(PRWEB) April 7, 2006 -- T.H.E.M. is the short form for the cutting-edge packaging company otherwise known as Technical Help in Engineering and Marketing. What makes T.H.E.M. so unique is they are making it possible for major marketers to test the single-serve, stick-packaging waters without so much as getting their feet wet.

Ken Botterbrodt, Senior Vice President at T.H.E.M. explains, “Major marketers in many categories want to experiment with our Slim Stick® single serve packaging. It’s in our best interests to stay at the forefront of this technology by expanding our ability to help new players enter the market. At the same time, it helps us improve response time and capacity for current customers.”

Some big names are among those new players. Kraft, 4-C, Unilever, and Nestlé have all recently introduced stick pack products to the marketplace. And according to Botterbrodt, “Once a major brand like Kraft successfully introduces a product in a new package format, others are certain to take notice.”

However big the demand for stick packaging becomes, you can count on T.H.E.M. to be ready. The Marlton, NJ-based company just completed a major expansion of its pilot plant operations, nearly doubling the size. In the past eight months, the company added four new packaging rooms, all dedicated to stick packaging production. And according to T.H.E.M., another three stick packaging lines will be operational by the end of 2006.

So just what is a Slim Stick®? The Slim Stick is flexible packaging made of high-quality, multi-laminate materials. It’s packaging that makes it easy to take a single-serve portion of just about anything, just about anywhere. It’s increasingly the consumer-preferred single-serve option for bottled water mixes. Product formats can include liquids, powders, pastes, cream agglomerations, lotions, and gels. And depending on the quantity of product, they can fit in anything from a wallet to a purse.

Based on current demand, THEM estimates that an additional 300 hundred stick packaging systems will be in commercial operation in North America in the next few years. Botterbrodt comments, “Only a few years ago, marketers were asking, ‘What is a stick pack?’ Today they’re asking, ‘Why isn’t our single-serve product in a stick pack yet?’ The package is real hit with consumers.”

With larger co-packagers not equipped to deal with small volume production, T.H.E.M.’s R&D and production operations fill a gap that is making stick packaging possible for a wide range of entrants. Quantities can range from one to fifty million. Small quantity production is ideal for market evaluation and testing, scale-up, specialty merchandisers, or line extensions. As production needs increase, leave it up to T.H.E.M. to support the roll-out requirements of major marketers, thanks to their strategic relationships with larger contract manufacturers.

T.H.E.M.’s prototype packaging facility meets industry standards for quality and consistency. They also offer comprehensive laboratory support to evaluate, test, and launch products in flexible stick packaging. Each packaging suite is equipped with state-of-the-art HEPA air handling systems with humidity control, and all have integrated bulk handling capability.

Few North American companies have the depth of expertise in this particular package format, or the track record of helping major brands successfully introduce stick-pack based products to the market. Botterbrodt comments, “If you encounter a product in a stick pack today, chances are that T.H.E.M. had a hand in it, whether as the supplier of the packaging machinery, engineering and technical support, or as small-volume contract packager.”