Staged in Auckland, New Zealand every two years, Foodtech Packtech is the most important show for the packaging industry, bar none. Greg Bruce reports. Buyers from 11 overseas countries swelled New Zealand attendance of well over 4000 to make the three day Foodtech Packtech 2004 event in Auckland in October an unqualified success and the best yet, according to organisers.

Exhibitors from around the country showed off a host of new and innovative range of products to a knowledge-hungry group of attendees.

Supreme Innovation Awards winner, Paper Coaters, was proudly displaying its award winning product on its stand, along with the framed award it had just won. The manufacturer’s three-compartment, dual-oven food tray with a peelable film lid (Thermo-Fresh), is now used extensively by Spotless Services, the main provider of Meals on Wheels.

Thermo-Fresh packaging can be used in either microwave or conventional ovens and for both hot and cold food. It has been specifically designed for the convenience food market. The trays and lids can be printed up to six colours, they reduce the need for outer packaging, and there are multiple lidding options.

Quickshrink was showing off a first, the new Spiral Machine for wrapping large objects such as wooden lengths or smaller parcels in stretch film with a minimum length of 400mm.

Another new entrant, the Ministretch simple wrapping device was also on show. This device wraps up to 20 items per minute has been designed to repackage food in supermarkets, butcheries and other retail stores into convenient lots for shoppers.

Quickshrink was also exhibiting its popular Mailbag mailing machine with its new stacker attachment and conveyor belt, designed to automate what was previously a manual operation.

4 Ways was exhibiting a range of its pumps to the food and packaging market including a new dry-running scroll pump and new gauge controllers. The company is the agent for BOC Edwards, Masport and Becker and has just opened a South Island branch to service its growing market. Shane Reihana, the South Island manager was on hand to meet and greet any South Island customers visiting the 4 Ways stand.

Huhtamaki had three new products on display. One, a double-walled paper cup with insulating properties enables boiling hot liquid to stay hot on the inside, while the outside is cool enough to be held for any length of time. The double-walled cup comes in standard, premium and custom printed with optional printed lids.

Also new are its Silver Platters for premium food presentation. These are ideal for special catering events such as conferences, weddings and hot and cold buffets. Manufactured from expanded polystyrene, they are lightweight, yet tough and won’t bend or sag like conventional aluminium foil trays. They are very disposable which saves on dish washing and cheap enough to throw away.

Fresh Close, the third new product on display is made in Australia of 100 per cent PET with a resealable, tight fitting lid designed so that even heavy foods can be stored securely.

Walker Data Vision showcased the new RFID technology as the next biggest supply chain solution. While RFID is still very new to New Zealand, WDV says some companies are considering adopting the tracking system in-house for their own distribution purposes. It is early days yet, but the benefits to manufacturers are available if the system is used ‘intelligently’.

Imaje Coding Technologies was showing the latest in the range of label print and apply systems. The latest Imaje 5000 series of programmable coders can be integrated into any bagging machines on the market and will mark any type of packaging film before filling. They can print fixed and variable messages, logos and barcodes which can be created on a PC using TTSoft software.

The Lightjet Vector is arguably the most powerful laser marking device on the market, creating a change in surface colour, engraving or ablation of material or paint on the surface, which makes it practically indelible, a perfect solution for traceability.

The Imaje 2000, Print and Apply solutions including the corner wrap label system was also on show. On the stand was Imaje’s wipe applicator which can label on top, sides, corner wrap on front wrap on a moving conveyor belt.

Strapping speeds
Strapping Systems’ brand new model of the Band-A-matic, took pride of place on its stand. With its 50 straps a minute capability, it is arguably the fastest strapping machine on the market and suitable for any industry. The new model features the strapping roll now hidden on the inside of the machine for better OSH considerations, and an autofeed system. The new Band-A-matic comes in a more compact size requiring much less floor space than previous machines.

Rapid Labels was leaving nothing to chance, displaying its range of products along with its catalogue to show visitors that it was a complete solution for any labelling needs, from unprinted labels through to press. The company also showcased the new US-manufactured Zebra Brand RFID label printer, and like other exhibitors said the new technology would be big in future labelling needs. Those manning the stand said they’d fielded a few enquiries about the Zebra printer.

