Packaging Briefs

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2009

Fraser Papers receives approval for restructuring proposal
Fraser Papers Inc. announced today that it received approval from the Ontario Superior Court that is overseeing its filing under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (Canada) ("CCAA"), to proceed with a firm and binding offer to sell its specialty paper assets. The specialty papers assets will be sold to a newly incorporated company, initially sponsored by the Company's secured creditors, subject to receiving a superior bid. The assets to be sold include the pulp and paper facilities located in Madawaska and Edmundston, as well as the two New Brunswick lumbermills located in Plaster Rock and Juniper.

Colbert Packaging completes acquisitions of Dayton Carton and Crown Paper Box
Colbert Packaging Corporation, a leading manufacturer of folding cartons, rigid paper boxes and paperboard specialty products, announced that it has completed the acquisitions of two carton manufacturers, Dayton Carton in Louisville, Ky., and Crown Paper Box in Indianapolis, Ind. The acquisition of Dayton Carton, which was finalized today, is all-inclusive of its facility, equipment, inventory, employees, customer accounts and all other assets. Colbert Packaging is retaining the Dayton Carton facility in Louisville and rebranding it as one of its own. The acquisition of Crown Paper Box, which was finalized on Nov. 11, included its customer accounts, inventory and account managers. Crown Paper Box customers formerly serviced out of Indianapolis are now being serviced through existing Colbert facilities in Lake Forest, Ill., Elkhart, Ind., and the newly acquired Louisville facility.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2009

Alcan starts production trials at Czech food packaging facility
Alcan Packaging has started production trials in its new (euro)17 million packaging facility in Novy Bydzov, Czech Republic. The new plant, which will employ 110 people when in full production, is the fourth Alcan Packaging Food Europe plant located in Eastern Europe and produces printed flexible packaging for key food customers. The new facility will focus primarily on the production and printing of high quality rotogravure flexible packaging. It will supply emerging food markets in Central and Eastern Europe as well as the Germanic and Nordic regions.

B Green Innovations files patent for recycled-bottle product
B Green Innovations, Inc. announced that it had filed a patent for green technology intellectual property related to products made from recycled plastic, embedded container recycled sheet baskets. The invention relates generally to baskets made from flattened, recycled plastic containers that are embedded in; that visibly display the flattened, recycled plastic containers. These products may be created by different methods, and one preferred method of producing these products involves creating sheets of plastic with embedded recycled plastic containers.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2009

Grace Plans Expansion to Meet Demand for Polypropylene Catalysts
W. R. Grace & Co. announced plans to increase its manufacturing capacity with the expansion of its facility in Worms, Germany. The expansion will enable greater production of polypropylene catalysts (commonly marketed under the trade name POLYTRAK®) that are used by customers in the production of plastics. Construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2010 with start up in 2011. The expansion will be built on available land already owned by the company and will benefit from nearby Grace technical resources and infrastructure.

General Mills expands photography studios
General Mills' completely renovated and expanded photography studios are among the largest in-house, full-service food photography and food styling studios in the country. Photographs for all General Mills' product packaging, cookbooks, magazines, web sites and sales materials are shot internally. The department has 12 employees, plus a pool of more than 100 talented food photographers, food stylists and prop stylists. More than 25,000 images are photographed and archived each year.

Dickson Expands On-Site Monitoring Technology Consultation Services
U.S. users of multiple environmental monitoring instruments -- drug developers, hospitals, universities, food processors, corporate campuses, industrial processors, scientific research institutes, among others -- can now receive expert hands-on in person consultations with Dickson experts in monitoring technology to facilitate making best-match technology acquisitions.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2009

Graphic Packaging increases prices on coated recycled board
Graphic Packaging International, Inc., a subsidiary of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE: GPK) , today announced a price increase of $40 per ton for its PaceSetter® coated recycled board (CRB), effective with shipments on or after January 11, 2010.

