-lifecycle GHG emissions over current production practices.

• Spur a Circular Economy for Materials: In 20 years, demonstrate and deploy cost-effective and sustainable routes to convert bio-based feedstocks into recycle-by-design polymers that can displace more than 90% of today’s plastics and other commercial polymers at scale.

Plastics are a focus for E.O. 14081, because currently, the report advises, commodity polymer manufacturing (including plastics) is responsible for GHG emissions equivalent to the global aviation sector, and manufacturing these products is projected to represent more than 20% of annual global fossil fuels consumption by 2050. Adds the report, “Additionally, plastic waste accumulating in landlls and the broader environment is well recognized as a planetary-scale pollution crisis.

“Opportunities exist to produce bio-based plastics to offset petroleum-derived plastic products, but use of bio-based products must be expanded. Accordingly an urgent global need exists to rapidly enable a more circular economy for today’s fossil carbon-based polymers production and to source chemical building blocks for tomorrow’s recyclable-by-design plastics from bio-based and waste sources.”

Responding to the report, The Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) released a statement from its vice president of Sustainability, Patrick Krieger. “We are pleased with the Biden Administration’s recognition of the critical need for plastics and prioritizing research to make them even better,” he said. “Our industry has always been committed to taking sustainable materials and making them better, and we look forward to working with the administration to develop innovative plastics whether by developing new bio-based feedstocks or improvements in more recyclable plastics.”

The response from the Greenpeace USA Plastics Project was not as enthusiastic. Said Project Lead Kate Melges, “While it is encouraging to see the Biden administration take initial steps to tackle the plastic pollution crisis, they missed the mark. This plan does not begin to match the scale of the problem. By focusing on bioplastics and recycling, the administration is not addressing the root cause of the plastic pollution problem: we need to stop producing single-use plastics and switch to re ll and reuse systems, not pursue false solutions like recycling and materials substitution. Greenpeace USA research has made it clear that plastics recycling is a dead end street.”

—Anne Marie Mohan

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Frito-Lay and Quaker Go All In on Compostables

Frito-Lay North America and The Quaker Oats Company have announced the opening of the new Greenhouse Learning Center, a rst-of-its kind facility globally for parent company PepsiCo that will be used to eld test, measure, and analyze compostable packaging with an aim to speed up the rate of innovation. According Frito-Lay, the new center, located at the company’s R&D headquarters in Plano, Tex., represents a key milestone in achieving PepsiCo’s PepsiCo Positive (pep+) packaging goal to design 100% of its packaging to be recyclable, compostable, biodegradable, or reusable by 2025.

The purpose of the Greenhouse Learning Center is to allow the R&D packaging team to test the biodegradation properties of compostable packages in different environments to accelerate learnings, validate lab results through simultaneous, real-time experiments as packaging formulations are improved, and iterate packaging solutions quicker. The center is intended to enable packaging products to move from testing to certi cationready at least two to three times faster in an effort to drive the business and the entire industry forward. It also aims to actively change industry standards by educating partners and stakeholders on the bene ts of transitioning to compostable packaging, demonstrate circularity with biodegradable materials, and provide training to co-ops and visitors.

“Our sustainable packaging vision is to build a world where packaging need never become waste,” says Denise Lefebvre, senior vice president of R&D for PepsiCo. “We’re actively changing our own compostable snack packaging technologies. By sharing these technologies, we’re inviting the industry to make these changes as well. We are prioritizing, investing in, and expediting projects to build a more circular, inclusive economy.”

The R&D team at Frito-Lay and Quaker has been conducting research and forming strategic partnerships for many years to improve the packaging process. After releasing the world’s rst 100% commercially compostable chip bag in 2010, Frito-Lay and Quaker continued their journey with bio-based packaging, launching a second-generation industrially compostable bag for Frito-Lay’s Off The Eaten Path chip brand in 2021. Moving forward, the company will be focused on home-compostable and biodegradable packaging, and research conducted at the greenhouse will play a key role.

“We look forward to leveraging key ndings from the Greenhouse Learning Center, alongside our scale, reach, and expertise across North America and globally, to drive progress across our organization and the entire industry,” says David Allen, chief sustainability of cer, Frito-Lay and Quaker. “We must work together to inspire positive change for the planet and people, and Frito-Lay and Quaker are proud to be leading the way.” —Anne

Marie Mohan

BY THE NUMBERS $4B

The size of the robotics as a service (RaaS) market by 2028 up from $1.8 billion in 2023, growing at a CAGR of 17.4%, according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets

1.6M sq km

The size of the Great Paci c Garbage patch—about three times the size of France—consisting mainly of plastic

400

The number of brands The CocaCola Company has removed from its portfolio in order to pursue innovations in an addressable market worth $1.3 trillion, such as hot categories and alcohol categories, according to company CEO James Quincey

13.2%

The forecast increase in global legal cannabis sales from 2022 to 2027, resulting in a market size of $59.6 billion, according to cannabis market research rm BDSA

“If you read the Amazon sustainability report, you’ll discover how much less paper they’re using in their packaging, you’ll discover how there’s machines out there that can make the packs so tight around the product and you’ll discover their shift to plastic or mixed plastic and paper or paper- exible packaging. It’s simple, folks: It’s lightweighting. The e-commerce people have gured this out; they don’t want to pay to ship bigger [so] they’re going to make those boxes as tight as possible. They’re going to use something exible if they can.”

–Chaz Miller, Miller Recycling Associates, in an article from Recycling Today, “Examining the effects of upcoming containerboard capacity”

“Our goal … of this series of hearings is to just be as honest as we can to understand the life cycle of plastics and the impacts they’re having, and how to mitigate those impacts. Hopefully by the end of this series of hearings we’ll have a number of tools that we’ll understand better, and consider whether there are strategies we can take at a national level to address the signi cant concerns. Just to be clear, this set of hearings is not with the goal of eliminating plastic production, nor of eliminating composites. The fossil fuel industry is envisioning a massive increase in the production of plastics but that will only amplify the problems and makes it even more urgent that we address them.”

–U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, as quoted in an article from Plastics News, “Senate hearings seek ‘national strategies’ on plastics”

“Whether it’s Vienna Sausage or other things, it’s a quality issue that we’ve had to deal with, getting cans where we need it to be frankly. You’ve seen those kinds of issues pop up across the industry [largely] tied to labor where you’re dealing with a lot of inexperienced labor in companies and their suppliers that lead to these quality issues.”

–Sean Connolly, president and chief executive of cer of Conagra, in an article from Food Dive, “Conagra manufacturing disruption spurs canned food shortages”

“Social and environmental performance is critical even in an economy with rising cost of living. Now more than ever, if brands want to retain and win consumers, they must stand for something. All consumers are looking for ways to save money. They will need a compelling reason why they shouldn’t walk away from your brand for a cheaper alternative. Along with quality, sustainability is a key barrier to change, especially for millennials.”

–Mike Johnston, managing director, data products for research technology company Glow, in an article from Convenience Store News, “Sustainability Ranks Among Top Purchase Decisions”

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Database-Backed QR Codes Minimize Recycling Confusion

On May 24th, The Recycling Partnership (TRP) will launch a dynamic labeling program that’s backed by a massive database of recycling capabilities in almost all U.S. municipalities. Via the Recycle Check platform, consumers will be able to scan a QR code on a speci c package to nd out if it’s accepted for recycling in the community from which they’re scanning. When we got wind of this ambitious project, and pilots planned by General Mills and Horizon Organic, we asked Kendall Glauber, TRP Recyclability Solutions Director, to give us a sneak preview.

Packaging World:

What does the current landscape of on-pack recyclability claims look like, and what did The Recycling Partnership think needed to be addressed?

Kendall Glauber:

The fragmented recycling system in the U.S. creates high variability in what is collected and recycled locally. And when there’s so much nuance at a local level, that really makes recyclability communication dif cult, especially at a national scale. It’s affecting people’s ability to make decisions. We conducted consumer research on people’s beliefs and perceptions about recyclability information on labels, and 71% of consumers say that they wish there was an easier way to get information on what can and can’t be recycled in their community.

We know that consumers want to recycle and that they’re looking for those recycling instructions, primarily on product labels. But at the same time, the regulatory environment around recyclability claims, and what can actually be on-label, is evolving. There’s new policy in California, and extended produce responsibility (EPR) laws at the state level, as well as upcoming potential updates to the national Green Guide guidelines, all while you have infrastructure changes happening in recycling systems across the country. But large [CPG, food, and beverage] companies don’t sell or produce products on a local or a state-by-state basis. They’re creating packages for a regional or national market. There’s a need for a national solution.

immediately providing local, up-to-date recycling information to people across the U.S. Imagine that deciding moment where you’re standing with an empty package in front of your bin. You’re thinking, “what do I do with this? Where does it go? In the trash or in the recycling?”

[Underpinning this platform is] the National Recycling Database, built by The Recycling Partnership. It’s an incredibly powerful tool and state-of-the-art resource that’s centralizing recycling access information from communities across the U.S.; about 9,000 communities covering 97% of the population. That community-level information is being updated on a regular basis.

The concept is that anyone can scan a QR code on a package in their hands, or click a link if they’re shopping online, and enter their zip code or location into our webpage to get an immediate yes/no answer about whether that item is accepted for recycling, wherever they are.

Why is consumer confusion so important to address?

Scan this QR code, or visit pwgo.to/7939, to learn more about Recycle Check from The Recycling Partnership, and nd out how your brand can get on board.

The vast majority of Americans believe in recycling’s positive impact, but about two thirds of household recyclables are wasted each year. And about half of those—which equates to roughly 15 million tons of material, not a small amount—are lost to land ll because of confusion about what and how to recycle. There’s a risk that consumers who become confused either won’t participate at all, or that they don’t recycle everything that they can.

What is Recycle Check and

how does it solve the problem you describe?

Recycle Check is a platform from The Recycling Partnership that offers an interactive, package-speci c solution by

On the contamination side of things, it definitely has an impact on the quality or the ability of recycling systems to properly process a bale, and then sell quality material that then can be turned into recycled content for future use. So that’s also a concern here.

This confusion is understandable because what’s accepted

for recycling changes over time, and it’s different from place to place. There’s an opportunity for us to build trust and provide relevant and easily accessible information to consumers to empower them to make effective recycling decisions, so those recyclable products that are in our homes are actually getting to where they need to go.

Through our research we’ve seen that 78% of people think that a QR code with local information would help make recycling less confusing. And 73% said that it would help them trust that that package would actually get recycled into something else. So, we’ve really seen the positive opportunity for this to address the confusion issue.

As we speak in mid-April, the FTC is concluding acceptance of public comments on updating its Green Guides, which aim to prevent misleading label claims. How does Recycle Check fit into that dynamic?

The FTC Green Guides really play a critical role in empowering marketers to communicate accurate recycling information, which we’re obviously aligned with. But they’re currently working in an environment that has changed a lot in the 10 years since their last iteration. Over that time, the recycling landscape has changed, materials and packaging continue to innovate, and new technologies and data sources are emerging.

There’s an opportunity with this open call for public commentary for the Green Guides to begin to reflect the current environment and adapt to those future changes. As a mission-driven NGO dedicated to improving recycling nationwide, we call for a rigorous, data-driven approach to determine recyclability, combining that with transparent recyclability claims on product labels.

transparent recyclability claims on product labels. to support brands in communicating that level of for a dynamic solution. We want to be able to offer companies

Where Recycle Check comes in is that we want to support brands in communicating that level of information in a way that’s adapting to changing rules and regulations now, because a dynamic environment really calls for a dynamic solution. We want to be able to offer companies this tool to communicate to consumers reliably across the U.S., even as these guidelines are changing. That’s possible with a dynamic label.

An on-pack/on-label recycling info system already exists with good penetration, and that’s How2Recycle® by GreenBlue, the parent organization of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC). Does Recycle Check replace this, or do the two work in parallel? The short answer is yes, we’re proactively working closely with GreenBlue.

More broadly, The Recycling Partnership, is committed to bringing intuitive, relevant recycling information to people where they live, and we’ve created the Recycle Check platform to purposefully complement existing communication methods and labeling

systems. And How2Recycle is one of those. We’re very supportive of How2Recycle, and the fact that it’s providing easily digestible information to consumers in a way that is also easy for companies to be a part of. We are working closely with GreenBlue to pilot how the How2Recycle label and the Recycle Check QR code will work together on product packaging. The goal there is to establish a standard approach for how our organizations can collaboratively provide that data-driven, industry-aligned transparency to recyclability claims and labeling by leveraging the strengths of the How2Recycle label that has this incredible network and is recognizable, and The Recycling Partnership’s ability to provide dynamic data through the National Recycling Database.

What other organizations in this landscape are you working with?

We’re also working closely with the Consumer Brands Association’s SmartLabel offering to deliver Recycle Check’s dynamic local recycling information via SmartLabel pages. We’re looking at the wider world of labeling systems and seeing how this can be complementary, rather than trying to reinvent the wheel.

How can brands benefit from getting involved with this program?

SB arrows

the development of state-speci c labels, or removal

On-pack recyclability claims already have to comply with federal and state regulations and guidelines. But since the regulatory environment is changing, and in many cases becoming more speci c, where and what claims companies can make is evolving. For example, starting in 2024, California has new requirements going into effect under SB 343, which will tighten the ability to use the chasing arrows recycling symbol and other on-pack recycling info. In many cases, the current recycling symbols or labels that are in use may be insuf cient for packages that are not on California’s statewide list, which could trigger the need for packaging changes, the development of state-speci c labels, or even the removal of recyclability messaging, unfortunately.

Once this goes into effect, the rules might be different in California than they are elsewhere. But again, brands and CPGs don’t produce on a stateby-state or local basis. They really need this national solution. The idea is that Recycle Check can be a powerful tool to allow brands to communicate local and up-to-date recycling information using the same label or link across the U.S. And even as the information, rules, and regulations are changing, they can potentially avoid having to change their packaging because those packages are connected to the National Recycling Database, which is a dynamic resource that’ll update as time passes and rules change.

POUCHES WITH FLEX APPEAL

Glenroy, a third-generation family-run business, excelsin Store Drop-o Recyclable Pouches & Stick Packs for Nutritional Products.

I suspect you know more than you’ll be able to let on today, but are any brands or CPGs on board yet?

I can share that General Mills and Horizon Organic are planning to pilot Recycle Check. We’re working with brands that are leading the industry into the future of dynamic and localized recycling communications, and we have a couple brands leading the way. In general, Recycle Check is perfect for any company who’s selling products in packaging that can be recycled in residential curbside recycling systems. That means CPG brands in food and beverage, fresh produce, household goods and cleaning, beauty, and personal care. The list goes on, but we’re looking for all materials, paper, plastics, metals, or glass.

We’re looking to expand what is available and what we can cover. Right now, the sweet spot is those packages that we know are recyclable, and there’s infrastructure to recycle them, but there might be limited or variable access in the U.S. I’m thinking about your thermoformed clamshells, beverage cups, or even some things that are widely recyclable currently, but whose access rates are still growing, whether that’s polypropylene or cartons. That’s the sweet spot, but there’s a wide array of packages we can address with this tool. —Matt

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By Sterling Anthony, CPP, Contributing Editor

Primer: Automating End-of-Line Packaging

End-of-line (EoL) packaging is composed of the last operations performed before product is shipped. In the race for pro ts, the shipping docks are the in-house nish line. It’s better to have arrived via a timed, steady pace, than to have arrived slowed or stopped. By that analogy, EoL packaging needs to be smoothly integrated into a facility’s overall packaging-line operations. Such integration is a cost-effective way to increase productivity and ef ciency.

Regardless of its size, any company can be faced with decisions about automating EoL packaging. That’s because it’s not just about the present amount of automation, but whether it is the most suitable for that company. The recognition that automation bestows benefits is an easy one, but it does not preclude having to grapple with a host of related considerations. What level of automation is warranted, for example, full or semi-? Can a present machine or station be retrofitted? Short of a complete EoL overhaul, how are individual operations to be prioritized in terms of benefits derived from their automation?

There are unargued benefits of automation, although their importance is company-specific and sometimes industry-specific. Automation, for example, always involves a machine vs. manpower dynamic. Machines perform with a combination of speed, accuracy, consistency, and tirelessness that manual labor is unable to match. But manpower seldom, if ever, is completely eliminated. It can serve us well, then, to think in terms of a machine-manpower interface.

In further proof that automation is not the unwavering nemesis of manpower, benefits also accrue to the labor force. Workers are freed from tedious tasks and thereby are assignable to more rewarding utilization of their time and skills. Automation reduces workers’ accidents and injuries, too. One example, serving for many, involves manual palletizing (positioning and loading). Pallets themselves typically weigh between 35 and 50 lb., not to mention the weights of what goes onto them. Together, that’s enough weight to induce chronic skeletomuscular ailments.

Another benefit of automation is the reduction in damaged goods. Any member of the supply chain—not only the retailer—can be a dissatisfied victim. All members of a supply chain know that there are expenses associated with the receipt, handling, separation, and accounting of damaged goods. Automation can foster greater goodwill among members, which is a type of competitive advantage.

Although it’s necessary to enumerate the benefits of automation, it’s not sufficient. The benefits need to be quantified in dollars and cents. Benefits need to be quantified as to what’s being lost by not having optimal automation, and conversely, what is to be gained by achieving optimal automation. It’s a wave-tossed sea but it has to be navigated, otherwise reaching the proper port of automation

becomes a rudderless voyage. Packaging professionals must be aboard, for self-evident reasons. But so too must other crewmembers (don’t forget, packaging is interdisciplinary in nature). As for those others, the following order of mention is not indicative of a ranking of importance.

The finance/accounting department needs to be involved. Remember, EoL packaging automation must compete for the limited resources of a company’s capital expenditure budget. The justifying numbers, therefore, had better be convincing in accordance with the company’s metrics, whether that’s payback period, return-oninvestment, or some variation thereof.

The purchasing/procurement department has a role since automation means the acquisition of machinery and equipment. Suppliers have to be identified, evaluated, and chosen, along with a hammering out of contractual terms.

The production/manufacturing department will have the day-today involvement with the automation. Hence, no department is a greater stakeholder in the effective and efficient integration of EoL packaging with the totality of plant operations.

Automation gives some decision makers pause because there is a component of forecasting. The chosen automation must remain relevant over the forecasted future, during which markets and their trends and drivers don’t stay static. To the contrary, they can be in constant shift. It places a premium on the type of automation that is, in a word, flexible. Easy changeover is part of that. On a related note, it behooves a company to look as far down a timeline as feasible. That’s true even if, by present circumstances, it might seem that the company is over-automating.

As we mentioned, there are company-specific aspects to automation. Still, after all of the decisional smoke has cleared, a company is most likely to end up with a version of one of two types of EoL packaging: centralized or decentralized. An example of centralization is multiple lines feeding into one EoL packaging area. An example of decentralization is each of multiple lines feeding into an EoL area that’s literally located at the end of that line.

Centralized EoL packaging is not inherently superior to decentralized EoL packaging nor vice-versa. Differentiating criteria include floorspace, equipment utilization rates, ease of maintenance, and the consequences from breakdowns and stoppages, among others.

Whether centralized or decentralized, EoL packaging constitutes machines and auxiliary equipment, their combination depending on the types of products involved. There are two operations that are part of the majority of EoL packaging systems: palletizing and stretch-wrapping. They will be the respective subjects of the next two columns, so keep an eye out. PW

By Dan Felton, Executive Director, AMERIPEN

EPR for Packaging Update

In last September’s column, we took a deep dive on the substance of new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws for packaging in the U.S. (see pwgo.to/7936). In January, we gave a brief update on implementation of those four laws (see pwgo.to/7937). This month, we’ll take a closer look at that implementation.

Oregon

The Oregon Recycling Modernization Act (RMA) requires the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission (EQC) to identify by rule two lists of materials—the first being materials collected by local governments (or their service providers) and the second being materials a producer responsibility organization (PRO) must provide for collection through recycling depots or mobile collection events. The Recycling Material Acceptance Lists Technical Workgroup provided information and feedback on evaluation methods, data sources, and preliminary research findings for various materials. Later this year, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will formally propose rules to the EQC that identify acceptance lists and collection targets/standards.

The Oregon Recycling System Advisory Council (ORSAC), on which AMERIPEN holds a seat, advises DEQ and the PROs on key recycling system elements. ORSAC’s work to date has included the review and discussion of the previously mentioned material acceptance lists, PRO obligations, local government compensation, responsible end markets, and numerous rules under development to implement the RMA.

Oregon DEQ is also undertaking rulemaking to clarify and implement the RMA. The Rulemaking Advisory Committee was chartered and has been meeting to review technical issues and fiscal impacts related to the proposed rules, and its members reflect a range of entities that will be both directly and indirectly affected by the rules. DEQ plans to begin a second rulemaking with a new Rulemaking Advisory Committee later in 2023 covering additional topics, with that second rulemaking process carrying into 2024.

Maine

Implementation of Maine’s law will require extensive rulemaking that must be initiated no later than December 31, 2023, by the Maine Board of Environmental Protection (BEP). Some of those proposed rules will have to be approved by the Maine Legislature by January 2025. It is expected that BEP will then adopt the final major rules no later than summer 2025.

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is in the middle of an 18-month robust stakeholder

engagement and outreach process to gather information to inform their rulemaking. This process is scheduled to continue into December 2023. Topics within the stakeholder engagement process include producer exemptions, payments, and reporting; program goals; readily recyclable criteria; and municipal reimbursements. Draft rules will be published for public comments for the DEP to consider prior to BEP adoption.

Colorado

Colorado took the first step in beginning implementation of its law by seating the producer responsibility Advisory Board in December 2022. The individual members of the board represent local governments, recycling companies, nonprofits, and other key stakeholders. Their responsibilities include advising the PRO throughout the needs assessment process; reviewing the needs assessment; reviewing the PRO program plans and annual report; and consulting with the PRO on the development and updating of the minimum recyclable list.

The Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE) held its first rulemaking stakeholder meeting in early March. This first rule is expected to be adopted and go into effect by July 2023, after which initial drafting of primary regulations will take place during the second half of 2023 and related stakeholder meetings during the first half of 2024.

While Colorado was the third state to enact a packaging producer responsibility law in the U.S., it will be the first state to select a PRO. Letters of intent from interested entities were due in March 2023, with applications then due in April 2023. While CDPHE must appoint the PRO by June 2023, it has indicated that it anticipates making the appointment in May 2023.

California

California, where the most recent law was enacted in September 2022, is scheduled to get underway with its implementation processes by seating its Advisory Board in mid-2023. The board will work with CalRecycle and the PRO to review the needs assessment, program plans, and recycling rates and to offer other technical assistance. It is currently anticipated that CalRecycle will publish a list of recyclable and compostable materials in 2024, and regulations implementing the new law will be completed in 2025. CalRecycle has begun holding informal rulemaking workshops and engagement with stakeholders that is slated to continue throughout much of 2023, after which it plans to shift to formal rulemaking workshops and engagement with stakeholders to begin in early 2024 and run throughout

AMERIPEN represents the U.S. packaging value chain by providing policymakers with fact-based, material-neutral, scienti c information. Contact Dan Felton at danf@ameripen.org.

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California Initiative Promotes Milk Jug Circularity

A consumer education campaign from the California Milk Advisory Board promotes the sustainability benefits of the HDPE milk jug and encourages consumers to ‘Recycle the Jug.’

By Anne Marie Mohan, Senior Editor

emissions—including recycling natural resources, such as air and water, and reusing manure to eliminate the need for arti cial fertilizers—that packaging hasn’t been a point of focus.

That’s according to Roger Zellner, president of packaging consultancy Rogue Zebra, who formerly led global sustainable packaging efforts at Kraft and Mondele - z. Zellner was featured on Amcor’s Big Ideas podcast. In it, he said, “The dairy industry has done a lot of great work [around sustainability]. In California, due to their work, greenhouse gas emissions have dropped around 50%, I believe. And so consequently, it hasn’t been necessary to defend the milk jug or bene cial for the industry to talk about until now.”

What’s changed? For one thing, consumer interest in products that offer sustainable packaging continues to grow. According to a 2020 McKinsey U.S. consumer sentiment survey, more than 60% of respondents said they’d pay more for a product with sustainable packaging. Although milk jugs haven’t been in the crosshairs the way single-serve

Simple in design, ubiquitous, clean, and highly desirable to Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs), the dairy milk jug has a compelling circular packaging story to tell. Yet, according to the EPA, fewer than three out of 10 mono-material high-density polyethylene milk jugs are recycled in the U.S. For dairy producers, it’s a missed opportunity to promote the sustainability of their packaging as well as increase the recycled content in their jugs; for MRFs, it’s a lost chance for revenue, especially given that a bale of recycled HDPE is one of the most valuable plastic packaging materials they handle.

One of the biggest challenges around collecting and recycling 0.5and 1-gal HDPE milk jugs is consumer participation. Either they don’t know the packaging is recyclable or they are skeptical it will get recycled and therefore put it with the trash rather than in the curbside bin. Another issue is that, for so long, the dairy industry has been focusing its efforts on responsible production to reduce its greenhouse gas

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Clover Sonoma Dairy Pioneers 30% rHDPE Milk Jug

The use of recycled material in food and beverage packaging, whether it be plastic, aluminum, paper, or glass, has been a common practice for decades. One anomaly, however, has been the use of recycled high-density polyethylene by dairy producers for its fluid-milk jugs. However, according to Sonoma County, Calif.-based Clover Sonoma, in Q2-22, it became the first, launching a one-gallon jug for its organic milk that includes 30% rHDPE.

