Now owned and operated by the American Beverage Association, InterBev 2006 was held Oct. 23-25 at the Sands Expo Center, Las Vegas. In addition to numerous education sessions and exhibits on the show floor, the ABA held its annual meeting and hosted Tom Ridge, former secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, who addressed the crowd.

The ABA announced the election of John E. (Jack) Pelo, president and chief executive officer of Swire Coca-Cola USA, as chairman of its board of directors. Pelo succeeds outgoing chairman Ralph D. Crowley Jr., president and chief executive officer of Polar Beverages. Several board members also were named for their first four-year term on the board: William B. Cyr, president and chief executive officer of Sunny Delight Beverages; Walter L. Gross III, senior vice president of on-premise at G&J Pepsi-Cola Bottlers Inc.; Jeffrey Honickman, chief executive officer of the Honickman Group of bottling and distribution companies; Kim E. Jeffery, president and chief executive officer of Nestlé Waters North America Inc.; James C. Lee III, president and chief executive officer of Buffalo Rock Co.; Mary Beth Stone West, group vice president of Kraft Foods Inc. and president of North American Beverages Sector; Brent D. Willis, chief executive officer of Cott Corp.

Selected for a second four-year term were: Dawn Hudson, president and chief executive officer of Pepsi-Cola North America and chief executive officer of PepsiCo Foodservice Division; and H.L. (Sandy) Williams Jr., chairman of Corinth Coca-Cola Bottling Works Inc.

Four new members also were elected to fill positions being vacated: John F. Brock, chief executive officer of Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc.; J. Alexander (Sandy) Douglas, president of Coca-Cola North America; Eric Foss, president and chief executive officer, The Pepsi Bottling Group Inc.; and Kenneth E. Keiser, president and chief operations officer of PepsiAmericas Inc.

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Hammer announced the addition of a new Variable Sleeve Offset Press (VSOP), a patented technology for quickly and cost-effectively changing the repeat on a web offset press. VSOP features/advantages include: electron beam curing systems for inks and coatings; three interchangeable flexo units for thicker ink film applications and combination printing; turnbar availability for backside printing; inline UPC grading; in-house digital pre-press and plate-making for fast turnarounds; and leading-edge slitting and sleeving capabilities. — Hammer Packaging, 200 Lucius Gordon Drive, P.O. Box 22678, Rochester, N.Y. 14692; 585/424-3880; hammerpackaging.com.

Hitachi America Ltd. Industrial Systems Division featured the PXR-H Series high-speed small-character inkjet printer at InterBev. The PXR-H Series has the highest printing speed of 1,300 feet per minute for one-line inkjet printing in its class. The printer maintains and enhances the print quality by improving print-head and ink-drop charge/deflection control. The machine also reduces fluid evaporation through an ink circulation system and automatically cleans the nozzle and gutter before shut down. — Hitachi America Ltd., 50 Prospect Avenue, Tarrytown, N.Y. 10591; 914/631-0600; hitachi.us/ijp.

With the motto “Innovative Logistics Solutions... Measurable Results,” Swisslog offers a number of systems designed to increase customer productivity while reducing inventory and invested capital, and improving stock rotation and accuracy. The company featured innovative material handling systems, with a particular focus on automated order selection systems, load planning and material flow analysis at InterBev. — Swisslog Logistic Inc., 161 Enterprise Drive, Newport News, Va. 23603; 757/820-3400; swisslog.com.

Ford Commercial Trucks highlighted its new LCF line of trucks designed to meet the needs of urban beverage distributors. The LCF line is suited for use in tight turning, congested delivery areas where visibility and maneuverability are desired. The L45 model has a 16,000-pound capacity and its L55 has a 19,500-pound capacity. Both models have a standard 24-inch frame spacing and clean top of frame rail to allow installation of a wide range of body types. — Ford Commercial Truck, 16800 Executive Plaza Drive, Dearborn, Mich. 48126; 630/353-1300; commtruck.ford.com.

Big 3D.com introduced 3D Cups a new line of three-dimensional graphic cups. The cups are a unique packaging solution available in a variety of custom shapes and sizes with sharp, clear three-dimensional images. Made from lenticular plastic, the cups are available for quick delivery and high-quality suitable for retail sale. — Big3D.com, 1419 M Street, Fresno, Calif. 93721; 559/233-3380; big3D.com.

Anton Paar featured its packaged beverage analyzer for quick, accurate analysis of non-alcohol beverages. The measuring system consists of a DMA 5000/4500/4100 density meter, the CO2 analyzer CarboQC and the semiautomatic PFD Filling Device for bottles and cans. It simultaneously measures the Brix and CO2 content of beverage samples directly out of the package without degassing or pre-warming required. — Anton Parr USA, 10215 Timber Ridge Drive, Ashland, Va. 23005; 800/722-7556; anton-paar.com.

