Innovations of every kind

Packaging Innovations and its co-located shows will host more than 350 exhibitors offering their latest products and solutions. Each show addresses a specific sphere of packaging to provide an overall event for the full packaging supply chain, from machinery, technology and equipment, to design and branding, forms and concepts, plus outsourcing partners to help take a product to market.

Packaging Innovations showcases the latest primary and secondary packaging technology, design and branding techniques. Labelling Innovations, supported by BPIF Labels, offers labelling solutions across converting, printing and packaging. Contract Pack houses more than 30 BCMPA-accredited exhibitors for companies looking to outsource all or part of their manufacturing, processing, packing, fulfilment or logistics operations. Ecopack is a showcase for environmentally responsible materials and designs. Visitors to Packtech can find the latest off-the-shelf or bespoke machinery and technology for all aspects of packaging. Print Innovations will present the latest printing technology and techniques. And Converting Innovations - a new event for 2014 - offers new converting machinery and equipment, as well as printing and finishing of product packaging.

In addition to the exhibits, new show features this year will include live demos of 3D printing; Campden BRI eye-tracking of the drivers behind consumer spending behaviour and store navigation; and the Recoup Plastics & Packaging Recycling Clinic. There will also be more than 50 free-to-attend seminars and 30-plus hours of educational content from leading industry experts. The BIG Packaging Debate will tackle a pertinent issue of the moment in a lively and interactive environment; and The BIG Print Debate will discuss a key issue in the print world.

Lions' Lair will put suppliers' latest products through their paces before a panel of packaging buyers and experts; and the Packaging Consultancy Clinic will offer one-to-one personalised advice packaging by experts from The Packaging Society.

Among the exhibitors

AE Adams (Henfield) (stand J40) provides a complete contract packing solution through manufacturing, filling and packing services for the personal care, household and automotive markets. Its advanced in-house technical capability in the design, building and re-development of packaging machines has led to several new form fill seal machine installations in the past three years.

Exhibiting on stand G27, Airpack Systems specialises in supplying inflatable packaging for all sorts of fragile goods that need to be shipped through courier networks. "We can reduce damages, save up to 90 per cent of your storage space and speed up your packing process", the company states. All Airpack bags are 100 per cent recyclable.

Allen Coding Systems (stand F4) will be showcasing its latest developments in hotfoil, thermal transfer, laser and inkjettechnologies - and the company's new range of 53XL printers.

On stand G18, Ambassador Antalis Packaging is to demonstrate a range of Innovations of every kind protective packaging systems. Among the product innovations will be the "revolutionary" Notbox, a recyclable, environmentally-friendly, multi-purpose box
offering an alternative to cartonboard for many applications. It is claimed that one customer making 200,000 deliveries a year could save £30,000 by using the Notbox instead of single-use boxes.

Audion Automation (stand F9) will be displaying a range of flexible packaging solutions, such as the Power Sealer Magvac vacuum sealer, Rollbag systems and the 300 MHS Medical Heat Sealer, for sterile and hermetic packaging.

Automated Packaging Systems (stand E6) will show its AirPouch systems, which feature either air pillows, bubble or tubes, providing long lasting protection of goods in transit.

Making its show debut on stand H37 is environmental start-up company Bag Re:Born, with a new reusable carrier bag. Said to be durable enough for repeated use, with a clever pull, tear and snap system, the bag folds out into a full size (60 litre) refuse sack. It is made from 100 per cent recycled materials utilising post-consumer plastics waste and produced using renewable energy.

Bell Packaging (stand E34) will show innovations including its triangular shaped plastics tubes from the Jetran range using post-consumer plastics waste.

Cerulean (stand H3) is introducing a portable carton tester. The Cerulean Newton PCT is "easily calibrated and fully transportable for rapid quality testing in situ". It is suitable for testing whole cartons made from corrugated, paperboard and waxed cartonboard up to 230mm wide and 8mm thick. Housed in a rugged Storm case with pre-programmed integral lap top, it measures crease strength, spring back and box-forming force. It also evaluates friction properties to identify potential carton sticking and feeding problems.

Dantex will introduce the Truepress Jet L350UV, a digital press said to deliver "photo-realistic quality" and fast, stable UV digital label printing for short to medium runs at up to 50m/min. The manufacturer says jobs can be easily prioritised according to run length, material and finishing requirements; job setup requires minimal downtime and offers ultra-fast turnaround. Stand K12 will also feature the Dantex 1290 Label Press, "ideal for short runs and variable data", plus the Star Plate and Star Proof systems.

Durst's (stand J17) Tau 330 digital UV inkjet print system can now be equipped with new low migration inks from Sunjet to print on primary food packaging. The ink components meet all the guidelines of the European Printing Ink Association (EuPIA) and the Swiss Ordnance on Materials & Articles legislation and do not utilise materials specifically excluded on the Nestlé Packaging Inks Specification. Durst will also launch an in-line digital laser finishing system incorporating state of the art Spartanics laser diecutting technology.

Enercon (stand G8) will be exhibiting a new range of induction cap sealers "providing state-of-the-art technology" to a variety of industries.

The new Foodpack model FP1485 machine from ILPRA Systems UK (stand F10) is said to be the very latest in in-lane tray sealing, with innovative features "giving advantages both technically and commercially".

Intec Printing Solutions (stand E12) will be demonstrating the Edge 850 label printing solutions and launching new products for packaging prototyping that will print to thick card stocks.

UK distributor KTEC (stand F14) will feature Primera's LX-Series of roll-fed colour label printers, designed to enable smaller producers such as organic farms, beekeepers and custom cosmetics makers "to use individuality as a selling mission". With a print resolution of 4,800dpi, the label print is said to be of top photographic quality so it's simple to add vibrant pictures of the produce with extra fine detail for ingredients and instructions. For companies with bigger production volumes, there is the CX1000e and finisher FX1000e. The roll to roll printer with dry toner-based laser print technology is said to be "almost maintenance-free" and simple to use.

