Much of the groundwork has already been laid. We just need to continue building improvements in from there.

Cutting the cost of changeover is something every company can do.The economy is in the tank and, if they are buying at all, your customers are looking for bargains. If

We may not have Star Trek's Holodeck yet, but we're getting closer. Several technologies shown at Pack Expo 2008 come close to telepresence.

Packagers face the dilemma of selecting new or used machinery. The pros and cons of each can make it a tough decision. Here’s a look at some of them.

All manufacturing facilities should be kept clean at all times for best operation. Food and beverage plants must go further. Cleanliness is not just nice to have. It can literally be a matter of life and death for both customer and company.

My June column discussed Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) and its importance. This month I want to address one of major causes of low OEE.

Cleaning is a major issue in manufacturing operations. Failure to clean and sanitize properly results in more than an ugly package. In extreme cases, it can result in consumer illness

If you work in manufacturing, you’ve heard the term “Overall Equipment Effectiveness” or its acronym “OEE.” Although widely used, I have found that many people don’t know what it is. Fewer understand it.

They say that if we were supposed to measure in metric, King Henry’s foot would have been 30.48 centimeters long instead of 12 inches. Unfortunately, we Americans are about the last ones using inch measurements. We don’t even use it consistently. Bottles are often described in ounces while that same bottle’s cap is almost always sized in millimeters.

To appreciate our current level of packaging line automation-and its as yet untapped potential-we have to look at how far we’ve already come.