Constar International Inc., a producer of PET containers, announced immediate availability of its MonOxbar technology following completion of the FDA’s Food Contact Notification process. MonOxbar is a monolayer blend of Constar’s patented Oxbar oxygen scavenging material with PET for oxygen-sensitive products such as juices, teas, tomato-based products, beer, vitamin-enhanced products and more.

In addition to a full range of Monoxbar bottles for custom, hot-fill and widemouth applications in the United States and Europe, Constar will offer MonOxbar preforms to customers who operate their own blowmolding machines, aseptic fillers running integrated blow-fill lines and to export to markets worldwide. MonOxbar’s oxygen barrier is embodied in the preform, which is far less sensitive to freight cost than bottles.

Crown Holdings Inc., Philadelphia, announced the shipment of its 25 billionth SuperEnd beverage end in North America. The innovative ends have a unique angled, chuck-wall design that significantly reduces metal use and improves end performance while enhancing consumer satisfaction. The ends quickly became an industry standard following their introduction in 2001. To date, more than 6,500 tons of metal and 110 tons of coatings have been saved.

The lightweight SuperEnd beverage end reduced material usage makes beverage cans even more environmentally friendly. They also deliver exceptional performance vs. Large-Opening-End beverage can ends, lowering systemwide costs through reduced rates of score erosion, secondary leakage, tab failure and consumer complaints.  

Software solutions provider, GBG Inc., Waterloo, Ontario, is merging with San Diego-based Beverage Solutions Inc. BSI is a provider of route accounting packages and mobile solutions for the beer and soft drink DSD marketplace. The acquisition further cements GBG’s position as the leader in the DSD market.

Adcor Industries, Baltimore, Md., a market leader in high-speed beverage filling machine manufacture and maintenance, announced the creation of The Adcor Packaging Group. Formation of the business unit enables Adcor to provide a wider scope of product expertise and support services to the beverage bottling and canning industry, resulting in enhanced productivity, improved consistency and optimized performance for its customers. Among the customized turnkey solutions the group brings to the beverage filling industry are highly advanced design and engineering capabilities along with the installation of OEM equipment for the filling line and its essential related operations.

Strahman Valves Inc., Florham Park, N.J., completed negotiations to acquire the assets of MG Process Valves. MG Process Valves will be renamed Strahman MG and continue to operate from its facility in Mery, France. Strahman MG will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Strahman Valves Inc.

In addition to expanded geographic coverage, the acquisition provides Strahman the capability to supply a wide range of fabricated and cast valves including soft-seated and metal-seated Ram-Type Drain Valves, Piston-Type Sampling Valves, Multi-way Diverter Valves, Spray Rinse Tank Valves, rotating and Sliding Line Blinds, Sanitary and Biotech valves.

Flowserve Corp., Dallas, Texas, a global provider of fluid motion and control products and services, announced it is now supporting its premier Limitorque SMB electric actuator line with a 10-year standard warranty. The warranty term is unprecedented in the flow control industry and sets a new benchmark in asset management. The Limitorque war-ranty offers the benefits of hassle-free, OEM-guaranteed spare parts; guaranteed Flowserve field and shop maintenance; a reduced risk of downtime; and protection from punitive costs associated with in-line failure.

Tripmaster Corp. a leader in onboard electronic recorders and support software sold a FleetLink onboard wireless communications system to J.D. Smith and Sons, a Canadian logistics management company. FleetLink will be integrated in J.D. Smith’s existing TruckMate for Windows enterprise software.

TNT Logistics North America received Entergy Corp.’s annual Safety Leadership Award. TNT provides dedicated transportation services for Entergy Corp., an electric power production company based in the southwest. During 2003, TNT Logistics’ trucks traveled more than 857,000 miles between centralized warehouses and had no vehicular accidents or lost workdays due to injury.

Chocolat Alprose of Caslano/Lugano, Switzerland, purchased an adhesive dispensing system from Nordson featuring an e.dot electric gun, EPC-30 pattern control and a ProBlue adhesive melter. The new system enabled Chocolat Alprose to produce small, individually wrapped chocolate bars without compromising the taste and texture of its fine Swiss chocolate bars.

CCL Industries, a global packaging and labeling firm headquartered in Canada, inked an agreement that will create the largest custom packaging manufacturer in Europe. The new joint venture combines CCL’s custom manufacturing operations with Portugal’s Colep Europe. The newly dubbed ColepCCL had sales of more than 288 million euros in 2003 and will have facilities in the United Kingdom, Germany, Portugal, Spain and Poland. The new managing director of ColepCCL, Vitor Neves, said, “Our goal is to take the best practices and operational know-how from both businesses and create one company that will provide increased value for our customers.”