New lines increase HDPE bottling capacity by 600%

Southwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. provides custom prepackaged medications in tablet and soft- and hard-shell capsule forms to physicians, group medical practices, and specialty clinics. To better serve its growing customer base, the contract packer recently installed three new bottling lines at its 42ꯠ-sq-ft facility in Lake Forest, CA.

Southwood enlisted the services of Art Stevenson, Art Stevenson Consulting, to assist in selecting the line machinery and overseeing the installation of the new packaging lines. Stevenson recommended CVC Technologies, Inc. as the main equipment supplier—based on the company’s competitive pricing, excellent reputation, high-quality service, and ability to supply most of the major packaging line components: bottle unscramblers that orient and set the bottles upright for filling; 12-channel electronic counters/sorters/fillers with 32 in-line sensors; cotton inserters; cappers; tamper-evident banders; label applicators; and pack-off station turntables.

The three lines, housed in three separate packaging rooms, fill 75-, 120-, and 225-cc high-density polyethylene bottles with various pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products. The HDPE bottles are supplied by Paradigm Packaging, and plastic closures are supplied by Pacific Packaging Components, Inc. After filling, desiccant packets are deposited by desiccant placers from Azco Corp., who also supplies the desiccant packets. After cotton plug inserting, flexible membrane inner seals are affixed to the bottle mouths using induction sealers supplied by Pillar Technologies.

Label printing of specific product copy and identification coding is accomplished using printing equipment from Zebra Technologies. The pressure-sensitive wraparound paper labels, applied after the tamper-evident bands, incorporate 4 tear-off identification tabs that can be removed and filed for record-keeping purposes at the medical clinic or other healthcare facility.