CPAC10_2010

NOVEMBER 2010 | $10

Publication mail agreement #40070230. Return Canadian undeliverables to: Canadian Packaging, Circulation Department, 7th floor, 1 Mount Pleasant Road, Toronto, ON, M4Y 2Y5

www.canadianpackaging.com

Gerhart Huber, Chief Executive Operating Officer, Piller Sausages & Delicatessens Limited

Robert Huber, Vice-President, Corporate Marketing

CUTTING TO THE CHASE Ontario deli meats processor building Piller’s of strength Story on page 18

TALKING POINTS AUTOMATION ROUNDTABLE 2010 CANADIAN PACKAGING EXCLUSIVE Pages 11-16 IN THIS ISSUE: AUTOMATE NOW • PACKAGING FOR FRESHNESS • FOOD SAFETY

When clean operations matter, trust Tsubaki. www.tsubaki.ca

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What does world-class uptime look like to you?

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The new Videojet 1610 – setting the standard for productivity and uptime.

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©2010 Videojet Technologies Inc.

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Ink Jet. Laser. Thermal Transfer. Labelers. Track & Trace. Supplies. Parts & Service.

Why would a company producing 100% recycled cartons bother to go through the process of obtaining certification from the world’s leading forestry stewardship organization?

Because we can!!!

As the leaders in recycling and sustainable packaging for over 60 years, it only made sense that we be accredited by the world’s leading model for environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable forestry stewardship.

After all, we save a forest of over 14,000,000 trees per year from being cut down to produce paper products.

Sustainable Packaging for a Sustainable Future

By utilizing the latest technology and world class processes in our 100% recycled paper mills, we save the equivalent energy to power 100,000 homes for a full year, divert 3 million cubic yards of waste going to landfill, use 4.2 billion less gallons water and help to remove 1.2 million tons of carbon from the atmosphere.

Why purchase your Forest

Stewardship Council Certified paper and packaging products from us? Because it demonstrates your Personal commitment to our environment, it shows your customers that you care, and.

Because you can!

Service Driven!TM “Responsive to your needs” FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE

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Atlantic Packaging Products Ltd. Corrugated Division Scarborough-Progress Ave., Scarborough-Midwest Ave., Brampton, Mississauga and Ingersoll 416-298-8101 • 1-800-268-5620 • www.atlantic.ca Add Ink (Atlantic Decorated & Display) Toronto 416-421-3636 • www.addink.ca Mitchel-Lincoln Packaging Ltd. Montreal and Drummondville 514-332-3480 • 1-800-361-5727 • www.ml-group.com

UPFRONT

TIME ON THEIR SIDE

NOVEMBER 2010 VOLUME 63, NO. 11

SENIOR PUBLISHER Stephen Dean • (416) 764-1497 stephen.dean@packaging.rogers.com EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Lisa Wichmann • (416) 764-1491 lisa.wichmann@rci.rogers.com EDITOR George Guidoni • (416) 764-1505 george.guidoni@packaging.rogers.com FEATURES EDITOR Andrew Joseph • (416) 764-1529 andrew.joseph@packaging.rogers.com ART DIRECTOR Stewart Thomas • (416) 764-1547 ADVERTISING SALES Munira Khan • (416) 764-1507 munira.khan@packaging.rogers.com PRODUCTION MANAGER Natalie Chyrsky • (416) 764-1686 natalie.chyrsky@rci.rogers.com CIRCULATION MANAGER Celia Ramnarine • (416) 932-5071 rogers@cstonecanada.com ROGERS PUBLISHING LIMITED Brian Segal, President & CEO ROGERS BUSINESS & PROFESSIONAL PUBLISHING John Milne, Senior Vice-President Paul Williams, Vice-President, Financial Publishing, Brand Extensions & Online Services Keith Fulford, Director of Audience Development (416) 764-3878 • keith.fulford@rci.rogers.com Tim Dimopoulos, Executive Publisher, Industrial Group.

(416) 764-1499 • tim.dimopoulos@rci.rogers.com CORPORATE SALES Sandra Parente, General Manager, Corporate Sales (416) 764-3818 • sandra.parente@rci.rogers.com WEB David Carmichael, General Manager, Online Operations (416) 764-3820 • david.carmichael@rci.rogers.com RESEARCH Tricia Benn, Senior Director, Rogers Connect Market Research (416) 764-3856 • tricia.benn@rci.rogers.com

B

e it by design or random chance, one of the most personally gratifying rewards for making press pilgrimage to the biennial PACK EXPO International exhibition to Chicago is the fact that it almost always coincides with the twoyear U.S. election cycle—enhancing a rapid-fire busy show experience with a backdrop of political drama and intrigue in which our American friends to the south are absolute masters without equal.

While the height of drama inevitably varies—the prolonged Bush and Gore electoral standoff in 2000 was naturally a much more gripping affair than the predictable, Tea Party-fueled “shellacking” of Obama-led Democrats earlier this month—the election buzz always seems to find its way to the McCormick Place exhibition halls, with participating exhibitors eager to assess what the changing political guard and landscape means for their business over the next two coming years.

Naturally, participating Canadian companies have more than just a passing interest in what the near future may hold in their all-important U.S. export markets, and based on the fairly positive collective sentiment of better times being just around the corner generated on the show-f loor, many of them should be well-positioned to benefit from the anticipated unleashing of pent-up demand for some serious capital investment in new-generation packaging equipment, technologies and materials.

Taking their rightful place alongside globally-operating industry Big Boys, our home-grown packaging stalwarts such as Capmatic, Premier Tech, Phoenix Innotech, IPL Products, WeighPack Systems et al offered compelling proof that when it comes to 21st

COVER STORY

EVENTS Stephen T. Dempsey, General Manager, Conferences & Events (416) 764-1635 • steve.dempsey@mtg.rogers.com HOW TO REACH US: Canadian Packaging, established 1947, is published monthly by Rogers Publishing Ltd., a division of Rogers Media Inc. One Mount Pleasant Road, Toronto, ON M4Y 2Y5, Tel: (416) 764-2000 EDITORIAL AND ADVERTISING OFFICES: One Mount Pleasant Road, Toronto, ON M4Y 2Y5, Tel: (416) 764-2000; Fax (416) 764-1755.

ADVERTISING BRANCH OFFICES: 1200, avenue McGill College, Bureau 800, Montréal Québec H3B 4G7, Tel: (514) 845-5141; Suite 900 - 1130 West Pender Street Vancouver, BC V6E 4A4, Tel: (604) 683-8254.

SUBSCRIBER SERVICES: To subscribe, renew your subscription or to change your address or information, please visit us at www.rogersb2bmedia.com/cpac SUBSCRIPTION PRICE PER YEAR (INCLUDING ANNUAL BUYERS’ GUIDE): Canada $72.10 per year, Outside Canada $106.00 US per year, Single Copy Canada $10.00. Canadian Packaging is published 11 times per year except for occasional combined, expanded or premium issues, which count as two subscription issues.

Contents copyright © 2006 by Rogers Publishing Limited, may not be reprinted without permission. Canadian Packaging accepts no responsibility or liability for claims made for any product or service reported or advertised in this issue. Canadian Packaging receives unsolicited materials, (including letters to the editor, press releases, promotional items and images) from time to time. Canadian Packaging, its affiliates and assignees may use, reproduce, publish, re-publish, distribute, store and archive such unsolicited submissions in whole or in part in any form or medium whatsoever, without compensation of any sort.

Canadian Packaging, USPS 010-576 is published monthly by Rogers Media.

US office of publication: 2221 Niagara Falls Blvd, Niagara Falls, NY 14304-5709. Periodicals Postage Paid at Niagara Falls, NY. US postmaster: Send address changes to Canadian Packaging, PO Box 4541, Buffalo, NY 14240.

PRINTED IN CANADA PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40070230, ISSN 0008-4654 CIRCULATION INQUIRIES: Cornerstone Publishing Services (416) 932-5071 We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities. Canadian Packaging is indexed in the Canadian Magazine Index by Micromedia Limited. Back copies are available in microform from Macromedia Ltd., 158 Pearl St., Toronto, ON M5H 1L3 MAIL PREFERENCES: Occasionally we make our subscriber list available to reputable companies whose products or services may be of interest to you. If you do not want your name to be made available, please contact us at rogers@cstonecanada.com or update your profile at www.rogersb2bmedia.com/cpac. Our environmental policy is available at: www. rogerspublishing.ca/environment RETURN UNDELIVERABLE ITEMS TO: Canadian Packaging, Circulation Dept., 8th Floor One Mount Pleasant Road, Toronto, ON M4Y 2Y5, ISSN 0008-4654

NOVEMBER 2010 • CANADIAN PACKAGING

Century packaging savvy and know-how, there is no reason for Canadian companies to feel they need to limit their global ambitions on the account of any misplaced inferiority complex or stage fright.

All in all, it was a solid, workman-like collective performance by Canadian exhibitors, with a finely-balanced display of technological innovation, operational efficiency and high-quality design and engineering making an important statement about our industry’s self-belief and confidence at a time of continued uncertainty about the near-term economic outlook.

“The show has been a tremendous success for us in terms of both foot traffic and the number of inquiries about the availability of our equipment,” beamed Phoenix general manager Graham Nicholson, whose company’s newly-launched PRRA-2100 model orbital ring stretchwrapping systems drew a steady f low of passerby admirers—attracted by the system’s innovative design, robust performance features and on-the-f ly operational f lexibility. “I never doubted our company’s engineering expertise and pedigree, but there is no substitute for showing it off first-hand at a stage as big as this.”

If there’s any regret in this corner, it is a slight sense of missed opportunity for the many more Canadian companies that should have been at the show—undoubtedly the premier event of the year for North American packaging community that has displayed remarkable resilience in the face of major economic adversity these past two years.

Timing is often everything in today’s fast-paced packaging business, and for those companies who took the time make their presence known at this year’s memorable showcase of cutting-edge packaging ingenuity, it will surely go down in the books as time very well-spent indeed.

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The Cutting Edge

By Andrew Joseph Ontario meat processor embraces new-generation packaging equipment and technologies to add real packaging zest to its mouth-watering product portfolio.

DEPARTMENTS 5 6 7 8

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Cover photography

by Cole Garside.

UPFRONT By George Guidoni NEWSPACK A recycling breakthrough in Quebec.

NOTES & QUOTES A round-up of recent industry news and developments. imPACt A monthly insight from PAC - The Packaging Association.

EVENTS Upcoming industry functions.

NEXT ISSUE: Labeling & Coding, Packaging for Distribution.

FEATURES 11-16 NEW AUTOMATION AGE By George Guidoni Packaging line automation technologies have come a long way during the past decade, but it is highly debatable whether Canadian manufacturers have made the necessary investments and upgrades to their existing automation infrastructures to remain competitive with low-cost offshore competition for much longer, as our magazine’s AUTOMATION ROUNDTABLE 2010 discussion reveals. Also, key highlights of Canadian Packaging’s exclusive national survey of major Canadian machine-builders and their CPG (consumer packaged goods) end-users.

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BUILD TO LAST By Andrew Joseph Montreal-based packaging machine-builder leverages continuous technical innovation to blossom into a global industry brand name for filling-and-capping excellence.

FILLING IN THE BLANKS By Andrew Joseph Container filling equipment designer hits new heights of packaging line brilliance with a fully-integrated, modular widecontainer solution.

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SAFE AND SOUND By Jerry Scott Mills Leading Canadian corrugated packaging producer displays proactive commitment to product safety for its major food-andbeverage customers by obtaining credible HACCP-based certification for its key box manufacturing facility.

WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM • 5

NEWSPACK

QUEBEC’S NEW ZERO-WASTE RECYCLING LINE A REAL WIN-WIN GROUP EFFORT

If real team effort is what it takes to make real progress in waste diversion, than last month’s launch of a new one-of-a-kind recycling process at a Groupe RCM plant just outside of Trois Rivieres in Yamachiche, Que.—designed to break down drink cartons, plastic bags and film into reusable thermoplastic resins—may well be a model blueprint for future industry-government cooperation in the name of greater environmental and community good.

Accepting all types of gabletop and aseptic cartons, as well as plastic shopping bags and cellophane films, from sorting centres around the province of Québec, the $3.5-million facility uses a breakthrough thermokinetic process with high-speed knives to homogenize disparate waste materials into plastic granules that can later be used for making a wide variety of plastic products such as f lower pots, railway ties, guard rail posts, pallets and plastic lumber.

Announcement Munira Khan has been appointed to the position of Account Manager on Canadian Packaging magazine.

She comes to Canadian Packaging with over 10 years of experience in print media sales at companies such as CanWest Media Sales.

Munira brings to Canadian Packaging additional experience with several syndicated research and measurement tools.

She will be responsible for servicing Canadian Packaging’s advertisers and expanding our offerings in print, digital, research and event marketing opportunities.

Munira can be contacted at 416.764.1507, or at munira.khan@packaging.rogers.com

Over the last three years, aseptic packaging supplier Tetra Pak, juice-maker A. Lassonde Inc., dairy producer Natrel and Québec government corporation Recyc-Québec collectively provided about $1 million in seed money to help Groupe RCM—a not-for-profit corporation mandated to find jobs for physically or cognitively-challenged people—start up the line, which has already generated 25 new local jobs.

Described as a true “zero-waste” process, the new line converts all the recycled packaging elements—including straws, caps and other plastic attachments—into plastic granules that can later be used for industrial and commercial construction.

“The new line in Yamachiche is an important local enhancement to the recycling solutions we have in place in Canada and worldwide,” says Tetra Pak Canada managing director Santiago Fourcade, adding it is part of the company’s larger national plan to boost the recycling of beverage cartons and other aseptic packaging across Canada.

“It is important to us that we create new solutions to improve the recycling rates of our cartons, and by collaborating with the Canadian recycling industry we can develop new technologies.

“We know that by investing in the facility we are creating new solutions, not just for the life-cycle of Tetra Pak cartons, but for all Canadians,” adds Fourcade, citing a recent EKOS survey showing that more than 80 per cent of Canadians feel recycling is worth the effort, and that over 70 per cent check to see if an item is recyclable before disposing of it.

“This project aligns perfectly with our mission to produce and market food products that by their quality and variety contribute to the enjoyment and wellness of consumers,” says Jean Gattuso, president and chief executive officer of Quebec’s leading fruit drinks and juices producer A. Lassonde.

“We are a major user of Tetra Pak packaging for our Oasis juice brand and also for our Bistro Mundo and Arte Nova wines.

“Our firm is committed to being a leader in environmental perform-

Groupe RCM employee Sylvie Martin explains recycling process to the Groupe RCM president Yvon Picotte (left) and Pierre Lacoursiere of Canada Economic Development during last month’s official opening of the new Yamachiche recycling line for converting waste drinkboxes, plastic shopping bags and plastic film into reusable plastic materials for later use in commercial and industrial manufacturing.

ance and this technological breakthrough enables us to meet our customer’s demand for containers whose ecological footprint is small.”

Ginette Bureau, chief executive officer of RecycQuébec, says she expects the new line to boost some of the province’s other ongoing municipal recycling initiatives.

“Launching this new line of multilayer container and plastic bag processing has allowed us to fulfill a specific need in Quebec’s recycling industry,” Bureau states.

“This technological breakthrough has also made it possible for to complete various other projects, including the Recyclable Bag Certification Program and the Separate Collection Chart of Recyclable Materials, which encourages municipalities to include multilayer containers and plastic bags in their separate collection.”

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NOTES & QUOTES package that adds the convenience of reclosability and a bottle feel to the long list of aluminum can attributes, such as superior shelf-life, the ability to chill quickly, good shatter resistance, and 100-percent recyclability.”

 Cascades Recovery Inc. is the new corporate name of a company formerly called Metro Waste Paper Recovery Inc., Toronto-based unit of the Cascades Specialty Products Group specializing in the management and recycling of discarded paper-based materials through a national network comprising 21 recovery centers. According to the company, the new name better ref lects its ownership by the Kingsey Falls, Que.-headquartered forest products group Cascades Inc., while providing for better marketing and brand opportunities for Cascades products and services, including helping its clients in the industrial, commercial, retail and graphics sectors achieve their sustainability objectives. Says Cascades Recovery chief executive officer Al Metauro: “It is the right time to capitalize on our relationship with Cascades and to refresh our image to ref lect the fact that we care so much about paper and packaging, that when it is discarded, we want it back. We needed a name that says it all, and Cascades Recovery is that name.”  Metal packaging products manufacturer Ball Corporation has announced plans to boost production of the company’s Alumi-Tek aluminum bottles in North America by extending their manufacture to its metal beverage packaging plant in Golden, Colo., in the second half of 2011—complementing existing production of the two-piece, reclosable bottles at its other manufacturing facility in Monticello, Ind. According to the Broomfield, Colo.-headquartered company, the capacity expansion comes in the wake of soaring demand for the innovative, highly-decorative containers across North America—partially fueled by the successful September launch of the 16-ounce Silver Bullet Aluminum Pint bottles of Coors Light beer in the U.S. (See Picture) “The commercial success of our Alumi-Tek bottle as a value-added package for premium beverages continues to drive volume for Ball,” says Michael Hranicka, president of Ball’s North American metal beverage packaging for the Americas division. “This is a distinctive

 Swedish industrial packaging products and systems manufacturer Nefab has acquired the assets of Chick Packaging, Dallas, Tex.-headquartered manufacturer of wood crates, corrugated boxes, wood skids and containers for industrial markets— employing over 600 people at 17 locations across the U.S. and one in Germany. “Strategically, Chick is key to giving us a strong presence in the important North American market,” says Nefab president Stefan Ekqvist, adding that Nefab had only one North American operation before the purchase— located in Peterborough, Ont. “This significantly increases our global capability in delivering complete packaging solutions worldwide to our customers. Through Chick’s expertise and excellent reputation, we can add solutions and services for a number of important customer segments, including power generation, medical, and telecom and electronics packaging.”  Mississauga, Ont.-based OmniFission Inc., supplier of automated inspection and laser coding equipment, has been appointed as the exclusive Canadian distributor and sales agent for the entire line of rollfed and shrinksleeve labelers manufactured by B&H Labeling Systems of Ceres, Ca. “OmniFission is ideally qualified to help us expand our presence in Canada,” says B&H president Roman Eckols. “They have a world-class field service organization and a strong customer service philosophy that complements our ‘customer first’ culture. They will be a terrific resource for our current and future customers in Canada.”  Contract manufacturing and co-packing services provider PrePak Holdings Inc. of Cookesville, Tenn., has acquired TestPak, a healthcare supply chain company in Whippany, N.J. specializing in solid-dose, thermoform blister-packaging and logistics services for clients in the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries. “This acquisition opens up significant new market opportunities for us,” says PrePak president Renard Jackson, citing TestPak’s three-site campus with nearly 90,000 square feet of production and warehouse space, including 26 climate-controlled packaging suites. “We are excited about the TestPak group joining the PrePak family of [four] companies. The TestPak facilities will not only create redundancy and backup services with our customer base, but also bring new innovations and capabilities to the whole organization.”

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ACCESS THE GLOBAL PACKAGING NETWORK

COMING TO A LOCATION NEAR YOU Is packaging core to your business? Learn about two global initiatives, the Global Packaging Project and the Global Food Safety Initiative. Your customers will soon be demanding your engagement.

The two initiatives – GPP and GFSI, were the hot topics of discussion at the recent Niagara-on-the-Lake Packaging Summit co-sponsored by PAC and CCGD. PAC has been actively involved on the GPP committee whose mandate has been to create the framework and measurement system as a Global Language for Packaging and Sustainability.

Over 70 committee members from retailers (including Walmart, Tesco, Carrefour, Loblaw and Kroeger) and manufacturers (including Kraft, P & G, Unilever and Colgate), along with package makers, NGO’s and associations were in attendance at the recent GPP meeting in Paris. Our objective was the final review of the six-month long pilot tests. The results are in and the recommendation for their approval and implementation is going to the board of the Consumer Goods Forum in November.

The Consumer Goods Forum The driving force behind these critical initiatives and many others is The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF). It was created in June 2009 and is a global network of CEOs and senior management of some 650 retailers, manufacturers, service providers and other stakeholders across 70 countries. The member companies are the big and powerful of global retailing and brand ownership in the world. Revenues of the collective member companies are an impressive EUR 2.1 trillion. In other words when they speak everyone in the supply chain listens.

The Forum provides a unique global platform focused on developing common positions – Emerging Trends, Sustainability, Safety & Health, Operational Excellence and Knowledge Sharing & People Development.

The Global Packaging Project and Global Food Safety Initiative are two such projects.

Global Packaging Project The CGF board mandate for the GPP is to deliver common definitions regarding packaging sustainability, common principles, agreed indicators and metrics and guidance on how to use this framework. This will help shape programs within the industry and hopefully minimize duplication of initiatives and therefore mitigating costs and complex solutions. It will also help industry to intelligently engage with government on initiatives such as Sustainability and EPR. Participation The Project has benefited from wide industry participation including companies outside the Forum and from a wide range of associations of which PAC is an active partner. At the Paris meeting Canadian representatives from Loblaw Brands, Walmart Canada, CCGD and FCPC were contributors to the discussion.

Indicators, Metrics and Pilot Projects Core indicators are being finalized, along with a set of supporting and correlating indicators. The indicators address commonly understood recognized areas. Examples include: • Total Material Use • Virgin Material Use • Renewable Content • Recycled Content • Water Consumption • Packaging Landfill Rate For each indicator a full definition is given along with: • The Metrics • Examples • Instruction on what to measure and what not to measure • Existing protocols (such as ISO protocols) that would be applicable • The relationship of the indicator to supporting and correlating indicators.

Call to action In late 2010 Forum board members will be asked to commit their company to endorse the recommendations of the GPP steering committee.

When this occurs, action will follow.

Global Food Safety Initiative Much like sustainability, food safety is a significant issue for the food industry and has huge implications throughout the supply chain.

The Global Food Safety Initiative has followed a similar path as the GPP. The GFSI is promoting convergence between food safety standards through a benchmarking process for food safety management schemes. Common acceptance of these by manufacturers and retailers will lead to improved cost efficiency in the food supply chain.

Kevin Swoffer, the technical director of GFSI was the keynote food safety speaker at the PAC Summit and has coached our PACsecure team on how to proceed forward to apply for GFSI recognition. PAC has been asked to serve on the GFSI package standards group as it will be a primary initiative for them in 2011.

It is PAC’s intent to continue to lead our membership and the packaging industry in the area of education, training and advocating for the implementation of these key global initiatives that will soon be coming to a location near you. Be ready! To learn more contact PAC today. See below for contact information.

