Australian businesses must begin preparing now for new mandatory product safety reporting requirements that take effect from January 1, 2011. However the Packaging Council f Australia (PCA) says the packaging industry is well placed to handle the new requirements provided stakeholders have sound systems in place.

More than 300 printers from throughout the Asia Pacific attended an open house at Cyber’s Singapore showroom and training centre, to get their first glimpse of the new Ryobi 756SW-6E with UV coating, casting and foiling system.

Tickets are selling fast for this year’s Packaging Council of Australia (PCA) awards dinner, to be held in Melbourne next month. The awards are set to attract more than 450 people from throughout the industry and will reward and acknowledge the success of achievers from three awards programmes.

Food regulators around the world have found no major health risks associated with the use of Bisphenol A (BPA) in food packaging and closures, according to the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC).

The NSW Government has praised an investment of more than $400m by Amcor Australasia for a new paper recycling facility at Botany. The new facility is expected to be the most advanced and environmentally sustainable mill of its type in the Asia Pacific.

Jakarta-based packaging and paper products supplier Sansico Group has commissioned two waterless Genius 52 UV printing machines from KBA-MetroPrint at PT Printec, one of its two production plants in Cikarang.

Michelman, a global developer of coatings for flexible film packaging, has introduced Michem Flex P1883, a water-based extrusion primer that provides strong adhesion to aluminum foil and paper and protects foil from corrosion.

EFI has launched a digital inkjet label printing system with full LED UV curing technology for printing on flexible packaging materials. EFI says its Jetrion 4830LED UV Inkjet System along with a flexible ink set allows printing on unsupported and heat sensitive materials, opening up new opportunities for label converters in the flexible packaging market.

Graeme Hart’s packaging company Reynolds Group, which has bid US$6bn for American packaging company Pactiv Group, posted a first-half loss as rising production costs squeezed its margins.

Packaging and recycling giant Visy entered a new partnership with Oystar Jones, a global engineering, manufacturing and integration company focused on machinery and systems. The deal means Visy will be able to further build on its capabilities for the food and beverage industries.