Software as a Service (SaaS) in the cloud can accelerate in novation, improve scalability and increase agility, according to Rockwell Automation (Booth S-1660). Faster troubleshoot ing, enhanced productivity, on-demand scaling and improved collaboration are real-world benefits of this tool. SD
PACK EXPO International is ending a highly succesful run today with attendance that will exceed the 2018 edition (the previous in-per son show). “The industry has never been busier,” noted Jim Pittas, president and CEO of PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies (Booth N-4550) at a press briefing on Monday, Oct. 24.
An ambitious 23-year-old, Fred Neth Sr., started Columbia Machine (Booth N-4721) in 1937. At some point, the com pany built a machine to stack concrete blocks on a pallet. At an open house in the early 1960s, the owner of Lucky Brewery saw the machine and asked if the same principle could be used to stack beer on a pallet, and the Palletizer Division was born. SD Kirk returns home
Kirk-Rudy (Booth S-3278) welcomes Caroline Kirk as vice president of Operations. The grand daughter of Kirk-Rudy founder Harry Kirk brings a background in marketing and operations and will focus on those areas as well as employee engagement. She says, “Over the past 55 years, Kirk-Rudy has developed a reputation for offering best-in-class mailing, printing, packaging and RFID solutions. I look forward to continuing the Kirk-Rudy legacy and supporting the next generation of company growth.” SD
Inspection, weighing and metal detection from Heat and Con trol (Booth N-4704, N-4706) protect product integrity. Sophis ticated image processing of the IX-series x-ray inspection systems reliably detect contaminants, while checkweighers verify package weight or count. THS-Series metal detectors feature superior sensitivity to detect magnetic, non-magnetic and stainless-steel metal contaminants. SD
PACK EXPO International may be winding down, but a full schedule of events lies ahead with EXPO PACK Guadalajara (June 13-15, 2023) and PACK EXPO Las Vegas (Sept. 11-13, 2023).
EXPO PACK Guadalajara offers many tradition al PACK EXPO components including educational sessions on the Innovation Stage. More than 17,000
buyers from Mexico and Latin America are expected to tour the show floor, which houses more than 700 exhibitors.
PACK EXPO Las Vegas will return to the Las Vegas Convention Center and include many ele ments seen in Chicago, including The Processing Zone, The Logistics Pavilion and the Healthcare Packaging Pavilion. Other PACK EXPO Las Ve gas events include a strong educational schedule with the Innovation Stage, the Processing Innova tion Stage, The Forum and the Reusable Packaging Learning Center. Attendees also will be able to enjoy a golf tournament to benefit the PMMI Foundation, a PACK gives BACK fundraiser and a Packaging &
Yesterday’s Packaging & Processing Women’s Leadership Network (PPWLN) Breakfast drew a crowd of more than 1,000.
Tracy Stout, vice president, Marketing at PMMI, The Association of Packaging and Processing Technologies (Booth N-4550), introduced a new resource, the Voices of Women in Packaging and Pro cessing Report, prepared in conjunction with the OpX Leadership Network (Booth N-4550)
Keynote speaker Dawn Hudson, former chief marketing officer at the National Football League (NFL) and CEO of Pepsi Cola North America, talked about her experiences in male-dominated
Four exhibitors have won a 2022 Technolo gy Excellence Award. Attendees at PACK EXPO International selected the four from a field of 12 finalists, which were narrowed from a significantly larger field of submissions made by exhibitors.
Winners were named in four categories: Food & Beverage, General Packaging & Processing, Personal Care & Pharma and Sustainability.
The Food & Beverage award was given to Berry Global (Booth N-4727) for its Proxima tethered
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Available in single- and multiturn resolution, the Model A58SB absolute bus encoder from Encoder Products (Booth S-4026) handles applications where an encoder needs to retain position information after power-off scenarios. With absolute positioning, the controller “knows” exactly where the machine is at all times and doesn’t need to rehome. SD
The newly aligned BW Converting Solutions platform brings together five Barry-Wehmiller (Booth S-2100) converting companies to serve the tissue, nonwovens, hygiene, bag-converting, mailing and printing indus tries. This group is presenting the Ares 400-SUP standup pouch machine from Hudson-Sharp. SD
Marchesini Group USA (Booth W-17005) celebrates its 30th anniversary. Since 1992, the New Jersey-based staff has provided sales and after-sales services to pharmaceutical, nutra ceutical and cosmetics brand owners in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. SD
Integrated packaging and distribution services from Thermo Fisher Scientific (Booth N-5706) support the specialized needs of cell and gene therapies. The solution ensures supply chain integrity from storage, serialization, ultracold and cryo genic packaging and global distribution. SD
Firmware advances to Control Station V7.5 from Simco-Ion (Booth N-5020) provide Sensor Priority that accelerates IQ sensor reporting to the unit and instantly posts static measure ments on the human/machine interface. Data and error mes saging also are updated to the PLC. SD
The PRO Series Case system from Teledyne TapTone (Booth S-4126) is designed for noncontact, nondestructive, 100% au tomatic container inspection through a sealed corrugated and/ or shrink-wrapped case. Acoustic or proximity technology in spects glass jars with metal closures or metal cans for pressure or vacuum. In many applications, the system will detect other flaws such as missing or damaged containers or lids. SD
Processing Women’s Leadership Network event.
Looking farther into the future, PMMI will launch a new show in 2025, PACK EXPO Southeast (Mar. 10-12, 2025) at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.
The southeast is home to some of the top manu facturing sectors in the country, and this show will
(Awards continued from page 1) closure.
The General Packaging & Processing award went to IMA North America (Booth S-2514) for the IMA Vegatronic 6400 vertical form/fill/seal machine.
In the Personal Care & Pharma category, the
reach a customer base that is currently untapped by a trade show opportunity. It will laser-focus on the southeast market, as PACK EXPO East does for the northeast concentration of customers.
Stay tuned for details. For more information, visit www.PMMI.org. SD
prize went to Eurotrol (Booth W-13027) for its CueSee Mix dual-chambered device.
The Sustainability award went to Graphic Pack aging International (Booth S-1730) for its Clip Combo™. SD
Glue-free carton and tray form ing saves energy, maintenance and material cost, according to Syntegon Packaging Technology (Booth S-3514), which debuts its latest Sigpack TTM car toner. A lock-style process accommodates recyclable materials, since it doesn’t require any gluing steps to securely close the carton. SD
Conveyor components and fric tion-reducing parts portfolio from POBCO (Booth N-6038) includes roller chain guides, bear ings, guide rails, rollers, sprockets, wear profiles, belt guides and custom-machined parts. Materials include a variety of FDA-compliant plastics, high-temperature-resistant options, lube-filled hardwood and metals. SD
environments beginning with college at Dartmouth, which at the time had a ratio of 10%/90% women to men.
She emphasized the importance of taking a per sonal approach, getting to know people and be ing true to yourself. “You win by leveraging your strengths,” she said. That said, she noted, “When things get tough is when you learn the most.”
She encouraged leaders to be very clear about what the team is trying to achieve. “People that un derstand the goal can bring better solutions.”
She also stressed the need to meet problems head on and described how the NFL, in the aftermath of the Josh Brown elevator assault of his then-fiancé used its forum at the Super Bowl to educate the au dience about domestic abuse. “It was one of the top 10 commercials that year,” she reported, and helped reverse a loss in female fans.
Although improving the status of women in the workplace has been a concern for decades, not much has changed. So Hudson and a group of women business leaders, who were once with PepsiCo, joined forces to educate the workforce. With the advent of the pandemic, speaking events gave way to the group meeting virtually to collect stories about their expe riences. The stories eventually became the book, You Should Smile More: How to Dismantle Gender Bias in the Workplace, to provide advice for young women in 31 situations.
brand (Booth N-5544), Morrison Container Han dling Solutions (Booth N-4906), Plexpack (Booth S-3374), Septimatech Group (Booth N-5934) and SMC Corporation of America (Booth S-3982).
The Model IF315 top loader from Cama North America (Booth S-3386) employs a vision-guided RB590 Triaflex deltastyle robot for flexible cartoning, wraparound case packing and tray packing in a monobloc frame. The compact system easily handles flexible or rigid product in secondary and tertiary pack aging. SD
Sponsors of the event include BW Packag ing Systems (Booth S-2100), Emerson (Booth N-4736), ID Technology, a ProMach product
The Packaging & Processing Women’s Leadership Network serves to recruit, retain and advance wom en’s careers in packaging and processing through online and in-person events, information-sharing and networking. Join the Packaging & Processing Women’s Leadership Network group on LinkedIn to connect with peers and learn about upcoming events. For more info, visit www.PMMI.org/ppwln. SD
The certification, awarded to its Grand Rapids, MI, Perfor mance Flexibles facility, allows Pregis (Booth S-3834) to engi neer certified circular films for food, medical and other perfor mance-critical applications. SD
The Fresh ‘N Clear® salad container line from Placon (Booth W-24033) combines a tamper-evident (TE) feature with a minimum of 25% EcoStar® post-consumer (PCR) polyeth ylene terephthalate. Ten formats are available, including a me dium and a large footprint clamshell with a dome or flat lid to provide merchandising flexibility. SD
Editorial Director
Hallie Forcinio
Kari Moosmann and Barbara Rook
Production Manager
Mary Thorne
Debi Friedmann
IT/Production Support
Manny Dominguez
Miles Boone, George Burns and Martina Magnusson
Dave Newcorn, President, PMMI Media Group
Wendy Sawtell, Vice President, Sales, PMMI Media Group
Sunday – Tuesday: 11:00 am – 3:00 pm Happy hour: 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm Wednesday: 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
The revised “One Voice Factory Acceptance Tests – Protocols for Capital Equipment in the CPG Industry” work product improves the factory acceptance test (FAT) process.
Developed by the OpX Leadership Network (Booth N-4550), the Factory Acceptance Tests work product is designed to resolve FAT criteria, expectations and miscommunications that often result in unbudgeted travel and material costs, increased timelines and overall confusion for consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
This update includes new leadership guidance, additional review of respon sibilities for OEMs and end users, and the integration of the Virtual FAT work product as an appendix rather than a standalone product.
“When conducting an effective FAT, clear communication between all par ties is critical,” says Bryan Griffen, senior director, industry services at PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies (Booth N-4550), convener of the OpX Leadership Network. “This latest update helps streamline that communication and facilitate a more productive FAT, regardless of whether it is virtual or in-person.”
The OpX Leadership Network was founded in 2011 by PMMI to ensure CPG companies and OEMs are connected and well-prepared to solve common opera tional challenges, make smarter decisions and achieve operational excellence.
The revised FAT work product and other operational resources are available for free by downloading at opxleadershipnetwork.org/projects/download.
For more info, visit www.opxleadershipnetwork.org. SD
Winners in the sixth annual Manufacturing Innovation Awards com petition, sponsored by ProFood World, were honored yesterday at PACK EXPO International. The awards recognize outstanding food and beverage processing and packaging innovation projects involving greenfield plants, expansion and renovation projects or line upgrades.
Mark Anthony Brewing was recognized for its new 1.3-million-sq.-ft. stateof-the-art, fast-track greenfield brewery located in Columbia, SC, which was planned and built in less than a year, a process that typically takes four to six years. The new facility is the largest and most technologically advanced brewery built in the U.S. in the past 28 years.
Sugarlands Distilling, a craft brewer of moonshine, rum, cream liqueurs and rye whiskey, also was honored. Its 32,000-sq.-ft. facility in Kodak, TN, recently under went a $28 million expansion project to support increased production. The highly automated and flexible operation allows for a more streamlined approach to poten tial future expansion and delivers increased throughput, quality and asset utilization.
For more info, visit www.ProFoodWorld.com. SD
Ryson Spiral Conveyors need less floor space than conventional conveyors and are faster and more reliable than any elevator or lift.
Unit Load Spirals convey cases, totes and packaged goods smoothly on our slat style belts and come in 9 standard slat widths ranging from 6” to 30”. Available in powder coated carbon steel, stainless steel, wet environment and freezer versions.
Mass Flow Spirals handle full and empty bottles, cans and jars in mass up to 2000 units per minute. Available in 4 different slat widths ranging from 6” to 20”.
Narrow Trak Spirals are super compact and designed to handle your smaller loads. Our 6” and 9” wide nesting slats can end-transfer small cartons and packages or side-transfer small bottles and containers in a single file or in mass at speeds in excess of 200 FPM.
Ryson’s Bucket Elevators combine vertical and horizontal transportation of bulk materials in one integral unit.
Ryson Bucket Elevators are designed for gentle handling and well-suited to transport a broad range of bulk products. Our signature feature is that they are completely enclosed with overlapping pivoting buckets, that prevent spillage and helps mitigate foreign debris.
Their modular design enables us to customize with ease. They can be configured with multiple inlets or outlets that can be controlled individually. The design makes them easy to install and modify. Available in three standard bucket sizes, yielding capacities up to 300, 700 or 1,800 cubic feet per hour. They can also be delivered in powder-coated carbon-steel, stainless-steel or wet environment versions.
www.ryson.com
Watch our detailed Bucket Elevator Video
PAC Machinery (Booth S-3314) rebrands Converting Technology, its Rollbag® bags and materials business, as PAC Machinery Bags and Ma terials. The rebranding coincides with the launch of a website, which uni fies all of PAC’s packaging equipment divisions and brands.
Packaging
PAC Machinery Bags and Materials sells Rollbag pre-opened bags in roll stock or fan-folded formats. The industry-standard bags can be used on virtu ally all brands of automatic baggers. Other products include tubing, coextrud ed poly mailers, poly tubing, side-load bags, medical bags, suffocation warning bags, thermal-transfer ribbon and sustainable packaging options. Products are in stock or available with competitive lead times.
“2022 is a pivotal year for PAC Machinery as bagger sales continue to break . . . records,” says Greg Quinn, GM, PAC Machinery Bags and Materials. “How ever,” he notes, “the most common feedback we hear from customers is that they did not realize we were part of PAC Machinery. Our objective with the rebrand ing is to emphasize that PAC can be a one-stop shop for bags, supplies and for the Rollbag brand of automatic baggers.”
As part of the name change, a new logo is being rolled out for the bags and materials business and a materialsales@pacmachinery.com email has been estab lished. All previously used email addresses remain active.
For more info, visit www.pacmachinery.com. SD
Depending on how much support is needed, Syntegon Packaging Tech nology (Booth S-3514) offers a service level to match. From level to level, Syntegon’s commitment increases as your risk decreases. All at a fixed price.
Excellent service and continuous support by Syntegon experts are guaran teed, allowing end users to focus on their core business. Long-term contracts foster a close partnership.
Simply choose the service package that best suits operational needs. Not sure which level is right for you? A Syntegon expert can assist in determining the perfect maintenance strategy.
For more info, visit www.syntegon.com. SD
At the general meeting of OMAC - The Organization for Machine Au tomation and Control (Booth N-5100), Spencer Cramer of e3, incom ing chair, reported on the update of the PackML standard. It has been defined, documented, printed and submitted to ISA as TR 88.00.02. ISA has approved it, and it is expected to be available for download in November 2022.
Other OMAC publications include the Practical Guide for Remote Access to Plant Equipment, published in January 2021, and Security Considerations for Re mote Access, published in January 2022. The next report in the series from the Digital Transformation Workgroup is devoted to data governance and scheduled to be published in the first quarter of 2023. It will define terminology and discuss ownership, usage and sharing of data.
This spring, the OMAC Board of Directors hammered out and adopted a new strategy document to guide the group, with the overarching goal of making membership stronger. A Technical Advisory Board helps direct the organization, which is further organized into workgroups devoted to Digital Transformation, Packaging and Manufacturing.
The group thanked outgoing chair Ronald MacDonald, senior principal re search engineer at Nestlé, who is retiring; honored the recipient of the 2022 John A. Kowal Memorial Scholarship, Ron Marchionna of the Milwaukee School of Engineering; and welcomed the following nine new members:
(Booth S-4062)
For more info, visit www.omac.org. SD
Lanyards keep registration badges close at hand. Aisle banners help attendees navigate the show floor. Both are sponsored by WestRock (Booth S-2130)
Attendees are no doubt grateful for having WiFi access during the show, courtesy of Impackt Packaging Solutions (Booth LU-8901).
Shout out to LAPP USA (Booth LU-8758) for sponsoring the Lake side Backyard Bistro, where attendees can get a quick bite while taking a break from the busy show floor.
At the First Timers’ lounge, sponsored by ProMach (Booth N-5534, N-5540), attendees new to the show can ask questions of show staff, access product locators and more.
The PACK EXPO Exhibitor and Member Lounges, sponsored by Lenze Americas (Booth N-5239), provides an area away from the show floor for exhibitors and members to meet, rest and enjoy refreshments.
PACK EXPO attendees were greeted each morning by eye-opening stair graphics, courtesy of Syntegon Packaging Technologies (S-3514), which also sponsored the Candy Bar Lounge (Booth S-2583)
OxyStar barrier material utilizes a multilayer PET with an oxygen scavenging agent. PET has a naturally low oxygen transmission rate (OTR) and this construction slows down the flow of oxygen molecules through the package from the outside. Once the scavenger agent finds an oxygen molecule, it attaches to it and binds the oxygen within the sidewall of the package to keep your product fresh and lasting longer.
Students will participate in the annual Amazing Packaging Race this morn ing. Coordinated by show producer PMMI, The Association for Pack aging and Processing Technologies (Booth N-4550), and sponsored by Emerson (Booth N-4736), the race brings together 35 teams from 22 high schools and colleges across the U.S. to complete a series of challenges at exhibi tor’s booths spread out across more than 1.2 million net-sq.-ft. of exhibit space.
“This year’s competition was our largest to date,” reports Kate Fiorianti, di rector, Workforce Development, PMMI.
For more info, visit www.PACKEXPOinternational.com. SD
Allen Field Company LU-8914
B&R Industrial Automation S-3572 Baumer hhs N-4619
Beckhoff Automation S-3882 Belden LU-7058
Packaging Systems S-2100 Daubert Cromwell LU-8608
Dorner N-5725 Duravant
Econocorp
Automation
IV Technologies N-4936 Frazier & Son N-4913 Fresh-lock By Presto Products S-3541
IoPP (Institute of Packaging Professionals) N-4523, W-20052
ITW Hartness N-5132
Americas
USA
Morrison Container Handling Solutions
Group
Machinery
Digital Industries
Packaging Machinery
a ProMach product brand
W-17002
Wherever you are and whatever your industry, there’s a PACK EXPO event to provide solutions you need today and the inspiration for tomorrow.
June 13-15, 2023 Guadalajara, Mex.
Sept. 11-13, 2023 Las Vegas, USA
March 18-20, 2024 Philadelphia, USA
June 11-14, 2024 Mexico City, Mex.
Nov. 3-6, 2024 Chicago, USA
The PACK EXPO Association Partner Pro gram connects attendees to leading associ ations from all segments of packaging and processing. This year’s program, the largest in PACK EXPO history, offers an unparalleled breadth and depth of industry knowledge to attendees.
The Association Partner Pavilion, in the North Hall, provides a central location for attendees to ac cess these resources. Participants in the 2022 PACK EXPO International Association Partner Program are listed at the bottom of this page.
New this year is the Association Partner Plus des ignation and Industry Meets schedule of ancillary events and meetings hosted by groups listed in the far right column. Events include a hygienic equip ment design seminar, design for recycling training, a fluid power forum and Fundamentals of Medical Device Packaging course. Check the PACK EXPO International App or show website for the latest schedule and pre-registration requirements.
“We are thrilled with the positive response to the Association Partner Program and newly launched In dustry Meets Program,” says Laura Thompson, vice president of Trade Shows at show producer PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Tech nologies (Booth N-4550). “PACK EXPO Interna tional is making a triumphant return to Chicago after four years away, and it is only possible with the strong support of these prestigious associations.”
Another new feature, the Industry Speaks Stage (Booth N-4565), offers educational sessions led by experts from PACK EXPO Partner Associations and focused on hot-button topics and trends across
multiple industry verticals. A schedule of sessions can be found on p. 20, the PACK EXPO Interna tional App or show website.
In addition to the Association Partner Program, PMMI has partnered with industry associations from
CCPIT - China Council for the Promotion of International Trade
CFPMA - China Food and Packaging Machinery Industry Association
Confederation of the Danish Industry (Booth LU-7560)
Fundacion Argentina para la Promocion de Inversiones y Comercio Internacional (Booth LU-8755)
INP – Brazilian Plastic Institute/Think Plastic Brazil (Booth W-25011)
Italian Trade Agency (Booth LU-8541)
Korean Packaging Machinery Association
Mouvement Des Enterprises De France International (Booth N-5564)
Switzerland Global Enterprise
UCIMA – Italian Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Association (Booth N-6002)
VDMA – Food Processing and Packaging Machinery Association
across the globe to host pavilions on the show floor. International Pavilion Organizer Partners include the 11 organizations listed under Pavilion Hosts.
For more info, visit www.PACKEXPOinternational.com. SD
3-A Sanitary Standards (Booth N-5901)
Active & Intelligent Packaging Industry Association (Booth N-5802)
Cold Pressure Council (Booth N-4525)
Contract Packaging Association (Booth N-4518)
Flexible Packaging Association (Booth N-4533)
Institute of Packaging Professionals (Booth N-4523)
International Bottled Water Association
MHI Automation Industry Groups (Booth N-5701)
National Fluid Power Association
OMAC – The Organization for Machine Automation and Control (Booth N-5100)
The Association of Plastic Recyclers (Booth N-5902)
AIM (Booth N-5000)
AIMCAL - The Association of International Metallizers, Coaters and Laminators (Booth N-4527)
Asociacion Mexicana de Envase y Embalaje
ASD Turkish Packaging Manufacturers Association (Booth N-4900)
Australian Institute of Packaging
ABRE – Brazilian Packaging Association (Booth N-6003)
CANAINCA
Chicagoland Food & Beverage Network (Booth N-4511)
Composite Can and Tube Institute (Booth N-4512)
Digital Twin Consortium (Booth N-6102)
Foil & Specialty Effects Association (Booth N-4536)
F4SS – Foundation for Supply Solutions
Flexographic Technical Association (Booth N-4510)
In-Mold Decorating Association (Booth N-4534)
IAE - Instituto Argentino del Envase (Booth N-6101)
International Society of Beverage Technologists (Booth N-5702)
ISTA - International Safe Transit Association (Booth N-4537)
Midwest Food Products Association
National Confectioners Association (Candy Bar Lounge, Booth S-2583)
OPC Foundation (Booth N-5001)
PLCopen (Booth N-5002)
Reusable Packaging Association (Booth LU-6737)
SNAC International (Booth N-5801)
The Anuga FoodTec Family
The Australian Packaging and Processing Machinery Association
The Paper and Packaging Board
The Tube Council of North America (Booth W-20052)
UCIMA – Italian Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Association (Booth N-6002)
U.S. Department of Commerce (Booth N-4901)
World Packaging Organisation (Booth N-4902)
Theinteractive PACK to the Future Exhibit (Booth W-20001) celebrates the role of pack aging and processing throughout history and the impact it is poised to have on the future. The exhibit follows the evolution of modern packaging and pro cessing over 250 years to the present and shifts to ex plore key trends shaping the future in daily live sessions on the PACK to the Future Stage (Booth W-20025)
Launched in 2021 at PACK EXPO Las Vegas, the curated, interactive PACK to the Future exhibit tells the story of packaging and people who saw a better way, solved challenges and provided the foun dation for today’s—and tomorrow’s—innovations.
