Pregis pumps £5m into kit to boost rPET production

Jane Ellis, packagingnews.co.uk, 20 August 2007

 

Pregis Rigid Packaging is investing £5m in thermoforming and extrusion equipment for its plants in England and Scotland to meet increased demand for recycled PET (rPET) packaging.

 

The investment includes Vacurema technology from Austrian plastics recycling and systems design firm Erema, which allows post-consumer PET waste to be cleaned inline to food quality standards and meets Marks & Spencer's definition of "SuperClean".

 

Pregis commercial director Keith Damarell said: "The whole point of the investment is that it will make us one of the largest rPET producers in the UK."

 

The lines will not be dedicated just to Marks & Spencer, but will also supply packaging to the food-service industry across the UK.

 

Damarell said the firm would start to install four new thermoforming and extrusion lines at its factories in Stanley, County Durham, and Livingston, West Lothian, from 1 September.

 

Pregis, which will use a minimum of 50% post-consumer recyclate, will meet rPET requirements for direct food contact.

 

The firm specialises in thermoformed containers for salads, sandwiches, meats and bakery products, supplying Marks & Spencer and other retailers across the UK.

AKW Group pumps £800k into site to consolidate ops

Jill Park, packagingnews.co.uk, 21 October 2009

 

Logistics company AKW Group has invested £800,000 to extend its Trafford Park facility to accommodate extra warehousing and contract packing.

 

The company is using the money to refurbish a 7,246sqm facility that will support its existing 46,451sqm depot.

 

AKW already has three packaging halls in its depot and surplus packaging equipment from this facility will be moved to the new refurbished site.

 

AKW's contract packing division operates in the gift set, shelf-ready packaging, sleeving and labelling markets, among others.

 

Its customers include multinationals such as L'Oréal and Unilver.

 

The Manchester-based company moved into contract packing four years ago upon the acquisition of Trafford Park Packaging, but was consolidated by its acquisition of Liberty Contract Packing two years ago.

 

AKW contract packing director Rebecca Davis said: "We've got the complete logistics service all housed on our unit here."

Belfast film firm pumps £360k into new equipment

Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 11 February 2010

 

A Northern Ireland film and disposable packaging manufacturer is targeting growth in polythene bags and sheets with a £360,000 investment in equipment.

 

Belfast-based Brow Packaging has overhauled existing equipment and its computer systems as well as bought new machinery to be able to process lighter-gauge products and cope with the expected increased workload.

 

Financial director Jamie Brow said the investment was a direct response to increased demand in the UK and Ireland for lighter high and medium-density polythene.

 

"The investment will enable us to offer customers much lighter-gauged bags. Apart from making us more competitive, it also opens up new business opportunities," he said.

 

Family-owned Brow was established in 1943 and employs 52 staff in manufacturing and distribution.

 

The new film is being targeted at food processing and waste management firms as ideal for bags, sheeting and wrapping.

 

On top of its film extrusion, the firm also produces a range of paper, foil and plastic packaging and food trays.

Inventor secures £125k investment on Dragons' Den

Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 27 August 2009

 

Inventor Michael Pritchard secured a £125,000 investment on last night's Dragons' Den to bring a pump spray that works at any angle to market.

 

Entrepreneurs Theo Paphitis and Peter Jones made the joint investment in return for just a 20% stake in Michael Pritchard’s Anyway spray on the BBC 2 programme.

 

Pritchard’s invention is a dip tube with millions of tiny holes that allows a constant spray to be maintained if any part of the tube is in contact with any of the liquid in the pack. This ensures that the spray does not need to be held upright in order to work.

 

Three dragons pulled out due to the costs to firms of switching to Anyway, concerns over getting the patent – which Prichard has applied for  – and the size of the risk involved.

 

Prichard initially wanted the £125,000 for a 5% stake in the business. Paphitis and Jones initially offered the money for a 40% stake, but was able to negotiate a 20% stake.

 

Jones was impressed by the environmental credentials of the tube that can work in aerosols with compressed air, which makes disposal easier. "Aerosols is the biggest selling point," he said.

 

Pritchard said he invented the product after finding it "ridiculous" that household a cleaner could not spray when held upside-down. "I identified the fault lay with the dip tube and the fact it only had one hole and so set about trying to find the answer," he said.

