A consortium of 48 European companies and organisations has been
formed to launch a cooperative research and development initiative
aimed at finding new steel production processes that would
drastically reduce CO2 and other greenhouse...
The Australian Institute of Packaging has held a forum addressing
government moves to introduce stricter accountability for recycling
and the impact it will have on the industry. Speakers pointed out
challenges such as recycling often...
DMV International, the industrial ingredients division of Campina,
is investing €57 million in its whey processing and food ingredient
facilities in Veghel, the Netherlands as part of the group's
overall strategy to concentrate...
Increases in European steel values have made the EU the most
expensive market in the world, with inevitable consequences for the
region's packaging industry. Anthony Fletcher reports.
The Florida Consumer Action Network (FCAN) on Wednesday added its
voice to the chorus calling for the FTC to examine the McNeil
Nutritionals led advertising campaign for the artificial sweetener
Splenda, writes Philippa Nuttall.
Almost three times the volume of RFID tags will be sold in 2006
than over the previous 60 years since their invention, claims a new
report from technology analyst IDTechEx.
Warburtons has laid down the gauntlet to its mainstream UK rivals
by developing white bread with a low glycaemic index as both
consumers and producers become more aware of the benefits 'GI' can
have in controlling diabetes,...
Savi Technology has unveiled a new "tag and ship" offering enhanced
with components from Symbol Technologies and Zebra Technologies
that enables suppliers to quickly and cost-effectively meet new
EPC-compliant, passive RFID...
UK-based Mount Packaging has installed Coriolis flow measurement
technology in order to provide continuous quality enhancements in
the manufacture of automated filling systems.
China is becoming more than just a low-cost manufacturing
destination; its firms are locating in Germany as a means of
gaining access to the EU market and tapping into technical
know-how, writes Anthony Fletcher.
US baker Oroweat is set to launch a completely sugar free bread in
selected American states, again highlighting how the battering
handed out to sugar over rising obesity and diabetes problems has
given new life to artificial sweeteners,...
Kairos, the Moscow-based frozen food producer, will open a second
processing line at its Novo-Mar processing facility early next
month, dedicated to fish and seafood products. The second line will
begin production six months ahead...
The proliferation of RFID technology and the potential of new
products such as electronic self-adjusting sell-by labels should
create a lasting boom in the high-tech label market, argues Peter
Harrop from technology analyst IDTechEx.
United Natural Foods is establishing a standardised approach to
data integration for real-time business visibility within its
retail, logistics and supply chain operations in order to better
manage its margins.
The Dutch company Schoeller Wavin Systems and the Swedish firm Arca
Systems are forming a new group that will become the world's
largest manufacturer of plastic returnable packaging for material
handling.
High-volume moulding specialist Sherwood Plastic Products has
selected Sherwood Technology's DataLase Masterbatch to code
tamper-evident polypropylene plug seals for containers used in the
distribution industry.
Pressure-sensitive labels and flexible packaging manufacturer Label
Technology has installed two of Advanced Vision Technology (AVT)'s
PrintVision/Jupiter automatic inspection systems to improve quality
for their narrow web applications.
Tyson Foods, the world's largest producer of beef and chicken,
plans to resume production at several idled beef plants over the
next two weeks as supplies are expected to improve in the coming
months.
Norwegian group Orkla has expressed interest in takeovers beyond
its $1.76 billion bid for aluminium packaging manufacturer Elkem
after it reported a stronger than expected 25 per cent rise in
fourth quarter-core earnings.
RPC plans to showcase its latest innovations in rigid plastics
packaging, including an alternative to the tin can for food
applications, at Interpack 2005.
Nova Chemicals is to expand its Arcel mouldable foam resin
manufacturing capacity to 100 million pounds per year by the end of
2006 to meet soaring demand.
The Altay-Batyushka brand from Russia's Hleb Altaya (Altay Bread)
group has been voted the best food product from the Altay region,
the bread basket of Russia. Angela Drujinina reports.
The National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) in the US has
passed an 11-point directive that ties the reopening of live cattle
trade with Canada to other unresolved trade issues, such as the
reopening of Japan, South Korea...
Windmöller & Hölscher has launched a new gravure press range
designed to meet current demands for excellent print quality
combined with high productivity.
Basell has developed a new polypropylene random copolymer, Clyrell
RC 1314 resin, designed to address growing demand for
high-performance transparent blown film.
A trial initiative in the UK suggests that the use of radio waves
to rapidly seal materials, enabling conventional plastics to be
economically replaced with recyclable and biodegradable
alternatives, has a bright future.
Norwegian group Orkla has revised its takeover bid for aluminium
group Elkem in order to make it more attractive to shareholders,
including US metal packaging giant Alcoa.
Alcan has appointed a new executive vice president, while Finnish
packaging manufacturer Huhtamaki has reinforced its group head
office with a couple of executive appointments.
Packaging coding specialist Alpha Dot has introduced a bar code
validation unit in order to help manufacturers achieve complete
supply chain accountability.
Three members of the team that developed the new packaging material
used in the Tetra Recart system have won the Swedish forest
industry's Marcus Wallenberg Prize for 2005.
A new nutrition bar chart on every pack of Kellogg's breakfast
cereal, enabling Britain's consumers to check salt, sugar and fat
content against guideline daily amounts, may cause confusion amid
too many conflicting systems,...
German retailer Metro is planning to start applying radio frequency
identification (RFID) tags, with improved performance and
capability, to cartons and cases in the fourth quarter of 2005.
The company that makes the proprietary, corn-based plastic resins
marketed under the NatureWorks PLA will be known as NatureWorks LLC
from this month onwards.
Tyson Foods said yesterday that the temporary suspension of
operations at some Tyson Foods beef plants will continue through 12
February and may extend beyond that date, underlining the ongoing
precarious state of the US beef industry.
Information Resources (IRI) says that the results from its ongoing
Six Sigma data quality initiatives will allow it to provide faster,
more accurate, and more actionable market information to companies
such as PepsiCo.
Tetra Pak has launched what it claims is the world's first
microwavable aseptic package, a potentially lucrative breakthrough
in the ever-growing ready meals market.
Metal packaging manufacturer Corus says that EU recycling targets
are achievable, but believes more investment in the UK's collection
infrastructure is needed. Anthony Fletcher reports.
Poland's EU membership will present new opportunities for packaging
companies as food producers look to increase the amount of packaged
food on the market, in order to meet higher standards and take
advantage of a richer population...
The continued ban by many countries on US beef exports and
increasing pork prices has forced Tyson Foods to forecast that its
full-year earnings would be lower than expected.
Lantech is introducing a new touchscreen control for all its
automated stretch wrap systems, which it claims offers a number of
productivity advantages.
Chr Hansen's vice president explains why the group is launching an
innovative and highly unusual marketing campaign across Eastern
Europe, and tells us what he hopes to learn from the experience.
Anthony Fletcher reports.