The exhibit includes:
• 30 historial packaging machines and replicas dating back to the 1800s
• Timeline walls displaying 250 years of history
• An area dedicated to women in packaging and processing
• An interactive display of past, present and future sustainability efforts, including a Corrugated Car of the Future Virtual Reality (VR) Experience. Sponsored by The Paper and Packaging Board, the experience allows attendees to sit in a replica of a futuristic car and use a VR headset to learn about sus
tainable packaging and the industry’s Box to Nature program, an initiative to educate consumers about the importance of recycling corrugated materials and boxes
• An interactive audio tour revealing interesting facts and historical details
• Fun quizzes that test attendees’ knowledge of the industry.
Each day on the PACK to the Future Stage, indus try experts provide 30-minute presentations on cut ting-edge advancements in sustainability, circularity, net-zero goals, returnables and manufacturing trends.
The session schedule is outlined below. PACK EXPO International offers many other free educa tional opportunities, including the long-running In novation Stage (Booth N-4560, N-4580, N-4585) plus the new Processing Innovation Stage (Booth LU-7130) (see schedule, p. 24), The Forum at PACK EXPO (Booth N-4543) (see schedule, p. 34) and the new Industry Speaks (Booth N-4565) (see schedule, at right). The Reusable Packaging Learning Center (Booth LU-6737) also presents educational sessions.
Updated schedules may be found on the PACK EXPO International App or the show website.
For more info, visit www.PACKEXPOinternational.com. SD
9:30-10:00 AM
Urgent focus is being directed at climate change, greener transportation, fresh food, clean water, Circu lar Economy, plastic waste and renewable feedstocks. This presentation relays these challenges through the UN Sustainability Development Goals and outlines solutions to support downstream customers as they set their sustainability and Circular Economy goals.
Leader, Circular Economy, Americas SABIC
10:30-11:00 AM
PET recycling is at a crossroads as the industry drives toward 2025 goals. Brands, consumers, regulatory agencies and NGOs support systemic improvements, while known limitations restrain success. We will con sider what is reasonably possible for increased PET recycling, what changes are needed, and what the rPET industry might look like in 2025.
Steve Lyons
Dir of Strategic Environmental Analysis SBAcci Consulting Group
11:30-12:00 PM
An examination of the future of pharmaceutical packaging as it becomes more sustainable and meets the needs for greater convenience, self-administered drugs, reduced hospital stays and serving patients at home. We also will look at how past and present inno vations focused on meeting patient and product needs offer a path for the future.
Ron Yakubison
Exec Dir, Global Technology Packaging Merck
12:30-1:00 PM
The paper industry, partnering with the Paper and Packaging Board, is introducing a residential recy cling shipping box messaging initiative called Box to Nature. The partnership is working with customers and large brands to educate consumers about the box with easy instructions on recycling right, every time. Learn about how to become part of this initiative.
Mary Anne Hansan PresidentPaper and Packaging Board SD
The Industry Speaks Stage (Booth N-4565) offers educational sessions led by experts from PACK EXPO Partner Associations and focused on hot-button topics and industry trends across multiple industry verticals.
10:30-11:00 AM
Using data from our State of the Industry Report, member feedback and our RFQ platform, we will dive into the demands of this dynamically growing indus try. Often a confusing and frustrating segment, these essential providers of capabilities and services are ad dressing the needs of emerging brands as well as lega cy brands seeking to launch new food and CPG retail products. We will explore how CoMans and CoPacks are adding value as consumer- and market-driven needs are moving the packaged goods supply chain. Learn how the newest and innovative products have become key opportunities for CoMans. Understand how brands are adapting to meet new challenges with strategic CoMan and CoPack partnerships and accel erate time to market.
Carl Melville President Melville group on behalf of Contract Packaging Association SD
WestRock (Booth S-2130) presents win ning entries from worldwide packaging competitions as the exclusive sponsor of this year’s Showcase of Packaging Innovations® (Booth W-20052).
“At WestRock, we are focused on delivering bold innovation to solve our customers’ biggest challeng es,” says Margaret Herndon, the company’s chief marketing officer. “The Showcase displays the best the industry has to offer in packaging innovation, and we are excited to be part of a program that en gages customers and generates new thinking and new solutions.”
Show producer, PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies (Booth N-4550), is pleased to partner with WestRock on this initiative.
“The Showcase of Packaging Innovations has come to be a show floor favorite at PACK EXPO,” says Jim Pittas, president and CEO, PMMI. “We are thankful for companies like WestRock who seek to inspire the future of our industry and motivate package designers by showcasing packaging that is functional, innovative and sustainable.”
This year’s Showcase participants include 13 or ganizations from around the world. A sampling of the award winners on display is pictured here.
For more info, visit www.PACKEXPOinternational.com, www.westrock. com, www.abre.org.br, www.aimcal.org, www.dow.com, www.flexpack.org, www.fsea.com, www.imdassociation. com, www.packaging.com.ar, iopp.org, www.profood world.com, https://paperbox.org/, www.reusables.org, www.tube.org, www.worldpackaging.org. SD
The Best in Show package in IoPP’s AmeriStar competi tion, Blue Buffalo Tastefuls Spoonless Singles from General Mills and Product Ventures, provides a perfectly portioned split cup with a built-in chopper. The recyclable polypropyl ene split cup separates easily, reducing the need to store opened containers in the refrigerator.
ABRE - Brazilian Packaging Association (Booth N-6003)
AIMCAL - Association of International Metallizers, Coaters and Laminators (Booth N-4527)
Dow (Booth W-22017) Dow Packaging Innovation Awards
Flexible Packaging Association (Booth N-4533)
Foil & Specialty Effects Association (Booth N-4536)
In-Mold Decorating Association (Booth N-4534)
IAE - Instituto Argentino del Envase (Booth N-6101)
Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP) (Booth N-4523)
PMMI Media Group (Booth N-4550)
ProFood World’s 2021 Sustainability Excellence in Manufacturing Awards
Paperboard Packaging Council (Booth W-20052)
Reusable Packaging Association (Booth LU-6737)
Tube Council of North America (Booth W-20052)
World Packaging Organisation (WPO) (Booth N-4902)
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Ready-to-use (RTU) disposable syringes provide security, hygiene and dosing accuracy for medical injections. The NFL/2, manufactured by Dara and sold in North America by NJM, is a combination of filling and closing equipment for RTU disposable syringes in nests. The syringes are supplied pre-sterilized and ready to be processed, and therefore require no washing, sterilization, or special transportation.
Filling & closing machine for syringes in a nest.
Manual or automatic positioning of the nest, depending on the model of the machine
Dosing through valveless rotary piston pumps or peristaltic pumps
• Automatic infeed and positioning of plungers or stoppers
Production speed: up to 5,200 units per hour
October 23-26, 2022 McCormick Place Chicago, Illinois USA
Anattendee favorite, the Innovation Stage, returns to PACK EXPO In ternational with more than 50 informative sessions. The free, 30-minute presentations occur throughout each day on three stages (Booth N-4560, N-4580 and N-4585) in the concourse of the North Building near Starbucks.
Topics include sustainability and eCommerce, building a resilient supply chain, automating minimal material operations, cyber resilience, robotics, upgrading from heat sealing to ultrasonic sealing, brand protection and smart sensors.
New this year, after a successful launch at PACK EXPO Las Vegas, the Pro cessing Innovation Stage (Booth LU-7130) in the Lakeside Center concourse featured sessions on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday focused on high-pressure pas teurization, product handling, batching and blending, clean-out-of-place parts washers and sanitary drainage system design.
Innovation Stage presenters rank as subject matter experts and represent a cross-section of exhibitors, including Syntegon Packaging Technology (Booth S-3514), Amcor Rigid Packaging (Booth S-3705, S-3814), Placon
(Booth W-24033), SMAC Moving Coil Actuators (Booth N-5774), Mich igan State University (Booth W-20044), Siemens Digital Industries (Booth N-5148), WestRock (Booth S-2130), Amcor Flexibles North America (Booth S-3705, S-3814), Brenton, a ProMach product brand (Booth N-5546), Emer son (Booth N-4736), Soft Robotics (Booth N-5230) and JBT-Avure (Booth LU-7118)
PACK EXPO International offers many other educational opportunities, in cluding PACK to the Future (Booth W-20025) (see program, p. 20), The Forum at PACK EXPO (Booth N-4543) (see program, p. 34), and the new Industry Speaks (Booth N-4565) (see program, p. 20). The Reusable Packaging Learning Center (Booth LU-6737) also is hosting daily educational sessions.
Updated schedules may be found on the PACK EXPO International App or the show website.
For more info, visit www.PACKEXPOinternational.com. SD
10:00-10:30 AM
Innovation Stage 1|N-4560
Explore what software as a service means for manu facturing or machine-building businesses of any size. Sesssion addresses the “IT won’t let us” challenge and breaks down six real-world ways to can incorporate the cloud for productivity improvement, cost contain ment and workforce support.
Jim Taylor
CPG Industry Consultant Rockwell Automation
10:00-10:30 AM
Innovation Stage 2|N-4580
Being and staying cyber secure in an increasingly dig ital, connected industrial world requires an aggressive, proactive approach. The risks to your operations and brand reputation are palpable. This session provides best practices to establish a strong cybersecurity foun dation and address your organization’s most burning questions: What should you do to proactively defend your operation and ensure ongoing vigilance? What standards and best practices apply to your business? Who is responsible for ensuring cybersecurity at your organization?
Grant Geyer
Chief Product Officer
Claroty
Paula Mott
Cybersecurity Business Consultant
Schneider Electric
10:00-10:30 AM
Innovation Stage 3|N-4585
Fungus feeders are extremely common pests in ware houses and can become problematic when moisture levels rise, allowing molds and fungus to grow. These conditions offer pests such as psocids and a few types of beetles the food they need to survive in storage environments. Managing moisture, humidity and air movement is critical to keeping these pests out. Fungus feeders can be found in pallets, on and inside packaging, in supplies and many other places. Learn what fungus feeders are, the risks they pose, proactive measures you can take to avoid them and how an In tegrated Pest Management plan can help proactively manage them in your facility.
Ph.D., B.C.E, Mgr, Technical Services
Orkin
11:00-11:30 AM
Innovation Stage 1|N-4560
Innovative sensor technologies facilitate non-destruc tive container closure integrity and package leak tests to below the scale that allows microbial ingress to your packages. In this workshop, learn how helium leak testing aids in simple, fast, repeatable, quantitative and non-destructive leak test cycles, providing potential es cape from the archaic dye-penetration tests.
Bill Burnard
General Industrial & Package Integrity Sales & Business Development Mgr - NA INFICON
11:00-11:30 AM
Innovation Stage 2|N-4580
A void exists in the dairy alternatives, nutritional drinks and ready-to-drink coffee markets for pack aging made from recycled material and recyclable in most markets. ClearCor technology offers significant sustainability benefits compared to aseptic carton packaging, which experiences high damage rates and poses a challenge for convenience stores, where tradi tional refrigerated shelf space is designed for round, rigid, plastic bottles. The ClearCor bottle contains post-consumer recycled (PCR) resin and provides a recyclable packaging solution, as well as easy access to eCommerce and convenience store distribution chan nels. It also delivers a positive drinking experience. A recyclable PET bottle, utilizing the ClearCor technol ogy, offers the same taste and feel as other packaging, delivers a positive drinking experience and extends shelf life.
11:00-11:30 AM
Innovation Stage 3|N-4585
This session explores more sustainable alternatives to barrier materials that achieve the same barrier protec tion. In an economy with limited resources, longer shelf life is a desirable objective for food processors. How do we further promote a Circular Economy where reusing materials reduces reliance on new materials?
12:00-12:30 PM
Innovation Stage 1|N-4560
This session, including a short case study, takes attendees through existing fresh food to-go packaging in the market, including how flexible packaging and material changes can better support sustainability goals and the Circular Economy.
Nathan Klettinger Dir, Global Marketing ProAmpac
12:00-12:30 PM
Innovation Stage 2|N-4580
Discuss Industry 4.0 as it relates to smart sensing technology. Modern manufac turing is saturated with data, even from the most basic sensors. Learn how this data “overload” can be leveraged to make manufacturing smarter and can continue driving the current digital transformation. Learn about trends in using this data and clear, actionable steps to join this new industrial revolution.
Divya Prakash Dir, Business Consulting SICK SD
PAC Machinery (Booth S-3314) rebrands Converting Technology, its Rollbag® bags and materials business, as PAC Machinery Bags and Mate rials. The rebranding coincides with the launch of a website, which unifies all of PAC’s packaging equipment divisions and brands.
PAC Machinery Bags and Materials sells Rollbag pre-opened bags in roll stock or fan-folded formats. The industry-standard bags can be used on virtu ally all brands of automatic baggers. Other products include tubing, coextruded poly mailers, poly tubing, side-load bags, medical bags, suffocation warning bags, thermal-transfer ribbon and sustainable packaging options. Products are in stock or available with competitive lead times.
This year, “2022, is a pivotal year for PAC Machinery as bagger sales continue to break . . . records,” says Greg Quinn, GM, PAC Machinery Bags and Materi als. “However,” he notes, “the most common feedback we hear from customers is that they did not realize we were part of PAC Machinery. Our objective with the rebranding is to emphasize that PAC can be a one-stop shop for bags, supplies and for the Rollbag brand of automatic baggers.”
As part of the name change, a new logo is being rolled out for the bags and materials business and a materialsales@pacmachinery.com email has been estab lished. All previously used email addresses remain active.
For more info, visit www.pacmachinery.com. SD
More automated systems raise the risk of contamination.
Food plants are accelerating their use of auto mation. Processors, seeking to enhance op erating efficiencies while compensating for reductions in available labor, are leveraging more innovative technologies for functions ranging from washing, cutting and mixing to robotics and the packaging of final products.
While newer machine designs enable production of higher quality food products faster, this increase in automation also brings operating challenges and requires highly effective detection systems. Not only does the greater use of production technologies increase the probability of having machine com ponents, such as bolts and brackets, fall into food during processing, but also smaller labor forces re duce the chances that workers will spot foreign mat ter in products or prevent incidents from occurring.
“The recent push for automation is replacing functions that are easy for humans to execute,” states Michael Ahern, national sales manager for Anrit su - Product Inspection and Detection (Booth N-4730). “When once plant workers had to cut a food product by hand, there are now very sophisti cated machines to perform this role.”
While such machines can be expensive, labor shortages are making the technologies more cost-ef fective. Further, inspection systems are becoming in creasingly valuable by enabling detection of smaller objects while having a range of price points and ca pabilities to support processors of all sizes. That is important, as worker shortages, which were an issue before being exacerbated by the COVID-19 pan demic, are likely to be ongoing.
“The pandemic will continue to spur the move to ward automation because of the reluctance of plant employees to be working close together,” Ahern says. “That means there are fewer hands and eyes exam ining products. Automation is compensating for the lack of workers and to make sure labor is not the issue for not producing products.”
X-ray machines and metal detectors remain the two prevalent inspection technologies. X-ray devices transmit energy in the form of a short wavelength x-ray beam through the product. A detector on the opposing side measures the amount of absorption of the x-ray beam passing through to create a den sity graph of the product. Elements denser than the product, including metal, glass, calcified bone, stone and cement, show as dark spots. Objects similar in density to the product, such as wood, paper, fabrics and plastics, are difficult to detect.
“Metal is eight times denser than food or pro teins, so it is very detectible,” Ahern states. “Glass is three to four times as dense, so it is not as easy to detect. Plastic, wood, hair nets and other low-densi ty materials are not typically detectible.”
Metal detectors, on the other hand, have been used in food plants for decades and operation is based on a magnetic field within a tunnel. Metal objects within the field interfere with the magnetic field indicating an unwanted inclusion. Performance of the metal detector varies depending on the size of the aperture and the product.
Metal detectors are commonplace within the food industry and offer economic benefits for the operator. While metal detectors do their job effec tively, they have limitations on product type and packaging. In addition, operators are looking to find nonmetal contaminants, all of which makes x-ray technology more attractive.
Over the past 10 years there have been signifi cant gains in x-ray technology. The launch of newer designs also is resulting in increasingly cost-efficient inspection systems, and that includes previous gen eration models that are dropping in price.
Modern x-ray systems can better detect lessdense contaminants, such as bone and glass, as well as plastics impregnated with x-ray-detectable ma terials. Ahern notes that the top-tier x-ray systems often can detect metals ranging in size between 0.5mm to 0.8mm and that performance level also proves that lower density contaminants are detected at smaller sizes as well.
Nevertheless, he states that processors will benefit from using both x-ray and metal detectors on their lines, as “there still will be instances in which a metal
detector will find matter that an x-ray system cannot.” Such detection may include clusters of metal particles, which typically are too small for x-ray to locate, and thinner material, including aluminum foil.
There is a school of thought that x-ray devices are most effective when inspecting products that are uniform in size and shape, but evolving technologies are enabling processors to better detect foreign mat ter in non-uniform products as well.
He notes, for instance, that while it is easier to locate objects in food of consistent sizes lying flat on a conveyor belt, upgrades are enabling better inspection of various-size products that processors might randomly deposit on a line. Today, “We can deal with the natural variations of the production load and still find the contaminants,” reports Ahern.
The optimal locations for inspection devices on processing lines, and the technologies that are most effective, can vary in accordance with such factors as space availability; product temperature, as some devices are more effective on frozen food; and the size of the product undergoing inspection.
Equipment selection and placement also will differ in accordance with a processor’s inspection objectives, and can include the use of multiple tech nologies in different sections of the processing line to support functions ranging from bulk inspection of raw ingredients to case inspection prior to pallet izing. Earlier placement, however, can help prevent damage to processing equipment by enabling oper ators to detect dense matter before the objects have contact with processing machinery.
In addition, inspecting products at the head of the process can help ensure that larger objects are not re duced into smaller, harder-to-detect pieces, while end-of-the-line inspection re duces the chance that foreign matter will elude monitoring.
“Placement becomes more critical when the primary goal is finding low-den sity contami nants like bones,
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glass or stones,” Ahern notes. “Often this dictates upstream placement where product thickness is low and consistent and creates more-ideal conditions for detecting the matter.”
X-ray inspection systems can consist of single- or dual-energy technologies. Single energy x-ray is the traditional technology used by most facilities and excels at detecting metals, stone and glass and bones in certain applications. Dual energy is an upgrade in technology that uses two energy levels to identify the difference between organic and inorganic mate rial and is better able to detect low-density matter such as glass, stone, rubber and bone.
Dual energy also can better “tune out” product effect when detecting foreign matter and is ideal for inspecting products consisting of layers and overlap ping pieces. Product effect refers to food character istics that can alter inspection device readings and cause false rejects.
Because false reject readings often result in prod uct waste and mistrust of the detection system, it is critical that processors leverage devices that mini mize occurrences. Indeed, frequent false reject read ings may cause operators to question whether an ac curate positive reading is legitimate. False rejects not only cost money, but the plant’s quality department is more likely to say, “Here we go again” rather than “I have a reject, let me find out what it is,” Ahern
explains. “It is important to minimize false rejects because you want everyone in the plant to trust the detection technology.”
Higher false reject rates are more likely to occur if the producer’s inspection goal is too close to the detection device’s performance limit. For instance, metal detectors are subject to performance changes based on product and plant temperatures. So, if the device is tuned to the edge of performance, they are subject to a high reject rate if the product tempera ture changes. “On the other hand, having perfor mance headroom allows producers to run with much lower false reject rates and that is an advantage with x-ray technology,” says Ahern.
Such headroom is available with x-ray technology that can detect 0.6mm metal where the customer’s specification is 0.8mm. “Having a two-rank margin against the specification will reduce false reject rates and that can have a dramatic financial upside when there is less interruption of high-speed lines that are processing high-value products,” he notes.
The technology evolution adds ease and efficien cies Along with greater detection capabilities, x-ray equipment and metal detectors are becoming easier for processors to implement. “The auto setup routine is more intuitive and no longer requires technical skills or the services of an electrician or engineer,” Ahern says. Indeed, operators typically perform simple functions such as inputting product information and the con veyor belt speed before running products through the
Under the theme “Conversations to Inno vations,” BW Packaging Systems (Booth S-2100) showcases equipment from Ac craply, BW Flexible Systems (Booth S-2406), BW Integrated Systems (Booth S-2106), Pneumatic Scale Angelus and Synerlink.
The Maximus mid-speed case palletizer from BW Integrated Systems debuts to meet demand for a flexible high-level palletizer. Designed for simple maintenance, this machine includes a split-for-ship feature for a quicker vertical startup.
Also at the front of the booth, the Hayssen ISB vertical form/fill/seal bagger from BW Flexible Sys tems includes several improvements added since its launch last year at PACK EXPO Las Vegas. Its hy gienic design targets the food industry.
Building on the capabilities of the innovative CB50C counter-pressure canning line, also intro duced last year, Pneumatic Scale Angelus exhibits the new CB100C counter-pressure canning line. It allows craft brewers to increase throughput to more than 100 cans/min., leveraging a 12-head rotary fill ing turret design, coupled with a dual-station seamer.
Synerlink team members guide booth visitors through an immersive 3D view of the Versatech filler
for food and dairy products. Modular design allows end users to realign this machine as needs change and addresses the desire for a filler that can outlast the standard 20-to-30-year life cycle.
Another new machine, Accraply’s MK6 pres sure-sensitive labeler/tamper-evident (TE) bander integrates labeling with TE sleeving and features Accraply’s SmartLink human/machine interface.
devices multiple times to set the detection signal.
“Systems can be operating within a couple min utes,” he reports, adding that common user interfac es on equipment from a single supplier can reduce the need to train workers to use different technol ogies within a plant, including x-ray systems, metal detectors and checkweighers.
The inspection equipment itself is already mostly automatic and requires very little input from oper ators. The human/machine interfaces are becoming more usable and efficient by simplifying and speed ing product setup and easing adjustments.
Inspection technologies, meanwhile, continue to evolve with advances to x-ray sensors set to provide even better detection of low-density contaminants, offering higher resolution imaging with more con trast. In addition, improvements to single-energy x-ray equipment are increasing efficiencies and re ducing ownership costs.
Inspection technologies also are incorporating deep learning, a subset of machine learning that contains algorithms that are intended to work like the human brain to optimize detection.
“The goal is to find as many contaminants as are rea sonable to find with x-ray systems,” concludes Ahern.
For more info, visit www.anritsu.com/infivis. SD
Editor’s Note: This article was written by Mi chael Ahern, national sales manager at AnritsuProduct Inspection and Dectection.
The newly aligned BW Converting Solutions brings together five Barry-Wehmiller converting companies to serve the tissue, nonwovens, hygiene, bag-converting, mailing and printing industries. This group is presenting the Ares 400-SUP stand-up pouch machine from Hudson-Sharp.
For more info, visit www.bwpackagingsystems.com. SD
The Heliostar II gravure press from Wind moeller & Hoelscher (W&H) (Booth LU7919) combines faster speeds (up to 600 m/ min.) with tighter control. It’s also designed to effi ciently print sustainable films made of machine-di rection-oriented polyethylene (MDO-PE).
