PACKAGING BRIEFS July 5, 2011

Packaging Hall of Fame nominations deadline extended to July 15
Packaging Hall of Fame recognizes career packaging professionals for their significant contributions to the industry and packaging education. The honor, which PMMI coordinates, has been awarded annually since 1971. Nominations for the individuals who have dedicated himself or herself to the industry through expanding knowledge and volunteer leadership can be submitted electronically at the PMMI website. Deadline for nominations is July 15.

11th Intl Conference on Web Handling concludes, announces best papers
The Eleventh Intl Conference on Web Handling (IWEB 2011) was held on June 12-15, 2011. The conference, a forum for engineers and scientists to exchange technical information on concepts and innovations in web handling is held every other year and is sponsored by the Web Handling Research Center at OSU and its Industrial Sponsors; 3M Company, Bruckner Inc., Avery Dennison, DuPont, Goss Intl, Kimberly-Clark, Mitsubishi Polyester Film, Inc., Procter & Gamble, and Rockwell Automation. Keynote presentations were made by Dr. Günther Brandenburg, program committee member of the SPS/IPC/DRIVES Automation Conference held annually in Nuremberg, Germany, and a member of the IEEE Industry Applications and Industrial Electronics Societies on the Advanced Process Models and Control Strategies for Rotary Printing Presses, and by Dr. Marko Jorkama, research manager for Metso Paper who holds 10 domestic and 3 international patents, has authored 10 journal publications and 15 conference papers, about Winder Vibration: Causes, Defects, and Remedies. Best paper awards went to Dilwyn Jones, Michael McCann and Steven Abbott, Emral Ltd, UK, for Web Tension Variations Caused by Temperature Changes and Slip on Rollers; Jerry Brown, Essex Systems, USA , for The Use of Conservation of Mass in Modeling; and Kevin Cole, Optimation Technology, Inc. for Measurement and Modeling of 2-D and 3-D Web Feed Rates in Rubber Covered Nip Roller Applications.

Labelexpo wins Marketing Campaign of The Year at AEO Excellence Awards
Labelexpo Americas, organized by Tarsus Group, has won the Marketing campaign of the year" award for the third time at the Association of Event Organizers (AEO) Excellence Awards ceremony, which was held last week at ExCel London. Labelexpo says it is the only exhibition to have won this award multiple times (previously in 2008 and 2010).
The campaign theme "Technology to the rescue!" was based on superhero imagery and the entire campaign was personalized and delivered across a variety of different media. Different superhero characters were created to represent different aspects of the label industry.

Casey Container signs funding agreement for its biodegradable plastics preforms production facilities
Casey Container Corp. has signed a binding $4 million equity Funding Agreement to build biodegradable PET plastics preforms and bottling production facilities. The $4 million will be funded in tranches over a 12-month period. 

Harpak-ULMA senior vp loses battle with cancer
Harpak-ULMA Packaging LLC senior vp Kevin Nolan passed away peacefully at Massachusetts General Hospital on June 23, 3011, following a brief bout with cancer; his beloved wife of 49-years, Bonnie, was by his side. Nolan started in the packaging industry in the 1960s working at New England packaging operations, including such as First National Stores, Colonial Packing, Cudahy Packing and Western Dairy ProductsIn 1997, he joined Harpak-ULMA Packaging LLC in South Easton. 

Ian Scott is new managing director at GMG Worldwide
GMG, a developer and supplier of color management software solutions, has appointed Ian Scott as managing director, GMG Worldwide. Ian has worked with GMG for eight years, the last two as managing director of GMG UK.

Sonoco acquires assets of Robinson Paperboard Packaging
Sonoco UK Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Sonoco, has acquired the assets of Robinson Paperboard Packaging Ltd., a division of Robinson PLC. The acquisition will add approximately $10 million in annual sales and includes customer contracts, as well as other business assets of Robinson Paperboard Packaging. As part of the transaction, Sonoco will assume operation of Robinson's Chesterfield paperboard can plant located on Goyt Side Road. Employees at the Chesterfield plant will be retained. 

AAIPharma Services analytical lab passes FDA inspection
AAIPharma Services Corp. announced that it has passed inspection of its Durham analytical lab by the FDA with no inspectional observations. The May 2011 audit is the fourth since 2003 during which these laboratory operations have not been issued an FDA-483 citing any inspection concerns. The FDA conducted its audit this year in the Durham lab's new location at 4620 Creekstone Drive, which AAIPharma Services moved into in 2010.

Sirnaik acquires Gateman group
Sirnaik LLC, a newly formed subsidiary of Intercontinental Export Import Inc., has taken steps to increase post-consumer plastics recycling by acquiring assets and businesses of the Gateman Group. The purchase agreement involves multiple facilities in Parkersburg, WV, and also facilities in Virginia and South Carolina. Sirnaik says the acquisition will help the company reach its goal to process 1 billion lbs of recycled plastics annually within the next 10 years. 

AmerisourceBergen names new CEO
AmerisourceBergen Corp. in accordance with its previously announced succession plan, has appointed Steven H. Collis president and CEO of AmerisourceBergen Corporation. Collis succeeds R. David Yost, 63, who retired from his role as CEO and stepped down from the company's board of directors, effective as of July 1, 2011. 

Engage Technologies Corp. acquires Eastey Enterprises Inc.
Engage Technologies Corporation, the parent company of Squid Ink Manufacturing, EZ-Tek Industries and Cogent Technologies, has acquired Eastey Enterprises, Inc., a manufacturer of shrink packaging and heat sealing equipment. Eastey packaging systems will continue to operate out of Rogers, MN as a wholly owned subsidiary of Engage Technologies Corp.

Zip-Pak opens first factory in China
Zip-Pak has opened first factory in China. The new facility, located in Guangzhou, will localize production of the company's cost-effective and high quality resealable zipper closures. In March 2008, Zip-Pak established a China office in Shanghai. The new Guangzhou factory is expected to further enhance the production capacity of Zip-Pak in Guangzhou to meet both local demand as well as the needs of the rest of Asia-Pacific.

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