PKN’s latest issue is out, and befitting what has been a huge year for packaging innovation, sustainability and investment, this final issue for 2023 is jam-packed with news and in-depth features, including all the latest developments in Circular Economy, Packaging Innovation, Food & Beverage Packaging, and Design, plus our reports on Pack Expo and Labelexpo.
Hot off the press, the PKN Packaging News November-December 2023 issue is on its way to you in the mail, and available online for your convenience.
In our Cover Story on page 16, Wellman Packaging marks five decades of innovation, advanced manufacturing and sustainability. PKN reviews the company’s growth and success thus far.
FEATURES
We start with Circular Economy, where the 2023 SPE-ANZ Plastics and Circularity conference saw local and global experts discuss how to progress to a circular economy (page 18); Close the Loop’s new TonerPlas line at its Reservoir site in Victoria aims to be another solution for soft plastics beyond landfill (page 22); and excellence and innovation in sustainable packaging was celebrated at the APCO 2023 Annual Awards held in November (page 24).
In Packaging Innovation, PKN outlines the key trends and takeaways observed on the show floor at Pack Expo Las Vegas, one of the largest packaging and processing trade shows in North America, which took place in September (page 27).
In another exhibition report, Labelexpo has just had its last outing in Brussels before a move to Barcelona in 2025, and we review the trends and tech on show. (page 32).
In Food & Beverage Packaging, in a first for the Australian pet food sector, Prime100 is rolling out its new premium dog food product line in Tetra Pak’s Tetra Recart (page 38); MAP WA’s $35m Bibra Lake facility investment has doubled its capacity and enabled the installation of the latest Multivac thermoforming tech (page 40); Mars Food & Nutrition Australia has collaborated with Wellman Packaging to evolve its MasterFoods sauce bottles to use less virgin plastic (page 42); and in an Australian-first, Nestle’s KitKat brand has increased its use of recycled plastic in the wrappers of select products to 90 per cent (page 42).
And finally, in Design, Hulsbosch’s Grace Brown tells us how to unleash the power of copywriting (page 44); and, sticking with Hulsbosch, the company has completed a brand and packaging refresh for Kimberly-Clark Australia’s period care U by Kotex brand (page 45).
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE…
Rounding out the issue are our regular sections: Industry Insight, where a recent International Aluminium Institute study has found that Australians are making major strides in closing the can-to-can recycling loop; Tech Speak, where the AIP has developed an inaugural bootcamp event to focus on Sustainable Packaging for SMEs in partnership with AusIndustry and Food SA; People in Packaging, where Woolworths’ Bryan McKay has been crowned Sustainability Champion for 2023, as announced at the APCO Awards in November; Supplier Spotlight, where PKN visited Combilift’s HQ at Monaghan, Ireland during its 25th anniversary; and Pilz celebrates 25 years down under, and 75 since its founding, with a party in Melbourne, which was attended by PKN; and then to What’s On, where we put a spotlight on the industry events coming in 2024, and also hear from APPEX’s show organiser, Exhibitions & Trade Fairs, on the upcoming industry show, which is already 95 per cent sold out.
In the News: TricorBraun opens third Sydney facility (page 6); Woolies’ milk lids go clear to aid recycling (page 6); Smurfit Kappa and Westrock agree to US$11bn merger (page 7); Orora raises Saverglass acquisition funding (page 8); Visy’s new ‘one million boxes a day’ Qld factory opens (page 8); Geminder makes a bold bid for Pact (page 9); industry welcomes Environment Ministers’ packaging plan (page 10); and IVE buys JacPak in packaging move (page 10).
AND THE CHERRY ON TOP…
Our regular Machinery Matters supplement, brought to you in partnership with APPMA, keeps you updated on the latest trends, technology and company news from the packaging and processing machinery sector.
Companies and organisations featured include: Haver & Boecker, SMC ANZ, Nord Drivesystems, GS1, Markem-Imaje, Finlease, Beckhoff Automation, ABB, Proseal, JBT Corporation, Colemans Printing, PWR, Tronics, Morrison Container Handling Solutions, Nupac, AEI, Alepat Taylor and KHS.