Sincerely James D Downham PAC President & CEO

To find out more about PAC, our initiatives or events, contact Lisa Abraham at 416.460.7860 x213, labraham@pac.ca OR visit www.pac.ca 8 • WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM PAC0051_IMPACT_november4.indd 1

CANADIAN PACKAGING • November 2010 10/29/2010 2:38:56 PM

Labels&Labelingequipment Vivo! Touch Label Printer Intelligent Color Labels at Your Fingertips

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Real-Time Label Printing Color Labels In-line

QuickLabel’s Xe series of thermal transfer color label printers can print color labels print in real time, ondemand or in batches. Designed to be integrated in-line with an existing packaging system, and to print labels from ERP systems such as SAP. Labels print with unique, product-specific content that varies from label to label such as color codes, barcodes, logos, expiration dates, best-by dates, and other serializing text, prompted fields, and databased information.

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Olivier Cousseau Business Development & Solutions - Industry

Modular energy-saving systems for reliable energy efficiency With resources becoming ever scarcer, energy prices rising and the threat of

For example: packaging equipment

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to identify and harness the energy-saving potential of existing systems or how to

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transported. SEW-EURODRIVE is one of the firsts companies worldwide to use die-cast copper technology in large-scale

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without breaking the budget. The system will pay for itself in less than two

90 percent of costs in systems that are not energy efficient. And it doesn’t take

years (see graphic).

much to cut these costs.

Application areas SEW’s modular, energy-saving concept is multi-faceted and offers a specific

Beverage industry > Bottle conveyors | Production halls > Fresh air supply units |

solution for every system. Each individual component in the system is designed for

Airport logistics > Baggage handling | etc.

maximum efficiency. In the right combination, they create significant economic benefits and generate more added value in the system. Different requirements,

Energy-saving modules

objectives and individual system concepts can be factored into the system design.

Drive inverters, frequency

Regardless of whether you want to implement components into an existing system

inverters, mechatronic

or create a new one, the modular energy-saving system from SEW-EURODRIVE can

drive systems, energy-

be integrated into any system that requires more energy-efficient drive solutions

efficient motors, etc.

AUTOMATE NOW

AUTOMATION ADVANCES & ADVANTAGES

Sitting from left: John Mason, Molson Canada; Louis Taraborelli, Paxiom, Inc.; Olivier Cousseau, Schneider Electric; Drew Cameron, StrongPoint Automation. Standing from left: Stephen Dean, Munira Khan, Canadian Packaging; Stéphane Banville, Sidel Engineering & Conveying; Andrew Joseph, George Guidoni, Canadian Packaging.

Global competitive pressures make further concerted automation efforts and investment a top priority for Canadian manufacturers

BY GEORGE GUIDONI, EDITOR PHOTOS BY SANDRA STRANGEMORE

I

f doing automation was as easy as doing lunch, the Canadian manufacturing industry should now be feasting on the fruits of two decades worth of continuous investment in cutting-edge industrial automation technologies that, in theory at least, should have by now turned their production and packaging lines into world-class models of manufacturing productivity, efficiency, agility, quality and overall enterprise excellence that would enable them to compete across the globe in virtually any market of their choosing.

Instead, low-cost offshore manufacturers have been literally stealing the Canadian industry’s lunch for years with seemingly effortless ease across a fastgrowing range of industrial and consumer sectors— resulting in a dramatic, if not outright irreversible, erosion of the country’s manufacturing base and its fundamental capacity to remain a notable player in today’s hypercompetitive global economy.

Whereas investing in automated production technologies was once hailed as the silver bullet solution for enabling Canadian companies to compete in global and domestic markets against the onslaught of lowwage competition from China and other emerging Asian economic powerhouses, it is now increasingly seen more as a means to survival and life-extension for the multitude of Canadian producers hammered by a toxic mix of chronically weak demand in our traditional U.S. markets, and a flood of cheaper imports into our domestic economy—from all manner of consumer goods and food products to industrial machinery and manufacturing technologies.

Which only makes further investment in new-

NOVEMBER 2010 • CANADIAN PACKAGING

generation industrial automation technologies a top corporate priority for any Canadian manufacturing enterprise hoping to be around for whenever the next global economic recovery finally takes hold, according to the general consensus of five authoritative Canadian automation experts brought together last month by Canadian Packaging in a roundtable discussion aimed at assessing to what extent new automation technologies can boost their chances of survival in the cutthroat global marketplace.

Expert Panel Gathered at the Rogers Media corporate headquarters in downtown Toronto, the well-rounded panel—including John Mason, senior corporate engineer with Molson Canada; Louis Taraborelli, president of Paxiom, Inc.; Drew Cameron, director of sales at StrongPoint Automation; Stéphane Banville, vice-president of North American operations with Sidel Engineering & Conveying; and Olivier Cousseau, manager of business development and solutions for industry for the North American business of Schneider Electric—offered a fairly uniform collective consensus that Canadian industry has an epic challenge on its hands in terms of reversing the dramatic decline of its manufacturing prowess.

“I have seen completely automated facilities in China from start to finish—right down to robotic palletizers and stretchwrappers and right out the door—and the number of Chinese companies that are highly automated today is truly staggering,” said Paxiom’s Louis Taraborelli, whose Montrealheadquartered group of companies manufactures a broad range of conveyors, fillers, automatic bagging machines. case-erectors, trayformers and palletiz-

ers for end-use customers around the globe.

“Sadly enough there was a time, about 10 years ago, when they would import machines from North America and Europe to automate their production,” Taraborelli ref lected, “but there are now so many machine-builders in China, that I think anything that’s being built in North America or Europe today is now also being built in China.”

With Paxiom operating a Chinese-based manufacturing subsidiary, Taraborelli has the benefit of insider’s knowledge of the dizzying speed with which Chinese manufacturers have caught up technologically to their Western competitors, and the worrisome competitive implications of this rapid high-tech industrialization.

“They are extremely automated and shockingly so in some respects. In many ways they are already more automated than we are because they’ve got the benefit of volume,” he explained.

“Having all that volume in the Chinese market means that packaging a thousand bottles per minute is simply not fast enough over there: they are looking for systems and technologies that will allow them to package three to four thousand bottles a minute!”

As Taraborelli explained it, Chinese companies are every bit as eager to use automation to reduce their manual costs as manufacturers in the developed world—in large part owing to the peculiarities of the Chinese labor market dynamics.

Said Taraborelli: “Even in China labor costs are going up now, and they also have their other big labor issues, such as staff turnover.

“Probably the biggest fear their industry has is that they never really know who will be coming Continues on page 12

WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM • 11

AUTOMATE NOW

MACHINE-BUILDERS Please rank the following on the overall level of importance to OEM machine builders, with 1 being the most important.

Improving machine performance (75%) Providing same machine performance with a lower cost (13%) Reducing design time to market (13%) Optimizing energy efficiency (0%)

What is your typical build time for new equipment: from contract signing to acceptance test signoff?

AUTOMATION ADVANCES & ADVANTAGES Continued from page 11

Which of the following ethernet protocols do you support?

back to work at the end of Chinese New Year,” explained Taraborelli.

“Everybody goes home to visit their family, traveling across the country for up to 5,000 kilometers, and while they are away, they are constantly looking for work that is closer to home. We have lost a few people this way; practically everybody does, which is why so many are so very eager to automate their operations—to reduce their reliance on manual labor.”

Production volumes certainly seem to make a profound difference insofar as which Canadian industries and companies are making the most optimal use of the latest available automation hardware, software and firmware systems to operate at world-class levels, panelists agreed, singling out Canadian beer, bottled-water and other beverage producers as automation leaders in the domestic CPG (consumer packaged goods) business.

“The beer industry definitely deserves our applause—I would say that they are the best-in-class as far as using automation to their full advantage,” said Stéphane Banville of Sidel Engineering & Conveying, a Sidel Canada Inc. division specializing in turnkey line design, integration and engineering services.

“As far as their packaging lines go, they are fully-integrated today,” Banville stated. “This is in part because of their large amount of production volumes, in part because of their use of high-speed systems and equipment, but also because of the way they utilize their data acquisition systems in trying to link what is on their production f loor to their ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems.”

Tipping the Scales

1–3 months (63%) 4–6 months (13%) 6 months to one year (25%) More than 1 year (0%)

Please rank these top three areas of packaging epuipment growth over the next 5 years.

EtherNet/IP Modbus TCP ProfiNet SERCOS III EtherCAT PowerLink Foundation Fieldbus Other None of the above 0%

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

With whom do you collaborate on new packaging machine designs?

Customers’ packaging engineers/designers Internal packaging engineers/designers Automation suppliers In-house system integrators Other OEMs Third-party suppliers Contract system integrators No one, I do not collaborate 0%

Added StrongPoint Automation’s Cameron: “It really is an economiesof-scale issue.

“You will not see much automation taking place in ‘mom-and-pop’ shops because they’re not running 24-hours-a-day,” said Cameron, whose company is a leading designer and integrator of robotic and conveying systems based in Cambridge, Ont. “You have to justify that equipment expenditure—either by reducing the number of people or taking care of a process that is too fast for people to keep up with, but generally there has to be some evidence of labor savings.

“However, you normally see those savings when you measure them across three production shifts, and most of your ‘mon-and-pop’ shops just do not have three shifts running at their plants,” Cameron observed. “These days, it’s all about being as productive as possible in larger manufacturing facilities.”

Added Banville: “The bigger you are, the more volume you have, and the more likely you will be to invest in automation.

“Succeeding with automation means having the ability to hire the proper resources and being able to train them to attain a high skill level,” Banville reasoned, “but the problem with the Canadian industry is that we have a lot of small companies that just do not have the means to invest a lot of resources into automation.

“You automate for volume or f lexibility, but more often than not, you don’t really need the f lexibility if don’t have the volume,” Banville argued. “That’s why it is typically the larger companies who are investing in the better automation technologies: they have the means and they

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Which of the following industries do you serve?

Food Household chemical/ products Beverage Personal care/ cosmetic Pharmaceutical Industrial chemical Pet food/care Medical devices/ supplies Electronics/office products & supplies Large retail (appliances, furniture) Other 0%

20

40

60

80

100

Which of the following types of application and programming software are incorporated into your packaing machines?

Programming applications (such as HMI)

88%

13%

Data historian/data analytics

25%

75%

Enterprise integration and analysis

13%

88%

ERP

13%

88%

MES

13%

88%

Standard

Optional

Source: Canadian Packaging and

Robotics (50%)

Rogers Connect Research, 2010.

Product inspection (25%) Form/fill/seal (25%) Source: Canadian Packaging and Rogers Connect Research, 2010.

“Packaging automation today requires far more than just the product knowledge of a particular automation supplier: it’s now about working with the machine manufacturer through all of the machine’s life-cycle; supporting the machine-builders through all the different stages of machine development right from the design stage; and then providing superior after-sales service support, both locally and worldwide.”

— Olivier Cousseau, Manager, Business Development & Solutions - Industry, Schneider Electric

12 • WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

CANADIAN PACKAGING • NOVEMBER 2010

AUTOMATE NOW

MACHINE USERS What is your level of agreement with the following statements:

Other than productivity, which of the following is the most challenging?

Reduced investments and ever shorter payback periods Production flexibility that adjusts for changes in the feedstock and enables evolution in the output Automation system utmost availability, evolution capability and longevity Personal and plant equipment safety

Energy efficiency/Energy Managament

1.

41%

92%

51%

7%

2.

53%

89%

36%

9%

1% 2%

3.

43%

87%

44%

10%

3%

4.

37%

85%

48%

12%

4%

5.

40%

83%

43%

11%

5%

6.

30%

83%

53%

15%

2%

7.

