Packaging

Field Reports

Perfect frozen pizzas: It’s a wrap

Palermo’s new high-speed shrink wrapping line can side-seal 150 frozen pizzas per minute compared to the old sealing machine’s rate of 90 pizzas per minute.

May 6, 2014

Based in Milwaukee, WI, Palermo’s Pizza was started by Sicilian immigrants Gaspare and Zina Fallucca who opened an Italian bakery on Milwaukee’s east side in 1964.

Field Reports

DIY: Automating a donut line

Mel-O-Cream Donuts designed a simple yet robust automated packaging and labeling line to replace a manual system.

May 6, 2014

Founded in 1932 as a retail shop in Springfield, IL, Mel-O-Cream International manufactures bakery products, primarily for wholesale distribution to supermarkets and bakeries.

TECH FLASH

Protection all around: The contribution of packaging machine manufacturers to product quality and protection

Product recalls bring the entire supply chain added scrutiny, which can hurt business.

Shane O'Halloran

April 29, 2014

Hygienic packaging can help assure food security.

TECH FLASH

Smart packaging multi-tasks to engage consumers and fight counterfeiting

Brand integrity and customer engagement are essential.

Shane O'Halloran

April 29, 2014

The demand for smart packaging is expected to grow by 8 percent annually, according to experts.

TECH FLASH

PACK EXPO East to change dates to accommodate exhibitors

The inaugural event has drawn much more interest than organizers originally anticipated.

Shane O'Halloran

April 14, 2014

PMMI predicts over 400 companies will exhibit on the over 100,000 net sq. ft. of space.

Food Packaging

Last year, some members of the dairy industry thought it hip to be in square packaging. But Dean Foods, Inc. is taking a more circuitous route. Its Land O’Lakes brand sour cream and cottage cheese products are appearing on retailer shelves throughout the upper Midwest in curved packaging.

Food Packaging

Coffee stick makes a stir

Cindy Dubin

April 8, 2014

Make a perfect cup of coffee—or tea—in about 30 seconds. Might sound too good to be true, but Australian inventor Dave Hopper may have enabled you to do just that with the development of Quikstix.

Food Packaging

‘Bone’ appétit!: New advances for pet food industry

Cindy Dubin

April 8, 2014

A pet peeve for some dog owners is not being able to feed their pets a warm meal. But that problem is being addressed with a heated, moist supplement for dry food in a package familiar to the world of single-serve soups, pastas and snacks.

Food Packaging

Pallet wrap reduces contamination threat

The wrap offers greater resiliency and is less likely to tear.

Mikell Knights

March 8, 2014

Detectamet, a UK-based manufacturer of food-safe detectable products, developed its new detectable pallet wrap to reduce the contamination of finished food products.

Food Packaging

Lightweight hot-fill bottle a design winner

Coca-Cola Amatil CCA won the 2013 Australian Packaging Design Award for a 600ml Powerade Sports bottle.

Mikell Knights

March 8, 2014

Coca-Cola Amatil CCA won the 2013 Australian Packaging Design Award for a 600ml Powerade Sports bottle, an extremely lightweight, eco-friendly hot-fill bottle featuring a 38ml-wide neck closure.