 

The investment will help Pritchard sell the licensing rights to the dip tube to manufacturers, enabling them to replace existing products with the Anyway tube.

 

Peter Finnie, a partner at intellectual property firm Gill Jennings & Every, is working with Prichard to secure the patents for Anyway.

 

He said it was unusual to see the Dragons invest in an IP licensing opportunity, especially as funds would be spent on building and maintaining the Ip to protect the product.

 

"If the Dragons can successfully broker some IP licences with the major manufacturers of spray products, the royalty incomes are potentially enormous given the size of the global market," he said.

 

Packaging innovation experts welcomed the investment and said it showed responding to customer needs was at the heart of all good innovation.

 

Tetra Pak retail manager Ian Williamson said targeting the combination of waste reduction, consumer frustration and production cost suggested Anyway would be a success.

 

"Prichard's next big challenge, with the Dragons' help, will be the industrial scaling and marketing of his innovation. While packaging may not always be the most immediately exciting area for consumers, shows like last night's help communicate the problems we solve and the benefits we bring as an industry."

 

Pritchard’s success comes a year after The Tiny Box Company, which sells recycled jewellery boxes, secured a £60,000 investment on the show, also from Paphitis and Jones.

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.

 

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Study questions stores' freshness claims on plastic wine bottles

Josh Brooks, packagingnews.co.uk, 13 May 2010

 

Wine stored in plastic PET bottles starts to oxidise within six months according to a new study which contradicts claims made by leading supermarkets on the shelf-life of the format.

 

 

The year-long study, which was carried out by the Institute of Vine and Wine Sciences (ISVV) in Bordeaux, found that the flavour and chemical composition of white wine changed within six months of being packed in single- and multi-layer PET bottles and bag-in-box.

 

The wine, however, remained stable in glass bottles, the study claimed. Red wine was also more stable in the non-glass formats, the study found.

 

The ISVV's results contradict recent claims from major retailers including Marks & Spencer and Waitrose over the shelf life of wine packed in PET bottles.

 

Both have launched wines in the format for the summer season, claiming environmental benefits due to their lighter weight compared to glass bottles.

 

Lab-condition tests

The ISVV tested both red and white Bordeaux wines which were packed in a range of glass, single-layer PET, multi-layer PET and bag-in-box packaging and then stored in laboratory conditions.

 

Researchers then tested the level of oxygen, carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide in the wine, as well as its taste and colour intensity, and regular intervals over the year.

 

While gas levels and taste of white wine were found to changed in the plastic and bag-in-box packs over the year, there was little change in the red wine and the ISVV is planning to continue testing into a second year.

 

ISVV lecturer Rémy Ghidossi said, "A lot of contradictory information has been circulating in recent months regarding different packaging solutions suitable for wines.

 

"It is now necessary to establish the truth, based on scientific information and quantitative data, to determine the legitimacy of each package, as its main function is to preserve the flavour and characteristics of its content."

 

Rise of PET format

The study has published just a week before the London International Wine Fair and comes at a time when major retailers are looking to PET bottles as a lightweight alternative to glass.

 

Marks & Spencer last week launched a range of 19 wines in mini 25cl multi-layer PET bottles, saying that the wines were guaranteed to stay fresh for 12 months.

 

Waitrose has also launched two of its wines in PET bottles that it is aiming at the outdoor summer market, especially festivals such as the Henley Regatta and Glastonbury.

 

Waitrose wine buyer Nick Room said the bottles of South African wine brand Khula Sky's Shiraz and Chenin Blanc had a shelf-life that was guaranteed for 12 months and were proven for 24 months.

 

He said the shelf-life of the format, which includes an oxygen barrier, highlighted "that the product is as good as glass for wine quality".

 

"Wine-drinkers can be quite precious about compromising taste and quality, which is something we have been very careful to ensure doesn't happen with the new plastic packaging," he said.

 

 

GSK chooses 100% recycled PET for Ribena bottles

Gordon Carson, packagingnews.co.uk, 21 September 2007

 

Ribena's owner has called for improvements to the UK's packaging recycling infrastructure after announcing that the brand is to use 100% recycled PET for its plastic bottles.

 

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has teamed up with recycling charity Recoup to trial four "reverse vending" machines in high-footfall locations across England, as part of its plans to boost recycled content.