Sherwin-Williams Industrial and Marine Coatings group offers General Polymers FasTop Slurry and Mortar systems. Both are seamless, highly-durable, fast-curing, water-based floor coatings accepted for use in USDA-inspected facilities. Ideal for food and beverage processing plants, FasTop S and FasTop M cure within six to eight hours, enabling rapid installation and quick return to service. Both coating systems are designed to protect concrete substrates from impact, mild chemical attack and abrasion. — Sherwin-Williams Co., 101 Prospect Avenue NW, Cleveland, Ohio 44115; 800/524-5979; sherwin-williams.com/im.

Ecolab is a leading provider of cleaning, food safety, health protection and pest elimination products and services. Combining technical knowledge, global service and support, and industry leading R&D, the company offers unparalleled service with a global reach and the benefits of world-class training. Ecolab has more than 12,000 sales and service experts worldwide to provide world-class cleaning, sanitation and safety training services. — Ecolab Inc., 370 Wabasha Street N., St. Paul, Minn. 55102; 651/293-2233; ecolab.com.

Softeon is a leading supply chain execution solutions company offering next generation integrated solution suite of products, including warehouse and delivery management to different classes of beverage distributors. The company can support varied business models, floor operations and product handling automation capabilities. Softeon's solutions include advanced technology (Web based Java/J2EE compliant, services oriented architecture) and paperless operations using voice and mobile devices. — Softeon, 8133 Leesburg Pike, Vienna, Va. 22182; 703/356-8727; softeon.com.

PDC International Corp. previewed the introduction of its next generation PDC Shrink Labelers at InterBev. The R-200 Evolution Series Shrink Labeler was jointly developed by R&D teams from PDC's American and French facilities and designed with simplicity, value and performance in mind. It is capable of applying both full-sleeve shrink labels and tamper-evident neckbands at speeds up to 200 cpm. — PDC International Corp., 8 Sheehan Avenue, Norwalk, Conn. 06854; 203/853-1516; pdc-corp.com.

XL Energy Drinks are currently sold in 42 countries in Europe, China, India and the Middle East, as well as in select markets in South America. Available in XL Regular and Sugar Free, the products are lightly carbonated and formulated for times where extended energy is needed for best performance. XL energy drink can increase physical endurance stimulates metabolism and helps the body to break down toxic substances. — XL Energy Drink Corp., 10 West 33rd Street, Suite 340, New York, N.Y. 10001; 212/239-4280; xl-energy.com.

Insight Distribution Software, a Coaxis Inc. company, is a leading innovator of enterprise IT solutions for the beverage distribution industry. Insight's host software product, RS2, is an industry-leading route accounting application delivering real-time, business-critical information. Playbook, Insight's sales execution tool, is an objective creation and tracking tool designed to improve execution and increase sales and eliminates the need for spreadsheet-based performance tracking. — Insight Distribution Software, 222 Schilling Circle 275, Hunt Valley, Md. 21031; 800/310-3548; routescape.com.

Safety Vision, a leading global provider of mobile video solutions exhibited its line of collision avoidance products — the SV-50065, SV-7065, SV-LCD70 and SV-LCD56B camera systems. The company's mobile-rated rear-, side- and forward-vision cameras enable drivers to back up and change lanes without incident, and maneuver with greater precision in tight areas. — Safety Vision, 6100 West Sam Houston Parkway N, Houston, Texas 77041; 800/880-8855; safetyvision.com

Robbie Manufacturing is a packaging company that focuses on providing high-quality printed films. With the impact of 10-color process, reverse printing or the brilliance of seven-color high-tone printing, the company can help a product achieve competitive dominance on the shelf. Robbie understands speed-to-shelf is essential to profitability and efficient business growth. — Robbie Manufacturing, 10810 Mid-America, Lenexa, Kan. 66219; 913/492-3400; robbiemfg.com.

Magline, a leading provider of route distribution solutions, has launched a new brand campaign. The campaign includes a new tagline, “Innovation that delivers,” and the company is re-establishing its trademarked Magliner red stripe as a unifying creative element. The brand campaign will be executed throughout the company – domestically and internationally – and will include collateral materials, expanded event marketing, brand training and advertising. — Magline Inc., 503 South Mercer Street, Pinconning, Mich. 48650; 989/879-2411; magliner.com.

Vitro Packaging Inc. is a supplier of glass bottles/containers for the wine, liquor and beverage industries. The company offers a wide selection of clarets, burgundies and hocks in a variety of colors. The stock bottle inventory also includes a unique range of distinctive shapes, with different punt and finish options. Vitro also offers pre-labeling with a variety of label techniques, including applied ceramic, heat transfer, shrink-sleeve and pressure-sensitive labels. — Vitro Packaging Inc., 5200 Tennyson Parkway, Suite 100, Plano, Texas 75024; 800/766-0600; vitropackaging.com.  

Imaje has replaced its S8 printers with the new Imaje 9040 small-character printer. The new product has similar reliability and flexibility to the S8 Master's printers. It also has easy integration onto a production line, can be used in numerous applications and has several standard printing capabilities. The 9040 model possesses popular features of the 9020 and 9030 products such as shortcuts to menus, intuitive icons and an automatic nozzle rinsing system with a new inside cleaning cycle for hassle-free shutdowns and start-ups. — Imaje, 1650 Airport Road, Kennesaw, Ga. 30144; 770/421-7700; imaje.com.

