PMMI Announces Packaging Intelligence Brief Series

Arlington, VA -- From automation to sustainability and machinery to materials—the packaging industry is consistently evolving. The Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute (PMMI), the leading global resource for the packaging industry, introduces the Packaging Intelligence Brief (PIB) series to help define and address trends currently shaping the future of packaging.

PMMI has released four Briefs to kick-off the series, which focus on automation trends, barrier materials, in-store advertising and RFID trends.  Click below to access the pdf versions of the PIBs:

-Automation Trends
http://www.pmmi.org/newsletters/PIB_AUTOMATION_TRENDS.pdf
-Barrier Materials
http://www.pmmi.org/newsletters/PIB_BARRIER_MATERIALS.pdf
-In-Store Advertising Trends
http://www.pmmi.org/newsletters/PIB_INSTORE_ADV_TRENDS.pdf
-RFID Trends
http://www.pmmi.org/newsletters/PIB_RFID_TRENDS.pdf

PMMI will release Packaging Intelligence Briefs to keep industry professionals and media abreast of emerging trends that have an impact in the packaging industry. Each Brief will address a specific topic and outline how packaging machinery suppliers and manufacturers are, and should be, responding to market needs.

“PMMI conducts a number of industry studies and surveys throughout the year to gauge the industry,” said Charles D. Yuska, president and CEO, PMMI. “The Packaging Intelligence Briefs provide a practical way for PMMI to communicate what we see as the most significant trends that will most likely affect the industry.”

Packaging plays a critical role in our global economy. It is imperative to understand the trends and issues that are affecting the industry at all levels—from machine and materials to retailer and customer demands. PMMI is making a concerted effort to educate and disseminate relevant information affecting the global packaging community.

Source: http://www.pmmi.org/

New Vibratory, Boot-Mounted Rotary Feeders

CHARLOTTE, N.C-- A new line of boot mounted rotary feeders for retrofitting on existing bucket conveyors or bucket elevators has been introduced by Gough Econ, Inc. Gough Econ is a manufacturer of bulk material handling solutions located in Charlotte, NC.

Designed as a major benefit to customers, the new boot mounted rotary feeders are easy to install and retrofit on all bucket conveyors from 9 in. to 48 in. wide for added flexibility and productivity.

According to Gough Econ, this allows a customer to expand their existing bulk materials handling process and enhance their production capabilities with minimal investment.

The Gough Econ Boot Mounted Rotary Feeders are powered by two vibratory motors mounted directly onto the load unit of existing bucket conveyors or elevators. This assures a controlled, consistent and effective fill and expands the capabilities for both Gough Econ's Swinglink(TM) heavy-duty bucket elevators and the Econ-O-Lift bucket conveyors.

Designed to transfer the product at a velocity consistent with bucket travel for gentle handling, the bulk material from the vibratory feeders is conveyed onto the bucket elevators and conveyors at a very low level and flow rate using minimal energy. As a result, spillage is mostly eliminated along with the need for dust extraction at the point of load.

"We are committed to providing our customers maximum value for their bulk material handling equipment through innovative design of value added attachments that can be easily installed and retrofitted at a low cost," noted Gough Econ. "Our goal is to become known as the bulk materials handing experts.

For more information, contact:
Gough Econ
P.O. Box 668583
Charlotte, N.C. 28266-8583
Telephone: 1-800-264-6844
Fax: (704) 392-8706
Email: sales@gouqhecon.com
Web site: www.goughecon.com

New Maintenance Software for Baghouses

Beverly, MA -- FilterWare for baghouses and all types of dust collection systems enables automating process control, maintenance management and EPA compliance needs simultaneously providing plants with a fast return on investment.

FilterWare provides instant maintenance diagnostics, process visualization, report generation and remote services. The HMI/SCADA and reporting software interfaces with the company’s range of baghouse controllers, sensors and CEMs.

Stand alone and plant-wide systems are available. Benefits include lower operating costs, greater productively from personnel and turn-key EPA reports compliant to 40 CFR 63.

FilterSense is the world leader in monitoring and automation solutions for powder recovery filters, industrial ventilation and air pollution control systems such as baghouses, scrubbers, RTOs, mist eliminators and dust collectors.

FilterSense manufactures a range of instrumentation, particulate CEMs, PLCs, diagnostic controllers, HMI/SCADA and EPA Compliance software. FilterSense is renowned for fabric filter leak detectors, dust emission monitors, baghouse diagnostics and plant-wide automation solutions for cost reduction and MACT compliance.

For more information contact
FilterSense
Impolit Environmental Control Corp.
800 Cummings Center, 357W
Beverly, MA 01915
Telephone: 978-927-4304
Fax: 978-927-4329
Web site: http://www.filtersense.com/

Key Technology Introduces Tegra Sorters

Walla Walla, WA -- Key Technology introduces Tegra® sorters designed specifically for fresh-cut processors to automatically detect and remove defects and foreign material from the product stream at high production rates. Featuring proprietary Vis/IR cameras and a unique metal-mesh catenary C-Belt® for positive product positioning, Tegra views product, top and bottom, while in-air to maximize the removal of defects and foreign material. With Tegra, fresh-cut processors can dramatically improve product quality and food safety while minimizing labor costs.

