Breaking News on Beverage Technology & Markets

Industry fury over unfair and unachievable UK plastic packaging recycling targets

10-Feb-2012 - The leading UK plastics trade body has launched a withering attack on what it says are unrealistic and unfair Government recycling targets for plastic packaging.

Refillable bottles are the future, says Petainer, unveiling ‘greenest ever’ bottle

07-Feb-2012 - Plastic packaging technology business Petainer has launched its ‘greenest ever’ refillable plastic bottle using 25% post-consumer recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and claims it is a significant environmental improvement.

Glass packaging firms must be 'nimble, innovative and consumer-centric': O-I chair

07-Feb-2012 - US glass packaging company Owens-Illinois (OI) says it has made important changes to its supply chain setup and engineering teams to increase its customer focus.

Cheer in Vietnamese beer for O-I after Aussie doldrums

07-Feb-2012 - Only weeks after it scaled-back production in Australian due to a flat market for glass caused by slow beer sales, glass packaging giant Owens-Illinois (O-I) has opened a new production plant in Vietnam.

Self-chilling beverage cans will take market by storm: Joseph Company CEO

03-Feb-2012 - US firm Joseph Company International is launching the world’s first ‘self-chilling beverage can’ using licensed technology, even tested by NASA, that cuts out the need for refrigeration, and says it has already had interest from two of the world’s largest retailers.

The People’s Republic of Beverage Cans: Ball Packaging plans to shift US lines to China

02-Feb-2012 - Ball Packaging says it is selling every beverage can it makes for the Chinese market, with huge opportunities in sectors such as beer, and wants to relocate equipment there from ‘mature markets’ such as the US.

US beverage seal trounces flavouring agent transfer: company

02-Feb-2012 - Freudenberg Process Seals is launching its new Fluoroprene XP 40 sealing material onto the US market, and said it overcome the limitations of existing products offered to beverage processors.

Krones warns of profit plunge over possible fraud case payout

02-Feb-2012 - Krones has warned that damages it may be forced to pay over its alleged involvement in a US fraud and racketeering scam could cut its profits by tens of millions of dollars. The company denies any wrongdoing.

Crown Holdings CEO shrugs off full-year profit slump

02-Feb-2012 - Despite a slump in 2011 net profits, Crown Holdings chairman and CEO John Conway said new beverage can lines in “promising emerging markets” such as Brazil, Vietnam and China boosted the company’s fourth quarter (Q4) and full-year trading performance.

‘ScentSational’ packaging coating delivers food or drink aroma

01-Feb-2012 - An “invisible technology” that allows food and beverage processors to add the product aroma to its packaging has been developed.

Krones looks to seal deal at Anuga with new aseptic valves

31-Jan-2012 - German food machinery giant Krones has confirmed to BeverageDaily.com that it will launch new aseptic valves as the latest additions to its EvoGuard series at the Anuga FoodTec trade show in March.

Eco-resin with 50% rPET matches virgin material - company

31-Jan-2012 - Quality equivalent to virgin material, high strength and a lower carbon footprint are claims made by Artenius for its new PET resin that contains up to 50% recycled content.

Ball Packaging bids to ‘centralise administration’ with European HQ switch

30-Jan-2012 - Ball Packaging has revealed plans to relocate its European headquarters from Germany to Switzerland in 2012 to centralise administration and align operations more closely with customers.

MWV highlights packaging positives as it posts Q4 loss and forecasts tough 2012

26-Jan-2012 - Tough economic conditions in the fourth quarter of 2011 will spill over into this year, said MeadWestvaco (MWV) as it posted a fourth quarter loss of US$9m (€6.8m).

Souped-up packaging to extend ease of use can’t reach all brands at once, says Nestlé

25-Jan-2012 - Nestlé says it is investing in further training for its industrial designers in the Cambridge University ‘Inclusive Design’ approach, to accelerate packaging modifications across its brand portfolio to ensure ease of use for consumers of all ages.

Empac denounces greenwashing after legal victory over Superfos

25-Jan-2012 - Empac has condemned the practice of greenwashing after a Danish court ruled that Superfos had breached advertising guidelines in claims that plastic packaging was more eco-friendly than metal.

News in brief

Possible conflicts forces Husky to sell subsidiary

25-Jan-2012 - Husky said it has reached an agreement to sell closure injection moulding subsidiary Injectoplast to Alpla Holding.

Earthquake-stricken city reaps Coca-Cola Amatil investment

24-Jan-2012 - Leading bottler Coca-Cola Amatil New Zealand (CCANZ) has invested NZ $15m in bottle self manufacture and undertaken a multi-million dollar rebuild in Christchurch.

We helped create new Chinese beverage category that's going global: SIG Combibloc

23-Jan-2012 - SIG Combibloc says the runaway Chinese success of its drinksplus technology is ‘going global’, with top food firms impressed by its premium beverage applications.

Ambitious Ardagh lines up borrowing to fund two more takeovers

19-Jan-2012 - Ardagh said it is looking to borrow more than US$400m to finance two new acquisitions and pay for a third announced earlier this month.

‘King’ can maker Rexam has high hopes for Russian 75cl move

18-Jan-2012 - Rexam has revealed that it will produce Europe’s first 75cl can, first launched onto the Russian and Eastern European markets at the end of 2011, and says the product also has promise further west.

Eco concerns clear in recent Chinese, Indian customer visits: Tetra Pak

16-Jan-2012 - Tetra Pak says that during recent client visits in both India and China, customers have shown an increased interest in environmental issues such as energy use, water consumption and product loss.

Irish eyes smile as Diageo revamps St James’s Gate Brewery

12-Jan-2012 - Diageo today announced plans to invest €153m in a brewing centre of excellence at St James’s Gate, Dublin, that it said would form part of a wholesale rejuvenation of the iconic site.

SuperCleanQ funding victory to boost SMEs rPET prospects

10-Jan-2012 - An industry consortium has secured almost €2m of EU funding to develop processes and quality procedures to recycle for food contact applications, with the aim of helping small to medium-sized recyclers (SMEs) here reprocess waste and conform to European regulations.