It was a fitting move for the thirdgeneration family-owned and operated dairy, which, according to Clover Sonoma Vice President of Marketing Meg Sutula, is committed to bringing conscious dairy products direct from its family farms to consumers. “As a Certified B Corporation, the company uses its business as a power to do good, and its passionate support of animal welfare, sustainable practices, and local community have always been hallmarks of the business,” she shares.

This philosophy also extends to the business’s packaging, Sutula adds, as it looks for innovative ways to decrease the use

plastic packages have been—as Zellner notes, you usually don’t see a person chug a gallon of milk on-the-go and throw the package on the roadside or beach—promoting the recyclability of the milk jug can only bene t dairy producers.

Another driver is new extended producer responsibility (EPR) legislation for packaging that mandates that plastic packaging contain a speci ed percentage of post-consumer recycled content. But where will the PCR come from, if recycling rates remain at their current rates? In 2022, HDPE bottles and containers had a recycling rate of just 19.1%,

of fossil fuels, utilize less plastic, and encourage recycling. In 2020, the company introduced a milk carton comprising 100% plant-based materials. It also eliminated plastic caps on paper milk cartons to reduce plastic waste. “Being the first to come out with a 30% PCR-content gallon milk jug is the next step in sustainable packaging innovation,” the dairy producer says. To develop and source the recycled-content jug, Clover Sonoma worked with consultant Roger Zellner Rogue Zebra, and with Altium Packaging and its Envision Plastics business, which supplies the recycled HDPE resin. According to Altium, while Envision’s EcoPrime food contact-approved rHDPE has been available for more than 15 years, manufacturers and brands have been slow to adopt the material. “This is likely due to a lack of experience running PCR and also cost, as PCR is a premium over virgin plastics,” explains Josh Hovis, vice president of sales – North America, for Altium.

Another challenge for milk producers seeking to use rHDPE in their milk jugs has been sourcing clear PCR content. “PCR content in other consumer packaged goods products is more

according to The Association of Plastic Recyclers.

In California, where recently enacted legislation requires a PCR plastic content standard of 15% as of January 1, 2022, increasing to 25% in 2025, and 50% in 2030, the dairy industry has taken notice, and in fall 2021, the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) with help from Zellner and other organizations launched a rst-of-its-kind educational campaign, aptly titled Recycle the Jug, directed at dairy consumers. If successful, it could provide a blueprint for a national campaign to inform consumers on the tremendous circularity of this universal package.

readily available, but food-grade PCR content has been less available,” Sutula explains.

EcoPrime is made from curbside-recycled food and beverage packaging and uses a unique, patented cleaning process designed to eliminate contaminants. According to Hovis, Envision is one of the only companies with a Letter of No Objection (LNO) from the FDA. Regarding the clarity of EcoPrime, Envision reports that the material yields products that are suitable for use in white and natural bottles.

During the development process of the recycled-content jug, Sutula says Clover Sonoma overcame challenges using PCR resin by doing the pre-work upfront. As she explains, jugs were tested for overflow to verify they were the correct volumes, and drop tests were performed to verify packaging integrity, simulating the dairy producer’s automated casing.

Clover Sonoma launched the new recyclable, recycled-content one-gallon container for all of its organic milk (with the exclusion of those products sold in Safeway) last year, topping it with an HDPE closure that is also recyclable. Recycling symbols on both the front and back labels indicate that the jug and cap are recyclable, but advises consumers to check best practices with their local recycler.

The new jug is a sustainability coup for Clover Sonoma, but one that comes at a price: the PCR resin is 8% to 10% more costly than virgin HDPE resin. Says Sutula, “Finding sustainable solutions means taking risks and investing in what’s best for the planet. We are focused on improving our packaging across product lines using reusable, recyclable, renewable, and environmentally conscious resources. We encourage the food industry to join us in this effort.”

Having shattered the glass ceiling for rHDPE use in milk jugs, Clover Sonoma has also committed to increasing the PCR content used in its organic milk jug as well as extending the use of PCR across all of its gallon milk jugs by 2025. PW

Environmental stewardship includes packaging

CMAB was founded in 1969 as a state marketing board funded by California’s dairy farm families. An instrument of the California Department of Food & Agriculture, the organization is focused on building awareness and driving sales for dairy products that carry the Real California Milk Seal, a certi cation that 100% of dairy ingredients come from sustainably produced California milk. In support of these goals, CMAB uses tools that include advertising, public relations, research, and retail and foodservice promotional programs, both for the California market as well as across the U.S.

According to Jennifer Giambroni, vice president of communications for CMAB, the multi-generational nature of farming lends itself to an attitude of continuous improvement to be able to stay in business and pass the farm on. “California dairy families are leaders in sustainable farming practices,” she says. “California’s dairy farmers began investing in support for ongoing sustainability research and education with the establishment of the California Dairy Quality Assurance Program in the early 1990s and were the rst to have an Environmental Stewardship certi cation program. The state is the rst to have a mandate to reduce its overall greenhouse gas emissions— below 1990 levels by 2030—and dairy farmers are well on their way to reaching that goal. Outside of the farm, the industry is constantly looking at opportunities to improve its sustainability.”

It is this drive toward greater environmental stewardship that led CMAB to investigate the sustainability advantages of uid milk packaging—a container that has been staple in the U.S. dairy industry since the 1960s and is one of the easiest packages to recycle.

After hearing Zellner speak on sustainable packaging at a national dairy event, Bob Carroll, vice president of business development for CMAB, enlisted the consultant to help the organization understand consumers’ perceptions around the milk jug and develop an educational program to increase the recycling rate for the container.

“High-density polyethylene milk jugs are widely recyclable and highly sought after by recyclers, yet we learned that consumers were largely confused and skeptical about plastics recycling,” Carroll says. “Zellner was a driving force in developing the idea and execution of the project from its inception in 2020. He facilitated building a wide coalition of supporters, including milk processors,

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recyclers, and government and non-government environmental and packaging groups.”

The project began with a study of consumer perceptions. “Currently, 70% of California consumers say that recyclability is important to them, but a 2021 perceptions study conducted by a dairy industry coalition revealed that nearly half [47%] of California consumers nd the milk jug dif cult to recycle, and 32% of those consumers said they don’t trust it will actually be recycled,” shares Giambroni. “The study also revealed misconceptions that plastic milk jugs are less recyclable than other packaging formats or will not be recycled. Many consumers reported that the size of their milk jugs also was a barrier to their putting it in the recycling bin.”

In California, at least 64% of households have access to curbside HDPE recycling, according to The Recycling Partnership. In the Amcor webinar, Zellner surmised that one reason consumers in California may not be aware of the fact that milk jugs can be recycled is because of the state’s container deposit system, or the California Redemption Value (CRV), which milk jugs are not included in. “So, some citizens think about recycling at the redemption centers,” he says.

But it isn’t just consumers who need to be made aware of the milk jug’s recyclability; dairy processors are also surprisingly unaware of the value of the material. According to Zellner, the fact that the milk jug is one of the most recyclable packages out there was a “revelation for the dairy industry.” He adds, “When we were working with a local dairy in California, after Bob [Carroll] pulled me into the campaign, they found

it hard to believe. We had to bring in two local recyclers that shared with them that yes, milk jugs are highly desirable.”

Reasons for this lack of understanding may be the dairy industry’s fragmented nature, with most brands being local, as well as a lack of packaging expertise in the industry, Zellner shares. Also at play, as mentioned, may be the dairy industry’s focus, until recently, on promoting uid milk’s agricultural sustainability efforts.

Circularity is a win for all stakeholders

The bene ts of promoting, and achieving, greater circularity for the HDPE milk jug touch all stakeholders. For brand owners, Zellner says, “it’s one of those wonderful stories that can drive a positive aura around the overall sustainability of milk.” It’s something that could spur repeat sales—not a small factor for a commodity product that’s competing with a massive array of beverage options.

An increase in the availability of recycled HDPE would also be a boon for dairy processors, which are increasingly being confronted with mandates for recycled content in their packaging. “California dairy processors want to increase recycled content in plastic milk jugs but access to recycled HDPE is limited,” says Giambroni. “By increasing consumer awareness of the recyclability of milk jugs, we hope to boost participation in recycling, and in turn, expand access to recycled HDPE so that we can close the loop on plastic milk packaging.”

HDPE dairy containers are especially conducive to a circular system, as well. Unlike some other plastic packaging types, HDPE jugs are an

make it. We pack it. BPA loads your packaged and naked products into cases and various secondary containers including your hffs machines, wrapper chain in-feeds and indexing thermoform machines.

extremely clean waste stream. When recycled, they can be used again for food-contact applications “across the board,” says Zellner, including new milk containers. And, according to a 2018 study by Dutch garbage and receptacles supplier ESE World, HDPE can be recycled up to seven times without a signi cant loss of quality.

For MRFs, advantages of an increased ow of HDPE include the relative ease with which it is recycled versus some other packaging materials as well as the high price per bale it fetches from reprocessors and plastics suppliers, which are clamoring for the material. Recycled HDPE

is in high demand, not only by food and beverage brands, but for the manufacturing industry as well. Polyethylene is reported to be one of the most commonly used materials in manufacturing today.

And for consumers, it allows them to purchase a product in a package that is lightweight, functional, and shatterproof, while offering a unique sustainability story.

A simple message:

‘Pour

it. Cap it. Bin it.’

CMAB’s Recycle the Jug public information campaign launched in October 2021 with a dedicated website, a public relations push, and a consumer in uencer campaign designed to increase consumer awareness of the recyclability of the plastic milk jug and participation in #2 plastic recycling among California dairy consumers. “The educational program is part of an industry initiative designed to drive sustainable behavior changes across the state and encourages dairy consumers to take three simple steps to recycle their milk jugs: Pour it. Cap it. Bin it,” says Giambroni.

While the tagline is simple, Zellner says that it wasn’t such an easy phrase for the project team to come up with. As he shared in the webinar, “You’d be surprised at the amount of debate we had around that

phrase. There are three different factors as to why we had such a debate. One, the caps on or the caps off? It took a lot of inquiry with different organizations around recycling to agree that yes, nationally, we want caps on and for different reasons. The other question was, ‘Don’t we have to rinse the container?’ … Well, milk is such a clean material when you pour it out that you really don’t need to use water to rinse it. The other part we had a lot of debate on is, should we crush it [the milk jug]? As we discussed, some people may be living in smaller places, like apartments, so they’d be crushing the jug. But when we have a big recycling bin, to have to try to crush it [is unnecessary]. So hence the simple message of Pour it. Cap it. Bin it.”

This message is prominently displayed on the campaign website and is joined by other easy-to-digest messages on the value of recycling HDPE. Among the tools and resources available on the site are videos, including one that takes the viewer through the process of recycling the jug—from refrigerator to recycler— and another that includes interviews with experts, partners, and key players explaining the recycling process. A downloadable fact sheet provides “all the stats and facts you need to know about recycling milk jugs.”

According to Giambroni, key partners in the effort to promote milk jug recycling are the dairy processors. “With the exception of farmstead operators, most dairy farmers have little to no control over how their milk is used or packaged,” she explains. “Our processor partnerships are essential for this initiative, and we’ve produced a variety of resources for uid milk processors to be able to communicate the message— from the Recycle the Jug website to videos and social media content they can share. We also worked with the industry to create a new recycling icon that can be used on gallon and half-gallon HDPE milk jugs as a reminder to consumers to recycle their jugs with their local curbside recycling program.”

Since the campaign launched, Giambroni shares that the response has been overwhelmingly positive, but whether it has had its intended effect of raising HDPE recycling rates is not yet clear. “There are currently no available statistics for HDPE packaging recycling in the state of California,” she explains, “but CMAB is working with partners to identify a benchmark for HDPE packaging collected and recycled, so we can track improvement.”

This will take time, Zellner shared in the webinar. “This isn’t something that takes weeks or months,” he said.

Meanwhile, however, Recycle the Jug has attracted dairy producers from other states who are interested in designing a similar campaign. Before taking the program more broadly though, future adopters of the campaign want to see the results from the California campaign and gain information on lessons learned.

When asked if the same or a similar campaign

could be used across the U.S., Zellner replied in the af rmative. “The message is pretty clear: The milk jug is recyclable,” he said. “It’s valuable. Pour it. Cap it. Bin it. It’s one of those packages where you could probably go anywhere in the U.S., and most homes will have one in their fridge. Let’s face it, plastic recycling rates haven’t been stellar in the last few decades. The milk jug is that opportunity to show people that yes, recycling can work.” PW

Disruptive Bottling System Closes the Loop

The Boomerang Bottling System allows customers to sanitize, filter, fill, and cap single-serve water bottles on-site in reusable glass or aluminum containers that can be collected and refilled on-the-spot.

By Anne Marie Mohan, Senior Editor

When single-serve water in plastic bottles hit the mainstream in the 1990s, no one could have imagined how pervasive it would become in consumers’ daily lives. According to Statista, the U.S. bottled water market is currently valued at $94.07 billion, with a 6.34% annual CAGR through 2027. More Americans drink bottled water than any other packaged beverage, and for good reason: It offers a healthy, safe, and calorie-free alternative to sugary beverages and provides hydration onthe-go in a portable, unbreakable container.

What consumers could also not have predicted though was the impact these single-serve containers would have on the environment and natural resources in the decades to come. Single-serve plastic beverage bottles have become the poster child for packaging pollution. According to the Container Recycling Institute, 86% of disposable water bottles used in the U.S. become garbage or litter, which translates to 38 billion disposable water bottles going to landll each year.

When former military airman Jason Dibble began the rst of his four tours of duty in Afghanistan, he was confronted with the most extreme example of bottled water’s negative environmental effects. “When I got in country, the rst thing they handed me was a bottle of water. Now, the statement after that is the shocking one, which was, ‘Make sure you drink from it, you brush your teeth with it, you cook with it, but shower with the water that’s already here,’” Dibble shares. “And that stuck with me forever.

“Also while over there for those number of tours, what I started to see were lots and lots of supply planes coming in with boatloads of bottled water—I mean, exorbitant amounts of bottled water. And the crazy part is, when we were done with that bottled water, because obviously we don’t have any real, true infrastructure to bury the packaging, we burned the bottles in burn pits.” These burn pits are now the subject of major lawsuits, after military members exposed to the pits’ toxins began suffering serious health conditions.

Roughly the size of a commercial ice maker, the Boomerang Bottling System sanitizes the reusable bottle, lters the water, lls the bottle with the water, and caps the bottle with the push of a button.

As Dibble later came to understand, the military’s process of handling bottled water is not an anomaly. “I looked around at this bottled water industry, and as big as it is, it does the same thing we were doing in the military, which is taking it from one resource and then shipping it around the world. That’s when I thought, ‘There’s got to be a better way.’”

After years of R&D, Dibble introduced to market what he believes is a better way: the Boomerang Bottling System.

Boomerang perseveres despite naysayers

Boomerang Water, LLC was co-founded in 2017 by Dibble and partner Jerrod Freund to provide a solution for bottled water without the waste. Using the BBS, closed-loop environments, such as hotels, campuses, stadiums, cruise ships, manufacturing facilities—the examples are nearly endless—can ll their own water on-site in reusable glass or aluminum bottles, which are then collected after use and re lled. The keystone of the system is the BBS machine, which rinses, lters (the water), lls, and caps Boomerang-supplied custom reusable bottles.

When compared with traditional bottled water manufacturing and distribution systems, the BBS eliminates the need to ship product long distances, it secures the supply chain, it provides the freshest water possible, and it replaces single-use plastic bottles with containers that can be used multiple times and then ultimately recycled. It also provides businesses, organizations, and institutions with on-pack branding opportunities, as well as a tangible way to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability.

On-site bottling Reusable/re llable bottles Plastic reduction

The idea behind the BBS is so intuitive, it seems a wonder no one thought of it before. Yet, much to Dibble’s surprise, when he approached several engineering rms early on to help him build the machine, he was laughed out of the rooms. “They said, ‘This is the dumbest idea in the world because plastic is just cheap, it’s easy to transport,’” he shares.

Undaunted, Dibble enlisted a number of engineering experts and OEMs and began designing the system in his garage—a process he says

involved “thousands and thousands of hours of engineering and R&D.” He adds, “This was a story of me talking to individuals passionately, telling them that we needed to do something radically different. But as everyone kept on working on the project and as we continued to build out the system, it was one of those things where everyone’s like, ‘This just makes sense. Why haven’t we been doing this? We’re not building a rocket ship.’”

While not a rocket ship, the BBS was still a challenging piece of equipment to design. As Dibble notes, you can engineer almost anything to be complex, but it’s very dif cult to engineer something with the least amount of moving parts. The latter was the goal of the Boomerang team in order to make the machine easy enough for anyone to run as well as to minimize maintenance issues.

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Smart bottling system is designed for exibility

The fruit of Boomerang’s labor, the BBS machine, is compact; at 48 in. W x 35 in. D x 72 in. H, it’s roughly the size of a commercial ice maker. Handling six bottles at a time, the BBS sanitizes glass or aluminum containers using high heat (in the future, Boomerang plans to use chemicals to sanitize the bottles), lls them with ltered water, and vacuum seals them with a singleuse steel cap at a speed of 15 to 20 seconds per cycle. Boomerang also supplies a custom bottle washer that prewashes used containers, removing any grit, grime, wax, lipstick, etc.

The BBS comes standard with a UF (ultra ltration) system, but is designed for compatibility with any type of lter to suit a variety of applications. For example, Dibble shares, when Boomerang presented the BBS to the military, they were interested in using an RO (reverse osmosis) ltration system. “Depending on the water source, we can tailor-make our ltration system speci c to that water source,” Dibble explains. “The beauty of the platform is that you can use spring water, mountain water, you can go on remote islands, cruise ships, navy vessels, submarines, it doesn’t matter. We can complement our system with the right ltration system to always provide the customer with the highest-quality water.”

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The high quality of the water is also the result of the immediacy between the time the bottle is lled and the time it reaches the customer, which is estimated to be from 72 to 96 hours on average. That’s compared with traditionally manufactured bottled water, which must travel from the manufacturer to the distributor and then to the retailer, after which the bottle might sit on a shelf for a period of time. This entire process, Dibble says, means the water may not be consumed by the customer until three to six months after it’s been bottled.

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Built with ease of operation top of mind, the BBS runs at the “touch of a button,” with a complex computer system guiding the machine’s operations. If

problems do arise, Boomerang can connect with the machine via Ethernet to operate the system remotely. Another feature of the machine is that it collects production data, including how many bottles are moving through the machine, energy usage, the amount of water used, etc. In the future, Boomerang will also be able to provide its customers with

Sustainability and economics at the core of system

As Dibble shares, when developing the BBS solution, Boomerang considered both sustainability and economics. Given people generally associate products that offer greater sustainability with higher costs, the company wanted to take a different approach. With a reusable packaging system, many of those cost savings are baked in. Each time a bottle is used, it costs less.

“The more you use it, the cheaper it gets,” says Dibble. “To me, it’s like this, if you go to a restaurant, they’re not going to give you a new fork, a new spoon, a new knife, a new plate every single time. What they do is they take it back, they wash it, they sanitize it, and they reuse it. We’re doing exactly the same thing, except we’re doing it with bottled water.”

Using the example of 500 bottles a day produced on the BBS, Dibble calculates that the cost per bottle with labor is from 38 to 42 cents versus $1.10 to $1.85 per bottle for a single-use product. Meanwhile, the environmental cost per bottle is dramatically less for the reusable bottle. After one use, a Boomerang bottle results in 95% fewer CO2 emissions than a single-use plastic bottle, and 100% fewer after it goes around a second time.

Dibble also shares that in the use cases so far, there have been no increases in the cost of labor to operate the machine. The BBS can be managed by one person, typically someone already on staff, and a good operator can run anywhere between 350 to 500 bottles per hour. “Once

The Boomerang Bottling System handles six bottles at a time at a rate of 15 to 20 seconds per cycle.

Hawaiian Resort Eliminates 0.5M Single-Use Plastic Bottles

In March 2022, the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, a luxury Hawaiian resort guided by the brand’s Lead With Care program, adopted the Boomerang Bottling System, installing one BBS machine and 27 Boomerang-supplied refill stations throughout the resort for its guests. The Four Seasons Lead With Care program was developed in collaboration with Johns Hopkins Medicine and advances the hospitality company’s commitment

to protecting the health, safety, and security of its employees, guests, and residents worldwide.

For Four Seasons’ Hualalai location, this commitment includes taking care of the resort’s island home by reducing its impact on the local environment. “Sustainability is a new word for a centuries-old way of life in Hawaii: Ma-lama Ka Honua (care for the earth),” said Charlie Parker, regional vice president and general manager of the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, upon the announcement of the resort’s use of the BBS system. “We are proud to empower both our resort guests and employees to be more environmentally conscious in their everyday lives with this new offering.”

Before launching the BBS program, the luxury resort was purchasing from 400,000 to 500,000 bottles of water annually in single-use plastic bottles from a vendor on the island. Even though the vendor was local, Angelica Chavez, assistant director of Housekeeping for the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, shares that the resort still experienced supply chain issues from time to time. She adds that the resort had been looking for a way to transition from single-use plastic water bottles to a more sustainable, zero-waste alternative, and Boomerang provided the solution.

“The co-founders of Boomerang visited Four Seasons Resort Hualalai and completed a review across the resort with various leaders,” Chavez says. “Their team then identified the ideal location for installation of the system, reviewed potential

The Four Seasons Resort Hualalai is committed to reducing its impact on its Hawaiian island home. The Boomerang water system has allowed the resort to eliminate half a million plastic water bottles per year.

recovery and distribution locations, and provided guidance on education and literature across the resort to encourage bottle recovery for reuse.”

The resort employs one full-time operator to run the machine as well as to gather used bottles from collection points across the property. Recovery bins are located at every pool stand, outlet, spa, and fitness center on the property. During the operator’s eight-hour shift, the machine runs for approximately six hours. While the BBS can produce 3,000 bottles/day, Chavez says the resort averages around 1,200/day, based on its usage. She adds that the machine is very easy to operate, and daily cleaning and maintenance take just 20 minutes to ensure the system is running properly.

are constantly looking to add collection stations and make it easier for our guests to return the bottles,” says Chavez. “The main goal for us is to continue spreading the message about Boomerang water bottles so that all of our guests and visitors know where they can return and recycle the bottles, which will hopefully increase our return rate.” PW

M2000 CASE PACKER

Intuitive HMI Standard Allen Bradley PanelView Plus with 2-Touch navigation

Robotic Set Up Arm Fixed load height, requiring no magazine height changes between recipes.

During operation, the BBS machine fills the reusable bottles with water sourced from Hualalai’s on-site water processing plant and then filters it through a six-stage, sub-micron UF (ultrafiltration) system, specifically designed for the resort. The bottled water is then distributed free-of-charge in guest rooms and in public spaces to visitors, who are encouraged to use the 27 refill stations across the property to keep the bottles in use. The resort selected Ball’s aluminum bottle for its program to avoid any issues with broken glass along the resort pathways, which many of the guests walk barefoot on.

Thus far, the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai has seen a return rate for the bottles of 60%. “We

Digital counters provide electronic feedback displaying locations and status on HMI

Rapid Lead Time Standard configurations packing up to 35 cases per minute of cartons or other rigid containers.

go.brentonengineering.com/packworld23_M2000 320.852.7705 | Brenton@ProMachBuilt.com

The machines themselves, including the bottle washer, are leased by Boomerang to its customers, with the cost based on turns and cycles. The complete solution also includes the bottles and caps, a custombranded collection system for empty bottles, and re ll stations, if desired. Boomerang’s strategy is to develop a partnership with its customers, enabling them to implement a complete closed-loop program. As Dibble says, the company is not interested in selling machines for the sake of producing single-use bottled water. “We turn down contracts all the time,” he shares. “If there’s not a buy-in from the organization, it doesn’t make sense for us to utilize an asset in a location that’s not really going to be a part of our program. We want to build the right program with our customers because it only works if you’re getting the bottle back and it’s constantly being reused.”

Every (reusable) bottle has a story

Designed for maximum durability for multiple uses and for compatibility with the BBS machine, the glass and aluminum bottles used in the Boomerang system are supplied by O-I and Ball, respectively, with Ball being the most recent partner to come on board.

Says Jay Billings, president of Ball Aerosol Packaging, Ball Corporation, of working with Boomerang to create the custom bottles: “Ball aims for resource ef ciency improvement, and our intent is to make the lightest metal containers possible, while meeting the performance requirements of our customers. Working with Boomerang was no different as we strove to deliver a reusable aluminum bottling solution

that was as light as possible, while preserving its strength and integrity. Aluminum packaging has endless opportunities for innovation, and we were able to adapt our current product offerings to t Boomerang’s custom bottling system.”

Both the aluminum and glass bottles use a custom design that includes a wide mouth and a speci c shoulder complexity that ensure the inside of the bottle can be fully washed. Wanting to make the experience of handling the bottle as familiar as possible for the consumer, Boomerang also designed the bottle to feel good in the hand and t in a cup holder.

Customers can run either glass or aluminum bottles, which are supplied by Boomerang and sourced from O-I and Ball, respectively.

