Packaging equipment

Linpac's investment will help the business produce an extra 200M trays

Linpac invests £1.2M in food packaging kit

By Michael Stones

Fresh food packaging manufacturer Linpac plans to invest £1.2M in machinery that will enable the firm to produce a further 200M expanded polystyrene (EPS) trays each year at its St Helens site.

Robots can be reprogrammed for different applications

From automation to optimisation

By Paul Gander

Automation offers the opportunity to integrate control with background data, as Paul Gander discovers

Speciality Breads installs turnkey pack line

Speciality Breads installs turnkey pack line

By Rick Pendrous

Artisan baker Speciality Breads has opened a new £3M 3,000m2 factory in Margate, which features a fully automated turnkey packaging line producing around 1,000 cases of product a day.

Maltster Bairds upgrades its Inverness drive systems

Maltster Bairds upgrades its Inverness drive systems

By Rick Pendrous

Bairds Malt, which operates six malt houses across England and Scotland, supplying 250,000t of malt a year to the brewing and distillery sectors, has upgraded the drive systems at its processing facility in Inverness with the help of the Gibbons Engineering...

Derek Coulson warned most firms failed to address CE audits

EU machine compliance fears

By Paul Gander

Companies purchasing packaging machinery on the assumption that it meets CE-marking and other EU regulations should go through a rigorous pre-acceptance checklist with the supplier, according to one machine safety specialist, or risk facing prosecution...

PA tray sealers adopt SkinPAC technology

PA tray sealers adopt SkinPAC technology

Packaging Automation (PA) has extended its range of tray sealing machines and developed SkinPAC, the novel pack format for enhanced presentation, preservation and protection of fresh meat and fish products.

The accusations were made after undercover investigation by Channel 4 News

Migrant workers ‘abused’ at apple packing plant

By Alice Foster

Migrant workers, mainly from Romania, endure high-pressure work conditions and stay in “appalling” accommodation at an apple packing plant in Kent, Channel 4 News has claimed.

Ulma displays line automation skills

Ulma displays line automation skills

Visitors to Ulma’s stand at the Processing and Packaging Machinery Association show, which was staged at the National Exhibition Centre near Birmingham earlier this month (September 29 to October 1), would have been introduced to the company's line...

Alan Mutch said he knows of no-one else using this technology in this application

Modified atmosphere pack leak testing inline

By Paul Gander

Ineffective inline testing for leaks in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) can have any number of negative impacts, making a new high-speed system based on infra-red (IR) spectrometry one of the launches at this month’s Processing & Packaging Machinery...

Calver: Video content can have real value

Linking food and drink packs to social media

By Paul Gander

Drinks brands, and particularly premium brands, illustrate many of the ways in which packaging can interact more effectively with social media messaging and link with integrated marketing, according to one specialist.

Tamper-evident closure for food tubs and trays

Tamper-evident closure for food tubs and trays

A novel tamper-evident closure is available from Waddington Europe (Par-Pak) which prevents tampering and includes a ‘flag’ to indicate when products have been interfered with.

Russian tastes for snacks grows

Russian tastes for snacks grows

Four twin Ishida Atlas economy range ECO (Integrated Packaging Systems) are being used at KDV Group , Russia’s largest snack producer, to handle its growing production requirements.

Offline box feeder for flexibility

PPMA show preview

Offline box feeder for flexibility

In response to demand from food packers wanting to code secondary flat-pack boxes and cartons, Rotech will unveil its new RF-Box Feeder at the show. One of five exhibits on its stand, the RF-Box Feeder enables users to pre-mark flat cases prior to erection...

How did Taylors of Harrogate troublehsoot its problem?

Taylors of Harrogate reduces maintenance downtime

By Nicholas Robinson

Taylors of Harrogate has significantly reduced the maintenance downtown on its packaging lines after making minor adjustments to operations at its Harrogate manufacturing facility, the company’s shift manager John Hennighan said.

Coca-Cola Company is looking to simplify through mergers

CCE ‘in multi-billion pound merger talks’

By Nicholas Robinson

Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) has refused to confirm or deny whether it is in a three-way multi-billion pound discussion to combine its operations with two other European Coca-Cola bottling firms.

Customers want to buy Graze products online and in-store, says ceo Anthony Fletcher

Graze ceo: ‘going from clicks to bricks isn’t easy’

By Nicholas Robinson

Graze, the £68M turnover online snack manufacturer, had to make big changes to its manufacturing and operating systems after gaining listings with Sainsbury and Boots, its ceo Anthony Fletcher has said.

So far, Roll N Blow machines have been installed in Russia and Morocco

'Roll-and-blow' for thin-walled polypropylene bottles

By Paul Gander

The Roll N Blow container-forming technology, which rolls sheet into a tube, heats and blows it in a mould, can be used for polypropylene (including barrier structures) and allows new users to optimise outputs very quickly, according to the supplier.

