Berry Plastics

Last Thursday, Materials and Processes took a trip down to Berry Plastics in Lawrence.  There are 80 different facilities around the world, and they consist of 4 different divisions.  This includes engineered materials, flexible packaging, rigid close top, and rigid open top.  Some of the products they produce include injection-molded plastic packaging, thermoformed products, and flexible films and packaging. These include drink cups, and other food packaging products.   Their customers range from fast food chains to grocery stores.   Berry Plastics use processes such as injection molding, thermoform, dry offset printing, and in-mold labeling.  In-mold labeling was a new process for me.  This kind of product labeling produces very clear and colorful graphics.  Although they are very expensive, they are extremely hard to destroy.  The materials Berry Plastics use include polypropylene and polyethylene.  These materials start out as resin, which is just a raw form of plastic.  I toured in a group led by a worker nicknamed Bear.  He explained that one of the main goals at Berry Plastics is providing a safe environment to work in by taking most of the workload off of the employees.  One way they do this is by constructing robots and machines that handle material and equipment.  Berry Plastics produces many of the cups and containers we come in contact with fairly often.