Breaking News on the Food and Drink Manufacturing Sector

Headlines > Packaging

Robotics or die: food manufacturers’ 10-year choice

28-Sep-2011 - UK food manufacturers have between just five to 10 years to adopt robotic technology or face terminal decline.

Heinz dismisses baked beans slowdown

26-Sep-2011 - Manufacturer Heinz has denied any slowdown in its sales, following news of a drop in demand at a tin can plant in Wales.

Sell-by “muddle” proves date labels need clarity

15-Sep-2011 - Food trade bodies have slammed the “muddled” publication of new government guidance on food date labelling, and called for more clarity on date labels.

Packaging in continuous motion

01-Sep-2011 - Italian manufacturer PFM Packaging Machinery is launching a new continuous motion vertical form-fill-seal machine developed to provide higher output for cost and space-saving stand-up bags used for direct on-shelf display of a range of food products.

Smart technology cracks code

01-Sep-2011 - Global product identification and traceability specialist Domino will introduce its latest i-Tech intelligent technology products to the UK market at the show.

Transmodule is packaging machine's flexible friend

01-Sep-2011 - The flexibility of Schubert's transmodule will be demonstrated at the PPMA show, where the TLM packaging machine will be shown as it packs the entire range of Scottish confectionery firm Tunnock's teacakes.

Packaging firms ignored safety warnings for 3 years

01-Sep-2011 - The directors of a Bolton-based, fast food packaging company have been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after ignoring safety warnings for more than three years.

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Get the F factor

01-Sep-2011 - The fashion factor is one of the reasons investing in packaging machinery remains a priority for the supplier, even with margins under pressure. Take a bag of nuts, for example. One-minute standard pillow bags are all the rage. The next step will be that it has to be a quad seal bag with four corners or a doy pak Fairtrade zipper bag, otherwise the supermarket will cancel the order.

More consolidation among machinery suppliers probable

01-Sep-2011 - Globalised markets are as much a factor as reduced sales in merger and acquisition (M&A) activity among packaging equipment manufacturers and suppliers, according to the industry association for the sector.

High-speed performance goes with the flowrapper

01-Sep-2011 - Ilpack will be showing packaging solutions that reduce operating costs and enhance performance, pack presentation and quality. New this year is the Delta 4000/3SS, a high-speed flowrapper with its own integrated zipper solution.

Novel plastic recycling gives food firms fuel for thought

22-Aug-2011 - A pioneering scheme to turn waste plastics into diesel could save food processing companies thousands of pounds.

Simulation software unwraps benefits for Cadbury

12-Aug-2011 - Improved productivity, reduced cardboard consumption and the elimination of waste have followed the installation of Witness simulation software at Kraft’s Cadbury plant in Bournville, according to the company.

Solar power solution to soaring energy bills

08-Aug-2011 - Suffolk veg packer and farming business Frederick Hiam is banking on significantly lower energy bills after installing a £1.5m solar power electricity generation system at its site near Brandon.

Unravel labels and packaging

01-Aug-2011 - The deep and complicated world of packaging and labelling regulations has been laid out in a new publication.

Coca-Cola: manufacturers will never win the battle of the biodegradeable bottle

01-Aug-2011 - Despite manufacturers' best efforts to become greener, fully biodegradeable plastic bottles and zero carbon emissions from factories are unlikely to ever become a reality, according to the head of corporate social responsibility and sustainability at Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE).

High impact strength CPET for frozen foods

01-Aug-2011 - For the first time, plastics converter Faerch Plast UK has said it is forming frozen food trays from a high-impact strength grade of crystalline polyethylene terephthalate (CPET) for better performance at low temperatures.

The future lies in multiple formats

01-Aug-2011 - The key to the future of thermoforming lies in base machine systems with the versatility to create different formats, from skin to shrink-style and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), according to Sealpac UK.

Wine cans upgraded to offer improved quality and choice

01-Aug-2011 - Dutch contract filler DIS has upgraded its wine-canning operation to provide greater choice in can sizes as well as better safeguards for the quality and shelf-life of the wines themselves.

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Micro-wave or macro-trend?

01-Jul-2011 - What role is in-pack industrial microwave processing likely to play in the future chilled ready meals market? Paul Gander talks to experts for and against this technology about the likelihood of its adoption in the UK.

Recycled PET demand only limited by collection rates

01-Jul-2011 - The use of bio-polyethylene terephthalate (bio-PET) by brand owners such as Coca-Cola is perfectly compatible with growth in demand for recycled PET (rPET), says converter and recycler APPE (formerly Artenius PET Packaging Europe). The firm says collection rates alone are restraining further increases in demand for food-grade recyclate.

Hide a bite under a plastic bottle

01-Jul-2011 - US firms Emergent Technologies and Plastic Technologies are packaging snacks in the base of a plastics drinks bottle.

Consumers value see-through packaging with simple messages, LFR

06-Jun-2011 - Getting food and drink packaging right is vital in encouraging consumers to engage with a product or brand and to ensure food safety, but what is the public looking for, and how are trends changing?

Skinpack key to vending success

01-Jun-2011 - International take-up of a ‘gourmet’ hot meal vending system is being fuelled by Sealed Air Cryovac’s retortable tray-and-skin vacuum pack, says the company.

News in brief

Prestige appeal of lighter bottles

01-Jun-2011 - Glass manufacturer Beatson Clark has provided Aspall with smaller, slimmer, lightweighted bottles in which to show off its range of 11 premium vinegars.

Fresh focus on overall equipment effectiveness

01-Jun-2011 - Food manufacturing and packaging firms may be investing less in new machinery, but they are looking to overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) analysis to hone their competitive edge, according to Bosch Packaging Technology.

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