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Pack Expo purchases triple production

End-of-line equipment purchased at Pack Expo International 2008 helped Garden Lites boost productivity significantly. Top management will be back at the Chicago show this Fall

FLOOR SPACE. The side sealer (above) and the compact shrink tunnel (left) are designed to work in tandem while occupying minimal
FLOOR SPACE. The side sealer (above) and the compact shrink tunnel (left) are designed to work in tandem while occupying minimal
Pack Expo International

Garden Lites was founded with the mission of delivering healthy meals without sacrificing taste and quality. The company uses all-natural, gluten-free ingredients to create low-calorie fresh and frozen soufflés such as its Roasted Vegetable, Butternut Squash, Spinach, and Zucchini varieties. Other dishes include Zucchini Marinara and Zucchini Portabella entrees. Garden Lites also manufactures a selection of low-calorie salad dressings and soups. The company’s products can be found in several national chains, including Publix, Stop & Shop, Wegman’s, and Whole Foods. As Garden Lites’s product range expanded, so did demand for its good-for-you products. Eventually, capacity in its two New York-based facilities was maxed out. To boost production, the company required a full renovation of its Jamaica, Queens location. In addition to re-building the facility from the ground up at the existing location, Garden Lites invested in capital equipment that would increase overall automation and maximize efficiency.

”Case packing had traditionally been a manual process, making it very difficult to keep up with growing demand,” Huss said. “We quickly realized that we had to bring in automated equipment to streamline our operation. In addition to speeding the pace of production, it provided the benefit of letting us reallocate staff to more strategic tasks.

Greater demand calls for greater capacity
Huss turned to Pack Expo to find the automated packaging solutions he needed. Before heading to the show, Huss visited www.packexpo.com, where he was able to research equipment from various exhibitors. Armed with a list of options, he hit the show floor to examine different end-of-line machines amid the 1,600 exhibitors.

“The show allowed me to expand my understanding of manufacturing,” Huss said. “With so many technologies in one place, I was able to evaluate equipment in action and see how it would help innovate my own line and enhance efficiency at our own plant.” As a result of the show, Garden Lites effectively upgraded several pieces of equipment, including an integrated Spartan cartoner and Econopacker case packing machine from Econocorp, Inc. Highly satisfied with the quality of the equipment, Huss determined that transitioning to a fully-automated option would be a prudent choice for increasing production.

2024 PACK EXPO Innovations Reports
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2024 PACK EXPO Innovations Reports
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Editors report on distinguishing characteristics that define each new product and collected video demonstrating the equipment or materials as displayed at the show. This topical report, winnowed from nearly 300 PACK EXPO collective booth visits, represents a categorized, organized account of individual items that were selected based on whether they were deemed to be both new, and truly innovative, based on decades of combined editorial experience in experiencing and evaluating PACK EXPO products.
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Conveying Innovations Report