Product safety is a big concern to both the packaging industry and the consumers who buy their products. Problems such as food contamination, spoilage and product counterfeiting are growing world-wide issues. Packaging has been used as a barrier to keep consumable products safe since man first began trading goods. Plastics have taken over as the main material used to keep consumables safe from external influences such as heat, dust, air, water, sunlight, and contamination by touch. It has also been used to keep in flavor, color, vitamins and minerals.
Newly developed plastics are allowing packagers to keep their products safer than ever before. There are now plastic films that have anti-corrosion properties. These will keep the products from corroding in extreme conditions. There are other plastics that keep fruits and vegetables fresher longer by allowing the bad gases to release into the air outside the plastic barrier, while keeping out the air that will cause them to spoil faster.
Some packages (such as on frozen foods and fish) have temperature detection labels on them. If the label turns a certain color it warns the consumer that the product was exposed to a temperature that was too high and the product may not be ‘safe’. Known as ‘intelligent’ packaging, it informs the consumer whether the product was handled properly prior to purchase.
Follow my next blog (Part III) to continue learning more about the latest trends in packaging.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at http://www.neminc.com/.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Monday, June 25, 2012
Packaging Industry Trends – Part I
Some of the latest trends in the packaging industry have been on-going initiatives that are evolving over time. For example, environmentally-friendly packaging products have been on the rise for the past 10 years. Product producers are searching not only for ways to make their packaging more ‘green’, but they are also looking to cut the cost of packaging. Some new lighter weight films and other innovations are assisting in both these areas. For example, as opposed to using shrink wrap to contain loose boxes on skids, there are now anti-slip blocking disks with small hooks on both sides that penetrate the cardboard on the cartons to keep them in place. Large wire-wrapped plastic containers are now available that will hold the same amount as 5 large drums, thus compacting the product down from 5 containers to one.
Another innovation cutting down on both packaging costs and waste is the creation of Retail Ready Packaging. These come in various forms. For the bakery industry it is utilizing plastic trays that stack and can have wheels attached to the bottom to allow the products to be placed on the trays in the factory, delivered to the stores and rolled out to the display floor without any additional packaging. The trays are switched out every day and re-used. Another form of Retail Ready Packaging is used when the factory places the products in shelf ready cardboard boxes. The boxes are printed on the outside with consumer-pleasing graphics and information. They are pre-scored to open across the top and partway down the front to display the individual products inside the boxes ready for the consumers to take out.
What other trends are changing our packaging world? Visit my next blog to learn about other changes and innovations that are making a difference.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at http://www.neminc.com/.
Another innovation cutting down on both packaging costs and waste is the creation of Retail Ready Packaging. These come in various forms. For the bakery industry it is utilizing plastic trays that stack and can have wheels attached to the bottom to allow the products to be placed on the trays in the factory, delivered to the stores and rolled out to the display floor without any additional packaging. The trays are switched out every day and re-used. Another form of Retail Ready Packaging is used when the factory places the products in shelf ready cardboard boxes. The boxes are printed on the outside with consumer-pleasing graphics and information. They are pre-scored to open across the top and partway down the front to display the individual products inside the boxes ready for the consumers to take out.
What other trends are changing our packaging world? Visit my next blog to learn about other changes and innovations that are making a difference.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at http://www.neminc.com/.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
How Do You Hire The Right Individuals?
Every highly successful individual in the business world has one thing in common. They have surrounded themselves with high achievers. They chose the right people to support them and help make their vision become a reality. Perhaps that is their most crowning achievement – being able to recognize real talent in an interview and hire them.
There are many different opinions and methods for finding and keeping the best employees. Some companies offer a higher salary and continually de-employ the 10% of employees who are performing at the bottom. Other companies put prospective employees through psychological testing prior to hiring. Then there are companies that set up hiring teams to interview candidates. Medium to large companies have an HR manager and/or department tasked with recruiting, vetting and hiring the best employees. Smaller companies don’t have that luxury and must rely on testing, references and sometimes just ‘gut feeling’ about candidates. I’ve occasionally been disappointed by an employee who said all the right things in an interview but then doesn’t ‘walk the talk’ after they are hired.
So how do you find and hire good candidates? What is the vetting process used by your company?
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at http://www.neminc.com/.
There are many different opinions and methods for finding and keeping the best employees. Some companies offer a higher salary and continually de-employ the 10% of employees who are performing at the bottom. Other companies put prospective employees through psychological testing prior to hiring. Then there are companies that set up hiring teams to interview candidates. Medium to large companies have an HR manager and/or department tasked with recruiting, vetting and hiring the best employees. Smaller companies don’t have that luxury and must rely on testing, references and sometimes just ‘gut feeling’ about candidates. I’ve occasionally been disappointed by an employee who said all the right things in an interview but then doesn’t ‘walk the talk’ after they are hired.
