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Nine tips for selecting multipacking and shrink-bundling equipment

In today’s multipacking and shrink-bundling environment, the need for flexibility and precisely repeatable changeovers is taking precedence.

This is driving equipment design, even on highly complex equipment. It is also influencing the “dumbing down of machines,” specific to changeover and flexibility, where responsibility is taken out of the hands of operators, or removed entirely. Users are demanding higher overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), longer mean time to failures, and greater predictability.

Machine builders are adding control with fully integrated robotics instead of integrating with another machine for added functionality. Rather than having three axes of linear movement (e.g., a pusher), the vendor may install a delta or Cartesian robot. Robots are simpler and cheaper than they used to be, and utilize smaller footprints.

The proliferation of SKUs and brands has driven down shelf space, which in turn has increased inventory turns and the desire for smaller packages. This need has dramatically increased bundling speed. The costs of bundling, labeling, and coding have almost doubled due to sending the same tonnage in smaller bundles!

Here are some tips to consider for those selecting equipment in this challenging environment:

1. Look to downgauge. The use of polyethylene and similar thin films is a huge cost-cutting opportunity. Fifty percent of customers use heavier-gauge film than they need. Why? A thicker gauge buys a lot of “forgiveness,” allowing companies to get away with sloppier setup, less efficient machines, and less competent operators. Premium films are being used to accommodate these shortcomings. While downgauging involves a lot of work, it can pay off. Instead of using a film that costs $4 a pound, you can use one that costs $0.71 a pound with the right bundling machine. In fact, film suppliers are producing better-quality, inexpensive thin films.

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