Pro2Pac: Food for thought

Now in its second year, Pro2Pac is the only biennial exhibition dedicated to packaging and processing in the food and drink industry. Running from 15 to 18 March at London’s ExCeL, this year’s show is expected to be bigger than ever. The 2007 exhibition attracted more than 100 exhibitors and thousands of visitors, including representatives from top multiples, international retailers such as Carrefour, Albert Hein and Delhaize, and major brands including Dairy Crest, HJ Heinz and Nestlé.

Pro2Pac is co-located with IFE, the international food and drink event, and this year’s show promises to bring together a host of companies in all sectors of food and drink processing and packaging. On show will be the latest developments in packaging machinery and materials. Pro2Pac is also hosting a series of free seminars, that will address the most pressing issues facing the industry at the moment, with speakers from Tate & Lyle, Nestlé, Design Perspectives and Tesco, among others.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS

Beatson Clark (Stand C66)
The company will be showcasing its latest products at Pro2Pac. Beatson Clark marketing manager Charlotte Taylor says the company’s flexibility allows it to service smaller volume, premium product ranges and niche markets. Beatson Clark recently invested £2m in an additional production line, enabling it to supply an extra 75 million units of clear glass containers. “With our free design service and broad range of products, Beatson Clark is in a position to offer a comprehensive service to a variety of clients,” adds Taylor.

Brother Label (A52)
The labelling specialist will demonstrate its QL-650 label printer at this year’s show. The desktop printer has an automatic time and date function to make shelf-life labelling easier. The compact machine can print labels with or without connecting directly to a PC via USB connection and prints 56 labels per minute.  It uses thermal printing technology and self-contained labels, which eliminate the need for ink cartridges and minimise time spent feeding through label sheets. The device can also produce barcodes and labels for shipments.

Celebration Paper & Plastics (F14)
The manufacturer of food service disposables, such as napkins and plates, will be using Pro2Pac to promote its new Enviroware range and the fact it has gained Forest Stewardship Council chain of custody certification. Celebration Paper & Plastics managing director Nick Burton says: “It is vital to us that we recognise the role we have to play in forest protection management and can be seen to be acting responsibly.” The Enviroware range includes 100% recycled, unbleached tissue cocktail napkins and coasters and glass covers made from unbleached board.

Croxsons (A17)
Croxsons will exhibit its new bench-mounted capper for food jars, which is aimed at smaller producers and is capable of up to 600 jars an hour. It will also be showing a pop-up pourer, suitable for use with food and spirits. It is an insert in a standard oil or spirit cap and research in Europe has shown a sales increase of up to 22% as a result of using the product. The outer cap can be offset printed, embossed and hot foiled.

Goldcrest Labels (C36)
Goldcrest has launched a label print service to help UK small business owners. Goldcrest Rapide offers dedicated short-run printing to make cost-effective cutting-edge label design affordable for all. Goldcrest’s knowledge helped a start-up brand of Welsh preserves and pickles find the right look. They were able to create a rustic feel and cut the packaging budget by over 20%.

Industrial Washing Machines (B29)
The firm will promote  its tray washing machines at the show. AF Blakemore & Son, the principal supplier to more than 700 Spar grocery stores, has been able to reduce its environmental impact with the help of Industrial Washing Machines (IWM). Blakemore general manager Marc Deakin explains that the firm moved from disposable cardboard cartons to reusable plastic trays. “With a small number of trays, manual or subcontract washing might have been an option, but we would be handling tens of thousands of trays a week,” he says. The firm installed an IWM Crusader T600 tray washer, with a capacity of 600 trays an hour. Blakemore was so pleased with the machine and service as demand grew it upgraded to the Crusader T1500.

Interfood Technology (D24)
Interfood Technology will be showing the Plasti-Clip line EZ P 600. It secures bag and net packaging with a plastic clip, rather than a conventional metal item. The EZ P 600 can be used for a range of food applications and it is bacteria resistant, boil safe and suitable for use in a microwave and freezer. The clip also has few moving parts, making it easy to clean and maintain.