A new sensor-tracking system and Supergrip idler rollers provide stability and control even at top speeds. The former ensures extremely fast register control, which is no longer pneumatically governed but motor ized, thus ensuring a faster response to material move ments in the press. The Supergrip idler roller, a com pletely new technology, guides the material through the machine in a much more stable manner.
The updated gravure printing press also breaks new ground in automa tion: simple, intuitive machine operation and handling are guaranteed by the central Procontrol panel with direct access to all machine functions and quality parameters.
A deeply integrated vi sion control system gives the operator detailed and precise job control for best machine performance and job quality. All production parameters are recorded and can be used for further downstream processes via W&H’s Ruby Internet of Things system.
The new Heliostar II press addresses growing demand for sustainable materials and trends toward shorter print jobs (and frequent job changes). The register control and Supergrip technology are espe cially important in handling the stretched MDOPE, which does not run homogeneously over the entire working width of the press.
The Heliostar II Series includes S and A mod els. The Heliostar II S press is extremely flexible and can be configured for all packaging films, laminates and papers and special customer requirements. The Heliostar II A, with up to 10 printing units, is po sitioned to serve the core flexible packaging market.
For more info, visit www.whcorp.com. SD
Emerson is redefining interactions between people and machines. Immediate, real-time access to machine settings, status and performance enables you to make faster decisions and keep processes under control.
Learn more at Emerson.com/movicon
Visit us at Pack Expo 2022.
Hall – Booth N4736
In a warm, wet and very challenging coding en vironment, Pepsi Bottling Ventures counts on the F720i fibre laser coder from Domino, par ent company of Domino Amjet (Booth S-3506), to serve up crisp, refreshing, readable codes, day-afterday, can-after-can.
“Why does Pepsi use Domino laser coding? Be cause it works!” exclaims Pepsi Bottling Ventures GM Mike Collins.
As North America’s largest independent Pepsi Co. product bottler, Pepsi Bottling Ventures serves 8 million customers from 16 production facilities located in five eastern states: Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. Lines run at lightning speed and there’s no time for down time, so quality coding is both a significant under taking and challenge for the company.
coding with fibre technology, but when Domino pre sented the fibre technology for can coding we didn’t hesitate . . . and, at the end, we have a great technol ogy working for us.”
The F720i fibre laser coder uses short, intense pulses, which significantly increase its marking speed and allow it to deliver high-quality codes at speeds up to 120,000 cans/hr. The result is a high-resolu tion, durable mark on even the most challenging sur faces—such as the concave base of a can. Total cost of ownership is reduced through the removal of inks and solvents, minimal setup or adjustment needs, uninterrupted production runs and a lack of waste typically associated with can printing.
to put in a lot of hot air to get it to where [the can is] dry. With laser coding, there can be a little bit of condensate, it really doesn’t matter. . . . It’s power ful enough, it’s going to etch the bottom of that can with the code . . . a very crisp code.
“The other thing I will tell you . . . with inkjet cod ing, the ink doesn’t always land where you want it. If you were to look under an inkjet coder, you’d likely see where an alien died,” jokes Collins, referring to the inky mess often found under an inkjet printer.
“With the laser coder, there’s none of that,” he adds.
In the past, Pepsi Bottling Ventures used ink jet printers to code the bottom of its cans, but they were dissatisfied with the resulting code quality. Dis cussing the company’s switch from inkjet coding to Domino’s high-speed fibre laser system, Daryl Beel er, production supervisor at Pepsi Bottling Ventures, reports, “From a production standpoint, we love it. When a can comes through, we don’t have to con stantly check the code date . . . with the inkjet system, we constantly had to check.”
According to Pepsi Bottling Ventures’ Vice Pres ident of Engineering Sabri Kundakcioglu, “Quali ty, productivity and sustainability . . . these are the three reasons that we converted our can coding to a fibre laser . . . line efficiency is improved, cost of pro duction has been reduced and customer complaints about poor printing quality have been reduced. Our partnership with Domino started way before can
Collins feels that one of the best things about Domino’s fibre laser is how well it handles the con densation that forms on cans in a wet production environment. He explains that when the cold prod uct meets the warm, humid plant air, condensation naturally forms. “With inkjet coding you really have
“One of the most important things for us is to make the right decisions. We have seen improvements in our business results after coordinating with Domino for our coding needs,” notes Kundakcioglu. “Overall, Domino has done a great job and exceeded expectations in our production environment, customers are satisfied, and our brand is protected,” he adds.
Collins heartily agrees that laser coding has been a great move. “For me, the biggest thing is the reli ability of it. I know that the can . . . has been coded and I don’t have to worry about it. As the plant man ager, . . . I would definitely recommend a Domino fibre laser for cans!”
For more info, visit www.domino-na.com. SD
“Why does Pepsi use Domino laser coding? Because it works!”
—Mike Collins Pepsi Bottling Ventures
On the heels of its 2021 acquisition of mo bile robot leader ASTI Mobile Robotics, ABB, parent company of ABB Robotics & Discrete Automation (Booth S-3574), launches its first range of rebranded autonomous mobile robots (AMRs).
“At a time when businesses are looking for a range of robotic solutions to help make them more efficient, flexible and resilient, we are the only company sup porting them with our integrated offering of AMRs, robots and machine automation technologies,” says Marc Segura, president for ABB’s Robotics Division. “This is a game changer for our customers. They can work with one partner offering everything they need to adapt to the opportunities and challenges driven by individualization, labor shortages and disrupted supply chains and our rebranding underscores the simplicity and benefit of the integrated solutions we offer to our customers.”
ASTI Mobile Robotics’ products are now in tegrated into ABB’s portfolio, grouped under the Flexley™ name, indicating the flexibility of oper ations that the AMRs offer. The first models to be released, Flexley Tug and Flexley Mover, cover ap plications including towing, trolley transportation up to 2000kg, as well as lifting and transporting racks, containers and pallets of 1,500kg.
Building on ASTI’s use of laser scanner-based 2D SLAM navigation, future AMRs will benefit from the pioneering VSLAM technology of Seven sense Robotics, a Swiss startup in ABB’s portfolio of partner companies, that enables mobile robots to navigate complex, dynamic environments. This technology opens new possibilities for flexible man ufacturing—artificial intelligence that makes ABB’s AMRs as autonomous as its robotic arms, while making work more productive and safer for people.
“The market for autonomous mobile robots is set to grow significantly, with an annual growth rate of approximately 24% between 2021 and 2028,” reports Verónica Pascual, global head of AMR business at ABB Robotics. (1) “The integration of the ASTI
AMR range and the creation of our global manufac turing and support network means we are well-placed to address this growth, providing our customers with new ways to tackle their supply chain challenges and meet demands for greater flexibility and speed creat ed by the continued rise in eCommerce.”
Already supplying AMR solutions for custom er projects, ABB has worked with strategic partner Expert Technology Group in the U.K. to deliver a complete assembly line, which relies on ABB robots, vision function packages and AMRs to transport products between robotic automation cells and man ual assembly stations.
The integration of ASTI includes a rebranding of all its offices and facilities, as well as the launch of a website. The ASTI name continues with the ASTI Foundation, which was founded in 2017 to educate and equip young people with the skills to thrive in an age of digital transformation.
For more info, visit www.amr.robotics.abb.com. SD
1 Fortune Business Insights, January 2022, www. fortunebusinessinsights.com/autonomous-mo bile-robots-market-105055.
Find front-of-the-line solutions for food and beverage processing and discover ways to increase safety, improve efficiency and achieve total system integration.
Learn how to increase sustainability in your supply chain through reus able packaging assets and services.
Sponsored by:
See supply chain solutions, including warehousing, fulfillments, distribution logistics services and transportation providers.
Uncover specialized equipment and integrated systems for your candy, confectionery and gum production lines.
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Explore technology that makes customization, promotions, small runs, on-demand production and smart packaging cost effective.
Find new recyclables, bio-based materials, flexible packaging printable films and much more –and see creative packaging and trends at: Healthcare Packaging Pavilion
A one-stop shop for solutions targeted to pharmaceuticals, biologics, nutraceuticals, medical devices and more.
Showorganizer, PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies (Booth N-4550), continues to grow with the addition of 27 members at its spring Board of Directors Meeting and 29 in September at its Annual Meeting. Active membership now stands at 981 companies.
“Adding [this many] new members at a time when so much is happening and changing in our industry reinforces the confidence packaging and processing companies have in the resources provided by PMMI,” says Andrew Dougherty, senior director, Membership, PMMI. “We are focused on the heart of our mission, to provide members the resources they need to succeed in a global marketplace. We do that by helping them to stay ahead of industry challenges and emerging tech nologies, and, most importantly, connecting them to customers—and each other.”
Newcomers fall into five membership categories and are listed below.
• Advent Design, Bristol, PA
• AES Packaging Solutions (Booth S-1551), Port Coquitlam, Canada
• AGR International (Booth W-23005), Butler, PA
• All-Fill Cappers (Booth S-1706), Exton, PA
• American Mechanical and Manufacturing, Rancho Cucamonga, CA
• BESSEN (Booth LL-9415), Brooklyn, NY
• Data Scale, Fremont, CA
• GEB Metal Mecánica, Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico
• Industrial Physics (Booth W-24030), New Castle, DE
• Keenline Conveyor Systems, Omro, WI
• MACTEC Packaging Technologies (Booth W-20034), Sayreville, NJ
• Membrane Process and Control (Booth LU7160), Edgar, WI
• Pacteon (Booth S-3500), Brewerton, NY
• PAXTON Products, An ITW Company (Booth N-5117), Cincinnati, OH
• Quickdraft (Booth LU-7546), Canton, OH
• Rocket Machine Works (Booth LU-7753), Fresno, CA
• TechniBlend (Booth N-5320), Waukesha, WI
• Vinco Automation (Booth LU-7866), Alexan dria, MN
• FROMM Packaging System (Booth LU8749), Boonton, NJ
• HEUFT USA (Booth LU-6712, W-15014), Downers Grove, IL
• KORSCH America (Booth W-14009), South Easton, MI
• Matcon Americas (Booth LU-7340), Delran, NJ
• PACK’R (Booth N-5767), Suwanee, GA
• PACRAFT (Booth LU-8724), Shoreham, MI
• Applied Manufacturing Technologies, Orion, MI
• COPA-DATA (Booth W-15058), East Windsor, NJ
• Creative Transportation Services, San Roman, CA
• Kiewit Industrial Group (Booth LU-8962), Lenexa, KS
• Lubriplate Lubricants (Booth LU-8814), Newark, NJ
• RIOS Intelligent Machines (Booth N-5374), Menlo Park, CA
• Rite-Hite (Booth LL-9813), Milwaukee, WI
• SLIPNOT, Detroit, MI
• Tekscape (Booth N-5562), New York, NY
• The Austin Company (Booth LU-7633), Cleveland, OH
• Alkon (Booth LU-7054), Fremont, CA
• Autonics (Booth S-4334), Mundelein, IL
• Burkert Fluid Control Systems (Booth LU7728), Huntersville, NC
• Fenner Precision Polymers (Booth LU-7020), Manheim, PA
• GIMATIC (Booth N-5268), Roncadelle, Italy
• Mojonnier USA (Booth LL-9805), Streets boro, OH
• Nexthermal (Booth N-4654), Battle Creek, MI
• Nidec-Shimpo (Booth N-4618), Glendale Heights, IL
• OnRobot US, Irving, TX
• Pepperl + Fuchs, Cincinnati, OH
• Smart Vision Lights (Booth LL-10605), North Shores, MI
• Volta Belting Technology (Booth N-5967), Montville, NJ
• Cheer Pack North America (Booth N-5983), West Bridgewater, MA
• Craemer US (Booth LU-6811), Palm Harbor, FL
• EFP (Booth N-5381, W-18027), Elkhart, IN
• Evergreen Resources (Booth W-24047), Naperville, IL
• Georgia-Pacific Corrugated (Booth N-6165), Norcross, GA
• Iljin Gratec USA (Booth LL-10104), Santa Fe Springs, CA
• Mold-Rite Packaging, Lake Forest, IL
• PennPac (Booth W-25069), Manheim, PA
• Teinnovations (Booth N-4971), Warrenville, IL
• TekniPlex Healthcare (Booth W-13043), Wayne, PA For more info, visit www.PMMI.org. SD
There was a time when food processors equipped their lines to do two things: make product; run product.
That was it. That’s what mattered. Today and in the future, manufacturers must equally prioritize producing safe food. If not, they risk failing to meet regulations or weathering an adverse event.
While productivity is crucial, the hygienic design of your conveyors—how effectively and efficiently those assets can be cleaned—is just as critical.
“I would say that hygienic design was born out of a need to improve food safety,” says Cari Rasmussen, food safety specialist at Commercial Food Sanitation.
Early on, cleaning was somewhat of an afterthought. Adverse events, such as consumers getting sick (or worse), made food processors realize their conveyor systems must be sanitized extremely well. The problem? The equipment was closed and too inaccessible to properly do so.
As an industry, our understanding and technology have evolved. Today, we know the best equipment is hygienically designed and built to withstand various manufacturing conditions.
What can you do to improve hygienic design? And what should you be doing to evolve so your plant is food-safe by design?
Instead of focusing on individual parts, it can be helpful to take a wider view. “We’ve come up with more of a systems approach,” says Blane Gaubert, FoodSafe application engineer at Intralox (Booth S-1747). “We continually develop tools and compo nents that make our modular plastic belting (MPB) more effective when used together.” For instance, combining the right MPB with cleanable sprockets, lock collars and sprocket spacers can form a more hygienic whole on a line.
Similarly, be open to applying hygienic design prin ciples to your entire food processing environment.
When it comes to hygienic design, age isn’t always a factor. Some of the newer conveyors can come with all the problems of older equipment.
“If you really want to raise the hygienic design bar at your company and meet your goals, you have to look closely not just at your equipment, but at your infra structure,” says Rasmussen. “What’s the hygienic de sign of the area you’re manufacturing in? What about the layout of the room? Do you have hygienic zones in place? Think holistically about the overall environment to see how you can be more effective and efficient.”
When considering future hygienic design decisions, ask: Do I have the right people involved? It’s import
ant to include cross-functional teams from the corpo rate and plant levels. Everyone’s input is necessary to achieve the best design. Gathering this information could save all kinds of trouble down the line.
“I visited one facility where all the equipment in the room was pretty much new,” says Gaubert. “We were brought in to help figure out what they could do retroactively to improve their situation. Only the safety team had been involved in the design and de velopment of the equipment. As a result, everything was super closed in to reduce pinch points and the like, so cleaning it was cumbersome and time con suming.”
New equipment can be just as closed and inac cessible for cleaning as older, legacy conveyors. For the best outcome, get the right people in the room to make equipment decisions prior to it being finalized, purchased and installed.
How can you begin to make improvements? Start by asking these questions:
• Do I have a good baseline understanding of where our facility is on the journey to great hygienic design?
• Do we have the expertise in-house to evaluate where our facility is today? If not, how do we get there?
• Does our leadership understand what our food safety initiatives are, and what their roles are in achieving them?
• Are we taking advantage of the resources available and the expertise that’s out there to help?
The effects of properly, hygienically designed conveyors can be felt throughout your plant. San itation is faster and more effective. Maintenance becomes easier. Operations experiences more pro duction uptime. And the plant produces consis tently safe food.
Start the conversation at your facility. Remember, an emergency will always be costlier and more pain ful than planning ahead.
No matter the size of your operation, you must pro duce food safely and have a plan for how your plant will continue to do so. Regulations are only getting tougher and meeting them is the bare minimum. Think about your future state and continue to push the needle for ward so your plant’s hygienic and food-safe design is ahead of the curve, not behind the times.
For more info, visit www.intralox.com. SD
Editor’s Note: This article was published on May 10, 2022, by Intralox.
melerusa.com
We provide you with the widest range of hot melt adhesive application products, with the best specialist team who will find the solution to boost your business.
Another attendee favorite, The Forum at PACK EXPO (Booth N-4543), presents a daily schedule of sessions about the latest industry trends. Each 45-minute session includes small group dicussions and a ques tion-and-answer period.
Topics include cybersecurity, digital transformation, sustainability, deploy ment of robots/cobots, collaborating with copackers, automation, improving packaging line performance and post-COVID packaging design trends.
Speakers include a range of experts from various organizations, includ ing: PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies (Booth N-4550); OMAC - The Organization for Machine Automation and Control (Booth N-5100); the World Packaging Organisation (Booth N-4902, W-20052); and the Contract Packaging Association (Booth N-4518)
The Forum schedule is listed below. Updates may be found on the PACK EXPO Internationl App or the show website.
Attendees also may participate in several other free educational offerings, in cluding the Innovation Stage (Booth N-4560, N-4580, N-4585) with the new Processing Innovation Stage (Booth LU-7130) (see schedule, p. 24); the PACK to the Future Stage (Booth W-20025) (see schedule, p. 20); and the new Industry Speaks (Booth N-4565) (see schedule, p. 20). The Reusable Packaging Learning Center (Booth LU-6737) also presents educational sessions.
For more info, visit www.PACKEXPOinternational.com. SD
10:30-11:15 AM
Today’s packaging lines are increasingly more complex and expensive, so ensur ing performance is more critical than ever. This hands-on session will give par ticipants insight into getting the most out of their existing packaging lines by applying straightforward line-balancing techniques, in combination with the information already available from the machines. Learn how to keep your bot tleneck machine running, recognize starved and blocked conditions and how to manage your machine speeds to ensure optimum performance. Learn how the PackML standard makes this performance information readily available to use.
11:30-12:15 PM
Cybersecurity is becoming increasingly important in day-to-day manufacturing. IT and OT have the same end goal—to keep our plants safe. However, their dif fering priorities sometimes clash. Learn the differences and see how you fit to help make a safer, more secure plant floor.
No matter if it is stand-alone machines, complete systems or services: Syntegon’s innovative process and packaging technology is backed by over 80 years of trusted solutions focused on a sustainable future. For our customers, this means tailor-made and reliable production processes for perfect results. From a spare part to complete production systems – with us you get everything from one source. That’s what we’re doing, how about you? Please visit us in the South Hall.
The global hand sanitizer market is expected to reach $3.47 billion by 2028, up from $2.98 billion in 2020. Kutol Products, a maker of hand soaps, hair and body washes, industrial hand cleaners and foam and gel hand sanitizers, plans to be a major player as this growth unfolds.
The Cincinnati-based company was founded in 1912 and now produces under its own Health Guard® and Kutol® Pro brands as well as for pri vate-label brands. It’s no stranger to pandemics ei ther, having operated through the 2009 swine flu pandemic. With the arrival of COVID-19, says Vice President of Operations John Rhodenbaugh, “Our business exploded, just as it did during swine flu. With the previous experience gained by the entire Kutol team, we were able to apply lessons learned and make some good decisions this time around. We knew we had an idea of what was coming so we could plan, but we didn’t expect the demand to last so long.”
One key decision was to dedicate all of Kutol’s filling lines to handling only hand sanitizer for a while. All of the tanks and fill lines were convert ed to produce sanitizer throughout the pandemic. Such products are typically manufactured in an ex plosion-proof room, but when production expanded to the entire facility, safeguards were put in place to keep safety as a top priority. The second decision was to install a fifth filling line.
“We always planned on adding a fifth line, but COVID expedited our decision-making as it became very clear what product we would be filling with that new line,” says Rhodenbaugh. “During swine flu, we grew as well and we sustained that business longterm. We expected the same to happen this time with COVID. We realized if we wanted to sustain three to five times our usual volume into the future, whether that be two or 10 years from now, we would need another line.”
All four of the filling lines already operating at Kutol were anchored by machines made and installed by DTM Packaging, A Massman Company (Booth S-2158). The newest of the four became operational in late 2018. “That line helped us out significantly through the pandemic,” explains Rhodenbaugh. “We made the decision to turn to DTM again for a highspeed fill line that would fill smaller sizes than our previous line and accommodate not just the hand sanitizer, but any of the products we produce.”
Kutol ultimately purchased a DTM fully integrat ed bottling line with a DTM Packaging Purefil 2500 in-line walking-beam flow meter filler, affectionate ly named “FillZilla” by Kutol. The simple-to-oper ate machine features a clean hygienic design and a sanitary product path. An onboard pressure supply tank is equipped with dual-spray ball cleaning. Oth er design features include top-fill, anti-foam noz zles or bottom-up fill capability for filling foamy or high-viscosity products and quick changeover for a range of products and container sizes. Kutol runs polyethylene terephthalate, high-density polyeth ylene, polyvinyl chloride or polyethylene terephthal ate glycol containers in sizes from as small as 1 oz. to as large as a half-gallon on the new line. The filler can be used as a standalone machine or as part of a complete bottling line as was supplied to Kutol.
Another significant design feature is that the fill er is explosion proof, making it ideal for handling the alcohol present in hand sanitizer. According to Rhodenbaugh, if product were to spill from the con tainers on the line near an open spark or flame, there could be a fire. So at Kutol, the DTM filler is electri cally closed, intrinsically safe and in a classified area.
The bulk of business at Kutol is hand soap, so it’s not necessary for the four other DTM lines at Kutol to be explosion proof. But Rhodenbaugh says that as the sanitizer portion of the company’s business has grown, it was important to have a safe fill line for those products.
During operation, empty bottles are poured into a bottle unscrambler from Pace Packaging (Booth N-5424), part of the ProMach Filling & Capping business line. A photoeye detects and ejects any down bottles.
Next is the eight-head filler, whose walking-beam format results in continuous-motion filling at speeds to 300 bottles/min. Immediately downstream is a capper, also from DTM. An inspection system from Cognex (Booth S-1769) kicks off any bottle with a missing or cocked cap, and then each bottle is checked by a checkweigher from Wipotec-OCS (Booth S-4172). “We purchased it through DTM, but we worked pretty closely with Wipotec to make sure the side belts, for example, would be capable of properly handling such a wide range of bottle sizes,” notes Rhodenbaugh.
Pressure-sensitive film labels are applied on a unit from Nita Labeling Systems (Booth S-3666), which does front and back or full-wrap labels. Then a vision inspection system from Cognex makes sure each bottle’s lot and date code—printed on each bottle by an inkjet system from Videojet Technologies (Booth S-2042)—is good before bottles proceed to a pack-off table for manual case packing. Cases are taped on a machine from Intertape Polymer Group (Booth S-2814)
While the DTM Purefil unit is capable of handling up to 300 bottles/min., Rhodenbaugh says Kutol is likely to average about 80 to 120 bottles/min. based on the bottle sizes and configurations. “There is defi nitely room for expansion on the line in the future,” he says. “But already we see an increase in capacity somewhere in the range of 200% to 400% compared to
cess to cater to our filling needs,” he explains. In fact, DTM fully integrated and tested the Purefill ma chine before shipping it to Kutol.
“They offer ongoing support after installation,” adds Rhodenbaugh. “That’s why we’ve had them build filling lines for us since 2005.”
In turn, Kutol will count on the new Purefil line to offer ongoing support to its client base, which in cludes schools, business offices, medical facilities and courtrooms that rely on these hand-cleaning prod ucts. “We will address our customers’ needs with our
equipment throughout the pandemic and beyond,” says Rhodenbaugh. “We have a five- to 10-year vi sion for this new line to support our customers well into the future.”