18%

67%

49%

26%

7%

Strongly Agree

Strongly/ Somewhat Agree

Somewhat Agree

Somewhat Disagree

Strongly Disagree

What level of value do you place on having single-vendor availability for supplying your full range of automation products (i.e. servo motors, sensors etc.) versus dealing with multiple vendors?

1. We require increased flexibility in packaging systems

Other 0%

5

10

15

20

25

30

2. With all things being equal, I prefer purchasing from North American companies, versus offshore companies, for my automation needs

35

3. We see packaging machine flexibility and integrated automation as a key competitive advantage

Please select which of the following automation features are typically used in your packaging lines: Motors

4. We plave a high value on packaging operations as a strategic competitive advantage

Some value (58%)

5. Automated packaging lines are critical in maximizing our capacity

No value (1%)

6. In the next five years, sustainability will become a major driver for automation of packaging lines

Process Sensors AC Drives PLCs

7. Global availability and international standardization of packaging lines are essential for our success

Barcodes Switches/Routers/Gateways

Great value (25%) Little value (15%)

What percentage of your purchasing falls under the following:

Components/Connectors Industrial PCs Servos Network: Software & Diagnostics I/O Products Process & Batch Control Other 0%

10

Does this process take longer, or shorter than it did in the past?

Shorter (21%) Longer (24%) About the same (56%) Source: Canadian Packaging and Rogers Connect Research, 2010.

20

can train their resources to use it most effectively.”

That certainly appears to be the case at the Molson Canada brewery in Toronto, according to the Molson Technical Centre’s senior cor30 40 50 60 70 80 porate engineer John Mason, where a continuous capital investment program tracing back to 2000-2001 has rewarded the plant with vast productivity improvements, including high-speed bottling operations reaching throughput speeds of over 2,000 bottles per minute.

With all of the brewery’s production data linked to the company’s larger IT (information technology) infrastructure, Mason explained, Molson Canada is able to operate on an optimal production schedule at all of its breweries across Canada with minimal waste and downtime.

“Molson has all of our production, process and packaging equipment connected together on an Ethernet backbone, with a number of different application running in the MES (manufacturing execution systems) network space—collecting different production information and reporting all the various key performance indicators,” explained Mason.

“We have a production planning module inside our SAP (Systems, Applications and Processing) software that produces an overall plan in terms of number of finished units out in a geographical area—say 50,000 cases of 24 bottles of the Canadian brand—and that information is fed into a separate software package that executes a multidimensional kind of scheduling system array to produce an optimal seven-day production schedule, which is transferred to each of the breweries.

“It then breaks that down into a number of components to account for the lag-time associated with the manufacturing process—because fermentation requires about 18 days—including brewing orders, filtration orders, bottling orders ... which is ultimately fed into this MES space, so that our production planning is totally integrated into our manufacturing activities,” said Mason, adding that all the key packaging machinery used at Molson breweries has in recent years been standardized on the Allen-Bradley software platforms developed by leading automation systems designer Rockwell Automation, including the newlyContinues on page 14

I have several vendors to supply my full range of automation device needs (68%) I have a single vendor supplying my full range of automation device needs (32%)

Please rank the following product attributes in order of importance for your automation needs, with 1 being the most important.

Reliability (51%) Quality/Durability (18%)

“Succeeding with automation means having the ability to hire the proper resources and being able to train them to attain a high skill level, but the problem with the Canadian industry is that we have a lot of small companies—companies that just do not have the means to invest a lot of resources into automation. You automate for volume or flexibility, but more often than not, you don’t really need the flexibility if don’t have the volume.”

Price-to-performance (16%) Ease of use/install/ maintain (10%) Price (5%)

Source: Canadian Packaging and Rogers Connect Research, 2010.

— Stéphane Banville, Vice-President of North American Operations & General Manager, Sidel Engineering & Conveying

NOVEMBER 2010 • CANADIAN PACKAGING

WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM • 13

AUTOMATE NOW

MACHINE-BUILDERS Please rank the top five areas for what you see as being important automation and control feature(s) over the next 5 years A.

50%

0%

0%

25%

B.

13%

50%

38%

0%

0%

C.

25%

0%

50%

0%

25%

D.

13%

13%

13%

50%

13%

E.

0%

38%

0%

25%

38%

1

2

3

4

5

25%

A. Data acquisition B. Ease of changeover C. Human interface features D. Interchangable/modular design E. Overall equipment effectiveness (OEE)

What is your level of agreement with the following statements?

1.

100%

88%

12%

0%

0%

2.

100%

63%

37%

0%

0%

3.

88%

88%

0%

13%

0%

4.

88%

75%

13%

13%

0%

5.

88%

63%

25%

13%

0%

6.

76%

13%

63%

13%

13%

7.

38%

25%

13%

38%

25%

Strongly Agree

Strongly/ Somewhat Agree

Somewhat Agree

Somewhat Disagree

Strongly Disagree

1. Our customers require increased flexibility in packaging systems 2. Automated packaging lines are critical in maximizing our customers’ capacity 3. Customers see packaging machine flexibility and integrated automation as a key competitive advantage

AUTOMATION ADVANCES & ADVANTAGES Continued from page 13

installed, fully-automatic, high-speed Alvey palletizers manufactured by the Cincinnati, Ohio-based Intelligrated.

In its kegging operation, Mason revealed, the Molson plant is making effective use of high-payload robots to operate a U-shaped line handling the heavy beer kegs shipped by Molson to bars and restaurants to keep their draught taps full, as well as taking in the kegs returned for refilling.

“These kegs weigh 50 to 60 kilos apiece, and for obvious health-and-safety reasons no average person should be lifting that weight,” Mason related. “So we have a couple of robots that put the kegs on the pallets and strap them securely into place, to be shipped out through their distribution channels.

“And once these returnable kegs come back in empty, they have to be depalletized, washed, sterilized, filled, tapped and then palletized again, so we have robots working both at the full and empty ends of the line,” said Mason, pointing out that the workplace safety benefits enabled by modern automated packaging systems are no less important to the brewer than the rapid productivity gains it has achieved to date.

“In the last three or four years at there’s been a real push around the safety aspect at Molson,” Mason recounted. “Any piece of equipment that goes into any of our breweries has to have a Category 3 safety circuit, which means being dual-channel redundant, with no possibility of failure.

“With all the computer-based controls we now have on the machines you can’t simply just dump the power,” he explained, “ and so whenever we have a power outage in the brewery, it makes it much easier to get the equipment restarted again.

“That’s why today we’re going through big efforts up front around the machine safety aspect that we didn’t only four or five years ago, and I believe that safety will continue to be evolving in coming years as a big part of our ongoing automation improvements.”

When developing new equipment lines, which do you rely on?

OEMs

In-house

Contract system integrators

Other

0%

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Which of the following are the common types of packaging equipment that you build?

Conveying Package handling Labelling Palletizing/unitizing Robotics Cartoning Other 0%

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Which of the following do you believe are reasons end-users not using all the automation features offered?

Safety Focus

Added Taraborelli: “We will definitely start to see more and more integration of security and safety features into the machines—that is cer4. Our customers place a high value on tainly a key trend. packaging operations as a strategic “We will also see much more collaboration between the different competitive advantage parties to develop the right packaging solutions for our end-users,” he 5. Our cutomers should take greater advantage of flexibility in packaging pointed out. “We won’t just be developing a vertical product any more— systems to improve time to market we will have teams of people working together to develop solutions for 6. In the next five years, sustainability will the end-users, both locally and globally.” become a major driver for automation of Such sentiments were naturally warmly welcomed by Olivier Cousseau packaging lines of Schneider Electric’s North American business, whose globally-operat7. Global availability and international standardization of packaging lines are ing parent company is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of indusessential to packaging end users trial automation and energy distribution controls and components, with a keen presence in the global packaging machinery markets.

Source: Canadian Packaging and Said Cousseau: “Packaging automation today requires far more than Rogers Connect Research, 2010. just the product knowledge of a particular automation supplier: it’s now about working with the machine manufacturer through all of the machine’s life-cycle; supporting the machine-builders through all the different stages of machine development right from the design stage; and then providing superior after-sales service support, both locally and worldwide.

“It’s gone beyond just having Schneider building a great product: it’s now about understanding the machine and all its functionalities and developing solutions for the specific machines, while also providing full interconnectivity with the end-user’s business management network,” he reiterated.

“For us it means having full-time technical experts devoted to the machine manufacturing community,” Cousseau related. “We now have application engineers who know our product very well and are working with machine-builders to develop solutions to make their equipment more f lexible,

10

Knowledge level of workforce Lack of resources Features too complicated to operate Automation features exceed customers needs Lack of compatibility with existing systems Other 0%

20

40

60

80

100

Source: Canadian Packaging and Rogers Connect Research, 2010.

more simple to use, with shorter time-tomarket .... all these important aspects where we must continually support our end-users worldwide, not just locally.”

According to the roundtable participants, most of the technological and design improvements in packaging machinery over the last decade have been unfolding on the controls and software side of the equation, with gradual miniaturization of electrical and electronic components matched by

“I think that what Ethernet has done for office computer systems in recent years is now starting to be played out on the production lines. Line controls are very different today, as more machines are all talking through the Ethernet. There used to be a lot of hardwiring before, but there’s less and less pushbutton stations today, and much more HMIs being used to start up the line in morning, to visualize how the lines are handling the product, what motors are running, etc.”

— Drew Cameron, Director of Sales, StrongPoint Automation

14 • WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

CANADIAN PACKAGING • NOVEMBER 2010

AUTOMATE NOW

MACHINE USERS Who is typically involved in the decision-making process?

Owner (32%) Executive Management (29%) Operations Management (26%) Maintenance Management (6%) Other (8%)

Plese rank the following factors in order of importance when choosing a machine-builder, with 1 being the most important.

migration to more open-systems architecture and greater use of wireless technologies.

Said Taraborelli: “Today it’s all about really mastering the software: both at the development stage, with our own programmers understanding the capabilities of some of the devices that are available and how to get the most out of them, and then down to the levels of the operator, the maintenance crew or the engineering team.

“Packaging machinery is not really a fast-changing technology, at least superficially,” he stated.

“For any laymen going to a brewery to see a bottling line 10 years ago and looking at it today, it would look pretty much the same—a rotary filler still looks much the same as it did back then.

“But although the mechanics of the machines have not changed that much, the brains of the machinery certainly have, with all the new servo controls, sensors, and all the other improvements constantly taking place,” Taraborelli ref lected. “Servo drives have made a big difference in machine design; more machines are using more and more servos.

“These devices are reprogrammable to do whatever you want them to do: acceleration, deceleration, ramp up or down, and so on—things like this are so easily done today,” he noted, “whereas in the old days, it was about taking a screwdriver and moving a cam to the left or to the right, or moving a micro switch up or down.

“So today you need to know a lot more things about software and the HMI (human-machine interface) touchscreens that are now the key link between the machine and the operator,” added Taraborelli. “As a result, you’re seeing the cost of the PLC (programmable logic controllers) panels coming down significantly, while more and more machines are becoming PC-driven.

“There is now a fine line now between what’s a PLC and a PC, in term of how they operate and the results you get—it’s all part of us becoming a more software-based society in general.”

While the pros and cons of PLC- and PC-based control have been vigorously debated in the manufacturing community for over 20 years, the panelists acknowledged, that debate is still far from over, albeit gradual migration to PC control strategies seems inevitable.

Said Banville: “I think that with the new generation of automation engineers entering the business, we won’t see much of ladder logic in use in about 20 to 25 years from now.

