Cartoning

A vision for low-cost inspection

Access Business Group, the manufacturing arm for Amway, upgrades cosmetics packaging with new low-cost vision sensors that confirm literature insertion and label presence.

November 30, 2000

Secondary Packaging: Page 252

Secondary Packaging

Tri-extrusion heightens Haremar's capability (sidebar)

Film wraps McDonald’s Canadian buns

November 30, 2000

Secondary Packaging

Tri-extrusion heightens Haremar's capability

A faster line yielding more consistent films lifts Haremar Plastics into three-layer capability, exemplified by a clear overwrap for McDonald’s buns.Highlights include comprehensive central control and remote monitoring and servicing.

November 30, 2000

Conveying & accumulation

Paired vf/f/s equipment 'brews' foodservice packs

By adding two vf/f/s machines, Mother Parker’s Tea & Coffee meets growing sales demand for small bags of ground coffee sold primarily to restaurants and hotels.

November 30, 2000

Cartoning

Pack Expo 2000 quick-changeover round-up

REPORTING FROM PACK EXPO: Every year machinery builders advertise quick-changeover packaging machines. As Packaging World editors walked the aisles at the recent Pack Expo show, we could not miss the new packaging machines that featured super-quick changeover times, which we'll arbitrarily define as 15 minutes or less. Here are some cartoners, case packers, a shrink bundler and a thermoformer that caught our attention.

October 31, 2000

Secondary Packaging

Cartoner favors operator training

REPORTING FROM PACK EXPO: Small-footprint, servo-driven Stealth cartoner from MGS Machine (Maple Grove, MN) features a Windows NT HMI touchscreen with online manuals and self-diagnostics for operator training.

October 31, 2000

Feeding/inserting/unscrambling

Laser-guided vehicles at Latrobe

REPORTING FROM PACK EXPO: Rolling Rock beer brewer Latrobe Brewery, Latrobe, PA, bought three Elettric 80 laser-guided vehicles in early 2000 to move pallets of finished product throughout its warehouse. The same model was running non-stop at the Sasib booth.

October 31, 2000

Secondary Packaging

Economical shipping/display case

REPORTING FROM PACK EXPO: Vitners snack products, is the first user of an economical display case from Weyerhaeuser.

October 31, 2000

Secondary Packaging

Case sealers

The semiautomatic STA-52 Line case sealer from STA (Garden Grove, CA) can top- and bottom-seal any case up to 20.47” W, 23.5” H and any length.

October 31, 2000

Secondary Packaging

Low-level palletizer

The KES 2190 low-level palletizer from Kaufman (Waterville, OH) uses an encoder to track the position of the carriage lift. This information is communicated to the motor controller and then to the system’s PLC, which uses the information to maintain consistent layer positioning.

October 31, 2000

Secondary Packaging

Gantry-style palletizer

The Impact palletizer is a robotic, gantry-style pick-and-place system from Comman (Waalwijk, The Netherlands). Loading trays and boxes at speeds to 12 products/min, the machine stacks products in the pattern selected via touchscreen.

October 31, 2000

Secondary Packaging

Box 'Aces' apple maker's test

This year, the Ace Apple Co. ordered 30ꯠ interlocking, “shelf-ready” corrugated cases to pack its apples, tripling last year’s order. The apple grower reports the increased use of the box, as an alternative to a more traditional corrugated case, stems from the enthusiasm of retailers, primarily supermarkets.

October 31, 2000

Conveying & accumulation

Suppliers recognize packagers' training needs

In describing their own programs, suppliers acknowledge shortcomings and reflect the criticisms made by their customers. Time allocated for training remains the most pressing need, they agree.

October 31, 2000