FOOD CATEGORY:

Folgers coffee can goes plastic (Originally published in August, 2003, p. 27)–Metal cans used for Procter & Gamble’s Folgers ground coffee have been replaced by what has been referred to as “high-tech plastic containers.” Supplied by Liquid Container/Plaxicon, the patent-pending high-density polyethylene (HDPE) blow molded container has high shelf appeal and includes functional, easy-grip handles, adding to its convenience. One major improvement is that the new plastic container–called the AromaSeal–doesn’t require a can opener.
The container is topped with a low-density polyethylene (LDPE) overcap, supplied by Erie Plastics, and a peelable seal membrane from Amcor Flexibles. The inner seal acts as a valve, which allows excess gas to expel as the fresh coffee degasses upon peeling back the membrane. The seal membrane includes a tab for easy removal.

Heat-transfer labels for the container’s panels–including Folgers’ familiar sun and mountains graphic on the front panel–are rotogravure printed by Multi-Color Corp. Labels are applied in one pass onto three separate panels.

Because the AromaSeal weighs in at 120 grams, it is lighter to carry and ship. The container is also stackable and dishwasher safe. LPK was involved with the overall package design.

Procter & Gamble retooled its coffee can factory in New Orleans to produce the 39-ounce AromaSeal containers. 13-, 26- and 52-ounce sizes are set to follow. BEVERAGE CATEGORY:

Raging Cow’s bottle is filled with innovation (August, 2003, p.31, July, 2003, p.28, May, 2003, p.66, March, 2003, p.11, February, 2003, p.38)–Dr Pepper/Seven Up Inc.’s “rowdy” milk-based product, Raging Cow, comes in 14-ounce easy-to-grip, single-serve HDPE bottles, supplied by Tetra Pak, that are made specifically for the youth market.

Raging Cow is aseptically filled using a Tetra Pak LFA-20 system, giving the product a six-month shelf life at ambient temperatures. Bottle construction consists of HDPE, ethylene vinyl alchohol (EVOH), carbon black and a second layer of HDPE. EVOH keeps oxygen out and the carbon black protects product from light. Bottles are blown offline using a 12-station blow-molding machine from Graham Machinery Group.

According to Kendall Yorn, director of packaging at Dr Pepper/Seven Up, one of the main reasons for going with an aseptic filling system is because Dr Pepper/Seven Up’s route to market is not refrigerated.

“Using HDPE for an aseptically filled dairy product is a new concept for us. [It’s based on] the European system, where they don’t have an extensive refrigerated route to market, so shelf stability is important.”

A proprietary HDPE blend closure from Tetra Pak’s Novembal division is applied over an induction-sealed foil membrane and has a hinged top for easy opening. The closure is reclosable so young consumers can save any left over product. The closure also has a tear-away tamper-evident band.

The bottle features a shrink label, supplied by Multi-Color Corp., that includes graphics of Raging Cow’s mischievous mascot–a cartoon cow, who has escaped from a dairy where milk was the only option. The graphics were designed by latitude. The mascot symbolizes the independence and enthusiasm of the product’s target consumers.

Return on investment (ROI) is measured by the profit and cost savings realized by a company as a result of a given expenditure. For many manufacturers and retailers, one of the greatest investments they will have to make this year is implementing RFID, specifically the Electronic Product Code (EPC) technology being adopted by Wal-Mart and the Department of Defense. Many manufacturers are asking, Will RFID and EPC deliver the ROI that is being promised, or are they overhyped technologies that may fail to meet growing expectations?

“This question has no universal answer, but rather depends on the player asking,” says A.T. Kearney Inc., a management consulting firm. “Not all companies will benefit from these technologies equally. Some participants will see significant returns. Others will see very few, if any at all.”
The amount of benefit you can get out of RFID is relative to the performance level of your company. “If you have world-class, leading capabilities in your logistics functions, the amount of benefit you’re going to get out of RFID will be very small and incremental,” says Michael Dominy, a senior analyst for the Yankee Group. “But if your company is moving from a paper-based system that is updated once every 12 hours to an RFID-enabled system, there are going to be dramatic benefits. But you’re going to have to invest in a lot of technology, and your costs will be greater.”
When evaluating the benefits of RFID, Dominy divides the analysis into three stages. The first focuses on compliance with customers’ requirements. The second involves the internal supply chain. And the last stage deals with the inter-enterprise, or extended, supply chain.

In the first stage, there really isn’t an ROI. Whatever savings a company may derive from reduced labor costs (scanning and reading) are offset by the cost of the tags, readers and integration services. At this point, RFID is just a cost addition.

In the second stage, companies start to make internal supply chain improvements and can begin to leverage RFID information to make their processes more efficient (e.g., effective cross-docking).

“The third stage is the holy grail of RFID,” says Dominy. “We are three to seven years away from reaching this point. But when you start analyzing the complete flow of goods–from the manufacturing operations to the distribution and warehousing facilities to the transportation network to the customer–you can find ways, in a collaborative environment, to reconfigure the flow so that you reduce inventory and cut overall logistics expenditures.”

