|
More jobs to go at Rexam in second US site closure
Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 29 September 2009
Rexam has announced the closure of a second US plastics facility next year bringing the total job losses to around 285 staff.
The announcement comes a week after the London-based packaging giant said it was closing a French can making facility and continues the restructuring of its global plastics packaging business.
Rexam is closing a plant in Hamlet, North Carolina, that makes injections and compression moulded closures and custom packs for the food and drinks markets. Equipment will be moved to other US facilities to adjust overall production capacity.
Some 220 jobs will be lost adding to the 65 positions that will be made redundant when Rexam closes its foam pump dispenser facility in Pompano Beach, Florida, that will also close next year.
Graham Chipchase, Group Director of Rexam Plastic Packaging said aligning the global plastics manufacturing was part of the firm's "strategy to deliver operational excellence".
"It allows us to improve the overall utilization of our existing operations, balance capacity and demand and continue our focus on delivering world-class quality products and services to customers," he said.
Earlier this month, the firm confirmed it would lay off 59 of the 65 Pompano Beach staff in October.
Rexam is also restructuring its European business. As well as the Dunkerque closure, it is also cutting 188 jobs when it restructures the French make-up division and will stop producing cans at a Moscow facility.
Rexam's underlying profit before tax fell by 15% to £135m in the six months ending 30 June 2009, affected mostly by the impact of the recession of premium parts of the business, such as cosmetics. |
|
|
|
Acquisition-hungry Rexam could buy Owens-Illinois plastics arm
David McCormack, packagingnews.co.uk, 08 June 2007
Rexam has confirmed that it is in talks with US packaging company Owens-Illinois (OI) about a possible £750m ($1.5bn) acquisition of OI's plastic division.
The Wall Street Journal said a deal may close as soon as Monday 11 June, although there are unresolved issues between the companies.
Responding to the report, Rexam issued a statement that said: ¡°An acquisition, if agreed, would only occur on conditions that meet Rexam¡¯s investment returns criteria and is likely to be funded from a combination of its glass disposal proceeds, debt and an element of equity.¡±
In January, OI hired Goldman Sachs to review strategic options for its plastics packaging operations, including a possible sale.
The division, which makes plastic drugs containers and other healthcare packaging, had sales of £388m ($772m) in 2006. It has plants in the US, Mexico, Brazil, Hungary, Singapore and Malaysia.
Rexam, the world¡¯s largest drinks cans maker, has been growing its rigid plastic packaging business through acquisitions in recent years.
It purchased two US plastics packaging companies, Precise Technology and Delta Plastics, in 2005, and last year it bought Dutch pump maker Airspray and Chinese company FangXin.
Rexam¡¯s plastic packaging arm had sales of £360m in 2006, up from £236m the previous year. |
|
|
|
Promens to reveal Green AirFree
Jill Park, packagingnews.co.uk, 28 October 2008
Global plastic packaging manufacturer Promens will launch a recyclable version of its AirFree bottle at LuxePack in Monaco this week (28-31 October).
The co-extruded bottle has an external recycled Polyethylene (PE) layer, made from post consumer recycled material (PCR), and an internal multi-layer pouch.
The new pack contains a barrier material, which prevents odour migration from the PCR material, and a pure PE layer that is in contact with the formula.
After the pack has been disposed of and crushed, the flakes of PE that were not in contact with the product can be separated and recycled.
The Green AirFree can be manufactured in 15ml to 500ml volume bottles and used in any position for complete evacuation of the product from the pack.
"With a restitution rate for 95% to 97%, AirFree allows exceptionally high evacuation rates," said Promens R&D director Pascal Hennemann. "A traditional non-airless bottle with pump will evacuate only 86% of a high viscosity cream."
The internal pouch contracts as the product is used, while the outer pack remains rigid.
Promens has targeted the pack at the pharmaceutical and personal-care markets for products such as suncare, haircare and bodycare.
The company can manufacture the pack in a single operation.