 

However, Ribena marketing director Anne MacCaig said the fact that almost 13 million plastic bottles are sent to landfill every day showed the "mismatch" between the recycling infrastructure and consumers' aspiration to recycle.

 

"It is vital to set in place a more reliable supply of recycled materials so that we can build on our current achievement and other food and drink manufacturers can follow our lead," she said.

 

The majority of Ribena bottles are currently made of PET with 40% recycled content. But from October the brand's ready-to-drink bottles will switch to 100% recycled PET. The bottle cap and sleeve will not be made from recycled materials, but will be compatible with recycling facilities.

 

GSK expects the Ribena squash range to adopt 100% recycled plastic bottles within the next six months.

 

More than 60 million bottles of Ribena are sold each year, accounting for 58% of Ribena's UK sales.

 

Ribena will also phase out PVC packaging in 2008 when it relaunches its two-litre squash bottle in 100% recycled plastic.

 

The bottle currently features a carry handle, which has made it necessary to use PVC in production, but it is being redesigned so this is no longer required.

Packaging on YouTube: a designer chair made from recycled plastic bottles

packagingnews.co.uk, 21 May 2010

 

In this week's Packaging on YouTube, designer chair manufacturer Emeco creates a chair made from recycled Coca-Cola bottles that is encased in a block of ice.

 

The chairs go on sale from next month and Coca-Cola estimates that more than three million PET bottles a year will be turned into chairs.

 

Gregg Buchbinder, chairman of Emeco, said: "Although reengineering a core product is a significant investment for us, I was excited about the impact of reusing the PET from about three million plastic bottles a year.

 

"That's a lot of bottles and a lot of chairs. The new chair is the strongest, and most beautiful we can make. We’ve turned something many people throw away into something you want and can keep for a long, long time."

 

The video is part of the publicity campaign where the first chair was encased in a block of ice.

 

Materials features: glass bottles

Rodney Abbott , Packaging News, 01 November 2006

 

In recent years, glass has progressed from simple forms to provide the marketer with a brilliant array of colours, shapes and finishes to help grab the consumer’s attention.

 

Henry Ford once said that the customer could have any colour he wanted so long as it was black. Not so long ago the same applied to glass. Black wasn’t available, just flint, green and brown. Today, the colours available, including black, would complement any artist’s palette.

 

A bottle’s image can also be enhanced by myriad different finishes. Shape and decorative methods such as embossing, sleeving, pressure sensitive labelling, coating and screenprinting can be used separately or in combination to create tailored branding solutions.

 

No matter how well glass is perceived by consumers, its protagonists cannot afford to sit on their laurels.

 

A fifth gear has to be found. Allied Glass Containers found that fifth gear with Diageo’s Sambão mid-proof cachaca spirit bottle.

 

 

Sambão was winner of the Glass Packaging Award at the inaugural UK Packaging Awards in September.

The lime wedge design made this pack the outright winner since it was considered to stretch technical boundaries through the application of off-set mould seams to achieve a multi-curved panel together with debossed label panels and an embossed crest. The innovative design was delivered at the optimum glass weight for this shape of container.

 

 

Designers at Rockware Glass have recently been shedding more light on embossing, which often provides the most tangible expression of the brand as well as an impression of premium quality. To create maximum impact, embossing is often located around the shoulder of the container, which also happens to be the trickiest area to work on.

 

Accurate embossing

Traditionally, to create an embossed bottle, the glass designer supplies the mould maker with 2D artwork which is used to produce the finished mould. But even the most precise of the traditional techniques could fail to replicate the original artist’s impression. Poorly machined moulds mean that the glass produced often contains slight imperfections on the embossing. New moulds have to be made and production repeated, incurring additional costs and delays.

 

In their search for a solution that would satisfy their customers and production colleagues, Rockware’s CAD systems technologist Brian Howard and senior designer Steve Glover came up with a desktop rapid prototyping system.

 

 

“The results exceeded our expectations,” says design department section leader Tony Baker. “By creating a 3D model and capturing all the data of the container and specifically the embossing detail, our mould manufacturer can produce an exact and fault-free mould that will form a clean, crisp and clear relief onto the shoulder of the container.”

