COVER STORY
A Wexxar Belcor 250SS case sealer uses an adhesive tape to close cartons of Fruition product. A Mettler Toledo Hi-Speed checkweigher ensures proper weight of each pouch of fruit filling.
Featuring Rockwell Automation’s AllenBradley PanelView 1000 HMI (human-machine interface) all the vision, material handling and transferring equipment, this line also boasts a fullyautomatic palletizing cell, comprising an automatic pallet dispenser, a Lantech automatic stretchwrapper, and an ABB model IRB 660 palletizing robot with a PanelView 1000 HMI terminal. Alboim says the JLS Osprey case-packing cells utilize vision-based technology for tracking of both the product and the cases—allowing for very fast changeover and agility by bypassing the need for mechanical f lights or accumulation for picking. “We can effectively increase efficiency on the cells by picking on angles in random positions and loading dynamically through the index,” Alboim explains. Working with one of their other strategic partners, JLS also supplied the conveyance lines that join all of the equipment together. The conveyors are powered by strategically positioned SEW-Eurodrive motors to ensure even transfer along the packaging line. Says Alboim: “Each conveyor is controlled and synched to the PLC (programmable logic controller) independently, and each has its own VFD (variable frequency drive) so that we can tweak the infeed discharge to create gaps between the pouches on the conveyor, and adjust performance accordingly.” The entire line was also built with stainless-steel
Domino’s M-Series Plus print-and-apply system attaching product labels to the panel of each Fruition shipping carton.
conduit to facilitate easy assembly and for sanitary purposes. While Love thinks that JLS and MD Packaging did a great job on the packaging line, he also gives praise to Falls Electric of Niagara Falls, Ont., which “did a lot of wiring in our facility for the line to operate properly—and did so quickly and effectively.” The Osprey case-packers were the first part of the line to be installed—quickly followed by the palletizing side—but Love says that the whole project was all about collaboration. “We believe that collaboration is the cornerstone to any successful implementation, and we did not want to compromise that feeling.” Alboim agrees: “For us, Fruition represents over a year of collaboration prior to purchase in trying to understand their requirements—both existing and future—and designing a system agile enough to accommodate both.”
Busy Year While every step in the project created its own challenges, Fruition worked well with both MD and JLS to resolve issues without compromising the initial intention of MD Packaging, which was to provide an automated line that would take Fruition further than expected in production capabilities for years to come.
And so far, it has worked. Love notes that while the filling speed remains the same, along with saving line workers some serious lifting, Fruition has seen the same jobs completed in eight hours, compared to 10 with the manual packing. “We created a safer work environment, but we also have increased our throughput, meaning we can now handle larger orders from our customer base, which they are taking advantage of,” states Love. Love also credited his employees for their dedication to performing at a high level to make the switch to an automated packaging line virtually seamless. Alboim agrees: “The people at Fruition are among the most dedicated I’ve seen—always rising to the task and always willing to do what it takes to get the job done. “Introducing automation like this into a facility takes a great deal of willingness from people to dive in and help when it’s needed, and the people of Fruition made the transition very easy.” Adds Love: “I think it helps a great deal that Fruition has a very engaged staff of people committed to quality, which is important not only to us, but also to them because everyone eats the product as consumers. “We know that if we continue to put out a safe, quality product, we will continue our impressive growth well into the future,” Love sums up. “Our new packaging line from MD and JLS has been a great addition to our already existing high company ideals.”
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A Festo servomotor incorporated into the design of Wexxar’s WF 30 case erector installed on the new packaging line.
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MD Packaging Inc. JLS Automation Cryovac (a div. of Sealed Air Corp.) Domino Printing Solutions Wexxar Packaging, Inc. Mettler-Toledo International Inc. Cognex Corporation Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. ABB Inc. Rockwell Automation, Inc. Lantech Inc. Falls Electric SEW-Eurodrive Co. of Canada Ltd. Festo Inc.
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CANADIAN PACKAGING • SEPTEMBER 2012