Discover your next big idea at PACK EXPO Las Vegas this September
Experience a breakthrough in packaging & processing and transform your business with solutions from 2,300 suppliers spanning all industries.
REGISTER NOW & SAVE

Carton feeders illuminate GE Lighting lines

Four cartoning machines on two "Pro 80" light bulb packaging lines at General Electric Lighting's Winchester, VA, plant once required manual refilling of carton blanks every six minutes.

Pw 21810 Foucarmacon 11

Now the equipment holds 90 minutes' worth of blanks.

Added were four Rotopak multi-pocket carousel feeders from Fleetwood Systems (Romeoville, IL), on two lines. On each line, one Model 30C-2 Rotopak uses 30 vertical pockets to feed single-faced corrugated sleeves to a continuous-motion cartoner from Thiele (Minneapo<> lis, MN). The cartoner places two light bulbs into each sleeve. Each line also uses a Model 14C-2 Rotopak equipped with 14 vertical pockets. Each 14C-2 feeder supplies a separate intermittent-motion Thiele machine that loads two inner sleeves into an outer corrugated sleeve.

"In the past, our operators were captive to loading material on a short infeed," recalls plant engineer Mark Yonteff. "Now, with 90 minutes of accumulation, the operators benefit from reducing their risk of repetitive stress injuries, and our [Cleveland, OH-based] business benefits from increased productivity.

"We operate the lines 24 hours a day, seven days a week," he continues. "The Fleetwood equipment has been extremely reliable in this environment." Yonteff says that the Rotopaks, added about four years ago, generated a one-and-a-half-year payback.

Annual Outlook Report: Sustainability
The road ahead for CPGs in 2025 and beyond—<i>Packaging World</i> editors review key findings from a survey of 88 brand owners, CPG, and FMCG readers.
Download Now
Annual Outlook Report: Sustainability
Is your palletizing solution leaving money on the floor?
Discover which palletizing technology—robotic, conventional, or hybrid—will maximize your packaging line efficiency while minimizing long-term costs in this comprehensive analysis.
Read More
Is your palletizing solution leaving money on the floor?