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Tag: packaging

Sealed Air focuses on automation at Empack

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Global packaging provider Sealed Air will be showcasing its range of automated protective and food packaging solutions on stand C10 at this year’s Packaging Innovations & Empack show, which takes place on 25th – 26th May at NEC, Birmingham, UK. Sealed Air will also welcome to the stand newly acquired Foxpak Flexibles Ltd, a pioneer in digital and graphics packaging.

Foxpak teams up with leading brands to deliver highly decorated packaging solutions; stand-up and spout pouches, and sachets that serve a variety of markets including food retail, pet food, seafood, and snacks.

Sealed Air’s focus on automation starts with the popular range of AUTOBAG brand automated packing solutions that include systems designed to improve productivity in mail order fulfilment and primary packing solutions. The AUTOBAG brand systems include an integrated printer capable of printing high resolution graphics, text and barcodes directly onto the bags, saving both time and consumables. Systems on display include the table-top AUTOBAG brand PS 125, and the AUTOBAG brand 850STM, with a touch screen and the ability to run bags up to 550mm wide.

Features such as secure bag opening and positioning, integrated printing and compact footprints makes the AUTOBAG brand range an essential part of any efficient fulfilment operation.

Visitors to the stand can also see the range of SEALED AIR brand and BUBBLE WRAP brand inflatable packaging systems for void fill and cushioning – including films containing a minimum of 50% recycled content.

Included in the wide range of paper packaging on display will be the recently-launched SEALED AIR brand FasFil Jr. This paper void fill system is ‘plug and play’ with a super small footprint, fully integrated user-friendly controls, toolless jam clearing and anti-jam sensors. It can create custom void fill material using 100% recycled fanfold paper, which is also responsibly sourced.

Following the successful launch of recycle-ready SEALED AIR brand Mail Lite mailers, the company will be showcasing its new PickPack format, which replaces corrugated boxes used to ship the Mail Lite mailers. The PickPack format uses up to 60% less packaging weight, and also transforms into a dispensing unit for both retail and packing areas.

Food packaging will be represented by a range of CRYOVAC brand solutions including CRYOVAC brand Darfresh family of thermoforming vacuum skin packaging, demonstrating a reduction in plastic use and longer shelf life.

 

 

TSC Printronix Auto ID launches versatile desktop printers

Posted on by Keith McKinley

TSC Printronix Auto ID says it is continuing to set standards in thermal label printing solutions with its latest product development, the TX210 Series. This high-performance, compact desktop printer has been designed to handle, with absolute precision, a variety of applications, from 4”x6” shipping labels right down to very small specimen labels.

Based on the successful and proven TX platform, TSC Printronix Auto ID says these advanced devices are ideally suited to a number of industries such as manufacturing, transport & logistics and healthcare. They can be relied upon to fulfil the most demanding of requirements, and support more applications than most printers in their class including unique standalone print capability, high 600dpi resolution for product marking and graphics, and detailed labels for use in electronics marking.

There are three models in the Series, the TX210, the TX310 and the TX610, delivering maximum print speeds of 8in/s, 6in/s and 4in/second respectively. All three models have robust clamshell exteriors of double shelled plastic, designed to withstand the harshest of working environments.

The TX210 Series is simple to use, it comes with an easy-to-read LED display but an optional, adjustable 3.5” colour LCD display can be angled to allow users to quickly see printer status. Media is easy to load and a clever ribbon-stop mechanism prevents annoying rewind issues when the top cover is open. The feature that many businesses may value most is the printer’s 300m-long ribbon which affords them the opportunity to save time and money.

Another handy feature of the TX210 is its TSC TPH Care Mechanism that detects and monitors print head status in real-time thus ensuring consistent print quality. TSC’s dynamic remote printer management tool with SOTI Connect and the powerful TSC Console further enable enterprises to manage multiple tasks, reduce maintenance costs and avoid costly downtime of their business-critical devices.

As regards connectivity, the TX210 Series comes equipped with USB 2.0, RS-232, USB Host and internal Ethernet as standard, but MFi Bluetooth 5.0, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac wireless module and Centronics parallel interfaces are available as options.