As for turns, Dibble says the glass bottles can be used “in nitely.” The aluminum bottles are designed for up to 150 turns, after which there may be dents or dings or the customer may want to switch out the bottle for a new design. Once the bottles can no longer be used, they can be recycled. “In fact,” says Billings, “they [aluminum bottles] can be turned into new bottles and returned to the Boomerang Bottling System in about 60 days.”

Bottles are digitally printed by Boomerang inhouse using a photorealistic printer speci cally designed for its use. Digital printing technology allows Boomerang to create personalized packaging and short runs cost-effectively. This means customers can have cans produced for special events, promotions, etc., in addition to their branding information. Boomerang also offers its customers the services of its inhouse designers. “The sky is the limit from the creative side,” Dibble says. “If we’re partnering with a group, we want them to feel like they own and are part of that bottle, because every bottle has a story.”

302,400 bottles collected and counting

Since the BBS launched in 2020, more than 302,400 bottles have been collected and reused at Boomerang customer sites, according to a tally on the company’s website at press time. Among the company’s current customers are a mining camp on the East Coast, the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai in Hawaii (see sidebar on p. 36), The Boca Raton luxury resort in Boca Raton, Fla., and the City of Davidson, N.C.—which is also where Boomerang is located.

But this is just the rst step in Boomerang’s long-term plan. “We started with water because it’s the main ingredient in every beverage,” Dibble says. “I knew once we got there, we could pivot over into other beverages, other avors, and eventually other products,” such as shampoos, cleaners, and conditioners, all of which t within the company’s patent scope. “Our goal is to proliferate this technology not only throughout the United States, but also throughout the world.” PW

The Boca Raton luxury resort in Boca Raton, Fla., is one of Boomerang Water’s latest customers.

Custom Case Packers Employ PC-Based Controls

The CP-30 custom case packer with integrated robotics ensures ultra-fast throughput and reduces changeover times by over 80% using advanced PC-based control technology and EtherCAT.

Controls consolidation Safety system

Part of the Bologna, Italy-based Coesia Group of packaging machine builders, R.A Jones of Covington, Ky. serves many of the world’s biggest CPGs with primary and secondary packaging machines. Best known for its wide array of standard packaging equipment for aerosols, cup lling, chub packaging, multipacking, pouching, case packing, and cartoning, R.A Jones offers completely custom machinery when the best machine for the job doesn’t exist yet. One technology seen as having a rising tide, especially in this custom work, is PC-based control.

HMI-based troubleshooting

technology. With 12 machines ordered by the CPG, the sheer volume of custom equipment to manufacture in a tight timeframe was a tall order, but so was the high level of automation required by the end user.

“With coffee products coming in as fast as 1,200 per minute, the machines had to run continuously, even in the event of a jam,” Burkhardt says. “R.A Jones sought a machine control platform that could automatically diagnose and correct machine stoppage without an operator’s manual adjustments. This eliminates the burden on workers to stop production and pull reject boxes in a fast-paced production environment.”

The resulting CP-30 machine automates all aspects of case packing, including jam clearance and packaging changeovers via over 70 dynamically controlled servo axes. It can automatically eject cases that don’t open correctly under the magazine without stopping the packaging process.

The CP-30 features a case feed robot inside to move at corrugated blanks into the case erecting segment. “We worked with Beckhoff application engineers to create custom kinematics software for this specialized robot,” Burkhardt says. “While similar to a SCARA, this robot is completely custom to provide a high degree of rotation for the pick head as it pulls the blanks out of the magazine.” If the case fails to open, sensors will automatically detect this, and the pick head will reject the case. Afterward, the case feed robot will pick a new case.

“With many of the emerging R.A Jones machine lines, we’ve standardized on PC control and automation from Beckhoff,” says Bob Burkhardt, product portfolio manager for Cartoning, Robotics & Pouching, R.A Jones. “This includes some of our case packers, vertical load cartoners, and top load cartoners, but also in solutions for some of our most challenging jobs that require custom machinery.”

One of the latest machines to directly address a one-of-a-kind customer challenge is the custom CP-30 case packer. This was a special project for a large, multinational CPG manufacturer of coffee products where R.A Jones was contracted to develop a new high-performance case packing machine design. Parent company Coesia partnered with R.A Jones in the development, with Beckhoff supplying the automation

While the automated reject handling is a key bene t for the end user, so is the notably high throughput and exibility. “With the 12-count cases for smaller cartons, the CP-30 surges at 30 cases per minute,” adds Nick Werner, Custom Controls Group, R.A Jones. “The CP-30 case packer also exibly builds numerous case patterns. Whether you’re dealing with large or small carton sizes, the same CP-30 can handle nearly any combination of carton counts.”

Packing automation technologies into one toolbox

For an industry as dedicated to standards as packaging, machine builders serving the space have historically used a lot of single-purpose, black box-style controls dedicated to a single aspect of automation. “The ability to consolidate hardware for different areas of control was a key bene t for R.A Jones,” says Paul Schuster, product portfolio manager, Coesia Digital & Aerosol, R.A Jones.

R.A Jones developed the custom CP-30 case packer for a large, multinational CPG manufacturer of coffee products.

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AUTOMATIC BOTTLE FILLING MACHINES

“The processing power we get from PC-based control is impressive,” Werner adds. “Practically speaking, this means the difference between implementing one Beckhoff controller and having to juggle multiple controllers from a traditional PLC vendor to handle machine automation.”

The CP-30 features a Beckhoff C6030 Industrial PC (IPC) with Intel Core i7-7700 quad-core processor that provides ample power for all the computationally intensive functions in case packing. R.A Jones is also in the process of implementing an IoT remote monitoring service called Coesia PerforMate on its machines using a Beckhoff IPC.

“One of the biggest things we observed with the Beckhoff IPC was impressively low scan times—around 1 millisecond scan time for more than 70 servo axes,” says Austin Rismiller, electrical project engineer, Research & Development/Innovation, R.A Jones.

Another enabler of fast communications and low scan times is the EtherCAT Industrial Ethernet protocol connecting all drives and I/O on the CP-30. “EtherCAT provides an outstanding level of speed in our machine communications,” Werner shares. “The ease of setup when automatically scanning devices into the network greatly helped with startup, commissioning and troubleshooting. This and built-in EtherCAT diagnostics made it easy to quickly localize and correct any wiring mistakes or breaks that may have happened down to the exact I/O terminal.”

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The machine features a case feed robot inside to move at corrugated blanks into the case erecting segment.

The EtherCAT I/O system also enables R.A Jones to easily connect to other industrial networks, such as IO-Link. This establishes direct connectivity to various smart devices, including the RFID reader, a programmable stack light, and smart photo eyes. The approach helped eliminate homerun cabling back to the main control cabinet by using distributed EtherCAT I/O along the machine.

R.A Jones also sources EL72xx series EtherCAT I/O terminals with built-in drive technology to control ultra-compact AM8100 series servomotors. EL9576 terminals add brake chopper functionality in the same 12 mm wide DIN rail mounted I/O format. “Beckhoff directly addressed the small motor and drive sizes required for CP-30, which is a major bene t,” Schuster says. “Combining the power and feedback cables into one line using One Cable Technology (OCT) added to our space and wiring savings.” The CP-30’s footprint is smaller than comparable case packers and its electrical cabinets even fold down, so the entire machine can be shipped in a normal semitruck.

Machine safety is integrated into the standard control platform and EtherCAT network via the TwinSAFE system. TwinSAFE I/O terminals connect to guard doors and e-stops throughout the machine and safety data is sent via Safety over EtherCAT (FSoE) using a certi ed black channel approach. The servo drives in the application also communicate via FSoE to provide a variety of safe motion functions. The CP-30 is broken up into two safety zones with dedicated TwinSAFE logic in each. A cartoner side zone is on the operator side, where the case feed robot picks all the cases. A transfer side zone is where the cartons come in from the infeed and go to the upstacker. This provides the ability to stop the appropriate zone during safety events instead of stopping the entire machine.

On the programming side, TwinCAT 3 as an engineering environment and runtime for machine control also demonstrated major advantages. The universal TwinCAT platform handles all aspects

of machine control, including PLC, safety, motion control and more.

“I’m a fan of how TwinCAT XAE is presented in a standard Microsoft Visual Studio shell,” Rismiller says. “That’s refreshing compared to traditional PLC vendors’ software offerings. TwinCAT 3 integrates all com-

puter science standards in programming, like C++ and Python which meshes into my programming knowledge from college. Providing these options in addition to PLC programming standards, such as structured text, is a key bene t.”

As part of the project, R.A Jones used the existing Coesia Automation Framework Library (AFL) in TwinCAT. “TwinCAT offers the ability to protect Coesia and R.A Jones software and function blocks as intellectual property,” Werner says. “Even better, end users never have to trouble themselves with the PLC code for troubleshooting and maintenance since these interactions are handled via the HMI. Assisting in this user-friendly approach is a CP3918 Control Panel in 18-inch widescreen format with multiple push buttons we selected for machine control functions—all designed right into the panel.”

Also notable, the CP-30 exibility is boosted by the Acc-U-Change Plus solution from R.A Jones that allows users to handle changeovers with the push of a button, ensuring a vertical start-up and high case quality during production. The removable Acc-U-Change Plus components are RFID-enabled, so end users can verify that the right equipment is installed in the right place for all case sizes and patterns. “Where changeover times to a different-sized case often take 20 to 30 minutes in other case packers, we’ve been able to bring changeover time to around ve minutes or even less on the CP-30,” Werner says. “Using automation from Beckhoff, we’ve taken 19 manual moves out of the equation— with one touch on the HMI and the automated changeover can move from largest size to the smallest size and vice versa.” —Matt

Reynolds

The CP-30 case packer features a variety of compact drives from Beckhoff, such as ultra-compact AM8100 series servomotors connected to EL72xx series EtherCAT I/O terminals with built-in drive technology.

By Matt Reynolds, Chief Editor

Pepsi, Fanta Consider Digital Space in Spate of Soda Facelifts

Pepsi and Fanta’s respective new visual identities are optimized for both analog, physical spaces—like packaging—and for the online and digital worlds.

In late March, Pepsi nally unveiled a new logo and visual identity that’s been years in the making. For a brand that had been known for periodically switching up its vibe, it had gone all of 14 years since launching its last iteration. Even so, Pepsi didn’t rush to make the switch. Mauro Porcini, senior vice president, chief design of cer, PepsiCo, had recognized a need for new injection of energy a few years back, but the brand carefully timed the rollout to coincide Pepsi’s 125th anniversary in 2023. Porcini and his team say their goal was to build and strengthen visual distinction through the bold type, energetic palette, and a uni ed logomark.

the company’s in-house creative force that manages 40-plus brands. Given the scale of the project, design agency Mrs.&Mr., among other external designers and typographers, partnered with Pepsi to supporting the in-house design team.

It’s always a challenge for long-tenured brands considering package and visual redesigns to thread the needle between updating and refreshing the visual cues, and maintaining the generations of brand equity by retaining the more iconic elements of the identity.

So, what elements of the original design are new, which elements were retained, and why? Porcini notes that Pepsi has a familiar visual heritage, and it was important for he and his team to pay homage to the past, but also to bring a contemporary edge. The color palette, signature typography, and dynamic pulse are entirely new elements, meant to represent the current and future era of Pepsi and allow more flexibility to move between today’s physical and digital worlds. But the iconic globe theme of the logo remains, and in fact hearkens back to earlier iterations of Pepsi globe logos.

“The logo design was finalized in the summer of 2021 and from then we started to work on the full visual identity system and execution across touchpoints. But this was a labor of love that started years before that summer, and we’re so thrilled to finally share it with the world,” Porcini told Packaging World. “We wanted to create a new logo and visual identity that connects future generations with our brand’s heritage and feels unapologetically current and undeniably Pepsi. It was also important to us that our new visual identity allows for more seamless and creative collaboration with partners and customers and more versatility to engage fans in the places they shop, dine, work and play. It’s also optimized for today’s digital world, from stadium screens to the metaverse.”

The redesign was developed by PepsiCo Design and Innovation,

“As a brand that interacts with millions of people every day around the world, updating a visual identity is a large-scale endeavor that takes time. That said, we’re very excited about how the new design will show up in the world. The bold, clean, and iconic visual identity will help improve shelf navigation and brand recall, turning transactions into brandbuilding moments,” Porcini says. “As always, we have a sharp focus on consistently putting our best designs in the market and ensuring we don’t dilute our brand impact or visual distinction. We’re strategically working with our local markets on rollout timing so that we are continuing to build on our brand equity and properly establish familiarity. We are very confident that this redesign will continue to positively propel our brand into the future.”

A key update is the addition of black to the color palette. This is a color-coded reference to Pepsi Zero Sugar, a huge area of focus and a growth driver. It also creates a striking contrast with the new electric blue. The visual identity also incorporates what it calls a “pulse.” Best represented digitally as a moving, .gif-style format, this effect adds a

Pepsi balances between brand equity and bold new designs by keeping the iconic globe, but punching up typography and extending the color palette to include black.

New Get Up, Same 7UP

In February, 7UP announced a packaging redesign of its own. It’s rolling out international marketing campaigns, introducing a new tagline with “New Get Up, Same 7UP,” and coining a phrase in “Upliftment to the everyday.”

“The new 7UP features the brand’s signature punchy green, but with added citrus hues and distinct high-contrast lines that portray a feeling of upward energy,” Porcini says.

The fresh visual identity system, which marks the rst major overhaul in over seven years, maintains 7UP’s iconic signature green coloring, with added “zesty” citrus tones. The new design will be visible on 7UP and 7UP Zero Sugar bottles and cans. 7UP’s new visual identity system began roll out worldwide in March 2023, starting with Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Ireland, Latin America, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the UK, and all European markets. PW

living, breathing design asset that allows Pepsi to flex and customize its look to any setting, platform, or partnership to reach customers in new ways. So far, the rollout and feedback has been all positive.

“Prior to the announcement, we conducted research globally and received a positive response. Specifically, people applauded the attractive color palette, distinctiveness, and overall modern look,” Porcini says. “And now we’ve been thrilled to see how the news has resonated with Pepsi fans around the globe—and even trended on Twitter.”

Fanta uni es design, clari es avors

In April, Coca-Cola brand Fanta announced its first ever global brand identity. Designers say the concept encourages playfulness, with bright, bold designs that punch through the routine of everyday life.

“We wanted to portray a brand that values spontaneous play and the benefit it brings. By shifting our focus to reflect an attitude, we were able to revitalize Fanta’s brand assets and reclaim ‘play’ as something that people of all ages can embrace and benefit from,” says Rapha Abreu, global vice president of design at The Coca-Cola Company.

Both virtually (digital spaces) and in real life (on the packaging and other physical spaces), the new, more cohesive visual identity emphasizes fun. The brand color system is comprised of unique, identifiable colors that correspond with specific flavors, like raspberry or cherry. The graphic system, inspired by the new dynamic logo that incorporates .gif-style motion in digital spaces, helps Fanta reinforce playfulness. Created in partnership with Brazilian illustrator Lucas Wakamatsu, illustrations and photography serve to bring a “Pop of Fun-ta” to life by emphasizing the aesthetic of mixed media, layering,

imperfection, and storytelling, to create a distinctive point-of-view intended to cut through visual clutter.

“We were really inspired by the idea of bringing playfulness to consumers of all ages when we started to ideate around how to bring the brand’s purpose to the masses. By thinking what this meant for the brand’s expression, attitude, and actions, we were able to build a distinctive brand identity that signaled Fanta’s commitment to fun at every level—from real life to digital,” says Lisa Smith, executive creative director Global, Jones Knowles Ritchie, brand identity and packaging agency who collaborated with Fanta on the project.

Previously, Fanta’s brand identity and packaging system existed in different executions across markets. Now, the Fanta brand will begin to be unified around the world, raising it to sit consistently alongside other iconic brands by The Coca-Cola Company, such as Coca-Cola and Sprite.

One consideration for the brand was its logo, which until this redesign had incorporated an orange as text background, with a stem and a leaf draped across the typography. While this orange-laden logo was Fanta’s only logo, orange wasn’t Fanta’s only flavor. A logo depicting an orange had the potential to confuse consumers selecting other flavors, like pineapple or lime. The new logo retains the brand equity in look and feel but eschews the direct connection to an orange. Each flavor—orange included—uses fun, juicy, cartoonish depictions of the fruit associated with it.

The brand redesign was led by the Coca-Cola Global Design and Jones Knowles Ritchie, with contributions from Relative in packaging guidelines and imagery, Gretel in digital motion identity, and Colophon in typography, among others. PW

The leafy orange from the legacy logo (below) was dropped in order to extend consistent, equal treatment across Fanta’s range of avors (left).

Compact X-ray System

Loma’s X5C compact X-ray system is designed to detect all types of metal, calci ed bone, glass, or dense plastics. It can also be used for basic product integrity tests such as missing items, object checking, and ll level.

Loma Systems pwgo.to/7930

HF/F/S Machine

Volpak’s SI 280 hf/f/s machine is designed for the exible packaging of consumer goods in stand-up pouches up to 2500 mL at speeds to 240 packs/min.

Volpak pwgo.to/7931

Sustainable Film

Pregis’ Performance Flexibles Renew Series lm is designed speci cally for critical exible packaging applications, including food, pharmaceutical, medical, and household consumer goods.

Pregis pwgo.to/7763

Solid-Board Fruit and Vegetable Punnets

Solidus’ FUTURLINE solid board punnets are made from renewable resources that offer an alternative to single-use plastic trays for soft fruits and vegetables.

Solidus pwgo.to/7893

By Dawn Burcham, Lifetime CPP, CPLT

Do Marketing and Packaging Structure Go Hand-in-Hand?

A lot of attention is focused on packaging sustainability and packaging’s ability to perform other functions, from clearly demonstrating the product and its value-added bene ts to delivering the product undamaged via e-commerce. These are important matters, but packaging professionals must not lose sight of a critical function of packaging that’s stood the test of time: The package must sell the product.

Since the industrial revolution, when products began shipping in crates and paper became a luxurious way to present a product, there have been folks who believe packaging is a necessary evil and those who feel packaging is a necessity to market and protect the product. Both views have their pros and cons, but today’s truth is that without some form of packaging, products would not survive shipping and handling. Furthermore, they would be unidentifiable on shelf.

Today’s age of bar and QR (quick response) codes requires a printable surface. In the 1800s, companies recognized the importance of having their company name and/or brand on crates and papers. Wooden crates for heavy items would have a company name “branded” into a wood slat so the public knew what was being supplied. Paper wrappers around cigars and other “fine” products would represent prestige and wealth.

Early on, businesses recognized that packaging subliminally directs the buying public. As local grocery stores grew, and larger retailers evolved and new products were introduced, the importance of selling a product at shelf level became a business strategy. Brand recognition became the buzzword in the food, beverage, automotive, health/ hygiene, and household goods industries.

The ability to catch consumers’ attention and sell a product was and is very important, and companies began researching how to get consumers to stop and buy their products. How does a new company garner attention like the big brands? What do they do and how? Marketing firms help research brand images, icons, and company business statements. Depending on the industry, they determine if the brand needs to be soft and subtle such as the Gerber baby or loud and bold like the Doritos triangle chip. This is where packaging truly becomes synonymous with the product. Marketers use the physical structure to enhance, and in some cases create the brand and attributes such as Coca-Cola’s glass bottle, McDonald’s golden arches,

Disney’s mouse silhouette and the iPhone’s soft, molded pulp box. These brands are recognized globally.

Many companies are spending an increasing amount of money on marketing and studying product purchase influences. Often, a key focus is the effect of packaging. Packaging also has become the avenue to document improvements (new and improved!), industry ratings (UL and Energy Star), any savings and any hazard alerts (Surgeon General’s warning on tobacco). It also is the surface where bar and QR codes are found. Another important factor to consumers and to the packaging engineer is how well the structure protects the product and whether the packaging is sustainable. Sustainability is becoming a marketing tool with the FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council) or SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative) icons on packaging. These indicate to the public that companies are actively working on being sustainable.

Today, there are brick and mortar needs and e-commerce needs. Packaging is vital for brand image, communication, and protection. What is found on the shelf needs to be found online and viceversa. Consumers see a brand at either location and expect the same quality and price no matter how they buy the product. Consumers want an experience. When they buy a product, they expect the packaging to protect it and tell them what they are buying. They want sexy and exciting perfection in the soft curve of a perfume bottle. They are drawn to the bold graphics of a video game. For consumers, the physical packaging structure must marry protection with promoting the product and housing the graphics and images while being fiscally responsible. This want is subliminal and not easily captured in marketing studies, but necessary.

As our retail and commercial markets have evolved, so has the packaging, from being large signage to garner attention, to compact to be more sustainable. No matter the product or the message, packaging is the main proponent at shelf level to sell, sell, sell. In the long run, we are some form of “packaging professional” whether working in packaging engineering, design, marketing, sales, or recycling. The product and the package are synonymous, and it is up to all of us to communicate to create a strong image that differentiates either on the shelf, online, or in communications, while protecting the product to satisfy the consumer. PW

The author, Dawn Burcham,

For consumers, the physical packaging structure must marry protection with promoting the product and housing the graphics and images while being scally responsible.

CARTONING, MULTIPACKING & CASE PACKING

Need more automation capability in a fraction of the space? We can help.

By engineering your EXACT SOLUTION, we make every square inch count for Case Packing, Cartoning, Palletizing, Variety Case Packing, Retail Ready, Robotics, Sleeving, and Combination machines. Our custom approach is a mix of inventive problem-solving and a willingness to take on challenges.

Aagard is a leading engineering innovator of secondary packaging automation. Check out a few of our innovative solutions:

• apid aunch- New product set-ups in minutes, no programming, no change parts, no retrofits

•Walk-Through Caser acker set up for lights-out manufacturing

• ully Automated ariety Case acking, Including etail eady ackaging

•One Case acker for Cartons and Bags, With Auto Changeover

•Telescoping Conveyor, Accessibility Without Steps Or raw Bridges

•E panded Capability with Integrated Options

TOTAL PROJECT SUCCESS happens with partnership and an iterative design process. We work together to understand the complete picture, creating the optimal solution that mitigates space, speed, and flexibility challenges to drive results.

Since 1997 we have specialized in engineering and building customized integrated combination packaging systems that fit our customers’ specific needs and spaces. Our unique packaging machines can combine many solutions into a single turn-key system with one integrated control package using our proven innovative technologies.

Whether the need is for a design solution with a small footprint or an agile system that can produce 1000s of product combinations, we will deliver

T E AA A EX E IENCE

HELPING OUR CUSTOMERS WIN

CODING, LABELING & PRINTING EQUIPMENT

American Film & Machinery - AFM

714/974-9006

American Film & Machinery is a leading manufacturer and supplier of heavy-duty shrink sleeve labeling equipment, shrink tunnels, and shrink sleeve consumables. AFM’s shrink sleeve labeling equipment includes a complete line of shrink sleeve labelers, tamper evident banding equipment, steam tunnels, electric tunnels and infrared tunnels. AFM’s labelers range in performance from 50 to 500 products per minute, offering a product and price point no matter what the application demands.

American Film & Machinery also offers a complete line of shrink sleeve consumables, including shrink labels and tamper evident bands. AFM is supported by two of the largest film converting plants – one with 7 rotogravure presses and up to 9-color stations and compatible converting equipment, and another plant with an 8-color 32” central impression flexo press.

With over 40 years of experience in the shrink labeling industry, rely on American Film & Machinery to provide the right solution to your product labeling needs. AFM products are sold through a network of authorized dealers, fully trained and capable to install, train and service our equipment. Contact us today for the name of your local reseller and find out how we can benefit your operation.

AFM, Eastey, and Squid Ink and are all divisions of Engage Technologies Corporation. American Film & Machinery (afmsleeves.com) supplies shrink labelers and tunnels, shrink sleeves, and tamper bands. Eastey (eastey. com) is a leading manufacturer of heavy-duty shrink packaging equipment and automated case sealing systems for packaging applications. Squid Ink (squidink.com) is a manufacturer of coding and marking systems for product identification and traceability, providing superior quality inks and low maintenance printing equipment.

CODING, LABELING & PRINTING EQUIPMENT

919-772-8383

Axon, a ProMach product brand, is an industry leader in shrink sleeve, stretch sleeve, and tamper band labeling systems, offering dependable performance in key sleeving and tamper band applications including full and partial body sleeves, tamper evident bands, multipacks, and full body over-the-cap sleeves. Over 5,000 Axon systems are in operation worldwide, supported by an experienced team of engineers and service personnel.

The flexibility to run shrink sleeve labels, tamper evident bands, and multipack sleeves on a single machine makes Axon applicators and systems the ideal solution for low-to-high speed and high-performance applications in a wide range of industries including craft beer, wine and spirits, RTD beverages, food, condiments and sauces, ice cream and dairy, pharma and nutraceuticals, and more.

Axon’s systems and standalone applicators are known to deliver dependable performance and unmatched flexibility that translates into higher productivity, more savings and dollars on the bottom line.

Our Team

Our success starts with listening to your needs, asking the right questions and conducting a thorough technical evaluation to deliver the rightfit solution for your business. Making use of over 50 years of shared experience in the labeling industry, our team of sales and application engineers offer guidance to ensure operational results are met, from the initial conversation through installation and day-to-day operations. Your internal teams can count on US based manufacturing of equipment and parts and local technical support provided by leading service experts that average 14 years of Axon experience.

