Integrating new sustainable materials with legacy packaging machinery poses significant compatibility challenges, including web breakage and jams. Manufacturers should contact original equipment makers first to test compatibility and understand modification costs.
- Older machinery designed for specific materials struggles with thinner, lighter sustainable materials that require longer sealing times
- Compatibility issues can cause web breakage, machine jams, and reduced throughput, or require expensive modifications
- The first step is contacting the original equipment manufacturer for testing and compatibility assessment before production changes
- Collaboration between OEMs, material suppliers, and customers is essential to prevent costly integration failures
- Many OEMs work with material suppliers during development, but not all new materials are anticipated by legacy equipment designers
Glen Long, Senior Vice President of PMMI, talks about an important but sometimes overlooked issue in advance of the Packaging Recycling Summit, which will be held this September 16-18 in Anaheim. Learn why Long is a leading a session to discuss integrating new materials into legacy machinery lines:
KO: Please briefly tell us about your role at PMMI, and your background in the packaging industry.
GL: I’m PMMI’s Sr. VP. I’m responsible for all our services on the Association side of our Group. Our mission is to help our members succeed. I’m a Career Packaging Machinery Professional with significant, specific industry experience having managed or owned five different manufacturers of Packaging Machinery over my 45 year career. Specialties: General Management w/P&L responsibility; Strategic Planning/Management; Engineering and Operations Management including Lean Manufacturing, Market/Product Development; Sales Management; Employee development.
KO: There is a lot of discussion around materials when considering sustainability and recyclability of package design, but oftentimes the compatibility of the legacy machines that need to run the new materials is left out of the conversation. Why do CPGs need to consider their existing machinery when making packaging design changes for recyclability?
GL: Often times installed bases of machinery are years old and were designed for use with a particular material. Introducing newer, more sustainable materials poses significant challenges for this older machinery. Many times the newer materials are thinner and lighter or they require longer dwell times for sealing/closing. These characteristics may result in web breakage or machine jams or, at the very least, slower throughputs. Worst case, the newer materials may not run on the legacy equipment without extensive modification OR not at all.
KO: What is the best “first step” to find out if new materials that are being considered will be compatible with existing machinery?
GL: The first step is to contact the original manufacturer of the equipment. They may have knowledge of the material already and, if not, they may be able to provide testing capabilities that won’t interrupt your production. Also, if modifications are required to enable the materials to run on the existing equipment, they’re your best source for understanding the implications and cost of such changes.
KO: Are OEMs addressing these issues on their end? How do they solve for materials they don’t yet know about?
GL: Many times OEMs work closely with material suppliers during the development of new materials and may offer invaluable feedback on potential issues. This isn’t always the case and it takes cooperation between the OEM, material supplier and the customer to ensure the best result.
KO: We are excited to have you on the “Integrating Recyclable Materials with Established Machinery” panel at the September 2024 Packaging Recycling Summit. What do you hope the panel will convey during the session, and what kind of conversations or collaborations do you hope to see take place during the Summit?
GL: In person networking is always the best take away from events like this. Connections made here allow collaboration to take place long after the event. I’m hoping our panel can point to some issues for consideration when switching to more sustainable materials and prompt better collaboration between the parties.
More information on the Packaging Recycling Summit can be found here.
