Sonoco has announced its position as a joint development partner and investor in the Plant City, Fla.-based robotics company Harvest CROO Robotics. “This partnership solidly aligns with our focus on improving the supply chain for fresh produce by connecting harvesting technology with new packaging technology,” said Sonoco CEO Rob Tiede. “Efforts to improve harvesting efficiency, decrease food waste and extend freshness life are key focus areas for us as we expand into fresh food packaging.” Click Read More below for additional information.

Sun Chemical will showcase its SunAltec and SunTrio product families on its stand S10 and visitors can find out about the company’s expertise, knowledge and capabilities in metal decoration through its specialised ink solutions, including special effects, brand protection, brand colour management and print standardisation. Sun Chemical’s SunAltec series of inks for metal decoration on aluminum collapsible tubes and monobloc aerosol cans offer outstanding performance, superior quality, high productivity and strong chemical resistance properties. The MB Plus Series, part of the SunAltec product family, will also be on display. The versatile series has been specifically designed for the application on monobloc aerosols and uses an alkyd-based ink system, which has been modified for optimum performance on new generation production lines utilising today’s basecoat technology. Click Read More below for additional information.

Total packaging papers and specialty packaging shipments in October increased 9% compared to October 2024. They were up 1% when compared to the same 10 months of 2024. The bleached operating rate increased to 80.8%, reaching its highest level over the last few years; capacity was down 8% compared to last October. Unbleached bag & sack shipments were up 8% from last October, but down 2.3% year-to-date. Total inventories were up nearly 12% from the same month last year.