Plastic products have become an integral part of almost every area of life. Despite its many advantages, this important raw material has come into disrepute for some time now.

The Flexible Packaging Association (FPA) is accepting entries for the FPA 2020 Flexible Packaging Achievement Awards Competition. This annual competition honors industry advancements in innovation and technology in flexible packaging that are meeting the challenges of today and delivering flexible packaging solutions for a multitude of products.

While creative labeling through colors, shapes, decorative foil or unique typography can help a brand pop off a shelf, they can also help communicate a brand’s story as it works to capture a consumer’s attention.

Printpack was recognized by Keurig Dr Pepper as its Collaboration Award winner for 2018 at its recent Supplier Collaboration Summit. Printpack received the award for its work on cost savings achieved via a joint Kaizen project.

Vetaphone, a manufacturer of corona and plasma surface treatment technology, has added a web cleaner to its portfolio of products for narrow web converters. The new unit, which can be single- or double-sided, is available in four standard web widths.

GEA has launched two innovations in vertical packaging to help meat and poultry manufacturers increase uptime. The SmartPacker CX400 packaging machine, available in both sanitary and standard configurations, is equipped with induction sealing capabilities that reduce changeover times to less than two minutes.

Sustainability, innovation, automation and Industry 4.0 are just a few of the words a packaging professional is likely to hear bandied about each day. Another word you are likely hear is collaboration, which seems to be experiencing growing importance these days.

Rapak North America, part of DS Smith Plastics, expands its Autokap 600 series filling machine offering by creating a bag-in-box filler designed to safely handle the filling of alcohol spirits. When packaging wine or alcohol, vapors could escape during the filling process and create a fire or explosive hazard.