“I think that what Ethernet has for office computer systems in recent years is now starting to be played out on the production lines,” Banville reasoned. “Line controls are very different today, as more machines are all talking through the Ethernet.

How often do you typically purchase packaging machinery?

Every 6 months or less (5%) Annually (10%) Every 18 months (5%) Every 2 years (10%) Every 3 years or more (9%) By project (62%)

Plese rank the following features of automation that you find most appealing, with 1 being the most appealing.

Soft Touch

Ability to upgrade machines easily (40%) Offering compatibility with existing systems (24%) Quality of technical/training/ education support (24%) Availability of system integration services (6%) Number of automation options available (5%)

Please rank the following automation and control feature(s) by the level of forseen importance over the next 5 years, with 1 being the most important

Overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) (47%) Ease of changeover (27%) Data acquisition (10%) Interchangable/modular design (9%) Human interface features (7%)

“There used to be a lot of hardwiring before, but there’s less and less pushbutton stations today, and much more HMIs being used to start up the line in morning, to visualize how the lines are handling the product, what motors are running, etc.,” he related. “It is all becoming more and more visual to help operators run their lines more efficiently, along with using fewer operators on the line to minimize operational costs.”

Added Cousseau: “The PLC is not just a standard unit any more: it is now integrated into the motion device, the sensing device, and into the HMI, which is becoming a PC all onto itself.

“Nowadays, even motors have programming capability,” he noted. “As for Ethernet, it’s not about Internet communications but rather the Internet connectivity—being able to use our cellphones, for example, to obtain information about our machines from another machine.”

According to Taraborelli, this con“Today we are going through big efforts up front nectivity has had a profound effect on around the machine safety aspect that we didn’t the way Paxiom companies liase with only four or five years ago, and I believe that safety and service their end-user clients. will continue to be evolving in coming years as a “With Ethernet interconnectivity, big part of our ongoing automation improvements.” all of the machines down the line are all connected with a certain degree of — John Mason, intelligence that can capture data and Sr. Corporate Engineer, Molson Technical Centre diagnose equipment—quickly discernMolson Canada ing what is defective, what is going to fail, and things of that nature,” he related. “Which is why customers don’t want just a machine today—they want an intelligent machine.

“After all, what is a computer today?

An iPhone is a computer, and we have products today that you can operate with an iPhone—either troubleshooting a machine far away that has failed for two minutes, or getting a technician on it,” he explained, adding that Paxiom makes extensive use of cutting-edge software tools such as VNC (Virtual Network Connectivity), SKYPE (Voice over Internet Protocol) and digital cameras “to make life easier

Ability to access production data (32%) Recipe-driven/tool-less changeover (32%) Ability to access diagnostic data (18%) Connectivity via industrystandard network (10%) Consistent software structures (regardless of OEM) (9%)

How long does it take for a purchasing decision, following the identification of an automation need?

Less than 1 month (12%) 1 month to < 6 months (41%) 6 months to < 12 months (35%) > 12 months (13%) Source: Canadian Packaging and Rogers Connect Research, 2010.

Source: Canadian Packaging and Rogers Connect Research, 2010.

NOVEMBER 2010 • CANADIAN PACKAGING

Continues on page 16

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AUTOMATE NOW AUTOMATION ADVANCES & ADVANTAGES

Continued from page 15

for both the vendor and the end-user.”

Said Taraborelli: “Typically, when things go bad, they go bad within a month of you delivering the machine, because that is typically the length of “For any laymen going to brewery to see a bottling line 10 years ago and looking at it today, it would look pretty much the same—a rotary filler still looks much the same as it did back then. But although the mechanics of the machines have not changed that much, the brains of the machinery certainly have, with all the new servo controls, sensors, and all the other improvements constantly taking place.”

— Louis Taraborelli, President, Paxiom, Inc.

the learning curve,” he reasoned. “There’s just so many gadgets on the machines today that people can’t learn them all in a short period of time, and these are the things that cause you great nuisance.

“Our solution to that is remote access—these auxiliary tools are available, the technology is there, and we just need to get more companies to start embracing it.”

And more to the point, more Canadian companies, the roundtable participants agreed.

Said Mason: “I think there are cost-effective automation options out there today even for the ‘momand-pop’ operations running a little eight-head inline filler to package juice, let’s say.

“With the Internet, you can literally source the world today, with people having access to all that information at their fingertips,” Mason observed.

“For the smaller guys, a bagging machine is still just a bagging machine,” he stated. “It may not exactly conform to all the CSA standards, but they don’t care when they can buy an automated piece of equipment for $10,000 instead of $100,000.”

Both Taraborelli and Mason agreed that increasingly stringent quality control standards will necessitate more integration of high-speed machine vision into the next generation of automated packaging systems.

Said Mason: “I think that vision technology had some initial promise that maybe it didn’t live up to, with certain thresholds in terms of processing speed, but it will come to fruition—with better resolution, higher processing capabilities, and greater ease of integration.

“It does inspections at speeds that 30 people on the packaging line could not even come close to, so as far as an automation enhancement to your packaging process, it’s really a no-brainer.”

Added Taraborelli: “There are always certain foods made and packaged in Canada that you’re not going to get in China, so there’s always going to be room for everyone to survive somehow. There will always be industry in Canada, the question is whether automation is going to save Canadian food industry from those foreign companies.

“In my opinion no, because they’re now just as automated as we are,” he opined.

“What will ultimately protect us are things like their social unrest, currency f luctuations, high cost of oil, things of that nature,” Taraborelli summed up.

“Paying $150 for a barrel of oil will always get a lot of people to change their ways, and I think it’s a matter of time before we see oil going back to about $120 per barrel, so the key thing is to have flexible automation strategies in place to respond to current industry trends in the most efficient way that your automation systems allow.”

For More Information:

FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE

106

Paxiom, Inc. Schneider Electric StrongPoint Automation Sidel Engineering & Conveying

401 402 403 404

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PUTTING MEAT ON THE TABLE Deli meats processor carves up a bigger slice of the market pie with cutting-edge technologies and Old World craftsmanship

T

here are no easy short-cuts to success in any mature manufacturing industry these days, and anyone looking for instant riches in the crowded marketplace for processed meat products is very likely in the wrong line of work.

So like most successful family-owned Canadian meat processors nowadays, the Waterloo, Ont.based Piller Sausages & Delicatessens Ltd. is much more of a testament to the virtues of patience, tradition, quality, craftsmanship and a strong work ethic—all timeless values that only seem to get better with age—rather than to splashy marketing or aggressive pricing that don’t always deliver the sort of deep-rooted consumer brand loyalty that helps companies ensure long-term longevity in the notoriously cutthroat business.

Founded more than 50 years ago, the company’s long-enduring, unwavering commitment to producing the highest-quality processed pork, beef and poultry products—while fully maintaining the ‘Old World’ charm and flavors as dictated by five generations of being involved in the meat-processing industry—is today commendably matched by its willingness to package those products by using the most advanced, technologically-savvy and state-of-the-art packaging equipment available in the marketplace.

None of this came about overnight, according to Piller’s chief executive operating officer Gerhart Huber.

Open Shop Workers at Piller’s main Waterloo facility load freshly-sliced meat onto a Repak packaging system purchased through Reiser Canada.

Gerhart Huber, Chief Executive Operating Officer, Piller Sausages & Delicatessens Ltd.

Robert Huber, Vice-president of Corporate Marketing

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“In 1957, my father Wilhelm Huber opened a small butcher shop in Waterloo, using old family recipes and traditional European meat processing methods to get started [and] two years later, his brothers and my uncles, Edward and Heinrich, joined the business that we call Piller’s today,” recalls Huber.

“In fact, our current central facility is built right atop that original shop, with some of the walls still a part of the place,” Huber told Canadian Packaging on a recent trip to the Waterloo headquarters—one of five Ontario-based Piller’s plants totaling over 500,000 square feet of production space to turn out a broadly diverse range of high-quality, flavorful, tasty European-style sausages and delicatessen meats.

With numerous prestigious industry awards to its credit—including top industry recognition for Piller’s signature Black Forest ham and air-dried salamis—the company today ranks as one of North America’s leading producers of deli-style and sausage meats, produced under the f lagship Piller’s brand label and as private-label products for major grocery chains and foodservice customers.

Making its products available in a wide variety of formats—including sliced, diced, single-serving, large portions (club packs), smaller mini-packs and in bulk—Piller’s products are mainstay items in the deli aisles across Canada at all the major retailers such as Sobeys, No Frills, Food Basics, Costco and Walmart, as well as at a multitude of independent grocers and deli shops from coast to coast.

Also operating another facility in Waterloo, along with sister Ontario plants in Arthur, Brantford and

CANADIAN PACKAGING • NOVEMBER 2010

COVER STORY Toronto, the company now even exports some of its output to promising select markets in the U.S. and Mexico, Huber proudly points out.

“But even through all the constant growth we have experienced over the years, Piller’s continues to operate utilizing the same natural aging, curing and smoking processes that had customers lining up outside my father’s butcher shop over 50 years ago,” he states.

“In every one of our facilities, we use state-of-theart meat processing equipment, the most up-to-date smokehouses, and the highest-quality slicing and packaging machinery,” asserts Piller’s vice-president of corporate marketing Robert Huber, citing a sophisticated, company-wide computer network linking the warehouses of all the five plants at all times for maximum production efficiency, order fulfillment and customer service.

“At our warehouses, we utilize barcode scanning technology in the racking system for accurate, high-speed order-picking of the product, which is sent to the conveyors for immediate delivery to our shipping area,” he explains. “As a result, we have the capability to manufacture all of our products at any one of our facilities in a way that allows us to meet the demands of any customer, with any special request, at any time of the year.”

As one would expect from a company producing over 400 different SKUs (stock-keeping units) per

year, product innovation is practically second nature to Piller’s, according to Robert Huber, Gerhart’s cousin, who estimates that the company launches at least 20 new products each year in a continuous quest to keep pace with the ever-changing consumer tastes.

“Although we are proud of where we came from, we’ve always kept our eyes on where we are going,” he states. “In the future, we will focus on new product development and existing product improvement to satisfy consumer preferences for nutrition and convenience.

Global View “Our research-and-development team will continue to create innovative products, and we will continue to integrate the strengths of all of our operating divisions to ensure that all our resources will be optimized—thereby helping us execute our plans to expand into more markets globally.”

To bring these ambitious goals to life, Piller’s is continually investing in modern processing and packaging equipment, as evidenced by the purchase of three new packaging machines earlier this year—specifically the Repak RE 20, Repak RE 25 and a Repak RE 30—from the Burlington, Ont.based Reiser Canada, Canadian subsidiary of leading food processing and packaging equipment manufacturer Reiser International.

Strips of sliced smoked meat are separated by thin wax paper inserts prior to being packaged.

“We’ve enjoyed a long working relationship with Reiser,” says Gerhart, noting that to date Piller’s has purchased 17 different Repak models over the years.

“Because we have owned numerous Reiser machines, we have been able to provide them with a lot of feedback on an ongoing basis—and they use that feedback in the construction of their nextgeneration Repak machines.”

Called a f lexible compact packaging machine

by Reiser, the RE 20 is a high-strength, highperformance machine—designed for packaging widths up to 460 mm, a cutoff length of 600 mm, and a maximum drawing depth of 120 mm—that can handle many intricate and challenging package shapes, according to Gerhart, as well as rigid film applications.

For its part, the RE 25 model provides the f lexibility of allowing operators to change the web widths and cutoff lengths as required—working with film widths between 420 mm and 560 mm, a maximum cutoff length of 800 mm, and a drawing depth up to 160 mm.