Nicholl Food Packaging (A6)
The foil food container manufacturer will be showcasing its lightweighted tray at Pro2Pac. Using patented alloy technology and tool design, Nicholl has produced the low weight container, while retaining the strength and aesthetic appearance of a standard smoothwall tray. The tray boasts a minimum 12% weight reduction, with custom-designed rib technology to provide added rigidity.

Primera Technology (B54)
The US manufacturer of speciality printers will use Pro2Pac to promote its FX400e foil imprinting system and its AP360e and Ap362e label applicators. The FX400e works inline to apply shiny gold and silver borders, fonts and other graphics to inkjet-printed labels. The effect is virtually identical to traditional metallic hot-stamping technology. Primera’s AP360e and AP362e are compact, semi-automatic labelling devices that can apply up to 1,200 pressure-sensitive labels an hour. Labels can be applied to bottles, cans, jars, tubes, and both cylindrical and tapered containers.

Reiser (B18)
Reiser will be showing its Repak horizontal form, fill and seal packaging machines at the exhibition. The Repak machines are constructed with two four-point lifting stations, which can generate up to five metric tonnes of closing pressure for reliable sealing and more uniform forming. Repak’s rapid air forming system also allows the use of thinner films, while maintaining the thickness at corners, resulting in material cost savings of up to 20%.

Riggs Autopack (A36)
Visitors to Riggs’ stand will have the opportunity to operate and test the firm’s automated glass jar filling and capping system for twist-off caps. The line will consist of a stainless steel variable-speed slatband conveyor, a transfer pump and two Riggs Model 1000 volumetric piston pumps. The Model 1000 can fill more than 40 containers a minute. Also on display will be a stand-alone semi-automatic low level depositor for filling liquid, paste or solids in suspension. Sales manager Bob Lumb has also revealed Riggs Autopack will be launching a new product at the show.

Schur Flexibles Europe (B56)
Schur provided the packaging for Asda’s Fresh Tastes ready meals. The clear doypack-style pouch is a first for the ready-meals category and offers shelf standout. The pouch is microwavable and 70% lighter than a typical combination of tray, lid and carton sleeve. The pouch also won the Packaging News Readers’ Choice Pack of the Year 2008 and will be on display on the Schur stand.

Xact (C26)
Xact will use Pro2Pac to promote the Matthews Swedot SX range of drop-on-demand inkjet printers. The systems feature three password-protected levels, an icon-based user interface, full keyboard and four hotkeys. They can also store up to 100 messages. These printers are suited to date and other large character marking on to porous surfaces.

SEMINAR SNAPSHOT
Pro2Pac will host a series of free seminars on 16-18 March in the seminar theatre. Sponsored by Wrap and organised by the Packaging Materials Link, the seminars bring together speakers from a diverse range of backgrounds and expertise. Some of the highlights include:

16 March
Preparing for product and pack success Walter Lewis, managing director, Faraday

Sustainability at Tate & Lyle Simon Hoghton-Dodd, head of quality and sustainability, Tate & Lyle
Present and future impact of nanotechnology on the food sector Alan Smith, managing director Az Tech

17 March
The role of packaging in society Dick Searle, chief executive, Packaging Federation

Understanding consumer insight to develop superior products and packaging Ben Mortimer, senior designer, Nestlé and Stephen Lillford, research consultant, Design Perspectives

Designing in a new world Tim Corvin, marketing director, Webb Scarlett deVlam

18 March
Understanding carbon footprints James Dorrell, environmental design advisor, Giraffe Innovation

Eco-pack attitude – debate Tracy Bhamra, reader in sustainable design Loughborough University, Steve Pizer, packaging technical manager, Tesco and Claudia Kuss-Tenzer, senior research consultant, Waste Watch

SHOW FACTFILE
Dates 15-18 March 2009
Venue ExCeL, Royal Victoria Dock, London
Opening times 10.00am-5.30pm (closes at 5.00pm 18 March)
Admission Free on completion of a registration ticket, visit www.pro2pac.co.uk/register
Travel There is extensive parking at ExCeL. The nearest Docklands Light Railway station is Custom House
Contact www.pro2pac.co.uk

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