The major beneficiaries of RFID will be the retailers. According to an A.T. Kearney report, most retailers will see benefits in three primary areas:

* Reduced inventory. This is a one-time cash benefit, conservatively estimated at 5% of total inventory. The improved visibility afforded by EPC and RFID will enable retailers to improve demand forecasting accuracy, leading to reduced safety stocks and order cycle times.

* Store and warehouse labor reductions. Reduced labor expenditures are a recurring benefit, estimated at 7.5% of warehouse labor. These figures are based on retailers with sophisticated systems and processes–less sophisticated users could see greater savings.

* Reductions of out-of-stocks. The expected annual benefit in sales dollar basis points, based on improved inventory tracking, is conservatively estimated at seven. To achieve this benefit, retailers must be prepared to reengineer existing shelf-fulfillment processes.

Manufacturers will derive benefits both within their own organizations and with trading partners. In-house benefits will come in the form of enhanced inventory visibility, greater labor efficiency and improved fulfillment.

Improvements associated with trading partners depend on “the retailer or distribution partner taking action on events as a result of improved product information,” says A.T. Kearney. “These benefits primarily center on reduced store-level out-of-stocks, finished goods inventory and unsaleables. To counteract the dependency on partners and realize the potential savings, manufacturers need retailers to change their processes and share information currently considered confidential. For all manufacturers, there is a risk that retailers won’t share any information, or at least not as much as is expected.”

Costs

Retailers’ costs will include readers and portals, middleware and systems integration and consulting.

“Non-tag-related cost is a high percentage of the total investment,” says Yankee’s Dominy. “Somewhere in the neighborhood of two thirds to three quarters of the total investment is probably going to be consulting and systems integration work.”

“Preliminary estimates for large retailers, without taking distinct operating characteristics into account, have EPC and RFID implementations costing $400,000 per distribution center and $100,000 per store,” say A.T. Kearney. “Additional costs for systems integration could range from $35 to $40 million for the entire organization. While these are very significant amounts, the upside is that most of the costs are fixed. Software and hardware maintenance will be ongoing.”

Handheld Microflex CE3240 is equipped with Intel XScale PXA 255 400 MHz processor and runs Windows CE 5.0 OS. Supporting optional 2D scanning, unit offers GPRS and CDMA 1X RTT WWAN and 802.11b WLAN wireless connectivity. Microflex CE5000X integrates GPS and GPRS system with color 1.3 mega pixel camera and flash into industrial mobile unit. Microflex 2240 runs Windows Mobile 2003, allowing users to view documents such as Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel in original formats.

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These lightweight handhelds offer sophisticated solutions for rough conditions
QUEBEC CITY, CANADA, March XX, 2005 - DAP Technologies, the leading manufacturer of rugged mobile computing solutions and services, recently expanded its Microflex product range by launching three new handheld computers: the Microflex CE3240, Microflex CE5000X and Microflex 2240.

These mobile units are highly reliable, even under rugged or harsh environmental conditions. They are ideal for a variety of mobile computing applications in many field service sectors, including: utilities; energy; transportation and logistics; emergency services; law and parking enforcement; civil engineering; and construction. All units are offered as IP67, and are MIL-STD-810F approved.

Microflex CE3240: A small, flexible and functional multi-modular handheld
Weighing one pound, the Microflex CE3240 provides reliability and outstanding functionality at the industry’s lowest total cost of ownership. An ideal tool for any demanding mobile application, it is equipped with an Intel XScale PXA 255 400 MHz processor and runs the latest Windows CE 5.0 operating system from Microsoft. Supporting optional 2D scanning, the Microflex CE3240 also offers wireless connectivity options including GPRS and CDMA 1X RTT WWAN, 802.11b WLAN.

The multi-modular unit is designed so users can easily add wireless, GPS, 2D imager bar code reader and RFID reader program - in almost any combination. Having the industry’s first multiple SDIO slot support and one full PCMCIA slot, the Microflex CE3240 offers unrivalled flexibility.

Microflex CE5000X: GPS, GPRS - and colour photography

The innovative Microflex CE5000X integrates a colour 1.3 mega pixel camera and flash into a traditional industrial mobile unit - eliminating the need for additional camera equipment.

Plus, the unit offers a GPS and GPRS system, delivering a real-time, integrated mobile computing solution. It is the only 3-in-1 product of its kind on the market today. The camera includes software drivers and API - allowing developers to easily implement colour image capture into their applications. The unit supports GPRS wireless WAN or 802.11b WLAN, enabling real-time data communications.

Microflex 2240: Provides portability, data security and efficiency

Weighing only 500 grams, the Microflex 2240 runs Windows Mobile 2003, allowing users to view documents such as Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel in their original formats. The unit runs all the applications including calendar, e-mail and Pocket versions of Word and Excel.

