Crown Offers Tool-Less, Easy-Open Paint Cans

The European Tikkurila paint brand launched the first commercial application of Crown's Clipper Can™ System. Crown Specialty Packaging, a subsidiary of Crown Holdings Inc., developed this innovative packaging solution for industrial applications to eliminate the need for extra tooling during opening and reuse.

Targeted for packages of paints, varnishes, and coatings, the new Clipper Can System features a plastisol-lined metal lid with unique easy-grip tabs for safe opening by hand. In addition to easy-open convenience, the Clipper Can System offers functional tamper indication and closes more securely than traditional packaging methods, reducing the threat of leakage during transport and distribution, and when stored on retail shelves and in consumer homes.

"Tikkurila is a forward thinking company, always looking for ways to offer consumers better and more convenient paint and coating products," explains Arto Lehtinen, sales and marketing director at Tikkurila. "The Clipper Can System, with its easy opening and secure closing features, is an effective method for our company to enhance the way that our customers and retail partners interact with our brand."

Established in 1862, Tikkurila develops, markets, and produces paints and coatings for the general public, professional painters, and industrial users. Tikkurila is part of the international chemical industry group Kemira and the leading paint company in Northern and Eastern Europe.

The Clipper Can package runs on pre-existing machinery and is suitable for "mix-your-own-color" paint systems. The Clipper Can System uses less packaging material than more traditional cans, generating cost savings for industrial brands, and is available worldwide in sizes ranging from 2.5 to 20 liters.

Eye-Catching Vitamin Bottles Are Small Marvel

The vivid appearance of bio-synergy's Marvel Heroes chewable multi-vitamins for children benefits from an eye-catching child-resistant container and lid from RPC Market Rasen and RPC Halstead in the United Kingdom

The range of vitamin and omega 3&6 pills, manufactured by Premier Health, is designed to help alleviate any dietary deficiencies and improve a child's ability to concentrate whether at school or play. Its appeal to children is maintained through chewable tablets, fruity flavors, and the iconic Marvel branding, with each flavor represented by a superhero.

Bio-Synergy required a packaging format that would enhance the distinctive appearance provided by the range's colorful cartoon labels, but which could also maintain child safety. With a successful supply relationship already in place with RPC Containers, Premier Health recognized that the company could meet these criteria.

RPC's solution benefits from its ability to offer the expertise of individual sites in container and closure manufacture. RPC Market Rasen has supplied its 130ml Vit Secure container, featuring an innovative collar that prevents the lid from being pried open. Injection molded in white HDPE, the container's stylish curves and large labeling area are ideal for Bio-Synergy's needs.

RPC Halstead has manufactured the pack's twist and turn CRC senior friendly closure. To complement the Marvel graphics on the labels, the closure is tinted in four colors.

Impress Debuts Easy Peel® for Peel & Paint™ Cans

Impress is the European market leader in metal packaging for paint and coatings. The group has just launched a revolutionary concept for paint pots, adapting the Easy Peel® system for use on paint cans. The result is a container that is simple and quick to open with excellent consumer appeal.

With the Peel & Paint™ system, once the plastic lid has been removed, all that remains is to peel off the flexible aluminum foil lid. The can may then be resealed with a spill-proof transparent plastic cover.

The Peel & Paint opening and resealing system is based on Easy Peel technology, which includes an aluminum lid sealed to an aluminum ring and a plastic cap. In addition to providing an easy opening solution, this system also provides a tamper-evident closure. This system is currently developed for 0.5, 0.75, and 1 liter cans.

The Easy Peel systems were originally developed for food packaging, and have been perfected through decades of experience. Impress believes these innovations offer customers a competitive edge, adding value by creative packaging.

All About Packaging's VeriLock® Slide Blister

The VeriLock® slide blister is a new patent pending concept developed by engineers at All About Packaging that has many benefits both on the line and in retail stores. Consumers will appreciate the ease of opening as well as ease of reclosing. Retailers will appreciate the design maintains the security of the product.

Manufacturing and assembly efficiencies include removing the need for a secondary operation to hold the card in place, such as sealing, stapling, or welding. Since the locking slide blister opens and closes easily with durable snap pin design, the package is not torn by the customer, which makes returns more pleasant for all.

All About Packaging offers unique three-sided flange folding equipment to help keep costs low. A standard slide blister (often referred to as track packs or slide-on blisters) is also available. With no sealing, fulfillment time decreases since machines do not limit the speed or time to market. VeriLock is fully adaptable to accommodate unique product shapes and sizes, and the material is easily recyclable. Visit www.aapack.com.

Worth A Second Look: Kaufman, Novapak Craft Ergonomic Bottles

When Tenneco Automotive planned the launch of DuPont Performance Chemicals, it decided on a radical container design with a long, tilted neck for its fuel treatment and engine additives. Tenneco solicited the expertise of Kaufman Container in Cleveland, OH, which partnered with several vendors to complete the ergonomic finished packaging. Novapak Corporation in Eatontown, NJ, provided the tooling and extrusion blow molding of the PVC containers.

The unusual shape created several challenges. According to Michele Heinle, Novapak's project manager, the bottle does not pack into a normal stack layer configuration, requiring tumble packing. Also, "It was imperative that the angled neck did not protrude beyond the sides of the bottle, ensuring that the bottle would not interfere with other packages on the shelf," explains Lela Prica, accounts manager for Kaufman Container. Finally, orienting the bottles for consistent label application also proved challenging at first.

Tenneco chose shrink sleeves to maximize the container's decorative area. The bulb made it more challenging to apply the label and shrink it with no wrinkles, and more challenging to plan the graphics so they do not skew. Novapak built disposable unit-cavity tooling for each bottle size and ran samples prior to production. The company completed production tooling in four to five weeks, says Heinle.

During early public presentations of the product, the bottles were placed on a table slightly out of reach. "It was amazing how many customers reached for the bottle because of its shape," notes Laura Morris, Tenneco's marketing manager for the DuPont Car Care family.

In-Mold Labels That Hide RFID Tags

Imagine the convenience of a refrigerator which automatically orders your groceries for you. It sounds like science fiction, but new technology being introduced at NPE 2006 by HEKUMA GmbH of Eching, Germany, paves the way for just such a development.

Building on its breakthrough Thermoforming-IML development demonstrated at the 2004 K Show in Dusseldorf, HEKUMA's engineers have integrated TF-IML with RFID technology to create intelligent packaging. In the future, consumers will have their refrigerator order food for them. The fridge will know when and where to order new milk, butter, cheese, and yogurt because each product will be "intelligent."

The stores of the future will automatically be able to receive individual customer information and provide products just-in-time to the front door. This new in-mold labeling technology is a big step toward this future because it makes the use of RFID tagging more convenient and economical than ever.