“For us, what really stands out is its high-speed packaging performance, ability to handle rigid film applications, and its labeling superiority,” states Gerhart. “It’s a darn nice machine that works Continues on page 20

An SEW-Eurdrive motor powers a conveyor lift moving sausages from a storage area above onto the packaging line.

From left: operations manager Wolfgang Bittrolff and plant manager Terry Cliche show off some of the Piller’s Westphalian Ham slices packaged in twin-packs.

Automation + Knowledge + Experience Measureable Results

C RY OVA C I N S I G H T : ON S Y S T E MS A multihead Markem-Imaje 9040 continuous inkjet coder applies best-before data and lot code information onto every package of meat product processed by Piller’s. www.packforumamericas.com

NOVEMBER 2010 • CANADIAN PACKAGING

| cryovac.mkt@sealedair.com | 800.845.3456

©Sealed Air Corporation 2010. All Rights Reserved. The “9 Dot Logo” and “Sealed Air” are registered trademarks of Sealed Air Corporation (US).

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Piller’s employs the IQ and IQ2 metal detectors from Loma Systems to maintain optimal quality assurance.

One of the eight chambers of the Cryovac 8600S rotary vacuum chamber system prepares to seal a Black Forest Style Ham inside a high-barrier film.

A worker at Piller’s main Waterloo facility prepares product to be vacuum-packed on a Cryovac Old Rivers 8600S machine.

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PUTTING MEAT ON THE TABLE Continued from page 19

Innovative packaging solutions in every shape and size.

At Reiser, we offer a variety of packaging solutions designed for all types of food products and applications. From Repak form/fill/seal machines to to Supervac vacuum chamber equipment to Ross modified atmosphere tray sealers, Reiser is the one source for all your packaging needs. Join other satisfied customers that trust Reiser to deliver the perfect solution. For more information, call Reiser at (905) 631-6611.

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Le leader de l’industrie en termes de transformation et de conditionnment.

really hard for us.”

As for the high-end Repak RE 30 machine—featuring cutoff lengths of 800 mm, film width range from 305 mm to 650 mm, and a drawing depth of 190 mm—the high-performance system is perfectly at home in Piller’s production environment, with its three-shift, five-days-a-week schedule and a combined total of 31 production and packaging lines.

“Depending on the product line we are packaging, we will run our Repaks anywhere from 10 to 20 cycles per minute,” says Gerhart.

“All I can tell you is that we are very pleased with all of our Reiser Repaks—all 17 of the systems that we have purchased over the years.”

According to Reiser, all three new Repak machines utilize a kinetic closed system where the die-set is centrally balanced to generate an optimal distribution force—meaning faster processing times.

Moreover, the machines incorporate a robust rapid air-system to ensure better forming quality and corner reinforcement of the package—enabling the use of thinner films and achieving higher cycle rates.

“However, a key factor in our purchase of these three next-generation Repaks—aside from their longevity and f lexibility—is the hygiene aspect,” Gerhart points out. “The surface has been angled to avoid pooling, so it’s easy to clean, plus it comes with a heavyduty, stainless-steel construction.”

It was similar hygienic considerations that also prompted Piller’s to purchase three Cryovac Old Rivers vacuumpacking machines from Sealed Air, Cryovac Food Packaging Division, including a model 8600E automatic bag loader and two new, stainlesssteel Cryovac Old Rivers 8600S rotary vacuum chamber systems, developed in full compliance with the AMI (American Meat Institute) and

CANADIAN PACKAGING • NOVEMBER 2010

COVER STORY ability,” relates Gerhart. “When we first went to how we can improve the experience for our cusLoma looking for a great metal detection system, they tomers,” he concludes. “With our superior quality were at the time the first that could be connected to products and our technically-advanced processing a network using a program called Loma Net, which and packaging equipment, Piller’s will continue to captures all the data from the metal detectors.” grow and thrive well into the future.”

In respect to product coding, the company For More Information: employs a total of 34 model 9040 multihead CIJ (continuous inkjet) coders from Markem-Imaje, Reiser (Canada) Ltd. 411 according to Gerhart.

Dixie Union 412 “We really like the print quality and capability proMultivac Canada Inc. 413 vided with the multiheads, enabling us to do either PSG Lee 414 single- or double-line printing,” he notes, “and they PPi Technologies 415 are also very easy for our employees to operate.”

Sealed Air, Cryovac Food Packaging Division 416 States Gerhart: “We love using the latest techLoma Systems 417 nologies in meat processing equipment to help us Markem-Imaje Inc. 418 provide a safe product for our customers.

Koch Equipment LLC 419 that are truly distinctive and “Along with recipes Weber Inc. 420 Canadian Pack., April, Format 200 x 273 mm, LCS, CC-en37-AZ042 03/10 tasty—we’ve won 44 international awards over the SEW-Eurodrive Company of Canada 421 years—we are always looking to the future to see A control panel for a Weber slicer at the main Piller’s production plant in Waterloo.

National Sanitation Federation guidelines requiring equipment to be cleanable to microbiological levels.

“The 8600S is really all about sanitation and hygiene; it has all the benefits and reliability we’ve come to expect from the 8600 series, but with even a more hygienic design,” relates Gerhart, citing critical sanitary features such as corrosion-resistant aluminum construction of the eight vacuum chambers; easily removable hoses for more effective sanitizing procedures; and strategically-located spacers between all metal contact points to prevent the build-up of moisture and bacteria.

Clean Act Naturally, cleanliness is godliness at each of Piller’s five HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points)certified production plants, Gerhart asserts, adding the plants are currently at various stages of completing their respective SQF (Safe Quality Food) Level 2 certifications of the Safe Quality Food Institute this year, with Level 3 certifications to follow in 2011.

“We are very proud of the fact that one of our plants was one of the first processed meat facilities in Canada to get the SQF Level 2 certification,” Gerhart states.

“We’re also taking a proactive approach in our ready-to-eat areas, where we are doing multi-level equipment teardowns based on our own multi-swab results, while also doing a lot of work with different cleansers and sanitizers.

“Whenever we look at purchasing new equipment, we always look at how we can reduce the handling of the product by our employees via more automated machinery designed to facilitate better cleaning.”

To ensure optimal quality assurance on its packaging lines, Piller’s makes extensive use of the IQ and the IQ2 metal detection equipment manufactured by Loma Systems.

“Quite frankly, we trust Loma’s reli-

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AUTOMATE NOW

BUILD TO LAST Montreal machine-builder’s relentless rise through industry ranks driven by cutting-edge innovation

Prior to shipping, a just completed filling line consisting of a Vacufill automated vacuum filler and an Alpha crimper and capper await testing at Capmatic’s Montreal facility.

BY ANDREW JOSEPH, FEATURES EDITOR PHOTOS BY PIERRE LONGTIN

I

f being a world-class manufacturer is what it takes to survive and prosper in today’s hypercompetitive global economy, then it’s safe to say that the Bassani brothers are very well-equipped to do the job in the fine style befitting one of the Canadian packaging machinery industry’s happiest success stories.

Originally founded in Italy back in 1964 by their father Lavinio, and then transplanted to Montreal in 1979 under the Capmatic Ltd. moniker, the family-owned business has earned itself an enviable industry reputation as a top-notch manufacturer of state-of-the-art liquid, powder and tablet-filling systems used by some of the world’s leading pharmaceutical, cosmetic, food-and-beverage, chemical nutraceutical and healthcare companies.

With a broadly diverse product portfolio ranging from stand-alone unscramblers, rinsers, cappers and labelers to multistation monoblock lines for high-speed, turnkey filling-and-capping applications, the company’s steady growth and rise to industry prominence is a just reward for many years of hard work and continuous, cutting-edge technological innovation, according to Capmatic president Alioscia Bassani, who formally took over as head of the company in 2006, joined by his brother Loris as the company’s vice-president.

“Guided by my father’s business philosophy, Capmatic has really thrived over the course of the last three decades,” Bassani told Canadian Packaging in a recent interview. “We have introduced a plethora of new liquid packaging equipment to the market through the years—adding technological innovations to the market hand-over-fist, and also transitioning smoothly into the computer age.

“And by partnering up with other major players through a network of strategic alliances, we have penetrated the North American market to the extent of becoming the manufacturing arm for several leading packaging suppliers.”

According to Bassani, the company’s 1996 move to a new, 75,000-square-foot manufacturing facility—today employing over 100 people on a twoshift production schedule—was possibly a defining moment in Capmatic’s transformation into one of the industry’s leading lights.

“That expansion allowed Capmatic to add a fulltime R&D department to keep ahead of the competition, which resulted in a major upswing in our growth,” recalls Bassani.

“Since then, Capmatic has undergone many transformational changes within this fast-paced packaging industry,” explains Bassani. “Our mainstay products have evolved from single-dedicated platform functions to fully multifunctional systems.

“Within any one particular category of functions, our machines offer six different ways of handling a particular packaging-related task—it just depends on how the customer wants to achieve the end result,” Bassani expands. “Even now, we are one

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Alioscia Bassani, President, Capmatic Ltd.

Lavinio Bassani, Founder

Loris Bassani, Vice-President and General Manager

Capmatic’s LabelStar is one of the premier pressuresensitive labeling sustems on the market today.

A Baldor motor helps propel the labels along the Labestar system.

of the very few companies in the world capable of manufacturing all the equipment required for a liquid and tablet packaging line.”

True to form, the company used the recent PACK EXPO International 2010 exhibition in Chicago as a prime-time launching pad to showcase its two brand new packaging machinery lines: the Street Fighter series of tablet counters, comprising SF-100 and SF-200 models; and the BeltStar series of inline belt-driven cappers and retorquers.

“We feel these new lines will provide our customers with a full range of new solutions for their tablet packaging and manufacturing requirements,” says Bassani, calling the new Beltstar “our biggest step forward in the past two decades.”

Capable of reaching speeds of up to 300-bpm (bottles per minute), the Beltstar machine features a repeatable, electronically-controlled final torque that delivers “a very smooth torque application,” Bassani explains, “along with a very simple set-up.

“There are no change parts, it runs without any compressed-air requirements, and it is so simple to use, that the operator need only to set it and the forget it.”

For its part, the Street Fighter series tablet counters will set new standards for accuracy, precision and efficiency in high-speed applications, Bassani proclaims.

“Our Street Fighter can operate at speeds of up to 120-bpm and 240-bpm on the SF-100 and SF-200 models, respectively, and still maintain an extremely high level of inspection and accuracy,”

he states, pointing out that the machines’ design incorporates 100 processors that constantly monitor complete machine operation to ensure optimal accuracy and performance.

Designed to enable the operator to have full control of all the machine’s adjustable moving parts directly through the HMI (human-machine interface) terminal, the Street Fighter is equipped with the newly-designed Positive Track and Trace servodriven reject station, which ensures 100-percent rejection of any faulty bottles continuing to proceed down the line after detection.

“Furthermore, the Capmatic engineering group has integrated a unique vacuum cleaning system that eliminates dust particles, allowing the client to maintain a higher production rate without having to stop the machine for cleaning downtime,” says Bassani, adding that ultimately both SF-100 and SF-200 will have the capability to provide realtime tracking of the machine output in fine detail directly through any smartphone device—providing customers with year-round mobile access and control of their equipment.

“For us, success is not just about the machines,” states Bassani. “Anyone can manufacture a machine, but for Capmatic, success is more about how the machines interact with the end-user.

“If it’s not easy to operate, and has too much downtime caused by equipment failure or slow changeover times, we haven’t done our job.

