PACKAGING BRIEFS Thursday, Mar. 3

PPi Technologies earns sustainability award

PPi Technologies Group has won the prestigious EarthCharter U.S. Sustainability Award for 2011 in the Small Business Category. The company's ShotPak beverage stand-up pouch met or exceeded all 16 major principles of the EarthCharter. The University of Tampa MBA students recognized that the ShotPak pouch for ready-to-drink cocktails is petroleum based, does its job as a pouch and is then incinerated for energy at the end of the package life cycle.

Steve Mulder

Steve Mulder has joined Aagard as vp of operations. A packaging machinery veteran, Mulder most recently worked at Roberts Packaging as vp of sales and marketing, and before that at Bosch Packaging as vp of operations and engineering. At Aagard, he'll be responsible for engineering, project management, fabrication, assembly and purchasing. Aagard custom engineers and builds a variety of packaging machines, including case packers, cartoners and systems that create retail-ready packs.

Ampac named first American HD flexo certified printer
Ampac, a global leader in the retail, food, pet food, security and medical packaging markets, was named the first HD Flexo certified printer in the Americas by EskoArtwork. Ampac earned the distinction of being named as the first HD Flexo certified printer through the implementation of EskoArtwork's HD Flexo High Definition Flexographic technology in the printing of flexible film in its Seattle facility. The process and use of HD digital flexographic technology provides high-resolution laser optics and advanced screening technologies to deliver extended color gamut, higher contrast, increased tonal range and smoother vignettes. HD Flexo printing uses these technologies to deliver 150-line screening at 4,000 dpi with a smaller dot size and imaging quality that rivals offset.

Dow creates Performance Plastics division, taps Ungerleider as exec to lead it
Howard Ungerleider, vp for Investor Relations, has been named svp for Dow, and president of the newly formed Performance Plastics division. The Performance Plastics Division will be comprised of all Dow plastics including Solution Polyethylene, Wire & Cable, Elastomers, Films and Packaging Resins. It will include the Packaging and Converting Unit that is currently part of the Advanced Materials division. Its focus will be on high value market driven solutions in applications such as Packaging, Hygiene, Food and Telecommunications. The division's formation reflects Dow's active portfolio management over the last two years that has resulted in the de-emphasis of its commodity plastics products, especially following the divestment of Styron.

Silgan completes pending European acquisitions
Silgan Holdings Inc. has completed its acquisition of Vogel & Noot Holding AG's metal can business. The Vogel & Noot business will operate under the name Silgan Metal Packaging and will continue to be headquartered in Vienna, Austria. Silgan Metal Packaging will operate 12 can manufacturing plants throughout Central and Eastern Europe, with three additional plants to become operational in the near term. The company has also completed its acquisition of the twist-off closure business of DGS S.A. in Poland. This business, which was acquired for EUR 15.8 million (or approximately $21.7 million), will operate as part of the Silgan White Cap Europe business headquartered in Hannover, Germany and will be integrated into the company's existing metal closure operations.

Clondalkin Group unveils new structure for European flexible packaging division
Clondalkin Group has revealed a new business structure for its flexible packaging division in Europe. The Business Unit structure will create greater cohesion between the division's eight operating companies across Europe; expertise and best practice will now be shared more smoothly within the newly-formed Business Units: Performance Films & Foils, Engineered Films, Laminated & Coated Products and Trading. CEO of the division, John Fitzgerald, says, "The changes will facilitate the appointment of a new management team who will use their vast collective experience of the packaging sector to ensure we remain at the forefront of the Flexible Packaging industry and continue to expand our business by creating innovative and high-quality products."

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