Pat Reynolds

VP Editor Emeritus

Transfer of PET bottles from blowing to filling to capping is all done by star wheels that grip bottle necks, so no bottle platforms are needed.

Vertical Integration Rules at Incobrasa

From blow molding PET bottles to welding 4-L steel cans to injection molding of plugs that seal those cans, this edible oil producer is a big believer in self manufacture.

Remote FAT procedures shown in this screen save include a mechanical engineer at MG2 (upper left) operating an MG2 compact machine, Quality Engineer Sarah Jacobs of Dr. Gustav Klein (upper right), and two MG2 experts shown near the bottom of the screen.

Conducting a Virtual FAT

With COVID-19 making it difficult to schedule in-person business meetings of any kind, this Italian packaging machinery OEM is leaning on remote work solutions.

Oan Fallas Speedybot

End-of-line Specialist Moves Toward Condition Monitoring

Fallas Automation places an even greater emphasis on integrating early warning systems for predictive maintenance since COVID-19 set in.

COVID-19 Response Boosts Employee Engagement

Bill Schreiber, CEO of Batavia, NY-based O-AT-KA Milk Products Cooperative, Inc., talks about how his firm’s response to COVID-19 has led to greater employee engagement.

More from Pat Reynolds

The shrink-sleeve labeler features servo drive technology and applies either a full-body or a neck label (shown left).

A Line Designed for Container Variety

When your growing contract packaging business has you using one line for filling glass and plastic in eight sizes and applying both lug and CT caps, that line had better be versatile.

Intimations of Sustainability

I’ve always told anyone who would listen that the main reason I’ve so enjoyed being a packaging journalist for all these years is because my job consists of talking with some of the smartest problem solvers on the planet.

Direct digital print on glass includes tactile elements.

Bacardi Personalizes Bottles with Direct Digital Print

BACARDÍ rum, the number one rum in Europe, has launched a limited-editionglass bottle that uses direct digital printing to bring an Augmented Reality experience to consumers.

Customized bottles from Heineken just for the Grand Prix.

Heineken Customizes for Grand Prix

Dutch brewing company Heineken, which has a global partnership with Formula 1 racing, wanted to do something special for the return of the Grand Prix to the Zandvoort circuit in the Netherlands.

The advanced Interroll conveyor system at Cookplus is entirely managed by software developed by Teknokom.

Automated Material Flow System for E-comm Center

A fully automated and remotely monitored material flow system is part of a modern, 6,000-square-meter distribution center of Cookplus in Hadimköy near Istanbul, Turkey.

Film unwind on the new stretch wrapping system at Badoit.

Multipacking Optimized

Top quality natural mineral water and an exclusive bottle design are the trademarks of the Badoit brand, and now their multipacks are also consistently first class.

Pyraser Landbrauerei has recently invested in a KHS Innofill Glass DRS glass bottle filler.

New Filler for Beer

Pyraser Landbrauerei, founded in 1868 in the Franconia region of Germany, recently invested in a KHS Innofill Glass DRS filler.

Packaging Post-Pandemic

Nobody can measure with any real accuracy what impact Covid-19 will have on packaging. But what packaging professional wouldn’t value a glimpse into how things might look post-pandemic, especially if that glimpse comes from an experienced veteran?

This robot picks freshly printed cans six at a time from the vacuum conveyor discharge and places them on the infeed conveyor of the curing oven.

Breakthrough in Direct Digital Can Printing

Tonejet’s electrostatic drop-on-demand can printing technology has taken some time to mature since it first burst onto the scene. That makes this SoluCan installation awfully interesting.