Two user-accessible Compact Flash slots provide memory expansion capabilities to support technologies including Global Positioning System (GPS), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and the AA Battery PowerBoot Module. Optional modules add even more versatility: the Extended CF-Cap provides room for large Compact Flash cards. Also available are a 1D or 2D scanner and colour camera (1.3 pixels).

SYRACUSE - Therinopatch Corp., a Syracuse-based company that produces textile-labeling and marking systems with locations around the world, recently bought a screen-printing business in Florida.

Thermopatch closed on the acquisition of Clearwater, Fla.-based Mid State Screen Graphics, LLC, in November and announced the deal this month.

Mid State produces and designs posters, bumper stickers, and window decals. The purchase will allow Thermopatch to expand its own products and also develop new products for new markets, says Tom DePuit, Thermopatch president and chief executive officer. DePuit declined to discuss details of those products or the expansion.
Thermopatch already owns two screen-printing companies in Europe, but wanted to purchase one in this country to aid in plans for the new products, DePuit says. The company wanted to avoid using its European companies for this expansion because the dollar is currently weak against the euro, he explains.

DePuit says Thermopatch looked at about 10 companies in this country before settling on Mid State. Mid State’s previous owner was looking to get out of the business because of health issues.

A representative from Mid State could not be reached for comment.

Thermopatch’s purchase included all of Mid State’s assets. Its 20 employees remained on board and Thermopatch took over the lease on Mid State’s 10,000-square-foot facility.

Thermopatch has about 70 employees in Syracuse and a total of 150 worldwide. Its Syracuse headquarters, which includes office, manufacturing, and warehouse, space, has about 50,000 square feet.
DePuit declined to discuss financial details of the transaction. Thermopatch has annual sales of between $25 million and $50 million.

Mid State will continue to operate under its own name as a subsidiary of Thermopatch, DePuit says.

“There’s definitely value to the name,” he says. “There’s existing clients we want to maintain.”

Some of Mid State’s clients include Fortune 500 companies, according to Mid State’s Web site.

Thermopatch provides textile-labeling systems for a variety of applications. The company sells the labeling equipment and supplies to clients who then produce and apply the actual labels themselves.

The labels can be used for everything from identification and corporate emblems to garment tracking.

For example, a business with. hundreds or thousands of employee unifornis to launder needs’ to keep track of what clothes come in and go out. Thermopatch’s systems can produce and apply bar-code labels to the uniforms.

Once attached, the labels are there for the life of the garment and a business can make sure that when employees turn in their uniforms to be laundered, they get the same uniform back.

Thermopatch has sales offices in Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Finland, France, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

HAS ANY TECHNOLOGY IN recent memory been so hyped and, at the same time, so controversial as radio-frequency identification (RFID)? One moment it’s a miracle cure that will streamline the supply chain, eliminate theft and waste, and essentially solve every logistics problem known to man. But at the same time, it has been portrayed as a buggy, expensive, privacy-devouring monster being forced upon Corporate America by an implausible and wicked cabal: major retailers and the Department of Defense.
In January, when the deadline for the first phase of Wal-Mart’s RFID compliance program met with only partial success, the vultures started to descend with a vengeance. Wal-Mart had been both the biggest cheerleader and the most demanding coach, pushing its suppliers to affix a new generation of tiny radio tags to their products so that they could be tracked from the assembly line right into consumers’ homes. Critics contended that companies slapped the bare minimum of tags needed on products to get Wal-Mart off their backs, while anonymous sources bewailed that there was no cost justification for investing in RFID at the moment, and they resented being bullied into the technology.

Anyone listening to all this negativity would be tempted to dismiss RFID as yet one more bleeding-edge technology years away from practical use. But cut through the clutter of complaints, and you’ll find hundreds of companies successfully using RFID in everyday business. In fact, you’ve probably been using it yourself in everything from your office security badge to your ExxonMobil Speedpass to, for you runners, the timing chip attached to your footwear.
“Many RFID success stories have not gotten a whole lot of attention” says Beth Enslow, vice president of enterprise research at Aberdeen Group. “Companies have been turned off by the hype and all the talk of the Wal-Mart project, and that could result in them missing the ways that RFID can create value for them.”

It’s not that RFID doesn’t have its challenges: the cost of the chips, the lack of standardization for the chips and the machines that read the data on them, the challenge of analyzing the vast amounts of data that RFID will produce, and the privacy concerns of consumers all demand attention. But so much is happening in the world of RFID that 2005 will almost certainly be the year in which most, if not all, of these impediments will be eliminated.

HOW THEY WORK

RFID sprang from the minds of the MIT Auto-ID Center staff in 1999 as a replacement for the common bar code. More sophisticated than bar codes, RFID tags (sometimes called chips) are like little radio towers or transponders that send out information to a reader, or “interrogator.” Active RFID tags have tiny batteries in them, while passive tags must usually be “awakened” by a tag reader in order to send information. Active tags can store and send more information at a greater distance than passive versions.

