http://www.packagingdigest.com Sun, 27 May 2012 04:34:51 MDT Packaging Digest - Pack Rat Blog eng Copyright 2012 UBM Canon. Subject to its Terms of Use (http://www.packagingdigest.com/info/terms-and-conditions.php) http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/41325-The_faster_I_go_the_behinder_I_get.php?rssid=20550 http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/41325-The_faster_I_go_the_behinder_I_get.php?rssid=20550 Thu, 15 Sep 2011 15:47:11 GMT Packaging lines bring out the speed drivers in all of us. Eons ago, back when I was a project engineer at Kraft Foods (as it was known then), our objective for every packaging line was to increase... http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/40931-Making_a_silk_purse_out_of_a_sow_s_ear.php?rssid=20550 http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/40931-Making_a_silk_purse_out_of_a_sow_s_ear.php?rssid=20550 Fri, 29 Apr 2011 20:10:01 GMT This is certainly an overworked phrase, but occasionally you run into a situation where it seems particularly relevant. On a recent trip to the Los Angeles area, I had the opportunity to visit a... http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/40408-Let_the_sunshine_in.php?rssid=20550 http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/40408-Let_the_sunshine_in.php?rssid=20550 Mon, 24 Jan 2011 20:28:38 GMT I was visiting the Black Bear Bottling Group plant in Oak Creek WI a few weeks ago to get information for this month’s story in Packaging Digest, and president Pete Caruso was telling me about... http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/39270-A_man_s_got_to_know_his_limitations_so_does_a_company.php?rssid=20550 http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/39270-A_man_s_got_to_know_his_limitations_so_does_a_company.php?rssid=20550 Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:29:28 GMT My main job at Packaging Digest is writing packaging line stories, most of which I get first hand by visiting plants. A short time ago, a person told me what a great job King Juice, Milwaukee,... http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/30017-It_works_for_the_casinos_but_how_does_it_affect_you_.php?rssid=20550 http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/30017-It_works_for_the_casinos_but_how_does_it_affect_you_.php?rssid=20550 Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:51:31 GMT Bar codes and RFID are now common elements in packaging operations, as well as in many everyday situations. A recent article in Popular Mechanics magazine describes how they are being used as part... http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/29202-Watch_out_for_soda_cans_Kids_are_swallowing_the_pull_tabs_.php?rssid=20550 http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/29202-Watch_out_for_soda_cans_Kids_are_swallowing_the_pull_tabs_.php?rssid=20550 Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:20:58 GMT I read an interesting article recently regarding soda cans. Dr. Lane F. Donnelly, radiologist-in-chief at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, has found that kids, mainly teenagers,... http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/25438-If_I_can_do_it_anyone_can_do_it.php?rssid=20550 http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/25438-If_I_can_do_it_anyone_can_do_it.php?rssid=20550 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:15:29 GMT This has been a traumatic two weeks for me. As anyone who knows me knows, I am not the world’s most accomplished internet person. I’ve managed to adopt to some of the developments, but it’s... http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/23429-Sticking_together_isn_t_always_good.php?rssid=20550 http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/23429-Sticking_together_isn_t_always_good.php?rssid=20550 Thu, 01 Oct 2009 21:23:00 GMT It seems to me that the number of unopenable plastic packages has ballooned in recent years. In the past I would just swear a little, use them when I had to and not give them any more thought.... http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/22712-_A_mosquito_bit_me_.php?rssid=20550 http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/22712-_A_mosquito_bit_me_.php?rssid=20550 Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:20:00 GMT As I think of all of the great people I’ve worked with in my 50 years of (mostly) fun, I realize that it’s the screwballs and worse that make the biggest impressions. The first of these, and... http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/22714-Laxative_or_Candy_Labels_should_give_stronger_clue.php?rssid=20550 http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/22714-Laxative_or_Candy_Labels_should_give_stronger_clue.php?rssid=20550 Fri, 07 Aug 2009 13:41:00 GMT I was walking through our office the other day, and saw some individually