NEWS
Constantia Hueck LLC (Wall, NJ) now offers both peelable and peel/push versions of blister lidding foil for pharmaceuticals requiring child-resistant packaging. The peelable foil is suitable for fragile items, while the peel/push necessitates three steps and provides maximum child resistance. Both products feature a paper/PET laminate with a high sealing strength (about 7.5 lb/in.) and foils that are suitable for in-line printing on blister machines. Constantia Hueck LLC is a division of Austria-based Constantia Packaging.
World cap and closure sales are expected to grow 4.7% per year through 2011, according to a new study by The Freedonia Group Inc. (Cleveland). The firm projects the industry to reach $32 billion in sales, representing 1.4 trillion units, by 2011. Unit gains will be greatest in China, where Freedonia anticipates more than 25% of worldwide growth. Closure makers continue to replace metal and cork with plastic, aided by technological advances and the shift from glass to plastic and paperboard in consumer packaging applications.
Capsule-filling and end-of-line packaging equipment manufacturer MG America’s (Fairfield, NJ) headquarters now includes a cleanroom for trial testing customers’ products on MG2 capsule fillers and for training, a packaging showroom, and a redesigned lobby and conference area. MG’s parent company, MG2 of Bologna, Italy, is in the final stages of a major expansion to its world headquarters, adding 160,000 sq ft to accommodate a new warehouse.
The Michigan State University School of Packaging (East Lansing, MI) has developed a new series of seminars and short courses to launch in 2008. The courses were produced by the school’s Outreach Education Program to collaborate with and service the packaging industry. Lasting from two to five days, the courses provide continuing education on topical subjects in the packaging industry, especially the drive to produce packages that serve multiple roles, as well as other initiatives and challenges of manufacturing environments and their effect on packaging initiatives.
The women of Quality Tech Services (Edina, MN) joined together on September 27 to volunteer at the Feed My Starving Children organization. The medical device packaging company organized the effort after observing the results of a study by Women’s Way, a nonprofit organization dedicated to women’s fund-raising, which stated that volunteers improve their leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills. The women spent the evening packing meals for hungry children worldwide.
North American paper, packaging, and facility-supply distributor Unisource Worldwide Inc. (Norcross, GA), has expanded its packaging facilities to provide global supply-chain support for manufacturers of technology products. Its new Technology Packaging Group will design packaging to meet factory requirements while lowering supply-chain costs, said Tony Swope, director of the group, in a news release. The group’s initial focus will be to market to technical assembly and semiconductor manufacturers and to the medical instrumentation, pharmaceutical, and aerospace industries. The division will operate at Unisource’s Design and Testing Lab in Phoenix.