The TX210 has a print resolution of 203dpi and a maximum print width of 108mm (4.25”). The TX310 has 300dpi resolution and a print width up to 106mm (4.17”). The TX610 boasts a sharp 600dpi resolution and the same max print width as the TX310, 106mm (4.17”).

Sitma works with university towards packaging sustainability

Posted on by David Priestman

As part of the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business Global Business Experience Programme, Sitma was invited to submit a project proposal to be implemented with the support and guidance of a team of students from the 2022 Flex MBA class.

Sitma, which has long been acclaimed for its numerous research and collaboration activities with various universities, immediately identified an attractive topic of interest to them on which to base the business project.

The purpose of the project?

To develop a method to analyse and contain CO2 consumption and emissions deriving from the automatic packaging processes of Sitma lines with a specific focus on e-commerce solutions and then define a go-to-market strategy.  This is the first step towards the development of tools with strong ethical and commercial value, which can be an added value for customers in the logistics and packaging sector.

Sitma has always kept a close eye on sustainability and has been leading the way in studying solutions to reduce the environmental impact deriving from the use of its machines. For example, it developed packaging systems that can use paper instead of plastic, as well as solutions that can create packaging tailored to the contents to minimise waste. However, the company wanted to go a step further and look for tools able to provide objective data and values.

This is where the partnership with Georgetown University came into play: the US university, one of the most prestigious in the world, has specific skills in the sector and provided a team of young students, with a mix of skills and truly extensive and diverse experiences, who turned the project into their business case for the MBA.

The people who made a difference

Amanda Patterson, Dylan Mills, Tony Vieira and Aaron Knowlson were the real protagonists of this sustainability project with the right mix of skills and experiences that examined and effectively analysed the e-commerce market in the United States and then proposed different scenarios to the Sitma team. The team showed real dedication and determination right from the start, characteristics that then made the difference when it came to realising this ambitious project.

The American team’s desire to get involved and show the skills acquired during the 2-3 years of the MBA, as well as the helpfulness and willingness of the Sitma team to collaborate on new projects, were the key factors for the success of this project. The work team immediately found the perfect synergy, which led to an interesting exchange of ideas, views, proposals and suggestions.

Distance and time zone were not a problem for the teams, who shared information, demos, results and questions through online meetings on a weekly basis from November 2021 to March 2022. The team of students immediately showed great interest and dedication to a topic they, too, felt was very interesting.

After an initial period during which they collected ideas and information from January 2022, Sitma saw the tool take shape. The Georgetown team developed complex simulations of different scenarios, studying how to set parameters again and reconfigure the machines according to the different manufacturing conditions and the packaging materials used, completing a path Sitma had already undertaken.

With great mutual satisfaction, the project ended on 10th March when the Georgetown team visited the company’s headquarters during their journey in Italy at the end of the course, accompanied by professors José de la Torre and Kasra Ferdows. The team of students presented the results of the project to a wide audience, including high-level Sitma personnel. Extensive input emerged from this interesting working table, suggesting that there is still a long road ahead, but at the same time that it is the right road to follow.

The final project

Along with an intelligent system to recognise and track the material used on automatic packaging machines, Sitma has decided to create a synergy with a dedicated software with the aim of mapping the packaging process to then ensure limited energy consumption and the impact on the environment.

After an initial analytical phase, the study was based on the implementation of a tool capable of collecting and analysing data as precisely and objectively as possible. It also discussed the stages before and after packaging, for example by examining the end-of-life stage for packaging and products.

In short, the project with Georgetown University is the first step towards the development of increasingly precise systems to assess the impact of both individual processes and of the supply chain as a whole. The added value, as the team highlighted at the end of the project itself, lies in the opportunity to differentiate sustainability and provide not only absolute but also comparative data with respect to solutions that are more polluting and/or with a greater impact.

This has beneficial repercussions on the environment and is also an important commercial tool, as it meets the demands of the market and end users.

