Supplier Side
Rexam Airspray Provides Foamer for Kids Line
Laboratorios Dermofarm, a Spanish company that markets the Imagicare children’s personal care line, launched a new hand soap in a foam dispenser. The dispenser was supplied by Rexam Airspray (Pompano Beach, FL).
The Imagicare soap is packaged in a box that doubles as a stand to set the dispenser on. The box also contains cleansing wipes, stickers, and pens for children.
TricorBraun Debuts Ultraclear Tubes
TricorBraun (St. Louis) has introduced new clarified-propylene tubes. According to the supplier, the transparency of the tubes’ plastic rivals that of rigid PET packages.
The tubes are manufactured in a two-step process by Weener Plastic Packaging Group. They offer a high-gloss surface and good barrier properties, according to TricorBraun.
New Plant Recycles Packaging
Packaging recycler Connecticut Metal Industries (CMI; Ansonia, CT) has opened a new facility specifically designed to handle in-plant scrap from the packaging industry.
At the facility, CMI will recycle production scrap from laminators, metallizers, contract packagers, label makers, and film manufacturers. It can handle scrap including foil, laminates, plastic films, and containers made from plastic, tin, or aluminum.
The firm announced it will also install equipment to recover materials from all types of RFID scrap. It aims to become the first dedicated recycler for RFID and embedded chips in North America.
“By providing a total recycling solution for the packaging industry, we hope to promote recycling at the plant level,” says Tom Mele, CMI’s president. “The cost savings in disposal fees, and in many cases, the value of the materials recovered, have provided a competitive advantage to many of our customers. In-house recycling of packaging materials is an essential first step in the sustainable-packaging agenda.”
New Facility Produces New Corn-Sugar Resin
In November, DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products LLC announced that its new Loudon, TN, facility is the first in the world to manufacture a product called Bio-PDO. Bio-PDO is unique propanediol material made from renewable resources such as corn sugar, instead of from petroleum-based feedstock.
To create Bio-PDO, the facility uses a proprietary fermentation process developed collaboratively by DuPont and Tate & Lyle. (DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products is a joint venture of DuPont and Tate & Lyle, which transforms corn, wheat, and sugar into packaging.) Compared with petroleum-based propanediol, the production of Bio-PDO consumes 40 percent less energy and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent. According to the company, production of 100 million pounds of Bio-PDO will save the energy equivalent of 10 million gallons of gasoline per year—or enough to fuel 22,000 cars annually.
The first shipments of Bio-PDO were sent to DuPont for the manufacture of its new Sonora polymer. DuPont Tate & Lyle also announced the launch of two new brands of Bio-PDO. Zemea is the Bio-PDO line for the personal care category. Features of Zemea include a high purity level. The other form of Bio-PDO, called Susterra, is geared toward industrial applications.
Risdon to Become Global Packaging Group
Risdon (Watertown, CT), a manufacturer of cosmetic packaging components, has been purchased by private investors so that it can be expanded into a global packaging group. According to the company, the new enterprise, Risdon International Inc., will offer broader product offerings in added markets such as Asia and Europe.
Risdon was purchased from Crown Holdings Inc.
Ampacet Offers Frosted, High-Gloss Masterbatches
Ampacet Corp. (Tarrytown, NY) has introduced two new masterbatches. The first was designed to create a frosted-glass look on PET bottles. The other enhances the glossiness of high-density polyethylene (HDPE).
Instead of using spray painting to give packaging a frosted look, Ampacet’s frosted masterbatch allows plastic processors to create a frosted look in-mold on stretch-blow-molded bottles, in one step. “Our estimates indicate that molded frosted plastic bottles cost at least 90 percent less than those that are painted,” says Stuart Swain, Ampacet’s market development specialist. The masterbatch can also be tinted to create colorful frosted effects.
Ampacet’s other new masterbatch, a color masterbatch named POP, enhances the inherent gloss of HDPE. According to Ampacet, combining POP and HDPE boosts gloss more than 200 percent over the level of gloss typically found in standard HDPE.
Continental Now Offers PLA
Continental Packaging Solutions (Chicago) is another supplier to recently add earth-friendly polylactic acid (PLA) packaging to its range. PLA is a corn-based material that can be turned into compost.
“This material is very versatile,” says Jim Gilbert, the company’s vice president. “We’ve seen the resemblance to PET, but what’s amazing is its ability to be molded into objects like makeup compacts—a concept that we’re eager to bring to our customers.”
New Laser Marking System from Videojet
Videojet Technologies has introduced a new laser marking system that the company says is the fastest laser coder in its class. The Videojet 3120 10-watt laser marking system has a marking speed of up to 1200 characters per second and line speeds of up to 10 m per second.
The system marks complex, multiline alphanumeric messages, foreign-language fonts, graphics, symbols, and machine-readable codes, including expiration and manufacture dates, bar codes, and lot codes. It can mark paperboard, PET, and other materials.
Travel-Sized Bottles Meet Current TSA Regulations
O. Berk Co. (Union, NJ) is offering companies a range of bottles whose sizes fall within current Transportation and Security Administration (TSA) requirements for carry-on airline baggage.
The supplier can provide PET and high-density polyethylene bottles in 2- and 3-oz sizes that are well within TSA’s 3.4-oz-or-less rule. The company also offers a variety of closures to accommodate the bottles, as well as pumps and sprayers.
Seidel Lauded by P&G
Procter & Gamble awarded its 2006 Innovation Award to supplier Seidel GmbH & Co. (Marburg, Germany). According to Seidel, the company was recognized for its proactive packaging solutions.
Seidel, a metal packaging specialist, manufactured the packaging for P&G Prestige Products’ Boss in Motion fragrance. It also provided components for Boss Skin, Hugo Energise, and Puma’s Create fragrances.