wrapped York peppermint patties in a bowl. I love these things, so I picked up a couple. However, on my way back to my... http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/22713-Zip_up_potato_chips.php?rssid=20550 http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/22713-Zip_up_potato_chips.php?rssid=20550 Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:51:00 GMT As I have mentioned previously, I am a potato chip fanatic, so when my daughter asked me why potato-chip manufacturers don’t put zippers on their bags of chips, I didn’t have an answer.... http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/18822-Packaging_is_everything.php?rssid=20550 http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/18822-Packaging_is_everything.php?rssid=20550 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:31:00 GMT When I started working at Kraft in 1963, part of my orientation was a visit to its research center in Glenview, IL. Since I’m a potato-chip junkie, one project that I thought was really neat... http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/18824-MillerCoors_is_doing_its_part_for_sustainability.php?rssid=20550 http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/18824-MillerCoors_is_doing_its_part_for_sustainability.php?rssid=20550 Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:52:00 GMT I just saw a copy of the 2009 MillerCoors sustainable-development report titled “From Grain To Glass.” The report affirms MillerCoors strong commitment to sustainability across every aspect... http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/18826-Why_do_people_buy_organic_foods_.php?rssid=20550 http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/18826-Why_do_people_buy_organic_foods_.php?rssid=20550 Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:58:00 GMT As I walked the few aisles of the Organic Food Show in Chicago last week looking for interesting new packaging, I again pondered one of the mysteries of the universe—why do people buy organic... http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/18830-Inspecting_plastic_bottles_with_mass_spectrometers.php?rssid=20550 http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/18830-Inspecting_plastic_bottles_with_mass_spectrometers.php?rssid=20550 Mon, 15 Jun 2009 09:04:00 GMT When I started working at Abbott Laboratories in the early 70s, I went through an orientation process where I talked to various divisions about ongoing projects. One that truly blew my mind was a... http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/18825-The_most_annoying_packages_in_the_world.php?rssid=20550 http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/18825-The_most_annoying_packages_in_the_world.php?rssid=20550 Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:49:00 GMT I know it’s very trivial, but to me, among the most annoying packages in the world are the foil-wrapped, single-serve pieces of butter that are served in many restaurants, including very... http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/18823-500_quart_jars_per_minute_is_a_lot_of_mayonnaise.php?rssid=20550 http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/18823-500_quart_jars_per_minute_is_a_lot_of_mayonnaise.php?rssid=20550 Tue, 26 May 2009 09:06:00 GMT One of the more challenging projects I worked on during my 10 years at Kraft in the 60s and 70s was a new packaging line to run 500 quart glass jars of mayonnaise per min. Installed at Kraft’s... http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/18820-I_know_where_the_bodies_are_buried_.php?rssid=20550 http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/18820-I_know_where_the_bodies_are_buried_.php?rssid=20550 Fri, 15 May 2009 08:38:00 GMT In every job, there are people who have no authority, but who have a huge impact on you. At one company I worked at, a phone operator—call her Helga—was just such a person. She wasn’t just... http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/18829-Why_are_you_standing_in_hot_ketchup_in_your_stocking_feet_.php?rssid=20550 http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/18829-Why_are_you_standing_in_hot_ketchup_in_your_stocking_feet_.php?rssid=20550 Wed, 22 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT It seems like every time I think of my days in industry, I remember a lot of funny, strange, weird things that happened. I’m guessing that everyone remembers these types of events, and I think... http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/18821-I_like_being_an_engineer.php?rssid=20550 http://www.packagingdigest.com/blog/Pack_Rat/18821-I_like_being_an_engineer.php?rssid=20550 Sun, 05 Apr 2009 13:37:00 GMT A recent blog by my colleague, Peter Welander of Control Engineering got me thinking. He said that most engineers he has known didn’t enjoy being an engineer. I’m a chemical engineer, and I...