CONTROLS, SOFTWARE & COMPONENTS

B&R Industrial Automation

770/772-0400

B&R Industrial Automation, a member of the ABB Group, is bringing a new level of performance and flexibility to packaging machinery in response to the needs of consumer goods manufacturers.

The B&R ecosystem offers a uniquely comprehensive portfolio of today’s most advanced automation technology – including machine vision, robotics, digital twin simulation, and mechatronic product transportation systems. Our team has the knowledge and experience to combine these technologies in a way that enables manufacturers to adapt to all types of unexpected changes without sacrificing productivity. This is the crucial ability – known as adaptive manufacturing – that CPG manufacturers can leverage to more efficiently handle the demands of direct-to-consumer and omnichannel business opportunities.

Codian Robotics became a member of the ABB Group in 2020. The integration of Codian Robotics’ delta robots into the B&R portfolio has made it much easier for customers to implement high-speed pick-andplace applications.

The mechatronic solutions have proven to be a game changer, enabling mass customization down to batch size one, changeovers on the fly, and make-to-order instead of make-to-stock. This is the essence of adaptive manufacturing, machines that adapt to the products being made and packaged, rather than forcing products to conform to a rigidly sequential process.

Adaptive manufacturing enables digital business strategies with the ability to deliver cost-effective, automated, make-to-order mass customization for the first time ever. Manufacturers can now offer personalized, even batchsize-one order fulfillment directly from the production line to the consumer.

CODING, LABELING & PRINTING EQUIPMENT

For over 60 years, BELL-MARK has been developing innovative solutions for package and carton printing applications in the medical device, pharmaceutical, prepared foods, meat, bakery, dairy, and poultry packaging industries. BELL-MARK offers many in-line printing technologies, including piezo inkjet, thermal inkjet, thermal transfer, flexographic, and ink coder, all of which satisfy requirements to print directly onto package and carton substrates.

The accuracy of coding on your product package is crucial. Expiration dates must be clearly identifiable and easily human-readable. Bar codes must be verifiable and scannable. There are no exceptions. BELL-MARK addresses these needs with systems that provide the highest quality print available on medical paper, Tyvek, poly, and foil substrates.

BELL-MARK has successfully satisfied UDI GS1 requirements for many of our customers. We understand the UD1 rules and regulations and have experience in a wide range of applications. From retrofitting band sealers to Form, Fill, Seal packaging machines, we have the expertise to ensure your codes are verifiable and scannable and meet the necessary regulations.

Eliminate costly labeling by printing directly onto your package or replace your CIJ printer with a maintenance-free alternative. BELL-MARK offers a full line of washdown tolerant printers, including both thermal transfer and thermal inkjet technologies. Print graphics, nutritional facts, bar codes, lot/expiration dates and safe handling instructions on almost any surface. Rest easy knowing your printer is IP67 rated and can be washed down and sanitized without complicated protective procedures.

BELL-MARK’s in-line printing and coding equipment delivers industryleading reliability and durability, time and time again. High-resolution print quality that consistently affords you the peace of mind in knowing that your codes will not fail. While other companies may claim it, BELL-MARK leads the way in the lowest cost of ownership and highest return on investment.

Inc.

www.bellatrx.com

BellatRx is a leading manufacturer of packaging lines, equipment, and integration solutions and your number one source for inventive, advanced, and automated packaging and filling solutions. Our expertise lies in the engineering and manufacturing of innovative equipment designed to your specifications for a turnkey operation.

We are a global leader in the design, manufacture, distribution, and service of Complete Packaging Lines, Filling, Capping, Labeling, Inspection, and Recovery systems focusing on Rigid Containers. We serve a broad range of industries including food, beverage, pharmaceutical, diagnostics, biotech, nutraceutical, chemical, cosmetics, and personal care for solid products, liquids, and powders.

Our packaging lines are designed to meet your packaging requirements ranging from small batch runs to large high-speed operations. We design our lines with speed, efficiency, flexibility, and ease of changeover in mind. Your packaging line will be modular with expansion capabilities built to keep pace with your company’s growing demands. Our expert technical team supports customers throughout the process from kick-off to final commissioning and beyond.

At BellatRx, we live by an encompassing mindset to create a “Beyond Expectation” experience for our customers. This experience is derived from our capabilities in application analysis, innovative engineering designs, product development, project management, on-time delivery, installation, start-up support, training, and ongoing aftermarket support.

BellatRx continues to implement the latest automation technologies to manufacture packaging machines which have become the benchmark in the industry due to their intuitive operation and easy setup. We are dedicated to expanding our product lines through ongoing investments in our people, R&D, and facilities to provide our customers with the best support, lead time, and value.

QC

CODING, LABELING & PRINTING EQUIPMENT

BestCode

817/349-8555

CODING AND MARKING SOLUTIONS

BestCode designs and manufactures Industrial Coding and Marking Printing Systems. Systems print real-time “Best By”, “Lot Code”, “Sell By”, “Expiration Codes” and other identifying marks and codes on industrial and consumer goods to ensure product traceability.

Products are designed and manufactured in the USA; FORT WORTH, TEXAS. For more than 25 years, the BestCode group continues to produce industry-changing, forward-thinking innovative industrial printing designs. Product designs are focused on ease of use, trouble-free operation, longterm reliability, and affordable cost of ownership with an emphasis on global market requirements.

Systems print small and large character text, graphics and barcodes at high speed, non-contact, instantly dry on a wide range of substrates, including plastic, glass, paper and more - meeting the requirements for food, consumer good and industrial coding and marking applications.

BestCode offers a complete range of marking and coding solutions (50+ model configurations) - entry level affordable options through mid-range capabilities and high end, specialized engineered solutions focusing on the highest speed, most sophisticated applications.

BestCode systems minimize user interaction, limiting the hands-on time for typical coding system operations, extending the operation time between human interactions.

Systems are the most efficient CIJ printers available, lowering overall coding costs. Systems are State-of-the-Art, Current Technology, Industrial, Built-to-Last and designed for the World Market, featuring more than 20 operating/printing languages.

FILLING, CAPPING & CLOSING

Bevcorp offers solutions for your filling, blending, container handling, and seamer packaging equipment, parts, and service needs. Our goal is to provide unparalleled service highlighted by our dedicated commitment to serving the food and beverage industries. We provide high speed rotary filling equipment including new and Bevcorp Certified can and bottle fillers. We manufacture both electronic volumetric and mechanical rotary filling equipment. Our Microblend Division manufactures the Micro2 Advantage Series Blender, in-line carbonator, CSD, hot fill and non-carbonated blenders, replacement parts, and provides 24-hour service and support. Our FCI Handling Division provides quick-change handling, conversions for all brands of equipment, parts carts & storage solutions, vent tubes/ ball cages, base control and neck handling solutions. Our newest division, East Coast Seamers, provides rebuilds and overhaul services for Angelus, Continental and Canco can seamers, 24-hour emergency service, parts, oil and lubrication analysis, installations and training.

CARTONING, MULTIPACKING & CASE PACKING

BluePrint Automation (BPA)

BluePrint Automation (BPA) is a world leader in end of line packaging automation. With a diverse and innovative team of experts in consumer goods packaging, BPA designs, develops and manufactures packaging solutions for flexible and other tough-to-handle packages. You make it, They’ll pack it!

• rimary ackaging ision guided robots picking individual packaged and unpackaged items for loading into your containers, wrappers or hffs machines; including Carton, Case and Tray Packing, Stacking and Loading, ariety acks into Sack or Case, inner Tray oading and it Assembly

• Secondary ackaging ori ontal and vertical pack solutions for fle ible and other packages; including wrap around case packing and end-load cartoning acking shelf ready Their Easy- case is a retail-ready case that allows for easy top loading and ensures a good-looking product appearance on the shelf.

• Turnkey ackaging Systems Taking total control of your packaging line from the end of processing through palleti ing

id you know ongerius anco, a leading supplier of multipack bag-in-bag systems is now powered by BluePrint Automation? With their wide range of bag-in-bag and sealchecking solutions, ongerius anco is the perfect complement to BPA’s end of line packaging solutions.

Backed by thousands of successful installations in over 60 countries, BPA has three full-service manufacturing facilities in the USA and Europe, an additional facility in ang hou China and ten additional subsidiaries throughout the world for sales and service. BPA has clearly emerged as a global leader in the design and manufacturing of fully integrated turnkey packaging systems. The systems are constructed for around the clock operation and known worldwide for their quick change over, flexibility, speed and simple design.

CARTONING, MULTIPACKING & CASE PACKING

Brenton, a ProMach Product Brand

Brenton is a global leader in designing and manufacturing integrated end of line case packaging systems and machines, specializing in case packing and palletizing using both robotics and other automation. With expertise in conventional, hard automation as well as robotics, Brenton has the solution to fit the customer’s specific application requirements.

Brenton’s case packers are reliable, efficient and easy to operate. With over 850 traditional case packers and robotic case packing installations, Brenton continues to be a leader in the case packing industry. These systems are designed for maximum flexibility, to accommodate diverse product requirements. Brenton’s Case packing solutions offer a wide range of options to easily accommodate our customer’s applications.

The Brenton full line of palletizing and depalletizing solutions uses rugged designs which help maximize the reliability and value of your machinery. Brenton’s systems range from single pick palletizers to bulk robotic palletizers and depalletizers as well as conventional machinery. By offering both conventional and robotic palletizing and depalletizing products, the Brenton line meets virtually every automation challenge. As a FANUC ASI and FANUC Certified Servicing Integrator and Strategic Market Specialist, Brenton’s extensive knowledge in robotics continues to grow and drive additional robotic automation solutions to their portfolio.

Brenton Integrated System Solutions offer customers a single source for all end-of-line packaging needs, from standalone applications to complex packaging systems. Brenton solutions integrate not only Brenton machines but also the entire ProMach family of brands as well as other customer specified equipment. Integrating systems streamlines the production process, allowing for maximum efficiency and increased productivity.

Brenton’s partnership does not end after installation. With one of the longest running aftermarket programs in the industry, Brenton has a team of in-house aftermarket parts, service and machine retrofit experts providing 24/7 support, keeping customers up and running at peak capacity. Retrofit upgrades also available on the competition’s solutions.

TRAY, CLAMSHELL & BLIS TER PACKAGING EQUIPMENT

Busch Vacuum Solutions

757-463-7800

www.buschusa.com

VACUUM SOLUTIONS FOR THE PACKAGING INDUSTRY:

Busch Vacuum Solutions combines the precision of German engineering with American-made know-how to offer an extensive range of vacuum pumps, blowers, and compressors tailored for your unique application.

Busch is proud to offer high quality, reliable solutions crafted in the US. Our key products for packaging are proudly constructed with a combination of US-made components and international materials - giving customers both reliability and value.

At Busch, quality and innovation come first. Our expert engineering team is committed to creating vacuum systems that meet the unique requirements of our customers. With such dedication to excellence, it’s no wonder we are a leader in system building!

Keeping your production running smoothly is our top priority. Our nationwide network of service centers or on-site Field Service Specialists provides expert maintenance and repair solutions, including 24/7 support for unexpected breakdowns. Invest in peace of mind knowing that with Busch you can maximize uptime, optimize safety, and improve efficiency.

OUR PRODUCTS:

• acuum umps

• Blowers Compressors

• acuum Systems

• Spare arts Accessories

• Measurement Equipment

OUR SERVICES

• Nationwide ield Service

• Nationwide Service Centers

• acuum ump E change

• Overhaul

• epairs

• Maintenance

CODING, LABELING & PRINTING EQUIPMENT

Founded in 1976, Buskro is an industry leader in the design and manufacture of print and personalization equipment to meet a broad range of customer applications in the commercial print and packaging markets. Buskro’s approach of incorporating the latest personalization technologies and providing an upgrade path for existing equipment allows our products to meet your current needs and gives you the ability to evolve with your future needs.

Buskro equipment features heavy duty construction with the option for 3rd party integration, a design that promotes years of trouble-free operation, and powerful Compose IQ software that has all the tools to deploy simple to complex personalization systems. Buskro offers a full suite of transport modules, inkjet printers, labelers, inspection devices and personalization elements that allow you to tailor a system that’s just right to meet the specific requirements of your jobs. Choose a printer or array of printers best suited to satisfy your print resolution, coverage, and ink needs and then define the image with Compose IQ & Workflow software, control the output, track progress, and inspect the result to confirm full job compliance.

Buskro’s Package Personalization System (PPS) has been designed to apply inkjet print, brand labels, and other personalization features such as RFID variably onto a wide variety of packaging products for jobs of any size. Employing Buskro’s configurable Modular Transport System as its foundation, personalization elements are added and placed where you need them to meet your specific package personalization requirements. Layered with Workflow Software that assists with rapid product setup and job preparation plus a camera inspection device that monitors and ensures completion and right amount of each and everyone of your products, the PPS provides all the tools to reduce waste and production costs.

Buskro research and development is constantly searching for new products, processes and systems. This commitment to innovation has produced industry leading operating systems, print technologies & transports.

PALLETIZING & L OAD STABILIZATION

BW Integrated Systems

BW Integrated Systems is an industry leader in the design and manufacture of end-of-line packaging equipment and robotic automation solutions, as well as the execution of integrated packaging systems. Our company attributes its decades of success to three simple principles: “People, Products, Performance.”

PEOPLE:

Striking the appropriate balance between a people-centric culture where everybody matters and industry-leading performance is core to our business. As a member of the Barry-Wehmiller family, we strive to be a company that enables its associates to return home daily with a true sense of fulfillment. Our mission is to be a company that people enjoy working for, doing business with, investing in, and having as part of their communities.

PRODUCTS:

Our diverse portfolio comprises trusted legacy products (Ambec, Fleetwood, Goldco, Nigrelli, SWF, Tisma), innovative solutions like our Maximus Case Palletizer and Fortis Bulk Depalletizer, and integrated packaging systems. In addition, our service network provides global technical support and offers peace of mind for a diverse client base that operates in a variety of market segments, including Automotive, Beer, Beverage & Craft Beverage, Wine & Spirits, Container Manufacturing, Food, Household, Personal Care, Dairy, Paper, Pharmaceutical, and Industrial.

PERFORMANCE:

BW Integrated Systems has decades of application experience in packaging line design and integration, robotic automation, and the design and manufacture of innovative packaging equipment. We have packaging equipment and systems integration installations in over 50 countries worldwide. With six manufacturing facilities and over 650 team members worldwide, BW Integrated Systems is a trusted global partner for our clients, ranging from mid-size to multi-national corporations.

Contact us to learn more.

FILLING, CAPPING & CLOSING

BW Packaging

People Who Care. Solutions That Perform.

BW Packaging is Barry-Wehmiller’s global team of packaging professionals who genuinely care about people. We show our customers that they matter by learning about their challenges and embracing them as our own. Through these partnerships, we develop purposeful packaging solutions to optimize our customers’ processes and back them with a lifetime of customer support.

Comprised of five divisions - Accraply, BW Flexible Systems, BW Integrated Systems, Pneumatic Scale Angelus and Synerlink - BW Packaging offers comprehensive packaging machinery and solutions including complete packaging lines, filling and closing, flexible packaging, labeling, end-of-line solutions, and systems integration.

Whether you need a single piece of equipment or a fully integrated line, BW Packaging provides reliable packaging solutions for food, beverage, personal care, household products and pharmaceuticals.

With 11,000+ installations around the world, BW Packaging brings a global perspective to solving the industry’s greatest challenges. Through innovation, application of our broad packaging expertise, and collaboration with our customers, we optimize packaging solutions for:

• Sustainability Infusing sustainable thinking into our business culture and practices.

• Integration Building robust connections through e pertise and IIoT solutions.

• Automation rioriti ing people and safety while streamlining production

• erformance Improving OEE with reliable solutions and lifetime customer support.

CARTONING, MULTIPACKING & CASE PACKING

Cama North America

Looking to improve production and efficiency? Cama has 40 years’ experience designing and building innovative, automated secondary packaging solutions that are easy to operate, improve production and OEE, and run multiple products with quick and easy changeovers. A subsidiary of Cama Group, Cama North America is vertically integrated, providing complete sales, manufacturing and aftermarket support to North American customers, including engineering, parts and technical service.

Cama’s expertise spans a wide range of applications, including various food markets, as well as Pet Food, Personal, Health, and Home Care. Our product line includes:

• Case packers and case packing systems for SC, wrap-around, and retail-ready /display ready cases C , as well as forming, closing and lidding machines for bo es, trays and SC cases

• Intermittent and continuous motion cartoners and carton sleevers

• Integrated decoupled and monoblock robotic loading units

Check out our new BreakThrough Generation of case packers, cartoners, and sleevers BT models feature high sanitation levels quick and easy, tool-less changeovers fle ible configurations and ease of maintenance and accessibility. They offer a monoblock design, no hollow body structure, and C-less, cabinet-free technology with non-proprietary electronics In addition, they are T M-compliant and ready for the future with Industry features such as our Augmented eality A Machine Assistant.

Offering flexibility and quick changeover in a compact footprint, our integrated, turnkey systems can accept flexible or rigid products in an oriented or random configuration, orient packages as needed, end load or top load products into a carton, and case pack into a display ready and/or conventional SC or wraparound case In addition, the Cama ackaging epartment offers more than years of e perience in the design and testing of packaging cardboard, and can often help design more sustainable solutions that help our customers save material costs and reduce their impact on the environment.

FLEXIBLE PACKAGING

LLC

Partner with Clysar for packaging with a positive impact.

Clysar is a leading U.S. shrink film manufacturer with sustainable solutions for virtually every packaging application: offering today’s most extensive portfolio of recyclable, recycled-content and right-gauged polyolefin films. Gain industry-leading expertise, 24/7 technical service and the developmental support of a knowledgeable sustainability team. Recyclable Films – Find a high-performance recycled film for every product, prequalified for Store Drop-Off by How2Recycle®. Solutions include Clysar® EVO™ all-purpose film, EVOX™ high-speed film, EVO-C™ Confidential e-commerce/privacy film, EVO™ ShrinkBox® high-abuse film and ULTRA LEG™ low-energy film.

Certified Recycled Content – Meet your goals with shrink packaging made with pre- or post-consumer recycled content. EVO-C™ Confidential film, an opaque shipping film, features Post-Consumer Recycled (PCR) content. Other clear films incorporate Clysar® ReClaim™ pre-consumer resin certified by SCS Global Services.

PVC Replacement – Improve material health and eliminate toxins with advanced polyolefin films that replace PVC shrink film (polyvinyl chloride), including our gentle new recyclable ULTRA LEG™ low-energy film.

Right-Gauging/Source Reduction – Explore options to reduce packaging, eliminate components and deliver improved performance at lower gauges. Solutions range from printed shrink film to thin films to corrugate replacement films that save up to 80% in package volume.

Reduced Energy Use/Cost – Lower impacts with films that run reliably at lower temperatures in sealers and tunnels, achieve improved speed/ throughput and eliminate rewraps.

Responsible U.S. Manufacturing – With 60+ years of shrink packaging expertise, Clysar is a responsible resource that meets rigorous qualifications for environmental, social and ethical performance. We are committed to environmental collaboration, education and improved packaging performance.

Make your next package more sustainable and successful. Visit clysar.com or talk with us to explore the advantages of full-circle shrink packaging.

PALLETIZING & L OAD STABILIZATION

Columbia Machine

Flexible Product Handling

Columbia’s conventional palletizers are the most flexible palletizing solutions available and handle virtually every package type, including shrink bundles with and without a pad, plastic totes, high CG, unwrapped trays, and more.

Industry Leading Standard Safety Features

Columbia’s standard safety package contains Category 3 electrical safety components, including dual circuit safety interlocks & full height light curtains. This safety package provides a fully guarded, Performance Level D palletizer to keep your employees safe while enhancing OEE and production demands.

Complete System Integration

Columbia Machine manufactures conventional high-speed, high-level, floor-level & robotic palletizers, load transfer stations and provides complete system design and integration. With the most flexible and modern palletizing solutions available, Columbia is the leading palletizer solutions provider in North America.

High Performance AND Sustainability

Columbia has a palletizing solution for virtually any application, each equipped with standard features designed to safely maximize OEE, throughput and uptime.

PALLETIZING & L OAD STABILIZATION

Columbia/Okura LLC

1.877.204.7444

Columbia/Okura LLC is a leading robotic palletizing integrator. Our team applies expert knowledge, gained through 26 years of business, with the right tools to solve customers’ “End of Line” production challenges for a diverse range of businesses, products, and applications. The historical success of our company can be attributed to an exclusive focus on end-ofline palletizing systems and applications.

We provide design, integration, and commission of end-of-line robotic palletizing systems including industrial robots, cobots, automated bagging machines, and integrated equipment. Through our partnerships, we procure and integrate top-of-the-line valve packers, pallet and sheet dispensers, conveyors, and any additional end-of-line equipment your line might need. By providing custom-engineered solutions, we develop robotic palletizing systems to meet demanding customer requirements.

Our team is well versed in providing solutions for most major manufacturing industries including:

• Animal Nutrition

• Beans, entils, ulses

• Building Materials

• Chemical roducts

• ood Beverage

• Milled roducts

• Medical / harmaceutical

After a system is shipped and installed, ourdedicated service team continues to support our customers with 24/7 remote support, troubleshooting, and maintenance services. We maintain a team of experienced field service technicians and engineers that are available to travel to our customer sites, offering services customized to a client’s specific needs Additionally, our team is trainedtrainers, conducting onsight training for system operators, ensuring they know how to operate the system safely.

CODING, LABELING & PRINTING EQUIPMENT

CTM Labeling Systems

330/332-1800

www.ctmlabelingsystems.com

From design and engineering through final system set-up and quality control, exceptional expertise and craftsmanship is built in at every level to create the finest labeling machines available on the market. Setting high standards is difficult, maintaining those standards is even tougher. The highest standard, that we consider our benchmark, is unsurpassed support “after the sale.”

At CTM, supporting our customers before, during and after the sale is paramount. Our management team and dedicated support staffs are driven by some of the most experienced and well-respected professionals in the industry. From semi-automatic applications to the most demanding highspeed, high-accuracy labeling solutions, we understand your needs. More importantly, we understand how to convert your needs into successful production.

To maintain unparalleled quality standards, every phase of our company is housed under one roof. When raw material leaves the rack, it travels through the most automated manufacturing facility in the industry. Stateof-the-art equipment incorporating precise tolerances, coupled with true craftsmen at the controls, results in an impeccable product. Our promise to you — “You won’t find better quality, better service or better delivery anywhere else in the industry.”

We welcome you to tour our facility and experience the “CTM Commitment to Excellence” firsthand.

Products:

• Tabletop Wrap Systems

• Custom abeling Systems

• a abel Applicators

• a rinter Applicator

• ST Servo Tamp rinter Applicator

• T-Base, -Base Stands

CARTONING, MULTIPACKING & CASE PACKING

Dekka is one of the only companies where the primary focus is on tape heads. Because of our dedication and focus, our team is not only more experienced and knowledgeable, but we care about every tape head that goes out the door. Our pride and passion lies in providing a consistent and reliable solution for every application for seamless integration and easy operation. We support every product because we put our customer’s reputation first.

A key to Dekka’s success was our ability to grow and develop a wide distribution network across North America. With our own experienced technicians as well as knowledgeable distributors and packaging suppliers, Dekka and our partners compose of the strongest tape head support network in the industry that will listen, understand and solve your tape head issues.

Dekka offers over 400 unique tape heads which fit on almost every case sealer, case erector and case former in the market. This versatility extends to the types of packaging tape and cases that our tape heads are able to handle as well including hot melt, acrylic, rubber, and other types of tapes for cases, boxes, recycled cartons and more. The wide range of products has been driven by the overwhelming demand for Dekka tape heads. Dekka customers understand the importance of the quality, reliability and service that comes with each Dekka tape head. Along with these tape heads, we also offer options and accessories on our tape heads such as the Tape Monitor Alert System and other retrofit packages.

Dekka also offers a line of entry level machinery, bringing the same level of quality and reliability from tape heads to case sealing and erecting machinery. These machines have been designed and built to synergize with Dekka tape heads to bring the highest level of performance and reliability to our customers. Contact us if you are having trouble with your current tape head or if you are looking for some new equipment- we are happy to help.

CARTONING, MULTIPACKING & CASE PACKING

ADVANCED ROBOTIC CASE PACKERS AND CARTONERS

We are a leading manufacturer of advanced case packing and cartoning machinery. Our talented 350 employees have proven to be one of the most inventive teams in the packaging industry. Delkor has changed the landscape of retail ready packaging and is now widely recognized for creating a new generation of cutting-edge machinery and fresh package concepts.

RETAIL READY EXPERTISE

Our team can help you comply with the latest retail-ready packaging (RRP) guidelines for major retailers including Walmart, Aldi, Kroger and others. All of Delkor’s case packers stand-alone by offering both retail ready case styles as well as the full range of club store display trays with only 8 minute full line change-over. Delkor’s popular patented Cabrio Case design is provided free of charge with the purchase of a case packer, which enables customers to source the Cabrio Case from any corrugated manufacturer. Currently over 1 billion Cabrio Cases are in use across many product categories in 2023! To see your product in a Cabrio Case, our in-house package lab can provide you with a physical sample with graphics within 48 hours.