Tegrant Corporation, Alloyd Brands receives SFI certification
Tegrant Corporation, Alloyd Brands announced that it has received Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) Chain of Custody Certification for demonstrating control throughout their purchasing and production processes on audits conducted at Alloyd Brands' Printed Products locations in Batavia, IL. and Spartanburg, SC.

MWV announces Peter Durette as Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer
MeadWestvaco Corp. announced that Mr. Peter Durette has joined the company as MWV's new chief strategy officer and has also been elected as a vice president of MWV. In this new role, Mr. Durette will oversee MWV's strategy development and management process by integrating and aligning all strategy functions, and assisting the company's senior leadership in developing next-generation profitable growth strategies.

Alcoa employees rally in record numbers for their communities
On International Volunteer Day, Alcoa President and CEO Klaus Kleinfeld congratulated the record 23,000 Alcoa employees who took part in the company's 2009 Worldwide Month of Service - volunteering in 800 community events to support those in need and invest in the sustainability of our planet. The company's annual Worldwide Month of Service program brings together Alcoa's global workforce to make a positive difference in the communities where they live and work - this year partnering with nearly 1,900 not-for-profit community organizations across 23 countries.

2010 Packaging Conference to feature presentations from major brand owners and technology leaders
The 2010 Packaging Conference, the leading conference for packaging professionals, announces additions to its speaker line-up. The event, which has established a tradition of providing extensive analysis on key packaging topics, will be held February 8-10, 2010 at the new ARIA Resort at CityCenter in Las Vegas. Discounted, early registration is available until December 18, 2009.

Included among the presenters are: Sean Stephan, senior director, packaging sustainability, Wal-Mart; Thomas Blaige, chief executive officer, Blaige & Company; Dr. John Standish, packaging market manager, ColorMatrix;

MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2009

Klöckner Pentaplast honored with CBF Business of the Year Award
Klöckner Pentaplast Ltd. was honored as the recipient of the 2009 Caerphilly Business Forum Award at a presentation on November 13th in Caerphilly. The CBF established this award to recognize local businesses that demonstrate outstanding and consistent achievement in the last twelve months. Klöckner Pentaplast was recognized for its continued commitment to producing high-quality films and innovative solutions to its customers, as well as its dedication to continuous improvement of its business and production processes. In particular, Klöckner Pentaplast was acknowledged for its new state-of-the art extrusion line that is being installed at this site.


Graham Packaging opens new plant on-site with Henkel in St. Louis
Graham Packaging Company, L.P., has begun manufacturing operations at a new on-site plant in St. Louis with Henkel Consumer Goods, Inc., a subsidiary of Germany-based Henkel AG and Co. KGaA, which markets well-known brands in North America such as Dial, Purex, Renuzit, and Right Guard . The new plant is making HDPE plastic bottles for Purex laundry detergent.
     

Key Technology Appoints Randy Unterseher as Senior Director of Marketing
Key Technology announces the appointment of Randy Unterseher as Senior Director of Marketing. In this new position, Unterseher is responsible for leading worldwide marketing activities for Key ’s automated inspection and sorting systems, specialized conveying, and processing equipment.
    

ICE Europe 2009 closes with record results
The 6th International Converting Exhibition ICE Europe ended with record numbers of visitors, exhibitors and floor space. From 24-26 November 2009, a total of 5,350 trade visitors from 63 countries were able to discover a wide range of innovative products and services for paper, film and foil converting at Munich’s M,O,C, exhibition centre. Compared with the previous event, this represents an increase in visitor numbers of 27%. 329 exhibitors from 21 countries – a 20% increase in exhibitor numbers - and a 30% increase in floor space made this year’s ICE Europe the biggest event ever.


Lake Image Systems launches Lake Image Web Technologies Ltd
Lake Image Systems, leaders in data integrity, verification and inspection systems announced that it is launching a new subsidiary, Lake Image Web Technologies Ltd.  The new company will develop software tools and products for sale exclusively through the Lake Image group of companies.  The move reflects Lake Image’s desire to extend its reach and grow beyond its existing market of digital printers and mailing houses into the wider commercial printing market where integrated variable data reading and print quality inspection are increasingly required.

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