Visit Promens at LuxePack at stand DB6. |
|
|
|
Absolutely flawless
Kevin Rozario, Packaging News, 04 April 2007
When celebrated fashion designer Giorgio Armani takes a personal interest in the packaging of his cosmetics lines, and foundations in particular, it¡¯s time for the packaging business in general to sit up and take notice. Armani himself is reported to have designed the packaging for Designer Shaping Cream Foundation SPF20, priced at £50, (¡è70). The product is part of the L¡¯Oreal-owned Giorgio Armani Cosmetics range and the brush applicator is sold separately.
Foundations are probably the highest selling beauty products in the sector, and ¡°foundations and mascaras are the two colouring cosmetics products that engender the most loyalty in consumers,¡± says Nadia Miller, vice president of brand development at La Prairie, one of the most expensive skin care brands on the market.
Consumer research carried out by La Prairie last year indicated that, while foundation products attracted the most attention, customers wanted a single pack that contained both the brand¡¯s Skin Caviar concealer cream as well as an SPF15 foundation in one.
¡°Our objective was to make women¡¯s foundation application easy, but also to give them the best we had to offer in technology,¡± says Miller. ¡°We also knew that using a concealer remained an issue for many women: how to best match it with their foundation? So we¡¯ve offered it in one application.¡±
Sophisticated sector
The Caviar foundation illustrates just how far the market has moved in sophistication and how packaging manufacturers are having to move along with it.
¡°The formula was certainly a breakthrough, but then so was the packaging,¡± says Miller. Tucked into the silver cap of the product is the colour-coordinated Caviar concealer and a magnifying mirror. The product is presented on its own silver stand with a special moulded extension to hold the application brush in a vertical position.
Other brands are communicating a premium image in different ways. Mac¡¯s Mineralize Satin Finish SPF15 foundation gives the appearance of being a make-up artist¡¯s product. It is presented in an opaque, screen-printed glass bottle with a matt black top, where the pump is neatly hidden within the casing, and uses a twist-and-press action.
Issues of practicality, convenience or functionality can be important selling points. For example, Canadian brand Cargo offers its Liquid Foundation in a flexible pouch.
¡°We wanted to offer something more practical than what was already out there,¡± says Cargo Cosmetics marketing manager Jaye Campbell. ¡°The pouch is lightweight and collapsible which makes it highly portable.¡±
Cargo¡¯s foundation sales more than doubled in the nine months following the launch of the flexible laminate film pouch with a plastic spout and cap.
Cargo used existing technology but customised the shape and decoration to suit its needs. A clear space is left in the printed surface so consumers can see the colour they are choosing. ¡°Our foundation provides a natural, professional finish,¡± says Campbell. ¡°This practical approach is well-reflected in the packaging.¡± It all helps in marketing a brand, in this case as an innovative and cutting edge company.
Alcan Packaging has taken note of the demand for metallised finishes from brand owners wanting to produce a prestigious looking pack. At Cosmopack Bologna, it exhibited a new brushed aluminium-look plastic tube and the Artist Tube, which Alcan describes as a fashionable packaging solution for any type of liquid product. The consumer just squeezes the tube lightly and the product flows directly onto an applicator brush ¨C a technique that could be adopted for foundations and concealers.
Application factors
Japanese beauty house SK-II, part of P&G Beaut¨¦, went all out for a technical solution to foundation application and ended up with the Air Touch system. The packaging contains a motor to ionise foundation particles before delivery. A dispensing pump, as used in Age-Defying Liquid Make-Up for sister brand Cover Girl, would not have worked.
Wendy Kennedy, SK-II western world and North America external relations manager, says: ¡°We go to a lot of effort to ensure our packaging supports our prestige positioning. In the case of Air Touch, compared to the first generation product, we wanted to make it more portable and also more like a compact; more feminine, something that could easily be carried around in a purse or a clutch.¡±
The ethnic market is also having an effect on the cosmetics business. Black Up, the biggest high-end ethnic brand in France and due to be launched in the UK later this year, cites its Fluid Foundation and Cream to Powder foundation as its best sellers. The Fluid product uses styrene acrylonitrile (SAN) plastic and a pearlescent airless pump together with simple mono-colour screen-printed branding. The Cream to Powder foundation is presented in a SAN and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) pack with black screen printing.
