T.H.E.M. Expands Facility in Response to Stick Pack Demands

    /24-7PressRelease/ - MARLTON, NJ, May 31, 2007 - There are three major forces driving the phenomenal growth of stick packs in the American market place. One is the consumer requirement for convenience and the second is the popularity of bottled water. Almost everything else can be credited to Technical Help in Engineering and Marketing (T.H.E.M.). T.H.E.M. is the company that introduced stick packaging to North America in 1996. And as the demand for stick packs continues to expand, T.H.E.M. is growing in response.

Single-serve stick packs are showing up on store shelves throughout North America, and the Marlton, New Jersey-based T.H.E.M. either supplied the packaging machinery, provided engineering expertise or technical support, or possibly served as a small-volume contract packager to get the operation going. In fact, what's kept the market for stick packs expanding at such a phenomenal pace is T.H.E.M.'s commitment to the single-serve option. The greater the demand grows, the more T.H.E.M. invests in the necessary technology and grows as well.

A major contributor to the continuing growth of stick packs is T.H.E.M.'s relationship with Power Packaging, an Exel company, based in St. Charles, Illinois. As T.H.E.M. focuses on helping companies develop and begin producing products in this innovative form of single-serve dosing, Power specializes in stick pack production on a much larger scale.

T.H.E.M. recently expanded its facility by 25%, and plans another 10% expansion in the near future. That represents a 50% increase in capacity over the last year alone. And almost all of this expansion is aimed at keeping pace with the stick pack market's current rate of growth. As Neil Kozarsky, president of T.H.E.M. explains, "Our stick pack suites provide the ideal setting for marketers to evaluate stick packaging without having to commit to a major capital expense. And when production runs go beyond our capabilities, we have the expertise and stick pack capacity at Power to rely upon."

Each of T.H.E.M.'s packaging suites is equipped with state-of-the-art HEPA air handling systems with humidity control, and each has integrated bulk handling capability. All of T.H.E.M.'s facilities meet the industry's highest standards for quality and consistency, and include comprehensive laboratory support to evaluate, test and launch products in flexible stick packaging.

As a result of the resources that T.H.E.M. continues to devote to stick pack development, the popularity of stick packs has now affected dozens of product categories. Many of the American consumer's favorites are now found in single-serve packs, and dozens of new products are making their first appearance on store shelves in stick pack form.

Neil Kozarsky reminds us, "Virtually anything that can be dispensed in a jar, can, carton, tube or bottle can be packaged in a single-serving stick pack. In addition to powder products, applications can include liquids, pastes, cream, agglomerations, lotions, and gels."

Given the substantial investment T.H.E.M. has made in the advancement of flexible stick packaging over the last several years, the company has secured its place in packaging history. T.H.E.M., along with Power Packaging, was recently recognized by Packaging Strategies magazine as one of the industry's "Most Influential" companies for their significant impact on the business and technology of packaging. Referring to T.H.E.M. and Power, the magazine noted, "Their leadership role helped set in motion an innovation and consumer acceptance avalanche."

So where is this avalanche headed and when will it stop?

Experts tell us to just look overseas. Europe and Asia have already embraced the convenience of stick pack technology in a big way. On a global scale, single-serving packaging is filling the consumers' need for take-it-with-you convenience.

But companies like T.H.E.M. aren't waiting for the American consumer to catch up with Europe and Asia. Over the last several years, T.H.E.M. has been closely monitoring lifestyle trends among key market segments like working women and the baby boomers. They have been tracking the progress of dietary and nutritional supplements, portion-perfect meal preparation, and dosing requirements. They also have been applying their unique packaging perspective to everything from personal care products to nutritional supplements and pharmaceuticals.

"We're already talking to major players about product launches in both the nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries," says Kozarsky. Given Kozarsky's passion for perpetuating the stick pack phenomenon, no doubt we'll be seeing a lot more single-serving innovations in the months and years to come.

When asked about future growth and other new technologies that T.H.E.M has its eyes on, Kozarsky replied, "We'll continue to develop global relationships that will enable us to identify and Americanize emerging technologies." In fact, since 1973, T.H.E.M. has served as North America's overseas connection to innovative packaging solutions from around the world.

Kozarsky explains, "Our specialty is refining the overseas packaging innovations to meet state-side operating and marketing requirements." Kozarsky himself has led a number of successful technology transfer initiatives, bringing Japanese machinery and technical innovations into the North American market place on a consistent basis over the last few decades.

Founded in 1973 and located in Marlton, New Jersey, T.H.E.M. has served as the gateway for North American companies to find innovative packaging solutions. By monitoring packaging trends globally, T.H.E.M identifies innovations from all over the world and has put them to work for a wide range of companies in North America. Visit http://www.them.net


For more information on T.H.E.M.'s products and services, please contact:
Attention: Colleen
T.H.E.M.
5A Stow Road, Marlton, NJ 08053
Tel: 856-988-8436, x47
E-mail: [email protected]

For more press information, please contact:
Trish Hamer
Delia Associates
295 Route 22 East, Suite 102w
Whitehouse, NJ 08888
Tel: 908-534-9044
E-mail: [email protected]
http://www.delianet.com



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