The new Glanbia Foods partnership, Southwest Cheese Co., USA has awarded contracts for $70 million of its new cheese and whey production facility to Carlisle Process Systems (CPS), Winsted, Minn. CPS will be responsible for the engineering, equipment supply, installation and automation of the entire process plant from milk intake to the packaged cheese and whey powder stores.

CPS will supply systems and equipment from its brands Scherping, Damrow Downstream, Wincanton, Zimmer, Stork Friesland and Walker as well as other equipment from sub-suppliers. The project is expected to be operational in late 2005.

Blue Ridge Paper Products Inc., Canton, N.C., has signed a supply agreement with Italpack Cartons (Italcartons) of Lacedonia, Italy to source Italpack with 100% of its paper board requirements and to provide sales, technical support and marketing expertise for the manufacturing and sales of gable top carton packaging. Italcartons manufactures lithographic printed gable top cartons for both Pure Pak and Rex style packaging. The company also has the capability to produce gable top cartons with liquid tight transparent windows.

Pechiney Plastic Packaging, Chicago, has installed four blown film lines at its Neenah, Wis. plant. The lines were installed to keep up with growing demand in the marketplace for multi-layer high barrier films. Blown film, in contrast to cast film, is slowly cooled with air versus the quick quenching of cast film, creating a tougher film with better moisture and oxygen permeation properties. The technology creates better roll profile all the way across the web, resulting in the most consistent heat seals, and ensuring the customer that there are no tracking issues on their equipment. The resulting smooth edges and flatter, less baggy material laminates without wrinkles.

Tayio International has moved its office to 5960 Golden Hills Drive, Minneapolis. For more information phone 763/398-3003, email sales@taiyoint.com or visit

www.taiyokagaku.com.

Tetra Pak's European packaging division has been implicated in the multi-billion dollar Parmalat scandal. Calisto Tanzi, founder of now-bankrupt Parmalat, was paid $89 million in Tetra Pak kickbacks to secure packaging contracts, according to ex-Parmalat CFO Fausto Tonna. The payments to Tanzi started in 1996 and apparently continued through 2001. Tetra Pak, a major unit of Swiss-based Tetra Laval S.A., has launched an internal investigation into the cash payment allegations. It acknowledges that discounts were given to Parmalat, but reports that the practice is in-line with treatment of other major customers. Parmalat is widely known for its use of Tetra Pak's long-life milk processing and packaging; Tetra Pak does business with Parmalat in 23 countries.

Compass Design, Minneapolis, received a Gold Award recently in the 10th Annual Beverage Packaging Global Design awards, for its design of the shrink wrap labels for Kemp's single serve flavored milks. The winning entry included both the strawberry and vanilla flavor label designs.