PACKAGING BRIEFS Thursday, Jan. 19

ConAgra Foods buys Del Monte Canada
Sun Capital Partners Inc., a leading private investment firm specializing in leveraged buyouts and investments in market-leading companies, has sold its affiliated portfolio company Del Monte Canada, the market leader in packaged fruit and tomatoes in Canada, to ConAgra Foods, one of North America's leading food companies. An affiliate of EG Capital Group LLC, a New York-based consumer-focused private equity firm, will also sell its minority stake in Del Monte Canada as part of the transaction. The agreement includes the sale of all Del Monte-branded packaged fruit and vegetable products, as well as Aylmer tomato products, a manufacturing facility in Dresden, Ontario, and the company's headquarters in Canada.

Caraustar hires new ops director of Recoverd Fiber Group
Michelle Thornhill has joined Caraustar as operations director of the Recovered Fiber Group, effective Jan. 9, 2012. She comes to Caraustar from SP Newsprint/SP Recycling Corp., where she most recently held the position of vp/general manager SP Recycling Corp. Thornhill also held the positions of regional controller at SP Newsprint Corp. and administrative manager/controller with Rock-Tenn's (formerly MeadWestvaco) Stevenson, AL, mill.

Paperboard Packaging Council hires new director of industry benchmarking
The Paperboard Packaging Council has hired Brian Chaisson as director of industry benchmarking. A graduate of Merrimack College with a degree in mathematics, Chaisson was previously a quality assurance analyst at IKON Office Solutions and most recently was a sales analyst at Ricoh Americas Corp., where he analyzed and forecasted sales and provided trends reporting to sales managers. At the PPC, Chaisson is responsible for gathering industry information from members, analyzing the data, creating the reports and then disseminating the results. He will also be the staff liaison for the Industry Benchmarking Committee.

InterTech Technology Awards 2012 competition is now open
Printing Industries of America is now accepting nominations for the 2012 InterTech Technology Awards. These awards honor the development of technologies predicted to have a major impact on the graphic communications and related industries. Entries will be accepted online to streamline the nomination process. Vendors can submit all necessary information at www.printing.org/intertechentries. The deadline for entry is June 8, 2012, but those entering by Mar. 31, 2012, will receive a $500 discount on their entry fee. For more info about the InterTech Technology Awards, call 800-910-4283, x710 (412-259-1710 outside the U.S.) or email [email protected].

Automation industry umbrella group changes name to better reflect mission
The umbrella trade association for the Robotic Industries Assn. (RIA), AIA and the Motion Control Assn. (MCA) has changed its name from the Automation Technologies Council to the Assn. for Advancing Automation (A3). "The new name more accurately reflects our mission, which is to be the global advocate for the benefits of automation," says Jeff Burnstein, president of A3.

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