Supplier Side
Microtaggant particles indicate whether packages are compromised.Particles Make Plastic Package Adulteration Evident
With heavy pressure on brands to validate product safety due to recent recalls, Chroma Corp. (McHenry, IL), an additives and colorants manufacturer, has introduced traceable covert plastic particles that are adulteration and counterfeit evident.
Called Microtaggant identification particles, the microscopic encoded particles can be incorporated in thermoplastic compounds for plastic items such as packaging. The particles act as “fingerprints” that can be read with handheld scanners to determine that the correct material was used in a package.
“In its basic form, the Microtaggant is a unique numeric code sequence in a multiple-colored layer format,” says Stuart D. Swain, Chroma’s regional sales manager. “In its more complex form, the Microtaggant delivers multiple layers of security through the incorporation of several nanotaggant technologies in a single microscopic particle, resulting in multiple levels of security.”
He continues, “A unique Microtaggant-coded sequence is registered to each customer or application and will never be used for any other customer or purpose. A quick, simple, nondestructive test is all that is needed to test the parts and find out if they contain the correct resin, compound, or alloy—or if they have been compromised.”
DieterBakic Packaging Now Made in the U.S.A.
DieterBakic
specializes in standard-
packaging lines such as Josephine.
Germany-based packaging supplier and designer DieterBakicEnterprises (Munich) announced that it now has access to a network of North American production facilities. By producing packaging in the United States, the company hopes to save time and costs for its North American clients.
Projects based in the United States will be overseen by DieterBakic’s offices in New York and California. In some cases, parallel production lines will be run in both Europe and the United States.
Packages such as DieterBakic’s new 400-ml Josephine bottle can now be produced in the United States. The bottle is an addition to the supplier’s Josephine standard packaging line , which also includes a 250-ml bottle and tottles in sizes of 200 ml, 9 oz, and 10 oz.
Simulation Technology Makes Fragrance Bottle Molding Quicker, Cheaper
Dassault’s software lets glass-bottle molders virtually determine optimum blow-molding conditions.
Dassault Systèmes (Paris) announced that Glass Service Improve BV (The Netherlands), a glass-molding-solutions provider, is using Dassault’s Simulia glass-forming software to help its clients mold glass bottles faster and cost-effectively.
The 3-D analysis software is called Abaqus Unified Finite Element Analysis (FEA). It enables designers to simulate the glass-forming process from beginning to end. Using the technology, designers can evaluate the optimum blow-molding process for a project in a virtual environment. The software ultimately reduces or eliminates the need for costly physical tests, allowing complex fragrance bottles to be produced more quickly and cost-efficiently, says Dassault.
“New container designs have traditionally been introduced through a trial-and-error process in a live production environment,” said Gerard de Leede, managing director for Glass Service Improve BV. “Increased market pressure has made the old process impractical. Simulia’s expertise and Abaqus Unified FEA software make it possible for our customers, such as [glass molder] Bormioli Luigi, to save money and shorten time to market for boutique glass designs like perfume bottles.”
Although the technology is not the only kind of “predictive simulation” system in the market, Simulia says that its innovative methods and customer service make its product competitive.