 

 

The power of design was demonstrated by Rockware’s innovation and new product development manager Chris Todd in a ‘one-off’ project for F Duerrs and Sons. Rockware set about creating an elegant-looking jar that would contain the world’s most expensive marmalade to celebrate 125 years of prize-winning marmalade manufacture.

 

 

The result is a crystal glass decanter. A glass bowl with a silver stopper sits in a solid glass base. The bowl and base were hand made by skilled glassblowers at the Dial Glassworks in Stourbridge.

 

 

Silversmiths crafted the silver lid and lid housing on the top of the decanter, and the finishing touches were added by hand engraving.

 

 

To take advantage of these recent developments, Britvic has re-launched its Amé carbonated adult fruit drink in a one-litre embossed bottle produced by Rockware Glass and designed by Jones Knowles Ritchie.

The Amé redesign reflects the brand’s repositioning as a mainstream adult soft drink. The tie device from Amé’s previous labels has been re-created as a piece of delicate glass embossing at the waist of the bottle. Paper labels have been replaced with clear pressure-sensitive labelling.

 

 

The new bottle and labels strongly communicate the product’s offering in the adult soft drinks sector. An increase in serving size from 750cl to one-litre creates a real sharing proposition to match wines or beers. Permanent shelf-ready packaging increases the shelf visibility.

 

 

Recently, O-I has been producing more than just glass packaging at the Rinteln and Holzminden specialty plants in Germany. The latest bottle designs are examples of how a glass package can serve more than just a functional purpose.

 

 

The Rinteln plant recently produced a glass award for the North Sea Tourism Association. The ‘Blue Seal’ bottle was created as the association’s new symbol and was presented as this year’s North Sea Tourism Award.

 

 

“The seal stands for environmental protection and the royal blue colour stands for the purity of the North Sea water,” explains director of specialties glass, Europe Dr Thomas Koy.

 

Specialist applications

Another example of glass’ functionality was recently developed at the Holzminden plant, where production designers created a bottle shaped like a boar.

 

 

“This project proposed a challenge as the many details of the crest needed to be incorporated into the shape of a bottle,” says Koy. “To provide the most finely detailed bottle, the first model was crafted from gypsum and then a mould was created.”

 

Returning to the beverage market, aptly named Foster’s Twist lager is packed in a twisted-neck clear glass bottle by O-I for Scottish & Newcastle. The brand extension is aimed at beer drinkers in their 20s and the design is intended to reflect this.

 

 

Glass marking continues to fuel the expansion of the CO2 laser market. Although most glass marking is centred on automotive, commercial, industrial, and residential window glass, there are also many applications for marking glass bottles and other decorative consumer items.

 

 

To test the feasibility of marking perfume bottles, Laser Lines recently set-up a Synrad sealed CO2 laser to mark 73 characters on a concave glass surface in a cycle time of 0.54s per bottle.

 

 

Using WinMark Pro, 10 different stroke text objects were created spanning seven lines of text comprising 73 characters – all in a space measuring 9.91mm wide by 8.45mm high. Individual text height values ranged from 1-2mm high and, in some cases, 0.1mm of extra character spacing was added.

 

The less glamorous sectors of glass container production are often starved of media attention, but glass used in the pharmaceutical industry deserves a second look.

 

 

The pharmaceutical industry is driven by global players and blue-chip brands. Beatson Clark sales and marketing director Lynn Sidebottom speaks of the company’s long standing relationship with Reckitt Benckiser; Beatson Clark is the sole supplier of glass containers for its Gaviscon range, and supplies bottles for other brands including Senokot and Lemsip.

 

 

“Following the installation of a bulk depalletiser at Reckitt Benckiser to improve line efficiency, we adapted all our pack sizes to make our packs compatible with the company’s new equipment,” she says.

“On the logistics front we have exploited the concept of ‘just in time’ delivery. Reckitt Benckiser holds no stock. The company tells us its requirements on a daily basis and we ensure the correct containers are delivered to the filling line within 24 hours.”

 

Beatson Clark recently designed an innovative sleeved bottle for the launch of a new product in Reckitt Benckiser’s key Gaviscon range – Double Action Liquid. The existing 150ml and 300ml Gaviscon bottles have been re-branded with the application of an eye-catching full sleeve.

