China & India: Flex-Pack Leaders?
PCI Films Consulting predicts that between now and 2010, half the world's growth in flexible packaging will be in China and India. But how will this shake out if China's qualilty control issues follow into the flex-pack industry?...
Focusing on European Flex-Pack
More than 125 flexible packaging pros from all over Europe attended Intertech/Pira’s “Innovations in Flexible Packaging” Conference in Prague, Czech Republic, Nov. 15-–16, 2006....
Inks Keep Getting Smarter
Advances in recent ink technology include scented inks, microbial and bacterial sensor inks, oxygen sensor inks, and microwave inks for “doneness.” Complementing this list is the growing interest in printed RFID tags, security packaging inks, and brand protection specialty inks. Even nano- techology promises a new generation for packaging inks incorporating quantum dot bar codes. ...
Group Focuses on Innovation
Among the worldwide flexible packaging organizations, there is one group that is probably least known, open by invitation only and only to those specifically selected for their technical skills: the International Flexible Packaging Network (IFPN)....
The Fashion Side of Flex-Pack
Packaging is sort of a fashion business: Concepts come and go and sometimes are even fully commercialized....
Retort Pouch Causes a Stir
Widely hailed as flexible packaging’s "greatest innovation," the retort pouch finally is shedding its exotic image and rapidly becoming a mainline package on the supermarket shelf....
Wanted: US Markets
Many foreign flex-pack converters have asked me to assist them in entering the huge $20 billion US flexible market. I advise them to plan a long-term strategy based on know-how and quality production. I tell them first to establish a presence stateside. After about 12 months of image-building, it’s time to decide how to approach the US market....
Retort Pouch Conference a Hit
More than 200 attendees crowded into the Radisson Hotel in Princeton, NJ, April 20-22 to hear the latest developments in retort pouch technology. Traveling...
European Report Covers Flex-Pack Industry in Depth
On a recent trip to the U.K., I had dinner with Paul Gaster, a consultant at PCI Films Consulting Ltd. He showed me a quarterly business report published by PCI titled, “European Flexible Packaging,” that has been available since 1999....
Achieving Drug Compliance through Packaging
Honeywell's magnificent corporate campus in Morristown, NJ, was the venue for the Showcase 2002 conference, “Delivering Innovation through Packaging” (Sept, 17-18, 2002). Attended by more than 200 packaging pros representing virtually the entire pharmaceutical supply chain, the event was hosted by Honeywell as well as five trade organizations/periodicals....
Canadian Flex-Pack Industry Has a Lot Going for It
Long overshadowed by the US but considered to be one of the finest countries in the world in which to live, Canada (pop. 35 mm) is rapidly becoming a...
Flex-Pack and Brand Protection Journals Are Musts
Pira Intl., the U.K.-based R&D and marketing institution, has published two journals destined to be “must” reading.
Pet Food Packaging Is Big Business Worldwide
Recently Ahlstrom, the huge Finnish-based high-performance fiber company, sponsored a two-day seminar in Barcelona, Spain, on pet food packaging for dogs...
Trends in Flexible Packaging Markets: Two Different Views
The Flexible Packaging Assn. (FPA) has put out its projection of the top five flex-pack markets in the next five years (2000-2005). I must differ with...
New Test May Detect Pathogens in PE Food Wrap
Searching for expiry dates and sniffing food to detect spoilage soon may be things of the past. A development in food packaging will alert consumers to...
Battle of the Materials Is on for Blister Packaging Market
Long dominated by PVC, the bottom web market for pharmaceutical blister packs now is facing increased competition from a variety of new materials. Although...
