PACKAGING BRIEFS Thursday, Mar. 1

Tetra Pak starts up new production line in China
Tetra Pak has announced the start-up of its second production line in the company's Hohhot, China, packaging material plant. The new world-class line will increase production capacity at the plant by 10 billion cartons per year to a total of 20 billion cartons per year.

HBA Global Expo now accepting nominations for packaging awards program
HBA Global Expo is now accepting nominations at its website for the annual International Package Design Awards (IPDA). These prestigious awards honor the year's most innovative packaging in several categories, including cosmetics, fragrance, personal care, skin care and sustainability. Deadline for submissions is Mar. 23, 2012. Finalists will be announced in early May and the Category Winners and the Grand Award will be revealed during the HBA Global 20th Anniversary Industry Awards Celebration on June 19 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York. Award finalists and winners will be displayed in the IPDA Showcase during the HBA Global Expo & Conference, June 19-21, 2012.

Xpedx exceeds 2011 sustainability goals; sets new ones for 2012
Xpedx—a leading business-to-business distributor of packaging, facility and printing supplies and equipment in North America—has exceeded its sustainability goals in 2011 and is making aggressive plans for 2012. Among its achievements, in early 2011, xpedx set a goal to earn the Energy Star in eight of its largest locations, surpassing its goal by qualifying for the mark in nine. Xpedx also set a goal at the beginning of the year to recycle 2,400 tons of material. It achieved 109 percent of its goal, dramatically reducing the amount of material it sends to landfills throughout the U.S. The xpedx business will continue its work to expand recycling, aiming for another 15 percent increase in 2012. Recycling is also part of xpedx's long-term goal to reduce its trash cost by 10 percent over a three-year period ending December 2013. Xpedx will qualify nine new locations with the Energy Star this year and will also continue its goal to reduce emissions and lower its carbon footprint by renewing SmartWay certification for its fleet.

Intelligrated hires national sales manager for fulfillment solutions team
Intelligrated, a leading North American-owned automated material handling solutions provider, has appointed Tom Sullivan to the position of national sales manager for the company's Real Time Solutions order fulfillment systems product line. Sullivan is responsible for expanding customer operations and for communicating the value of Real Time Solutions products to potential distribution and fulfillment clients across the nation. Sullivan brings 20 years of material handling sales experience to Intelligrated's team. Prior to joining Intelligrated, Sullivan worked as vp of business development for ATOP Technologies and as vp of sales at both Working Machines Corp. and Reddwerks.

Triangle partners with Southeastern Packaging Equipment Sales
Southeastern Packaging Equipment Sales LLC has joined the Triangle Package Machinery Co. sales team. Formed in 2007, SEPKG has established itself as one of the premier manufacturer's representative organizations for the packaging machinery industry. With a staff that includes six sales professionals, SEPKG will cover the states of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee. They will be supported directly in this territory by Jay Leveroni, Triangle's southeast regional sales manager.

ICE USA expands exhibit space for 2013 event
With more than a year remaining before the 2013 ICE USA opens in Orlando, FL, on April 9, show organizer Mack Brooks Exhibitions has increased the show floor by 15,000 sq ft to accommodate demand for more space. Of the nearly 200 companies that have already reserved 90 percent of the original available booth space, more than a dozen have increased their booth size by an average of 98 percent. In addition, nearly two-dozen companies that did not exhibit at the 2011 event have reserved space for the 2013 show.

Amcor partners with Velcro on new easy-to-open and re-seal flexible packaging
Amcor Flexibles and Velcro Europe have formed a strategic partnership to bring an innovative easy-to-open and re-seal system to the fresh and dairy flexible packaging market. The new offering combines a choice of high-quality films adapted to meet all fresh and dairy product requirements with the Velcro brand Press-Lok closure, a reclosure device that is easy for consumers to align the two sides.

Mercian Labels Group launches digitally printed folding cartons
The Mercian Labels Group has launched an innovative new service. Using the latest Xeikon 3000 series digital platform and a unique new inline conversion process, the company is now delivering variable data and multiple designs onto printed folding cartons, cost effectively in short runs.

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