One advantage that REID tags have over bar codes is that they don’t have to be in the line of sight to be read. Anyone who has purchased groceries in the past 20 years knows full well that bar codes must be directly scanned by a laser, a process that can be thrown off by moisture or other contaminants. Products to which RFID tags have been affixed can be read at a distance, even through crates or other packing materials. The tags and readers can exchange everything from a simple price check to reams of information about where that product has been and where it is going next.

Another advantage of REID tags is that, unlike one-size-fits-all bar codes, each item in a given carton or shipment can be tagged with information that pertains only to it, so that manufacturers, distributors, transportation companies, retailers, and marketers can track individual units across every step of the supply chain.

Market-research firm IDC projects that RFID spending in the retail supply chain will grow from just $91.5 million in 2003 to nearly $1.3 billion in 2008. Another market-research firm, In-Stat Inc., expects revenues from the sale of REID tags and related technology to reach $2.8 billion by 2009. Some of the heavyweight companies already experimenting with RFID include Johnson & Johnson, Campbell Soup, Gillette, Dell, Texas Instruments, Exxon, Kellogg, Kraft, Hewlett-Packard, Nestle Purina, Abercrombie & Fitch, Procter & Gamble, and Unilever.

Major manufacturers, particularly in the consumer-goods market, face intense pressure from Wal-Mart, Target, Albertson’s, and others to get on the RFID bandwagon. But for many other companies, it’s more of a chicken-or-egg game: manufacturers are waiting to see how many retailers install REID-reading equipment before they invest heavily in REID tags, while retailers are holding off on such investments until enough of their suppliers start shipping tagged goods.

“RFID is like the telephone” explains Al Delattre, managing partner of the electronics and high-tech practice at Accenture. “The value multiplies as more people use it. The value of one telephone is extremely limited. With two you can communicate with someone else. Add a third and yon can have a conference call.” Make them ubiquitous, and soon you can’t imagine life without them–for better and worse.

BALTIMORE–Surging demand for bar-coding equipment has created shortages that have kept many Chrysler Corp. suppliers from meeting an Aug. 1 deadline to deliver all production parts with standard bar-code labels, a Chrysler official said last week.

The Chrysler edict this summer had been a leading move expected eventually to affect more than 20,000 suppliers to the Big Three automakers. But delays of up to three months in getting the necessary bar-coding equipment installed have been blamed in part by the roughly 40 percent of Chrysler suppliers who have still not reached compliance with the order, according to Raymond Mitzel, manager of advanced planning and methods in Chrysler’s procurement supply office.

Chrysler is hoping that percentage can be reduced significantly by early next year, when it plans to go on line with a company-wide mechanical receiving system employing the standard bar-code labels to replace manual check-in of parts.

Chrysler’s requirement is expected to be followed by all General Motors Corp. and possibly Ford Motor Co. plants by the beginning of the 1987 model year–moves which will affect more than 20,000 suppliers to the Big Three automakers.

Label standardization is already occurring at many of these plants, according to Iva Jeanblanc, manager, automatic identification systems, Moore Business Forms Inc., Glenview, Ill.

Development and full-scale implementation of a bar code label standard by the U.S. automotive industry, through its Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG), is viewed as a major step in the growth of the automatic-identification industry, Jeanblanc said at the industry’s annual trade show and seminar, Scan-Tech’85.

He said that automakers and other manufacturers have found that bar coding is aiding implementation of other new technologies and practices, such as the just-in-time delivery concept.

Suppliers, meanwhile, are overcoming their initial resistance to having something forced on them with the realization that the standardization requirements by the automakers improves their own efficiency, he said.

Chrysler’s Mitzel, in fact, said that the potential benefits of the bar code label standardization may eventually prove to be greater for the suppliers than the automakers.

The first organization to adopt a broad-based industrial bar code standard was the Defense Department, which in 1982 began requiring suppliers to put bar codes on all goods shipped to a military installation, according to Automatic Identification Manufacturers Inc. (AIM), an industry trade group. The Defense Department is forecasting that by 1987, nearly 100 percent of all contracted goods will be labeled with bar codes, association officials said.

Other groups that have already developed standards or are at some stage of considering them for their industries include the Aluminum Association, the U.S. General Service Administration, and the National Welding Supply Association, which is considering a standard for the tracking of cylinders, according to AIM.

In addition to pushing and helping develop standards in these and other industries, the automatic identification industry is also continually developing new applications for bar coding and other automatic identification systems. Manufacturing is an area receiving particularly close attention.

“Some people say there are at least 100 possible applications in every manufacturing plant in the U.S.,” Jeanblanc said. “only about nine are now generally being used. That leaves 91 applications for us to go after.”

Manufacturing applications where bar coding has already found a niche include work-in-process, production counting, shipment verification, cycle counting and inventory tracking, according to Jeanblanc.

According to Richard A. McDonald, president of AIM and also president of Data Composition Inc., “bar coding has such appeal because its link with the use of computers in industry is, in effect, revolutionizing manufacturing processes.”