Biscuit firms could benefit from fragile packaging machine

Fast and gentle packaging of biscuits

One of the Balkans’ largest confectionery companies, Evropa based in Macedonia, has purchased a ‘Gentle Slope’ CCW multi-head weigher from Ishida Europe to handle the fragile biscuit products the firm manufactures.

Investment at Aspall is paying off for the Suffolk firm

Investment brings more control for Aspall

By Laurence Gibbons

Cider manufacturer Aspall’s widespread investment programme has helped it gain more control over its business, according to its boss.

Baxters was fined £6,000 for safety failings

Baxters fined £6,000 for worker’s accident

By Michael Stones

Soups, sauces and spreads manufacturer Baxters has been fined £6,000, after one of its workers suffered serious injury when his hand was caught between a conveyor belt and roller.

Label dispenser rated for IP69K

Label dispenser rated for IP69K

The latest LD label dispensers from Multivac Marking & Inspection are optionally available for use under strict hygiene requirements, or for use in low-risk areas.

The cartoner uses energy-efficient servomotors

Anuga FoodTec 2015

Bosch launches speedy carton machine

By Rod Addy

Breakfast cereal manufacturers and frozen pizza suppliers have access to cartoning technology that can slash changeover times and maintain consistently high yields, courtesy of Bosch Packaging Technology.

Panesar Foods makes more than 750 branded and own-label products

Panesar Foods invests £9M to create 30 jobs

By Rod Addy

Panesar Foods is investing almost £9M in the expansion of its West Bromwich sauce manufacturing business, creating at least 30 jobs and potentially boosting its turnover.

Single-serve container extends fruit shelf-life

Single-serve container extends fruit shelf-life

Last month during the Fresh Produce trade show in Berlin, Baltimore Innovations introduced the Fresh-R-Pax ‘mini-container’, which features absorbent technology to improve the quality and extend the shelf-life of fresh cut fruit, to the European market.

Grape packer boosts efficiency

Grape packer boosts efficiency

Evesham-based Valefresh, part of the Fresca Group, has improved the efficiency of its grape tray sealing line, while reducing costs, following the introduction of a Revolution tray sealer from Packaging Automation (PA).

Crisp firm’s new packaging kit

Mackie’s Crisps installs new kit

Scottish crisp manufacturer Mackie’s Crisps is using three Ishida Integrated Total Packaging Systems (iTPSs) to produce snacks at its new factory at Inchcoonans in Errol, Perthshire.

BPA is used in food and drink container coatings

Scientists rubbish BPA safety levels

By Nicholas Robinson

A European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) health assessment of bisphenol A (BPA) has been rubbished by scientists in Denmark, who say consumers aren’t adequately protected.

Noble Foods's new Standlake facility joins others in Lincolnshire and Fife

Noble Foods constructs a new egg packing centre

By Rick Pendrous

Noble Foods has completed the construction of a £10M egg-packing centre in Oxfordshire, which is now providing up to 14.4M free-range eggs a week to the UK’s leading supermarkets.

Eurilait installed high care and low care sections on the ground floor of the newly created mezzanine

Eurilait pumps cash into dairy plant

By Rod Addy

Eurilait has invested thousands of pounds in extra cutting and packing space and staff services at its Somerset dairy facility.

Moy Park has installed a regenerative thermal oxidiser

Nasty niffs reduced at Moy Park's Grantham factory

By Rick Pendrous

An odour abatement project involving the design, construction, erection and commissioning of a regenerative thermal oxidiser has been completed at Moy Park’s poultry processing facility at Grantham in Lincolnshire to ensure the company remains on good...

The ageing population will provide an opportunity for packaging firms

Benchmarking ease-of-opening

By Paul Gander

A draft standard on packaging openability is allowing brand-owners and retailers, including Marks & Spencer (M&S), to compare and improve pack designs for less dextrous people.

Faccenda's Telford plant can currently process and supply 1.2M birds a week to customers

Faccenda ups efficiency with training and robotics

By Rod Addy

Faccenda has invested in robotics and training to increase production efficiency and slash waste at its new Telford factory, according to Catherine Gormley, general manager of the site.

Smooth operator: Robots offer the UK food industry clear benefits but update remains disappointingly low

Better hygiene compliance for food packing-line robots

By Paul Gander

Robotics suppliers have made a strong case for food industry acceptance with a new generation of hygiene and washdown-compliant pick-and-place systems, but the jury is still out as to whether this will translate into new sales.

Box labeller for wet and dry food applications

Box labeller for wet and dry food applications

A box and crate labeller from Marel has been upgraded to extend its use to wet seafood processing environments. A waterproof chassis and indicator has been added to the OCM9500 so that it can withstand full washdown to IP69K, subject to the printer being...

Recloseable screw cap packs for soups and sauces

Recloseable screw cap packs for soups and sauces

A recloseable screw cap is now being used to provide greater convenience when opening carton packs, and when pouring and portioning out long-life foods such as soups, sauces, tomato products and desserts.