Contract packer and logistics provider Lemonpath (stand K39) celebrates its eighth anniversary this month. The Leicester-based company saw a significant rise in sales during the latter half of last year, with the contract packing operation "turning in a record-breaking performance". Significant new business came in the food and drink gift packing area, following successful BRC reaccreditation. Managing director Chris Antliff comments: "This is seen as a key area of growth for 2014 and beyond, resulting in major investment during the first quarter of this year to double the size of our existing facility".

M&H (stand A38) has designed a bottle shape to take the new Menshen 2-piece bi-injection snap-on flip top cap. The gently curved oval-shaped Elise bottles, manufactured in HDPE, are available in 250ml and 400ml, and the cap has been designed to fit both. It offers the option of a 2-colour finish, and the wide snap closure with simple hinge system opens easily and can also be used on a tottle pack. Also new is an extensive range of Meditainer bottles - HDPE/PP straight-sided containers designed to take either break-band tamper-evident closures or ribbed shallow caps; and the 30ml Iris bottle, whose curved shape gives a premium look that could
make an ideal travel, sample or hotel amenities pack.

New to the UK market is Measom Freer's (stand D30) luer cap range. Made from polypropylene, they fit any of the company's 18mm R4 neck-sized bottles from 15ml-100ml and promise "safe and leak-free dispensing". Typical uses include lubricants, e-cigarette refill, solvents, adhesives, inks, chemicals, veterinary preparations, fishing bait applications and assembly fluids. The luer lock cap screws on to the bottle ready to accept any luer lock or luer slip type needle tip, and tip cap seals. They can also have a Spout Tip fitted to seal in contents, then any dispense tip that attaches to the luer lock cap can be added for application.

Pioneer of stretch sleeve applicator technology PDC Europe (stand J29), which has worked with companies such as Coca-Cola, Dean Foods and Procter & Gamble, is displaying its latest linear high speed machine, which is able to sleeve bottles at up to 600ppm.

PaperForm trays from Plastique (stand A42) are a new thermoformed paper-based packaging concept; composed with FSCcertified
sustainable paper and a thermoplastics such as rPET or PE, or a biodegradable option such as Bio=X. These material combinations can be formed to make soft sculptural shallow packs that will bring an innovative, naturally tactile quality to a product or brand. The trays can be preprinted, film lidded, or heatsealed as a clampack or to conventional rigid thermoplastics packaging.

Pollard Boxes (stand A57) will unveil its Emmeci MC2012 MEB fully automatic machine for the manufacture of high quality presentation boxes up to 330mm deep, the first to be installed in the UK. "Ideal for luxury drinks packaging," the boxes can be finished with a variety of high quality decorative options, including film lamination, embossing, silkscreen UV varnish and hotfoil stamping; all produced in-house to help reinforce premium brand image on-shelf.

Visitors to Rako Etiketten's stand (F18) will see the Perfect Body Touch + Feel sample, a combination of the skrinkable Perfect Body Technology which won the German Packaging Award 2010. The high quality haptic impression of the tube is achieved by the application of a fully printed, water-based, soft touch matt varnish and UV-High & Clear screen printing. Also to be featured is the Lean Label Eco liner-less label.

Schur Star Systems (stand E40) will be launching its latest developments designed for the food industry in the UK: Fresh `n` Gobags to keep fruit and vegetables fresh for longer, while providing convenience for the consumer. Also on show are dual and multi-chamber stand-up bags, and Ready Meal bags developed for the convenience food market and aligned with the trend for smaller single-servings.

Making its UK debut, Seriplast (stand J61) will be presenting six new plastics packaging products and looking to find new customers in the cosmetic, veterinary and drug store sectors.

As an alternative to the traditional metal can, Silgan Plastics Food Containers (stand J59) will be demonstrating re-launched Bentos Meat Puddings using its new lightweight plastics bowl. Also featured will be Hormel STAGG Chili in high barrier plastics containers decorated with a cartonboard sleeve; and 200g Hormel Spam, now in a high barrier rectangular plastics cup.

New from adhesive material specialist SKD Tapes (stand J54) is a versatile and robust tamper-evident security tape with smart features. The new SK77 tape is available in three colours - red, blue and a 'covert' brown that, to all intents and purposes, looks like a regular buff tape used to seal cartonboard boxes. But when the tape is removed, it reveals an irreversible void message that, as with the other coloured tapes, is "so highly contrasting it is strikingly obvious even at a distance".

In addition to contract packaging, Techtron Manufacturing (stand J32) manufactures, blends and packages liquid based products for the retail, industrial, janitorial and speciality chemical markets. For 2014 the company has invested in a new 4-head flexible filling line, which will significantly increase the company's capacity on a variety of packs from 50ml bottles to 5-litre jerry cans.

www.easyFairs.com
www.aeadams.co.uk
www.airpacksystems.com
www.allencoding.com
www.ambassador-antalis.co.uk
www.audionelektro.co.uk
www.autobag.co.uk
www,bagreborn.com
www.cerulean.com
www.bellpackaging.com
www.dantex.co.uk
www.durst-online.com
www.enerconind.co.uk
www.ilpra.com
www.intecprinters.com
www.ktecgroup.co.uk
www.primeralabel.eu
www.lemonpath.co.uk
www.measomfreer.co.uk
www.mhplasticss.com
www.plastique.eu
www.pollardboxes.co.uk
www.primeralabel.eu
www.printpack.eu.com
www.rako-group.com
www.schur.com
www.seriplast.fr
www.silganpfc.com
www.skdtapes.com
www.techtronmanufacturing.co.uk