CANADIAN PACKAGING • NOVEMBER 2010

Capmatic’s Conquest FC filler-and-capper.

Festo pneumatics are used to tighten caps on bottles runnning on the Conquest FC line.

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A Cognex placement inspection verification system is positioned on top of a pump inserter and crimper in a Capmatic Alpha system.

A Versa pressure filler utilizes an Omron control panel for user-friendly operation.

“But fortunately for us, we know how to do our job,” says Bassani, stressing that quick, operator-friendly set-up and easy tool-free changeovers are always key primary considerations for all the new equipment developed by Capmatic.

“We are deeply committed to using today’s developing technology to maximum effect to offer our customers the ultimate in simplicity, f lexibility, performance and reliability,” sums up Bassani.

“Along with having passionate, dedicated people who share our team vision and spirit while sharing innovative ideas, this approach has allowed us to continue forging ahead to obtain the best possible solution for each of our customers.

“It’s a big part of what has helped us build up such a good reputation in the packaging industry.”

For More Information: Capmatic Ltd. Festo Inc. Omron Canada Inc. Baldor Electric Company Cognex Canada Inc.

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FILLING IN THE BLANKS

Packaging equipment designer leverages operational flexibility to build up its client base

BY ANDREW JOSEPH, FEATURES EDITOR PHOTOS BY PIERRE LONGTIN

W

hen the markets you’re in are dominated by bigger and better-known competition, you have your work pretty much cut out for you. But making the cut in the fiercely competitive packaging machinery industry has never really seemed to be a problem for the Boucherville, Que.-based ControlGMC Inc., which has now been doing just that for over a quarter-century.

Founded back in 1984 by company president and majority owner Gaétan Chagnon and his business partner Robert Viau, the company’s seemingly natural knack for designing and building highly flexible and economical automated equipment for widemouth container filling applications, including full turnkey lines, has garnered it widespread acclaim and respect in food and chemical industries that seems to belie its fairly modest size and staff.

Operating out of a 10,500-square-foot facility in a Montreal suburb stretching along the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, the company employs seven engineers, five electricians and seven fabricators, along with two office staff, to turn out highperformance filling lines that have been credited with major productivity improvements at a growing number of satisfied end-users across Canada and the U.S. over the years, according to Chagnon.

“Right from the beginning, ControlGMC has maintained all its design, programming, manufacturing and testing operations under one roof,” Chagnon told Canadian Packaging in a recent interview.

“We’ve always felt that besides offering our customers a one-stop shop for their filling line needs, doing all the things that need to be done ourselves to reduce overall production costs and ensure competitive pricing, while also allowing us to monitor the quality of our machines along every stage of a particular manufacturing project.”

These manufacturing projects unfold on daily basis across the company’s growing installation base that includes Canadian food industry stalwarts such as Agropur, Canada’s largest dairy coopera-

One of several independent modules comprising the FDS2500 line, a high-speed plastic film sealer applies protective seals to the passing plastic containers.

24 • WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

ControlGMC Inc. president Gaétan Chagnon in front of the company’s recently-manufactured, fullyintegrated FDS2500 wide-mouth plastic container filling line.

The Simatic Panel Touch terminal from Siemens is used as the human-machine interface for operating the highlyautomated FDS2500 filling line.

High-quality pneumatic cylinders manufactured by SMC Pneumatics are incorporated into the FDS2500 plastic container filling line.

tive; Kitchener, Ont.-based salads and deli-meats producer Keybrand Foods Inc. and Triple A Cheese Co. Ltd. of Mississauga, Ont.; as well as U.S.-based food companies such as a leading foodservice supplier Sandridge Food Corporation of Medina, Ohio, along with well-known salad producers Orval Kent Foods of Wheeling, Ill., and Allison’s Gourmet Kitchens in Moore, Okla.

“The most important reason for customers to purchase our filling lines, as opposed to from our competitors, is their operational f lexibility,” states Chagnon, citing 20-minute product changeovers; the operational versatility of being able to fill round, square, rectangular, oval and irregularshaped containers; and filling containers holding from as little 100 grams of product to 10 kilograms.

Such line flexibility allows end-user to introduce more different products into the marketplace with faster timeto-market to respond to market trends and demand peaks in timely fashion, according to Chagnon.

Today, the company’s impressive equipment range comprises single-, dual- and triple-lane plastic container filling lines; volumetric piston fillers; scaletype weighing fillers; timed gravity and vibrating fillers; container denesters; container closing machines; conveyors and accumulation tables; plastic film sealers; and transfer pumps.

As for the more turnkey packaging line solutions, Chagnon says he takes great pride in recent development of the FDS2500 plastic container filling line, which is a fully-integrated, PLC (programmable logic controller)-operated, plastic container filling line consisting of several independent modules: a container denester for tubs, trays or buckets; a container filler; a plastic film sealer; an over-cap denester; and a roller capper.

All these modules, Chagnon explains, are mounted onto a unique indexing conveyor design that can be adjusted within five minutes to fit round, square, rectangular or oval containers of different heights.

“Step-by-step, the machine moves the container to a succession of stations, where it automatically dispenses retail-type containers, brings them to the filler, and then activates the plastic film sealing unit before moving containers under the overcap depositer and on to the closing unit,” explains Chagnon, adding the line also works well with paperboard and aluminum trays.

Some of the FDS2500 line’s key operational features include: handling container sizes ranging in volume capacity from four ounces up to 20 pounds; and impressive filling speeds for dry and viscous products of up to 70-cpm (containers per minute) for one-pound tubs and 50-cpm for five-pound buckets.

The Micromaster 420 frequency inverters from Siemens are employed to control the speed of the line’s three-phase AC motors, ensuring optimal product changeovers.

A close-up view of a pair of Bosch Rexroth’s Mecman air valves installed on the FDS2500 line, along with accessory electronic componentry.

CANADIAN PACKAGING • NOVEMBER 2010

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Top-quality pneumatic components are used to securely apply plastic lids onto the filled wide-mouth plastic containers.

“I personally consider the FDS2500 to be our ‘best buy’ for a filling line,” says Chagnon, “with potential customers for this machine being basically anyone selling a product in a plastic cup, tub, bucket or a pail.”

High-performance automated filling equipment naturally requires the use of high-end automation components, which is why the FDS2500 line employs a compact, highly versatile, well-priced and very reliable Simatic Panel Touch human-machine interface manufactured by Siemens for its HMI (human-machine interface), as well as high-performance motors supplied by Leeson Electric Corporation.

“We buy Leeson motors because we’ve found them to work incredibly well with Siemens VFDs (variable frequency drives),” relates Chagnon, while also reserving special praise for the pneumatic cylinders supplied by SMC Pneumatics (Canada) Ltd., along with the pneumatic valves purchased through Bosch Rexroth Canada.

While Chagnon acknowledges that the strong Canadian dollar has made it more difficult for ControlGMC to sell into the U.S. in recent years, he’s optimistic that the unfolding economic recovery will help the company solidify its hard-earned marketplace gains in coming months.

“Just because the economy may not always be working in your favor, you can’t just sit there and cry about it— that’s just not our style,” says Chagnon, revealing that ControlGMC has actually used the high Canadian dollar to its advantage recently to purchase two new Mazak CNC metalworking machines.

“Not only has this investment helped us maintain our already low prices, these machines have also helped increase our production capacity and reduce our delivery times.

“We have done a good job to maintain a healthy bottom line during this last economic downturn,” Chagnon concludes, “and with the economy finally turning for the better, the future looks quite bright for us.”

For More Information: ControlGMC Inc. Siemens Canada Ltd. Leeson Canada SMC Pneumatics (Canada) Ltd. Bosch Rexroth Canada Mazak Corporation

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SAFETY

SAFE AND SOUND Vaunted food safety certification keeps corrugated producer in good stead with its key customers

BY JERRY SCOTT MILLS PHOTOS BY COLE GARSIDE

O

ver the past several years, the manufacturing sector in the province of Ontario—historically Canada’s industrial heartland—has undergone dramatic downsizing.

And as the province’s manufacturing base shrunk, packaging suppliers such as the Toronto-based corrugated container producer Atlantic Packaging Products Limited had to make some tough choices about which manufacturing industries offered best opportunities for future growth.

Faced with reduced demand for corrugated packaging from major industrial accounts, it made strategic sense for Atlantic to focus on securing future incremental business from Ontario’s food-and-beverage producers by growing its relationships with the current customers, while also offering a unique value proposition to new prospective clients.

To address this significant shift in demand for its products and services, in early 2009 Atlantic launched a thorough strategic review of its business to identify and understand the special needs of the local food-and-beverage industry segments and, based on its findings, devise a new strategy

A high-performance Martin Rapidset FFG 1228 NTRS flexographic folder-gluer from Bobst processes corrugated board at the Atlantic Packaging facility in Mississauga at speeds of up to 15,000 sheets per hour.

for expanding its business within this growing customer base.

Ultimately, this initiative set Atlantic on a path to become the world’s first corrugated company to obtain PACsecure certification—a proprietary, third-party audited, HACCP (Hazardous Analysis Critical Control Points)-based food safety packaging standard.

“It was becoming apparent that with the manufacturing industrial sector’s demand for corrugated containers being stuck in decline, any future volume growth would have to come from consumer goods—primarily the more stable food-and-beverage and pharmaceutical segments,” recalls Peter Garvey, vice-president of sales and marketing for the company’s Corrugated Division.

Rapid Response To respond to the changing market conditions, Garvey relates, the senior management put a “laser-like” focus on developing and executing a viable strategy that would enable all converting operations to do a better job of satisfying unresolved special needs of their food-and-beverage and pharma accounts.

“To make it happen, we developed a corporate strategic initiative, which would be initially introduced at our corrugated packaging operation in From left : Mississauga plant manger Dan Elliot and plant superintendent Renato Bernardino stand in front of some of Atlantic’s extensive fleet of delivery trucks. Inset : Quality control coordinator Ankur Parikh holds up a corrugated container manufactured for Pizza Pizza.

26 • WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

Mississauga, Ontario.”

With several high-profile instances of food product contamination dominating the headlines around that time, it soon became apparent that food safety was quickly emerging as one of the food-and-beverage industry’s leading hot-button issues, according to Atlantic’s national sales manager Martin Fidler.

“With the business-building strategy in place, we began connecting with prospective accounts and found ourselves talking more and more about a new role for corrugated packaging in consumer health protection,” recounts Fidler.

“Any situation reported as ‘endangering the health of consumers’ could have enduring impact on the reputation of that company and its products, so we wanted to do our part by eliminating any potential sources of contamination in our corrugated container plants.”

Dan Elliot, plant manager at the Mississauga facility, says obtaining HACCP certification for the plant became a central objective for the company’s new strategic initiative.

“We believed HACCP was in our future,” says Elliot. “To build volume in a declining market we needed to be able to fulfil the most demanding needs of food-and-beverage and pharmaceutical companies, meaning we had to become more like them in terms of process security and plant hygiene.”

Attaining that superior level of recognition among food-and beverage customers would mean securing the matching AIB (American Institute of Baking) or HACCP certification—a formidable challenge given that no Atlantic corrugating plant had been HACCP-certified before, and only one Continues on page 28

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SAFETY

SEW-Eurodrive motors are used to power some of the key Festo’s pneumatic components are used extensively to sections of the Bobst Martin equipment at the plant. operate a palletizing station at the Mississauga facility.

SAFE AND SOUND Continued from page 26

Atlantic specialty plant had previously obtained AIB certification.