As an example of what installation of an automatic identification system can do for a company, AIM literature cites the case of an unidentified manufacturer of screws, bolts and fasteners for the automotive and building industries.

The manufacturer, according to AIM, was recording $23 million per year in unexplained production losses, and product identification and quantities were difficult to determine at inventory.

To help remedy its problems, the company installed bar code production “traveler tickets” that followed each container through the entire production process, and a system of recording scanners on scales to keep track of spoilage at each process. The firm also began to use bar-coded product identification labels with catalog number and quantity for inventory purposes.

While cost savings were not quantified, the company has now a production tracking system for cost auditing that follows it to pinpoint and correct the high spoilage production processes. The bar codes, meanwhile, are speeding up the manual inventory-taking and leading to an advanced inventory system in which each box is scanned into and out of inventory, according to AIM.

Supplied in 0.263 x 0.220 x 0.39 in. package with gold or tin wrap around terminations, RoHS-compliant DR331-5 inductors operate over -40 to +85*C range and offer EMI protection with inductance range of 1.2-330 [micro]H, [+ or -]20%. Designed for portable, compact, and miniature devices with high-density circuit board designs, products offer DCR range of 0.08-15 ohms max and current ratings from 2.1-0.13 A. Flat top design is compatible with high-speed pick-and-place assembly equipment.

Romoland, CA-November 2, 2006–Designers of small, compact or portable electronic equipment trying to pack lots of functionality into their layouts for printed circuit boards (PCB’s) will find the new low-profile DR331-5 Surface Mount Inductor from Datatronic Distribution, Inc., offers outstanding EMI protection performance and reliability in a miniature package.

The tiny DR331-5 surface mount inductor stands a mere 1-mm (0.39 inch) tall and is only 6.70 (w) -x- 5.60 (l) mm (0.263-x-0.220 inches). These inductors are ideal for a wide range of portable, compact and miniature devices, such as PDAs, mobile phones, portable hard drives, medical appliances, bar code scanners–wherever high-density circuit board design is a requirement.

To protect critical circuits from the dangers of EMI, the DR331-5 surface mount inductor features a wide inductance range from 1.2 to 330 uH, [+ or -]20 percent. The DCR range is 0.08 to 15 ohms maximum, and the current rating is 2.1 to 0.13 amps. They operate over a wide temperature range from -40 to +85*C, making them suitable for use in many rugged environments.

The DR331-5 surface mount inductors are designed with materials that meet the requirements for RoHS compliance. With their low-profile surface mount package design, high performance over a wide inductance range and rugged design, these inductors are ideal for use in a many different industries, including industrial controls, medical, instrumentation, telecom and computer.

The DR331-5 inductor’s flat top design makes it compatible with high-speed pick-and-place assembly equipment, and it is suitable for high-temperature soldering in accordance with J-STD-020C. The DR331-5 is available with either gold wrap around or tin wrap around terminations at no additional charge. They are shipped standard on tape-and-reel with 2,000 pieces provided per reel.

Custom designed DR331-5 inductors are available upon request to meet unique circuit requirements. The DR331-05 inductors are priced from $0.29 each in typical production volumes. Lead time is stock to six weeks. Volume OEM pricing is available upon request.

Datatronic Distribution, Inc. manufactures transformers, inductors, ADSL transformers, LAN filter modules and many other magnetic devices in custom packages as well as standard off-the-shelf packages.

At Abbott’s suburban Chicago headquarters, a “Hall of Fame” shadowbox sits in a random hallway of the packaging plant. A handful of plaques outline recent accomplishments, with space left for future recognitions.

“We’re a growing company,” says Patrick Killian, director of the Packaging Center of Excellence, Abbott.

That seems a bit modest, considering a recent onslaught of medical device acquisitions, an intimidating trail of awards and an extensive list of billion-dollar-generating drugs.

Life is good in Abbott Park, Ill. Total worldwide revenues increased by more than 13% from $19.7 billion in FY2004 to $22.3 billion in FY2005 and are expected to hit higher in 2006. Humira stole the show. The rheumatoid-arthritis medicine generated $1.4 billion in 2005 worldwide sales and should exceed Abbott’s expectations of $2.0 billion globally for FY2006. The Humira auto-injector pen, introduced mid-year, is helping to generate much-deserved positive attention.

The May 2004 spin-off of Hospira, Abbott’s global hospital products division, allowed the company to focus on expanding its advanced technology medical products. Expanding, of course, is putting it lightly.

Kos Pharmaceuticals (prescription products for chronic cardiovascular and respiratory diseases), TheraSense (diabetes test strips and glucose monitoring systems) and i-STAT (portable handheld test systems for hospital practitioners) are just a few names Abbott has recently added to its team portfolio. Medical products manufacturers now know that when Abbott comes knocking, it means business. Case in point: the recent acquisition of Guidant Corp.’s vascular and endovascular divisions.

