Fatra, a Czech flooring manufacturer, successfully automated its carton sealing process using a hot melt adhesive system that maintains high production speeds while reducing labor costs.
- Automation Solution: Fatra replaced manual adhesive tape sealing with a hot melt adhesive application system featuring three SX application heads that seal cartons in seconds.
- Production Impact: The system maintains throughput with boxes ready for robotic palletizing just seconds after sealing.
- Labor Efficiency: The automation freed up 16 employees previously dedicated to manual sealing operations to work in other areas of the facility.
- Cost Benefits: Hot melt adhesive reduces material consumption compared to tape, lowering packaging costs while supporting resource efficiency and environmental goals.
- Reliability Track Record: Two years after installation, the system operates at 100% effectiveness with minimal maintenance beyond regular adhesive granule refilling.
When Czech plastics processor Fatra looked to automate packaging for its luxury vinyl tile (LVT) flooring panels, carton sealing stood out as a sticking point.
“Originally, we sealed the packaging boxes manually with adhesive tape, which was physically demanding, slow, and labor-intensive,” says Martin Čech, R&D project manager at Fatra, in a release from adhesive supplier Robatech. “It was therefore clear from the start that we wanted to fully automate this step.”
In 2024, the company launched the project to automate its LVT packaging line, with the goal of combining several work steps, from processing to palletizing, into a continuous process. It worked with machine builder Deprox s.r.o. to develop the new automated line.
Quick carton sealing maintains throughput
In the new process, the LVT panels’ edges are beveled before they are stacked in cartons. These panels are produced at a rate of up to one every two seconds, so the Fatra team knew its new sealing setup should not be a bottleneck to the high production speeds upstream.
Deprox picked a hot melt adhesive application system from Robatech for the job, supplied via its Czech partner KALETECH. The system is made up of a Vision S adhesive melter along with Performa heated hoses and three SX application heads.
The adhesive sets within a few seconds for a strong enough seal to hold during palletizing.Image courtesy of Robatech
“Just a few seconds after being sealed, the boxes are picked up by a robot and palletized,” Čech says. “If a box were to open, the panels would fall out. That’s why the adhesive has to adhere reliably right away.”
The adhesive also lowers material consumption compared to tape, cutting packaging costs and supporting resource efficiency.
Proximity enables smooth integration
Part of what made this project a success was the proximity of all parties involved.
Fatra, Deprox, and Robatech partner KALETECH are all located within about 30 kilometers of each other, enabling quick on-site collaboration.
“The system programmer, the service technician for the industrial robot, and the KALETECH sales representative were all on site quickly,” Čech says. “This allowed us to resolve every issue personally within one to two days.”
KALETECH delivered the application system preconfigured, so once it was in Fatra’s facility, it only needed minor adjustments and fine-tuning to get started.
Adhesive system proves reliable in operation
Two years after the initial installation, Fatra’s LVT carton sealing system is still humming along smoothly.
Side bead application helps secure Fatra’s LVT flooring cartons before robotic palletizing.Image courtesy of Robatech
Aside from material feeding and refilling adhesive granules, the process is fully automated, allowing Fatra to reassign 16 employees who had previously operated the line to other areas.
As the new system continues to work reliably, Fatra’s operations are faster, more efficient, and less labor-intensive than before the automation project.
