Pearson Packaging Systems -- Innovation in Every Case

Before setting out on its journey Pearson turned to their customers and asked them to answer one simple question. What exactly is value? While it was a simple question judging by the responses it was clear that were many different definitions of value in the minds of their customers. Pearson was intent on starting their journey so they analyzed all of the responses and found many similar components in each definition of value.

Simply put customers want:

1 – Measurable quality & reliability

2 – More flexibility and functionality

3 – Increased customer support capability

4 – Competitive prices

With these thoughts in mind Pearson's journey began. As with everything else they do Pearson decided to take the innovative route. They studied the impact of lean manufacturing and Six Sigma at other companies and knew that by embracing these principles they would be able to deliver on the value that customers want and push toward their goal. In doing so Pearson Packaging Systems became a pioneer in the packaging machinery industry and is still one of a select few companies that is successfully applying lean manufacturing and Six Sigma to a low-volume / high-variability business model. The journey into lean manufacturing and Six Sigma is now part of an overall initiative to implement continuous improvement in all areas of the company. "Pearson's commitment to continually improving our business processes and product quality is unrivaled in our industry. It is a journey with no end" says Michael A. Senske President and CEO of Pearson Packaging Systems.

In order to achieve its goal Pearson began by:

• Creating a dedicated team of lean manufacturing and Six Sigma professionals to reinforce their continuous improvement culture (Kaizen Promotions Office Six Sigma Master Black Belt and Green Belt as well as Green Belts and Black Belts in training)

• Focusing its product offering on Case Erectors Tray & Bliss Formers Robotic Case/Tray Loaders Case Sealers Robotic Palletizers and Robotic Depalletizers

• Measuring and documenting all process quality and performance improvements gained through its implementation of lean manufacturing and Six Sigma

• Deploying one of the largest teams of PMMI Certified regional service technicians in major cities across North America. There are currently thirteen with plans for more.

As they had hoped Pearson's utilization of lean manufacturing and Six Sigma has helped them toward their goal. By leaning out many different processes and using Six Sigma their lead times have been cut by more than half on many products and they can demonstrate very high levels of quality and reliability as measured by Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) & Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). Plus with their large team of PMMI Certified regional service technicians strategically located throughout the country Pearson is able to respond to customer’s needs when and where they need them. Combine all these benefits with the fact that Pearson offers pricing that is competitive with manufacturers that don’t offer these benefits and it is clear that Pearson represents one of the best values in the packaging industry.

The value is evident when you look at two of Pearson's core products the CE35 case erector and the CS-Series of case sealers.

The CE35 Case Erector features:

• Build-to-order lead time of 35 days or less greatly exceeds the industry standard

• Highly-reliable design with documented MTBF

• Changeover of approximately two minutes for an experienced operator

• HMI driven changeover for less experienced operators

• Able to run the entire case range at speeds of 35 cases per minute

The CS-Series of Case Sealers features:

• Build-to-order lead time of 30 days or less greatly exceeds the industry standard

• Highly-reliable design with documented MTBF

• Able to run the entire case range at speeds of at least 25/40cpm depending on model & can run smaller cases in the range at higher than advertised speeds

• Changeover of approximately two minutes for an experienced operator

• HMI driven changeover for less experienced operators

• Installation and startup can be done without the need for a Regional Service Technician

Pearson Packaging Systems strives to maintain their commitment to continuous improvement aggressively working to shorten lead times improve quality and improve reliability while providing complete end-of-line packaging equipment to their customers. "At Pearson we believe that no matter how efficient our processes might be they can always be improved and we are absolutely focused on improving them and providing the highest level of value in the industry" said Michael A. Senske.

For more information please call Pearson Packaging Systems at 800.732.7766 or visit us on the web at www.pearsonpkg.com