Stretch Wrapping is Ecological and Cost-effective

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Life cycle management, sustainability and environmental friendliness are terms that are now firmly anchored not only in the minds of end consumers, but also in the minds of more and more companies. However, the consistent implementation of such measures should also have as positive an effect as possible on costs.

Robopac Germany, a company of the international Aetnagroup, focuses on intelligent packaging machines for stretch wrapping technologies in the food and beverage industry, which are tested and permanently updated in its own TechLabs. Premium versions include, for example, a new generation of high-performance ring wrapping machines with patented Cube Technology, suitable for wrapping and stabilising pallets with stretch film.

For many packaging companies, it is a technical challenge to always wrap pallets with a wide variety of goods stably and with as little film as possible. Each load is different in height, width, weight and is made of a different material. For example, pallets with canned goods have to be wrapped differently than beverage crates, bottles or milk cartons. Often, several layers of film are packed in the lower part of the pallet to make it seemingly more stable for transport. In fact, it’s the other way around.

The load often fluctuates the most at the top and would need more support here through a larger film volume. This is exactly where Robopac comes in with its mix of technical, physical and scientific know-how. At the customer’s site, if requested, a service technician will check the pallets to be wrapped – prior to wrapping them with stretch film. They then individually set the appropriate program on the machine to ensure optimum wrapping. With the help of Cube Technology , exactly the right amount of film is applied at exactly the right place with exactly the right pre-stretch. The pre-stretch ensures the correct containment force of the load and thus maximum stability.

Another positive side effect of the patented wrapping technology is that in some cases up to 70 percent of film material can be saved in this way without sacrificing the highest possible quality. However, not every stretch film is equally suitable for use in these high-performance packaging machines. The film material must, for example, run at high wrapping speeds and have strong flexibility and load stability, such as films from manupackaging.

Converted to the daily goods throughput of an average brewery of 1,400 pallets, around 280kg less plastic can be used here. Multiplied by an annual production, the savings amount to up to 70,000kg of plastic or the equivalent of €140,000.

On the cost side, companies can expect some massive changes in the near future. Since January 1st, 2021, the federal government still pays €0.80 to the EU for every unrecycled kilogram of plastic. However, there are plans to distribute these not inconsiderable expenses among companies in the future. In other words, this means a correspondingly high financial burden for companies with a high plastic consumption. Prices of up to €2 per kilogram are currently being discussed. On the other hand, companies that consistently recycle or already use intelligent wrapping technology in their packaging will have a permanent advantage.

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Pallet Wrap and Stretch Film Among New Packaging Products

 

Kite launches 100% translucent paper bags

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Kite Packaging has launched a range of 100% paper glassine bags. Clear bags have long reflected professional presentation when used as internal packaging, particularly in the fashion or textile industries. Traditionally, a high-clarity transparent bag would have to be made from plastic, though glassine paper can now offer a sustainable alternative thanks to its glossy, translucent finish.

Manufactured from wood pulp, glassine is a recyclable and biodegradable paper that can be put out for kerbside collection in the same way as any other paper or card products. This makes it a highly unique eco-friendly packaging innovation by marrying plastic-free sustainability with a see-through texture.

Kite now supplies these bags in five different sizes all with 40gsm. Therefore, they are suitable for separating individual clothing or accessory items within a larger mailer or granting an extra layer of protection to specific parts of a package.

The glassine bags are grease-, moisture- and dirt-resistant, serving to maintain the pristine condition of the contents. By selecting a bag that will closely fit the contents, clothes can keep their neatly folded configuration to create an aesthetically pleasing unboxing experience. Furthermore, they offer increased reassurance that external elements of wind and rain, for example, cannot damage your products.

With a range of competitive wholesale prices, Kite’s new range can equip both large and small businesses wishing to elevate the professionalism of the packaging without compromising their environmental standpoint. Eco-friendly plastic-free packaging materials act as a strong marketing tool in the current ecommerce climate. The translucent pouches are an eco-friendly alternative to polythene bags by being both recyclable and biodegradable, while maintaining the see-through quality previously only achieved with plastic products.

These bags are professional forms of internal packaging boasting moisture and grease resistance to protect clothing and textile items without harming our planet.