Abbott found itself in the middle of an intense bidding war between Boston Scientific and Johnson & Johnson (Boston Scientific ultimately sealed the deal ha April for approximately $27 billion, with Abbott acquiring certain divisions). Although Boston Scientific has seen no financial return to date, Abbott walked away with a strong foothold in the $6-billion-a-year stent business.

Streamlining efforts and diversified teams in the packaging division have brought Abbott’s goals full circle.

By showing such courage and creativity through key acquisitions, successful new products and continued process improvements, Abbott has earned our Drug Packager of the Year honor for 2006.

Streamline, standardize

At Abbott, product innovation includes developing standards that provide brand uniformity and comfort to the customer, and executing these goals requires a diverse team. The Packaging Center of Excellence at the Abbott Park headquarters comprises 25 to 30 employees who oversee packaging initiatives for more than 15 pharmaceutical packaging operations worldwide.

The center brings together members of the package engineering group, packaging equipment organization, packaging commodities group, marketing and regulatory departments, and the manufacturing science and technology organization. Most recently, the center has been dedicated to increasing overall efficiency with standard packages and uniform labeling.

The standardization and streamlining of packaging created significant benefits all through the company, from purchasing to quality to operations to supply chain. The types and sizes of pharmaceutical packages for commercial distribution have been reduced from 14 or 15 bottles to three or four, and two or three standard blister designs. Abbott is also in the process of implementing standard enclosures, cartons and corrugate shippers.

The result? A significant reduction in costs. Fewer package types mean a higher volume of orders, but a smaller number of orders. And working with fewer suppliers for fewer commodities creates a bottom line benefit, says Jovo Dragicevic, manager of package engineering and development for Abbott’s global pharmaceutical operations.

Common commodities call for common equipment processes, which decrease changeovers at the plant level for Abbott and its suppliers.

Abbott’s recent string of acquisitions also brought new ideas to the design department and supply chain. “There are always opportunities to see how things are done differently and take some value from the synergies,” Dragicevic says.

A patient-focused design method runs through the arteries of the entire corporation. “We maintain an ongoing dialogue with our customers by conducting surveys and focus-study sessions with pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, chain drug store pharmacy directors and others to confirm our innovations bring value, improvement and convenience in real-world usage,” says Killian.

When conducting surveys for the recent standardization efforts, the packaging group included representatives from hospital, large chain and independent pharmacies.

“We don’t want to standardize something pharmacists don’t like,” Killian says. “We ask the questions up front–Do you like round bottles? Do you like this child-resistant feature?–before we make a commitment to say, this is the type of cap we’re going to use for the next five years.”

Quality assured

Standardizing packaging while keeping up with quality and compliance expectations is no small undertaking.

“First and foremost, Abbott’s packaging must comply with regulatory and quality requirements to ensure the end user gets high-quality, well-protected drugs with information that is clear to all end users–wholesalers, retail operations, doctors and patients,” says Lewis Sita, director of engineering for Abbott’s Global Pharmaceutical Operations division.

The pharmaceutical division is implementing a uniform labeling system to make it easier for the pharmacist to identify bottles when dispensing, and increase brand identity (see “Abbott’s packages focus on safety and comfort,” p.32, for more information). To reduce confusion for pharmacists in differentiating between bottles, the packaging team developed a color-coding process. The color bar on standard labels changes for every dosage strength and the color bars are different for each product family.

Quality assurance was also key in implementing the Physician-Labeling Rule, an initiative introduced in 2006 requiring simplified labels with important information prominently displayed. To comply with the new requirements, Abbott installed new printing equipment on six blister packaging lines in four different manufacturing plants and invested in equipment that included new on-line printing equipment. The investment also included new bar code verification equipment and scanners for each of the quality control organizations. Additional levels of validation and new procedures for bar code verification were established in each plant.

“It was piloted on one line at one plant, and then rolled out in phases to the other plants,” Dragicevic said. “This significantly accelerated and streamlined the installation and validation processes.”

Abbott expects the same high standards from its suppliers. Each year, Abbott acknowledges valuable suppliers with its Supplier Excellence Awards program. Supplier performance is assessed in the areas of logistics, quality, service, cost leadership and process improvement.

“Our suppliers take a lot of pride in receiving that award, and it’s one of the ways we build relationships with them,” Killian says.

Abbott doesn’t fall exception to market demands for radio frequency identification (RFID), making sure to stay on the cutting edge of anti-counterfeiting efforts. “We work very hard at staying current,” Killian says. “We have people who are specifically focused on this issue and making sure it’s all about comfort and patient safety.”

(For more information on anti-counterfeiting, see “Abbott’s packages focus on safety and comfort”, p.32.)

Fostering feedback

A diversified approach, from package design through to quality assurance, has been essential in keeping the creative juices flowing and promoting an innovative team. Streamlining and creating unified product delivery systems has done anything but stifle the flow of ideas. Feedback from all departments is encouraged.