 

 

The fully sleeved bottle differentiates the Double Action Liquid from the rest of the range and creates greater standout appeal on supermarket shelves. It also has the added benefit for the customer of speeding up the filling process because the bottles are sleeved in advance so no on-line labelling is required.

 

 

Similarly, Johnsen & Jorgensen (J&J) has re-designed a bottle for a successful range of health food oils. The customer wanted a new, shorter bottle shape with the same volume as its predecessor that would also fit on the eye-level shelves of a major supermarket chain.

 

 

Previously, the products had been top-shelf items, which placed no constraints on bottle height.

J&J designed the ‘Cylindrica Bassa’ 250ml bottle, which has the same generic appearance of other sizes in the branded range. The squat but elegant bottles are an example of packaging design that could make all the difference to a brand.

 

 

“Commercially, the new bottle shape fits perfectly on the supermarket’s best-selling shelves,” says J&J speciality division sales manager Mike Bogod. It just goes to show what benefits glass has to offer.

 

 

How glass is made

Recycled glass plus sand, soda ash, limestone and other ingredients are heated to very high temperatures (around 1,500-1,700°C) in a glass furnace. As much recycled glass is used as possible as this enables the other materials to melt at lower temperatures.

 

 

Even though basic ingredients are used in vast quantities, accurate weighing and mixing is essential to the manufacturing process. This is carried out and measured electronically in a batch house, which supplies the mix to the furnace.

 

 

The individual materials melt and fuse to create molten glass, which flows into moulds where it is automatically pressed into shape by plungers and blown by compressed air to make the finished container.

 

 

This continuous flow of glass is now cut into individual gobs (globules of molten glass) by being forced past synchronised shears that cut gobs of glass of the same weight as the eventual container. The gob is then fired down into a section of the forming machine. Within seconds it emerges as a recognisable container.

 

 

After leaving the forming machine, and before entering the lehr, the containers are given a ‘hot end’ coating that helps to maintain the strength of the containers through their working life.

 

 

The lehr is a long oven which ‘anneals’ the glass by raising its temperature to around 550°C and then cooling it down at a gradual rate. This process removes any residual stresses that have been created in the container by its rapid forming and cooling.

 

 

A second surface treatment at the ‘cold end’, after the lehr, is applied to the containers. This increases the lubricity of the glass to prevent scratching and improve its performance down filling lines.

 

Thandi cuts carbon footprint of wine range with PET pouch

Jill Park, packagingnews.co.uk, 03 June 2009

 

South African wine brand Thandi has followed in the footsteps of sister brand Arniston Bay and launched its wine in a pouch that it claims has a carbon footprint of 20% less than glass bottles.

 

The pouches are manufactured from a composite material made from an inner and outer layer of metalised PET, which encases a layer of linear low-density polythene.

 

Flexible packaging company Astrapak and Cape Wrappers, both based in South Africa, worked together to source the raw materials used to make the pouches.

 

Cape Wrappers then manufactures the material, which is passed to Astrapak-owned Saflite to construct the pouches and attach leak-proof taps.

 

The Company of Wine People has set up a facility at its Oden Molen site in Stellenbosch, South Africa to fill the pouches.

 

"We wanted to give the consumer a pack that was light and convenient, but still retained all the characters of our quality wines," said Chris O'Shea, executive director of sales and marketing.

 

"It should also make it easier to take wine to places where glass is not always practical, but where you wish to enjoy a great wine, such as picnics and outdoor events."

 

The shelf life of the sealed pouch is nine months. The wine can then last for up to a month once opened, the company said.

 

This is possible because as the pack is emptied, oxygen is forced out to ensure the wine doesn't come into contact with any air in the pouch.

 

According to The Company of Wine People, the carbon footprint of the wine pouch is 20% less than a glass bottle that holds the same volume of wine.

 

South African wine producer The Company of Wine People's brands include Kumkani, Thandi and Arniston Bay.

Beatson Clark plans cullet recycling facility

Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 16 March 2009

 

Beatson Clark is looking to build a recycling facility at its Rotherham plant to help improve the amount of recovered cullet used in the production of new glass bottles.

 

Beatson Clark sales and marketing director Lynn Sidebottom said the company had difficulty in getting the good quality recycled cullet it needed to produce new white and amber containers.

