At Pack Expo in Chicago, A-B-C Packaging Machine Corp. introduced its new 700 series robot palletizers utilizing a Yaskawa robot arm. The 700 series palletizes cases, trays or bags in multiple configurations at speeds as fast as 30 cycles a minute, the company says.

PDC International Corp. offers a new iteration of its R Series Shrinkbanders that provide labeling and neck banding at line speeds from 400 to 1,000 containers a minute, the company says. Engineered for 24/7 service, with continuous material web flow that doesn’t pause for cutting, R Series machines apply 1- to 3.75-inch diameter bands at heights as high as 2.375 inches with precision and repeatability, it adds.

Throughout the supply chain, materials movement (logistics) is a vital and operating-cost consuming issue. This is especially true in the beverage market because once a case of a beverage is packaged, it is actually available for the consumer; however, realistically, the case is handled many times before it reaches its final destination on store shelves. There is no value added by any movement beyond being placed in storage or loaded directly for delivery.

A supplier of liquid rotary filling systems, Fogg Co. introduced its carbonated filler machine that features double pre-evacuation with intermediate carbon dioxide purging (flushing) before filling. The combination of an analogue probe, for monitoring the filling tank level, and a modulating valve ensures gentle handling of the product and better control of undesired foaming, the company says.

Who runs the A/C in the middle of winter? You do, if your truck has a defroster. In modern HVAC systems, the air conditioner activates when you use the defroster. It removes excess moisture from the air, so it has a big effect on how quickly and effectively the defroster can clear the windshield.

Although the main tasks of a warehouse are to produce and store products, warehouse managers have an even bigger day-to-day goal: safety. For the Industrial Truck Association, safety has taken center stage through its sponsorship of National Forklift Safety Day, which took place June 14.

To help beverage manufacturers control and maintain dissolved gases, 3M Industrial Business Group introduced its Liqui-Cel Dissolved Gas Control Skid, which simultaneously provides convenient and rapid in-line carbonation, decarbonation and nitrogenation, the company says.

Equipment suppliers continue to release new innovations in packaging. Douglas Machine Inc. offers a robotic TriVex Sl/Sli top load case packer, while Standard-Knapp Inc. unveiled its new packaging machine for the craft beer industry.

Spirax Sarco Inc. offers its CSM-C 600 compact clean steam generator, which can produce as much as 1,275 pounds an hour of clean steam at 45 psig, depending on plant steam pressure and feed water temperature, the company says.