So how do you find and hire good candidates? What is the vetting process used by your company?
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at http://www.neminc.com/.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Excellence Is a Moving Target
Most companies strive to achieve excellence. We all want to be ‘first in class’. To be successful, we cannot settle for mediocrity. But excellence is not a static goal. It is not a ‘place’ that once reached, is fully conquered. In recent years the problems of Toyota have shown us that excellence is a continual state of high performance, that cannot be taken for granted or even momentarily overlooked. I’m sure you can all think of items that were truly ‘excellent’ but are no longer being made. Some things that come to my mind include the IBM Selectric typewriter, a General Electric transistor radio, and Motorola’s Cabinet Stereo System. The interesting thing about my selections is that these companies are all still in business because they continued to innovate and improve their products.
To truly achieve and sustain excellence, a company needs to constantly find ways to improve its products while listening to the needs of their customers and carefully monitoring industry trends. I’m very proud to work for a company that does just that. While our company already makes the best unscramblers and cappers in the packaging industry, they do not rely on existing technology to carry the company forward. They just recently introduced new electrical features that allow one touch speed adjustment and online recipe creation via the HMI on all bottle unscramblers and capping equipment. This wasn’t done in response to ‘keeping up’ with the industry, it was done in an effort to lead it. Continual improvement – the key ingredient to excellence.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at http://www.neminc.com/.
To truly achieve and sustain excellence, a company needs to constantly find ways to improve its products while listening to the needs of their customers and carefully monitoring industry trends. I’m very proud to work for a company that does just that. While our company already makes the best unscramblers and cappers in the packaging industry, they do not rely on existing technology to carry the company forward. They just recently introduced new electrical features that allow one touch speed adjustment and online recipe creation via the HMI on all bottle unscramblers and capping equipment. This wasn’t done in response to ‘keeping up’ with the industry, it was done in an effort to lead it. Continual improvement – the key ingredient to excellence.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at http://www.neminc.com/.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
ExpoPack Mexico – The Place To Be For Sales to Latin America
Our company will have a booth at the ExpoPack Mexico show this year. We always have a presence at this show. For packaging machinery sales to Latin America, ExpoPack Mexico is THE show to attend. It is a great opportunity to meet and be exposed to most of the businesses in Latin America seeking packaging machinery.
I am always a little surprised, however, in that the attendance is the exact opposite of US trade shows. In the US the first and second day of the show are always the busiest. By the last day of the show, the visitors are sparse. ExpoPack Mexico is the opposite. There, the first two days of the show are somewhat slow, but the momentum seems to build as the days progress until the last day of the show when the exhibition hall is packed until closing time.
I highly recommend this show for anyone seriously wanting to sell packaging machinery to Latin America and, conversely, for anyone wishing to purchase packaging machinery in Latin America. This year, New England Machinery will be located in booth 1704 in the PMMI pavilion. Stop by and say hello. We’d love to see you!
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at http://www.neminc.com/.
I am always a little surprised, however, in that the attendance is the exact opposite of US trade shows. In the US the first and second day of the show are always the busiest. By the last day of the show, the visitors are sparse. ExpoPack Mexico is the opposite. There, the first two days of the show are somewhat slow, but the momentum seems to build as the days progress until the last day of the show when the exhibition hall is packed until closing time.
I highly recommend this show for anyone seriously wanting to sell packaging machinery to Latin America and, conversely, for anyone wishing to purchase packaging machinery in Latin America. This year, New England Machinery will be located in booth 1704 in the PMMI pavilion. Stop by and say hello. We’d love to see you!
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at http://www.neminc.com/.
Monday, June 11, 2012
When We Work Together – Everyone Wins
Exciting news for the packaging industry and the world in general has just recently been released from Washington. Five major companies are banding together to create a task force that is charged with developing a new plant-based product that will replace the plastic they currently use in their products. Coca-Cola, Ford, Heinz, Nike and Procter & Gamble have all agreed to put resources behind the research and development of a new 100% plant based product that will replace PET. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is made from fossil fuels. It is used to make bottles, fabric and carpet, apparel and footwear.
It is a huge step for these companies to join together to create a new product that could ultimately be worth billions of dollars. However, the gain to our environment and the future of our planet is invaluable. I for one, wish to give these companies a standing ovation and wish their team great success in reaching their goal quickly. I hope more companies take a cue and ‘jump on this bandwagon’ for the good of all.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at http://www.neminc.com/.
It is a huge step for these companies to join together to create a new product that could ultimately be worth billions of dollars. However, the gain to our environment and the future of our planet is invaluable. I for one, wish to give these companies a standing ovation and wish their team great success in reaching their goal quickly. I hope more companies take a cue and ‘jump on this bandwagon’ for the good of all.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at http://www.neminc.com/.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
How To Innovate
Most people look at their jobs as routine tasks. In some cases the tasks and/or routines are repetitive. On the whole, we don’t often think of ourselves as innovators. However, life is always showing us that if we just stop and attempt to think ‘outside the box’ for a few minutes, we can often become innovative. It is a learned capability. You don’t need to be born with a creative mind. You can teach yourself to think creatively. It’s easy to do and just takes practice.