 

The firm's target is for 60% recycled material in amber glass and 50% for white flint, and building the recycling facility enables it to better harness local supply. "It makes sure local glass comes back to the glass works," said Sidebottom.

 

Using glass cullet in the manufacturing process helps reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, but the plant doesn't process mixed glass. "If the glass is not separated it ends up going into aggregates," she said.

 

Beatson Clark, which has already submitted a planning application for the recycling facility, is also in the process of installing a new clear glass production line at the plant.

 

The £2m investment, which will boost capacity by 75 million units, includes an eight-section, double-gob IS machine with inspection units to ensure the quality of the containers.

 

The firm said the new machine would enable it to produce containers of "virtually any shape and size" and create new permanent positions for up to 15 of its temporary staff.

Packaging on YouTube: Hungry octopus opens bottle with tentacle to get lunch

packagingnews.co.uk, 11 September 2009

 

In this week's Packaging on YouTube, a clip from New Zealand of an octopus that has learned to open glass bottles to retrieve food and, even more bizarrely, has a penchant for playing with screwdrivers.

Lack of clear glass forces Waitrose to pack rosé in green

Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 03 March 2008

 

A shortage of clear glass bottles has forced Waitrose to roll out a half-litre bottle of rosé wine in green glass.

 

Rosé wine usually comes in clear bottles, but a Waitrose spokeswoman said that its supplier had been unable to find sufficient stocks to be able to reach shelves for the launch today (3 March) of its Vin a Deux range of French wines.

 

Waitrose expects, however, to have the wine in clear bottles on its shelves by May. The other seven wines in the range, reds and whites, would be bottled in green by default.

 

The Vin a Deux wines are bottled in France and sent to the UK.

 

Philip Tutt, a spokesman for O-I Glass, said there was "no problem for clear glass in the UK", but admitted that, as in the rest of the packaging industry, "glass prices had risen to reflect increased energy prices".

 

Waitrose said it had introduced the range of wines in 50cl bottles to "cater for responsible drinking habits".

 

Wine buyer Nick Room said the bottle would "dispense with unfinished bottles of wine or 'feeling the need' to finish off a full bottle".

 

In 2007, retailers introduced a number of new formats for wine packaging, including PET bottles and multi-layer pouches.

O-I bottles win German design awards

Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 17 August 2009

 

Two O-I glass bottles have won in the packaging category at Germany's Red Dot communication design awards.

 

Bottles for True Fruits smoothies and Veen mineral water were among the 55 packaging winners of the 470 advertising products that were recognised in the competition. More than 6,100 products from 42 countries were submitted.

 

 

 

Inga Koster, head of marketing and finances at True Fruits, said it was important to choose a packaging material that fitted the brand identity.

 

"The True Fruits packaging material and the design have to pinpoint the corporate philosophy – 'true fruits, no tricks' and convey the pureness and high quality of the product," she said.

 

Other winners in the packaging category include Highland Spring's Gleneagles water, New Amsterdam Gin and a pack for Spanish salt company Soso.

 

Peter Zec, who created the Red Dot award said: "The economic crisis appears to spur on the creativity of communication designers. The standard of the submitted works has never been so high."

 

Matthias Warneke, O-I marketing manager for non-alcoholic beverages, said: "The fact that both products are awarded in this prestigious competition proves the value glass packaging can add to a product."

 

A winners' ceremony will take place at the Red Dot museum in Essen, Germany, in December.

 

O-I moots making glass baby bottles in Europe over BPA plastics scare

Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 25 March 2009

 

O-I is considering the production of glass baby bottles in Europe as a response to consumer fears over the Bisphenol A plastic additive.

 

Following the scare over traces of Bisphenol A (BPA) in plastic bottles in the US, O-I started to produce glass baby bottles for the first time in 20 years.

 

Vivika Remmel, O-I European food marketing manager, told Packaging News the firm was monitoring the situation in Europe to see if it was worth commencing production.

 

"We are certainly looking at demand for glass baby bottles, and if it was sufficient we are ready to produce bottles in Europe," she said.

 

Remmel said that glass was an ideal for making baby's bottles, because it is inert, doesn't leach chemicals and is 100% recyclable.

 

"Glass benefits in terms of health, safety and the environment which are all very important," she said.