According to Elliot, ensuring optimal quality and purity of corrugated packaging products supplied by Atlantic meant that the company’s own production and packaging processes had to be at least as effective as those of its customers.

“In order to become their ‘supplier of choice’ we had to offer something truly better—a higher level of disciplined quality assurance throughout our company’s entire production process,” he says. “Initially it was AIB, but our ultimate goal was HACCP.” According to Fidler, the Mississauga plant employees quickly got on-board—bolstered by the significant upfront investment and implementation of new process disciplines needed to make it happen, as well as full support of top management and ownership.

“Our senior management really ‘stepped up to the plate’ and approved the proposed critical path with a budget that represented a significant investment in our future, and this occurred during a period of relatively tough financial times for this industry and our customers,” Fidler points out.

“Everyone at every level shared a vision of industry leadership that would be exemplified by the Mississauga plant’s unique achievements during the coming year.”

To get the ball rolling, the plant’s quality control coordinator Ankur Parikh put together a proposed plan and budget based on what needed to be done at the facility—including a number of required equipment changes identified by Elliot as ‘likely needed’ to earn HACCP certification.

In addition, all equipment and tools at the plant had to be standardized and single-sourced.

Whereas machine operators formerly used their own tools at the workstations, there were now no

personal tools whatsoever being permitted on the plant f loor. With standardized sets of new tools supplied for every machine, Parikh relates, machine operators would be able to perform machine set-up quicker and more accurately.

But equipment and tooling aside, what really needed to take place was a sweeping cultural change, according to Parikh, driven by heightened awareness of the need for hazard avoidance through greater personal care and responsibility.

Work To Rule This meant banning personal items like cellphones from the plant f loor, not allowing coats and jackets to be carried to and from workstations, and keeping the entire plant clean and clutter-free at all times.

It was not an entirely easy sell, as Parikh recalls.

“The new HACCP procedures came as a bit of a surprise at first, especially to many longer-term employees who experienced a big change from what they had been accustomed during their years and decades of working at the Mississauga plant,” he relates. “When the stringent new rules were introduced, some plant personnel were upset.

“But they soon came to appreciate the need to create a completely hygienic production environment when it was explained that just one little peanut could make life miserable for someone with a serious peanut allergy who might come into contact with a contaminated corrugated packaging item used for our customer’s products.

“Wherever a food product claim like ‘Peanut Free’ appears on the primary package, its secondary container from Atlantic must support that promise,” Parikh asserts. “We simply cannot inadvertently put our customers, and their customers, at risk.”

But as employees began to appreciate they were making a product that enters the food production chain, he recounts, their attention to quality and detail evolved accordingly, while their production

A machine operator standing in a pit below the Rapidset FFG machine inspecting the quality of a printing plate.

records became more thorough, disciplined, and better organized for data recovery.

“It takes a lot of applied diligence to make the system work perfectly and earn total trust from our customers,” says Parikh, “but the end result is certainly worth the effort.”

After obtaining the AIB certification in July of 2009, Parikh recalls, the plant immediately started getting ready for an upcoming HACCP audit by leading third-party quality management systems registrar QMI Global.

“We were audited on November 24 of 2009, and our first-ever submission was approved, subject to minor corrective actions which were implemented immediately,” Parikh says. “On December 14, we attained the PACsecure registration, which we think was a real world-class achievement.”

The company’s major customers agree wholeheartedly.

“We are pleased to see Atlantic being progressive—they’ve done some really nice work upstream in improving their levels of service, quality and food safety,” says Steven James, head of procurement for PepsiCo Foods Canada.

“The HACCP credentials earned by Atlantic has given us added assurance that their packaging can deliver wholesomeness and food safety into our manufacturing environments,” James adds.

“It’s something we definitely take into account as part of our sourcing, and it is reassuring to have a partner we can count on for trusted support.”

Adds Marcelo Melo, director of quality assurance for the Pizza Pizza chain: “We take food safety seriously: Pizza Pizza has long required that our food ingredient suppliers be HACCP-certified, and Atlantic’s ability to meet HACCP requirements at their Mississauga plant has certainly positioned them at the forefront of our packaging suppliers.

“As part of our own quality assurance system, we periodically inspect our suppliers’ operations,” Melo expands, “but having the HACCP disciplines in place at Atlantic has given us the confidence to decrease the frequency of those on-site inspections.

“It’s a time- and cost-saving change that benefits both of our companies.”

Jerry Scott Mills is a freelance writer based in Oakville, Ont.

For More Information:

A close-up of a Valco Cincinnati gluer control panel installed on the Rapidset FFG 1228 NTRS to ensure optimal glue pattern formation and application.

28 • WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

Marcelo Melo, director of quality assurance and product development for Pizza Pizza and Pizza 73, surrounded by corrugated cartons manufactured by Atlantic Packaging.

Atlantic Packaging Products Ltd. Bobst Canada Inc. SEW-Eurodrive Co. of Canada Festo Inc. Valco Cincinnati Inc.

475 476 477 478 479

CANADIAN PACKAGING • NOVEMBER 2010

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low maintenance costs

EVENTS NOV. 24-28 Istanbul, Turkey: Printtek 2010, international print technologies and paper fair by International Istanbul Fairs. At Tüyap Fair Convention and Congress Center. To register, go to: www.printtekfair.com

DEC. 1-2 Düsseldorf, Germany: European Bioplastics Conference, by European Bioplastics. At Hilton Düsseldorf. To register, go to: www.european-bioplastics.org

DEC. 8-11 New Delhi, India: Labelexpo India 2010, labeling technologies conference and exhibition by Tarsus Group plc. At Pragati Maidan. To register, go to: www.labelexpo.com

2011 JAN. 25-28 Moscow, Russia: Upakovka/Upak Italia 2011, packaging technologies exhibitions by Messe Düsseldorf GmbH, concurrently with the Interplastica 2010 exhibition for plastics technologies. All at Krasnaya Presnya Expocenter. To register, go to: www.upakovka-upakitalia.de

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Anaheim, Ca.: WestPack, PLASTEC West, Pacific Design & Manufacturing, ATX (Automation Technology Expo) West, Electronics West, MD&M (Medical Design & Manufacturing) West, DesignMed 2011, AreoCon and Green Manufacting Expo, by Canon Communications LLC. All at the Anaheim Convention Center.

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107

ADVERTISERS’ & ARTICLES INDEX • Qty 2. 48” Thomas Accela Coaters 48-M-111 • Abacus Wraparound Labeler BA100/01GR • Semi-Auto S/S Auger Filler FLG-500A • Liquid Vertical Form Fill Sealer DXDG-100 • Benison L-Bar Sealer LSA-50 w/ Heat Tunnel • Matrix 337 Vertical Form Fill Sealer • Skin Packaging Machine, Model TB390 • New 48” S/S Feed and Accumulating Tables • Bartelt Horizontal Form Fill Sealer 7-14 • New & Used Net Weigh/Fillers(customizable) • Manesty Rotapress Mark II-A 61 Stn Tablet Press • Dott. Bonapace Blister Packager In-Pack

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30 • WWW.CANADIANPACKAGING.COM

R.S No. 101 102 103 104 105 107 106 108 109 110 111 112-117 118 126 120-125 128 129 130 131 132 133

ADVERTISER’S INDEX Page Atlantic Packaging Products 4 Berg Chilling Systems Inc. 25 Bobst Canada Inc. 27 6 Canadian Packaging CombiScale 23 Cryovac 19 HSBC Business 30 Industrial Dynamics/Filtec 16 Krones Machinery Co. Inc. 21 Markem-Imaje 29 Multivac Inc. 25 Premier Tech Ltd. 23 QuickLabel Systems, An Astro-Med Product Group 9 Robert Reiser & Co. Inc. 20 Salbro Bottle Inc. 7 Schneider Electric 10 SEW Eurodrive Co. of Canada 10,31 Sidel Solutions 17 StrongPoint Automation 7 Tsubaki of Canada Ltd. 2 VC999 Packaging Systems 6 Videojet Technologies Canada 3 WeighPack Systems Inc. 32

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NOVEMBER 2010

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CANADIAN PACKAGING • NOVEMBER 2010

MECHANICAL DRIVES

SEVERE DUTY CORROSION PROTECTION

the

F-SERIES SNUGGLER®

Parallel Helical Gearmotors SEW-Eurodrive’s F-Series parallel helical gearmotor lives up to its name as the ideal drive for tight space conditions. This compact drive, with its multiple mounting configurations, is a rugged alternative to right angled gearmotors.

SEW-Eurodrive has introduced a new line of aseptic gearmotors to meet the high levels of hygiene crucial to the production of food and beverages, as well as the stringent demands of the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. SEW has solved this challenge with the aseptic design of helical, parallel shaft helical, helical-bevel and helical-worm gearmotors made entirely of smooth stainless steel, cooled by pure convection cooling — eliminating conventional fan and cooling ribs, which prevents the build-up of germs and bacteria on the surface and allows for easy regular cleaning.

CORROSION PROTECTION PRODUCT RANGE Power ratings from 0.34 to 2.0 HP Can be mounted directly onto R, F, K, S-Series gear units in all standard positions FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE

124

F-SERIES PRODUCT RANGE

Energy Savings. Cost Savings.

Together at Last.

Power ratings from 0.05 to 336 HP Output speeds from 0.06 to 464 rpm (based on 4 pole motor) Output torques to 159,300 lb-in.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE

120

K-SERIES Helical-Bevel Gearmotors SEW-Eurodrive’s K-Series right angle helicalbevel gearmotors deliver maximum performance and reliability with 95%+ efficiency and high torque density. Durable gearing designed for long service life makes this drive an ideal choice for demanding around-the-clock applications.

K-SERIES PRODUCT RANGE Power ratings from 0.05 to 615 HP Output speeds from 0.05 to 326 rpm (based on 4 pole motor) Output torques to 442,500 lb-in.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE

121

S-SERIES Helical-Worm Gearmotors SEW-Eurodrive’s S-Series right angle gearmotors offer helical-before-worm gearing combining durability with power-packed performance in a compact design that requires no motor belts or couplings.

S-SERIES PRODUCT RANGE Power ratings from 0.05 to 46 HP Output speeds from 0.05 to 257 rpm Output torques to 35,400 lb-in.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE

122

Introducing DR Series

AC MOTORS and Brakemotors SEW-Eurodrive’s squirrel-cage motors and brakemotors deliver exceptional performance and reliability combined with low maintenance.

Designed for continuous duty under tough service conditions, these low-noise brakemotors are used wherever fast, safe braking is a major application requirement.

The built-in encoder is fully integrated into the motor, reducing the cost and complexity of encoder engineering as well as its footprint.

SEW-Eurodrives’s new DR Series of AC motors have been engineered from the ground up to meet motor demands of the 21st century: like high efficiency performance that complies with international standards; a compact footprint that saves space; a modular design that allows for three different brake sizes to be used with a single motor size; and a simple, integrated encoder that can be easily retrofitted. What’s more, these new motors can be integrated into SEW gearmotors, used as stand-alone motors or in decentralized control architectures.

The DR Series also comes in two energy efficient options: DRE (energy-efficiency) and DRP (premium efficiency).

Driving the world AC MOTORS PRODUCT RANGE FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE

Power ratings from 0.25 to 100 HP

125

2-, 4-, 6-, 8-, 4/8-, 2/6-, 2/8-pole plus others Integral brakes to fit all frames FOR MORE INFORMATION CIRCLE

Toronto (905) 791-1553

123

Montreal (514) 367-1124

Vancouver (604) 946-5535

www.sew-eurodrive.ca

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