For more info, visit www.cognex.com, www.dtm packaging.com, www.itape.com, www.nitalabeling.com, www.pacepackaging.com, www.videojet.com, www. wipotec-oce.com/us/. SD
where we were. This boost in capacity will allow us to meet our growing needs, while keeping Kutol’s TeamMate headcount the same.”
In addition to increased productivity, Rhoden baugh says Kutol will benefit from using all-DTM filling lines because the software and hardware are the same, making it easier to train operators across all the lines. “All of the equipment behaves the same way,” he notes, “and all the buttons mean the same so the operators have a familiarity with the machinery and can easily move from one line to the other and keep product running throughout the plant.”
Rhodenbaugh says Kutol also benefits from a long-term relationship with DTM. “DTM offers flexibility during the machine design-and-build pro
Liquid products have complex and varied packaging performance needs. Until now, only mixed-material films have performed well enough. Unfortunately, these multimaterial structures are difficult to recycle.
Many liquid products in spouted pouches require moisture and oxygen barriers to preserve the con tents. Highly durable and repeatable hermetic seals along the pouch edges and fitment seal are needed to deliver a safe and desirable consumer experience.
An innovative high-barrier film from Amcor Flexibles North America (Booth S-3705, S-3814) provides superior heat resistance and is a more sus tainable alternative to standard metallized or foilbased structures—even if it’s not recycled.
Available in pre-made, pre-fitmented pouches on rails or as rollstock for form/fill/seal applications, a heat-resistant outer web allows for sealing and fit ment insertion without distortion. A custom-engi neered sealant layer improves hermeticity, preventing
Are you looking for the highest degree of regulation from the wrapping application in your machine utilizing the very thinnest films?
Rely on the highest torque regulation performance in the market to increase your Flow-wrapper’s uptime, while reducing engineering time with our Smar t Servo Axis solution.
The more sustainable package:
• Runs on existing equipment and can match production speeds achieved with non-recycla ble oriented polyester laminates
• Meets APR Design® Guide for recyclability
• Offers heat-, puncture- and scuff-resistance for excellent durability throughout the supply chain
• Preserves product quality and flavor with high-barrier properties comparable to aluminum oxide or metallized films. Elevated shelf-life tests show an oxygen transmission rate of 0.27cc/sq. m/day at 73 F/50% RH Out/90% RH In
• Has passed the Amazon drop-ship testing proto col, making it ideal for the eCommerce channel
The clarity of AmPrima™ PE Plus permits trans parent windows and enhances shelf appeal. Pouches can accommodate a gloss or matte finish.
Amcor researchers worked closely with pouching and spouting experts from Cheer Pack North Amer ica (Booth N-5983) for validation in real-world pro duction environments. Al Madonna, vice president of Marketing at Cheer Pack, reports, “Cheerclear™, the first clear, spouted pouch developed using Amcor film, has transformed the landscape of pouches. And now, AmPrima™ PE Plus [film] elevates that brand prom ise to deliver more sustainable end-of-life scenarios.”
Even greater levels of sustainability are provided by combining pouches made from AmPrima™ PE Plus film with Cheer Pack’s new Vizi™ cap.
The source-reduced cap yields a smaller carbon footprint and saves more than 5 tons of plastic for every 10 million caps produced, the equivalent of 15,640 lb. of carbon dioxide. The cap also offers a more visible tamper-evident feature.
According to an ASSET™ life-cycle assessment of the production and manufacture of an AmPrima™ PE Plus film vs. a three-ply foil structure incumbent, the Am Prima™ film reduces non-renewable energy use by 5%, carbon footprint by 22% and water consumption by 51%.
If recycled, AmPrima™ packaging delivers:
• 53% savings in non-renewable energy use
• 49% savings in carbon footprint
• 66% savings in water consumption.
For more info, visit www.amcor.com/afna, www.cheerpack.com. SD
Extensive slowdowns all along the supply chain are keeping electronics manufacturers from buying the components they need. How ever, for SMAC Moving Coil Actuators (Booth N-5774), an encoder manufacturing company, the crisis generated record sales in 2021.
Rapid initial design and prototype production contribute to SMAC’s success. Application engi neers respond to most inquiries within hours, and many prototypes can be produced in a few weeks. Take out the supply chain issues overseas competi tors face and the U.S.-based company has become an agile source for encoders.
“No one else on the planet can create prototypes as quickly as we can,” claims one SMAC application engineer. This statement may be difficult to verify, but certainly only a select few can deliver price-com petitive encoder prototypes to U.S.-based companies as quickly as SMAC can.
SMAC set up its own encoder manufacturing group, SMAC-EMC, to design, build and test its line of optical encoders. Its engineering and manu facturing staff has more than 25 years’ experience de signing and building optical encoders at SMAC and other major optical encoder companies. This staff has designed large-volume optical encoder products for
ApolloGroup, the parent company of Ryson International (Booth N-5945), celebrates its 175th birthday and now carries the title “Royal Apollo Group” and the right to add a crown to its logo. The recognition from the King of Holland acknowl edges the company’s good reputation and symbolizes the respect, valuation and trust of the sovereign.
To be eligible for this honor, an organization must hold a prominent position in its field, be of national significance and have been in existence for at least a 100 years. Company, size, operational management, workforce and revenue are considered.
Part of Apollo since its inception, Ryson has pooled resources, engineering and manufacturing techniques with the older firm. In fact, the two companies man ufacture essentially the same products on either side of the Atlantic, thereby minimizing the chance of supply chain disruptions.
With Claudia van den Pol (sixth generation) head ing the company, Apollo Group has grown into an international presence.
For more info, visit www.ryson.com. SD
Markem-Imaje (Booth S-2930), Brooks Automation (Booth N-5765), Varian, HP, Universal Instruments, Delphi and other manufacturers from coast to coast.
Developing and designing its own reflective and diffractive optical encoder in-house, has given SMAC an understanding of the attributes that go
into choosing superior encoder optical components.
For more info, visit www.smac-mca.com, www. markem-imaje.us, www.brooks.com. SD
Editor’s Note: The original version of this article appeared in November 2021 in Packaging World.
METTLER TOLEDO offers a wide range of solutions for all types of bulk and packaged products for environments ranging from dry to heavy washdown. Our systems are supported by the most comprehensive engineering solutions, product testing, customer service and training in the industry.
Visit us in Booth S1714 to see live demonstrations on new inspection systems!
It’s a significant moment for any professional when they are given the title of CEO for the first time in their career. Well, not given—earned. Rising through the corporate ranks is an achieve ment that is the culmination of years of preparation, from education to the experiences that ultimately land the individual in the corner office.
But truly nothing can prepare any newly ap pointed CEO for how to handle “business as usu al” during a pandemic. Yet, that’s exactly what Lisa Hunt had to do.
In January of 2021, as the world was still reeling from the chaos created by COVID-19, Hunt took the CEO seat at Plexpack (Booth S-3374), a To ronto-based maker of flexible bag sealing, vacuum and gas-flush sealing equipment and shrink and bundling systems. Hunt has been at the company for 24 years, working in a variety of areas of the or ganization including marketing, sales, trade shows, human resources, purchasing, scheduling, IT, inven tory management and even on the production floor managing the fabrication and assembly shops. Her ability to be flexible in situations and understand the dynamics of the room (something that stems from her degrees in psychology and business), eventually elevated her, in 2003, to the executive team with the titles of vice president of Operations and COO.
Paul Irvine, the CEO of Plexpack since 2000, recognized Hunt’s unique skillset early on, which is why he moved her into different roles throughout the years. And, as a result, Hunt’s cross-function al knowledge directly influenced company growth, Irvine says. So, when Irvine made the decision to step away from his day-to-day duties as CEO while remaining as owner and chair, he and the sharehold ers officially passed the company reins to Hunt on January 5, 2021.
“Lisa has demonstrated a deep understanding of the business, as well as an analytic and strategic abil ity that are foundations for this role,” Irvine said in a statement. “She has also been loyal and dedicated and someone I can rely on at all times. I’m confident her sense of dedication and accountability will con tinue to drive her to perform in the best interest of the company and its stakeholders.”
Her main mandate moving forward: growth. And she’s off to a good start.
In her first year as CEO, Hunt has overseen a num ber of initiatives aimed toward strategic expansion, including launching several product-development projects, upgrading the company’s enterprise resource planning system, expanding Plexpack’s presence in the U.S., and building out two new websites, one for sales and the other for aftermarket customer support.
“I’m looking at different avenues to grow the organization,” Hunt says, noting that technology investments, a focus on the aftermarket side of the business, expanding the global footprint and peo ple—be it employees, partners or customers—are at the top of her priority list.
And growth is already happening. While Plex pack is still dealing with pandemic issues as it re lates to work policies, the company has seen a 60% increase in output this past year as it worked with end users producing personal protective equipment (PPE) and COVID-19 test kits. The company also spent more time with food processors and food-re lated manufacturers helping them implement new solutions to deal with increasing consumer demands.
“Everyone in the organization is aware of what we are building and where our equipment is installed, so there is a connection to the work being done to the benefit of the end users,” Hunt says. “We are very proud to have been an essential part of the supply chain needs during COVID, knowing that our equipment was used for direct medical purposes to package PPE, COVID-19 kits and to also meet higher demands gen erated in other segments such as food and supplies.”
Plexpack is able to deliver equipment quickly, be cause they stock equipment and sub-assemblies inhouse in addition to catering to more customized needs via a consultative engineer-to-order service. If a customer needs equipment that Plexpack has in stock, they will get it right away. If it’s not in stock but is a standard piece of equipment, it will take two to four weeks to deliver. And a high-end custom or der usually takes 20 to 24 weeks.
More and more, manufacturers are demanding shorter lead times for equipment delivery. Plexpack responds to that pressure by working with local suppliers around the world in order to create faster turnaround times. “One thing I’ve learned from the pandemic is that in this market, if you’ve got it, you win the order,” Hunt says.
As a result of the growth over the past year, and in an anticipation of future growth, Plexpack is current ly planning an expansion of its existing plant space at the Toronto facility to provide more physical manufac turing and warehousing capacity. The company also is adding to fabrication capabilities with the installation of a new laser cutter and laser welder in the production department. Further investment in capital equipment is planned for the next fiscal period.
Before getting into where Plexpack is going as a company, it’s good to understand where it’s been. Here’s a brief history.
It is rooted in 1951 as Toronto Plastics (TPL). In 1988, two friends from the University of Toronto School of Engineering, Peter Irvine and Wilf Le witt, purchased TPL along with a company that makes bag- and pouch-sealing systems, called Em plex. Together they led the expansion of both com panies, by leveraging their synergies. Where TPL was an injection molding company to local markets, Emplex as an OEM of bag-sealing equipment fo cused on distribution growth across North America and branched into Latin America and the U.K. In 2002, two years after Paul Irvine succeeded his fa ther, the late Peter Irvine, as CEO, the acquisition of Damark Packaging happened, adding shrink-wrap and bundling systems to the company portfolio.
Emplex Systems was then renamed Plexpack to encapsulate both Emplex and Damark brands. From that point, further Plexpack innovations ensued, in cluding (but not limited to) the implementation of lean workflows, automated bagging system, an IP66 washdown machine and development of the first gas-flush and vacuum system for pouch and bagin-box applications. In 2017, Plexpack introduced a third brand, VacPack, as its line of modified-atmo sphere vacuum and gas-flush packaging systems.
In 2019, Plexpack incorporated in the U.S., and in 2020, it opened a small regional sales office in Southern California.
In January 2021, under Hunt’s leadership, Plex pack relocated and opened a new, larger-capacity office and warehouse in Carson, CA, to serve cus tomers and partners in the U.S. and western Canada. Jackie Irvine was named manager of Sales, West and heads this facility, which is used as a sales demon stration center for customers and distributors. It also holds some inventory and services as a service hub and provisioning center.
CEO Lisa Hunt steers entry into cannabis, coffee markets.(l-r) Kelly Irvine, vice president, Manufacturing Operations; Lisa Hunt, CEO; Rachael Whale, executive assistant to the CEO; and Natalie Irvine, marketing manager. The decor at Plexpack reflects the friendliness and diversity of its workforce and reach into new markets.
“As a company with a broad customer base across North America, it was an essential step for Plexpack to have exposure and accessibility on both the West and East Coasts, Hunt says. “With a Canadian HQ in To ronto and a U.S.-based corporation in California, we have set the framework for both locally made equip ment while offering more accessible provision of sales consultations, demonstrations, technical service and simplified transport of equipment to our customers.”
According to Hunt, cross-border complexities came to light during COVID-19, specifically as it related to moving personnel across borders. Barriers to entry during the pandemic had the potential to
disrupt service delivery. However, having the com panies in Canada and the U.S. mitigated the prob lem while providing a foundation for more organic development in the states, including hiring employ ees in sales and service, preparing for further devel opments in warehousing and new manufacturing capabilities, and supporting distributor and reseller relationships.
Hunt says it is important to be part of their com munities, whether locally, within the industry or across key markets, and she emphasizes that invest ment in people is key.
“We have employees who have been with Plex pack for over 35 years. We are proudly a diverse, friendly and supportive group, and we thrive in an environment of accountability and flexibility. We support education, training and development and engage our people as part of the entire team.”
In the past six months, Hunt has doubled the en gineering team. And she recently hired a field ser vice technician based in California who she found on a job site for former military personnel.
To that end, beyond reaching out to local uni versities and colleges to find people in mechatronics programs, Plexpack actively recruits past military personnel. This is mostly due to shortages in engi neering and technical talent, but it is also a way to bring a range of personalities onto the team.
According to Hunt, “We try to look beyond di rect experience and focus on transferrable and teach able skill sets in people that demonstrate aptitude, motivation, dedication and interest. This approach has allowed us to bring in great people with diverse perspectives that serve to broaden our own internal culture and business insights.”
To that end, employee diversity is an important part of Plexpack’s principles, especially since the aim of this medium-sized company with an entre preneurial spirit is to be highly competitive in the global market. Many of the Plexpack employees are multilingual. “All told we have over 25 languages spoken in the plant and office, with a great staff of people who are more than willing to provide aid in translation with customers or other stakeholders,” Hunt says.
Adrian Hermosillo, Plexpack’s sales manager who recently relocated from Mexico to Toronto, agrees that the cultural diversity is a big part of the company’s competitive advantage. “We hire people from different backgrounds and cultures which makes it easy to sell machines all over the world,” Hermosillo says.
In addition, Hunt is dedicated to being a role model for women in manufacturing to help them understand the opportunities in this industry. Bring ing awareness, developing and supporting women in STEM is vital, but there are also many opportuni ties that exist at various levels and in various func tions within manufacturing. As an executive council member of PMMI’s Packaging & Processing Wom en’s Leadership Network (PPWLN), a member of the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) Women in Manufacturing group, as well as a mem ber of the Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO),
Hunt is networking out to local technical schools and provincial programs like Skills Ontario, to sup port the next generation of workers into manufac turing. Hunt is actively participating in a movement that could change what the future workforce looks like. Still, she’s pragmatic about the obstacles that exist for women in manufacturing.
“I’ve spent the majority of my professional life in this traditionally male-dominated industry. The bar riers are real, the work is demanding and the dedica tion required to succeed is immense. You must have perseverance,” she says. “I spent too many years with a sense of inferiority compared to other leaders of companies in our space. Now, I know I have earned the right to be here and to lead. In industries like ours, women need to own their confidence.”
Under her leadership, gender parity—at least at Plexpack—is becoming a reality. “I am proud to say that Plexpack is on par with gender diversity in the management team, with women in key roles such as vice president of Manufacturing Operations, pro duction supervisor, marketing manager and West Coast sales manager,” Hunt says.
Moving forward, there are a few things that Hunt is pursuing. First, adding automation, which is key to modernizing equipment across the company brands.
Second, sustainability, which ranges from using biodegradable films with its systems or reducing the company’s own carbon footprint in production processes. Programs are being built out around cor porate social responsibility and how to interact with local, global and industrial communities.
Third, aftermarket services. The “great resigna tion” brought on by the pandemic impacts custom ers’ ability to retain maintenance staffs, so they are looking for more technical support from OEMs. The company’s new support website, branded as Plexpack Certain Assist, includes FAQs, an interactive chat, troubleshooting articles, how-to videos for common questions, answers for preventative and general op erational maintenance, as well as many ways to reach the Plexpack team. Aftermarket service could also mean delivering machine-as-a-service models, re mote management or other proactive ways to op timize the Plexpack equipment or the entire line, Hunt says.
Expansion is also happening in industry seg ments.
“An advantage we have is that our machines are modular,” Hermosillo says. “You can buy something now and scale it to something else in the future. We are focusing the next year or so on specializing in industries we want to grow, such as cannabis or coffee. So, there will be sales people dedicated to different niches.”
Just a year into her CEO role, Hunt plans to continue her own education and personal development. “I have al ways believed that continued involvement in networking across industry segments is essential in leadership de velopment, as it brings a richness to one’s perspectives. I have also learned in this short timeframe the importance
of self-care, allowing time for reflection and not biting off more than you can chew. The real challenge is select ing and focusing on those key outcomes to avoid being overwhelmed and gain real traction.”
From a leadership perspective, Hunt admits that she has a very different style than Irvine. “Paul is a very demonstrative, charismatic leader with strong sales-focus. It has been to my great benefit to have had Paul as my mentor all these years.” Hunt says. “I am highly customer- and service-focused but tend to approach things from an introspective and analytical angle, where I see my role largely to facilitate and guide our talent group toward attainment of goals,
values and strategy. Personally, I am a driven, tena cious, roll-up-your-sleeves executive who sets high bars for myself and my team.”
To that end, transparency and communication are crucial to her efforts going forward. “I strive to be a thoughtful, collaborative and an emotionally intelligent listener. And I know that our people are the key to our success,” she says. “I am honored for the opportunity to lead and look forward to an exciting future.”
For more info, visit www.plexpack.com. SD
Editor’s Note: The original version of this article appeared in December 2021 in OEM
To modernize the packaging of its medica tions for neurological diseases, Lundbeck sought a new packaging system for ampules and vials. The Danish pharmaceutical company spe cializes in diseases of the brain and has been active in neuroscientific research for more than 70 years.
The manufacturer markets products worldwide and requires high-performance and high-quality production. A new state-of-the-art pharmaceutical packaging machine that packs ampules and vials into cartons was needed to replace an existing system.
As these medications were already established on the market, there was no need to develop ma chine-compatible packaging with all the partitions and compartments from scratch. This accelerated the tendering process to just four months before the contract was awarded to Schubert-Pharma, the pharmaceutical division of Schubert Packaging Sys tems, parent company of Schubert North America (Booth LU-8730, W-19008)
Lundbeck emphasized its need to be able to work without large accumulation in front of the packag ing area. To achieve this, only a few products were permitted to be in transit between the upstream pro cesses and the actual packaging process. Therefore, conventional feeding technology was not suitable.
system, the pillars at the installation no longer posed an obstacle. Schubert also developed a universal forming process for the various inner frames, which is format-independent and therefore takes no addi tional time during format changeovers.
with the process-safe feed. Thirty so-called “movers,” small independent transport modules, move on the rail-based system. They are equipped with corre sponding format parts for transporting the ampules and pipettes.
Following automatic separation, five products each are loaded into a mover. Then eight movers are grouped together at the Schubert cartoner’s loading robot. The robot’s tool can pick up 40 ampules or pipettes at once and pre-group them into units of 10. From these pre-groupings, another robot takes the required number for the cartons waiting in parallel on the Transmodul.
To set up the packaging process as efficiently, re liably and securely as possible, Schubert-Pharma de veloped and delivered a fully integrated, turnkey line with all system components procured by Schubert. The line consists of a Schubert cartoner, a B+S label er, a bundler from Pester (Booth S-2989, W-18013), case packer and palletizer. Schubert-Pharma solved the special, piece-precise feeding of ampules and pipettes through to cartoning by means of a small accumulation and the XTS transport system from Beckhoff Automation (Booth S-3882)
To implement the entire process—labeling the product, packing into cartons, bundling the car tons, case packing and palletizing in the production hall—a U-shape was chosen for the packaging ma chine. Thanks to the flexible design of the transport
The packaging machine is designed to pack two sizes of ampules into one-, two-, five- or 10-count cartons. Furthermore, vials, some with pipettes, are packed individually into four different carton sizes. Partitions are used with all formats to protect the glass containers from damage. Each carton also is supplied with a patient insert or booklet and is then labeled. The entire line process, from carton and par tition forming, to loading the pharmaceutical prod ucts and package inserts, to closing and labeling, is handled with the aid of the Transmodul transport robot. This creates a safe, secure and closed packag ing process. Schubert’s experience in the pharmaceu tical sector and advanced robot technology ensures that all specified product and packaging tolerances are met.
A special feature of the packaging machine is feeding the ampules from the labeler and the pi pettes from the sorter. Beckhoff’s XTS feed system delivers the products quickly and accurately to the cartoner’s loading area. Short buffering is possible
The vials, already labeled, are then placed individ ually into the cartons. Once the package inserts have been added, the cartons are closed and labeled and move on to the bundling machine, the case packer and finally to the palletizer.
In total, the flexible pharmaceutical packaging line processes 17 formats and delivers an output of up to 420 products/min. Due to the line’s modular design and optimized carton-forming process, a for mat changeover takes only 30 minutes. “Thanks to the extremely high flexibility of the packaging line, the pharmaceutical manufacturer can now bene fit from a significant competitive advantage in the market,” concludes Karin Kleinbach, sales director at Schubert-Pharma.
For more info, visit www.schubert.group, www.pester. com, www.beckhoff.com. SD
Come see Chicago-area high school students showcase their “bot skills”.
Interact with the bright minds of the future and ask questions about their innovative robot designs. Located in the West Hall in Booth W-21028
Sunday - Tuesday | 9:00 am - 5:00 pm Wednesday | 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
For more information about supporting student programs, visit the PMMI U booth at W-20042.
amazing happened at tna solutions, parent company of tna North America (Booth N-5312), on Nov. 23, 2021. Hundreds of donations, big and small, poured in to our offices around the world as our colleagues took part in the School for Life Foundation’s 24-hour Giving Day—an initiative dedicated to funding educational programs for vulnerable girls and women.
After a day of collecting, promoting and stellar team spirit, the tna team raised a staggering AU$40,700 (US$27,350) for School for Life. This total was then tripled by a matched pool of generous supporters. This incredible donation will give more girls access to a quality education, helping them grow up to be come happy, healthy and fulfilled members of a more prosperous community.
Founded in 2008 by two enthusiastic Australian aid volunteers, School for Life is a nonprofit organization committed to empowering communities in rural Uganda through education and social enterprise. Its ongoing mission is to “educate poverty out of existence” by taking a holistic view of schooling and how it interacts with cul tural expectations, social barriers and other contributing factors. Since the construc tion of the Foundation’s Katuuso Primary and Vocational School in 2011, School for Life has supported the education of more than 1,000 children, giving them a safe space to learn, grow and look forward to a brighter future.
As part of its driving ethos, School for Life believes that every child deserves access to the educational resources they need to realize their full potential. In the case of its female students however, a host of additional barriers make achieving this goal even more challenging. In Uganda, figures suggest that at least 700,000 girls between the ages of six and 12 have never attended school, and one in two young women between the ages of 15 and 24 are illiterate.
The ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has further limited girls’ access to education in the country, exacerbating already existing issues such as a higher prevalence of premature school dropout, increased pressure to support the family financially, early and forced marriage, higher rates of sexually trans mitted diseases and more unwanted pregnancies. To help tackle these inequali ties, the School for Life Foundation launched the $2.75 million Girls’ Fund in October 2020—an ambitious commitment designed to galvanize international action for supporting the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable young women.
From the very beginning, we have worked to ensure tna’s successes are shared with the international community, particularly vulnerable children. This dedication found its ultimate expression in the work of our humanitarian organization, the Nadia and Alf Taylor Foundation, but the tna staff contribute to our charitable projects too.
We are so proud of the incredible contributions they made during School for Life’s 24-hour Giving Day—a great event dedicated to a cause that’s very close to all our hearts at tna. Supporting the Girls’ Education Fund is just one of the amazing contributions the tna team makes every day to help build brighter, happier futures for all.
To find out more about how tna’s sister organization, the Nadia and Alf Tay lor Foundation, works to support inspirational educational projects around the world, visit: https://lnkd.in/gTckAszJ
For more info, visit www.tnasolutions.com. SD
Editor’s Note: Author Nadia Taylor, co-founder and director at tna solu tions, posted this article on Jan. 31, 2022.
Dedicating certain areas of the show floor to pavilions devoted to specific technologies, verticals or business concerns helps attendees quickly lo cate, compare and contrast what their organization needs.
This year’s show features several pavilions. The Processing Zone returns to present the latest breakthroughs in processing. It’s on the upper level of Lake side Center and included the PACK EXPO International debut of the Process ing Innovation Stage, which presented sessions earlier this week.
New this year, The Healthcare Packaging Pavilion in the West Hall is devoted to innovations for pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and medi cal devices. With 70,000 sq. ft. of exhibits, it’s a life sciences show within the show.
Another newcomer is The Logistics Pavilion in the North Building. With the boom in eCommerce, it is the place to find targeted solutions related to the supply chain, including warehousing, fulfillment, distribution logistics services and transportation providers.
Returning favorites include the Containers and Materials Pavilion, a prime destination for attendees looking for innovative containers and materials to meet sustainability goals, refresh a brand or launch new products. This pavil ion in the West Building also houses award-nominated packaging solutions in The Showcase of Packaging Innovations® (Booth W-20052), sponsored by WestRock (Booth S-2130)
The Confectionery Pavilion at the back of the South Hall highlights candy trends and tech. Visit the Candy Bar Lounge (Booth S-2583) for some casual networking and idea sharing. It’s hosted by the National Confectioners Asso ciation and sponsored by Syntegon Packaging Technology (Booth S-3514)
The PACKage Printing Pavilion features digital printing and converting, labeling, coding and marking technologies. It’s located in the South Building.
The Reusable Packaging Pavilion, sponsored by the Reusable Packaging Association (Booth LU-6737), showcases reusable packaging solutions to help reduce waste, cut costs and gain supply chain efficiency. The pavilion houses nearly 50 exhibitors, as well as the Reusable Packaging Learning Center and its roster of educational sessions.
The Education and Workforce Development Pavilion (Booth N-4550) in the North Building is PACK EXPO International’s one-stop-shop for resources to strengthen and grow the workforce.
The nearby Association Partner Pavilion (see story, p. 18) houses leading as sociations dedicated to advancing packaging and processing and offering signif icant resources, insights and expertise in a central location.
For more info, visit www.PACKEXPOinternational.com. SD
Until recent years, most consumer purchas ing was done in person. As more consumers shop online in greater volumes, many man ufacturers are experiencing decreased backstock, in creased demand and shortages of labor. That is where scalable automation makes an immediate and lasting impact, helping manufacturers across the globe bat tle employee retention issues while increasing prod uct quality and throughput.
At Kawasaki Robotics (USA) (Booth N-5946), attendees may view systems from low-cost and en try-level to high-end automation for every type of end-of-line application.
Debuting this year are a high-speed, heavy-pay load palletizing cell, a pre-engineered delta pickand-place cell and the RS013N robot demoing bin picking. The exhibit also features an RS007L robot
equipped with vision and area scanner performing multi-pattern picking and placing and a high-speed CP180L robot palletizing bags and boxes, inserting slip sheets and switching pallets with the same endof-arm tool (EOAT) from Piab (Booth N-6242)
Kawasaki partner IRIS Automation unveils its pre-configured RPZ-MAX palletizing cells, which utilize Kawasaki R Series robots to handle heavi er payloads at faster rates while providing a us er-friendly interface, sleek design and small foot print. With payloads up to 80kg and cycle times of approximately 6 sec, the RPZ-MAX cell utilizes a drag-and-drop pallet builder interface and demos a variety of palletizing configurations. This cell also of fers intermittent slip sheet placement, label orienta tion and verification, a flexible EOAT and a human/ machine interface for attendee interaction.
Equipped with an ultra-high-speed Kawasaki Y Series delta robot, the Sniper Cell from PSA, an other Kawasaki partner, is designed for high-speed, vision-guided pick-and-place, case-packing, car ton-loading, kitting and assembly applications. Its pre-engineered, modular design provides flexibility with a minimized footprint to easily fit into existing or new production lines.
Known to be laborious, tiring and even danger ous, bin picking tasks are suited for automation but can prove challenging due to factors such as shifting part locations and complex path calculations. Using leading optical processing technology from Canon
The RPZ-MAX palletizing cell is a small-footprint system with two pallet stations. An intuitive, user-friendly kiosk replicates the look and feel of a modern Smart phone or tablet and eliminates the need for complex programming by the user.
USA (Booth N-6331), Kawasaki’s RS013N robot picks and sorts random parts from a bin to a convey or, potentially saving time and money.
The high-speed, high-performance RS007L ro bot also performs in a multi-pattern pick-and-place packing cell with fully integrated vision and area scanner for operator interaction. The RS007L robot offers the fastest operating speed in its class, a small footprint and vision compatibility resulting in great er packaging flexibility for the food industry.
A high-speed CP180L robot, capable of indus try-leading palletizing rates of 2,050 cycles/hr., in serts slip sheets, palletizes bags and boxes of random weight and size and switches out pallets. Equipped with a multi-function Piab EOAT, the robot can complete all of these tasks without changing tooling.
For more info, visit www.kawasakirobotics.com, usa.canon.com, www.piab.com. SD
Founded in Colorado in 2009, Cheeba Chews is a long-tenured brand by cannabis standards. Its founders were edibles pioneers and early adopters of accurate, consistent THC dosing in precisely sized, individually de posited taffy chews back when an edible product potency, usually in brownies or cookies, was anything but consistent or accurate.
The brand hit its packaging stride in 2014, when Colorado legalized recre ational cannabis and began regulating. After a transition to meet the then-new regulatory standards, Cheeba Chews settled into a child resistant-certified (CR), 10-cavity blister-pack format using multilayer paper/foil CR lidding from Con stantia Flexibles - Pharma (Booth W-15031) with rollstock blister forming material from Klöckner Pentaplast (Booth W-16018, W-24022). This general format still is used today.
Each cavity in the individu ally portioned 10-pack (five-bytwo format) blister strip holds one 10mg piece of single-dose, THC-infused taffy. Dosing and other pertinent details, varying by stock keeping unit, are printed on the pack. The foil/paper-backed blister strip is then flow-wrapped in printed film. The whole sys tem is dialed in for production, packaging and distribution in Colorado and California, its early markets. But the recent spate of states legalizing recreational cannabis offered potential for the brand to expand outside into new markets.
“We were able to operate Colorado and California by ourselves, and we’re a small business. There are three of us at the ownership level, and we have zero debt, zero investors.” says Eric Leslie, co-owner, CMO, Cheeba Chews. “As new states began to legalize, we were able to establish more of a licensing model to operate in multiple states. This led us into opportunities in Oklahoma, Nevada and Massachusetts. In this licensing system, we ship our base taffy or our gummies [before adding THC extract or oils, which cannot be transported across state lines], along with packaging components and equipment knowledge, to our partners.”
Those Cheeba Chew partners are separately licensed in their own state, with their own state-licensed kitchen facilities. They then have to source their cannabis extract or oil locally.
“So, they source their oil, and we ship them the base taffy prod uct and packaging,” Leslie says. “We set them up with a manufac turing process and machinery, walk them through training processes, and they operate their kitchen and do the infusion process in order to take it to market.”
Having started in Colorado, which is a very dry climate, Cheeba Chews had developed tried-andtrue processes and manufacturing equipment, and it made sense to license that whole package together for the new market partners. But go
ing into a place like Massachusetts, even Oklahoma, even California, the company began to see a lot of variables across multiple kitchens. Depending on the humidity at which it was processed, taffy product sticking to blister cell walls became an issue.
“Even within the same state, different kitchens have different humidity controls,” Leslie says. “When you take the same taffy manufactured in Colorado, ship it to Massachusetts, they cook it down, and then infuse it, they are doing so in a kitchen with higher humidity, so they’re collecting more moisture in the taffy process that changed the viscosity. That changed the behavior of the taffy and how it interacted with our thermoformed trays. Taffy wasn’t popping out for the consumer the same way that it was in this dry climate in manufacturing here in Colorado.”
Another challenge that revealed itself was that in some states, cannabis edi bles brands are required to stamp or mark individual pieces of candy to identify them as cannabis products when they are outside of the pack. Massachusetts is one of these states. That’s easy enough with a gummy, which holds its shape out of the mold. But taffy, no matter how firm a local licensee can cook it, is going to slightly reshape itself, and won’t hold that symbol once it’s outside of the tray. That meant they couldn’t simply think about other forms of packaging outside of the individual trays.
“We really need to hold it in that tray, in that single indentation, in order to stay compliant in multiple different states,” Leslie says.
The home-grown solution to the taffy sticking to trays, which came with the help of New Jersey equipment partner RLS Equipment, is what’s called a swab bing station. In early 2020, Cheeba Chews and RLS co-developed an automat ed, in-line swabbing system with 12 sponges on a motorized arm. Each sponge is able to dispense, via feeder tubes, a thin layer of food-grade oil and wax-based agent. This is swabbed into the sides and bottom of each cavity, preventing taffy from sticking to the internal walls of the thermoformed cavities.
“Whether the taffy does have some more moisture to it, depending on the location, and if it’s a little bit softer, it’s still releasing and falling out of the tray like it’s supposed to,” Leslie says.
Why 12 sponges for a five-by-two-cavity pack? Keep in mind, the thermo formed blisters that will eventually be five-by-two 10-packs arrive as 12x10 format, 120-count trays. They are filled with THC-infused taffy product in that larger 12x10 format via a modified chocolate depositer from Egan Food Technologies (Booth S-2490). Only later will they be cut into 12 separate, fiveby-two 10-packs prior to flow-wrapping. The swabbing system covers an entire 120-cavity tray.
Develops automation to prevent ‘taffy’ from sticking to tray.Trays are filled in a 12x10 format, then cut to 10-count packs. Working directly with an OEM to engineer and build the swabbing station helped keep costs down and also provided equip ment that can be scaled for any market in the U.S. and be compliant with the state regulations. Overhead view shows the swabbing station, co-developed by Chee ba Chews and RLS Equipment, swabbing the 12 x 10-cavity trays.
Given an oil- and wax-based agent was being applied to the trays, an early concern was maintenance of a solid lidding seal if the swabbing sponges left a trace amount of agent on the sealing surface rather than within the cavities. For tunately, the lidding supplier Constantia had been working on that problem for other applications and had a new lidding product at the ready.
“While a lot of third-party solutions are available, there’s a lot of up mark on the solution from whoever owns the CR certification, to the material providers, to the guy selling it to you,” Leslie concludes. “There’s a lot of pennies being stacked on top when you just go get a clam shell, or you get a pouch, or a jar. By working directly with an OEM, and certifying our own solution, and going through some of these painful R&D processes, we were able to keep our cost down to provide a solution that not only is cost-effective, but we can scale it into any market in the U.S. and still be compliant with the state regulations.”
With its own Colorado machine up and running, Cheeba Chews has since installed swabbing stations in California and at the Oklahoma franchise. Fran chisees in Massachusetts and New Jersey are next up to adopt the swabbing station solution.
But Leslie says he realizes this suite of product, packaging, equipment and intellectual property can be a big investment, depending on the market. Potential licensees in big states like New York, Illinois or New Jersey can readily justify this investment, but not all new markets can.
“We are now finalizing a small-state solution that still has the same process,” Leslie says. “You’re still going to have swab trays. You’re going to have depositing, maybe in manual capacity. Maybe you go into a pouch instead of flow-wrap outer package or a more manual process. But a [licensee in a] state like New Mexico doesn’t need a six-figure manufacturing setup in order to execute, because the demand doesn’t require that much of an investment. We’re looking at more man ual processes—it’s still machinery, just more semiautomatic—where it’s going to take multiple steps to get you to that same solution. But we’re working on mak ing sure that a small state, like New Mexico, can still operate to scale alongside a big state, like New York, that’s going to need more robust, automated systems.”
For more info, visit www.pharma.cflex.com, www.kpfilms.com, www.eganfoodtech.com.
Editor’s Note:
in March 2022
As the market leader in spiral conveyors in the packaging industry we think of solutions for elevating and accumulating packed items. It’s what we do. At AmbaFlex it’s not just about building the right equipment, it’s about developing a special solution for you. Here’s to spiral conveying.
Spiral Elevators & Accumulators for primary and secondary packaging handling.
by Amb A Flex | www. A mb AF lex.com
When your customer boasts of their sat isfaction with equipment you recently provided, including video of the ma chine in action, it’s a big deal. Katherine Yates, oper ations manager at The Killer Brownie®, did just that to show off a new sanitary-construction, dual-lane product-turning conveyor from Multi-Conveyor (Booth S-3401). It rotates a single-lane of brownie containers 90 degrees in preparation for labeling.
Multi-Conveyor caught up with Yates, along with Matt Tye, packaging operations manager at The Kill
er Brownie®, early in 2022 at PACK EXPO East.
Tye recalls, “We got the Multi-Conveyor [system] about two weeks ago. So, last Tuesday we had a big run of product in this type of container. (He holds up a plastic tray.) Before, 80–90 packs/min. (ppm) is about where we could go before our (T-arm) turner would fail and jam up. With the Multi-Conveyor [system], now we’re pushing between 100–110 ppm with no issues at all. And, actually, we had to upgrade other parts of the line to keep up with the Multi-Conveyor [unit. We’re] real ly, really happy with it so far.”
To improve consistency, packaging speeds and capacity, Multi-Conveyor provided the 60-in.-long, dual-strand system, sized to the company’s overall footprint specifications, and designed to meet or ex ceed the requested rate of 120 trays/min. Dual-lane product-turning conveyors feature straight-running belts moving at different speeds to cause the tray ro tation needed for the labeling process downstream. Precise adjustments are calculated to gap the trays and prevent collisions.
A low-profile infeed accommodates an existing wall opening. The stainless-steel, hygienic, wash down-compatible conveyor includes bolted standoffs for guide-rail brackets, flange bearings and floor supports. All welds are continuous, cleaned and pas sivated for sanitation.
Pre-wired variable frequency drives and emer gency stops were included for ease of operation. All equipment is fully assembled and tested at Multi-Conveyor prior to shipment.
Yates continues, “The customer service, working with Tom* and your team at Multi-Conveyor, has been absolutely amazing. We appreciate the partner ship.” It was, “wonderful, absolutely,” concludes Tye.
The interview with Yates and Tye and video of the machinery in action is available at https://youtu.be/ jcRYyXmB-KU.
For more info, visit www.multi-conveyor.com. SD
*Tom Wright, sales account manager at Multi- Conveyor
The Raptor is a highly accurate, fully integrated checkweighing system, specifically designed for high care food production environments.
The Raptor is employed to verify the weight of each product and reject non-conforming packs. The system has been designed, engineered, and constructed to the highest care/food grade engineering standards. It is capable of processing packaged products up to 8 kg.
When you think about packaging machin ery, do the words, “living, breathing, hu manlike” come up? For Quebec-based labeling equipment manufacturer, Nita Labeling Systems (Booth S-3666), the answer is simply yes.
That’s because Nita’s XP Series and Joust Series label applicators were designed with “human” char acteristics in mind.
In 2002, Normand Lord purchased Nita, a small manufacturing company. In 2005, Luc Harvey, the company’s current chief engineer, joined as a minori ty owner. After being in the printing plate business for a decade, Lord was able to launch Nita’s offer ing of automatic inline pressure-sensitive labelers by replacing older technology with newer innovations like servo motors and software-managed program mable drives.
“When I found Nita, I saw a diamond in the rough,” Lord says. “I was a senior vice president at Bell Canada, managing 1,500 employees. But my entrepreneurial spirit was calling, and Nita present ed an opportunity to take a vastly underperforming company, which I could transform into a leader. We are currently one of the largest inline pressure-sensi tive label applicator manufacturers in the world. My dreams to be the best are being fulfilled every day.”
Now, the company creates self-diagnosing, fully automatic 100% servo labelers to handle a range of containers, including jugs, tapered tubs, pails, bot tles, clamshells, trays, boxes and flat bags.
But what’s unique is that the system actually identifies when parts need changing or servicing and
notifies users. The users can then order those parts directly from the machine via the Windows 10 IoT Enterprise software-based personal computer (PC) control screen. The labeling system also provides users with daily, weekly and monthly preventative maintenance schedules and reminders, as well as an extensive problem-solving video library. A SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) platform provides real-time overall equipment effectiveness and performance reporting, with live video tech sup port built into the screen.
Ken Hubscher, the company’s vice president of Sales and Marketing and minority owner, joined Nita in 2012 with a mission to unveil the company’s voice and story. At that time, Nita labelers were operating on the original Nita 1.0 platform, which featured the first fully synchronized all-servo labeling systems made in North America. In 2015, Nita graduated to the “smart and intuitive” 3.0 platform, with software capabilities that enabled users to increase production rates with quick changeovers and operational sim plicity. But in 2018, an even more innovative suite ar rived with the launch of the Nita 4.0 platform, which took the Nita labelers from smart to humanlike with built-in predictive maintenance features.
When Nita launched the 4.0 platform, Hubscher centered around the term “sentient” to describe what Nita 4.0 brought to the company’s labelers. Defined, “sentient” means the ability to feel or perceive— and it’s rarely used to describe a machine. But
with Nita 4.0, features like predictive maintenance, speed-synchronized servo technology, total replica tion changeovers and open-source SCADA software enabled this machine to self-diagnose.
But how do these technological advances relate to the term “sentient?”
“One of the features on our systems is the self-di agnosing properties that we’ve built in,” Hubscher says. “This technology actually monitors the motor loads, sensors and cycles and advises plant floor op erators when something isn’t right. It literally pre vents a problem from happening. The term sentient is the ability to perceive or feel, which in a sense is what our machines are doing now.”
For example, if too much pressure is being put on the servo motor in the head of the label applicator, the machine prompts the operator through the label er’s human/machine interface (HMI), which is a PC computer with videos and flowcharts that show the operator where to reduce pressure.
“And once the operator hits the sweet spot, the machine will tell them that they are back in a happy zone,” Hubscher says. “It’s actually feeling itself and telling you what it’s feeling. Sentient may be a little bit tongue in cheek, but it’s mechanically direct.”
The Nita 4.0 platform also offers 3D-mapped, color-coded and ruled changeovers, on-screen parts ordering, preventative maintenance schedules and video tutorials, as well as the self-monitoring and diagnosing capabilities.
The company doesn’t use programmable logic controllers (PLCs) or proprietary microprocessor boards for its labelers, as it opts for PC-based con trols working in tandem with smart servo drives, be cause it allows the labelers to adapt to changes and different products faster.
“There are no PLCs, microprocessor boards or proprietary electronics in our systems,” Hubscher says. “All of the drives dictate what everything on the machine needs to do in relation to the individu al speed signal. When you’re running our labelers, if you were to change the speed of the conveyor, every thing on the machine would automatically adjust. It knows exactly where the container is, the speed and the distance at all times. You don’t have to do any
Nita Labeling adds sentient traits to the science of labeling.
calculations, mechanical adjustments or guessing. The software system we created automatically adjusts and calculates everything on-the-fly, regardless of speed.”
Hubscher says Nita’s completely closed servo software system that automatically calculates to the speed of the conveyor has been a large contributor to the company’s growth.
Since 2013, Nita has grown 1,700% because of its intuitive label applicators. In 2015, Nita began incorporating lean manufacturing techniques to overhaul the production environment. With annual 40% growth year-over-year, this was essential. The current Nita manufacturing process is now lean and ultra-efficient, Hubscher says. Everything at the company is computerized—from the quote that is submitted to the client to the shipping of the fin ished machine. Every detail flows through custom enterprise resource planning (ERP) and materials requirements planning (MRP) systems that tie into all accounting, engineering, assembly and post-care activities. On the shop floor, Nita’s people who build the machines are guided by terminals with live Au toCAD feeds that can be modified, ensuring that any floor-level changes are recorded and standard ized in the machine’s blueprints. The assembly line flow on Nita’s floor ensures that production efficien cy is maximized without wasting time and resources, Hubscher says.
In 2020 alone, Nita grew 35% while also being able to aid its core customer base—companies that deal with hand sanitizer applications—by narrow ing lead times 25%. This resulted in their custom ers being able to churn out more product to answer to supply chain and consumer demands during the COVID-19 pandemic. A testament to its invest ment in lean techniques.
And while automation and computers handle the flow of important details throughout the company, the human approach—beyond the sentient label ers—is what has kept business coming back and growing, Hubscher says.
“A big part of our growth is because of the cul ture we create with our customers,” Hubscher says. “We are extremely hands-on when it comes to the planning of a project. We listen to our clients, send in local reps when applicable, gather all relevant in formation, and produce a tailor-made proposal.”
Since the inception of Nita, the company has al ways offered “forever-free” customer support. Hub scher coins it “NitaCare.”
“Our customers have to be running,” Hubscher says. “It doesn’t matter what your job title is, at our company, everybody’s job is to ask the question, ‘Is what I am doing right now conducive to making sure the customer is running?’ And NitaCare is real ly just an extension of that.”
NitaCare comes standard—and at no extra charge—with every machine. Nita customers can get service and support through Nita’s video App, phone calls or Internet login to the inherently con nected Wi-Fi PC HMIs for the entire lifetime of the machine.
“Sure, customers can call us on FaceTime or WhatsApp, but through our App, they can scan the barcode on the machine, and it will automatically pull up their machine. Then, they can connect di rectly with one of our technicians to resolve the issue on the spot,” Hubscher says.
Nita also has built in the capability to conduct re mote maintenance so technicians can get inside the machine to diagnose the problem, if needed. And because of the App, coupled with the equipment’s intuitiveness, Nita can perform maintenance and
service almost exclusively remotely.
To offer services like NitaCare, Hubscher says the people at the center of their company need to be on board, too. And not only does the company’s culture and reputation speak to customers, but it also transcends to Nita’s shop floor.
