Cleveland

Packaging equipment, software and service purchases by U.S. packaging printers, featuring installations by Marshall & Bruce Printing, OMNI Systems, Copac Inc. and Bell Inc.

Demand for converted flexible packaging is projected to increase 3.8 percent annually to $18.2 billion in 2015. Gains will be similar to the pace of the 2005-2010 period based on the now more well-established presence of pouches in a number of food and nonfood markets coupled with overall deceleration in raw material price growth. Converted flexible packaging’s source reduction capabilities will be increasingly advantageous in light of initiatives by major retailers and packaged goods firms to evaluate their packaging in terms of eco-friendliness and cost reduction. These and other trends, including market share and product segmentations,

xpedx announced a new network of seven Package Design Centers with the opening of centers in the San Francisco Bay Area and Rochester, N.Y., and the expansion of existing design centers in Chicago, Detroit, Kansas City, Pittsburgh and Juarez, Mexico, metropolitan areas. xpedx provides total packaging solutions for manufacturers, brand owners/marketers and other businesses. xpedx also announced it has added new package design staff and services in 12 other U.S. metropolitan regions: Baltimore, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Grand Rapids, Mich., Greensboro, N.C., Memphis, Tenn., Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Seattle, and Tampa, Fla.

Chattanooga business Southern Champion Tray is buying 150 new bicycles for children whose names were on The Salvation Army Angel Tree. A spokesman for Southern Champion Tray says the gift is being made “in honor of our customers.” Chattanooga Salvation Army personnel picked up the bicycles from two Wal-Mart locations Monday afternoon. Director of Marketing and Development Kimberly George said, “Southern Champion Tray has always been a great friend of The Salvation Army. We are thrilled by this wonderful donation of bikes for the 'Angels' on our Angel Tree.” Mrs. George went on to say need is up 30%

World pharmaceutical packaging demand is projected to increase 6.3 percent annually to $62.3 billion in 2013. The developed countries of Western Europe, the U.S. and Japan will continue to account for more than 60 percent of this amount. However, China will provide among the strongest growth opportunities based on rapidly expanding pharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities and the phasing-in of an extensive government program designed to upgrade the quality and integrity of nationally produced medicines.

In 18 selected markets where plastic and paper compete as packaging materials, plastic is expected to increase its share of the market to 53 percent (in pounds) in 2010. This percentage understates plastics’ share since less plastic is required than paper in most applications due to its lighter weight. Plastic’s share of the market will expand at a slower pace than in the past decade, as a number of packaging applications are now fairly mature in terms of the share controlled by plastic. These and other trends are presented in “Paper Versus Plastic in Packaging,” a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a