Tegra provides gentle product handling, which minimizes product damage to maximize shelf life, making it ideal for tender leaf products such as baby spinach and spring mix as well as other greens like butter leaf, arugula, and oakleaf. Processors of iceberg, romaine, and cabbage use Key's Optyx® with Raptor on-belt sorter, where the addition of laser is ideal for removing core as well as defects and foreign material.

Using high-performance tri-chromatic Vis/IR cameras, Tegra analyzes size and shape, combining data information from both the visible and infrared spectrums. Vis/IR technology maximizes the recognition and removal of protein-based animal matter such as insects and rodent parts, as well as cardboard, plastic, metal, and glass. Tegra for fresh-cut can achieve foreign material removal accuracy rates of up to 100 percent.

Tegra is available with a 60-inch wide platform to handle up to 8000 pounds (3.6 metric tons) of fresh-cut product an hour and a 30-inch wide platform for up to 4000 pounds (1.8 metric tons) of fresh-cut product an hour.

Tegra's patented metal-mesh catenary C-Belt uses gravity and centrifugal force - not friction - to gently accelerate, stabilize and launch product into the inspection zone. Improving the predictability of the in-air product trajectory, which is especially important given the aerodynamic properties of tender leaf, Tegra achieves superior performance. Positive product positioning improves the accuracy of defect and foreign material removal while reducing the volume of good product being rejected. Yield loss is typically less than 0.5 percent with Tegra for fresh-cut.

Regardless of line flow fluctuations, product is consistently launched from the C-Belt for in-air viewing by the cameras. Using Key's proprietary image processing technology, the sorter quickly analyzes the images, comparing each object to previously defined accept/reject standards. When defective product or foreign material is identified, the system activates the close-coupled high-speed ejector system, which is made up of a series of closely spaced air jets that span the width of the system. While the defective object is still air-borne, the air jets pinpoint the object to reject and remove it from the acceptable product stream.

For more information contact
Key Technology, Inc.
150 Avery Street
Walla Walla, WA 99362 USA
Tel: 509 529 2161
Fax: 509 527 1331
Web site: www.key.net

I

Spiroflow : The Environmentally Friendly Choice! The environment is one of the highest of priorities at this site and therefore choosing the right equipment to handle this fine powdery lime-like product.

Pennsylvania Crusher’s Reversible Impactor
Reversible Impactor, for secondary and tertiary crushing, allows opposing hammer faces to wear evenly and maintain a uniform profile.

GRAVIKO : New Extrusion Loss-in-Weight Feeder In the extrusion process, controlling the exact thickness of film or the meter weight of sections frequently presents a problem.

More headline news...

People post their requests for help and offer their suggestions to others in our open forum.

Mr. Copeland wants to know what CKB dust is:

I need to find out what CKB dust is, and what are its physical properties. Bulk density, mesh size, fluidizable, conglomerating, flammable, anything?
(to post reply, click here)

Very Truly Yours,
Andrew Copeland
Mix-USA
drew@mix-usa.com

Mr. Snouwaert needs "rules of thumb" for hopper design:

Being new to bulk material handling, I am looking for design criteria for ingredient properties vs. bin hopper design. The problem is that we have feed mills built by many companies over 40 years.

The newer ones have the advantage of mass flow hoppers, but most of the old do not. Also over the years, the ingredients the plant handles has changed and bin designed for one commodity now holds another. In many cases the flow characteristics of the new grain do not match well with the old bin.

Since we cannot change out hoppers in total, I would like to give our plant managers some guidelines. If you need to store "X" ingredient, the bin design must match these criteria for good flow. Or the plant has this design hopper and your purposed ingredient change will not perform well, therefore design changes must be made.

What resources (preferably print or online) do I have to help put these guideline together? (to post reply, click here)

Thanks,
Edward D. Snouwaert
Land O'Lakes
edsnouwaert@landolakes.com

Click here to share your expertise with others in our Help Forum.

Independent Regional Sales Reps Wanted - USA

Checkweigher and filler controls manufacturer is seeking independent sales reps for the following locations: MT, WY, ND, SD, MN, IA, NE, CO, KS, MO, So. IL, So. IN, OH, KY, WV, VA, NC, W. TN, MS, So. FL, So. CA, NV, UT, and AZ.

Experience in the powder/bulk, food, beverage, and general packaging industries is preferred.

To learn more about Thompson Scale and our products, please visit www.thompsonscale.com.

Send resume to Steve Verboom at sales@thompsonscale.com

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Mixing of Solids
(Powder Technology Series, No. 12)by Ralf Weinekotter, Hermann Gericke, Hardcover, 176 pages, February 2000

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Pneumatic Conveying Design Guide
by David, Ph.D. Mills
Hardcover, 650 pages, December 2003

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Silos:  Fundamental of Theory, Behavior & Design
by C. J. Brown, J. Nielsen (Editors), Hardcover, 864 pages, February 1998

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Find more books for the materials handling professional online, visit our Reading Room.

The Safety Effects of Erratic Flow Behavior
in Bulk Solids
Greg Mehos, PhD and Eric Maynard, MSME, Jenike & Johanson, Inc.

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This weeks photo is of world’s largest clear-span aluminum dome for limestone storage installed at Taiwan Cement Corporation in Taiwan. The original dome, manufactured by a competitor, was destroyed by a seasonal typhoon and Temcor was awarded the contract to replace the failed dome.

Photo courtesy of Temcor.

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