Flexible Packaging articles from September 2008

Flexible Packaging archives from September 2008

Recycle misperceptions into sales.(EDITOR'S FORUM)
September 1, 2008... Despite the many environmental benefits of flexible packaging, the industry is fighting an uphill battle when it comes to consumers' perceptions. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Right or wrong, most consumers equate sustainable packaging with...

Dow acquires Rohm and Haas.(NEWS BRIEFS)
September 1, 2008... Dow will acquire all outstanding shares of Rohm and Haas common stock for $78 per share in cash. The acquisition of Rohm and Haas will make Dow the world's leading specialty chemicals and advanced materials company.

Best practices organization expands website capabilities.(NEWS BRIEFS)
September 1, 2008... The Ghent Workgroup has revamped its website, www.gwg.org, to provide access to the comprehensive, best practice workflow specifications and resources for printers, prepress professionals and designers. Additionally, the GWG site features...

Ashland Inc. invests in its packaging, printing and coating capabilities.(NEWS BRIEFS)
September 1, 2008... Ashland Specialty Polymers & Adhesives (SP&A) business recently installed additional equipment to enhance service and capabilities for its printing, packaging and coatings product lines. The equipment was installed in Ashland's Columbus, Ohio,...

Danafilms continues its expansion.(NEWS BRIEFS)(Danafilms Inc.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... As part of an ongoing growth program, Danafilms upgraded its Westborough, Mass., plant with another high-precision Battenfeld Gloucester blown film line. The new line will add more than five million pounds of additional capacity. Other...

Pliant upgrades and expands Canadian operations.(NEWS BRIEFS)
September 1, 2008... New capital investments approaching $3 million in 2008, when added to the $4.5 million invested in 2006 and 2007, are improving Pliant's products for the Canadian market. Similar to initiatives currently underway in Europe, Asia and...

ITC rules in favor of petition against unfairly traded laminated bags.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
September 1, 2008... By a 6-0 vote, the U.S. International Trade Commission has announced its affirmative decision on the petition filed by U.S. producers of laminated woven polypropylene sacks against dumped and subsidized imports of these products from China....

Opportunities abound in Flexible Packaging for Liquids.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
September 1, 2008... A report entitled "Drivers, Technologies & Opportunities for Flexible Packaging of Liquids," published by Packaging Strategies, a sister business of Flexible Packaging, reveals that growth of products packaged in flexible has been astronomical....

Extrusion Dies Industries LLC.(MILESTONES)
September 1, 2008... Extrusion Dies Industries LLC has appointed John Wise as regional sales manager for its northeastern territory. EDI also has promoted William Normand to the position of inside sales coordinator.

NatureWorks LLC.(MILESTONES)
September 1, 2008... Marc Verbruggen has been named the new president and chief executive officer of NatureWorks LLC.

Gallus Inc.(MILESTONES)
September 1, 2008... Brian Bishop has joined Gallus Inc., the North American arm of the Swiss manufacturer of narrow web printing presses, as the company's president.

Toray Plastics (America) Inc.(MILESTONES)
September 1, 2008... Toray Plastics (America) Inc. has named Kojiro Maeda chairman of the board.

ISO Poly Films Inc.(MILESTONES)
September 1, 2008... ISO Poly Films Inc. has announced that Brandon Barker has joined the Gray Court, S.C.-based company as a technical development engineer.

PIA/GATF honors winners of 2008 InterTech Technology Awards.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
September 1, 2008... On Oct. 26, the Printing Industries of America/Graphic Arts Technical Foundation (PIA/GATF) will present its 2008 InterTech Technology Awards at a gala event in Chicago during the Graph Expo show. An independent panel of judges evaluated...

A wealth of resources.(FPA UPDATE)(Flexible Packaging Association)
September 1, 2008... FPA serves flexible packaging converters and suppliers to the industry by representing their interest to government, providing networking opportunities, promoting the value of their products, educating through industry specific programs and...

FPA issues key benchmarking reports.(FPA UPDATE)
September 1, 2008... 2007 Fourth Quarter Earnings Report The 2007 Fourth Quarter Earnings Report provides key financial information that allows flexible packaging converters to compare their operating/profitability performance against those of other converters...

2009 Annual Meeting.(FPA UPDATE)
September 1, 2008... FPA members and guests will return to The Ritz Carlton in Naples, Florida, for the 59th Annual Meeting. Being held Feb. 25-27, 2009, the Annual Meeting will include exclusive social networking events, industry-specific general sessions, the...

