NEWS
Judging for The Tube Council’s annual Tube of the Year Awards took place in early August in New Jersey. Judges evaluated 20 tubes submitted for the council’s annual program at SS Studios (Union, NJ), a graphic arts firm.
This year’s judging panel included Stephen Hess, executive director of packaging technology for Merck & Co. Inc. and an editorial advisory board member of Pharmaceutical & Medical Packaging News; Jeffrey Wass, director of package engineering for Avon Product Inc. and an editorial advisory board member of sister publication Cosmetics/Personal Care Packaging; Deb Spaeth, account manager at Tectubes; and Daphne Allen, editor of Pharmaceutical & Medical Packaging News and group editor of CPC Packaging. Christopher White, president of The Tube Council, presided over the judging.
Tubes were judged on their graphics, decoration, shape, closure, texture, ease-of-use, consumer appeal, and technical merit. Awards will be presented for the best tubes in the following industries: personal care, pharmaceutical, dentifrice, food, and household/industrial.
Other categories include Innovative Tube of the Year and Innovative Component/Process of the Year, which honors an innovative process developed by a council associate member. The highest achievement award winner—the Ted Klein Tube of the Year—will also be announced. For awards program rules and past winners, visit www.tube.org.
The winners will be announced at The Tube Council’s booth at HBA Global Expo, held September 18–20 in New York City. They will also be celebrated during the council’s annual meeting on October 17 at The Marriott Newark (Newark, NJ).
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Multivac Inc. (Kansas City, MO) is celebrating its 20th year as a local company in North America. The company manufactures thermoform-fill-seal rollstock packaging
systems, chamber vacuum pouch sealers, tray sealers, and cross-web and in-line labelers for medical and other product applications. To mark its anniversary, the company is hosting a gala Oktoberfest event at its headquarters in Kansas City as well as holding its Multivac Anniversary Golf tournament at nearby Staley Farms Golf Club. The festivities will take place September 27–28, 2007. Former Wal-Mart vice president Ken Parnell will present the event’s keynote address.
BeamOne LLC (San Diego) has agreed to build a state-of-the-art electron beam sterilization facility in the new Coyol Free Zone and Business Park in Alajuela, Costa Rica. When completed, the park will encompass 268 acres of land, including 25 acres of greenbelt and protected areas. Completely government owned, it is projected to provide nearly 30,000 jobs within 10 years.
“We are impressed with the successful growth and commitment of the medical device industry in Costa Rica,” says Ray Calhoun, president and CEO of BeamOne. “The benefits of in-country sterilization services will be a substantial aid to continued growth. Manufacturers will now be able to deliver goods directly to the European and Asian markets without the cost and time required to ship to the United States for sterilization.”
Currently with three operating facilities, BeamOne provides sterilization services to more than 120 medical device customers with the help of 55 employees.
Oliver Medical (Grand Rapids, MI) has opened a new manufacturing facility in Comstock Park, MI. “Our new facility enables us to address increased demand while also providing contingency manufacturing space in case of emergency,” says Jeff Murak, Oliver’s director of sales and marketing. “Should we ever have a situation in which the Grand Rapids facility is unavailable, the new facility will provide sufficient manufacturing space to meet our customers’ needs.”
The new 48,000-sq-ft facility houses a positive-pressure cleanroom equipped with a new coater providing 60-in.-wide web and in-line slitting capabilities. The building offers space for contract medical device assembly, adhesive manufacturing, office, and warehouse and logistics operations.
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Better Packages Inc. (Shelton, CT) has reached its 90th anniversary providing tape-dispensing and carton-sealing systems. For nearly a century it has been providing Better Pack water-activated tape (WAT) dispensers and semi-automatic BP Sealmaster case sealers, including the Better Pack 333 Plus, of which it has sold more than a million. The firm also offers its own environmentally WAT, the
BetterSeal Secure Tape.
ITW Performance Polymers (Danvers, MA), an Illinois Tool Works company, has acquired M&C Specialties Co., a manufacturer of custom-fabricated die-cut labels, tapes, and components. M&C, which has converted materials for 3M, Avery Dennison, and others, will continue to operate as a stand-alone unit, says Sevan Demirdogen, head of the ITW Performance Polymers acquisition team.
IF International Forum Design GmbH will present the iF Packaging Award at Interpack Processes and Packaging, to be held April 24–30, 2008, in Dusseldorf, Germany. The competition includes eight categories and is open to manufacturers, designers, and developers of packaging, packaging materials, graphics, and packaging machinery. The winners will be announced on April 24, the opening day of the show. For details on the program, visit www.ifdesign.de.