Design harmony
Product manager Aur¨¦lie Joulain says: ¡°In the past, products used to be in heavier square-shaped glass whereas now the round shape evokes harmony and femininity. The packaging is simple and sober to let the colours be the real stars.¡± Black Up introduced an airless pump to Fluid Foundation after customers said they wanted to use up all the packaged liquid and to carry a lighter pack around.
At the mass-market end of the ethnic cosmetics sector, Sleek International, which supplies Superdrug with its pump action New Skin Foundation for £5.99, opted for convenience in its packaging design.
Product development and marketing executive Sacha Yemoh says: ¡°Components are extremely important in determining how a product is priced. They are usually the most expensive constituents.¡± This is especially true in the mass segment so for New Skin, Sleek chose a PP container where the clear part is frosted, the cap is clear, the front is stamp-printed and the reverse is screen-printed.
It seems that the old idea of foundation, simply as a liquid in a tube, doesn¡¯t pass muster today. Consumer demands for functionality and practical dispensing are being taken more seriously by the brand owners and more solutions are at hand to service these needs. But, overlying these requirements, packaging presentations that allow the consumer to immediately identify a brand¡¯s place in the market continue to drive the design. |
|
|
|
Reckitt Benckiser chooses Rieke Dispensing for E45 Cream
Liz Wells, packagingnews.co.uk, 10 July 2008
Household, health and personal care specialist Reckitt Benckiser has become the latest company to use Rieke Dispensing's 500g Airless HVDS pack for its E45 Cream.
The dispensing head has been designed to mirror the familiar lozenge shape of the E45 logo and enables the cream to be dispensed by using the elbow, allowing greater hygiene control for multiple user packs in hospitals, nursing homes and medical centres.
The head also features a suckback system that pulls cream back into the pump after operation, leaving a clean spout for each dispensing.
Anne Rees, E45 brand manager, said: "The pack's excellent evacuation capabilities maximise the cost-effectiveness of the treatment for end users."
Airless HVDS technology uses a combination of airless and piston-up technology to push product up from the bottom of the container.
It eliminates the waste problems associated with dispensing creams and lotions that cannot self level, where conventional pumps draw product up from the centre of a container and leave large amounts clinging to the side.
The two-part construction of Airless HVDS, with the follower plate already in place, makes filling easier and faster, while no metal contact parts eliminate the risk of contamination. |
|
|
|
Vetroplas wins skincare pack contract
Jill Park, packagingnews.co.uk, 18 September 2009
New launch ARK Age Aware Skincare has chosen cosmetics packaging specialist Vetroplas as its packaging supplier.
The range is split into three lines - Age Prepare (teens to early 30s), Age Maintain (Mid 30s to 50) and Age Repair (50s and over) - and has been packed in both glass and plastic packs.
Ark chose the Laura 30ml frosted glass bottle with a silver metallised Minerbio dropper and white rubber pipette to pack the eight types of serums in the range.
The Laura 15ml frosted glass bottle with a Laura dispenser pump and Nina overcap in clear SAN with a silver foil band was used for an anti-wrinkle eye cream and plumping lip balm.
Meanwhile, 125ml, 200ml and 250ml Cilindro Alto bottles in white HDPE used for the bodywash, body lotion, cleansers and toner lines with Euro 500ml lotion dispenser and Collare pumps.
Vetroplas sales director Simon Dix said: "We collaborated closely on this project to produce a look on glass and plastic that is both elegant and contemporary."
Norwich-based Vetroplas is the excusive UK distributor for Eurovetrocap, plastic tube manufacturer CTL Packaging and acrylic jar manufacturer Mino Gaillard. |
|
|
|
Precise Plastics supplies Vijon with pocket-spray bottle
Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 13 May 2009
US health and beauty care manufacturer ViJon has adopted Precise Plastics' flip-top container for its Germ-X anti-bacterial pocket spray.
Hampshire-based Precise Plastics manufactures the injection blow-moulded bottle in France and Denmark and the pocket-sized sanitising spray has been designed to compliment ViJon's larger-sized packs.