P.E. USA's Rollmatic labeling system is designed for cylindrical and shaped bottles, which can be labeled full or empty. The speed range of the Rollmatic ranges from 100 to 1,000 bottles per minute. The Rollmatic Labeling System includes an automatic label “self-aligning” system and servo motor control for precision film cutting. The cutting drum features a rotary blade, which can be used alternatively on four sides for maximum life. — P.E. USA Inc., 11560 Rockfield Court, Cincinnati, Ohio 45241; 513/771-7374; pe-us.com.

Roadnet Transportation Suite allows organizations to strategically, tactically and operationally manage their distribution networks under a single solution framework. Territory Planner, Roadnet, MobileCast, MobileCast On Track and FleetLoader make up that framework. Together they provide a comprehensive fleet management solution set that enables organizations to optimally plan, dispatch, monitor and measure fleet and mobile resource performance. — UPS Logistics Technologies, 849 Fairmount Avenue, Baltimore, Md. 21286; 410/847-1900; upslogisticstech.com.

Honest Tea expanded its line of organic ready-to-drink beverages with its new Pomegranate White Tea with Acai. Three antioxidant-rich ingredients: pomegranate, white tea and the acai berry are combined with less than three teaspoons of organic cane sugar to create a delicately flavored tea for tea-lovers and health-conscious consumers alike. Available in the fourth quarter of 2006, the tea has 35 calories per 8-ounce serving. — Honest Tea Inc., 5019 Wilson Lane, Bethesda, Md. 20814; 301/652-3556; honesttea.com.

Salient Corp featured Salient Geo, its geographical-spatial intelligence add-on, at InterBev. Salient's Geo add-on integrates geospatial information with sales data, demographics and performance metrics. Results are displayed in real-time, dynamic, interactive maps that give new insights into the business. It features location performance data, thematic mapping, mapping by attribute, demographic information, interactivity, location selection and connection to corporate intelligence. — Salient Corp., 203 Colonial Drive, Horseheads, N.Y. 14845; 607/739-4511; salient.com.

Kronik Energy drink offers an extensive lineup of drink choices with distribution and marketing initiatives spanning all 50 states. The Kronik Energy family of beverages includes Kronik Energy, Kronik Low-Carb, Kronik Grind, Kronik Entourage, Kronik Energy Fat Boy, Independent Energy and Independent Diet. Kronik Entourage, the company's newest product, is a juice and energy drink hybrid containing 80 percent juice as its base. — Kronik Energy, 5225 North Central Avenue, Suite 101; Phoenix, Ariz. 85012; 480/491-5577; kronikenergy.com.

Ram Systems offers a full-circle source for flexible and comprehensive beverage business software, mobile computing, PC, server hardware and communications. Software can be created for route DSD presales and DEX; statement billing and automation; full-serving vending; equipment tracking; call log, messaging and paging; settlement and commissioning; customer service; sales audit and exceptions; route distribution analysis, and much more. — Ram Systems Inc., 224 Causeway Boulevard, La Crosse, Wis. 54603; 608/782-8130; ramsystems.net.

Sartorius is an internationally leading laboratory and process technology provider to the beverage industry. Sartorius highlighted its complete line of microbiology products including: Biosart, ready-to-use sterile monitors, Nutrient Pad Sets, sterile dehydrated media pads, and Combisart, stainless steel manifolds. Additionally, Sartorius offers an extensive line of premium industrial products such as scales, load cells and control electronics. — Sartorius Corp., 131 Hearthland Boulevard, Edgewood, N.Y. 11717; 800/368-7178; sartorius.com.

Isbre's water source is located at the end of the Hardanger fjord in Ulvik, Norway, where a sub-artic glacier has existed for more than 10,000 years. The source originates from a massive glacial spring that flows at tens of millions of gallons a day. Isbre's bottling facility is at the source and has the lowest TDS (total dissolved solids) content in today's market. — Isbre Holding Corp., 50 Chestnut Ridge Road, Montvale, N.J. 07645; 201/802-0005; isbre.com.

Trimble Mobile Solutions offers the next generation in handheld mobile technology for direct store delivery, retail execution and field service. Trimble's suite of applications for the CPG industry feature unique capabilities to increase sales and keep the right amount of product on the shelf. With TrimbleDSD, a field team can check for distribution voids and OOS conditions and identify trends before they develop into significant lost sales opportunities. — Trimble Mobile Solutions, 3650 Concorde Parkway, Suite 150, Chantilly, Va. 20151; 877/883-4367; mobiletechsolutions.com.

Saratoga Spring Water Co. has proudly been bottling premium spring water products in the United States since 1872. Saratoga also offers a premium line of unsweetened flavored sparkling waters branded Saratoga Essence, and a full line of non-sparkling Springwater in PET bottles. Saratoga Spring Water is available in sparkling varieties in 7.7-, 12- and 28-ounce sizes; non-sparkling varieties in 12- and 28-ounce, and sparkling Essence flavors in a 12-ounce size. — Saratoga Springwater Co., 11 Geyser Road, Saratoga Springs, N.Y. 12866; 518/584-6363; saratogaspringwater.com.