MAXIMIZE YOUR PACKING VERSATILITY

Delkor’s robotic case packers and cartoning machines were designed for today’s diverse packaging environment.

SYSTEM INTEGRATION

From package design to finished pallet, we’ll help you with everything you need. We’ll handle the hassle of upstream and downstream add-ons, purchases, and recommendations for your project.

CODING, LABELING & PRINTING EQUIPMENT

Diagraph Marking & Coding, an ITW Company

Diagraph provides identification solutions that make it easy for manufacturers to make the perfect mark – print after print after print. Diagraph focuses on partnering with customers in every aspect of their coding and labeling operations, including warehouse automation and eCommerce – providing a holistic approach that maximizes efficiencies for customers and drives tangible value throughout a long-term partnership.

Diagraph is the longest established business in the product identification industry and has been a trusted leading manufacturer and distributor of product identification solutions for 130 years.

Our solutions include:

• in small character continuous inkjet printers lead the industry in durability and reliability with the longest intervals between printhead cleanings (up to 3 months). The simple user interface allows for quick message setup and intuitive daily operation. The sealed industrial printhead provides maximum print quality protection over longer periods of time.

• The new esMark is the ne t generation standard for case coding

Utilizing its extensive industry knowledge, Diagraph engineered this intelligent system to deliver simplicity, reliability, flexibility and a lower cost of ownership over the life of the system. This high-resolution industrial inkjet printer system offers the industry s largest print area and greatest throw distance and sets the standard for durability and the lowest cost per mark. Innovative and patented rapid replace printheads can be brought online quicker, reducing production line disturbances and repairs while minimizing downtime.

• iagraph s all-electric labeling print apply systems and label applicators are simply the smartest, most efficient and reliable automated labeling systems in the industry. Industry-leading smart technology uses sensors to reduce label application complications and ensure a one-to-one label to product match for secondary packaging and pallet labeling.

PALLETIZING & L OAD STABILIZATION

Doosan Robotics

469-885-5722

www.doosanrobotics.com

MEET THE DOOSAN COLLABORATIVE ROBOT

Founded in 1896, Doosan Group has achieved an incredible reputation as one of the most advanced industrial machinery innovators in the world. Doosan Robotics Americas continues this tradition of technological excellence with a complete lineup of cutting-edge industrial optimization and automation tools, perfect for applications of packaging, palletizing, pick-and-place, and beyond.

VERSATILE DESIGN, PRECISION PERFORMANCE

Doosan cobots easily integrate and interface with a wide range of equipment and systems. Having partnered with industry-leading manufacturers of tools, grippers, sensors, and software, Doosan cobots install quickly for immediate operation – they also arrive within four weeks of ordering. With intuitive one-touch programming and automatic axis alignment, these products are incredibly easy to use for dynamic processes and precision movements.

SOLUTIONS FOR ANY SIZE JOB

Doosan’s cobot lineup consists of three tiers and ten models with payload capacities ranging from 5kg to 25kg and reach capabilities ranging from 900mm to 1,700mm. Whether you’re looking to tackle precision palletizing tasks or heavy-duty package conveyance, Doosan Robotics has the perfect products to get the job done.

PALLETIZING & L OAD STABILIZATION

Duravant

Duravant is a global engineered equipment company with manufacturing, sales and service facilities throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Through their portfolio of operating companies, Duravant delivers trusted end-to-end process solutions for customers and partners through engineering and integration expertise, project management and operational excellence. Duravant’s market-leading brands are synonymous with innovation, durability and reliability. The Duravant family of operating companies serve the food processing, packaging and material handling segments.

Duravant’s packaging families include:

Fischbein International, a global leader in sewing and sealing systems, designs and manufactures bag packaging equipment and complete systems.

Mespack is an international manufacturer of flexible packaging solutions that engineers and builds high speed machinery for the world’s leading consumer packaged goods companies.

nVenia designs, builds and integrates primary, secondary and end-of-line packaging solutions for producers of consumer packaged goods and industrial products with longstanding brands Arpac, Fischbein, Hamer, and Ohlson.

Wulftec is the world’s leading manufacturer of highly complex, fully customizable load containment solutions for end-of-line packaging applications.

Duravant’s food processing companies consist of Foodmate, Key Technology, Marelec, Marlen, Multiscan and WECO.

FMH Conveyors and QC Conveyors make up Duravant’s material handling segment.

CARTONING, MULTIPACKING & CASE PACKING

763/428-4846

Eastey is a leading manufacturer and supplier of heavy-duty shrink packaging equipment, case erectors, case tapers, and other packaging equipment. Eastey’s shrink packaging products include a complete line of L-sealers, sleeve wrappers, shrink tunnels, and bundling equipment.

Eastey also supplies a complete line of case erectors and case tapers, from entry-level bottom and side-belt tapers to fully automatic and random-size case tapers. Eastey has been in business for over 30 years and has an installed base of over 15,000 packaging systems.

Eastey products are sold through a global network of authorized dealers, fully trained and capable of installing, training, and servicing our equipment. At our manufacturing facility in Big Lake, Minnesota, we take pride in manufacturing equipment that is First in Quality – Built to Last. We maintain an extensive inventory of replacement parts and offer prompt technical support when needed.

Today, Eastey continues to focus on its core purpose to “help companies deliver products to the world.” An expanding line of integrated products and services reflects Eastey’s commitment to meeting new needs and new challenges and ensuring that customers have reliable solutions for their packaging application.

Eastey, Squid Ink, and American Film & Machinery (AFM) are all divisions of Engage Technologies Corporation. Eastey (eastey.com) is a leading manufacturer of heavy-duty shrink packaging equipment and automated case sealing systems for packaging applications. Squid Ink (squidink.com) is a manufacturer of coding and marking systems for product identification and traceability, providing superior quality inks and low-maintenance printing equipment. American Film & Machinery (afmsleeves.com) supplies shrink labelers and tunnels, shrink sleeves, and tamper bands.

Engage Technologies Corporation is headquartered in Brooklyn Park, MN with facilities in Big Lake, MN, Spring Lake Park, MN, The Hague, Netherlands, and Shanghai, China.

MATERIALS, CONTAINERS & CONSUMABLES

(360) 673-0018

Make Crating Your Easiest Task

Revolutionary and patented Ecorrcrate® is a standalone, all-corrugated shipping crate solution. Presented in a convenient, easy-to-use format, Ecorrcrate is designed to better protect your product at a lower cost.

Do you struggle with:

• igh freight costs due to shipping heavy wood crates

• roduct damage in transit

• igh cost of packaging labor

• E port quarantine delays

The Bottom Line

We know determining ROI for your company’s bottom line is top priority. Take this opportunity to evaluate both your front end and back end costs, including product replacement rates as well as the associated cost of poor customer e periences before finali ing a decision on your shipping solution.

• Starting cost is lower than common wood crates

• ight weight Ecorrcrates will lower your freight in most situations

• Setup is easy and safe, saving you time and money on labor

• euse and repeat due to our durable and straightforward design

Wait…It’s sustainable and durable?

Finding a reliable, highly durable shipping solution that is also sustainable is often quite challenging Wood is a renewable resource but typical disposal is in the dumpster headed for the landfill.

This is where Ecorrcrate stands alone in the crated goods industry. Ecorrcrate is built from paper-based corrugate lumber. Our proprietary cross-laminated material gives the Ecorrcrate superior multi-directional strength and durability to better protect your products.

Strong, highly Water esistant, Shatterproof, Easy to assemble, enewable, Easily recycled, and IS M compliant, we are confident that Ecorrcrate will improve your processes and lower your Carbon footprint.

CONTROLS, SOFTWARE & COMPONENTS

Encoder Products Company

At Encoder Products Company, we strive to serve you with expert service, quality products, and fast delivery. EPC specializes in encoders for motion feedback in industrial automation applications such as packaging, printing, labeling, vision systems, food and beverage, motor feedback, and more.

We understand that each industrial automation application is different, and you need encoders that fit the requirements of your applications. That’s why our encoders are highly configurable, offering a wide array of shaft or bore sizes, output types, connector types, mounting options, and resolutions up to 65,536 CPR. You’ll also get an industry-leading warranty, and fast delivery from Idaho, USA.

EPC offers:

• Tru-Trac linear measurement solutions – an integrated encoder, measuring wheel, and pivot arm in one compact unit

• raw wire units with wire lengths up to 2 meters

• Accu-Coder ro programmable encoders

• Magnetic multi-turn absolute encoders that operate in the absence of power without gear trains or batteries

• obust mechanical housings for harsh operating environments, with stainless steel and corrosion-resistant options

• Magnetic encoder modules with sealing to I

• Temperature ranges from - C to 2 C

• Competitor cross referencing and drop-in ready irect eplacement encoders

• Engineering services for your custom motion feedback needs

E C is ISO 2 certified, and we design, manufacture, and assemble most of our encoders and accessories at our corporate headquarters in Idaho, USA. When you call EPC, you’ll talk to engineers and encoder experts who can help you find the right motion feedback for your application. Contact us today.

FILLING, CAPPING & CLOSING

Enercon Industries

Induction Cap Sealers for Freshness, Leak Prevention & Tamper Evidence

+ Why Packagers Use Induction Cap Sealing

Enercon’s induction cap sealing technology reliably creates hermetic seals to prevent leaks, provide tamper evidence, extend shelf life, deter pilferage and preserve product freshness.

With industry leading application expertise, equipment design, and support, Enercon makes implementing induction sealing simple. Our application engineers will recommend the best power supply and sealing head for your specific product, cap and container to ensure you will always Achieve a Perfect Seal.

+ Cap Sealer Designs for Efficiency & Reliability

Our highly efficient power supplies & innovative sealing heads optimize induction fields for reliable sealing. Whether you package pharmaceuticals, chemicals, food, beverage, cosmetics or personal care products, Enercon has a system solution for you. Seal containers one at a time with the industry workhorse the Super Seal™ Jr. For continuous production line sealing, choose the Super Seal™ Touch & Super Seal™ Max with intuitive touchscreen control with remarkable features such as recipe control, operator lockout and integrated troubleshooting information.

+ New Super Seal™

For moderate & low line speeds, our NEW Super Seal™ brilliantly seals containers while offering advanced features. Integrated stalled container detection, container rejection control, fault information, and a menu-driven interface provides operators with all the tools they need for successful sealing.

+ Achieve a Perfect Seal with Enercon

Whether you are new to induction sealing or a packaging industry veteran, you will appreciate the application expertise provided to Enercon customers around the world. We offer quick start guides, application infographics, free webinars, training, and of course 24/7 service.

INSPECTION & TESTING EQUIPMENT

Eriez’ equipment for the packaging industry includes metal detectors and magnetic separators for metal contaminant removal, as well as a full line of vibratory feeders, conveyors and screeners.

Eriez’ compact Vibratory Feeders handle high-speed packaging, difficult products like flour, leafy and gummy products, and high material flow applications. These electromagnetic drives are energy efficient, low maintenance with no moving parts, and can be mated with a range of sanitary and non-sanitary trays.

Eriez Xtreme Metal Detectors offer best-in-class performance to safeguard against both ferrous and nonferrous metal contaminants. This equipment is very effective for identifying and removing stainless steel fragments in conveyed, gravity flow and liquid line sanitary processing applications. Detectors are positioned at different locations throughout the process from bulk and raw material through final package inspection. There is no better solution to ensure your product is metal-free than using Eriez magnets for steel removal and using Eriez Xtreme® metal detectors to reject nonferrous metals like aluminum, brass, stainless steel and more.

Visit Eriez.com for FREE downloadable guides packed with information to help you choose the equipment you need to fit your unique application. Eriez.com features more than 250 packaging solutions, from our best-inclass vibratory feeders, conveyors, screeners, and metal detectors, to our wide selection of magnetic plates, grates and traps. Many of Eriez’ most popular magnetic separators, vibratory feeders and controls are available for next day shipment.

ROBOTICS

FANUC America

FANUC America is the leading supplier of CNCs, robotics and ROBOMACHINEs with over 40 million products installed globally. We have the largest variety of easy-to-use robot and cobot models available to pick, pack, fulfill or palletize any product.

FANUC’s robots and cobots are reliable, flexible and can handle virtually any size product - from 0.5 kg. to 2,300 kg., including:

- Our CRX collaborative robots are reliable, flexible, and easy-to-use solutions for kitting, palletizing, packing and much more.

- The new DR-3iB/6 STAINLESS is FANUC’s stainless-steel food-grade delta robot for picking and packing primary food products. Rated IP69K, the robot meets USDA and FDA food safety standards.

- Expanded SCARA robot family has six models including environmental options rated IP65 to withstand dust and liquids.

- The popular LR Mate series of tabletop robots has ten models including ISO Class 4 cleanroom and food-grade variants.

- The M-20iB/25C robot with an enclosed design and IP67 rating to withstand harsh environments.

- Established M-410iC series of high-speed palletizing robots.

FANUC offers application software for packaging and palletizing, integrated iRVision® and tracking features, ROBOGUIDE simulation, Dual Check Safety (DCS), and Zero Down Time (ZDT) to help customers monitor and manage their automation.

When you’re ready to automate, FANUC and our team of Authorized System Integrators are here to provide an efficient and cost-effective solution for your plant or fulfillment center. Let’s discuss how we can help you overcome production, supply chain and labor challenges by improving your OEE, flexibility, sanitation and safety. Also, we are committed to “Service First,” providing our customers parts and support for the life of their FANUC products.

Read more about FANUC America’s innovations in Packaging World.

CONVEYING, FEEDING & HANDLING

FlexLink Systems, Inc.

Factory automation solutions from FlexLink, a Coesia company, increase the overall efficiency of production by minimizing throughput time. Our standardized solutions have a strong impact on factory performance and capability to meet the labor challenges of today. Our solutions are reconfigurable, reusable and requires minimal maintenance with low power consumption.

FlexLink’s team of experienced experts can propose customized solutions according to your needs. We deliver all sizes of projects – from simple part deliveries to large and complex turn-key solutions. Our approach is based on streamlining the material and information flows in a production process to maximize the value of the process and minimize all potential losses.

Automated palletizing with FlexLink palletizers (RC10, RC12 and RI20) helps reduce the workload of your employees. Using robotic palletizing solutions enables you to achieve effective and sustainable benefits by fully automating physically demanding and time-consuming tasks.

FlexLink serves a wide customer base, from local producers to global corporations, and from end-users to machine manufacturers. Our customers are lead players within the food, beverage, personal care, pharmaceuticals, automotive, and electronics industries.

Global support is provided by our operating units in 30 countries and a network of Strategic Partners. Our partner network is an important strategic element for FlexLink’s business model since our start in 1980, enabling us to enhance efficiency at factories in more than 60 countries.

FlexLink is part of Coesia, a group of innovation-based industrial and packaging solutions companies operating globally, headquartered in Bologna, Italy. www.coesia.com

CARTONING, MULTIPACKING & CASE PACKING

FOCKE & CO is an international leading engineering company for packaging machines within the tobacco, food, savoury snacks, and hygiene industry. With more than 60+ years in business, we are proud to offer high-level machinery with top technology. FOCKE & CO is well recognized for providing turnkey engineering solutions for primary packaging, end–of–line packaging, and palletizing.

Snack Packing Solutions

Due to the delicate nature of snack products, FOCKE & CO’s case packers offer careful handling alongside the flexibility to accommodate tray, traywith-lid, and case (RSC) packaging. In fact, our machines - such as the HFP Base (Highly Flexible Packer) - provide multiple pack configurations that normally cannot be achieved with a typical case packer. With a clean machine concept and a compact footprint, our HFP Base is designed to fit perfectly into typical snack food production lines.

Turnkey packaging solutions for hygiene products

The modular machinery design of the FOCKE stacker and bagger equipment offers economic solutions for various applications for the hygiene industry. Increased efficiency and an open design enable easy operations and maintenance. Neither various bag styles nor sustainable materials affect the operation planning with this packaging line. The stacker module itself stands for high flexibility to combine multiple modules such as one or more bagger and / or cartoner, flow wrapper, case packer as well as further packaging solutions.

Sales and Service Worldwide

With sales and service centers worldwide, FOCKE & CO has the capabilities to deliver local technical support, training, and spare parts. FOCKE & CO has repeatedly set new benchmarks in terms of output and product quality. Our ground-breaking technologies in the field of motion control combined with components featuring extreme dimensional accuracy are highly acclaimed in the industry. This is why we are the leader in Packaging Solutions.

BAGGING, POUCHING & WRAPPING

Formost Fuji Corporation

We are here to help you design a packaging solution that is EFFICIENT, RELIABLE, and SUSTAINABLE.

Equipment EFFICIENCY is the result of many different options. The features of a Formost Fuji standard wrapper include a vision system that controls registration and makes for a faster film change and an operation panel with a tablet-like, intuitive user interface that helps reduce labor hours. The ALPHA 8 flow wrapper center seals are designed with induction heat technology that provides fast and consistent sealing, which in turn increases output and saves energy. These are just a few standard features to improve your packaging line’s efficiency.

RELIABILITY has been proven time and time again with our bagging and wrapping machines. Formost Fuji equipment is designed and built for years of dependable operation. In-house dedication to the design and manufacturing of our equipment has positioned Formost Fuji as a leader in quality horizontal flow wrapping and bagging machines as well as automation systems that remain the most reliable in the industry.

Formost Fuji is a leader in providing SUSTAINABLE packaging lines for our customers. With eco-friendly and recyclable materials continually improving and becoming more readily available, we provide free testing in our lab with your product and new films. This allows you to determine if the materials you are considering will align with your product, package integrity, and marketing efforts. Other innovative solutions, such as eliminating foam trays within flow wrap packaging, help meet consumer demand for better sustainability.

You can count on your partnership with Formost Fuji to provide you with excellent customer service from the beginning of the sales cycle, through the build and delivery, and continuing with support, training, and onsite service for years to come.

CARTONING, MULTIPACKING & CASE PACKING

Frain Industries

From sealers and cartoners to cappers, labelers to wrappers, Frain has a wide range of packaging equipment ready to ship to your facility within 2 weeks! Each Frain machine that ships out from our facility arrives to yours completely dialed into your product so when it arrives to your facility, you’re ready to begin production. It’s the closest thing to plug and play you’ll get in the packaging industry. Read on to learn more about how Frain adds value to every equipment purchase or rental.

Equipment Rentals:

Invest only in what you need when you need it with packaging equipment rentals from Frain. Ideal for seasonal items, special edition products and new product development, Frain’s program allows firms to conserve capital and maximize profit. All rentals come dialed into your product, allowing your firm to begin production faster. Best of all, there’s no long-term commitment necessary.

Pay As You Go:

Why pay in full for something before you even use it? With Frain’s Pay As You Go flexible capital program, you’ll only pay for packaging equipment as you use it. There’s no leasing and no large capital investment. Instead, you’ll have the financial flexibility to invest in more projects, take more chances and get products to market faster – and on your schedule.

Consulting and Technical Support: Setup. Inspection. Repair. Training. It’s all part of the Frain difference. All Frain rentals and purchases come with up to 8 hours of technical support from Frain engineers to get you started – and we’re standing by to help with other maintenance and service too.

Contact Frain Today:

For more information on Frain and to inquire about the next piece of equipment for your packaging line, contact us today at 630-629-9900 or visit www.frain.com.

CONVEYING, FEEDING & HANDLING

Garvey

1-800-257-8581

Founded in 1926 in Hammonton, New Jersey, Garvey is recognized as a leader in designing and manufacturing low-impact, multi-functional, pressure-less loop accumulation systems, and conveyor systems. Highly regarded for its engineering expertise in developing equipment that can handle a large variety of product shapes and sizes, Garvey’s solutions convey, accumulate, orient, single file, combine, and lane products rapidly without back pressure or operator interference. It is a leader in bottling operations ranging from small vaccine vials to wine bottles. Garvey offers a broad product offering across both modular standard and highly engineered accumulation solutions. Garvey has approximately 100 employees, including a highly technical sales and engineering organization with a proven track record of innovation within the accumulation market.

Garvey’s flagship product is the Infinity Accumulator, designed to provide efficient and rapid accumulation of products without back pressure or operator interference.

The Infinity is a modular, standard accumulation solution, highly regarded for its ability to handle an extensive range of product shapes and sizes. It can handle it all, from small vaccine vials to wine bottles. Its unique design allows for products to be conveyed, accumulated, oriented, single-filed, combined, and laned rapidly and efficiently, ensuring maximum production output.

One of the critical features of the Infinity Accumulator is its pressureless loop accumulation system. This system eliminates the need for back pressure and reduces the risk of product damage, making it a reliable and safe solution for handling products. The accumulator is also equipped with the latest in engineering expertise, ensuring that it is highly functional and efficient.

Garvey’s Infinity is a perfect solution for companies looking to improve their operational efficiency. Its modular design makes it easy to install and integrate into existing systems, and its efficient accumulation technology maximizes production output.

TRAY, CLAMSHELL & BLIS TER PACKAGING EQUIPMENT

Packaging, LLC

Looking for the lowest total cost of ownership and highest quality packaging automation solutions available for food, medical devices, and other non-food products? We can help you navigate today’s complex, rapidly changing packaging landscape. We help balance costs and functionality with innovative and emerging processes, materials, and advanced technologies; enhance your profitability and improve the performance of your primary and secondary packaging operations. Our full-service solutions address installation, training, spare parts, service and customer support.

Our capabilities span robotics and automation, thermoforming, tray sealing, filling, flow-wrapping, stretch, blister, skin pack, and vacuum. Every smart, connected G. Mondini and ULMA packaging platform utilizes Rockwell Automation’s Integrated Architecture to reduce solution complexity and maintenance costs, while realizing better quality, capacity, and throughput. We also partner with PTC to incorporate Augmented Reality tools. It all lets us leverage data to enhance your operation and realize greater productivity and efficiency.

We are focused on the environment, aiming to help you meet demand while meeting your sustainability initiatives. Our sustainable packaging options include less plastic use, thinner gauge films, optimized package sizes, reduced film scrap, and alternative packaging materials. Our customers rely on us to help them optimize their overall packaging investment, from start to finish. We offer package design and prototyping services, and can help solve production concerns with comprehensive flexible and efficient systems. We help strategize how to tackle today’s most complex packaging challenges, such as sustainability, eCommerce, robotics and digital transformation.

We focus on lowering your TCO and offering the most reliable systems available. With consistent, professional and timely customer and technical service, our partnership extends well beyond your purchase.

FILLING, CAPPING & CLOSING

Heat and Control, Inc.

Heat and Control®, a world-leading equipment manufacturer, offers the latest technology and the highest quality equipment for processing, coating and seasoning, conveying, weighing, packaging, inspection, and controls and information systems, and develops innovative solutions for production challenges.

Established in 1950, Heat and Control is a privately-owned company and has 12 manufacturing, warehouse, and associated facilities, 10 testing centers, and more than 30 offices globally. Heat and Control has partnered with other global manufacturing leaders, including Ishida (weighing packaging and inspection) and CEIA® (metal detection), and their brands include FastBack® (horizontal motion conveyors and on machine seasoning), Mastermatic (fryers), and Spray Dynamics® (coating and seasoning application systems). Heat and Control can offer a single machine or can integrate several components into a complete system and assume single-source responsibility.

Heat and Control is also able to assist manufacturers with equipment for all types of food, pharmaceutical, and non-food products, as well as provide pre- and post-sale technical support, including applications assistance, engineering, installation, parts, service, and training to maintain peak efficiency.

Heat and Control has built an extensive knowledge bank and developed a wealth of experience and expertise with access to production and technical support from a network of engineers, food technicians, field service technicians, skilled tradespeople, and support teams to provide food and non-food manufacturers with the ability to achieve their production goals.

Contact us to visit one of our demonstration centers to test products on the latest equipment.

FILLING, CAPPING & CLOSING

High Tek USA, Inc.

www.hightekusa.com

High Tek USA has been a major player in the food weighing and packaging industry for almost 20 years. Founder and CEO, Jason Sigman started High Tek when he noticed that companies weren’t getting a quick turnaround on either the purchase or the repair of their machines. “When a weighing packaging machine goes down, the customer doesn’t have the ability to fulfill orders, which could mean loss of revenue, loss of the food product, and sometimes the loss of their business,” says Sigman. “We make sure that doesn’t happen.”

INNOVATIVE

High Tek’s machines are durable, dependable, and long-lasting, with the star being their Premium Combination Weigher. High Tek’s machines have been created with the customer’s actual needs in mind. Customers want a machine that performs the essential speed and accuracy requirements but is also easy to operate, clean, and repair. This one has so many standard features and options for customers, it delivers everything for those who need it.

24/7 SERVICE

High Tek’s 24-hour technical and emergency services just can’t be beaten in this industry. “We have structured our business like firefighters, meaning we have the tools and experience to quickly identify an issue and provide solutions,” says Sigman. “We can schedule emergency services and get a technician on a plane with parts usually within 24 hours.”

ECONOMICAL

Rancho Cordova

CODING, LABELING & PRINTING EQUIPMENT

847-956-6600

www.hitachi-iesa.com/industrial-marking-and-coding

Hitachi Industrial Equipment & Solutions America, LLC is a pioneering developer of marking and coding solutions. We offer a wide range of Continuous Inkjet Printers and other solutions that are aimed at increasing efficiency and reducing maintenance costs associated with package printing. Since 1975, Hitachi has provided solutions to food & beverage, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, automotive, and industrial packaging.