Reynolds Group was displaying its labelling and coding solutions equipment including the newly released Linx 4900, a continuous inkjet printing machine released this year. The new model has been designed with a more robust ink head, more memory and new valving. The Linx is designed for any products that require traceability. The Easyprint thermal transfer coding machine for use on flexible packaging machines was also on display along with the Laser Coding machine by XYMark. The former is used on flexible packaging machine, and the latter is an indelible printing machine for primary and secondary packaging. Both are high speed and have low running costs.

With one of the larger stands at the show, Peacock Bros had a lot of equipment to display including barcode printers, scanners and applicators.

Of particular interest was the Weber Label Printer, a print and apply applicator which works by printing and then blowing labels onto boxes, especially pertinent for packages with fragile contents. Also of interest was the VP2020 digital table top Colour label Printer ideal for any boutique operation such as wine or perfume manufacturing.

The inkjet printer is particularly suited to short-run packaging and being digital, there are no plates. Any label design can be scanned in via a PC for printing. This inexpensive entry into label printing provides a high quality gloss label up to approximately 14cm wide and any length desired. It comes with its own software but additional software for different applications is also available.

Also taking up one of the larger areas available, Accolade Packaging’s stand was decorated with a stylishly restored Ford pickup truck advertising its “off the back of the truck” show sale. On show was its Hurricane flow wrap packaging machine which produces closed wrappers with three sealed edges from a roll of heat-sealable wrapping material. The machine features a specially designed forming tunnel, and the calendar and roller device for film transfer produces seals which are wrinkle free. The machine can package a variety of products from the food, stationery, chemical and pharmaceutical sectors.

Tronics showcased the new, German-manufactured Allprint Smart Laser popular in Europe but shown for the first time here, which produces a high quality permanent mark in any Microsoft windows style font which can be down loaded into the machine.

The new model of the laser is more flexible, and can fit into many more awkward or difficult applications because it can be integrated into any labelling machine or packaging equipment. It can be used for coding onto paper, glass, plastic or foil, one of the few that can mark foil.

Dressed almost entirely in its corporate colours of black and red, Magnets New Zealand tempted visitors with the offer of money if they could lift a magnet off a steel plate, which was of course impossible. The company, however, had an impressive range of magnetic products for a variety of applications from portable magnetic food separators to a car sweeper, a magnetic device attached to the towbar of a car that will pick up anything made of metal from roads, runways, carparks or warehouses.


Scanning standards
EAN New Zealand was offering visitors the opportunity to see how well, or not so well their products scanned from a mobile scanning verification service – with the left behind cans and packets collected in a supermarket trolley and handed over to the Auckland City Mission at the end of the show. Technical consultants were also available offering a free consultancy service and to give advice on technical standards.

Label and Litho was featuring its Jet Stick labelling system, designed and built in New Zealand to provide the miniature-sized labels appearing on fruit and some vegetables in supermarkets. The high speed machine has a compact footprint and quick release mechanism with a spool designed to allow its rapid replacement. Label and Litho is the New Zealand agent for the Jet Stick.

The New Zealand owned and operated NZ Tape Specialists was showcasing all its product including a new adhesive dot label used by print finishers. Superdots are used to stick promotional products onto magazines. The company specialises in small run specialist products and is happy to give technical application advice. It also has a range of commodity tapes for the packaging industry.

3M was happy to show off its palletising container system, a semi-automatic wrapping device, using stretch tape which allows the product to breathe and palletised products to cool up to 50 per cent quicker in a freezer, than other types of packaging. The machine wraps the boxes, securing it onto the pallet they stand on, and because the tape stretches, it provides the flexibility needed to ensure the pallet stays upright in all conditions. The system has been designed as an efficient and eco-friendly alternative to shrink wrapping.

When unwrapped the tape can be screwed into a ball not much larger than a man’s fist and in Europe, USA and UK, the tape is recyclable.

Companies have the option of simply leasing the machine from 3M and buying the tape it uses, or buying the machine themselves. The machine has been developed in New Zealand and runs with Australian-produced software.

Techspan Group was showcasing some of its products including the new Toshiba thermal transfer printer and the Ink-Jet Coder PicAs. Techspan’s range of high tech products includes industrial printing systems (including barcode and thermal coding machinery), plastics machinery, ultrasonic equipment and process heating systems.