 

BPA could be banned from plastic packaging and food containers in the US after the Ban Poisonous Additives Act of 2009 was lodged with the senate in Washington earlier this month.

 

However, the UK Food Standards Agency has argued that levels of BPA in plastic products were well below levels that were considered harmful.

 

The Food and Drink Association and the British Soft Drinks Association have also both said the additive is safe for use in packaging.

Observer wine critic declares boycott of heavyweight glass bottles

Josh Brooks, packagingnews.co.uk, 26 October 2009

 

One of the UK's leading wine critics has declared war on overweight packaging by vowing to boycott wines sold in heavyweight wine bottles from his Sunday newspaper column.

 

Tim Atkin, who is the wine critic for The Observer, declared in his column yesterday that an increasing number of producers were packaging their wines in "disgracefully heavy" bottles.

 

Instead, he encouraged wine buyers to buy wine in bag-in-box, plastic, Tetra Paks or lightweight glass - advice that is likely to upset some in the glass sector, which argues that its products beat those in other materials due to its high rate of recycling.

 

He also suggested that consumers buy wines that are shipped to the UK in bulk and bottled here; this has been one of the key projects of Wrap's Glassrite project, which has helped Waitrose implement a bulk-importing model for its Chilean Virtue wines.

 

Atkin claimed that the problem of overweight bottles was most likely to be found in Spanish, Italian and Argentine wines.

 

He said that in those countries, "anyone who makes an icon wine weems to come over all macho and purchase the thickest glass available".

 

He said: "In an effort to arrest this runaway trend, I've taken the decision not to recommend anything on these pages that comes in a heavyweight bottle... I will not hesitate to name and shame."

 

Champagne and other sparkling wines would, however, still be acceptable in heavy bottles because "the wine style dictates the choice of package".

 

In a series of other tips to keep the carbon footprint of wine drinking as small as possible, Atkin encouraged readers to buy from carbon-neutral wineries or to support the UK's burgeoning wine industry in order to keep transportation to a minimum.

Valois launches cosmetic pump with high-precision tip

Jane Ellis, packagingnews.co.uk, 10 June 2008

 

Valois, the producer of dispensing systems for the pharmaceutical, perfume and cosmetics markets, has launched Evolux Eyes & Lips.

 

The cosmetics pump, which features a high-precision tip that dispenses 70 microlitre doses, has been designed for local eye and lip contour treatments.

 

Evolux Eyes & Lips contains a new Alpha pumping system from German packaging firm Pfeiffer, featuring an external spring that does not come into contact with the product, which means there is no problem with contamination.

 

Valois marketing and innovation manager Patrick Bousquel said the product would be available in versions with a metal or plastic pump, and a gold or silver anodised aluminium or PP cap.

 

"The all-plastic version will be for mass-market products, while the gold version will be for luxury beauty products," he said.

 

The pump will be assembled on 15, 20 or 30ml glass or plastic bottles.

 

Bousquel said: "Dispensing products for selective care is a dynamic segment and brands are adding more specific products for areas such as eyes and lips. We're starting with the Evolux product in packaging which allows more precise dispensing."

 

Valois Beauty & Home division first unveiled Evolux Eyes & Lips at Luxe Pack in New York and the big US cosmetics brands are starting to look at the product for precise projects, he added.

 

"I cannot reveal the names of any customers yet."

 

The first products, assembled on the Valois Evolution bottle at the company's factory in Normandy, will be available from September.

 

Valois Beauty & Home is the largest division of Valois, which is a subsidiary of the Chicago-based Aptar Group.

Pet toothpaste to use Guala pump

Jane Ellis, packagingnews.co.uk, 30 September 2008

 

Johnson's Veterinary Products, the pet care specialist, has chosen a pump dispenser from Guala Dispensing for a new meat-flavoured toothpaste for dogs and cats.

 

The 50ml container offers clean, neat and constant dispensing of a 2ml dose.

 

The dispenser, in white with a clear overcap and blue actuator to match the Johnson's logo, has a slender design offering a full 360° surface for labelling.

 

Johnson's previously switched its Hairball Remedy from a tube to this Guala packaging and immediately increased sales through improved shelf standout.

 

Johnson's continues to use Guala's TS2 trigger for its Clean 'n' Safe disinfectants, and said there is potential for launching more products in the pump dispenser, which is suitable for a range of viscous formulations.

