Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/887673
Produce Show Daily 4 3 Saturday, October 21, 2017 the price point they require. PSD: How do you see your company's future in terms of economy, sales, technology and product evolution? AL: We continue to invest in technology, with new thermo- formers and equipment to main- tain our speed to market, flexi- bility and cost competitiveness. PSD: Why are your products and servic- es the best value for your customers? AL: Our customers' needs drive all of our designs; we want to enhance their product in delivery and presentation. Also our customers can be dependent on us – we go to extremes to get things done for them and will do whatever we can if possible. For more information, stop by booth #5610, visit www.lacerta.com or call 508.339.3312. Greening the Floral Industry with OASIS Floral Foam Maxlife According to Environmental Leader, 71 percent of Americans consider the envi- ronment when they shop. As a result, today's consumers are looking for com- panies to value the environment as much as they do. Floral shoppers, especially, are increasingly socially responsible and demand that even the most exquisite designs do as much to protect nature as they do to capture its beauty. Responding to consumer trends and the demands of its customers' customers, Smithers-Oasis is introducing the latest generation of OASIS ® Floral Foam Maxlife, the world's first floral foam with Enhanced Biodegradability. All OASIS Floral Foam Maxlife made today now features Enhanced Biodegradability. OASIS Floral Foam Maxlife's new foam formulation is designed for modern landfills and attracts microbes that break the foam down into methane, CO 2 and organic matter. Testing based on the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards shows that OASIS Floral Foam Maxlife will biode- grade 100 percent within 567 days in bio- logically active landfill conditions, while also keeping flowers fresh up to 50 per- cent longer than other floral foams. Testing is ongoing and as biodegradation rates continue, further information will be released. "We are constantly evaluating the chemistry of floral foam to provide greater consumer benefits," said Smithers-Oasis Vice President, Corporate Technology, Larry White. "We are happy to have upgraded the technolo- gy of our floral foam to consider the entire lifecycle of the product, today's modern landfill and a reduced environ- mental impact." The OASIS Floral Foam Maxlife formulation with Enhanced Biodegradability will be used in all OASIS Floral Products which use premium foam today, including bricks, mache, bouquet holders and designer shapes. All of the plastic parts often coupled with foam can then be recy- cled and floral designers and consumers can feel comfortable disposing of the flo- ral foam in a landfill. "Worldwide we are focused on sus- tainability," continued White. "All of our people in 21 operating units are making sustainability a priority. We evaluate all of our products and business practices worldwide, and are proud of this advancement with our flagship product – OASIS Floral Foam Maxlife." For more than 60 years, Smithers- Oasis has continued efforts not only in the advancement of the floral industry but also in sustaining the environment. In fact, Smithers-Oasis was the first in the industry to eliminate the use of chloroflu- orocarbon from floral foam production and it has successfully reduced volatile organic compound emissions (VOCs) by more than 85 percent over the last 25 years. As part of the Smithers- Oasis culture, the com- pany is constantly look- ing for ways to be an increasingly sustainable company and provide environmentally friendly products and solutions to its customers. Other Smithers-Oasis North America "green" products include: ECOssentials containers – all biodegrade in a landfill in 180 days; OASIS™ Flat Cane and OASIS™ Midollino – made of renewable, natural materials; OASIS Raw Muslin and Pastel Wraps – are reclaimed materials; all OASIS glass, plastic containers and cages are recycla- ble; and, all OASIS colored glass is sprayed with a water-based, low VOC paint. Additional information on Smithers- Oasis' ongoing sustainability program can be found at www.smithers oasis.com/sustainability. Learn more at booth #3022. Lacerta Keeps Customers Fresh with Innovative Packaging An interview with Ali Lotfi, President and co-Owner of Lacerta Group, Inc. PSD: Tell our readers about Lacerta. AL: We are a family-owned business, started over 20 years ago. We manufac- ture packaging for a variety of industries, with a focus on the food. We have two facilities: one in Massachusetts with design, mold-making and thermoforming capabilities, and one in Mexico with ther- moforming