Case/tray packing: Page 93

Secondary Packaging

Poland Spring promotes 'wall-to-wall' training

Management says training costs are justified by increased equipment efficiency that boosts output and by developing and retaining skilled employees.

December 31, 2001

Palletizing/depalletizing

Guides guide training at Poland Spring

Technical materials developed in-house and by vendors help employees become better skilled on packaging machinery, making them more valuable to the water bottler.

December 31, 2001

Conveying & accumulation

A line that's loaded with smarts

Latrobe Brewing Co.’s new line for 12-oz glass bottles of Rolling Rock beer is a textbook illustration of SCADA in action. Analysis of data is equally impressive.

November 30, 2001

Conveying & accumulation

Controls implemented Nature's Way (sidebar)

Line overview

November 30, 2001

Conveying & accumulation

Controls implemented Nature's Way

On a line filling 1- and 2.5-gal containers, a networked modem has already saved more than $10ꯠ by allowing remote troubleshooting by vendors. The network includes seven HMIs and nine PLCs.

November 30, 2001

Conveying & accumulation

Labeler proves 'berry, berry' good for Fabri-Kal

A new clamshell labeling system increases speed while reducing labor costs and downtime at the Greenville, SC, plant of thermoformer Fabri-Kal.

October 31, 2001

Conveying & accumulation

New line boasts new sterilizing technology

Adelholzener of Germany is leading the charge when it comes to popularizing one-way plastic beverage bottles in a region that has long resisted this package format.

October 31, 2001

Conveying & accumulation

Nature's Way Purewater: Lane dividing and case packing

On this bottled water line, servo-operated lane divider directs the jugs from one lane into three lanes ahead of continuous motion case packing. The case packer, from Douglas Machine, meters jugs via paddles to a cam-operated arm that pushes three atop the folded blank, which is erected by vacuum pick-and-place cups.

September 30, 2001

Secondary Packaging

Latrobe Brewing Co.: Case erecting and loading

At this Rolling Rock brewery, at the infeed of a case erector from Pearson Packaging Systems, a robotic positioner picks bundles of 12-count corrugated shippers, orients the bundle, cuts the band, and feeds the band to a grinder.

September 30, 2001

Secondary Packaging

Latrobe Brewing Co.: Laser-guided vehicles

At this Rolling Rock brewery, a laser-guided vehicle with a pallet load of corrugated trays maneuvers its way to a tray packer and trades its full pallet for an empty one.

September 30, 2001

Conveying & accumulation

Big containers, big output done Nature's Way

Nature’s Way Purewater fills 180 1-gal containers/min and packs them into 3-count cases at a rate of 60 cases/min. New $4 million, 2000’-long line includes a case packer that accepts 2.5-gal containers, too. See in-plant video

September 30, 2001

Conveying & accumulation

Big containers, big output done Nature's Way (sidebar)

Bigger containers, shorter line

September 30, 2001