Sneak peek: 2009 Safety Conference & Environmental Summit.(FPA UPDATE)
September 1, 2008... The 2009 FPA Safety Conference and Environmental Summit will be held Jan. 21-23, at The TradeWinds Resort in St. Petersburg Beach, Florida. The conference and summit will focus on topics and issues important to the flexible packaging...

Castle-Pierce investing in the future: after being in business for well over a century, printer Castle-Pierce takes its history into account as it branches into new markets and sets its sights on the future.(COVER STORY)(Company overview)
September 1, 2008... Driving through Wisconsin's Fox River Valley, which encompasses the cities of Green Bay, Appleton and Oshkosh, it might be easy for tourists and road-weary travelers to overlook the region's largest industry--and no, it's not cheese. The...

The flat-top flair: a new way of making digital flexographic printing plates reduces dot-gain problems and delivers crisp detail.(PRINTING TECHNOLOGY)
September 1, 2008... Over the past several years, the word "digital" conjures up an image of a state-of-the-art product. Yet some flexo printers, especially those in the flexible packaging market, wondered why digital flexo plates were not effective for their...

REACH registration: the clock is ticking: flexible packaging converters and printers will need to comply before selling their products in Europe.(REGULATORY UPDATE)
September 1, 2008... The REACH program pre-registration phase will expire Dec. 1, 2008, only three short months from now. Take care not to miss this looming deadline if your company exports packaging materials into the European Union. And remember that hundreds of...

Graph Expo 2008: new products galore; Graph Expo 2008 is set to hit Chicago in October, where it will show off all the latest products and technologies for the converting and printing industries.(UPCOMING EVENTS)(Calendar)
September 1, 2008... Graph Expo 2008, one of the world's most comprehensive prepress, package printing, converting and digital equipment trade shows, will descend upon Chicago's McCormick place on Oct. 26-28. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Visitors will witness...

See it all at CPP Expo: visitors to the co-located CPP Expo 2008 can look forward to observing the entire packaging supply chain.(UPCOMING EVENTS)(Calendar)
September 1, 2008... Already in its fifth year, the Converting & Package Printing Expo is billing itself as the premiere event for professionals in the converting/packaging market This includes flexible packaging, folding carton/boxmaking, corrugated converting,...

Peeling back the many layers of extrusion: flexible packaging talks to Kiefel about the contradictions of multi-layer films and the new technologies involved in developing them.(UP CLOSE)(Interview)
September 1, 2008... Q: THERE SEEMS TO BE TWO CONTRARY TRENDS--PACKAGERS ARE DEMANDING HIGHER PERFORMANCE FOR THEIR FILMS, WHICH MEANS MORE MULTI-LAYER LINES. YET THEY ALSO WANT SIMPLER STRUCTURES THAT ARE MORE SUSTAINABLE HOW DOES KIEFEL ADDRESS THESE TWO DEMANDS?...

Surface pressure mapping helps R&D and quality control.(HOT PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2008... Tactilus, a surface pressure mapping technology, comprises a matrix-based tactile surface sensor element, software and electronic hub that plugs right into any Windows-compatible computer or laptop. The sensor element is essentially an...

UV-resistant film suitable for outdoor labels.(HOT PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2008... DPM CVE is a new ultraviolet-resistant velvet embossed polyolefin film overlaminate for outdoor durable labels, which can be used in the chemical or fertilizer markets. DPM CVE is coated with a permanent acrylic adhesive that, like the film...

Adhesive offers clarity and coating speed.(HOT PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2008... Covinax 210, an acrylic polymer-based formula, offers optical clarity of a solvent-based adhesive and can be used on any application that requires a transparent adhesive. It also competes with water-based formulas on coating speeds. Covinax 210...

Tank-mounted viscosity rotary punching modules speed production of airlaid materials.(HOT PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2008... Rotary punching modules specifically designed for airlaid materials, including bubble wrap or absorbent food pads, are now capable of producing clear hole perforation patterns with a small-hole diameter at high production speeds. Specific hole...

Rotary screen inks add pop in combination-print applications.(HOT PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2008... Free of volatile organic compounds, these inks are available in Pantone base colors, are suitable for combination printing and can be used on all types of substrates. Durable and with reliable opacity, these inks work well with beverage, health...