“Nita’s success truly does rely on the strength of our people. We promote a culture of innovation and commitment that values teamwork, accountability, integrity, honor, humility and results,” Hubscher says. “Inclusiveness and incentive are what our culture is all about. I include everyone from every department in discussions about our goals and our mission. We take time to help them understand what’s going on in the industry and how it aligns with our customers and equipment. It creates engagement beyond just showing up to do a job.” As for incentives, every em ployee at Nita is a part of the company’s profit-shar ing program, he says.
Nita has grown from 12 employees to more than 50 during the past couple of years. But Hubscher says there are still moments where the company feels like a small, tight-knit family. For example, Lord, the company’s president, holds routine meetings on the shop floor where everyone gathers around to learn about the latest innovations and to recognize each other’s achievements.
“We have employees who have been here since Nita opened, and that speaks to the culture that we have created here,” Hubscher says. “Working with people who actually love what they do for a living changes the entire supplier and client experience. We all love what we do and that resonates in the product and in the brand.”
“When I joined Nita in 2005, Normand shared his dream of becoming the biggest and best labeling machine manufacturer in the world,” Harvey says. “From the first line of code I wrote when I arrived to the incredible levels of technology infused into every Nita [labeler] that leaves our shop today, I feel such an immense level of pride in everything we have ac complished. As an engineer, mine and my partners’ commitment to never stop innovating is a dream come true.”
Three years ago, the company doubled the size of its Terrebonne, Quebec, Canada, facility’s footprint with its sights set on big future plans to expand into the European markets.
“We didn’t want to jump into the European arena until we were manufacturing there, but the demand is so large that we’re actually being pulled in,” Hubscher says.
As Nita embarks on the European market, the team also is developing its Nita 5.0 platform, which is cur rently top secret. But Hubscher tells us, “The next gen eration of Nita is underway. And it’s a game changer.”
For a whole year now, the entire industry has been at a standstill when it comes to meeting with potential
business connections or making routine sales trips to meet with customers. So how has Nita continued to foster and nurture the very relationships that contrib ute to its bottom line? Hubscher says not being able to meet with customers at trade shows or during nor mal meetings has been a big adjustment. “I can’t get out there and show our partners and customers how much I love them and show them the excitement I have about where we’re going,” Hubscher says. “So as a result, we are leaning heavier on content creation that creates a personalized narrative for people.”
Leveraging content that positions original equip ment manufacturers as thought leaders is a market ing strategy that has long existed but is even more effective today, as Hubscher points out.
And while Hubscher can’t be out on the road making sales calls, he says one of Nita’s greatest
selling tools is its website. The company puts a lot of time, effort and money into search engine opti mization (SEO) techniques that help position the manufacturer in front of its customers and potential users online. SEO keywords—when applied correct ly—can help manufacturers have a favorable position on Google so customers can find the manufacturers they are looking for quickly and more efficiently.
Nita also has leveraged YouTube with informative and visually appealing videos that convey what their technology and equipment can do, which is also a great sales technique, Hubscher says, noting that some of their videos have garnered thousands of views.
For more info, visit www.nitalabeling.com. SD
Editor’s Note: The original version of this article was published in March 2021 by OEM
When Zack Schreier and Nick Hamburger co-founded Quevos in 2018, their idea was to offer a healthy, low-carb snack. Initial success for its egg-white-based chip necessi tated a more powerful industrial mixer.
But they weren’t sure the mixer they had in mind would work for their product. So, they rented it in stead of buying it, quickly gained valuable experience and expanded their business.
For companies where renting might be an attractive alternative, Hamburger advises, “Check it out. It can be a really great option. It’s almost as affordable as going to a test lab. But this way, if it works, it’s already on your floor and you can just get up and running right away. It’s a really, really nice, flexible model.”
Since the company’s inception, all food process ing for Quevos products was done in-house in a commercial kitchen space on the south side of Chicago. Quevos has now grown into 30,000 sq. ft. of space.
In the fall of 2021, Af ter significant success and growth, Hamburger was looking for new mixing equipment. Until then, mix
The Breddo mixer liquid liquefier helped Que vos meet higher production requirements.
Since it was in-stock at Frain Industries, it could be delivered quickly. It’s performed so well, Quevos plans to rent it long-term.
ing had been done manually in small batches. But Que vos needed to move to a more powerful, more industrial mixer in order to produce at larger quantities.
Hamburger believed that the Breddo mixer liquid liquefier would work well—but he wasn’t completely sure. Would it deliver the same product quality? What volume would it produce? Would it be easy to use? What Hamburger really wanted was to test the equip ment but being able to test industrial equipment is rare.
The mixer performed well. It has allowed Quevos to be more efficient and to mix much larger batches. As a result, Quevos has continued to rent this ma chine and plans to continue doing so.
This is when Frain Industries (Booth S-1639) came into the picture. Hamburger had known about Frain through word of mouth and was aware that Frain had a strong reputation in the industry.
Hamburger also knew about and really liked Frain’s business model, which he described as follows: “They have a huge inventory of different food equipment and they are able to flexibly lease this equipment . . . at rela tively low cost for a three-month minimum. And, they get the equipment to you really quick.”
He said that Frain’s model worked perfectly for Quevos. Frain had the Breddo mixer in stock. Que vos was able to rent it, have Frain bring it in, and test it. If it didn’t work, Quevos could return the mixer; if it did work, Quevos could continue to rent it, or take advantage of Frain’s lease-to-buy option.
“It’s been amazing,” reports Hamburger. “It ended up enhancing the product quality.”
Hamburger summarized the benefits that Quevos has experienced in working with Frain:
Flexible model. Frain’s model gives a company the flexibility to rent and test a piece of equipment and have confidence it is the right equipment before making a significant investment.
Speed. At a time when getting some equipment can take months, Frain provides equipment in just days or weeks.
Selection. While in this situation Quevos needed one specific mixer, it is great to know the broad selec tion of equipment that Frain has available. Quevos may take advantage of this in the future as other needs arise.
Expertise. Frain personnel are knowledgeable and able to answer questions about the right type of equipment for a specific need and can provide train ing, service and support. Hamburger describes Frain as “approachable” and easy to work with.
Economical. For an entrepreneurial company like Quevos, Frain’s rental model is inexpensive and works well. The rental concept also suits companies that want to test a new idea and quickly and inex pensively bring it to market.
Location. Although Quevos is located in the Chicago area, not far from Frain, Frain’s national reach is a definite benefit. Frain is able to provide the same speed and service across the entire country.
For more info, visit www.frain.com. SD
Editor’s Note: This blog was posted on Aug. 4, 2022 on the Frain website.
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Silent auction raises $67,000+ Funds benefit PMMI Foundation, educational programs.
The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies (Booth N-4550), raised more than $67,000 during its second an nual Silent Auction to benefit the PMMI Foundation and support the future of the packaging and processing industry. Donations are used to fund student scholar ships and education programs.
“PMMI received an overwhelmingly positive re sponse of donations from all across our industry to sup port the PMMI Foundation’s mission of advancing the packaging and processing workforce,” says Jim Pittas,
president and CEO, PMMI. “Our sincerest gratitude to all who took the time to participate in this event by donating items, money and bidding on items. These gifts will help ensure the future of our industry.”
The Silent Auction was held in conjunction with the 2022 PMMI Annual Meeting (Sept. 12-14, Chicago) and raised money through bids and dona tions both online and in person, with a live compo nent held during the event. Items available for bid included vacation getaways to Montana, New Or leans, Hilton Head, St. Petersburg and Colorado;
sure to join us next year at PACK EXPO Las Vegas - the must attend event in 2023 to keep you on the cutting edge of packaging and processing solutions.
autographed guitars from the American rock band Styx, which were signed earlier this week during the PACK Gives BACK event; sports tickets; and bour bon gift sets.
The Foundation is always thankful for donations. This year, several companies made significant cash donations during the event:
Pacteon (Booth S-3500)
ProMach (Booth N-5534, N-5540)
Garvey (Booth N-5314)
PAC Machinery (Booth S-3314)
Paxiom Group (Booth S-2153)
Delkor Systems (Booth S-2948)
The Silent Auction also drew many generous gift donations:
• Barry-Wehmiller (BW) (Booth S-2100, S-2106, S-2406)
• Baumer (Booth N-4619)
• Festo (Booth N-6213)
• Harpak-ULMA Packaging (Booth S-3448, S-3449)
• Pearson Packaging Systems
• Polypack (Booth S-2147)
• R.A Jones (Booth S-2501)
• Spee-Dee Packaging Machinery (Booth S-2022)
• Starview Packaging Machinery (Booth N-5728)
• WIPOTEC-OCS (Booth S-4172)
• Jordan Hamrick
• Matt Jones
• Mark Ruberg
• Bob and Lisa Williams
“We would like to thank those who participated in the silent auction,” says Kate Fiorianti, director of Workforce Development, PMMI. “We had bidding wars . . . on several items. There were so many mem bers who participated that we cannot list them all, but we want to give a special thank you to several mem bers who successfully, and generously, bid on multiple big-ticket items.”
• Andrew Barrieau, Felins USA (Booth S-3842, W-19019)
• Emmanuel and Montserrat Cerf, Polypack (Booth S-2147)
• Kevin Mauger, NCC Automated Systems (Booth N-5740)
• Greg Schombert, Hoosier Feeder (Booth N-6136)
• Nancy and Nick Wilson, Morrison Contain er Handling Systems (Booth N-4906)
Donations to the PMMI Foundation can be made at anytime.
For more info, visit www.pmmi.org/foundation. SD
The use of new and evolving technologies such as fully integrated enterprise resource planning systems, Cloud computing and connected machine sensor networks, remote access and Industrial Internet of Things connectivity has increased exponentially. While making manufactur ing more efficient, these technologies also create ex ploitable points of vulnerability, according to the Cy bersecurity: Assess Your Risk white paper from PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies (Booth N-4550)
According to the white paper, in the first quarter of 2020, attacks targeting the manufacturing sector accounted for 11% of all cyberattacks that occurred across all industries. By the second quarter of 2020, cyberattacks targeting manufacturers accounted for 33% of all incidents across all industries.
This increase in attacks is especially alarming con sidering there are real, growing costs to manufacturers that experience a cyberattack. In 2020, the average cost
of a cyberattack stood at around $3.86 million, and that is before factoring in ancillary impacts such as lost op portunity and damaged customer loyalty.
“As our industry increases its reliance on digital technology, it is critical for manufacturers to improve cybersecurity preparedness and stay abreast of the latest tools and technologies to protect their oper
ations,” says Jim Pittas, president and CEO, PMMI.
Cybersecurity is a key topic throughout the show floor and at The Forum (Booth N-4543) (see p. 34)
The free, 45-minute sessions begin with a short presen tation and conclude with a roundtable discussion.
For more info, visit www.PACKEXPOinternational.com. SD
ITP, the parent company of ITP USA (Booth W-21027), a supplier of films and flexible pack aging, marks 50 years in business. Founded in 1972, the company, which is headquartered in Italy, offers a range of films including barrier structures for food packaging.
In its early days, the company produced flexible films for the ceramic and brick sector and shrink film for the beverage sector. In 1990, ITP began produc ing coextruded films with up to seven layers.
More recently, ITP has focused on sustainable substrates, which are a recyclable monomaterial or certified compostable. Brand names include Pack Revolution and RecyBariflex. In 2021, the company began offering films with International Sustainabil ity and Carbon Certification, known as ISCC Plus, which provide guaranteed bio-circularity through out the supply chain.
Extensive lab resources help develop, test and cus tomize flexible packaging materials. Meanwhile, the company works to minimize its own environmental footprint by reducing consumption and increasing productivity. By 2025, a new production plant for fully recyclable packaging is scheduled to be online. It represents an investment of €40 million.
For more info, visit www.itpusa.us. SD
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Higher production efficiencies thanks to magnetic transport system, that optimize and simplifies processes;
Easy cleaning, fast changeover time;
2D, 3D & NIR product vision inspection;
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Students gain hands-on skills, debt-free education.
Two apprentices began their first week of training in August 2022 in a program at groninger USA (Booth W-18001), a suppli er of customized filling machines for the pharmaceu tical, cosmetic and consumer healthcare industries.
Iliana Cooper and Dario Allen were selected to join current apprentices, Jenny Dam and Ryan
Monroe, in groninger’s apprenticeship program after completing a two-week summer internship. They are the latest participants in a four- to six-year training program, which includes practical work experience, a company-paid college education and a Journeywork er certificate from the North Carolina Department of Labor.
“Choosing to pursue an apprenticeship at gron inger USA right after high school was the best de cision I could have made,” says Dam, a third-year mechanical engineering apprentice.
Let Turck tackle whatever packaging automation challenges you are facing. Our wide range of reliable automation solutions – including sensors, industrial cordsets, distributed I/O products, and RFID stand up to the toughest packaging and processing environments. From improving highspeed cap and can detection to cost-effective machine control with a combined HMI/PLC, or more rugged washdown-rated cables, Turck has a solution. Can’t find what you are looking for? Choose from our wide range of custom options.
The groninger apprenticeship program is person alized for various learning styles and includes a men tor who works closely with students to ensure they receive proper training. Each student completes sev eral projects that include electrical, mechanical and programming tasks.
The motto of groninger USA’s apprenticeship program, “training today for tomorrow’s success,” has come true for Thomas Ray, assembly technician and apprenticeship lead at groninger USA, who mentors the students through the program. Ray joined gron inger USA in 2018 as an apprenticeship lead after spending 31 years in public education as a teacher and administrator. Ray believes that apprenticeships are key in developing a strong workforce that meets the current demands of high-tech manufacturing as well as a vehicle for young people in building a bright future and high standard of living for them selves, their families and their country.
In Germany, apprenticeships are a typical kind of job training, and groninger, a German company, has a lot of experience using this method to develop a skilled team. The groninger Apprenticeship Program in Germany was so successful that it only made sense to extend it to its office in Charlotte, NC. As appren ticeships continue to gain popularity throughout the U.S., several other American businesses have begun to implement apprenticeship programs.
In 2015, PMMI, The Association for Packag ing and Processing Technologies (Booth N-4550), partnered with the Industrial Maintenance Training Center of North America, in cooperation with the Employment and Training Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), to develop the National Apprenticeship guidelines for the occupa tion “mechatronics technician.” This apprenticeship program is based on the PMMI’s Mechatronics Cer tificate Tests, and employers can use the new appren ticeship guidelines as a part of a formal, DOL-reg istered apprenticeship program or as a structure for their internal programs.
For more info, visit www.groninger-group.com, www.PMMI.org. SD
Manufacturers can achieve sterile condi tions throughout their entire equipment sets by employing proper steam-in-place (SIP) operations. Mike Byron, lead process engineer at Haskell (Booth LU-7664), a global, fully inte grated, single-source design-build and engineer-pro cure-construct firm, explains how it’s done.
SIP operations use the thermal energy of con densing steam for a controlled period to reduce bioburden in manufacturing settings and are widely employed and highly effective in the food and bever age and biotech industries.
SIP operations may be used for:
• Process disinfection to kill pathogenic (dis
• Thermal inactivation of a target organism
• Steam sanitization to achieve a 99.9% bio-kill of all present organisms.
The most stringent SIP application achieves ster ile conditions throughout the entire equipment set to sterilize the process system as an entity. The pro cess system may include processing vessels and pip ing, filtered gas overlay supplies, process liquid filters, valves, pumps and processing instrumentation.
Reliably achieving sterile conditions when SIP’ing process equipment depends on following 10 rules:
Perform effective CIP operations to remove pro cessing soils before initiating SIP operations. The thermal resistance of microorganisms and spores can be enhanced by the protective effects of process soil.
Operations should confirm steam supply header pressure and temperature to ensure a saturated steam supply. Superheated steam or an insufficient steam supply will result in a failed SIP program. Steam quality must meet “Culinary Steam” requirements in the food industry and “Clean Steam” specifications in the biotech industry.
The SIP operations should be configured to intro duce the saturated steam supply as high as possible in the equipment set, leveraging the steam supply pressure and temperature differences to push out ambient system gases through monitored process low points. The ambient gases will sink to process low points for effective evacuation.
Install steam-trap blocking valves and a steam trap at each process low point and include a tempera ture-monitoring device between each. Be sure to locate the element above the trap’s condensate leg for accurate temperature measurement. If possible, use trap-bypass valves for efficient air purging at the process low point to minimize the mixing of steam and air.
The importance of complete air elimination from the processing system cannot be overstated. To as sist in completely replacing air with saturated steam, use monitored high-point air bleeds to push high air
out of the system. High-point air bleeds are recommended on large filter housing, process vessel vent and overlay gas supply lines.
Whenever possible, avoid parallel steam paths with in the processing system sharing a common steam trap. As pressure differences occur during air removal stages, a parallel line pockets air, which prevents proper steam exposure and results in sterility failures.
Plan the SIP operation to have steam flow in the same direction as the process flow to take advantage of the existing process piping pitch and support for process drainability. Plan the piping system to avoid hoses, dead ends and non-drainable low points that can create condensate pools or air pockets. These pools and air pockets can provide an insulating effect on the targeted microorganisms. Prompt, effective condensate elimination is critical to the success of SIP operations.
After process air has been fully removed and the system charged with saturated steam, a time delay is recommended for all system components to achieve the desired set point temperature. To achieve sterile conditions, universally expose the system as specified by the FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research 21 CFR Guideline (Section 600.11), which calls for a level equal to that attained by exposure to a temperature of 121.5 C for 20 min. by saturated steam. Consider adding 1.5 C to the SIP set point to cover temperature element accuracy concerns. The 20-min. thermal exposure must be continuous, with out the temperature dropping below the set point.
Providing a means of active steam flow to the pro cess as the SIP timer counts down can help ensure the required thermal treatment. This steam “activity” can be achieved through positioning the process ves sel vent pressure control valve slightly open or using orificed steam traps or bypass valves.
After the desired exposure to saturated steam has achieved a complete thermal bio-kill, the sterile pro cess boundary must be protected as the condensate is drained from the system. The equipment is cooled to prepare for sterile process operations.
Once the sterile boundary has been created, the question often raised is, “How does one protect and maintain a sterile process boundary?” Using overlap ping sterile boundaries, active or passive air overlays
and steam blocks are highly effective.
Discuss your CIP/SIP needs with Haskell’s Pro cess Engineers, an integral part of the Food & Bev erage Manufacturing Contracting team ranked No. 1 two years in a row by Engineering News Record
Haskell delivers more than $1 billion annually in architecture, engineering, construction and consult ing services for complex capital projects worldwide.
Haskell is a global, fully integrated, single-source design-build and EPC firm with more than 2,000 highly specialized, in-house design, construction and administrative professionals across industrial and commercial markets. With 20+ office locations around the globe, Haskell is a trusted partner for global and emerging clients.
For more info, visit www.haskell.com. SD
JonesPotato Farm is a large-scale, family-owned producer of potatoes, green beans, citrus and cattle. Gripped by a tight labor market, they’ve searched for new automated technologies to maintain their high product quality and production capacities.
In 2020, they installed an advanced VERYX® B175 digital sorter from Key Technology (Booth S-3553) to find and remove foreign material (FM) and product defects on their fresh-pack green bean line. Process ing more than 250,000 bushels of green beans every year, the VERYX unit helps Jones reduce manual labor while protecting product quality and maximizing yield.
“The labor shortage is a major concern for all ag ricultural operations,” reports Alan Jones, president and CEO of Jones Potato Farm. He explains, “It’s become very difficult and expensive to recruit and retain 20 reliable workers to manually inspect our green beans, especially during our peak season when we often operate seven days a week.While we’ll al ways have a place for good employees here in our facility, it’s nice to be able to take some pressure off our people. VERYX is a highly effective sorter that improves our operating efficiencies.
“Before we selected VERYX, we did a fair amount of research. We looked at Key because we’ve had such great experiences working with them in the past. They have a reputation for both world-class equipment and service, and we value their expertise in green bean pro cessing. We visited a Key customer to see VERYX sort ing green beans in person. As soon as we saw what it was achieving, we knew it was the right solution for us. A sorter is a big investment, so equipment dependabil ity and longevity are super important. We appreciate that VERYX has a proven track record with long-term success at so many facilities around the world.”
The VERYX system is Key’s most advanced op tical sorter and the B175 is the highest capacity model, capable of processing green beans at up to 6.8 MT/hr. on its 1750mm-wide inspection zone. As the world’s only belt-fed sorter that can inspect prod
uct entirely in-air with top and bottom sensors, the VERYX sorter achieves all-sided surface inspection of each green bean with no blind spots. The VERYX B175 model at Jones is fully loaded with top- and bottom-mounted off-axis cameras, top-mounted la ser sensors and Key’s Pixel Fusion™ detection mod ule to find and remove the most FM and the right amount of defects to make grade and maximize yield.
Equipped with cameras and laser sensors, this VERYX sorter recognizes the color, size, shape and structural properties of every object. Pixel Fusion combines pixel-level input from cameras and laser sensors to produce higher contrasts between objects for better detection accuracy without false rejects. The VERYX unit identifies and ejects all types of FM including insects, animal parts, paperboard, wood, rocks, plastics and glass as well as extraneous vegetative matter (EVM) such as weeds and other plant material from the product stream.
“Green beans can present a wide variety of differ ent defects, depending on the growing environment,” notes Ishmael Hernandez, production and farm manager at Jones Potato Farm. He explains, “Here in Florida, we grow green beans in light sand, so wind damage and tip rot are common issues. We like that our VERYX can be programmed to focus on the specific defects found in our region. And it’s easy to fine-tune the settings so we remove exactly what we want and nothing more. It’s totally customizable.”
Jones Potato Farm selected a three-way VERYX sorter that separates product into three streams to maximize efficiency and yield. The “reject” stream is programmed to collect FM and certain defects, which go to waste. The ‘“accept” stream sends good green beans with no clusters or stems on to pack aging. The third sort stream gets everything else, including clusters and green beans with attached stems. These green beans are sent to a separate twoway sorter from Key that separates rework, which is circulated back to the beginning of the line. Her
Gerresheimer and Stevanato Group (Booth W-15039) join forces to give pharma ceutical manufacturers a smooth transi tion from bulk to ready-to-use (RTU) vials. Based on Stevanato’s EZ-fill® pre-sterilized technology, the new RTU vial platform is designed to seam lessly integrate on standard fill/finish lines and help operators boost efficiency, improve quality, increase speed to market, reduce total cost of own ership (TCO) and help mitigate supply chain risk.
The new RTU platform will be available to stan dardize fill/finish operations from early-phase drug development to commercialization. The platform shares the same secondary packaging, production process and sterilization method, ensuring consis tent, available capacity and reliable double sources.
A hallmark of the development is a signifi cant reduction in particles, which improves over all quality and performance. Dr. Lukas Burkhardt, member of the Gerresheimer Management Board,
nandez says, “Separating rework helps us recover an additional 1% of product, which adds up.
“Our VERYX is great at handling high-defect loads without sacrificing good product to the reject stream. This means we’re able to consistently achieve our final product specifications, regardless of incom ing product quality, while we maximize yield.
“This sorter is very reliable, which is important, because we won’t run our line without it. If we ever need support, VERYX makes it easy. With its re mote-monitoring capability, a Key service technician can securely access and adjust its settings remotely. Sometimes our shifts run until 4 a.m., and it’s good to know that Key’s remote service is always available, even in the middle of the night, to help our sorter operate at peak performance.”