The new Hitachi UX2 printer combines innovation with the reliability customers have come to expect from Hitachi. This UX2 continuous inkjet printer has several new features to enhance the coding process:

• Enhanced code quality at higher speeds – The improved dot control algorithms create more legible codes. Even at increased speeds, code quality does not degrade.

• Added convenience and safety – With a sealed Safe-Clean Station, multiple cleaning modes, and self-guided troubleshooting videos available, the UX2 puts control in the hands of the operator.

• Quick line changeovers – Move inkjet printers from production line to line with ease using preconfigured I/O connectors, eliminating timeconsuming mistakes.

• Newly designed print head – Because of the print head modification to catch inkjet build-up, the UX2 printer can run for three times longer by reducing print quality issues and electronic faults.

A vision system is developed specifically able to isolate each character in the dot matrix inkjet printing while most vision systems on the market today are limited in their ability to read dot matrix printing found on primary packaging. This provides some key benefits to manufacturing companies:

• Specifically developed to accurately read inkjet codes regardless of the printer brand being used

• Isolation of each character to detect code degradation

CARTONING, MULTIPACKING & CASE PACKING

Intertape Polymer Group Inc. (IPG) is a recognized leader in the packaging industry. Leveraging its advanced manufacturing technologies, extensive research and development capabilities and a comprehensive strategic acquisition program, IPG has assembled the broadest and deepest range of products in the industry.

IPG’s product offering includes carton sealing and industrial tapes (masking, filament, duct/cloth, double coated, flatback, foil and electrical), stretch and shrink film, protective packaging products and complementary packaging systems for industrial and retail use. IPG also specializes in high performance tape products engineered for demanding aerospace, marine, automotive and industrial applications. The comprehensive product offering and market specialization uniquely positions IPG as the supplier of choice for leading packaging and industrial distributors and large end users across a diverse cross section of industries.

IPG employs approximately 4,200 employees with operations in 35 locations, including 21 manufacturing facilities in North America, five in Asia and three in Europe.

CONVEYING, FEEDING & HANDLING

888-419-2358

Intralox is the leading conveyance solutions provider helping move the world’s most critical products. Our extensive portfolio of technologies and services enhances food safety, powers e-commerce, and solves challenges for industries ranging from food processing to industrial manufacturing to logistics and material handling. Our business model relies on direct collaborative partnerships rather than distributors. Serving and supplying directly provides you with distinct advantages, including:

• E traordinary customer service

• Industry-specific e pertise

• aster innovation and implementation cycles

We partner with leading companies across the packaging industry to deliver innovative technology, reliable operations, and optimized line layouts. Whether you’re an equipment manufacturer or end user, you can benefit from our innovative products, comprehensive services, and unparalleled expertise.

Intralox’s belt and equipment solutions for the packaging industry help you:

• Optimi eline layouts for throughput and fle ibility

• uture-proof lines for fle ibility and sustainability

• Standardi e belts, equipment, and components

• educe product loss, operating costs, and downtime

Our acker to alleti er consists of three core facets E pertise,Service, and Technology. Our approach helps you fully integrate these areas in order to realize the best possible results, both now and in the future. By working with Intralox early in your project, you can achieve this and more with the right components and the right services before, during, and after installation— delivered on time, every time.

CARTONING, MULTIPACKING & CASE PACKING

(864) 297-1200

ITW Hartness, a division of Illinois Tool Works (ITW), is the first choice in secondary packaging solutions. Our product portfolio includes highquality accumulation, packing and palletizing equipment that deliver unprecedented OEE, and lead the industry in using IIoT technology to maximize customer value.

ACCUMULATION—Recognized as the global leader in first-in, first-out, pressure-free accumulation, our proprietary DYNAC portfolio includes single-file, mass flow and floor level models to fit any application. With a small footprint flexible enough to handle a wide variety of packaging types, our products are relied on by leading consumer goods companies to prevent micro stops and increase uptime – saving you money.

PACKING—No matter how complex the package, our innovative packing solutions deliver speed, flexibility, and cost savings. Top load drop packing, shrink, tray, wraparound, and robotic case packing solutions make up our diverse portfolio. We work with customers to provide the solution best equipped to meet the unique needs of your product mix and operation.

PALLETIZING/DEPALLETIZING—With more than 500 robots installed and long-tenured experience on our team, ITW Hartness leads the industry with our proven palletizing and depalletizing equipment. Built to handle a wide range of products and packaging formats with no expensive change parts and fully automated changeover, customers see ROI in as little as 18 months or less.

AFTERMARKET—Downtime is expensive. That’s why our experienced customer support team is available 24/7. From onsite service and machine rebuilds to training and equipment updates, customers rely on ITW Hartness to provide unmatched expertise and support.

SYSTEMS INTEGRATION—Using a DYNAC-centric line design philosophy and best-in-class approach to machine center selection, our expert integration team helps select customers maximize end-of-line efficiency. Projects are validated using simulation software to assess performance, allowing customers to understand their investment and ROI even before the install. With proven experience helping customers increase throughout and lower cost of ownership, our equipment portfolio adds reliability and flexibility to any line.

CONTAINERS & CLOSURES

James Alexander Corp.

908/362-9266

Located in northern New Jersey, James Alexander Corporation (JAC) is a leading contract manufacturer and custom filler of single-use crushable glass and plastic ampoules. Its manufacturing facility features unique, company-designed equipment and produces its patented plastic ampoules, among other product offerings.

James Alexander Corp. has expanded its operations floorspace, adding 18,000 square feet to its warehousing capacity and 2,000 feet apiece to manufacturing and office space. The expansion provides additional capacity for servicing key markets including pharmaceutical (OTC & Rx), medical devices, health & beauty products, first aid and diagnostics.

JAC’s patented single-use plastic ampoules, which have undergone various enhancements since their initial market introduction, are available in a variety of colors and with an array of applicators, offering singlehanded activation in a customizable format. Meanwhile, the company’s glass ampoules can be filled and assembled in single-use swab or dropper packages. JAC also recently introduced a winged device, THE ACTIVATOR™, which provides easier activation for these glass formats. Other services include autoclave sterilization for glass ampoules, blister packaging and formula compounding.

Plastic Unit-Dose Dispensing Systems

James Alexander Corp.’s revolutionary plastic ampoule combines style and ease of use through single-handed activation. With just a gentle squeeze, the inner membrane ruptures, allowing the contents to be dispensed by the user. The plastic ampoule is available in sizes up to 5ml, as well as a range of colors and applicators.

Unit-Dose Glass Swabs

James Alexander Corp.’s unit-dose swabs offer the stability of glass in one- or two-part systems allowing for convenient application of pharmaceuticals and health aids. JAC also produces single-use glass ampoules for inhalation and dropper tip assemblies for the dispensing of liquids.

CARTONING, MULTIPACKING & CASE PACKING

JLS Automation

JLS Automation supplies hygienic robotic packaging solutions for the food industry that solve complex packaging challenges. Designed for even the strictest sanitary environments, our custom vision-guided primary & secondary robotic packaging systems are user-friendly, fast to start-up, & ensure both worker & food safety.

Several patents have been awarded for our proprietary robotic tooling & high-speed leak detection systems. Our hygienic, vision-guided robotic packaging systems are made to get wet, simple to integrate into your packaging line & never get tired!

Talon® Primary Loading Systems – Hygienic pick-and-place systems for loading thermoformers, flow-wrappers, vacuum skin packs, trays & more.

Osprey® Case Packers - Accurate & gentle loading of thermoformed packs, bags, SUPs, trays, chubs & other primary packs into standard RSC or retail-ready cases in horizontal or vertical orientation.

Peregrine® Vision-Guided Cartoning Solution - Load tri-seal & other cartons easily & efficiently. Elimination of conveyor transfers. Robotic loading & closing. All within a small footprint.

Harrier Bacon Draft Loading System - Automatically load bacon drafts into thermoformers, save floor space, solve labor gaps & increase productivity.

Sandwich Assembly System - Automatically build various sandwiches, accurately stacking each component from the bun/bread to meat, cheese & other ingredients. Lines can include up-and downstream equipment.

Integrated Systems - We take system responsibility for your entire line from concept to design, integration, FAT & installation.

JLS View - Reduce downtime spent on service & maintenance. Virtual service calls utilizing Microsoft HoloLens 2 technology provide easy access to technicians. Save time & get your line back running quickly.

CONVEYING, FEEDING & HANDLING

King Plastic Corporation

941/493-5502

King Plastic Corporation is the leading manufacturer of quality polymer sheets, slabs, and massive shapes. With over 20 product brands to choose from and applications for every industry you can imagine. The Polymer sheets are made in the U.S.A.

King Hy-Pact®, the super tough polymer sheet is the smart choice for many high abuse applications in the food service, food processing and packaging markets.

The industrial polymer sheet is environmentally stabilized with excellent physical properties. It is the product of a proprietary process called K-Stran™, the most advanced manufacturing process of quality sheets with tight tolerances and custom widths up to 60”. King Hy-Pact® has a clean white color with a smooth, non-skived finish on both sides of sheet for better material flow. It is also available in black. Tests have shown for outdoor applications after 2,000 hours of UV exposure, King Hy-Pact® outperforms both HDPE and UHMW with superior toughness in wear resistance, flexibility and high-impact strength. King Hy-Pact® is the smart choice for many high abuse applications requiring superior properties, outstanding flatness and a smooth surface while providing significant cost savings compared to UHMW. Applications include, but are not limited to, food processing chutes, star wheels, fabricated parts, snowplow blades and dock fenders. The material is easy to machine and fabricate. King Hy-Pact® polymer sheet is NSF listed to meet requirements of commercial food processing operations for direct and indirect food contact.

Applications

Bin and Mixer Linings

Chain and Belt Guides

Conveyor and Guide Rails

Food Processing Components

Machine Parts

Material Handling

Sprockets

Star Wheels

MATERIALS, CONTAINERS & CONSUMABLES

Klöckner Pentaplast Food Packaging

In the kp Food Packaging division, the sustainable protection of everyday needs is very important to us. Our aim is to ensure you get the most sustainable total food packaging solutions that not only protect your food products while extending shelf-life and reducing food waste, but that can also be recycled. We operate across a vast range of fresh food categories, supplying thermoformed trays, rigid films for form, fill and seal applications as well as flexible barrier and stretch films to protect your products.

With 20 manufacturing and distribution facilities across 14 countries worldwide, we maximise the value we deliver to our customers while understanding and meeting local needs.

Market Knowledge

Supplying solutions for the food packaging starts by understanding market and consumer trends and anticipating their needs. kp works with top brands and retailers to understand and develop unique solutions to make them innovators in their markets.

Global Leader in Recycled Content

Our inhouse PET flake cleaning process allows us to use up to 100% postconsumer recycled PET to further support your sustainability goals and optimize the carbon footprint throughout the entire value chain.

Product Management and Design

With over half a century of experience supporting the food market, kp is uniquely positioned to offer market knowledge, in-house design capabilities and a complete solution to support our customers’ growth opportunities.

Klöckner Pentaplast - PHD

Focused on delivering its vision: The Sustainable Protection of Everyday Needs, kp is a global leader in rigid and flexible packaging, and specialty film solutions, serving the pharmaceutical, medical device, label film, consumer packaging, cards/graphics, and home building and construction markets. With a broad and innovative portfolio of packaging and product films and services, kp plays an integral role in the customer value chain by safeguarding product integrity, protecting brand reputation and improving sustainability. kp’s “Investing in Better” sustainability strategy solidifies its commitment to achieving ten clear targets for long-term improvement by increasing recycling and recyclability of products, cutting carbon emissions and continuous improvement in employee engagement, safety, and diversity, equity and inclusion. kp has earned a gold rating from EcoVadis, the leading platform for environmental, social, and ethical performance ratings, putting kp in the top 3% of companies rated in the manufacturing of plastics products sector. Founded in 1965 kp has 31 plants in 18 countries and employs over 5,900 people committed to serving customers worldwide in over 60 locations.

Collaboration is integral with each opportunity. With a cooperative approach, kp’s expert technicians visit you on-site to consult, troubleshoot, train, and provide all the necessary solutions to help optimize film performance.

You can also work together with a designated team at the kp i.center, designed specifically, to serve the pharmaceutical, nutritional supplement and thermoforming industries. Equipped with state-of-the-art machinery and expert staff, kp is dedicated to help you improve current packaging and create new sustainable solutions.

FILLING, CAPPING & CLOSING

Krones Inc.

Every day, millions of bottles, cans, and PET containers run through a Krones line. As a supplier for complete systems, Krones provides beverage bottlers, food producers, breweries and CPG companies all over the world with both individual machines and complete turnkey production lines. Our technology offerings are comprehensive and ever-expanding, with solutions from process technology, filling, and packaging…all the way through material flow, IT, automation, and container recycling.

With our comprehensive Lifecycle Service (LCS) aftermarket support program, Krones also provides full engineering and manufacturing support for implemented production solutions – up to 24 hours, 7 days-a-week. The robust online platform at Krones.shop offers a user-friendly experience to not only order spare parts, but also manage substitution lists, maintain customized stockkeeping, track upgrades, plan overhauls, and more. You can even access Krones Academy training courses for your on-site teams, allowing you to fully maximize your equipment investment.

Multiple Krones subsidiaries throughout North and Central America provide enhanced expertise and horsepower to meet your total packaging, production and processing needs. Serving the beverage, food, dairy, HPC and pharmaceutical industries, Krones Process Group North America provides sanitary process system expertise backed by the global depth and experience of KRONES. Leveraging over 165 years of combined experience, Krones North American subsidiaries Javlyn Process Systems, W.M. Sprinkman Corp. and Trans-Market have aligned, combining resources and knowledge to afford customers the highest level of quality.

Krones Inc. is headquartered in Franklin, Wis. and is the North and Central American subsidiary of Krones AG based in Neutraubling, Germany.

CODING, LABELING & PRINTING EQUIPMENT

Label-Aire, Inc.

Label-Aire is the worldwide leading manufacturer of pressure-sensitive labeling machinery.

Over 50 years ago, Label-Aire introduced a revolutionary new method for applying pressure-sensitive labels. The patented “air-blow” concept provided the packaging industry with labeling machines. This new preferred method of label application eliminated the need for additional product handling. Our pioneering technique has gained complete acceptance. The widespread growth of pressure-sensitive labels in existing and new markets worldwide resulted.

Labeling Made Easy

When our customers asked for a labeling machine that was easy-to-use and production-tough, we took plenty of notes. Our advanced Primary Applicator line of labeling equipment delivers top-notch performance on even the most difficult applications. Our labeling systems and labeling equipment are loaded with features: Making operating labeling systems simple and virtually maintenance-free, automatic setup, user-friendly control panel & display, stepper motor technology, and Zero Downtime labeling capabilities. And it’s all backed by the industry’s most experienced and responsive labeling systems distributor network.

Focus On Innovation and Saving Customers Money

Since our inception, Label-Aire’s focus has always been on providing customers with the most inventive, intelligent, and reliable pressuresensitive labeling machines. The result? Over 50 years of satisfied customers with lower operating costs and higher productivity than our competitors.

At Mamata, we understand your needs and provide solutions to increase your productivity and reduce changeover times and footprint.

Our machines are based on conventional servo technology. They are designed to offer the best OEE in the simplex pouch packaging segment.

The key features address the crucial areas in terms of efficiency, hygiene, product quality and flexibility.

HFFS Rollstock machines: Our Simplex HFFS machines allows brands to produce and package pouches at upto 120 ppm and are to a Duplex machine. It’s ideal for lay-flat pouches, stand-up pouches with and without zippers, and single-serve sample packs in the range of 80 to 300 mm. Its ability to produce pouches from recyclable mono-material films makes it unique in the industry.

Premade Pouch filling systems: These machines are designed for highspeed premade pouch-filling applications, allowing you to trade old semi-automatic or manual operations for a highly efficient packaging machine. At 65 ppm, it delivers comparable speeds to a Duplex premade pouch system or a Simplex roll stock HFFS. An ideal machine to package trail mixes and nuts, fresh and frozen produce, snack foods, powders, Pet foods, etc. It’s designed to package both PE/PE recyclable mono-material pouches & laminated pouches.

VFFS baggers: Our Vertical Form Fill Sealing (VFFS) system achieves exceptional seal integrity and optimal precision across a large range of films at up to 220 ppm, making it the fastest system in the industry for single lane pouch filling.

All above and many more that will ease your packaging process and rise above getting competition.

For your pre-sales and after-sales support, our Florida location is equipped with spare-parts, local technical support, and sales consulting.

CODING, LABELING & PRINTING EQUIPMENT

To help you define which technology offers the best price and performance ratio for your application, Markem-Imaje offers a full range of end-of-line solutions:

High-resolution Large Character Inkjet (LCIJ piezo)

Print and Apply Labeling

Thermal Inkjet (TIJ)

Low-resolution Large Character Valve Jet

The 5000 Series LCIJ piezo coders with Intelli’Wax printheads rapidly fill and jet Touch Dry® hot melt inks which are solvent-free, safe to handle and environmentally friendly. Codes never bleed or fade, dry on contact and are 100% scannable. The Intelli’Wax printheads combined with our exclusive Intelli’Dark Touch Dry ink produce the industry’s darkest, consistently scannable, direct print codes.

The 2200 Series print and apply solutions build on a proven concept that provides reliability, efficiency and ease of use. It gives you a wide range of interchangeable applicators, optimized operational intervention and an unparalleled application rate.

The innovative eTouch-S® applicator is built with artificial intelligence (AI) to ensure that labels are applied to your exacting standards on every pack, at the highest production speeds and in the safest manner possible. Thanks to its unique SoftTouch technology, the eTouch-S® applicator offers full movement control and application monitoring. An optional Advanced Trigger Sensor can fully automate labeling operations on variable-speed production lines with no operator intervention required.

End-of-line case coding is most effective when it gets the right product to its proper destination with high uptime in your factory. Regardless of which option you choose from us, you can take advantage of the data management capabilities of our CoLOS® platform and services to get the most out of your investment.

INSPECTION & TESTING EQUIPMENT

METTLER

813/889-9500

Product Inspection

METTLER TOLEDO is the world’s largest manufacturer of metal detectors, checkweighers, X-ray and vision inspection equipment, delivering a wide range of solutions for foreign body protection, regulatory compliance, and improved profits. Systems range from economical to state-of-the-art with customized material handling solutions.

Safeline metal detectors automatically reject all types of metal contaminants, including the most difficult to detect stainless steel. Systems are offered for dry, bulk, packaged, liquid or frozen products for gravity feed, conveyorized, pumped and throat applications.

Safeline x-ray inspection systems use high-performance image processing to detect and reject all types of dense physical contaminants, as well as measure mass, check for missing or broken product, and confirm fill levels to guarantee product and package integrity.

CI-Vision machine vision systems verify label content and integrity to prevent recalls. The use of these systems in your food safety program can help you prove due diligence, pass regulatory audits, and protect your brand.

Hi-Speed checkweighers deliver productivity and profits. A wide range of sizes and configurations are available to handle nearly any container type or package design even at high production rates to ensure accurate product delivery, reduced giveaway, and optimized production processes. Patented weighing technology and over 50 years of package handling expertise ensures repeatable performance from the first to the last package weighed maintaining tight production tolerances.

As a member of OMAC, METTLER TOLEDO is committed to connectivity and data storage and retrieval to help meet regulatory requirements. Inspection systems can be connected using a variety of methods, including our own ProdX data collection and management software.

CONVEYING, FEEDING & HANDLING

mk North America is a full-service conveyor company, offering mechanical solutions for all of your packaging and automation needs.

Since 1988, mk has been manufacturing a wide variety of conveyor systems including: belt conveyors, flat top chain conveyors, plastic modular belt conveyors, timing belt conveyors, roller conveyors, and more.

All of our conveyor models are available with our standard t-slot aluminum frames, and many models are also available in stainless steel.

mk’s conveyor line is backed by the mk line of t-slot aluminum extrusionsideal for guards, workstations, carts, and so much more. This ensures that any accessories you buy from mk will be compatible, resulting in seamless integration on the factory floor; all while saving time and money.

mk North America believes in offering not only a better product, but also a better solution. Our dedicated team of conveyor and automation experts will work with you to understand your unique application and related challenges. This partnership results in mk being able to deliver a topquality conveyor solution when you need it.

All of our conveyors are built and tested in our Bloomfield, CT facility and shipped directly to you as completely assembled as possible. So, you can rest assured your conveyor system will be ready to go when it arrives.

Whether you are looking for a single, one-off, conveyor or a complete conveyor system - remember the mk promise to provide a better product AND a better solution.

We look forward to hearing from you and proving our excellence in conveyor system solutions on your next project.

CONVEYING, FEEDING & HANDLING

Modular Conveyor Express - MCE

Build Your Best Conveyor Business

Modular Conveyor Express (MCE) is the dedicated distributor network of Nercon. Selling exclusively through MCE Distributor Partners, MCE complete conveyor systems are designed by Nercon engineers and backed by Nercon quality standards. This network includes distributors located across the United States who are fully supported by an MCE team of conveyor experts able to understand and respond to the specific operational needs of the MCE distributor network on an individual basis.

Conveyor Designed by Nercon

Built to maximize productivity, MCE complete conveyor systems provide a significant competitive advantage to MCE distributors. Developed and designed by highly skilled Nercon engineers over countless hours of analysis and testing, MCE conveyors skip the costly start-up of a custom process and begin with a core of proven equipment making your projects more cost-effective and MCE’s turnaround time an advantage — 4 weeks!

MCE’s conveyor systems are manufactured at Nercon’s production facility in Oconto, Wis., where Lean Manufacturing practices are employed to increase quality, identify any wasteful operations, and reduce unnecessary costs. As an industry leader in manufacturing conveyor systems and equipment, we are proud of the advanced technology and unparalleled quality our distributors can count on.

Contact us at (844) 293-2816 to learn more about becoming a distributor of MCE.

www.modularconveyor.com

CONTAINERS & CLOSURES

MRP Solutions

518-561-1812

Plastic jars, containers, CRC, continuous thread and dispensing closures manufactured in the USA.

Build your brand and deliver packaging premiumization with MRP Solutions. More than ever, consumers expect quality products packaged to deliver an unmatched user experience and connection to the brand and product. MRP Solutions combines extensive packaging expertise with a consultative approach to reliably uncover customer needs. By understanding business goals, we can tailor smarter, safer and more flexible packaging solutions that reduce cost and increase speed to market, helping businesses capitalize on opportunities. With one of the most robust, recyclable plastic closure offerings in the market, whether you need a standard continuous thread closure, disc top, push pull caps, twist open, child resistant caps or a specialized cap like our Ultra Light® or MegaFlap®, we have an option to fit your project. From fast-order shipping of a wide range of stock components to developing custom product solutions with our in-house innovation team, MRP is your trusted supplier.

MRP Solutions leads the way in sustainable manufacturing. MRP now offers PCR resin pricing in addition to virgin resin pricing on ALL quotes, where applicable. MRP makes it easier than ever to choose sustainable, choose recycled and choose circular.

MRP Solutions is an environmentally responsible manufacturer of packaging. We take pride in our on-going initiative to delight our customers by offering more sustainable solutions which reduce the amount of plastics used, provide recyclable options and promote re-use where ever possible. We have continuously invested in our manufacturing facilities to identify technology which conserves energy, uses renewable energy, and minimizes environmental impacts to our community and neighbors while we find a way to incorporate and re-use all material and recycle all scrap. Our sustainability initiatives start with our products and penetrate everything we touch from the community to our employees and the environment. Our product design and production processes consider

FLEXIBLE PACKAGING

Increase your Productivity with MULTIVAC, your partner for single-source full-line packaging & processing solutions. Our One Line – One Control capability allows all MULTIVAC components, such as product loading, processing, packaging, conveying, printing, labeling, & inspection, to be controlled from a single HMI. With easy setup and changeover through a single interface, we provide the perfect machine for every pack.

As one of the world’s leading suppliers of packaging & processing solutions for a wide variety of foods, life science and healthcare products, and consumer and industrial goods, long-term productivity is at the heart of every machine and solution we develop. Thanks to holistically designed systems, our comprehensive line solutions help you reach your PEAQ Performance with increased Productivity, Efficiency, Availability, and Quality. MULTIVAC Smart Services enable data collection in realtime, optimizing processes and maximizing efficiency throughout your equipment lifecycle.

Our portfolio covers all packaging design, performance, and resource efficiency requirements. In addition, it encompasses an extensive range of packaging technologies, automation solutions, and labeling and quality control systems. Finally, our offering is rounded off by solutions upstream of the packaging process: in portioning and processing and baked goods technology.

Ultimately, we see ourselves as partners making a decisive contribution to your business’s success. As a worldwide group with 85 subsidiaries, we are closely linked with our customers and their markets, allowing us to identify trends and developments early. When you decide on MULTIVAC as a partner, you opt for the highest level of quality and efficiency, comprehensive customer care, and highly qualified sales and service teams.

CONVEYING, FEEDING & HANDLING

Nercon Conveyor Systems

844-293-2814

Nercon is a conveyor systems manufacturer, providing solutions to the snack, cheese, pet food and treats, beverage, health and pharmaceutical packaging industries since 1976. An essential part of any production line, Nercon’s conveyor systems are operating in nationwide consumer packaged goods manufacturing facilities, where uptime is critical in the efficiency of operations.

