PACKAGING BRIEFS Thursday, October 20

Johnson & Johnson CFO: Private-label products stealing OTC market share
Johnson & Johnson CFO Dominic Caruso recently told Bloomberg that the firm has lost "significant" market share in over-the-counter drugs to privately owned brands, naming the recall of dozens of products in the past two years as a driving factor for the shift. The executive added that the company plans to use coupons and product innovations to promote the business next year, in the hopes of recapturing some of the lost business.

Sonoco appoints packaging leaders
Sonoco, which recently acquired Tegrant Corp., has announced a number of appointments. John Colyer, vp of Global Industrial Converting, will run Sonoco's expanding global protective packaging operations, and continue to oversee the company's tubes/cores and wire/cable reel businesses. Additionally, Vicki Arthur (vp of Global Corporate Customers) will oversee the integration of the combined Sonoco Protective Packaging business.

Sealed Air acquires Multibagger Holdings
Sealed Air Corp. has MultiBagger Holdings, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Machinery Developments Limited, that offers packaging machinery such as a paired bag dispensing equipment product line. According to Sealed Air, the transaction expands its line of Cryovac packaging products for fresh and processed food customers.

ABB, Baldor join sales forces
ABB and Baldor Electric Co. have created a unified U.S. sales force to sell and support low- and medium-voltage industrial drives and industrial electric motors. According to representatives from ABB and Baldor (a member of the ABB group), customers in packaging and other industries will benefit from having a single point of contact for the industrial motors, drives and generators; and from having 24-hour local sales and service.

Ecologic taps Berlin Packaging to supply stock molded-fiber bottle
Berlin Packaging, a Chicago-based supplier of rigid packaging, has been named a primary stocking supplier for Ecologic Brands Inc.'s eco.bottle molded fiber bottle. The item is a hybrid fiber-plastic product that reportedly uses up to 70% less plastic than traditional plastic bottles, with a molded fiber shell that is 100% recyclable and compostable. The line will come in a number of sizes and closure configurations, and it will be available beginning in January 2012.

Report: Green packaging market to continue growth
According to research by Report Buyer, the global green-packaging market will continue to climb at a compound annual growth rate of 14% to 2014. In "Global Green (Sustainable Packaging Market 2010-2014," the firm states that a major factor contributing to the market growth is the need to comply with regulatory norms. Additionally, the report advises high costs of production could pose a challenge to the growth rate.

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