To learn to be more creative start small. Take one item or task you want to change and think about it whenever you have a few free minutes. Spend time looking through magazines always keeping your item or task in mind. Research it online. What are other people saying or doing about that task or item? Talk about it with as many other people as you can. They do not have to be related to the task or item in any way. Sometimes people who know nothing about what you do are best as they may have a suggestion that is way out there, but just might work. Don’t readily dismiss an idea. Maybe you can use a part of one idea combined with a part of another idea.
A few years ago we were trying to come up with a way to catch our customers’ attention and remind them that we were going to the packaging show. Every company is inundated with invitations that come via mail and e-mail reminding them to stop by the various booths at the upcoming show. We wanted to make sure that our invitation would at least be read. As a teenager I had a lot of pen pals and always looked for unusual writing paper. One year I found a box of writing paper that included small cardboard tubes. The letters could be rolled up, inserted in the tubes, labeled, stamped and mailed out. Everyone who got one loved it. We took that concept and rolled up our invitations and put them inside small translucent bottles. We labeled and stamped them and sent them out. The invitation promised a free gift if brought back to our booth at the show. We had a record number of visitors that year and got back dozens of the invitations at the booth. Everyone loved the ‘message’ in a bottle idea. All it took to come up with the idea was spending some time thinking of a new delivery system.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at www.neminc.com.
To learn to be more creative start small. Take one item or task you want to change and think about it whenever you have a few free minutes. Spend time looking through magazines always keeping your item or task in mind. Research it online. What are other people saying or doing about that task or item? Talk about it with as many other people as you can. They do not have to be related to the task or item in any way. Sometimes people who know nothing about what you do are best as they may have a suggestion that is way out there, but just might work. Don’t readily dismiss an idea. Maybe you can use a part of one idea combined with a part of another idea.
A few years ago we were trying to come up with a way to catch our customers’ attention and remind them that we were going to the packaging show. Every company is inundated with invitations that come via mail and e-mail reminding them to stop by the various booths at the upcoming show. We wanted to make sure that our invitation would at least be read. As a teenager I had a lot of pen pals and always looked for unusual writing paper. One year I found a box of writing paper that included small cardboard tubes. The letters could be rolled up, inserted in the tubes, labeled, stamped and mailed out. Everyone who got one loved it. We took that concept and rolled up our invitations and put them inside small translucent bottles. We labeled and stamped them and sent them out. The invitation promised a free gift if brought back to our booth at the show. We had a record number of visitors that year and got back dozens of the invitations at the booth. Everyone loved the ‘message’ in a bottle idea. All it took to come up with the idea was spending some time thinking of a new delivery system.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at www.neminc.com.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Do You Use Lists?
I confess, I am an avid ‘List Maker’. For me, it is the only way to keep organized, especially on a big project. As long as the list is complete, it prevents overlooking or forgetting something important. Some lists I re-use over and over again. For example, I have a list of items that we need to order and/or prepare in advance of every packaging trade show. This is a check-off list that I use for all shows and it has successfully worked for us since I started here. As long as we check-off every item on the list (some as they are ordered in advance, others as they are loaded on the truck leaving for the show), we know that nothing has been over-looked or left behind. The important part of using a list is making sure the list is complete. From time to time it is necessary to update the list and make changes.
I also make lists of projects I want to work on. In marketing there is always another project that I want to start and/or complete. I usually write them all down on paper, re-arrange them in the order of importance, then leave the list somewhere on or near my desk where I can refer to it regularly. As I complete projects, I cross them off, as I come up with new ones, I add them to the bottom. Referring to the list is a great way to see what items were completed and I start to notice one or two that seem to linger longer on the list. I then determine why they did not get done and reassess the need to perform the task and/or should we make changes to that task to make it more accessible to complete.
How do you use lists? Do they help keep you organized, or is making the list just one more task?
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at http://www.neminc.com/.
I also make lists of projects I want to work on. In marketing there is always another project that I want to start and/or complete. I usually write them all down on paper, re-arrange them in the order of importance, then leave the list somewhere on or near my desk where I can refer to it regularly. As I complete projects, I cross them off, as I come up with new ones, I add them to the bottom. Referring to the list is a great way to see what items were completed and I start to notice one or two that seem to linger longer on the list. I then determine why they did not get done and reassess the need to perform the task and/or should we make changes to that task to make it more accessible to complete.
How do you use lists? Do they help keep you organized, or is making the list just one more task?
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at http://www.neminc.com/.
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