PACKAGING BRIEFS Thursday, Dec. 1

Clorox settles lawsuit over under-filled bleach bottles
The Clorox Co. has agreed to pay $200,000 to settle a consumer protection lawsuit brought by five counties, including Sonoma County, over under-filled bleach bottles. The action centered on two products sold from 2008 to 2010: anti-allergen bleach and cold-water bleach. Prosecutors said bottles were filled only 80 percent in violation of California's Fair Packaging and Labeling Act. Oakland-based Clorox agreed to the judgment without admitting liability. The judgment includes an injunction that prohibits Clorox from selling any household bleach product that is packaged in such a way as to be misleading, deceptive or that contains any unnecessary headspace.

Refresco France, PepsiCo France and Sidel jointly receive award for efficient and clean technology
Refresco France, PepsiCo France and Sidel have jointly been awarded first prize in the category of "Efficient and Clean Technology" at the Prix Entreprises et Environnement (Enterprise and Environment Awards) in France. Sidel's main contribution to the award was the installation of its latest dry-decontamination technology for bottling beverages, the Combi Predis/Capdis FMa, at Saint-Alban-Les-Eaux, a Refresco France plant where Lipton Ice Tea drinks are bottled for PepsiCo France. The award also embraces the ecological design of the bottles used by Refresco France, especially its choice of using 50 percent recycled PET. As a result of all these innovations, the Refresco France plant is now saving more than 1,700 tons of CO₂ equivalent, 38,000 cubic meters of water, 2.5 million kWh of energy and more than 400 tons of virgin PET every year.

PacMoore plants receive "A" safety rating
Contract manufacturer PacMoore recently completed its annual BRC audit performed by SAI Global Assurances Services. Both PacMoore facilities in Indiana met the requirements of the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety, achieving an "A" rating ensuring safe, quality processes and products.

Huhtamaki continues foodservice packaging expansion
Huhtamaki, a global leader in foodservice and paperboard packaging, has acquired Ample Industries Inc., a privately held manufacturer of folding paperboard cartons for the foodservice industry. Ample employs approximately 230 people in its Franklin, OH, plant and adds to Huhtamaki North America a new product technology, a talented workforce and additional manufacturing presence in the Midwest. Huhtamaki also announced plans to expand capacity in the paper drink cup and pressed paperboard plate businesses for foodservice and retail customers in North America.

Datalogic acquires PPT Vision Inc.
The U.S. subsidiary of Datalogic S.p.A.—a manufacturer of bar code readers, data collection mobile computers, RFID and vision systems—has bought PPT Vision Inc., a U.S. manufacturer of machine vision solutions for nearly 30 years, for $5.2 million. The acquisition will help Datalogic strengthen its presence in the market of artificial vision, which features a high growth potential within the industrial automation field.

Surging demand for innovation services leads to record expansion for NineSigma
NineSigma, a pioneer in "open innovation," has had a record year of expansion. In 2011, the company added an office in Australia and hired a number of new people, as well. They include vp of NineSigma Australia Darren Coomber, sales executives Marcel Zillig (Germany), George Vincent (UK), Marcus Brady and Stephen Fanjoy (Canada), plus nine other strategy, sales and delivery resources across the business. NineSigma has completed more than 2,000 innovation projects—with nearly a quarter of them related to packaging—and solution providers have submitted more than 30,000 proposals on everything from materials to prevent chocolate from melting, to direct green laser technologies for automotive applications.

Fragrance pump wins luxury packaging award
MeadWestvaco Corp., global leader in packaging, has been awarded the prestigious Formes de Luxe magazine Readers' Prize for its packaging solution in Puig's Antonio Banderas Secret fragrance. Readers of Formes de Luxe, a bilingual publication devoted to luxury packaging, voted the MWV Melodie Clikit IP pump the year's most outstanding packaging innovation at Luxe Pack Monaco 2011.

Weidenhammer opens new plant in England
The Weidenhammer Packaging Group—Europe's leading supplier of composite cans, composite drums and plastic containers—completed construction on its newest plant in Bradford, West Yorkshire, in July 2011. WPG invested more than £10 million in the expansion of its Weidenhammer U.K. subsidiary. In early 2012, the company plans to launch production of high-quality plastic packaging based on in-mold labeling technology in at the 11,000-square-meter Bradford plant.