Quarterly packaging forums are held that allow internal or external speakers such as consultants to discuss current issues. An idea generation program has also been implemented for employees to submit ideas on a regular basis. The ideas are reviewed by management and assigned to individuals to determine feasibility or viability of whether the idea meets business objectives.

One of the biggest challenges facing the packaging division is compliance packaging.

“Packaging can play a significant role in ensuring that critical information related to a particular product–for example, drug name, strength and dosing instructions–is provided in an easy-to-read format to help ensure patient safety, compliance with a prescription dosing schedule and reduce the risks of medical dispensing errors,” says director of engineering Sita.

They also provide significantly more billboard space than standard vials.

Compliance packages will continue to be a focus in the coming years, with an increasing drive to execute new developments as efficiently as possible.

“There’s a balance between standardizing and efficiency and innovation,” Killian says. “That’s a continuous challenge, to always be pushing the envelope with the customer and trying to meet their needs and still maintaining an efficient manufacturing workload so that you can provide cost-effective products.”

The Humira Pen encapsulates streamlining while keeping innovation at the forefront. The biologic was first introduced in 2003 in a revolutionary pre-filled syringe.

“It’s not a trivial thing to take monoclonal antibodies and modify them to make them liquid, and get them small enough to put them into a small entity to be able to be applied by a patient;’ says Erik von Borke, divisional vice president of immunology for Abbott.

The syringe successfully filled a gap in the marketplace, but project leaders didn’t stop there. They developed the Humira Pen, released in mid-2006, to eliminate the exposure of the needle and make it even easier to self administer.

“The Humira Pen has been very well received by patients and physicians, and has been recognized with the Arthritis Foundation’s Ease of Use Seal of Approval for its innovative design,” says Joe Julian, product development manager, Abbott. Around the office, Julian is affectionately referred to as “Mr. Humira Pen” because he was so instrumental in its development.

The team created a device that encased the existing pre-filled syringe. By designing an auto-injection device that could accommodate the primary pre-filled syringe, Abbott was able to save valuable development and validation time. (For more on the design of the Pen, see “Abbott’s packages focus on safety and comfort,” p.32. For a glance at Humira on the packaging line, see “At main plant, flexibility is the best medicine” p.36.)

Patient benefit inspired the package. “You ask, what do patients and physicians want? And you want something that doesn’t hurt, that is tolerable every time you take it,” von Borke says. “The patient gives you the idea for the design.”
Members of the Humira team visited physician offices and spoke with nurses and patients. They also looked at children’s toys, like Playmobil, for ideas on developing a package that’s easy to use. After creating multiple packages for the pen, the team conducted market research to find their winner. One design opened like a chocolate box; another had a bag as its secondary package.

“They told us, ‘This is over-engineered. I don’t have a good feeling using this if I just have to throw it away,’” von Borke says. “In the end, what we came out with was easy for the patient, easy for the supply chain.”

Abbott’s sustainability leadership continues with package optimization

Abbott’s commitment to environmental awareness is evident in the Global Pharmaceutical Operations division’s physician sample packaging optimization project. The variation in size, shape and overall appearance of samples has been streamlined, reducing waste while increasing brand identity. Lighter-board cartons with the same performance quality were implemented, and recycled board was introduced in select applications.

“It’s an ongoing process to evaluate and push back on our suppliers as well, in making sure that we are using materials that are sustainable” says Jovo Dragicevic, manager of package engineering and development for Abbott’s Global Pharmaceutical Operations division.

The bottled dairy drink Frijj is rapidly becoming more popular in the United Kingdom. Promoted as an “American-style fresh milk shake,” it’s already the category leader. Banana, strawberry and chocolate flavors come in bottles of 500 milliliters and 250ml, the former packed in multipacks of 6 and the smaller bottles in 12s and 24s.

Popularity has its price, and in this case it meant Gloucester-based Frijj maker Dairy Crest had to find ways to increase its line productivity or lose the growth advantage it had worked so hard to achieve.

A major part of achieving that productivity was adopting the new Harland Zeta print-and-apply bar code labelers made by Harland Machine Systems. The two applicators–which incorporate thermal transfer print engines from Zebra Technologies Corp.–are able to maintain print-and-apply speeds of between 35 to 40 packages per minute while placing labels with consistent accuracy.

“No other print-and-apply system we looked at could ensure consistent precision of label application at such speeds,” says Dairy Crest’s Milk Shake Department production engineering manager Andy Bonehill.

The dairy needed accurate placing of labels to meet European Article Numbering system (EAN) 128 bar code standards. EAN128 compliance was an essential element of the new equipment, as more and more of Dairy Crest’s supermarket customers have adopted the coding system. EAN128 enables supermarkets to directly unload product onto automated picking lines which scan the codes for transfer to the correct loading bay or store without operator involvement. For successful use, the bar code has to be in the same position on each type of pack.

The new units apply the bar code label exactly 25 millimeters from the top of each pack. A key to maintaining both speed and accuracy is a spring-loaded beak assembly which allows each label to be printed, fed, then held in front of the appropriate pack as it moves along the conveyor.