The 30ml PET bottle has a lavender-coloured flip-top cap that can be opened and closed with one hand. The pump has a 15mm crimp finish and the bottle is labelled on the back and front.
New England contract packer Precise Packaging fills the packs in North America.
Precise Plastics owner Simon Moore said the pack had been "particularly well received due to current concerns with the international spreading of infections such as swine flu".
Precise Plastics designs a wide range of plastic packaging mostly between 5ml and 50ml, which it produces around the world using its own moulds.
|
|
|
|
World Design: Beautology Brands Chemistry hair conditioner
Packaging News, 05 March 2008
Beautology Brands in the US has provided a well-thought-out presentation for its Chemistry hair conditioner.
The product is contained in a conical flask-shaped bottle, injection-stretch-blow-moulded in PET with a lockable pump dispenser, which is injection-moulded in PP. The bottle is screen printed. |
|
|
|
World Design: KeraSys Homme shampoo
Packaging News, 25 November 2008
Aekyung in South Korea has launched its KeraSys Homme scalp care shampoo in a bottle with a very masculine design.
The product is filled into an oblong-shaped extrusion blow-moulded HDPE bottle with a rounded shoulder up to the central neck, which is finished with a lockable pump dispenser, injection moulded in polypropylene.
Silkscreen has been used to print information on the bottle with an additional branding label printed flexo on a self-adhesive polypropylene/foil material to simulate a solid metal sign. |
|
|
|
Vetroplas to pack Champneys skin care treatments
Jane Ellis, packagingnews.co.uk, 26 September 2008
Vetroplas, the cosmetics and personal care packaging supplier, has won a contract to package Champneys Age Excellence skin care treatments.
Champneys chose a variety of items from the Norwich firm, including the Oeuv frosted glass jar with natural two-piece cap for the Ultimate Repair night cream and Ultimate Radiance day cream and the Oeuv frosted glass bottle, pump and overcap for the 24 Carat night serum.
Vetroplas also provided a complete decoration service for the items, which included screenprinting and foil banding on the lids.
John Anderton, managing director of Vetroplas, said: "We are delighted to be working with this prestigious brand. The range looks absolutely stunning."
Vetroplas was launched in 2006 by Anderton, the former managing director of M&H Plastics, and his wife Amanda.
The company, which is exclusive UK distributor for Eurovetrocap in Milan, Italy and CTL Packaging in Charmeil, France, can source glass and plastic bottles, jars, closures and flexible tubes. |
|
|
|
Fuelcard firm says packaging sector unaware of fuel savings
Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 06 July 2009
Packaging firms have been urged to assess their fuel spending to ensure they do not miss out on potential savings.
The Fuelcard People, an Oxfordshire-based firm, said it was important to shop around for fuel cards to ensure the best possible discount to suit individual requirements.
General manager Steve Clarke said: "Packaging companies will not have the same specific needs as a long-distance haulier, bus company or haulier firm. Anyone who thinks that all fuel cards are the same almost certainly overpays as a consequence."
Clarke said that firms could achieve savings of between 2p and 10p, and sometimes even more, depending on the card and the network of stations they used.
He said it was "financial madness" that thousands of vehicles filled up at pump prices each day, despite the discounts available.
"Too many firms continue to use the non-discount fuel cards they have held for years rather than reviewing their options and saving money."
The Fuelcard People offers a wide range of different fuelcards including Esso, BP, Shell and Texaco. |
|
|
|
World Design: Natural's Simple Life body soap
Packaging News, 25 November 2008
Tairei International in Taiwan has produced a delightful graphic design on its one-litre pack for Natural's Simple Life body soap.
The product is filled into a custom-tooled cylindrical bottle, extrusion blown in HDPE.
A well-designed lockable pump dispenser acts as closure and is injection moulded in polypropylene.
The wraparound label is flexo printed on self-adhesive polypropylene and features a girl and flowers, reminiscent of Chinese and modern European art. |
|
|
|
Graham Packaging produces 400ml PET bottle for handcare range
Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 19 February 2010
Graham Packaging's UK plant has produced a 400ml PET bottle for a range of handwash products that will be sold in more than 40 countries.