New partnership to expand use of eye tracking in consumer goods market research
Tobii Technology, the global market leader in eye tracking and eye control, has partnered with Friedman Consumer Opinion Centers, an independent subsidiary of GfK Group, one of the largest market research groups in the world. The agreement will provide customizable eye-tracking solutions by combining Tobii Insight and Friedman data collection services to support a range of comprehensive studies of consumer packaged goods, in-store purchase decisions and more.

D&W Fine Pack acquires major Chicago-based packaging group
D&W Fine Pack LLC, a leader in the foodservice packaging industry, has acquired CM Packaging Group, a manufacturer of rigid plastic thermoformed containers and aluminum containers serving the restaurant, grocery, bakery, produce and food processor markets. The acquisition advances the D&W strategy to be a national supplier of foodservice containers and other products serving the food processor, foodservice and food packaging markets. The CM Packaging Group's business complements the D&W product offering, with both stock and custom products, and adds five manufacturing locations. Total revenue for D&W is now approaching $400 million. The company employs 1,600 and operates from 11 locations in the U.S. and Canada.

American Packaging Corp. wins "Best of the Best" award and completes plant expansion
Printing Industries of America has awarded American Packaging Corp. the Best Workplace in the Americas designation, Best of the Best 2011, for its exemplary human resources practices. The Best Workplace award was originally created to specifically honor printing companies that provide an overall positive work environment with the top designation of "Best of the Best" recognizing employers who have established a superior, long time commitment to the needs of its employees as well as the continual improvement of their business. Winning companies demonstrate their responsibility to provide a safe work environment, encourage personal goals and ambitions, promote wellness and life balance, as well as meet the objectives of the company. Applicants were judged on eight criteria: Management Practices; Work Environment; Training and Development Opportunities; Financial Security; Workplace Health and Safety; Work-Life Balance; Recognition and Rewards; and Health and Wellness Programs.

American Packaging Corp. also recently completed its $17.5 million plant expansion at its rotogravure printing and laminating facility in Columbus, WI. The project included the purchase of several new pieces of equipment, facility upgrades and an additional 100,000-sq-ft of operating space.

Crown launches sustainability report
Crown Holdings Inc., a leading supplier of metal packaging products worldwide, has released its first sustainability report. Titled "Creating an Infinitely Bright Future," the report combines industry and internal data with focused case studies to highlight how the company is addressing the three pillars of sustainability—economic, environmental and social —through its innovations, operations and people. The full report can be downloaded at www.crowncork.com/sustainability.

Preferred Packaging and Container joins Paperboard Packaging Council
Preferred Packaging and Container of Phoenix, AZ, has joined the Paperboard Packaging Council (PPC) as a principal member. Established in 1988, Preferred Packaging and Container is a leading corrugated carton, fabricated foam and wooden crate manufacturer. Its goal is to become a complete packaging source for the Arizona market by adding folding cartons to its already diverse manufacturing capabilities.

Forbes names Packsize one of America's Most Promising Companies
Packsize Intl. LLC—a company that delivers on-demand, customized packaging solutions—holds position No.60 on the Forbes' list of America's Most Promising Companies, which features 100 privately held up-and-comers with compelling business models, strong management teams, notable customers, strategic partners and precious investment capital.

Canadian paper packaging mills achieve sustainability milestone: "Chain-of-Custody" certification
PPEC, the national trade association representing the environmental interests of the Canadian paper packaging industry, has announced a major achievement: All but one of its member mills have already received (or have publicly committed to achieving) independent, third-party certification that they use responsible sources of paper fiber to make the board they sell for conversion into boxes, bags or cartons. The member mill companies that have already received (or have publicly committed to achieving) certification are Atlantic Packaging, Cascades Boxboard, Cascades Papiers Kingsey Falls, Cascades East Angus, Norampac, Kruger Packaging, MeadWestvaco, New Forest Paper, RockTenn and Sonoco.

Package-manufacturing building joins list of historic places in Chicago
A former package-manufacturing building has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The Creamery Package Manufacturing Co. headquarters was built in 1926. The firm had become one of the major dairy industry support companies by the turn of the century. The National Park Service listed the building on Nov. 8, 2011, and its inclusion was announced by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, which administers the National Register program in Illinois.

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