Designed with a Purpose®

Our ProCore® brand serves a unique purpose in the Nercon conveyor product line. Developed by highly skilled engineers over countless hours of analysis and testing, ProCore® conveyors skip the costly start-up of a custom process and begin with a core of proven equipment making your projects more cost-effective and our turnaround time faster. The ProCore® conveyor family maximizes performance and minimizes downtime. Conveyor designs range from MatTop, belt and TableTop, moving a variety of packaging.

Keep It Clean

Built to maximize productivity, HydroCore® is our sanitary and washdown conveyor systems designed to withstand rigorous sanitation practices and daily hygienic procedures. HydroCore’s® hygienic designs disassemble, washdown, sanitize, and reassemble easily. Our uniquely innovative sanitary design is known for its versatility and durability, adding value across all product operations.

Nercon’s conveyor systems are manufactured in Oconto, Wis., where Lean Manufacturing practices are employed to increase quality, identify any wasteful operations, and reduce unnecessary costs. As an industry leader in manufacturing conveyor systems and equipment, we are proud of the advanced technology and unparalleled quality our customers can count on.

Contact us at (844) 293-2814 to partner on your next project. www.nerconconveyors.com

CODING, LABELING & PRINTING EQUIPMENT

NITA Sentient Labeling Systems

Welcome to NITA Sentient Labeling Systems, the original 100% Servo Labeler that dramatically REDUCES OPERATOR TOUCH-TIME and increases productivity - all while integrating the latest next-gen technology, the most intuitive user experience, best-in-class responsive support, and truthfully, pure labeling joy.

We love UPTIME. We’re so driven by it we’ve designed all the features on every NITA to create it. How? By meticulously analyzing your labeling pain points – then solving them – with innovation, technology, and certifiably flawless execution.

And how do we keep you running? By building these incredible UPTIME features into every NITA:

- Parts ordering directly from the machine via built-in 3D drawings that scale down to your specific required item

- A self-diagnosing system that identifies possible issues and suggests fixes or when parts need changing or servicing before they become a problem

- Daily Preventative Maintenance schedules and video tutorials with tieredlevel tasks

- Ultra-fast & precise color-coded changeovers with in-screen 3D location maps or even our incredible Servo-driven FULLY AUTOMATIC product changeover system at the push of a button.

- NitaCare lifetime no-charge live remote tech support built right into your screen

Nita Labeling PROMISES to do anything and everything required to make your labeling life as easy and productive as it can be. It is why we exist. Experience for yourself what the best labeling company and labeler will bring to your productivity numbers. 100% money-back-guaranteed happiness.

We cannot wait to meet you. For the love of labeling! Your NITA Team

CARTONING, MULTIPACKING & CASE PACKING

Nordson Corporation

Nordson is recognized as the world leader in hot melt adhesive dispensing systems for the packaging industry, with comprehensive product lines that include tankless dispensing systems, adhesive melters, applicators, nozzles, hoses, and pattern controls as well as tracking and verification systems.

Nordson is a global solution, with direct offices in over 30 countries. Our substantial reach in global manufacturing allows for deep customer relationships, pursuing innovative solutions for customer problems and providing long-term, hands-on customer training, service, and support.

Nordson helps automate your packaging operations with products and solutions with a low total cost of ownership. Our adhesive systems help customers achieve a lower cost per package and reduce adhesive usage. Our solutions maximize package integrity and provide flexibility to meet changing market demands. Because one solution does not fit all applications, we offer a variety of systems to fit a wide range of needs.

Our ProBlue® Flex melter is advanced technology that is modular and scalable. It brings together machine integration, and precise and accurate adhesive dispensing. The ProBlue Flex melter is complemented by Nordson’s new BBconn Controls, which allows for remote operation, more visibility, real-time oversight, and the data and analytics needed for continuous improvement.

The MiniBlue II Slim with EcoBead Inspect ensures package integrity while reducing adhesive consumption. The MiniBlue® II applicator packs high performance, high speeds, and long-term reliability in a compact size. When paired with the EcoBead™ Inspect, users can verify adhesive placement to ensure the integrity of every package and can gather data for continuous improvement.

FILLING, CAPPING & CLOSING

www.novembal.com

Turnkey solutions for your business

For over 60 years, Novembal has been a leader in plastic cap design and injection. Our extensive knowledge of the markets, our experience and our commitment to continuous quality improvement, place us among the industry leaders. By offering our customers innovative solutions, we help them maintain and build their competitive position in the market. We support our customers in each step of the process, from the conceptualization of the closure designs through industrialization and beyond:

Design Services

Our experts help customers turn their ideas into reality by providing innovative designs that make their products stand out on the shelves. Once the concept is validated through pilot tooling, an industrial solution will be provided.

Production Services

We emphasize unique solutions that offer quality, convenience and innovation to meet any need that your business may have. If a completely new or different design is required, we can tailor a closure to the needs of our customer.

We also offer tolling options. By combining an existing customers’ mold and our resources, we can produce, finish, inspect and package your product.

After Sales Support

The after-sales team provides reactive and proactive technical support to troubleshoot issues, minimize downtime and optimize your production equipment. Our goal is to help you achieve your goals in production and line efficiency.

AZ Peoria

BAGGING, POUCHING & WRAPPING

nVenia, a Duravant Company

nVenia leverages the strengths of the ARPAC, HAMER, FISCHBEIN, and OHLSON product brands as a leading equipment designer, manufacturer, and integrator for primary, secondary, and end-of-line packaging solutions.

ARPAC Brand equipment is renowned for integrated fit-for-purpose production lines and includes shrink wrappers, tunnels and bundlers, tray and case formers, case packers, robotic and conventional palletizers, and pallet stretch wrapper systems.

FISCHBEIN Brand equipment is the trusted name in open-mouth bag sewing and sealing systems. Sew systems encompass plain and tape sew models, with sealers for all shapes and sizes of flexible packaging.

HAMER Brand equipment leads the market in large format bagging and automation equipment in some of the harshest production environments. The new HAMER Brand VLR-B machine delivers highly accurate dosing of free-flowing powdered products. The horizontal form, fill & seal systems are ideally suited for large scale bag filling automation, open mouth bagging machines are the industry standard for filling premade bags, and robotic palletizing systems are also ideally suited for stacking large bags.

OHLSON Brand equipment is an economic solution for automating weighing and counting operations. The OHLSON Brand includes multihead weighers, linear weighers, vertical form, fill & seal (VFFS) machines, and premade pouch filling machines.

Combined, these trusted brands deliver next-level performance through the consultative design of integrated production lines to meet the needs of a variety of industries. Our expertise as an integrated packaging systems manufacturer is born from decades of building packaging equipment and answering to the diverse requirements of our clients to package products within a single production line.

Backed by more than 300 years of experience across our brands, together we have one focus: our customers and what they need to solve.

FILLING, CAPPING & CLOSING

OPTIMA Machinery Corporation

920

www.optima-packaging.com/en-us

Filling, closing, and packaging with state-of-the-art technology. Cuttingedge machine solutions for the entire packaging world – that is our commitment.

Incorporated in 1985, with one employee in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Optima Machinery Corporation was the first international subsidiary of Optima. Over the last 38 years, the business has grown to over 100 employees in the United States and the addition of a service hub located near Raleigh, North Carolina.

Originally established as the North American sales and service point for all Optima divisions, we provide OEM spare parts, service, support, calibration services, CG membrane repairs, multi-pack bagging machine solutions, and direct machine sales for all Optima machines delivered to the U.S. and Canada. We also represent Rianta Packaging Systems with sales and support for machines in the bakery industry.

Optima supports companies worldwide with flexible and customerspecific filling and packaging machines for pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, paper hygiene, and medical devices markets. As a provider of solutions and systems, Optima guides these companies from the product idea through successful production and throughout the entire machine life cycle. More than 3,000 experts around the globe and 19 international locations contribute to Optima’s success and ensure the worldwide availability of services.

BAGGING, POUCHING & WRAPPING

833-472-9466

We’ve manufactured and installed vertical baggers, premade pouch fillers and flow wrappers for companies around the world for more than 30 years. We’re not a typical packaging machine company. We’re a single-source provider, so you get ONE point of contact for design, manufacturing, service and integration.

Operating from eight global facilities with a passionate and focused staff, we have a strong service presence, the ability to provide systems integration and an installed base of over 7,000 machines.

Manufactured through our WeighPack, EndFlex and ValTara brands and supported by Paxiom Service, our primary, secondary, and end-of-line packaging machines will increase your production rate and save you valuable time, labor and resources. Here are a few of our popular solutions:

VF

1200 HIGH-SPEED CONTINUOUS MOTION BAGGER

Engineered for high-speed applications, this vertical form, fill and seal machine can handle multiple package formats and produces a wide range of package sizes providing flexibility for both retail and club-size packaging, up to 150 bags per minute.

SWIFTY BAGGER 3600 PREMADE POUCH FILLING MACHINE

The Swifty 3600 features an easily accessible bag magazine, automatic zipper opener, bag shaker and integrated exit conveyor. Producing up to 2,700 bags per hour, this bagger will fill pouches from DOY pack, SUP and SURP to pillow, gusseted, quad and carry handle.

PKR-MS

MODULAR ROBOTIC PICK & PLACE CELL

The perfect addition to your flow wrapping line, this top load case/tray packer with delta robot will gently pick your wrapped product by either vacuum or mechanical means and place it into your case or tray at up to 80 packages per minute to be packed for shipping in your preferred pattern.

Visit us online to explore our packaging solutions and watch real-life videos. Whether you need a vertical form, fill and seal bagger for frozen food, a pick and place robot for wrapped baked goods, a premade pouch filling machine for snacks, or one of our other machines, we’re confident we have the automation solution for your business.

CARTONING, MULTIPACKING & CASE PACKING

PMI KYOTO Packaging Systems

In 1993, Branko and Lilly Tisma founded PMI Cartoning, Inc. in Elk Grove Village, Ill. For 25 years, PMI worked to ensure its customers were satisfied with the quality of every single machine that left PMI’s doors. PMI expanded its operations as the company grew. In addition to its headquarters that houses all engineering, parts, service and support staff, PMI opened a 100,000-square-foot manufacturing, engineering and testing facility next to its offices, and a rebuild facility down the street in Arlington Heights, Illinois.

In December 2017, Kyoto Seisakusho Co., Ltd, a leading global packaging solutions provider, acquired PMI. Today, the former PMI Cartoning continues to operate from the Elk Grove location as PMI KYOTO Packaging Systems and offers the same service and high-quality vertical and horizontal cartoners, case packers, and integrated packaging systems customers have relied on for the past 25 years. In addition, new offerings will be available from the Kyoto product line, including over-wrappers and palletizers, which Kyoto has been providing for more than 70 years to the packaging industry.

Our industry and application experience includes food, beverage, cosmetic, confectionery and pharmaceutical, among others. Application and product handling experience allows us to excel with unique applications involving high speeds and difficult-to-handle products. Built to last, it’s not uncommon to find a PMI machine still running 20 years after installation.

After the successful debut of PMI KYOTO’s compact machine line at PACK EXPO 2022, the company is proud to say that three new compact machines have entered their fleet -- the KC-100F compact horizontal cartoner, the KTB-100 compact vertical case packer, and the SPC-3000 horizontal case packer are available for those who wish to maintain space in their factory without compromising on ability or quality.

FILLING, CAPPING & CLOSING

Pneumatic Scale Angelus

Pneumatic Scale Angelus is an industry leader in the design and manufacture of packaging solutions for wet and dry filling, capping, can seaming, and labeling applications, as well as versatile container handling systems from Zepf Solutions. We design innovative equipment, using the most advanced technologies, to the unique specifications of our customers. Since 1895, our solutions have set the standard in the Food, Beverage, Craft Beverage, Pharmaceutical, Household and Personal Care industries, and are supported by a global Service and Aftermarket network with the most robust offering of change parts and pre-owned/rebuilt solutions in the industry.

INNOVATION & EXPERTISE

As one of five Barry-Wehmiller businesses of BW Packaging and through our diverse but complementary capabilities, PSA and our sister companies provide everything from standalone machines to fully-integrated packaging lines. We serve as trusted advisors to our customers, offering products with leading-edge technology, backed by expert service technicians capable of supporting every machine manufactured since our inception.

FLAGSHIP BRANDS

PSA has earned its reputation as a leader in the design and manufacture of packaging machinery by leveraging the strengths of the most trusted and innovative brands: Angelus, Burt, Consolidated, Continental / Closetech, Mateer, Multi-Tech Systems, OnTrack, and Zepf Solutions.

CULTURE OF LEADERSHIP

As a member of the Barry-Wehmiller family, PSA strives to send our associates home each day with a sense of fulfillment. We strive to be a company people enjoy working for, doing business with, investing in, and having as part of their communities. As our Chairman Bob Chapman says, “We measure success by the way we touch the lives of people.”

CARTONING, MULTIPACKING & CASE PACKING

Propack Processing & Packaging Systems Inc.

Propack Processing & Packaging Systems Inc. is an industry leader in robotics and innovation, manufacturing and supplying high-performance processing and packaging machinery for the global market. At Propack, we pride ourselves on working collaboratively with clients to build strong relationships and ensure the best solutions are developed to meet their unique needs.

Packaging

For over 25 years, Propack has been designing custom pick and place packaging systems for a variety of markets and applications. With the highest quality machinery, built in North America, Propack has earned a reputation for outstanding food-industry automation, specializing in handling snack bar, bakery/snack cake, prepared foods and frozen products, along with many more wrapped and unwrapped products.

Processing

We provide world-class sanitary design machinery including slab formers, slitters, spreaders, and ultrasonic guillotines. We understand our customers’ challenges and pride ourselves on being able to respond with flexible processing solutions.

Integrated Solutions

With extensive integrated systems knowledge and experience providing turnkey solutions, our experienced team will design and deliver complete packaging line solutions and seamless integration for primary and secondary packaging operations.

Parts, Service and Support

Propack’s knowledgeable support team is customer focused and our engineers possess world-class technical skills. We recognize that our service and support is key to our customers’ success and our long-term partnerships.

CARTONING, MULTIPACKING & CASE PACKING

R.A JONES, a Coesia company

R.A JONES offers an extensive portfolio of solutions for both primary and secondary packaging machinery for FOOD/BEVERAGE, HEALTH CARE, HOME CARE, PERSONAL CARE and other CONSUMER GOODS manufacturers that includes:

AEROSOL: Our KP-Aerofill series of machines includes low to high speed equipment for those needing aerosol and rotary liquid fill systems, rotary base crimpers, gasser/shakers, propellant and liquid fillers, bag-on-valve (BOV), air powered through-the-valve (TTV) technology, and more.

BEVERAGE/MULTIPACKING: Our Wraptor, Meridian, and Maxim series of machines provide a wide range of solutions for any mid to high speed can and/or bottle (glass or plastic) production line needs. Whether single tier or double tier, 4 pack to 48 pack, our machines can handle multiple package configurations and types including E-Flute & B-Flute cartons.

CARTONING: Our comprehensive portfolio of machinery includes end load and top load cartoners. These can range from hand load vertical end load cartoner to fully automated systems. Familiar branded cartoning technology includes: CMV, Legend, Legacy, and Criterion.

CHUB PACKAGING: Our KartridgPak chub packaging equipment established the chub package category decades ago. Features/benefits include: close-clip option, continuous motion, rollstock clips and film, PLC controls, simplified clipping head, stainless steel construction, heat, radio frequency and extruder sealing options, and more.

CUP FILLING/SEALING: Autoprod and Holmatic cup filling systems are the flagship series of cup fillers manufactured and services by R.A JONES. Fill, seal and overcap preformed cups, tubs and trays.

POUCHING: Pouch King is our high-speed pouch-filling series of horizontal form fill seal machinery with patented printed circuit heating technology for 3-sided, 4-sided, gusseted and stand-up gusseted pouch styles.

CARTONING, MULTIPACKING & CASE PACKING

Robatech designs and manufactures sustainable solutions for industrial gluing processes that are reliable, safe, economical, straightforward, and green. Robatech’s experienced sales and service teams get gluing projects up and running and ensure smooth operation of adhesive systems all around the globe.

INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS FOR A NEW DIMENSION IN GLUING

Robatech’s innovations save resources and thus downsize your operating costs. The smart Vision melter (pictured on the bottom right) not only melts the adhesive gently and with great reliability, but it does so with the industry’s best energy efficiency. And the performance of the Performa heated hose is an excellent match. It reduces energy consumption up to 45% compared to conventional hoses. And to make the system complete, there’s the SpeedStar Compact application head that is not only fast, durable and intelligent, but it saves you up to 40% of adhesive when used for stitching.

PRECISE AND FAST GLUING OF PRIMARY PACKAGING

Primary packaging of food and medicines puts high demands on the gluing process. Robatech offers you reliable system components that allow you to glue small packages precisely and safely even at high speeds. You can expect a consistently high-precision adhesive application with a clean cutoff, safely and cleanly bonded products, high process reliability, high production speeds, and low energy consumption.

ECONOMICAL AND RELIABLE GLUING OF SECONDARY PACKAGING

Do you want to glue secondary packaging efficiently and yet sustainably?

Whether you put primarily packaged products into secondary packaging through standard top-loading or horizontal cartoning, or whether you use on-demand packaging machines, the adhesive process is essentially the same. Robatech’s adhesive application systems apply hot melt adhesives economically and still glue secondary packaging reliably. Maximum system availability increases your production by reducing downtime, while industry leading energy efficiency saves resources and reduces operating costs.

CONVEYING, FEEDING & HANDLING

Ryson International, Inc.

Ryson Spiral Conveyors need less floor space than conventional conveyors and are faster and more reliable than any elevator or lift.

Unit Load Spirals convey cases, totes and packaged goods smoothly on our slat style belts and come in 9 standard slat widths ranging from 6” to 30”. Available in powder coated carbon steel, stainless steel, wet environment and freezer versions.

Mass Flow Spirals handle full and empty bottles, cans and jars in mass up to 2000 units per minute. Available in 4 different slat widths ranging from 6” to 20”.

Narrow Trak Spirals are super compact and designed to handle your smaller loads. Our 6” and 9” wide nesting slats can end-transfer small cartons and packages or side-transfer small bottles and containers in a single file or in mass at speeds in excess of 200 FPM.

Ryson’s Bucket Elevators combine vertical and horizontal transportation of bulk materials in one integral unit.

Ryson Bucket Elevators are designed for gentle handling and well-suited to transport a broad range of bulk products. Our signature feature is that they are completely enclosed with overlapping pivoting buckets, that prevent spillage and helps mitigate foreign debris.

Their modular design enables us to customize with ease. They can be configured with multiple inlets or outlets that can be controlled individually. The design makes them easy to install and modify. Available in three standard bucket sizes, yielding capacities up to 300, 700 or 1,800 cubic feet per hour. They can also be delivered in powder-coated carbon-steel, stainless-steel or wet environment versions.

All Ryson equipment is modular and built to order. No matter the application, the Ryson team is up to the challenge of finding solutions for your conveying needs.

CARTONING, MULTIPACKING & CASE PACKING

Schubert North America LLC

Schubert is a global leader in top-loading packaging machines (TLM). The family-owned company based in Crailsheim (Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany) builds on an interplay of simple mechanics, intelligent control technology and high modularity. With this philosophy and a highly developed culture of innovation the company has been pursuing an entirely independent technological path for more than 50 years. The second generation of the company now employs 1,300 people. Innovations include the vision control system, the transport robot Transmodul or the flowwrapping machine Flowmodul. Schubert provides future-proof solutions that are easy to operate, flexible in terms of format conversion, high in performance and stable in function. The machines package products of all types in trays, cartons, boxes or flow-wrap bags.

With the new Schubert lightline machine series, customers can master standardized packaging tasks with great efficiency and high quality - at attractive purchase costs and short delivery times. It consists of three machine types: The lightline Cartonpacker, the lightline Pickerline and the lightline Flowpacker.

Space-saving design, unbeatable efficiency and excellent quality control are the hallmarks of the Schubert Flowpacker. It can be equipped with four different sealing technologies. The new patented technology makes it possible to program sealing to the millisecond and ensures constant sealing times. For each flow-pack, the cross-sealing unit immediately adapts to the variable speed of our upstream pick & place robots. Like all of Schubert’s sealing technologies, the flying cross-sealing unit can be integrated into every Flowmodul and combined with other sealing technologies.

With its North American headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, and with sites in Dallas, Texas and Toronto, Ontario, Schubert is expanding its customer support across the continent. This support encompasses high-level accessibility, preventive service as well as extensive training for customers. Schubert has installed two training machines at its training center in Charlotte.

CARTONING, MULTIPACKING & CASE PACKING

www.serpapackaging.com

Serpa designs and manufactures a complete range of cartoning systems for the pharmaceutical, medical device, nutraceutical, food, beverage, cosmetics, industrial and personal care markets. For more than 37 years, companies across the globe have looked to us to handle their most demanding secondary packaging challenges.

We provide horizontal, vertical, and top load cartoners that can accommodate both hand load and automatic load applications, designing systems capable of nearly any speed for the desired application. We also provide a broad range of end of line packaging solutions, including case and tray packers, robotic palletizers, literature feeders, paperboard sleeve wrappers, tamper evident labelers, and robotic product handling systems. Additionally, Serpa provides line integration and validation services, designing turnkey integrated end of line packaging systems from start to finish with single source responsibility.

Serpa machines are designed to meet the needs of demanding production environments, featuring ease of maintenance, user-friendly operation, and rapid, repeatable changeover technology. Our high-performance systems can be designed to meet sanitary and FDA validation requirements and are backed by our strong customer support program to quickly resolve issues that may arise.

98% Uptime, Guaranteed

MATERIALS, CONTAINERS & CONSUMABLES

Shurtape Technologies, LLC

Established in North Carolina as Shurtape Technologies, LLC, we’re a privately owned, global company proudly serving a variety of markets, including packaging, building and construction, HVAC and industrial/ MRO. Our success is built on our passion: for our products, for complete customer satisfaction, and for the markets we serve. And we seek to continually remain engaged with our markets and the customers and craftsmen who use our tape so we can deliver what they need – to the absolute highest standards.

At Shurtape, we craft our packaging solutions to one simple standard. Yours. We know every sealing situation is unique. And we understand that keeping your lines running at peak production is a priority. This is what guides and inspires our team to develop purpose-built packaging solutions that address commons case sealing issues – downtime, material waste, personal injuries, product damage – and deliver the consistent, reliable seals you demand, every time.

In our Packaging Solutions portfolio, we offer a variety of hot melt and acrylic packaging tapes for manual and automated case sealing applications, including HP Series packaging tapes, which have the highest holding power to fiberboard in the industry and perform reliably down to the core, resulting in less unnecessary downtime due to changeover frequency and more efficient tape consumption. To enhance your packaging lines, we also offer a variety of manual and automated case sealing solutions, including ShurSEAL®, which combines our HP Series packaging tape with innovative tape application technology to produce secure, tamper-evident case seals, while maximizing packaging line performance.

For the efficient way you do business, we deliver Secure Seals, Every Time™

FILLING, CAPPING & CLOSING

People all over the world consume products packaged by Sidel Group solutions every day.

Each of those packaging solutions is developed according to our goal to deliver the highest quality standards to consumers. We are a leading provider of equipment, services and complete solutions for packaging liquids, foods, home and personal care products in PET, can, glass, brick, carton, pouch and other materials.

There are close to 40,000 Sidel Group machines in operation in over 190 countries today. Every one of them is the result of over 170 years of proven experience and innovation.

We continually focus on providing our partners with proven expertise in blowing, filling, labelling, material-handling, end-of-line and lineengineering solutions, including an innovative focus on the factory of tomorrow.

Delivering this level of performance requires that we stay flexible. We continuously ensure we understand our customers’ changing challenges and commit to meeting their unique performance and sustainability goals. We do this through dialogue and by understanding the needs of their markets, production and value chains. In turn, we apply our solid technical knowledge and smart data analytics to ensure lifetime productivity reaches its full potential.

We call it Performance through Understanding.

PALLETIZING & L OAD STABILIZATION

1-800-323-2464

www.signode.com

With over $2B+ in revenue, 80+ manufacturing facilities across 6 continents and over 9,000 employees worldwide, Signode is a leading manufacturer of a broad spectrum of transit packaging consumables, tools, software, and equipment that optimize end-of line packaging operations and protect products in transit. Signode brings this extensive product portfolio together under 40 of trusted brands to offer complete transit packaging solutions to its customers.

We produce strap, stretch, stapling and protective packaging. We also manufacture packaging tools and equipment used to apply the bulk packaging materials. These commercial packaging products are used to pack, bundle, unitize, protect and secure goods during warehousing and transit. Our company is a pioneer in the industrial packaging sector with a long history of customer-focused innovations in materials, processes and automation technology that have revolutionized the sector.

Signode offers tailored automation solutions that allow manufacturers of all industries, scales, and needs to maximize productivity and efficiency. Among the wide spectrum of automation capabilities are StorFast® automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS), automated palletizers, a complete range of conveyors, Automatic Guided Vehicles (AGVs), Automatic Unitizing Solutions, and more.

