PACKAGING BRIEFS Thursday, July 28

Coca-Cola's Scott Vitters to headline IoPP conference sessions at PACK EXPO
On Mon., Sept. 26, 2011, Scott Vitters, sustainable packaging director at the Coca-Cola Co., will talk about what's next in sustainable packaging best practices-from the giant beverage company whose approach to green packaging initiatives is among the best in consumer packaged goods. This presentation is just one highlight of IoPP's three-day Learning Center Conference at PACK EXPO Las Vegas [packexpo.com]. Besides the latest on sustainability and packaging, sessions will include a discussion of serialization best practices and pharmaceutical products, total cost ownership and managing vendors, four update sessions from IoPP's Food Safety Alliance for Packaging Technical Committee and the ingredients for successful packaging innovation. Click here to see a complete schedule of conferences at PACK EXPO Las Vegas.

Braskem buys PP business from Dow, becomes leading PP producer in North America
Braskem, the leading resin producer in the Americas, has acquired the polypropylene business from The Dow Chemical Co. for $323 million. This grows Braskem's global footprint and establishes its PP leadership in the U.S. The deal includes two manufacturing plants in Texas and two in Germany, with a total annual polypropylene production capacity of 2.3 billion pounds. The plants in the U.S. will increase Braskem's PP capacity by 50 percent in the region to an annual production capacity of 3.1 billion pounds. The two plants located in Germany, at the petrochemical complexes of Wesseling and Schkopau, have annual capacity of 1.2 billion pounds of polypropylene.

Automated Packaging Systems receives award for Top Work Places
Automated Packaging Systems-maker of bag packaging systems headquartered in Streetsboro, OH, with multiple plants in Cuyahoga and Portage Counties-has been recognized as one of the Top Work Places in Northeast Ohio. The company ranked fifth among companies with more than 500 employees in the area. The Top Work Places Award is determined by Workplace Dynamics and based on confidential survey results from employees. Criteria include how confident employees feel about their managers, do they feel appreciated and secure about their future, are they encouraged to make suggestions and are they happy with their pay, flexible hours and benefits. A summary of the survey results for Automated Packaging Systems is available here.

O-I names new president of Asia Pacific operations
Owens-Illinois Inc., the world's largest glass packaging maker, has named Steve Bramlage president of the company's Asia Pacific region. Bramlage succeeds Greg Ridder, who is leaving the company to pursue other interests. Bramlage brings an extensive financial background to his new position. Prior to his most recent role as general manager of O-I New Zealand, Bramlage served as vp of finance and treasurer at the company's world headquarters and vp of finance for O-I's European operations. Before joining O-I in 2006, Bramlage held roles in treasury and corporate finance at coatings company PPG Industries, pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly & Co. and Big Four accounting firm Ernst & Young. Bramlage, a certified public accountant, is a graduate of the University of Dayton. He holds an MBA from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

WD-40 can wins "Grand Award" in 2011 IMDA competition
CROWN Aerosol Packaging North America has received two "Excellence in Quality" awards, including the "2011 Grand Award" honor, from the Intl. Metal Decorators Assn. (IMDA) in recognition of its printing capabilities on limited-edition packaging for WD-40 Co.'s "Support Our Troops" campaign. The collectible series of aerosol cans were created to honor American military forces.

Bell opens new distribution center, plans to hire more than three dozen people
Bell Inc. enjoys growth milestones: new distribution center, new sales director and a lot of hiring. On July 15, 2011, the independent folding carton company opened a new 64,000-sq-ft distribution center in Sioux Falls, SD, designed to be compliant with stringent food-safety standards. With this new warehouse and business growth at its two plants in Sioux Falls, Bell is on a hiring spree, filling 30 new plant-floor positions, as well as eight administrative positions, including quality, engineering and sales positions. Helping to drive the company's continued aggressive growth strategy is its new director of sales, Robert Rosebraugh. Rosebraugh joins Bell from Graphics Packaging Intl., where he was sales manager for the Midwest region.

Constar launches new online stock container catalog
To make its award-winning packaging solutions more accessible to a wider pool of customers, Constar LLC has recently launched an online catalog on its website www.constar.net, featuring a range of stock PET bottles, jars and preforms developed for food and beverage applications. The online stock catalog helps prospective customers quickly and easily research and identify a packaging solution. Visitors can review an entire category or search by application, size/capacity and finish size.

Nestle achieves zero waste at U.K. plant
Nestle has achieved zero waste to landfill at its Kit Kat and Aero confectionery plant in York, U.K., ahead of schedule. In 2009, it set a target of zero total waste by 2015 for all 14 factories in the U.K. and Ireland. By achieving zero waste, the factory—which makes over a billion of the Kit Kat chocolate wafer bars and 183 million Aero chocolate bars each year—has reportedly saved nearly £120,000 a year due to removing landfill tax costs and reducing the number of skip lifts used by 70 percent. Nestle U.K. has also generated extra revenue by selling nearly 800 tonnes of leftover materials such as cardboard, plastics, metal, pallets and metallized film.

Sato changing to a holding-company structure
Sato-a leader in bar code printing, labeling and EPC/RFID solutions-is changing to a pure holding company structure effective Oct. 3, 2011. As a result of the newly formed holding company, Sato Holdings, six new subsidiary companies will be established: Sato Corp., Sato Communications Co. Ltd., Sato Printing Co. Ltd., Sato Techno Lab Co. Ltd., Sato Mechatronics Co. Ltd. and Sato Quality Assurance Co. Ltd. This decision enables SATO Holdings to delegate greater power and responsibility to its sales, production and management groups, and empowers them to assign capable employees to appropriate positions of responsibility. The structural corporate change also allows each subsidiary the flexibility to assign management resources in a swift and decisive way to respond to changing market conditions and profitable opportunities.

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