Jones concludes, “Overall, we’re more than satisfied with VERYX and with Key. Since our VERYX sort er started up, we haven’t had a single customer com plaint—that’s a major marker of success. And we’re achieving our consistently high product quality while reducing manual labor and increasing yield. Key is truly an industry leader. That’s apparent both in the caliber of their equipment and the services they provide.”
For more info, visit www.key.net. SD
reports, “The newly developed RTU vial platform stands out in terms of quality, TCO and sustainabil ity and takes the use of RTU solutions like vials and, in the future, cartridges to a new level.”
The joint development will be presented to the market in November 2022 at the CPhI Worldwide in Frankfurt. Burkhardt predicts the development, “will convince the market to significantly accelerate the conversion from bulk to RTU vials.”
For more info, visit www.stevanatogroup.com. SD
The new Bridging the IT-OT Gap on Cybersecurity work product pro vides guidance for closing the cybersecurity gap between Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT) on the shop floor.
Developed by the MaX Member Forum, convened by PMMI, The Asso ciation for Packaging and Processing Technologies (Booth N-4550), the guidebook helps educate personnel at OEMs and consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers about cybersecurity approaches from both the IT and OT perspectives. It also helps PMMI members operate effectively at the inter section of IT and OT when it comes to operationalizing cybersecurity.
The highlights of this work product include defining the IT-OT gap, un derstanding the constraints of both IT and OT, proposed solutions and best practices to bridge the gap, and real-world cybersecurity situations.
“The cybersecurity gap between IT and OT has become increasingly chal lenging as computer and network systems become ubiquitous in manufactur ing processes,” says Bryan Griffen, senior director, Industry Services, PMMI. “The more IT and OT work together, learn from each other, and plan proac tively, the smaller the IT-OT gap becomes, leading to more secure manufac turing environments.”
The collaborative MaX (Manufacturing Excellence) Member Forum drives efficiencies and streamlines operations by sharing best practices for optimizing business, convening share groups to discuss best practices and developing fo cused training to improve operations.
The Bridging the IT-OT Gap on Cybersecurity work product, as well as other operational solutions, are available for free download at: www.pmmimaxmem berforum.org/work-products.
For more info, visit www.PMMI.org. SD
Lenze Americas (Booth N-5239) is sponsoring lounges for exhibitors and members of PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Tech nologies (Booth N-4550), the producer of PACK EXPO International.
“With so much growth and change in the industry and the multitude of new features in Chicago, this year ensures a very busy show floor; these lounges will be a sought-after commodity offering exhibitors and PMMI members a place to rest their feet and recharge,” says Jim Pittas, president and CEO, PMMI. “We are grateful to Lenze for supporting this resource again this year.”
The lounges provide meeting space, seating, refreshments and a chance to take a break away from the busy show floor. “Lenze recognizes how important it is for members and exhibitors to have a space to recharge between networking with attendees in their booths, and we are proud that we are able to sponsor these lounges again this year,” says Susan Duval, senior marketing communications manager, Lenze Americas.
Lenze is sponsoring four Exhibitor Lounges (Room E-251, N-229, S-405a and W-470a) and two PMMI Member Lounges (Room N-227b and S-402ab). Lounges are open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. today.
For more info, visit www.PACKEXPOinternational.com. SD
The RI20 palletizing cell with an industrial robot arm simplifies all the complex processes of a traditional palletizer.
The palletizer is compact, mobile and adapts easily to production changes, whether for a new recipe or a different line location. The unit is suitable for palletizing closed boxes up to 15 kg and 12 cycles/min.
Easy-to-use with unique hardware and software interface for trouble-free operations.
Read more at Flexlink.com or contact us at info.us@flexlink.com
Automation has made steady progress into many phases of industrial baking, from in gredient handling to packaging to palletiz ing and warehouse operations. Advances in robotics and digital technology make automation a viable solution for many baking and snack producers, and the ROI can be attractive.
It is essential to evaluate if your organization is prepared to transition into automation. This step re quires a certain level of technical sophistication from both maintenance and operations organizations. Be cause it can be challenging to transition from manual operations to a highly automated facility, it is essen tial to evaluate your organization’s preparedness.
A good place to start the automation journey is in the packaging area. It is not uncommon for smaller bakers to manually pack finished products into cor rugated cases, plastic trays or baskets. Depending on the line speed, this often involves two to three people. Automation often can reduce the number of people performing these tasks while providing a saf er working environment.
For the most part, large bakers were able to be gin the automation journey many years ago and are now comfortable with the technology. They also have
been able to hire or develop the talent to maintain these systems. However, while large bakers may be more comfortable with automation and robotic tech nology, no one is fully automated yet. The vision of a “lights out bakery” is still years away.
Transitioning to automation requires hiring and developing solid technical talent. Bakeries must be able to operate, clean and maintain these automated systems. This includes staff who know how to work with programmable controls, computers and robotic systems and diagnose mechanical problems. It is vi tal to building an in-house technical team that can speed up today’s ever-changing technology.
On average, automation in the packaging area re quires 10–15% more space than a manual operation. For example, if you are loading finished products, three or four people may be needed to pick and place the product into the tray or box. This takes a relative ly small footprint. However, when automating, you need to lane, align and feed product into a robotic cell. Some bakeries do not have the footprint to fully automate areas like packaging, but still can benefit from other upgrades. For example, bread or roll bas
ket loading often fits into an existing footprint.
Most automated systems require compressed air and electrical power. While some facilities may experience a slight uptick in energy costs, this can be offset by la bor-related savings. Typically, people doing these man ual tasks are subjected to repetitive motion, bending, twisting, lifting and reaching, which can injure muscles, nerves, ligaments and tendons. Automation eliminates these activities and provides a safer work environment.
One of the most compelling reasons for imple menting automation is labor. For most bakeries, la bor costs represent the most significant expense and hardest cost to manage or reduce. Even highly skilled operators can’t match the repeatable accuracy of au tomation. Some automated systems also can perform multiple operations, eliminating the time required to move materials from one work center to another.
Today’s labor market is probably one of the most challenging bakers have seen. Hiring and retaining employees has been a significant challenge for most bakers. Many bakeries are moving to automation due to the inability to retain employees for highly repet itive positions.
Fast. Reliable Proven. See for yourself. Visit us at Pack Expo International in Booth 5230 North. www.SoftRoboticsInc.com
Our groundbreaking robotic solutions with 3D vision, soft grasping and artificial intelligence software are changing how food processors operate—one pick at a time.
ROI depends on several factors, including guide lines for capital investment payback. However, a rule of thumb would be a two- to three-year payback. When calculating savings from automation, in clude direct labor savings, improved uptime, quicker changeovers and reduced workers’ comp costs.
Automation requires significant up-front in vestment. Ideally, technical staff should be hired in advance. This allows them to be a part of the steep learning curve that comes with this new technolo gy. Key maintenance and operations representatives should attend factory acceptance tests and partici pate in installing the equipment.
One of the biggest eye-openers when automat ing is the need to maintain tight specifications. Most products vary in size throughout the day. Typically, when manually placing product into a basket, bag or box, a person can fit it. With automation, there usu ally is less room for adjustment. This places pressure on the operators at the front end of the process to ensure the finished product is within specifications.
Wherever you are considering automation, it is valuable to keep up to speed with current technology,
what other bakers are doing and the next best steps for your unique product and facility. When consid ering equipment suppliers, be sure to enter partner ships with companies that can support you through the training and maintenance journey.
Make sure you understand all the needs and can clearly communicate them to vendors. Clear expec tations should be established during the negotiating process. It is crucial that everyone understands expec tations for line efficiency, throughput and changeover.
The best-in-class approach is to hire technical folks early in the project to work closely with ven dors and benefit from first-hand equipment training. In addition, technical staff can benefit from being a part of the acquisition and installation process.
According to The Austin Company (Booth LU7633), a phased approach to automation is the best course of action because it spreads out the risk asso ciated with drastic operational changes. Two or three phases prevent staff from being overtaxed while gaining experience with the technology.
Any approach should consider the impact the change will have on your ability to get product to the market. For example, maintaining product specs, equipment and training can take time to get right, slowing down production.
While phasing plans vary, typically phases are implemented about a year apart. Timing consider ations include any challenges encountered with the first phase, staffing requirements and equipment lead times.
• What products is your bakery running?
• What speeds are you running?
• How many changeovers do you perform each day?
• What are the specifications of the product?
• What is the bakery’s available footprint?
• Are you comfortable with robotics?
• Should a non-robotic solution for automation be considered?
The early stages of automation planning often lead to more questions than answers. But, partnering with experienced bakery designers, engineers, con structors and vendors, means you won’t be going it alone. With a well-thought-out, phased approach, the automation game can be won.
For more info, visit www.theaustin.com. SD
Editor’s Note: This article was written by David Watson, subject matter expert, Food, Bakery and Snacks Engineering at The Austin Company, and posted on Oct. 19, 2021.
100% In-Process-Control of weight possible
Multifunctional closing units for a variety of options
GMP-friendly design
Filling with rotary piston pump or peristaltic pump
Pre- and post-gassing
Closing with up to 2
Mother Earth Brewing is increasing throughput and improving quality amid labor shortages with an automated car toner and tray packer.
The company started as a hobby for Dan iel and Jon Love and Kamron Khannakhjavani in 2010 in San Diego. The company operated out of a 2,200-sq.-ft.-industrial space, which allowed the business to grow quickly and begin self-distribution of 22-oz. bottles and kegs to stores, bars and restau rants. A large Tap House in Vista, CA, followed and gave the company more opportunities to expand its production spaces, adding nearly 28,000 sq. ft.
The brewer entered major distribution in late 2013. After double-digit growth in 2014, Daniel Love wanted to expand operations but had a hard time doing business and finding new opportunities for growth in Southern California.
“It’s just not a business-friendly state for some one of our size, less than 100 employees,” Daniel Love says.
So, as many Californians do, Daniel Love headed up north to Boise, ID, where he found opportunities to partner with the local government and initiatives that supported small businesses like theirs.
The company built a 40,000-sq.-ft. production fa cility 15 miles west of Boise in the neighboring city of Nampa, which provided a lot of space to sprawl.
The facility houses a 40-beer-barrel-volume (bbl) multi-vessel Mueller brewhouse, and the capacity to produce more than 100,000 bbl a year, making it one of the largest breweries in Idaho, according to the company. The Nampa production facility supports most of the company’s growth and produces beer for all markets outside Southern California. The orig inal Vista brewery continues to provide draft and specialty offerings to its home market, while also managing the creation of one-off brews for visitors at its retail operations in North County San Diego.
Eight different year-round beers are produced under the brand, including its claim to fame, the Cali Creamin’ vanilla cream ale.
“It sounds like it might be sweet, but it’s a dry beer,” says Daniel Love. “We use Madagascar vanilla bean. It is very special and unique. Nobody else does this type of beer.”
The start of the COVID-19 pandemic created a few obstacles for the craft company amid its record growth. Its tasting room in California shuttered, but the company kept its draft beer brewery operation in Vista to keep distribution flowing in Southern California. The Nampa facility still distributes to 20
states and 11 countries, while also filling in where the Vista brewery can’t. All in all, business is good as the company puts out about 10 million cans per year.
In March 2020, the company brought one of its Wild Goose canning machines from California to Nampa— where it already had another of the same machine—al lowing them to ramp up to 80 cans/min. (cpm).
“We want to look at 200 to 250 cpm next, and this machine can keep up with it,” Baker says. “At our size, that’s a tough machine to find, because the reality was everyone else wanted to sell us something that would either work for the next six months or be so expensive and so over-the-top that it would be overkill for the next year or whatever it takes us to
The company spends 70% of its time running 24-count mix packs and the other 30% running 12-packs with its Cali Creamin’, Tierra Madre and Boo Koo beers. Until recently, the packing was han dled manually, but record labor shortages and the amount of variety necessitated automation.
The company invested in a Spartan cartoner from Econocorp (Booth S-1630), allowing it to automate the case and tray erecting and packing.
“We do a lot of stuff in 24-pack trays,” says Chris Baker, director of brewing operations. “But we were also trying to touch on that carton side of the busi ness. We wanted something that would do both be cause, individually, the two machines are expensive. So, getting something that was a good bridge be tween them was what we were looking for, and the Spartan really covered that.”
The company was packaging 12-pack cartons and 24-pack trays for its different beers; however, some brands added the complexity of 12- and 16-oz. cans. This necessitated a cartoner that allowed frequent, easy changeover. Now, they can change over the Econocorp cartoner in less than 20 min., which sup ports production goals.
“We’re kind of all over the place, so packaging needs to be pretty nimble so that we can get onto one brand and knock out four different formats and then get into another brand,” Baker says.
It also was important to find a cartoner that could keep up with their canning line capabilities and adapt to a larger, faster operation as the company grows.
Cartoner, tray packer boost speed, deliver flexibility.An investment in an Econocorp Spartan cartoner allowed Mother Earth Brewing to automate case and tray erecting and packing. Cans run through two separate Wild Goose WGC 250 canning lines, where cans are rinsed and sanitized by two twist rinsers, filled and seamed.
get into a bigger line. This is something we can grow into and expand upon pretty easily.”
The Econocorp cartoner is the latest addition to Mother Earth Brewing’s filling and packaging line, but there is a lot more going on upstream keeping the company at its target of 80 cpm.
fed onto an accumulation table, which allows the company to keep fillers running if downstream equipment slows.
“We try to think the setup through so that we could add in bigger pieces without having to change everything,” Baker says.
For higher-volume beers like the Cali Creamin’, Mother Earth Brewing uses printed cans, which run straight from the accumulation table into a can carrier applicator 120/180 from PakTech (Booth S-3082). The applicator can be configured for a sixpack or four-pack.
The company runs two separate lines, starting with a Double Eagle depalletizer from Ska Fabri cating (Booth LU-7657), to which the company upgraded in 2020. The cans run through two sep arate Wild Goose WGC 250 canning lines, where cans are rinsed and sanitized by two twist rinsers, filled and seamed. Mother Earth Brewing has been running its Wild Goose lines for the past six years.
“There are an infinite number of adjustments and ability to adjust things,” Baker says. “If I run a milk stout, I can slow my belts down to give it time to foam out how I want. It’s more versatile. While I can’t run super high carbonation levels, I can run ni tro beers. We run everything through that.”
Custom conveyance brings the two lines togeth er to apply date-codes using A320i inkjet printers from Domino Amjet (Booth S-3506) through a Basic low fill/low pressure detector from Heuft USA (Booth LU-6712, W-15014), a nitrogen doser from Chart (Booth S-2169), an Anton Paar CBox and a Zahm piercing unit to check dissolved oxygen levels.
“Along with the Anton Paar CBox, we do have a very extensive laboratory, and a lot of breweries our size don’t have that,” Daniel Love says. “We do pull off a number of cans in line at the beginning, the middle and the end and we store them warm, cold and hot. We taste those about every other Friday with our brewers, so we have an extensive ability to react to somebody if they get a beer and they light us up on Facebook or send us an email. We know before we put something in the can that the product is going to be exactly what it needs to be and there aren’t going to be any inconsistencies in it.”
After the cans run through inspection, they are
Building machinery to produce flexible packaging is our gig. In fact, we’ve been doing it for over 150 years. That’s a lot of experience with both paper and plastic.
•Live demos on GARANT’s ROTADIA paper cone bag machine
•Daily videos direct from W&H at K 2022 – automation breakthroughs, PCR films, and more.
“Knowing what’s going on with your product as it goes through its life cycle is important.”
—Chris Baker Mother Earth BrewingWINDMOELLER & HOELSCHER PASSION FOR INNOVATION
For lower-volume beers that may not meet sup plier minimum order quantities like Project X, a year-round rotating beer that has new labels and new artwork all the time, the brewer can side-stream cans to a PL-501 can labeler from Pack Leader USA (Booth S-4273), which applies pressure-sensitive labels from local Boise-based label maker Action Quality Printers.
From there, a long infeed conveyor brings cans to the Econocorp cartoner.
Baker says, “We set it up so that we could put some tables on it and make that feed pretty easily. We set these tables along the side, and then we just push these on with these lanes, and we now have the ability to either do six varieties, four cans of each. We could do two varieties, with 12 each, or we could do two varieties, six each, and a 12-pack. We can do literally anything we want.”
Then, a 4-ft. conveyor leads cans to another Dom ino A320i date-coder to code the outside of the car tons. “Some brands are still missing on that front,”
says Baker. “It’s really frustrating to buy a 12-pack of an IPA . . . and realize it’s really old,” Baker says. “So, we code the outside of [the cartons].”
A gravity-feed conveyor moves the cans to a stop point where three to four people hand-stack cases onto a pallet in preparation for wrapping.
As the company continues to scale, Daniel Love and Baker are building flexibility into the operations so that when the time comes, they can ramp up to 200 to 250 cpm. But they also are keeping an eye on quality. Along with its extensive testing, the company has developed an internal shelf-life assessment called 30, 60, 90 where they test the beers 30, 60 and 90 days after packaging, as well as under different conditions.
“Knowing what’s going on with your product as it goes through its life cycle is important,” Baker says. “Now, if somebody brought us a beer and they’re like, ‘What’s wrong with this?’ I could tell you just from the taste how old it is, how many days it’s been warm,
and how it’s been stored. The reality of it is once the beer leaves your facility, you really don’t know what happens to it.”
Mother Earth’s lifecycle analysis, which provides valuable insights on beer quality even after it leaves the brewery, helps identify distribution issues that could negatively impact a beer that left the facili ty fresh and delicious. These steps improve insight into the whole operation and inform the company on how to keep quality as high as its fans expect.
For more information, visit www.econocorp.com, www. chartdosers.com, www.domino-na.com, www.heuft.com, www.packleaderusa.com, www.paktech-opi.com, www. skafabricating.com. SD
Editor’s Note: The original version of this article appeared in February 2022 in Packaging World
The Processing Zone in the Lakeside Center building houses 180 ex hibits, essentially presenting a processing show within the show. On display are innovations in homogenizing, mixing, forming, sizing and other front-of-the-line technologies such as coating/enrobing, cool ing and heat treating.
A sampling of the products on display begins below. For more information, visit www.PACKEXPOinternational.com. SD
Editor’s Note: Product information and photos were provided by ProFood World
Patented side-shaped wire design of Lums den Sidewinder balance weave belting revitalizes 100-year-old technology to extend belt life up to eight times versus comparable belts. I-beam design also triples structural support for products and pro vides a greater open area for breading, coating, cool ing or drying applications.
Fenner Precision Polymers Booth LU-7020 www.fennerppd.com
In a multi-level impingement freezer, a highspeed airstream from above and below the product achieves quick freezing in a few minutes. Suitable for various thin food products, such as hamburgers, fish or chicken fillets, shrimp and dumplings, the freezer also can be used for crust freezing prior to slicing larger products, guaranteeing minimum product de hydration and premium product quality. The use of multiple straight belts in a single freezer preserves the product’s appearance, doubles production capac ity per square meter of factory space compared to traditional impingement technology, and allows dif ferent products to be run on each level.
OctoFrost Booth LU-7048 www.octofrost.com
Quantm electric diaphragm pumps leverage a transverse flux motor that is suited for a range of hy gienic applications. A standard air motor is replaced with an electric drive that can produce high torque at low speeds. This allows Quantm pumps to operate without gearboxes, reducing footprints, weights and price points, while increasing efficiencies and gener ating an ROI on energy use reduction. The pumps can be used in the production of candies, fondants, bakery products, sauces and dressings, as well as in meat and poultry plants.
Graco Booth LU-8303 www.graco.com
The M VersaPro 2D dicer excels in the process ing of meat, poultry and alternative proteins. It of fers 33% increased feeding capacity vs. the standard M6 model due to wider belts, optimized cutting and increased horsepower. The IP69K-certified electri cal enclosure features a double-sealed door for ex tra protection during washdowns. The mechanical zone is isolated from the product zone to promote sanitation. The dicer has stainless-steel construction throughout, including the solid, round bar frame; motors; and hinged panels. The new fluted crosscut option provides gentler cutting action. The dicer is available with an intuitive optional touchscreen hu man/machine interface.
Booth LU-7112 www.urschel.com
Extremely adaptable, TQS-MD quality-control machines incorporate the company’s new Trace able Quality System Modular Design, which uses a “building block” concept for compatibility with a broad array of products. Depending on a product’s size, shape, weight and desired throughput speed, modules can be combined and tailored to specific needs. Regardless of the number of functionalities a model entails—including weighing, marking and verifying, labeling, metal detection and serializa tion/aggregation integration, among others—the unit employs one user interface, making product changes, article setup and layout modifications less error-prone and more user-friendly.
Booth S-4172 www.wipotec-ocs.com
A new electromechanical actuator meets the requirements of food and beverage/packaging (F&B/P) applications. It’s part of the integrated GTX product line, known for compactness, power density, flexibility and third-party drive compatibil ity. The new F&B/P-grade GTX actuator features a smooth, cleanable body design in white epoxy and a stainless-steel rod. It has an IP69K ingress protection rating and is recognized by 3-A Sanitary Standards.
Exlar Booth N-5977 www.cw-actuation.com
Engineered for durability, reliability and efficiency, DuraCirc positive displacement pumps offer a high-ef ficiency design, wide performance envelope and low net positive suction head requirement. With flow rates up to 150 cubic m/hr. (660 gpm), the pump handles op erating pressures up to 40 bar (580 psi). Optional port configurations make installation easy with no need to change process piping. The innovative design features a truly front-loading single seal; long-lasting bearings; a single, long-life gearbox lubricant; external shimming; and fully interchangeable components. Pumps also come standard with a condition monitor for wireless connectivity to view operational performance metrics.
Alfa Laval Booth LU-7647 www.alfalaval.us
An exchangeable profiled sleeve on the hygienic SSV-XP drum motor makes it possible to use differ ent styles of modular belts on the same drum motor. The profiled sleeve is easily removed and replaced simply by exchanging it to match the desired belt profile without having to change the entire drum motor. Constructed of 316 stainless steel, the SSVXP drum motor is USDA-approved. It comes in a range of diameter sizes, belt speeds and horsepower, and is available with industry-specific options and features to suit various food processing and packag ing belt conveyor applications.
VDG (Van der Graaf) Booth S-3566 www.vandergraaf.com
The Electro-Glide electromagnetic vibratory con veyor is the first conveyor designed by the company to operate specifically as a flow-control device. The conveyor is suited to feeding scales and packaging machinery where the ability to instantly start and stop product flow is required. This allows the sys tem to be used as an alternative to a metering unit in a mix-and-blend system when the elimination of pinch points is desired. The conveyor features an allstainless-steel drive.
Commercial Manufacturing Booth LU-7603 www.commercialmfg.com
provide the Best Defense against ALL metals… steel, aluminum, stainless steels, copper and more. Our equipment is designed for any process whether it’s wet, dry, gravity, pneumatic or conveyed. Don’t leave yourself exposed with only half of a solution. Install Eriez and know you’re protected.
The pneumatic two-way cuber reduces cheese blocks to optimize downstream dicer/shredders. The larger belt width and cheese chamber are optimal for processing non-standard cheese sizes. Not only does the guillotine feature (executed via the local human/ machine interface) optimize working with off-cuts and soft cheese, it eliminates the cumbersome task of manually spacing out batches of off-cuts during production, thereby allowing an operator to fill the belt and let the machine cycle without further inter vention. The cuber is robust, hygienic and easy to use.