Flat screen head web printing module opens up new narrow web markets.(HOT PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2008... A new modular flat screen head web printing module, designed with an open architecture, integrates with any narrow web printing machine, including flexographic and digital. Flat screen printing technology is less parts-, labor- and...

New LED light eases inspection of webs.(HOT PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2008... The Pocket Pixel is a pocket-sized, battery-powered pulsed LED light for high-speed inspection applications in printing and converting plants, which doubles the output of any other LED strobe in its class. The Pixel uses its unique reflector...

Fiber cores are now RFID-enabled.(HOT PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2008... Sonoco and IPICO jointly created radio frequency identification/RFID-enabled cores designed specifically for the paper industry. The new fiber cores allow customers to automatically identify, track, and locate paper rolls at any point in the...

Additive masterbatches improve light stabilization.(HOT PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2008... CESA-natur light masterbatches provide light stabilization in both conventional polymers and biopolymers. They can also function as an ultraviolet filter to protect the contents of packaging made of bioplastics such as polylactic acid (PLA)....

Brake/safety chuck package fits range of roll shafts.(HOT PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2008... A new V-KL high-performance integrated brake/safety chuck package offers roll users safe and solid capture of roll goods. The package is the V-Series brake and the KL-Series safety chuck. It includes quick-connect power supply, fits a range of...

Sensor removes for easy cleaning.(HOT PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2008... With removable wetted parts, the MXBOC Viscosity Sensor is a tank-mounted device suitable for both water- and solvent-based applications--such as printing, glues and adhesives--that operates at atmospheric pressure. It works with tanks between...

Solventless laminating adhesive cuts curing time to four hours.(HOT PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2008... Mor-Free L75-164 is a two-part solventless laminating adhesive for a range of applications, including retort and hot fill. Mor-Free L75-164 cures in about three to five days. It also offers a same-shift second pass, so customers can slit within...

Tension air brakes help upgrade unwind operations.(HOT PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2008... The newest Tension Air Brake is engineered to be easily used with CAC's ShaftLok safety shaft holders for a complete unwind upgrade, but may also be integrated with less advanced, traditional shaft holders. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

Single-unit pad plugs suspend and protect rolls.(HOT PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2008... Pad plugs with roll suspension performance protect roll products from damage during shipping and storage. Available in a variety of styles, including stock sizes up to 16 inches square, these pad plugs suspend and protect small- to medium-sized...

New mandrel system adapts to different core sizes.(HOT PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2008... The Instant Diameter Change (IDC) mandrel system can be retrofitted to most any vintage of Appleton core cutter to provide quick changeover between different core diameters. The IDC system adapts to different core sizes by using interchangeable...

Micro-grooved idler rolls help control webs.(HOT PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2008... To provide better web control, these idler rolls feature hundreds of precision-machined grooves so air can escape from between the roll and web. This unique roll finish improves web tracking and reduces web drift, slippage and web marking,...

PET UV absorber prevents yellow haze.(HOT PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2008... The polyester (PET) ultraviolet (UV) absorber CrystalClear 603192-PT improves upon standard PET UV technology by not resulting in a yellow haze. A smaller percentage of CrystalClear provides the same level of UV absorption at lower cost, since...

OPP film reduces weight with two-layer lamination.(HOT PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2008... Metallyte UBW-ES, a new OPP film for flexible packaging, achieves weight reduction benefits by using a two-layer lamination. With this simplified approach, a lamination layer is removed, which results in an efficient converting process, reduced...

Single-serve milk rebrands with new shrink-sleeve labels.(EDITOR'S CHOICE)
September 1, 2008... Darigold Inc. recently reintroduced its single-serve milk line-up with colorful, redesigned labels printed and converted by the Seal-It division of Printpack Inc. The milk line is available in six flavors in a new, larger sized ergonomically...

Microwavable tray/lid package steams foods.(EDITOR'S CHOICE)
September 1, 2008... A microwavable tray/lid package for steaming produce is the newest addition to the award-winning Simple Steps line of heat-and-serve packaging from Sealed Air's Cryovac brand. The Simple Steps Lidstock package is comprised of a clear, rigid...

Roasting bags available for moderate to high oven temperatures.(EDITOR'S CHOICE)
September 1, 2008... The new Flavorseal Ovenable Roasting Bags offer food processors vacuum-sealable cook-in bags for roasting at moderate to high oven temperatures. The bag is suitable for a range of products, including raw and pre-cooked poultry, pre-cooked ham...