and injection molding capa- bilities. PSD: What would you say makes your business unique? AL: Our ability to help our customers get to market much faster than our competi- tors, with a lower capital investment. Customers are often surprised at how quickly we can get their product to shelves. Customer service is core to our culture. Our flexibility and ease of doing business makes us unique. PSD: Are you introducing any new prod- ucts at the show? AL: Yes, we are actually showing a lot of new tamper evident containers from our Fresh n' Sealed line. We're especially excited about our new square tamper evi- dent bowls. They have a sleek modern look and range from 8 ounces to 48 ounces. We also have added multi-com- partment containers that are versatile. We have also added tamper evident hoagie and wrap containers; the wrap container is quite unique and can stand on the shelf. We have also added a line of deli cups ranging from 7 to 24 ounces. PSD: What products do you see as being hottest this year? AL: Grab n' go containers; snacking is very popular and with everyone's busy schedules, convenience is key. We offer film sealable snack packs, tamper evident packages and custom designs for our customers. PSD: How do you adapt your products to your customers' needs? AL: There's many ways; sometimes we have a stock container a customer loves but needs a different capacity or lid. We are able to design a new package to fit the product and our customer's needs. Also, because we work with a wide range of materials, we can provide our customers many options to fit the application and An interview with Greg Ganzerla, President, PEAKfresh ® USA and Image Plastics & Packaging. PSD: Tell our readers about PEAKfresh. What is it and what does it do? GG: PEAKfresh is a shelf extension solution for the produce and floral indus- tries. Using proprietary mineral technolo- gy embedded in the film, PEAKfresh products protect fruit, vegetables and flowers from decay and dehydration dur- ing long shipping and storage periods by removing damaging gases. Additionally, PEAKfresh technology has an anti-fog treatment that removes condensation, stopping the growth of mold and bacteria while keeping humidity levels high. This is especially important for surviving long hours in refrigeration and if breaks in the cold chain occur during transport. We Passionate About Packaging offer box liners and pallet covers in both standard and custom sizes, vented and non-vented, clear or colored film, and offer the ability to customize with your logo. PSD: What does Image Plastics & Packaging offer? GG: Image Plastics & Packaging pro- vides a wide variety of packaging includ- ing scientifically calculated laser micro- perforations developed to slow the aging process and increase shelf life. Products include stand up pouches and flat bags, labels, stretch film, RPC lids and more. We are both a manufacturer and distributor with operations here in the U.S. as well as overseas. Our experience in the produce industry is both in provid- ing operational materials as well as retail (store level) packaging. PSD: What developments or changes have there been in your business? GG: 2017 has been a fantastic year for us. Our PEAKfresh home use produce bag sales have increased 98 percent. This means more stores and markets throughout the U.S. are carrying our retail packs. We're in chains such as Woodman's, SuperValu, Super 1 Food and Piggly Wiggly. In addi- tion to our PEAKfresh success, we've experienced tremendous growth with our micro perforated MAP products – mainly stand up pouches with orders increasing more than tenfold. PSD: What do you attribute this success to? GG: Well, for PEAKfresh, I have created a dedicated sales team for our home use produce bags. Their job is to identify the stores and markets that would be a good fit for our product and provide sam- ples to the purchasing agents. Once purchasing tests the bags for them- selves, they almost immediately want to carry them in their stores. As for the micro perforated prod- ucts, we are unique because we offer our clients a turn-key solution. By having overseas manufacturing, we are able to offer extremely competitive pric- ing. We have developers calculating and testing all products. We have two produc- tion team members for each client so that communication is constant during U.S. work hours as well as during overseas hours. This ensures that there are no delays and projects complete on time. And with our volume of production, we have containers shipping almost every 1-2 weeks, which ensures reliable lead times. Our goal is to make the entire process as seamless as possible for our clients. For more information, go to www.peak freshusa.com or stop by booth #4309.