All of these automation solutions are made possible through Signode’s intelligent logistics management systems. These systems have the power and customizable ability to provide everything from a basic Warehouse Control System for managing pallet movement all the way up to a complete Warehouse Management System that is integrated with each customer’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and order management software.

From standalone solutions to integrated systems. Signode provides the tools, consumables, and software to optimize end-of-line packaging operations and protect products in transit. We are excited to go to market as Signode and to share the portfolio of products, services and capabilities that make us the world’s premier end-of-line packaging company.

FL Tampa

CONTROLS, SOFTWARE & COMPONENTS

734/426-3476

For over 50 years SIKO has been developing and producing rotating and linear measuring systems, actuators and individually programmable displays for the entire field of machine construction. With its precision and innovative power, the company sets global standards in terms of quality and reliability. SIKO has been characterized by innovative ideas and quality without compromise for our customers. Our motivated and experienced staff is the cornerstone of our success. Many years of experience in distance and angle measuring technology as well as input from our customers have created a basis for solutions for both the present and the future.

SIKO is there for your Quick Size Changeover needs.

Three solutions, one supplier for effective size changeovers

1. Compact fieldbus actuators for precise fully automated positioning to shorten size changeover times. Offered with IO-Link, Ethernet/IP, Profinet, EtherCAT, PowerLINK, RS485 and CANopen interfaces.

2. Electronic indicators that monitor changeovers for verification, accuracy, safety and speed. Also, offered with the above mentioned interfaces.

3. Mechanical indicators for low cost, reliable axis positioning.

CODING, LABELING & PRINTING EQUIPMENT

501-492-3893

RFL Series Roll-Fed Labelers

The RFL Series range of roll fed labelers was born from the same need as our shrink sleeve labelers - a need for faster, more efficient, more robustly built machines with Allen Bradley controls. In a market where efficiencies and cost of ownership are everything, Sleeve Seal has a proven history of fast, precise label application with minimal maintenance costs. Our engineers have an unparalleled depth of knowledge that has been applied to a new style of label application for today’s market. Sleeve Seal is proud to present our new range of RFL Series of roll fed labelers.

SSL Series Shrink Sleeve Labelers

Sleeve Seal is focused on a new era of repeatable labeling performance. Built-to-last American manufacturing expertise and modern engineering are combined to produce speeds from 25 to 1600 CPM on robust machines equipped with intelligent Allen Bradley controls. Heavy weight construction and the fastest, most durable drive train in the industry provide high efficiency runs for countless hours. Sleeve Seal machines are engineered to provide quality labeling performance with simple, tool-less changeovers between container formats. Other patented innovations, such as a multi blade cutter assembly with quick-change blades have been developed for ease of maintenance.

SST Series Shrink Tunnels

The line of Sleeve Seal shrink tunnels features a new style of tunable controls that make shrinking labels on containers both precise and repeatable. Our shrink tunnels are available in a broad range of sizes that compliment all our labelers for shrinking labels at high speeds. In addition to newly designed controls, Sleeve Seal tunnels feature 316 stainless steel interior lining and components for maximum corrosion resistance. Every shrink tunnel model features external controls that allow the adjustment of individual arrays without exposing the operator to heat.

FILLING, CAPPING & CLOSING

Specialty Equipment

Since 1969, Specialty Equipment Corporation has been a leading manufacturer of American-made packaging systems. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, we have built our reputation on manufacturing high-end packaging machinery and material handling systems including:

» Liquid fillers for Pails, Drums, Bottles, and Totes

» Drum and Pallet Conveyors

» Palletizers

» Solids Fillers for Pails, Drums, and Super Sacks

» IIoT software

Specialty Equipment is well known for building the most rugged drum, tote, pail and bottle filling machines for the agriculture, chemical, cleaning, coating, food, lube, and sealant industries.

Benefits of using Specialty Equipment Liquid Fillers:

» Improves Efficiencies & Accuracy

» Increase Production & Maximize Uptime

» Add Savings to Your Bottom Line

Over our 50 years in business, we have developed a full product line of automatic and semi-automatic liquid filling machines and conveyors for industries like; agriculture, chemical, cleaners, coatings, flavors, food, food additives, lubricants, and sealant manufacturers. The products we fill and convey include; drums, pails, bins, bottles, jugs, totes, pallets, and rubber bales, a customized product.

We continue to provide high-quality packaging systems to fortune 500 companies and have developed an intuitive software to improve the filling operations for companies of all sizes.

CODING, LABELING & PRINTING EQUIPMENT

Squid Ink

763/795-8856

Squid Ink is a manufacturer of coding and marking systems for product identification and traceability, providing superior-quality inks and lowmaintenance printing equipment.

Squid Ink began in 1991, supplying high-quality replacement inkjet fluids. Since then, the company has grown and expanded to include a complete line of hi-res piezo printing systems, CIJ (continuous ink jet) printing systems, TIJ (thermal inkjet) printing systems, DOD (drop-on-demand) printing systems, laser coders, and a full library of inks and inkjet fluids. Our printers and ink are designed to print the highest quality bar codes, batch numbers, date codes, logos, and large or small character text, directly onto corrugated cases, plastics, metals, glass, wood, and other substrates.

And Squid Ink continues to design new products that are reliable, easy to use, and cost-effective. One of our latest examples is the CoPilot Gemini, a new feature-rich printing system that offers 360 dpi print resolution, 5.6” print height, full-color touchscreen, and the option to run from a wireless tablet. The CoPilot Gemini offers users clean and reliable printing of bar codes, logos, and razor-sharp small-character text.

Today, Squid Ink continues to focus on its core purpose to “help companies deliver products to the world.” An expanding line of integrated products and services reflects Squid Ink’s commitment to meeting new needs and new challenges and ensuring that customers have reliable systems for their packaging application.

Squid Ink, Eastey, and American Film & Machinery (AFM) are all divisions of Engage Technologies Corporation. Squid Ink (squidink.com) is a manufacturer of coding and marking systems for product identification and traceability, providing superior quality inks and low-maintenance printing equipment. Eastey (eastey.com) is a leading manufacturer of heavy-duty shrink packaging equipment and automated case sealing systems for packaging applications. American Film & Machinery (afmsleeves.com) supplies shrink labelers and tunnels, shrink sleeves, and tamper bands.

MULTIPACKING & CASE PACKING

Standard-Knapp, a leader in packaging equipment since 1894, specializes in the manufacture of custom, state-of-the-art case, tray and shrink packaging machinery. Standard-Knapp belongs to international group EOL Packaging Experts, GmbH, and acts as the North American distributor and servicer of equipment from sister companies A+F, BMS and NEO.

The newest addition to Standard-Knapp’s line of case packers is the Unipack 2.0, a robotic pick-and-place dynamo that can pack, unpack and repack. Designed for small to medium food and beverage plants, this packer covers a small footprint, and is easily transported with an optional mobility kit. The Unipack 2.0 shines in the 5-15 case/minute range, and features the same color-coded change part system that makes product changeover a snap on all Standard-Knapp machinery.

Standard-Knapp’s flagship machine is the 939S Versatron™ case packer. Its patented Soft Catch technology allow for the packing of lightweight glass into partitionless cases without breakage, via a servo-actuated lift table. This allows the Versatron to actually “catch” the product while it descends into the case. Even gentler packing is achieved by the robotic Pic-N-Place model. The Versatron™ Pic-N-Place uses robust, robotic arms and adjustable, heavy-duty grippers to pick up and gently place packs of product safely into the bottom of every case.

Standard-Knapp’s full line of case & drop packers includes a variety of useful options, modules and upgrades, as well as uncasers, case sealers and product laners.

Standard-Knapp also specializes in tray/shrink technology, including the exciting new TriWraptor™ line of multipackers, shrink wrappers and TSUP (Tray/Shrink/Unsupported/Pad) packer. The TriWraptor line’s flexible highspeed Robo-Wand™ wrapping module provides consistent, tight wrapping across a wide range of product shapes and sizes.

All Standard-Knapp machinery is engineered and built to provide decades of reliable service, 24/7/365.

CARTONING, MULTIPACKING & CASE PACKING

Syntegon is a leading single-source supplier of processing, packaging, and automation technology to the food and pharma industries. Our product portfolio ranges from standalone, entry-level machines to fully integrated systems. Our mission is to support customers in creating sustainable solutions with market-leading technologies.

Syntegon’s technology is built by some of the most iconic names in packaging. Doboy, Elematic, Kliklok, Osgood, Sigpack, and Woodman are just several in the group. Their legacies of quality, reliability, service, and dedication to the customer embody Syntegon’s core philosophies. United as one team, we are all working toward the same vision — Packaging and Processing for a Better Life.

From mixing raw ingredients to end-of-line case packers, our portfolio for the food industry includes: confectionery and bar processing equipment; product distribution, collation, and loading systems; horizontal flowwrappers; vertical bagmakers; topload, endload and wraparound cartoners; case packers; filling and sealing systems for cups and bottles; thermoforming, filling, and sealing systems; bag sealers; checkweighing systems; and sustainable packaging solutions.

Fields of application in the pharmaceutical industry are the production, processing, filling, inspection and packaging of liquid and solid pharmaceuticals (e.g. syringes and capsules).

Based in Waiblingen, Germany, and employing some 6000 associates, at 30 locations in more than 15 countries worldwide, a highly-qualified workforce develops and produces complete solutions for the food, pharma, and consumer goods industries. These solutions are complemented by a comprehensive after-sales service portfolio. A global service and sales network provides customers with local points of contact, including several locations in North America.

BAGGING, POUCHING & WRAPPING

Texwrap, a ProMach brand is centrally located in Washington, Missouri, and is the leader in the design and manufacture of fully automatic shrink wrapping, shrink bundling, and E-commerce systems.

Known as the industry innovator, we hold patents on some of the most significant breakthrough technologies in the shrink-wrapping business. Our full line of standard wrappers includes L-bar sealers, intermittent motion side sealers, continuous motion side sealers and vertical wrappers, as well as shrink tunnels, that are all made in the U.S.A.

The Tekkra & Kayat SRX lines of shrink bundlers helps round out our shrink packaging solutions with intermittent motion, continuous motion and custom bundling systems.

To complete our product offering, Texwrap’s EPS Series of machine’s provides solutions to help E-commerce operations improve profitability by increasing throughput, preventing errors with our proprietary product tracking feature, and creating right-sized packaging that reduces film waste and DIM weight shipping costs.

Texwrap partners with a nationwide network of highly trained packaging distributors in order to better serve our customers. This partnership provides a support structure to ensure the best machinery/application fit, a smooth startup, reliable local service, and long-term return on the machinery investment.

Our mission is to provide our customers with the latest technological advances while maintaining our commitment to a user-friendly machine that is efficient and easy to maintain. The quality construction, flexibility, easy changeover and low maintenance features of our systems give our machinery the Lowest Total Cost of Ownership available in the market today.

BAGGING, POUCHING & WRAPPING

Triangle Package Machinery Company

773/889-0200

100 YEARS OF KEEPING FOOD SAFE

For three generations, our family-owned & operated business has provided innovative sanitary packaging solutions that are built to last & supported in the USA. Triangle packaging machines offer versatility while providing solutions that maximize production. Whether you need to weigh or bag seafood, soup, mashed potatoes, protein, baking mix, put a bag of cereal in a box or a variety of other products, there’s a Triangle solution engineered to meet your application.

VFFS BAG MACHINES

Our vertical form-fill-seal baggers are designed with sanitation & ease-ofuse in mind while meeting USDA/3A & FSMA standards. All models come with an open, accessible design, sanitary forming tubes, tool-less change parts & sloped surfaces for easy run-off during washdown.

PRE-MADE POUCH FILLERS

Simple, automated solution for filling & sealing pre-made pouches. Run Doy bags, 3-sided seal, flat & stand-up pouches (SUP) with ease. Simple integration with multihead weighers, augers or cup fillers.

BAG-IN-BOX CARTONERS

Flexibility in a small footprint. Quick, auto-changeover from single to dual or quad packs in seconds. Pairs perfectly with a Triangle bagger & weigher combination. A unique belt infeed system protects your product.

MULTIHEAD WEIGHERS

From cereal to wet proteins, & everything in between. Unmatched accuracy & speed. Even product distribution for optimal production. Mount directly on top of Triangle VFFS baggers. No mezzanines required.

SUPERIOR SERVICE & SUPPORT

Field service is available out of our Chicago headquarters & regionally throughout the US. Our 22 service technicians offer an average tenure of 18 years. Spare parts are manufactured in-house & are typically shipped the same business day.

BAGGING, POUCHING & WRAPPING

Unified Flex Packaging Technologies

1-866-369-4181

Unified Flex Packaging Technologies is a global manufacturer of flexible packaging systems tailor made to customer specific application requirements. Our manufacturing facility is located in the Canadian manufacturing hub of Woodstock, Ontario with service centers in the US to ensure quick and direct customer service. We have been designing and manufacturing superior quality flexible packaging systems for more than 15 years. Our engineering team alone have a combined 50 years of packaging and automation experience over a wide variety of applications. Our expertise can be measured by the depth of the product lines we offer. We have successfully manufactured systems for liquid, nutraceutical, snack food, produce, protein, industrial product, bakery, and confectionery applications for companies. Our flexible packaging systems are simple to use, reliable and robust made from premium quality non-proprietary parts.

Unified Flex has 7 unique series (Premium VFFS, Economic VFFS, Continuous motion VFFS, Stick Pack machines, Multilane Sachet, Spouted Pouch Fill and Cap, and Pre-Made Bag Packaging Machines) with a total of 17 machine models to provide customers with unique packaging systems for a wide range of products and packaging requirements. Not only will these machines significantly improve your productivity, they will greatly streamline your efficiencies. Speeds can range from 7 to 180 bags per minute and numerous bag types and sizes are achievable, bringing you more packaging options for your products. You can count on Unified Flex Packaging Technologies to deliver intelligent machines, economical solutions, and dependable systems for all your packaging needs.

Call us at 1-866-369-4181 or email sales@unifiedflex.com

Universal Labeling Systems, Inc.

727/327-2123

Welcome to Universal Labeling Systems! We are labeling machinery. Since 1984, no one has designed and built more custom, made-to-order labeling systems than Universal. Labeling is all we do and we do a lot of it. All machines are designed and built in the USA at our St. Petersburg, Florida manufacturing facility.

Everything we are goes into everything we do. Your Universal Labeling machine is sold and supported through a worldwide network of authorized distributors. And these knowledgeable distribution partners are backed by the expertise of our technical staff. Universal’s product manuals include specifications, bill of materials, set-up and operational details, and machine maintenance.

Universal Labeling Systems offers the most complete line of pressure sensitive labeling machines. From low volume table top models to high volume zero down time systems, our machines are designed, manufactured, and tested with one purpose in mind…you and your labeling needs.

And at Universal, we do more than talk as our Performance Guarantee states:

“All equipment manufactured by Universal Labeling Systems carries a 30day performance guarantee. If your labeling machinery does not perform as stated, we will take your machine back and reimburse you in full.” Since 1984, we continue to honor this pledge.

CONVEYING, FEEDING & HANDLING

U.S. Tsubaki Power Transmission, LLC.

847/459-9500

U.S. Tsubaki Power Transmission, LLC is a leading manufacturer and supplier of state-of-the-art power transmission and motion control products and is a global leader in roller and conveyor chain production.

U.S. Tsubaki is the largest global subsidiary of Japan’s Tsubakimoto Chain Company which was founded in 1917. Today, U.S. Tsubaki products are marketed in over 70 countries. Its corporate headquarter and main distribution warehouse are just outside of Chicago in Wheeling, IL and it has full manufacturing facilities in Holyoke, MA, Sandusky, OH and Milwaukee, WI. In addition to this it has service centers strategically located in Los Angeles, CA; Houston, TX; Atlanta, GA; Philadelphia, PA and Anoka, MN.

The TSUBAKI name is synonymous with excellence in quality, dependability and customer service. An intense focus on research and development, along with constant modernization of its production facilities are among the key components in Tsubaki’s ability to successfully meet the ever-changing needs of the marketplace.

Tsubaki has a wide variety of standard roller chains and attachment chains that cater to the Packaging Industry applications. It also offers a multitude of specialty chains such as corrosion resistant Neptune® chain, lube-free Lambda® chain, vacuum wrapper chain, thermoforming chain, Gripper® chain and Titan® series chain for high-speed operations. Tsubaki’s Made-to-Order capabilities allow for custom engineering of chains and attachments specific to your operation to ensure optimal performance.

CONVEYING, FEEDING & HANDLING

VDG (Van der Graaf)

888/326/1476

VDG is the leader in the design and manufacturing of drum motors for belt conveyors, with a strong focus on safety, reliability, and longevity. Manufacturing in-house in USA and Canada for 37 years, using cuttingedge production technology and automation, and with continuous improvements through R&D, VDG ensures product quality, fast delivery, and after sales support.

All drive components of the VDG Drum Motor including the electric motor, gear reducer, and bearings are enclosed inside the drum, increasing energy efficiency, operator safety and optimizing space. VDG Drum Motors are designed for 80,000 hours of continuous operation before maintenance, minimizing downtime and reducing maintenance, and operational costs.

The VDG patented IronGrip™ lagging, offered for VDG Drum Motors, enhances the durability and lifespan of the conveyor belt and the lagging. It consists of steel bars welded symmetrically on the drum with hot-bond vulcanized lagging inserts between the bars. IronGrip™ lagging eliminates uneven belt wear, improves belt tracking, increases belt traction by 40%, and has a 4-5 times longer service life compared to standard lagging.

VDG’s stainless steel SSV Series Drum Motor features an IP69K rated sealing system, withstands up to 3,000 psi washdown pressure, and drives modular, wire mesh, and monolithic conveyor belts without using sprockets. The SSV Drum Motor eliminates crevices that trap food byproducts and bacterial harborage, reducing washdown time and water usage by 50% and providing the most efficient and hygienic drive solution for food processing and handling belt conveyors.

The IntelliDrive™ Drum Motor features new synchronous permanent magnet motor technology, delivering 40% increased electrical efficiency, a wider range of belt speeds without loss of torque and an increase in electric motor lifespan compared to a traditional conveyor drive. It enables onsite diagnostics, full motor indexing speed control, and communications with other automated plant equipment.

CARTONING, MULTIPACKING & CASE PACKING

Viking Masek

920-564-5051

Running a business can be complicated. Your packaging automation project shouldn’t be. At Viking Masek, our packaging systems help our customers do business better. Simplified, efficient, and automated. With over 20 years of packaging experience, Viking Masek Packaging Technologies has quickly grown to become an industry leader in durable, innovative packaging machinery.

We manufacture easy-to-use premade pouch packing machines, economical VFFS baggers, high-speed continuous motion vertical baggers, carton packaging, palletizing, robotics, and multilane stick packaging machines. Through Viking Masek Robotics & Automation, we offer our clients state-of-the-art robotic packaging systems. These packing solutions significantly enhance end-of-line processes, directly improving overall equipment effectiveness, customer satisfaction, and company profit.

Our stainless-steel equipment is durable and efficient. By applying the latest engineering advances to machine software, we maximize the efficiency from each machine, giving you faster production and more profitability. We also partner with top packaging film and pouch suppliers to ensure your packaging materials meet your needs for sustainability.

We offer technical service, training, and preventive maintenance plans with the purchase of every packaging machine. Not only does our team of Sales Consultants and Project Managers ensure that our clients’ needs are met from first contact to installation, but our Service Department also works tirelessly to ensure minimal downtime if training or maintenance are required.

From cheese and coffee to raw poultry and fresh vegetables, to pharmaceuticals and dietary supplements, plus much more, Viking Masek has the right packaging solution for you.

Are you ready to take your packaging to the next level? Visit us at www.VikingMasek.com

MULTIPACKING & CASE

WestRock is a global leader in sustainable paper and packaging solutions. We are materials scientists, packaging designers, mechanical engineers and manufacturing experts with a shared purpose: Innovate Boldly. Package Sustainably. Guided by our values of integrity, respect, accountability and excellence, we use leading science and technology to move fiber-based packaging forward.

WestRock’s best-in-class innovation engine leverages the largest set of fiber-based substrates, a vast network of converting and distribution capabilities and an unmatched packaging machinery platform to power the next generation of renewable, recyclable packaging. Our broad portfolio is operated in four segments – Corrugated Packaging, Consumer Packaging, Global Paper and Mill Operations. A uniquely integrated Commercial, Innovation and Marketing function offers unrivaled end-to-end solutions and support to solve our customers’ greatest challenges.

Our global operations include:

– More than 50,000 employees in the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific

– More than 30 containerboard and paperboard mills

– More than 320 operating and business locations

– Products in a wide range of markets, including beauty and personal care, beverage, e-commerce, healthcare, home and garden, media and electronics, packaged food, pizza and retail

Sustainability and innovation are fundamental to WestRock’s vision to become the world’s best paper and packaging company. By innovating for our customers and their customers, bettering the planet and supporting people and communities, we’re imagining and delivering on the promise of a sustainable future.

CARTONING, MULTIPACKING & CASE PACKING

Wexxar Bel is a leading manufacturer of fully and semi-automatic case and tray forming and sealing solutions. From small start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, we provide a wide array of reliable machinery focusing on advanced technologies, easy to operate equipment and a top tier service network.

Wexxar Bel’s dedication to quality means you can take pride in the quality of your purchase and peace of mind in the reliability and performance of our machines. Many Wexxar Bel customers are excited to show-off their new purchase to visitors and stakeholders while other more long-term customers still feel that pride when they show off their nearly 40 year old still running Wexxar Bel machines. You will always feel supported by the industry’s best performing and best-serviced case/tray formers and sealers in every step that your company takes

With a wide distribution and service network across North America, customers are always fully serviced and supported quickly and reliably. Whether you decide to work with our certified partners or our own experienced technicians, Wexxar Bel and our partners will listen, understand and solve your packaging problems and issues.

Wexxar Bel is also a technological leader in the field by pushing the boundaries of innovation. The company was built on the reliable patented “Pin & Dome” system and continues to incorporate new technologies in our products to create innovative and ultra-reliable packaging machinery. This obsession with reliability has also transitioned to our IPAK product line with the utilization of servo-drives to ensure complete tray blank control at all times for precision accurate forming.

Our dedication to pushing boundaries have also put a focus on providing sustainably made and efficient machines. Our manufacturing facility in Vancouver is powered 100% by renewable energy and we also implemented sustainable practices in our manufacturing facility. Furthermore, we constantly push our machines to be more energy and maintenance efficient, reducing overall energy consumption, redundant parts and increasing overall product life.

INSPECTION & TESTING EQUIPMENT

Do you have an in-motion product weighing challenge? Then Wipotec is your answer. Our checkweighers deliver precision, accuracy, and repeatability in robust product and package weighing applications. Our X-Ray scanners and vision systems ensure that foods are free of foreign body contamination while maximizing package integrity, and product labeling accuracy. Wipotec’s TQS modular serialization and aggregation machines guard against counterfeit products entering the global supply chain. Wipotec manufacturing takes place in Kaiserslautern, Germany. The Atlanta metro area is home to the company’s North American operations. The metro Atlanta facility includes training rooms, a product showroom, application engineering labs, and an expansive spare parts warehouse.

Checkweighers

Checkweighers prevent under filling and overfilling of product, resulting in brand protection and cost reduction due to less product giveaway. Wipotec checkweighers use EMFR weigh cells to deliver the fastest and most accurate product weights possible at throughputs up to 650 ppm. The modular design of these machines enables support for a wide variety of machine options including metal detectors.

X-Ray Scanners and Vision Systems

Our X-Ray scanners and vision systems prevent expensive product recalls. These machines maximize product safety and packaging integrity. X-Ray scanners are ideal for foreign body contaminant detection, package completeness, and fill-level checks. Vision systems do a great job verifying product label contents and correct placement on your packages.

TQS Serialization and Aggregation Machines

These modular machines got their start in the pharmaceutical industry ensuring end-to-end tracking of medications in order to keep counterfeit products out of the supply chain. Driven by global compliance regulations, these machines employ open interfaces and software that delivers the flexibility needed to meet each country’s track and trace requirements. These machines are now finding use in various industries such as cosmetics, medical devices, cannabis, and personal care products.

FILLING, CAPPING & CLOSING

Yamato Corporation

Yamato is always the best way to weigh.

Yamato Corporation is the leading provider of automatic, commercial, and industrial weighing solutions in North, Central, and South America. Our industry strengths include cheese, poultry, snack foods, confectionery, prepared meals, fresh produce, and more. Whether your product is dry and free-flowing, wet and sticky, or frozen and a little difficult to run, a Yamato scale can weigh it for packaging.

Yamato scales offer supreme accuracy and support a wide variety of markets. Our combination weighers, checkweighers, and depositors can address virtually any packaging application. Our commercial scales offer convenient weighing for a range of retail markets, and our industrial solutions are ideal for very high target weights.

We promise you the Yamato Difference. As Yamato – not a distributor or agent – we’re easily accessible and available to offer you direct advice and support. We understand that you need non-stop performance. We promise you’ll get that from our scales, and from us. That’s the Yamato Difference.

Yamato Corporation is a subsidiary of Yamato Scale Co., Ltd., headquartered in Akashi, Japan. Founded in 1920, Yamato Scale Co. is celebrating over 100 years of providing innovative, high-quality weighing equipment and systems to customers around the world.

Learn more and find your scale at YamatoAmericas.com