TricorBraun unveils one-handed pump dispenser

Packaging News, 01 September 2006

 

US- and Canada-based rigid plastics company TricorBraun has created a prototype for a lotion pump that can be operated with one hand, unlike traditional dispensers which require one hand to depress the pump and the other to ‘catch’ the contents.

 

According to Craig Sawicki, executive vice-president of TricorBraun Design: “There has been very little change in  the design of lotion pumps for almost 40 years, and people have become so accustomed to using two hands to dispense viscous liquids from a bottle that packaging designers have not thought about how to improve upon it.

 

 

“Its most obvious application is for cosmetic and personal care applications. But it is also logical for other products, such as pet care, where one hand could hold the pet while the other hand dispenses and applies the product.”

Allied Glass makes five-sided bottle for Scottish gin

Ben Bold, packagingnews.co.uk, 08 December 2009

 

International Beverage UK (Inver House Distillers) has commissioned Allied Glass to manufacture the Celtic-design-influenced bottle for its new premium gin brand, Caorunn.

 

The flint glass bottle, originally conceived by branding agency Navyblue, has drawn inspiration from the Scottish art nouveau movement, which itself was heavily influenced by Celtic knots.

 

The five-sided, pentagonal bottle represents each of the gin's Celtic botanical ingredients, while a red five-pointed asterisk – a stylised rowan berry base – appears in the centre of the bottle's body.

 

The Celtic word for 'established' is printed on a label on the bottle's neck to signify the distillery's heritage, while a wooden closure also carries an etched version of the asterisk, with each point of the star pointing to the name of the five ingredients.

 

The five ingredients in Caorunn gin are rowan berry, heather, coul blush apple, dandelion and bog myrtle.

 

Small batches of Caorunn are produced at Inver House's malt whisky Distillery in Balmenach in Scotland's Speyside region.

 

Iby Bakos, International Beverage UK brand manager, said: "The perfectly balanced recipe of 11 hand-picked botanicals ensures a naturally balanced flavour that works well in cocktails.

 

"We are confident that it will attract the attention of bartenders and mixologists alike."

 

 

Beatson Clark moves into water market with 330ml glass bottle

Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 30 June 2009

 

Beatson Clark is targeting the bottled-water market after investing in moulds for a 330ml lightweight flint bottle.

 

The bottle has a standard MCA neck finish and complements the company's 750ml container that is part of Beatson's general sale line.

 

Marketing manager Charlotte Taylor said the range was very flexible and could be embossed. "Embossing is a smart way to add branding at a much smaller cost than having a completely bespoke product made."

 

Demand for more environmentally friendly products and lightweight packaging was behind the decision to expand the range, and the inert quality of glass makes it ideal for packaging water, Taylor said.

 

"When you add in the environmental benefits of glass, coupled with the advantage of these new lightweighted products, it is not surprising we are seeing an increase in interest for these drinks bottles," she said.

 

Rotherham-based Beatson Clark produces a wide range of flint and amber glass products for the pharmaceutical, food and drinks markets. It produces some 76,800 tonnes of products a year, generating some £40m turnover.

M&S swaps glass for plastic for mini wine bottle range

Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 05 May 2010

 

Marks & Spencer is moving its range of 25cl wine bottles from glass to PET in a move that the retailer says will save 525 tonnes of packaging a year.

 

There are 19 variants in the mini still wine range and M&S said the plastic bottles were 88% lighter than the glass equivalent and used less energy to manufacture.

 

M&S winemaker Belinda Kleinig said: "This is really exciting for M&S as it means our customers can enjoy the same great quality but in much lighter bottles, which its not only easier for them to carry but better for the environment."

 

The bottles are now available in store and took more than two years to develop. The bottle consists of two layers of PET sandwiching a barrier to prevent oxygen from reaching the wine.

 

Paul Sapin and Roger Harris Wines collaborated with M&S in creating the bottles that are guaranteed to keep wine fresh for at least 12 months. The lighter bottle is also said to reduce the carbon footprint of transport and distribution.

 

"With summer around the corner, we're hoping they prove a real hit," said Kleinig.

 

The news comes a day after Packaging News revealed that glass manufacturer O-I had published a carbon footprint that showed glass had the lowest carbon footprint for a 355ml container.