Modular system provides multipack flexibility

In response to a major retail customer’s request, Finnish dairy producer installs a three-module system to pack yogurt and quark cups into multipack sleeves and cartons.

Erected trays await the transfer/loading of multipacks, while individual cups are carried on a transport robot.
Erected trays await the transfer/loading of multipacks, while individual cups are carried on a transport robot.

Juustoportti, a producer of dairy products located in Jalasjärvi in western Finland, was looking for an innovative solution to enter new retail markets. Over the past 50 years, family-run Juustoportti has evolved from a small dairy producing cheese into a company with more than 150 employees and an annual turnover of approximately 40 million euros. Over time, the company added to its selection of traditional Finnish cheeses a wide range of dairy products such as yogurt and quark, positioned under its own brand as well as under private retail brands. The Jalasjärvi site uses production technology that is among the most modern in the country.

In 2014, Juustoportti received an inquiry from a major retail customer to pack yogurt and quark in two- and four-count multipacks. Previously, they had packed yogurt and quark cups of varying diameters in standard cartons that each contained 10 cups. Juustoportti now had to find a machine to handle the request from its retail customer that would be able to package cups in paperboard sleeves as well as six-count cartons, in addition to the 10-count carton.

Juustoportti chose to partner with Gerhard Schubert GmbH Verpackungsmaschinen, which provided a customized, modular machine concept that allows for the flexible packaging of various pack formats and sizes.

Modular machine provides flexibility

Juustoportti owner Timo Keski-Kasari connected with Schubert for the first time at the Anuga FoodTec show in Cologne, Germany, in 2014. There, he shared with them the packaging challenge to be solved. In response, Schubert developed a detailed concept with various proposals and invited Juustoportti to its plant in Crailsheim, Germany.

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