Integration of robots                                  

Today, we cannot imagine automotive production without large welding robots and concurrently no one will be surprised by small robots in the manufacturing and packaging of truffles or drugs, for instance. However, we can still find areas not fully covered with suitable types of robots. The machine- and other peripherals operation is one of such fields. Picking or placing items into transport packaging or handling totes are typical activities in this production.

Automation trends in the food industry                           

It will be no surprise that the level of automation is higher in the engineering than in the food industry. There are large industry manufacturing lines where you hardly meet a living soul, while elsewhere there are food plants where dozens of people pick up products from a conveyor belt placing these immediately into a cardboard box or a crate. The market is driving food producers to reduce prices more than ever. So how to resolve this? The factory automation could be one of the solutions.

Food packed in plastics, cardboard and metal                           

The food packaging design must take into account all technical and technological aspects of production in accordance with the aesthetic aspect as it is the subject to fashion trends, too. Packaging shapes and graphics change frequently. The material and its usage are also affected by the contemporary market requirements.

Sauce sachets under scrutiny                                 18

The Knorr sachet packaging plant in Heilbronn, Germany packages millions of products annually such as Fix Spaghetti Bolognese, Fix Goulash and Fix Pot Roast. The plant makes ongoing improvements to its production machinery in order to meet the latest technical and food hygiene requirements. The latest step in these improvements was the installation of an intelligent machine vision system from Cognex to deliver checks of 100% of the seals on sachets produced. [ms1]

rub. Focused on materials

Disputable presence of packaging bioplastics                              24

Two types of substances get referred to as “bioplastics” nowadays: Firstly, there are “bio-based” substances made from renewable raw materials – primarily from corn, soybeans and industrial crops today. Some of them possess characteristics similar to the substances made from fossil feedstock and therefore do not degrade easily in the environment. Secondly, there are biodegradable plastics complying to the EN 13432 standard. These are derived from renewable as well as non-renewable (usually fossil) resources and degrade in the environment much faster than other plastics (i.e. within a few months up to a few years). Roughly a half of them are usedin the packaging industry today.

One-and-a-half-pint milk bottle                             28

O-I Sales and Distribution Czech Republic, a container glass manufacturer and distributor, and Česká mlékárenská společnost BOHEMILK a. s. have launched an innovation on the domestic market – “Čerstvé české mléko” (Fresh Czech milk) in glass bottles. This way, together they restore the traditional connection of quality milk with a unique bottle design. Svět balení talked with both designers of the glass bottle and its label about the development process of this new container.

How to manage returnable containers?                            

Eastlog and Packlog 2013                           

This year’s EASTLOG logistics congress, organized by the ATOZ Group, was held in Prague from May 23 to 24. A significant focus on logistics managers in the manufacturing was one of this year’s innovations, a new PRODLOG workshop was arranged for them. Its aim was to help them optimize logistical support of production activities. PHARMALOG, dedicated to healthcare and pharmaceutical logistics, was another new section. After a break of several years, the HRLOG workshop for HR managers of logistics companies returned into the congress program. The SAVELOG section provided short meetings of congress partners with their potential clients again. The success of last year`s PACKLOG workshop attracted a group of professionals providing packaging solutions in logistics this year, too. During a half-day forum, with lectures and discussions, they listened to four presentations focusing on new trends in the field of transport packaging production and logistics.

Consumer choice and Innovation Village 2013                            

Within the 13th marketing program “Consumer choice – The best innovation 2013”, organized by the ATOZ Group, the consumers chose winners from a total of 115 entries in a record number of 38 categories. Manufacturers and distributors were allowed to submit the innovations in the field of FMCG (except tobacco products) launched on the Czech market from September 2011 till the end of 2012. The program was accompanied by an expert Innovation Village workshop, subtitled The Future of Marketing. Nominations for the awards were based on the results of an exclusive survey conducted by STEM/MARK. As last year, Svět balení presents the awarded packaging innovations. Most of these were in the food category.

Young Package 2013 for seniors

The award ceremony of the international Young Package design competition took place in Prague on May 31. At the gala evening, the jury honored nine finalists in total who best embraced this year’s theme of aging people and related issues. More frequently than in previous years people were heard discussing humility and empathy – or the lack of these – when handling this topic. Matúš Mitas, a college student at the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, with his milk container featuring an innovative cap for easy handling became an overall winner. Above all, the jury appraised the designer’s approach to the subject and his sensitive targeting of this particular age group.