Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 25 September 2009

FMCG giant Unilever has made a binding offer to buy the personal care division of US firm Sara Lee Corporation for EUR 1.275bn.

The Anglo-Dutch firm said today the acquisition would add a “strong stable of brands”, such as Sanex, Radox and Duschdas, to a category that it considers a key driver for growth, particularly in Western Europe and Asia.

Read the full article here: http://tinyurl.com/y8ctz8k

Design Cognition, packaging consultants &  designers based in Nottingham, are proud to announce that Technical Director Anne Dallison has been awarded Fellowship of The Packaging Society, part of The Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining (IOM3).

Managing Director, Chris Penfold said “Having spent over 30 years working within the packaging industry, her award is justly deserved – she is one of only a handful of female Fellows in the country”. Well done Annie!

It is believed that the IOM3 assessors were particularly impressed with Annie’s extensive & in-depth experience, where she has played a proactive role in all of the companies in which she has worked, extolling the importance of packaging for the success of brands and products.

Annie has also taken great interest in the changes and the impact of the ever growing demands of legislative and regulatory requirements affecting the Packaging Industry, where she has worked hard to minimise the impact of these requirements for Brand image and product appearance, whilst at the same time developing robust processes for the application of the changes when necessary.

For many years Annie has been an active member of Institute of Packaging Pharmaceutical Forum (cross-company common interest group) whom she represents on the European CEN Braille Forum. Over the years Annie has been integral in receiving a number of Star Pack and World Star awards for packaging as well as European and global patents.

Her passion extends to developing young people into the industry, taking great pleasure in teaching, coaching and mentoring them.  Many people that she has trained have developed into some of the best Packaging Technologists in the industry.

Affiliated to this, Annie has also taken an active role working with local schools, providing an introductions to Packaging and with design students from local universities, either as their manager during their industrial placements or as sponsor/mentor for their final year projects.

Following on from this, Chris Penfold, also a Committee member of The Packaging Society, East Midlands Branch said “We are also keen to bring younger blood into the Fellowship and generate a stronger female representation.”

If you believe that you have the necessary qualities and wish to find put more, please contact Julie Bowers at IOM3: julie.bowers@iom3.org       Tel: +44 (0)1782 221709

Chris Penfold 24th September 2009

It would appear that Smurfit Kappa’s profits have declined and they feel it’s necessary to charge more for their products in an attempt to stop the slide – they could be on dodgy ground though – I wonder how many of their converting customers are going to feel able to pass on any of the increases to their own clients. 

Or is this a signal that the market is on the rise – will other manufacturers see what Smurfit is doing and also push for increases – comment by J Bear

Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 17 September 2009

Corrugated board manufacturer Smurfit Kappa is raising its European recycled-grade containerboard prices for the second time in two months.

via Smurfit Kappa announces further European price hike | packagingnews.co.uk.

Ben Bold, packagingnews.co.uk, 16 September 2009

US packaging group Sonoco is making redundancies and consolidating a number of its businesses in an attempt to cut $20m £12.12m per year in costs.

via Sonoco seeks $20m annual savings with huge restructure | Business | packagingnews.co.uk.

By Simon Pitman, 31st July 2009  www.cosmeticsdesign.com

L’Oreal says that robust sales in emerging markets helped to boost preliminary results for the company in its most recent quarter.

The company reported sales were down 2.1 percent on a like-for-like basis during the second quarter, to reach €4.40bn, a figure that represented an increase of 2.6 per cent on a reported basis.

via L’Oreal results point to sales recovery in Q2.

that after a difficult decision the WINNER of their Sustainability and Cost Optimisation Competition has been chosen.

4fx Healthcare are the lucky company and we are really excited about working with the 4fx team and getting our “teeth into” their sustainability issues.

Thanks to all of you who entered.  The judges said they had a difficult time deciding who would benifit most from the £3000 worth of free consultancy.

Don’t forget, for those of you not lucky enough to win, Design Cognition could still offer help and support, just give use a call to discuss your company’s unique challenges.

By Simon Pitman, 28-Jul-2009    www.cosmeticsdesign.com

Global hair care leader Alberto Culver has announced a big rise in profits on account of significant cost cutting measures.

The company’s net profits for the third quarter beat analysts’ expectations, rising 32 percent to $28m and says that it is standing by full year forecasts, despite a tough second quarter.

via Albert Culver profits increase on cost cutting.

Barcode replacement shown off - By Jonathan Fildes Technology reporter, BBC News

A replacement for the black and white stripes of the traditional barcode has been outlined by US researchers.

Bokodes, as they are known, can hold thousands of times more information than their striped cousins and can be read by a standard mobile phone camera.

To read the full article, just click on the following link http://bit.ly/10P13c

Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 22 July 2009

Asda has not concluded which suppliers will need to provide information for owner Wal-Mart’s sustainable product index when it is launched in the UK next year.

via Wal-Mart sustainability index to reach UK in 2010 | packagingnews.co.uk.

Josh Brooks, packagingnews.co.uk, 21 July 2009

Cadbury is to sue Amcor for £116m in the latest fall-out from the packaging manufacturers alleged price-fixing pact with rival Visy, according to reports in the Australian press.

via Cadbury to begin £116m lawsuit against Amcor: reports | packagingnews.co.uk.