Spartech expansion to add more than 30 jobs
Spartech (a producer of plastic sheet, compounds and packaging products) is expanding its packaging facility in Muncie, IN. The company reports that upon completion of the project, the facility will have 32 additional jobs. The Muncie plant , which manufactures rollstock and thermoformed containers for several large CPGs, had opened in 1984 as part of Ball Plastics; Spartech purchased the facility in 1999. The added 60,000 sq. ft. will be used to install two new extrusion lines and several new thermoforming lines.

Wagner Bag celebrates century mark
Salt Lake City-based Wagner Bag, which manufactures and distributes a range of packaging products, is celebrating its 100-year anniversary this year. Now known as Wagner Packaging Solutions, the company was acquired from the Wagner family by Ernest Packaging Solutions in 1993.

Salazar Packaging named EZ Green Pak eco-friendly packaging
Salazar Packaging has added EZ Green Pak to their Globe Guard line of eco-friendly packaging products. The product twists 100-percent-recycled 30# Kraft paper into an easy-to-use tube shape as it is pulled off a roll contained in a convenient, recyclable corrugated dispenser box. According to the company, this minimizes labor, reduces operator fatigue and enables the packer to actually do a better job of immobilizing the product being shipped and adding cushioning where needed to minimize damage.

Folding Carton Boot Camp draws a crowd
Held May 30-31 in Springfield, MA, the Paperboard Packaging Council's Folding Carton Boot Camp workshop drew 29 participants from across the country. At the event, experts from the folding carton industry explained the packaging production process, starting with how paperboard is made, on to inks and coatings, prepress, CAD, layout, graphics, presses, tooling, embossing, stamping, stripping, finishing, gluing, windowing, and concluded with an overview of automatic packaging equipment. "This large group of Boot Camp attendees and instructors represented a myriad of important roles within our industry," says Ben Markens, president of PPC. "It was exciting to see RIT design students who had graduated just days before learn from forty-year folding carton industry veterans."

International plastics/rubber event sees increased demand
Scheduled Oct. 16-23, 2013 in Dusseldorf, Germany, K 2013 is seeing increased demand for exhibitor space, according to event organizers. All 19 halls of the fairgrounds in reportedly will be fully occupied during the show. Exhibitors will be showing recent product releases, including machinery and equipment for the plastics and rubber industry; raw materials and auxiliaries; and semi-finished products, technical parts and reinforced plastics.
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