Personal care and household product firm Statestrong wanted to reduce the size of its bottles by a fifth and Graham's Chalgrove plant created a similar-looking, but smaller bottle that has a 28mm pump closure.
Sales manager Nigel Kerrod said: "We were able to create a cost-effective, lightweight bottle and use the existing labels."
The bottles are available at retailers in the UK and in more than 40 countries worldwide.
Graham Packaging is owned by the Blackstone Group and produces more than 20 billion containers at 84 plants in Europe and the Americas to generate sales of some $2.6bn.
The Pennsylvania-based firm serves a wide range of sectors including food, drinks, fabric care and motor oil. |
|
|
|
Brothers unveils 'first' short bottle in cider sector
packagingnews.co.uk, 23 June 2009
Brothers Cider has launched the first 'stubby' cider bottle and is selling it in a tear-open multipack.
The Somerset company claims the 250ml glass bottles - at 19cm tall - are a first for the cider category.
Ten stubby bottles of pear cider are sold in a fridge-ready tear-open corrugated case, made by McClarens Packaging in Scotland.
The multipacks are targeted at summer parties.
"We felt it was time to move the cider category on into a new pack format," said managing director Matthew Showering.
"These new stubby packs are perfect for barbecues and summer picnics - we are certain that our consumers will embrace this new format," he added.
The multipacks were launched last week exclusively in Morrisons, which helped develop the packs.
Standard Brothers Cider bottles hold 500ml and are 25.5cm tall.
Brothers Drinks Co was founded in 1992 and is a contract manufacturer and bottler, as well as making its own range of pear ciders. |
|
|
|
Ale brand uses a lighter bottle
Jill Park, Packaging News, 21 December 2007
Premium-ales producer Black Sheep has launched a lightweight bottle made by Ardagh Glass.
The weight of the 50cl bottle, developed with backing from the Waste and Resources Action Programme¡¯s Glassrite Beer, Cider and Spirits project, has been cut by 25% to 293g.
Ardagh Glass will make 4.6 million bottles this year, saving 320 tonnes of carbon by reducing the weight.
Holy Grail will be among the brands using the bottle. |
|
|
|
Quinn Glass appeals plant closure order
Simeon Goldstein, Packaging News, 07 May 2009
Quinn Glass has vowed to appeal an order to close and demolish its Cheshire glass manufacturing and bottling plant within 18 months.
The Northern Ireland-owned firm confirmed it would be appealing the local authority order, which was made following a High Court ruling in April that the Quinn plant was unlawful as it did not have full planning permission.
Cheshire West and Chester Council¡¯s order takes effect at the end of the month and requires Quinn to cease production within nine months.
In his High Court judgement on the case against Quinn and two councils involved, which was brought by rival Ardagh Glass, Judge Mole QC said Quinn had taken a calculated risk in building the facility without full consent.
Quinn¡¯s plant is widely seen as one of the most advanced glass packaging factories in the world. However, the company began its construction in 2003 when it only had planning permission for a smaller plant and it has never received consent for the existing facility. The latest application was submitted in January 2008.
In a statement to Packaging News, Quinn said: The enforcement notice [from the council] does not take effect until 29 May and in the meantime Quinn Glass will be appealing in order to allow time for a full and proper determination of the planning permission.
The matter could now be decided by communities secretary Hazel Blears, who will need to determine the existence of exceptional circumstances for the plant¡¯s construction in order to grant retrospective planning permission.
An Ardagh spokesman said that any loss of commercial and financial benefit to the owner of the plant or the local authority did not constitute exceptional circumstances.
However, packaging industry sources have privately expressed doubt over whether the government would order the closure of the plant, which directly employs 630 staff, in the current economic climate.
As Packaging News went to press, the council said it was still waiting for more information from Quinn before it determined a date to consider the latest application. |
|
|
|
Greene King introduces lightweight bottles
Jane Ellis, packagingnews.co.uk, 24 September 2008
Suffolk brewer Greene King has reduced the amount of glass used in its beer bottles by 25% and in the process will cut carbon emissions by 150 tonnes a year.