Deville Technologies Booth LU-7332 www.devilletechnologies.com
Xtreme Rare Earth+ plate magnets are now avail able in all of the company’s deep-reach, round-pipe and hump-style magnetic separators. Separators with these new, stronger magnets demonstrate a sig nificant increase in both surface gauss value and pull test strength, compared with competitive units and the company’s separators with the previous genera tion of rare earth plates. Gauss and pull testing, the standard methods for testing a magnet’s strength, in dicate a magnetic separator’s ability to deliver a pure, contaminant-free product.
Eriez Booth N-5214 www.eriez.com
Engage early using a progressive design-build contracting approach. Minimal capital investments provide initial scope development, drawings and schedules necessary for preliminary project approvals. Content experts provide customized Development and Execution Plans to optimize business needs and requirements. Strategic information generated through this proven methodology allows owners to evaluate risk and the funding commitments required to deliver a successful project.
Hansen-Rice Booth LU-7727 www.hansen-rice.com
The robotic high-pressure processing (HPP) arm picks up an HPP basket containing food or bever ages after processing in the HPP chamber, empties the basket contents onto a conveyor and returns the basket to be reloaded. The robotic arm can be used with any Hiperbaric machine (55 to 525 L) for any HPP application, from juices to meats. It reduces manual labor and heavy lifting—sometimes more than 16,000 lb. of lifting per day—reducing work place injuries and labor costs.
Hiperbaric Booth LU-7341 www.hiperbaric.com
The patent-pending FCM colloid mill is designed for hands-off clean-in-place (CIP) applications; nothing needs to be removed for CIP, saving main tenance time and effort. The FCM mill’s timesaving, external variable gap adjustment lever provides onthe-fly internal gap adjustment to produce more or less shear, without moving the front or top ports, or even pausing operation. The mill’s variable internal gap allows users to dial in the particle size they need for shelf-stable emulsions and provides consistent particle sizes with a tight distribution.
Fristam Pumps USA Booth LU-7303 www.fristam.com/usa
Biometric signature identification technology is now available to frozen vegetable and fruit processors on the Tomra 5C premium sorting machine. By locating the unit between the IQF (individually quick frozen) tun nel and the packing station, final checks for food safety and product quality can be made with accuracy. As the frozen product reaches the end of the line, the sorter recognizes and removes any remaining foreign material, extraneous vegetable matter and hard-to-detect product defects. These detection capabilities greatly reduce the risks of consumer complaints or product recalls.
Tomra Booth LU-7135 www.tomra.com
Utilizing web-based architecture, the Contact 4.0 digital reporting feature captures valuable produc tion data across an entire suite of networked inspec tion machines. It can remotely monitor equipment, track events and document all potential product risks, turning massive data streams into tightly mon itored operational insight. With Contact 4.0, food processors can tether multiple front-end inspection machines to back-end reporting software in real time—live, streamlined and centralized. Contact 4.0 can be installed on all digital Stealth, Interceptor and Interceptor DF metal detectors, as well as the Raptor checkweigher series.
Fortress Technology Booth S-1752 www.fortresstechnology.com
DSI Series pasteurizer uses direct steam injection to reduce pasteurization time. The faster the product is heated and cooled, the less impact the heat has on the product. In the case of plant-based drinks, the impact can include discoloration, caramelization and the introduction of off-tastes.
Booth LU-7535 www.hrs-heatexchangers.com
New style aerosol for NSF H1-registered food machinery lubricants feature a dual-spray nozzle with a permanently attached straw. The cans of fer a dual-position spray; when the straw is in the “up” position, it offers precise, pinpoint application. Ergonomically designed, the cans have a recessed comfort trigger to help prevent accidental discharge. GHS-compliant labeling on the back panel ensures compliance with OSHA requirements, while a scan nable QR code on the side panel provides quick ac cess to product information and safety data sheets.
Lubriplate Lubricants
Booth LU-8814 www.lubriplate.com SD
The small, lightweight SR-12iA selective com pliance articulated robot arm (SCARA) robot packs and unpacks heavy products at high speeds. With a 280 x 364mm footprint and 900mm reach, the ro bot easily integrates into assembly or packaging lines for maximum space efficiency and motion range. The brake release switch allows easy error recovery.
FANUC America Booth N-6116 www.fanucamerica.com
Pre-sterilized, ready-to-use syringes, vials and cartridges can be filled/sealed while nested. Pickand-place stations place the plungers, fed by a vibra tory hopper/circular feeder, into the syringes using direct-drive, servo-motion control. The dual-station process can fill and seal up to 4,500 syringes/hr. The Dara NFL/2 aseptic filling/closing machine special izes in small batch packaging of suspensions, diag nostics, solutions and/or vaccines.
NJM Packaging, a ProMach product brand Booth N-5650, W-17002 www.njmpackaging.com
The latest M-30R Series metal detector uses smart SENSE™ software to detect all types of metal contaminants with minimal false rejects. Dynamic Stability Control protects against interference for increased reliability. The metal detector and conveyor can be upgraded easily as requirements change.
Mettler-Toledo Product Inspection Booth S-1714 www.mt.com/pi
suited for space-constrained applications with low adhesive consumption. From high-temperature to water-resistant, the wide range of Arion hoses meets customers’ needs for distribution and transportation of adhesives.
Meler USA Booth N-5376 www.arionhoses.com
Lightweight, robust paper cushions, created on demand, are easily molded around any product. Cre ated by the Easypack® Packmaster™ Pro machine, the cushions can be conveyed via air blowers/alu minum ducting to an overhead delivery hopper that feeds up to six packaging stations. The configuration is said to enhance worker ergonomics and packing speed, while minimizing floor space and energy us age. The ducting design can work in conjunction with an air pillow system if operations require both packing solutions.
Pregis Booth S-3834 www.pregis.com
A TSD-N3 semiautomatic combination scale, ideal for fragile, hand-loaded products, reduces la bor costs and product overweights for fixed-weight food packaging. The configurable scale automatically dispenses the best weight combination based on cus tomer specifications. The scale features toolless belt removal and stainless-steel construction for quick cleaning.
Yamato Booth S-3783 www.yamatoamericas.com
In-house technical expertise, combined with client collaboration, led to the development of the newest Arion hot-melt hose. The Versa model is best
The VRC-60 vertical rotary cartoner combines loading, printing, leaflet inserting, coding, inspecting and other functions into one 3 x3-ft., 12-station ma chine. Integrated suction cups hold cartons in place throughout the entire arc path, preventing scuffing and scratching of delicate carton surfaces. The car toner can run up to 60 packs/min., with loading op tions from single to double to bulk.
Nuspark Booth S-3634 www.nuspark.com
The C-300 side-load, continuous-motion, balco ny-style cartoner can handle various pharmaceutical
and cosmetic packaging format at speeds up to 300 cartons/min. The cartoner can be equipped with au tomatic feeding systems, including robotic feeders, and handle tubes, bottles, blisters, syringes, sachets, stick packs and vials.
MG America Booth W-15003 www.mgamerica.com
The compact vertical form/fill/seal machine boasts a 10- or 14-head weigher, runs at up to 80 packages/ min. and accommodates bags up to 9 in.
Plan IT Packaging Systems Booth S-2422 www.planitpackaging.com
The SleekWrapper i65 flow-wraps hard-to-han dle products, such as soft baked goods, tortillas, fresh produce, meats and multipack trays. It feeds film from below so delicate and hard-to-wrap products are securely carried on top of the packaging, essen tially pulling them through the wrapping process. By carrying the product through instead of pushing it, product integrity and aesthetics are maintained. This affordable flow-wrapper features integrated infeed and exit conveyors, stainless-steel frame and discharge chute, easily accessible film carriage and a large color touchscreen.
ValTara / Paxiom Booth S-2153 www.valtaratec.com
The compact 760-SUP machine offers process reliability and efficiencies; smooth, quiet operation; quick changeovers (0.5-2 hr.); and simplified main tenance. Customers report reduced setup time, less material required on thread-up and less than 5% to tal scrap. The machine also makes two- and threeside-seal and bottom-gusseted pouches.
CMD Booth LU-8118 www.cmd-corp.com
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The ERT150 roller conveyors can move pallets and trays with loads up to 35 lb. (16 kg) at speeds up to 121 ft. (37m)/min. The clean, open roller de sign prevents small parts or screws from dropping into rollers and causing damage or jams. Suitable for small and light-load assembly automation; ISO Class 4 approved for cleanroom applications such as medical product or device manufacturing, assembly and packaging.
Dorner Booth N-5725 www.dornerconveyors.com
For bulk packaging of products ranging from fruit and vegetables to candy and snacks, this automatic bag uncuffer is designed to uncuff a filled bag from a corrugated case and fold the bag in over the top of the product. It integrates seamlessly into a turn key bulk bag filling system with its bag inserter, bulk weigh filler and box indexing conveyor. BU 600 features 304 stainless-steel frame construction and storage for 20 recipes. Optional sealing and vacuum assemblies are available.
Paxiom Booth S-2153 www.paxiom.com
TopWorx DX Partial Stroke Test (PST) with HART 7 valve controller provides detailed valve assembly data and diagnostics, enabling predictive maintenance and reliable operation. The units pro vide valuable valve data and diagnostic information, enabling the digital transformation of process ap plications. The new controller integrates seamlessly with existing valves and control systems, giving op erators access to critical valve data, trends and di agnostics that can be used to predict and schedule maintenance. Certified for operation in harsh and hazardous applications, the adaptive unit is designed to ensure the integrity of valves, improving overall safety and facility uptime in oil and gas, refinery, chemical, industrial energy and mining applications.
Emerson Booth N-4736 www.emerson.com/en-us/industries/automation/ food-beverage
The PIREG ® heatseal temperature controllers are designed specifically for controlling the heat sealing operations performed in a wide range of applications including: vertical and horizontal form, fill, and seal; pouch filling and sealing; film wrapping, and pouch making. The PIREG ® impulse temperature controllers are cUL Listed and universally adaptable to almost any application, and do not require the use of thermocouples or RTD’s. PIREG ® temperature controllers are designed for “in cabinet” and “panel mount” uses and also available with EtherNet/IP® communication capabilities. TOSS Technology— delivering perfect impulse heat seals every time. www.tossheatseal.com
Waldo Packaging Machinery is a manufacturer of fully automated vertical form-fill-seal packaging machines for packaging liquids, slurries and high viscosity products. Servicing businesses of all sizes in a range of markets that include food/beverage, cosmetics, and cleaning fluids, their complete line of machines are compact, user friendly and cost efficient. www.waldo.com.mx
What sets PackworldUSA apart from all the rest is its use of the high response, state of-art, TOSS Technology All PackworldUSA machines come equipped with the advanced PIREG ® temperature controller. Only TOSS uses Variable Resistance Controlled (VRC) heat sealing technology to monitor and adjust temperature precisely over the full length and width of the heat sealing element, accurate up to 500°C. www.packworldusa.com
TOSS Alloy-20 ® and Norex® Heatseal Bands are available in over 350 styles, shapes and sizes. Custom designed for any application, new or existing, TOSS Alloy-20 ® Heatseal Band are longer lasting and provide for effective sealing at optimum speeds. When used in conjunction with the PIREG ® Temperature Controllers, the TOSS Alloy-20 ® heatseal bands provide instant thermostatic feedback eliminating the need for thermocouples. This instant feedback assures precise, repeatable results on each and every seal. www.tossheatseal.com
In the optimum sealing set up, the heatseal band must be electrically and thermally insulated from the jaw bar. TOSS offers a wide selection of PTFE cover cloths and tapes that are available in standard and custom sizes. Other insulating materials available from TOSS include Silicone Rubber, Durit ® and Siglaha ® www.tossheatseal.com
The RS013N robot will pick and sort random parts from a bin to a conveyor. The robot’s design includes a new arm structure and lighter main unit, which enables high speeds and a large working area. Its 1,460-mm reach is the largest in its class, allow ing for installation flexibility and use in a wider va riety of applications. The RS013N robot also leads its class in speed, resulting in reduced cycle times and increased productivity. The dust-tight RS013N offers a full-body IP67 rating, fully covered motors and waterproof electrical connections, which allow the robot to be used in virtually any environment, including food and cleanroom applications.
Kawasaki Robotics (USA) Booth N-5946 www.kawasakirobotics.com
This vision system is specifically able to isolate each character in the dot matrix inkjet printing. It was specifically developed to accurately read inkjet codes regardless of the printer brand being used. Additionally, isolation of each character allows de tecting code degradation and the threshold grading system is individually set for each application. A live demo is available.
Hitachi Industrial Equipment & Solutions America
Booth S-3752 www.hitachi-iesa.com
Save valuable plant real estate with minimal footprint using these bucket elevators. The innova tive designs and robust sanitary construction allow fragile products to be handled with minimal prod uct degradation. Designs include the latest safety options such as safety interlocking switches and two-hand jog stations. Available in 10 different con figurations, including single and multiple discharge designs, bucket elevators can fit just about any ap plication or layout. Indexing drives also are available for kit or food assemblies. Each bucket elevator is custom designed and built to spec.
Frazier & Son Booth N-4913 www.frazierandson.com
A product line for Preventative Maintenance Agreements with three different plans for a variety of different customers brings a container handling expert onsite multiple times over a two-year period. From customers who need routine maintenance to service wear components and those who need more complex training services, each plan is crafted with the customer in mind, offering discounts on the ser vice rate since the visits are planned.
Morrison Container Handling Solutions Booth N-4906 www.morrison-chs.com
The newly developed IDH is for the flat han dling of cookies, biscuits, crackers or chocolate. The advanced pick and place concept uses linear motor technology (XTS) instead of delta robots, resulting in less complex processes, a highly compact footprint and great pack style flexibility. The IDH ensures in creased production speeds and gentle handling of sensitive products. The IDH will be integrated with a Pack 202 horizontal flow wrapper for packaging cookies into trays which will then be overwrapped.
Syntegon Packaging Technology Booth S-3514 www.syntegon.com
The RC10 provides easy palletizing with a col laborative robot. The standardized palletizing cell is compact, easy to install and configure. Collaborative and continuous operations are possible with no fence system needed. It is modular, easy to move and quiet. The use of a collaborative robot significantly reduc es the footprint—by over 50%—compared to cells with industrial robots and provides a fast ROI and low operating cost. Four standard configurations are available.
FlexLink Systems Booth S-2501 www.flexlink.com
The most reliable and complete online directory of packaging and processing technology suppliers in North America –designed from the buyer’s perspective.
Features include:
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• Packaging-specific filters that are tailored to each product category.
Complete a 15-minute survey about PMMI ProSource at the PMMI Booth (N-4550) for a complimentary $25 gift card. Survey slots are first come, first served!
MS series of filters—models MS4, MS6 and MS9—lower the risk of particle contamination when compressed air comes into direct contact with food or packaging in the food zone. Designed for applications in the dairy, baking, produce, processed foods, pet foods, craft beer, cold food processing and beverage industries, the filters ensure compressed air not only conforms to FDA and Food Safety Mod ernization Act guidelines, but also meets or exceeds the highest national and international benchmarks.
Festo Booth N-6213 www.festo.com/us
Advanced Pireg® temperature controller manages the time and temperature of the impulse heat-seal band and ensures consistent seals. Applications in clude vertical and horizonal form/fill/seal machines, pouch filler/sealers, flow-wrappers and pouch-con verting equipment. Devices are compatible with in-cabinet or panel-mount configurations and avail able with EtherNet/IP communication. Product line also includes 350 styles, shapes and sizes of TOSS Alloy-20® and Norex® heat-seal bands. When used with the controller, TOSS Alloy-20 heat-seal bands provide instant thermostatic feedback, eliminating the need for thermocouples.
Packworld/TOSS Machine Components Booth N-5913 www.packworldusa.com
A new version of the Turbo-Mek 1000 vacuum turbo-emulsifier for processing liquid and cream products offers a more compact and eco-friendly design. It is designed to accommodate hygiene and cleaning guidelines with energy and water savings during wash cycles. The turbo-emulsifier features a new touchscreen control panel designed to interface with mobile devices for monitoring and control of processing parameters. A large internal database al lows for storage of production recipes. The new ver sion can be easily integrated into a production envi ronment with centralized management using MES/ MOM systems.
Marchesini Group USA Booth W-17005 www. marchesini.com
A new AROS® handheld container efficient ly transfers, stores and organizes product in highspeed, automated systems. The container boasts the largest cubic density of any container in its standard 650mm x 450mm x 325mm footprint. Optional dividers accommodate multiple SKUs. AROS con struction allows containers to be recovered, recycled and reprocessedat the end of their useful life.
ORBIS Booth LU-6800 www.orbiscorporation.com
Manufacturers can reduce corrugated costs by pre-settling product before shipping. Product set tlers use controlled vibration technology to reduce over-pack and allow case flaps to be closed without product interference. Sealing and non-sealing ver sions are available. A variety of industries use this company’s product settlers to minimize in-transit settling of products. Some applications include veg etables, frozen foods, nuts and bolts, powdered prod ucts, small plastic parts, almonds and much more.
MARQ Packaging Systems Booth N-5721 www.marq.net
Regardless of the size or complexity of your pack aging operation, automating your marking and cod ing systems with a centralized controller is a must. A small footprint version of this company’s MPE RIA marking and coding controller features an 8-in. IP55-rated capacitive high-resolution touchscreen, an intuitive user interface and affordable pricing. With the ability to control printers, scanners, camer as and other equipment and integrate with existing systems, MPERIA is a full workstation to drive pri mary, secondary and tertiary marking on any produc tion line.
The new BLV Series R type UL- and CE-ap proved compact driver is designed for battery-pow ered input type applications, like AGV/AMR robots and conveyors suited for brushless performance. The driver can moderate the motor’s speed through direct data operation. Power consumption can be moni tored. Higher-resolution Hall sensors allow for in creased motor feedback, improved stopping accuracy and lower-speed operation.
Oriental Motor USA Corp. Booth N-4605 www.orientalmotor.com
By providing a square or “true” sealing environ ment, the TruSeal Sealing System produces a quality, attractive product that serves as an appealing retail bag. Suitable for a variety of industries—including consumer disposable goods, hardware and industrial/ medical—TruSeal executes proper alignment and ac curate sealing in an easy-to-use operation. The sealer can be supplied with new equipment or integrated into an existing operation.
Rennco, a ProMach product brand Booth N-5648 www.rennco.com
The c500 cabinet controller manages high-end control applications, including printing machines, with many units or picker lines with several robots. Controller is said to be maintenance free and offers a battery-free design, an extended ambient operat ing temperature to 140 F (60 C), automated stan dard setup, data backup via USB flash drive and connectivity for simple machine integration. A fully integrated shield connection eliminates the need for special shield terminals.
Lenze Americas Booth N-5239 www.lenze.com
The 424 W3 wraparound case packer can be adapted for multiple purposes, including cartons, open or covered trays and lid inserts, handling up to 25 cases/min. The 424 Series also can run standard case configuration to support Retail-Ready systems. The compact design optimizes floor space.
Somic Booth LU-8135 www.somic-packaging.com/en
Printing on the go is possible with the PocketJet 8 series full-page mobile printers. Suited for ware houses, distribution centers and back-of-store en vironments, the lightweight, portable printers can connect via simple USB Type-C connectivity. Print up to 13.5 pages/min., including detailed graphics, complex barcodes and QR codes up to 300 dpi.
Brother Mobile Solutions Booth S-4337 www.brothermobilesolutions.com
The modular Robox palletizer – available in per pendicular and inline configurations - can handle multiple products per pick for increased throughput. End-of-arm tooling can be customized to handle specific product needs. Set new pallet patterns via HMI control – no programming required.
Schneider Packaging Equipment Booth S-3500 www.schneiderequip.com
The BoxSizer™ right-sizes pre-loaded box foot prints without the need for changeovers, reducing labor costs, void fill, shipping and excess packaging. This technology intelligently measures the outside dimensions and the internal void space of each load ed box. Dynamically adapting to random sizes ar riving at the infeed, the system adjusts itself to cut, crease, fold, close and seal the package for shipping.
WestRock Booth S-2130 www.westrock.com/automation
The high-speed Quadrel Proline continuous-mo tion, pressure-sensitive labeler for craft beer or bot tled water handles 450 products/min. The system ramps up to a selected production rate while mon itoring infeed and outfeed status, slowing down if an infeed gap is detected. With continuous motion, labels are applied without stopping.
Quadrel Labeling Systems Booth S-3630 www.quadrel.com
Betel Delta 2-EVO bottle sorter and orienter changes over in less than 5 min. and needs no change parts. Capable of speeds up to 500 bottles/min., the agile system streamlines bottling production and re duces the time-to-market for new products.
Ronchi America Booth N-6228 www.ronchiamerica.com
The ReeMatic 250 tray sealer produces ambient, modified-atmosphere packaging (MAP) and vacu um skin packaging (VSP) styles, suitable for medi um- to high-level food processors. The tray sealer’s multi-lane tray loading conveyor is customizable from one to four tracks. Pusher rods guide the trays in a step-by-step movement, leading onto the de fined die-set position.
Ossid, a ProMach product brand Booth N-5330 www.ossid.com
Spirals for food and beverage applications can be supplied in stainless steel or hybrid wet, which often is required with food conveyor belts in food process ing areas. A spiral conveyor occupies less floor space than a conventional conveyor and runs faster and is more reliable than an elevator or lift. Proprietary slat-type belts with rolling friction eliminate sliding movement and wear-strips.
Ryson International Booth N-5945 www.ryson.com
See DHL (Booth LU-8434) to discuss logistics solutions.
Vertical rotary cartoner from Nuspark (Booth S-3634) combines 12 stations in one 3x3-ft. machine.
The Impackt Packaging Solutions (Booth LU-8901) team can answer your questions about customized shipping solutions and sustainable products.
Schneider Electric (Booth LU-7245) is your source for Delta robots and servo linear systems.
Congratulations to the team at Columbia Machine (Booth N-4721) on its 85th anniversary!
Give your technicians the non-technical skills they need to provide great customer service.
Identify multi-skilled workers to troubleshoot and repair automated equipment on the plant floor.
Totani America (Booth LU-7927) demonstrates the production of pouches made from recyclable materials on its CT-40 narrow-web machine for digital and flexo printing and the label industry.
Talk to Harley Green and Mike Welborn at Soft Robotics (Booth N-5230) about the mGripAI™ automation solution that combines 3D vision, soft gripping and artificial intelligence.
The adhesive melter Micron piston series from Meler USA (Booth N-5376) distributes temperature evenly over the contact surface of the tank, achieving thorough melting of the adhesive. The careful design ensures pumping is kept at a regular rate.
Ask Matt Brey at A.B. Sealer (Booth N-5154) about the company’s case sealer capabilities.
The 18-head EXACTA standalone filler built in the U.S.by Ronchi America (Booth N-6228) can be available in 12 weeks or less. The filler can be integrated into new and existing packaging lines.
Andrew Dougherty (left), vice president of Member Services, PMMI, congratulates Doug Weber, president and CEO of Weber Packaging Solutions (Booth S-3642), on the company’s 90th anniversary.
European-crafted equipment with more than 55 years of global leadership in capsule filling technology, we proudly offer solutions for combination products, low-dose applications, containment applications, and 100% NET weight control systems.