One additional benefit of the Zeta system that contributes to productivity is its easy set-up. Operators can quickly switch specifications for labeling of 6, 12 or 24 packs by selecting the appropriate pre-programmed software and adjusting the labeling head to the right preset pack height. The program capacity of the Zeta allows ample room for storage of labels for the basic product codes, flavors, variable prices and on-pack promotions and leaves plenty of room for new codes.

Dairy Crest installed two of the Harland units on dedicated post mountings over the Frijj lines. Mountings include a fine adjustment capability for operators–an important feature, since the EAN128 labels must be placed in exactly the same position on each pack. Changeover is so simple, according to Bonehill, that line operators routinely take care of it, with no need to delay to call engineering personnel.

Change is not something that occurs often in the golf car industry and when it does, you generally have to be a real insider to notice it. But when the people at Club Car realized that they could take incremental improvements only so far, they decided to get some fresh thinking from Detroit and completely change their product and process.

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Phillip J. Tralies, president and CEO of Club Car, Inc., describes the situation in the golf car industry as being similar to that of Detroit. There is a Big Three: Club Car (parent company: Ingersoll-Rand), E-Z-Go (parent company: Textron), and Yamaha. Like the automotive Big Three, there is geographic proximity: Club Car and E-Z-Go are both in Augusta, Georgia; Yamaha is further away, in Peachtree City, but still in Georgia. While this certainly isn’t Detroit/Dearborn/Auburn Hills, there is still a similarity in the comparative close grouping of the firms.

But there are distinct differences, too. For one thing, the golf car Big Three are actually the entire industry’s BIG Three: Tralies estimates that the three companies “represent 95% of all golf cars built and sold in the world.” That’s right: world. Of that 95%, E-Z-Go and Club Car account for 42% to 44%–each. Yamaha has the remainder. The five percent is handled by a variety of smaller companies. Detroit’s Big Three could only wish that they had such a grip on the market.

But like Detroit, there are some issues that need to be grappled with as regards changes in the market. Tralies points out that in the early 1990s there was a big boom in the development of golf courses. Real estate developers saw great opportunity to create communities attached to golf courses. Tralies notes, however, that by about 1995 the number of people who where taking up golf diminished, but the ardor of those developers went unabated. So there is an issue of the number of courses outstripping demand. In the golf car business, the primary customers are the courses, not individuals. This makes the market, however, different than what Detroit faces: instead of a multitude of individuals who need to be sold on the latest equipment, in the golf car industry it is far different. “If you took an average football stadium and put all of the golf car decision makers in it,” Tralies says, “it would look empty.”

There is another big difference between the golf car industry and the auto industry. It is a technological difference. Dave Hardy, who was executive program director, Special Projects, at Club Car, recounts, “One of the first jobs that I had when I came here in 1978 was designing the DS model. We introduced that model in 1980.” You can still buy the DS model. In fact, up until 2004, the DS model was the Club Car model. Hardy acknowledges that during the past 20 years there were a number of changes made to the DS model. For example, the body material started out fiberglass, then moved to SMC, then to a painted TPO. The basic styling stayed the same. The powertrain was redesigned. “They were evolutionary changes. It’s not that some of them weren’t dramatic improvements to the product, though.” Still, as Hank Sanders, who was vice president of Special Projects, points out, there is only so far you can go in terms of making product or process improvements when there is a fixed design. The structure becomes a limiting factor. As the golf car industry is as competitive as any, they were always looking for the ways to improve performance and to reduce production costs. “At some point you realize that if you want to make dramatic change, you have to change what you’re doing,” says Hardy.

There is a problem with the notion of dramatic change. Especially in the golf car industry. That’s because of the fleet sales (which are often leases, not direct sales). The typical course changes over about a third or so of its cars on an annual basis. Consequently, the status quo is comfortable from the points of view of maintenance (i.e., keeping things largely the same reduces the amount of difficulty for those who have to keep the cars running) and of the customers: having a fleet of vehicles that look the same means that one car is generally as good as another.

There are some other considerations to take into account. For one, Club Car is a build-to-order operation. So if they don’t have plenty of courses purchasing vehicles, they’ve got a serious problem. While they do build a variety of custom vehicles in their facility–”limousine-style” vehicles for the Japan market; trash haulers for Disney–the golf car is the primary product and so it has to be competitive. Consider an auto company dependent on a single model. What’s the likelihood that with even a modicum of success they’d ever modify that model?

But at Club Car they were up against the issue of making improvements beyond the incremental. Sanders had attended some seminars and learned about things like “lean design” and “flow manufacturing.” And he concluded that they were the sorts of things that, although becoming part of the process in places like Detroit, needed to come to the golf car industry. So he began to talk up the need for fundamental change at Club Car, the need to create something that was not restricted by what had come before, but which would allow the implementation of unencumbered thinking and of best practices. And he began to get converts. And eventually what was known as the “Cleansheet” project was born.