Greene King operations director Steve Magnall said the firm sells 13 million bottles of its flagship Old Speckled Hen brand annually and has reduced the weight of the 500ml bottle from 400g to 302g, which will dramatically lighten the load for delivery vehicles.
Initially, the lightweight bottle will be used for Speckled Hen, Abbot Ale and Hop, but during the next few weeks about ten other brands will be switched over.
In total the firm produces some 18-20 million bottles of beer a year including Speckled Hen, Ruddles County, Greene King IPA Export and Hen's Tooth brands.
Greene King said it will save more than 1,500 tonnes of glass each year ¨C the equivalent of five million bottles ¨C and cut its energy use by 20%.
Magnall said the lightweighting project started 10 months ago and has been a big project involving production, marketing and sales.
"We've invested more than £200,000 on new change parts for the bottling line, new front, back and neck label designs, on altering the pallet configurations and designing new consumer packs," he said.
The new lightweight bottle, conceived by Design Bridge in London and supplied by Allied Glass, is also a slimmer, contemporary shape that the firm says will stand out on shelf.
All labels and consumer packs, except those for Abbot Ale, were designed by 032 Design in Sudbury. London-based JKR handled the Abbot Ale designs.
Greene King managing director Justin Adams said: "We are always looking for ways to improve our performance. We are constantly setting ourselves new targets and finding new ways to reduce our carbon footprint through all areas of our business.
"The lightweighting bottling project is just one of many activities that address the growing environmental and commercial issues facing us."
Greene King commissioned its £8m bottling line at Bury St Edmunds two years ago. |
|
|
|
Viscose Closures supplies 'royal' water bottle caps
Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 12 February 2010
Crawley-based Viscose Closures is supplying metal caps and PVC closures for the bottles of water from a spring that is said to have been discovered by King Henry VI.
King Henry VI English spring water is sourced from a well on Bolton Hall Estate in Lancashire where Henry stayed after losing the battle of Hexham in the War of the Roses. The well is said to have been discovered by the monarch's divining skills.
The water is sold, still or sparkling, in 330ml and 750ml glass bottles. Viscose supplies the firm with a viola PVC cap that has a tear tab to open.
The capsules are embossed with the motif that appears on a pendant in a portrait of Henry VI that hangs in the National Portrait Gallery. It is also used on the bottle's label.
Joanne Bosonnet, King Henry VI Waster commercial director, said the firm had been pleased with the design, delivery and after sales service from Viscose Closures. "Such support is invaluable to a new brand such as ours." |
|
|
|
Simeon Goldstein: Thinking outside the bottle
Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 02 December 2009
Last week, I received a number of concept designs for wine bottles from container glass manufacturer O-I.
They're all good-looking designs (see below) that would catch my attention in the supermarket wine aisle. O-I has created the concepts to demonstrate how brands can use packaging to catch shoppers' attention in store and come up with a product that really stands out against a sea of standard 75cl bottles.
The argument is that, even in a highly traditional market like wine, new sizes and shapes can communicate a product message and encourage brand loyalty.
Of course, innovative shapes are nothing new. Take yoghurts. The one that stands out from the crowd for me is the M¨¹ller Fruit Corner with its distinctive two-compartment format.
And in the wine category, too, Portuguese wine Mateus Ros¨¦ has a distinctively shaped bottle. Then, there's the HP square bottle, the Pringles tube and the Toblerone pyramid carton, that grabbed the top spot in our Most Admired Brands survey. |
|
|
|
Whisky launched in limited edition bottle
Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 08 August 2008
Allied Glass, the Yorkshire-based manufacturer, has produced a limited edition bottle for Tobermory 15-year-old single malt whisky.
The bottle, which is antique gold oak in colour, has been designed for visual impact while reflecting the tradition of whisky distilling on the Isle of Mull.
Philip Morris, sales and marketing director at Allied Glass, said the design was the result of close collaboration with the customer and the use of 3D modelling technology.
The design uses bold embossing and a bubble-effect within the glass. The manufacturing process makes it possible for each bottle to be unique.
Tobermory is part of Burn Stewart Distillers, which also owns Deanston and Black Bottle among other whisky brands. |
|
|
