French industrial microbiology and diagnostics company bioMérieux Inc. has launched Tempo®, the food industry’s first automated quality-indicator testing system for the enumeration of quality-indicator organisms in food and environmental samples. The system was designed to help food companies and laboratories conduct their work more accurately and efficiently with the benefits of automation. Tempo automates testing for total viable counts, coliform counts, generic E. coli, and Enterobacteriaceae. The system was launched last month at the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) annual meeting in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Holland, Mich.-based Fogg Co. is celebrating 50 years of doing business in the filling industry. The late Clyde Fogg, who founded the company 1956 by making filling valves in his garage, brought innovative thinking and unique designs to the filling industry. The company eventually grew from providing filling valves to entire filling systems. Fogg’s many patents include VentraFlow valves, Clip N Go valves, TriLine valves, Extended CIP valves, Extreme Clean technology, Microbloc technology and UV Sterilization systems. Now owned by Clyde’s son, Mike Fogg, the company continues to grow and seek out new challenges to ensure success in a global market. 

Appleton, Wis.-based WOW Logistics has announced the opening of a 350,000-square-foot public distribution center in Aurora, Ill. At the beginning of the month, the company relocated its current operations from Naperville, Ill., to the Aurora facility, just four miles down the road. Company officials say the facility will double capacity and feature rail access, 30-foot clear ceilings and ample trailer storage for WOW Logistics’ customers.

The Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute (PMMI), Arlington, Va., has announced the Pack Expo Scholarship program to financially support students at packaging schools throughout the United States and Canada. PMMI’s goal is to raise $100,000 through its Education & Training Foundation. The funds raised will be distributed directly to students attending institutions with a packaging curriculum focus. PMMI will underwrite all of the marketing and development efforts to ensure that 100 percent of the funds raised will be donated directly to schools to benefit students. All Pack Expo exhibiting companies are eligible to participate in the fundraising effort. For more information, visit www.pmmi.org.

Stamford, Conn.-based MeadWestvaco Corp. has launched its new Pack Center, the industry’s first one-stop multiple packaging consulting, design, testing and fulfillment service. The company created the Pack Center service to fast-track products to market, as well as improve consumer testing of innovative packaging solutions with higher quality test results. It handles every aspect of the packaging process from carton design and printing to packing and shipping, within tiered turn-around options, depending on quantity.

Orkin Commercial Services and the IPM Institute of North America have announced the nine finalists for the third annual Gold Medal IPM Partner Awards. These awards honor commercial facilities across North America that excel at Integrated Pest Management (IPM). IPM is an approach to pest management that stresses all available methods of control, with an emphasis on minimizing pesticide use. The Gold Medal IPM Partner Awards recognize outstanding dedication to IPM via vigilant sanitation, thorough pest documentation, prompt adherence to structural pest-management recommendations and staff participation in IPM training sessions. The 2006 Gold Medal IPM Partner Award finalists include Ample Industries, Franklin, Ohio; Avgol America, Mocksville, N.C.; Endangered Species Chocolate, Indianapolis; Fairrington Transportation Corp., Bolingbrook, Ill.; Koch Foods Inc., Franklin Park, Ill.; Temple-Inland, Marion, Ohio; services; The Cheesecake Factory Bakery Inc., Calabasas Hills, Calif.; Tree of Life, Bloomington, Ind.; and Weyerhaeuser, Golden, Colo.

The Flexible Packaging Association (FPA), Linthicum, Md., has released its 2006 State of the Industry Report. This in-depth report provides data on the economic and financial health of the flexible packaging industry, focusing on the “value added” segment of the estimated $21.8 billion industry. The value-added segment is estimated to be $17 billion and adds significant worth to flexible materials usually by performing multiple processes. Industry data and information available within the report is collected through FPA members’ State-of-the-Industry and non-member Industry-Wide-Converter Surveys. Composite survey information represents responses from 109 converters and suppliers, and identifies more than $13.5 billion in sales. This amount represents 63 percent of the estimated $21.8 billion flexible packaging industry and 79 percent of the $17 billion value-added segment.  

Germany-based BOPP (biaxially oriented polypropylene) film manufacturer Treofan Group has announced that it is close to doubling capacity at its North American plant in Zacapu, Mexico. Treofan is investing about $45 million in expanding production and R&D facilities, including a new state-of-the-art, high-speed production line to be supplied by Brueckner.

TAH Industries Inc. has signed a strategic distribution agreement with Nomura Jimusho Inc. TAH is a U.S. manufacturer of static mixer and packaging solutions for the adhesive and sealant industry; Nomura Jimusho is a Japanese distributor of a variety of raw materials for the chemical, polymer, rubber and catalysts industries.