Caja and Ranpak partner to provide sustainable packaging

Posted on by David Priestman

Caja Robotics, a leader in robotic and flexible goods-to-person solutions for order fulfilment, has partnered with Ranpak, a global leader of environmentally sustainable, paper-based packaging solutions for e-commerce and industrial supply chains, to extend the companies’ joint product offerings to customers in the logistics industry.

Together, the companies will provide a broader solution that will optimise fulfilment processes starting when e-commerce orders are placed and received, to packing and shipping when the order is ready, combining depalletisation, picking and packing capabilities.

“We are excited about our partnership with Ranpak to address mutual opportunities,” said Michael Cahn, VP Business Development at Caja Robotics. “We saw the potential in providing complementary technologies for customers in order fulfilment, and in a sustainable way, so we jumped at the opportunity. Customers interested in goods-to-person robotics and automated packing will now have a complete, eco-friendly solution.”

Ranpak is a global producer of 100% sustainable, paper-based packaging solutions. As part of their mission to provide innovative, environmentally friendly solutions, Ranpak also offers cutting-edge automated equipment designed to speed up the end-of-line packing process while protecting the items being shipped in a cost-effective, economical way.

“At Ranpak, we are always looking for innovative ways to expand the global footprint of our sustainable, automated end of line packaging solutions. We are thrilled to collaborate with Caja Robotics and its cutting-edge robotic fulfilment solution. We already have new and existing customers from different segments of the industry interested in our automated broad solution for warehouse operations,” said Saar Davidi, Automation Innovation Director at Ranpak.

Caja Robotics responds to the daily challenges of warehouses worldwide with a smart warehouse technology that easily adapts to existing infrastructure and is flexible enough to handle peaks in sales. Caja’s fulfilment system consists of the company’s own software, specialised robots, and user-friendly workstations. With Caja’s advanced AI-powered software, the robots move bins between workstations and inventory, constantly optimising goods management while saving over 60% of traditional warehouse labour costs.

The Caja Robotics and Ranpak joint offering is available now in the US and internationally. To learn more, visit Caja Robotics at booth #C3789 at MODEX2022 from March 28-31, 2022.

TSC Printronix appoints DACH sales manager

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Highly experienced sales expert Julia Moore joined TSC Printronix Auto ID as Sales Manager on 1st March 2022. Her role is twofold, to both support existing partners, distributors and resellers, and to expand the partner network throughout the DACH North region.

Victoria Grobushkina, Sales Director for TSC Printronix Auto ID Europe and Africa, to whom Julia will report, sees her as a real asset. “We are pleased to welcome Julia to our sales team. Being customer-oriented, results-driven and a great team player, she will support our continuous regional growth and help to establish long-standing business relations with our channel partners and provide the first class level of services for which TSC Printronix Auto ID is renowned,” says Victoria.

Moore has a very ‘hands-on‘ approach that focuses on customer needs. “I put customer requirements front and central to my work and am determined to demonstrate to them how both the TSC and Printronix Auto ID brands can meet their needs. I am convinced that through excellent cooperation with our partners, and by actively supporting a wide range of projects, we can increase our market share and inspire more end customers to use our high-performance products,” says Moore.

Post-graduation from the University of Sunderland, Moore acquired her initial sales skills at Medion AG and Aer Rianta Retail in Dublin. In 2012, she switched to the Auto ID industry with a Customer Account position in Dublin for Datalogic followed by a sales role at AISCI Ident GmbH. Since 2017, Moore has been responsible, as Area Sales Manager, for developing and expanding the reseller and partner network at Promethean, one of the world’s leading suppliers of interactive displays and screens for imaging equipment.

Moore will be based in Essen, Germany, and will complement the DACH team, covering the northern part of the region. She will be focused on managing day-to-day relationships with existing resellers and distribution partners for both TSC and Printronix Auto ID brands. Additionally, she’ll be targeting Auto ID resellers to gain a foothold into new customers to increase regional presence and brand awareness.

Ukraine conflict to cause significant pressure on pallet supply

Posted on by David Priestman

The European Federation of Wooden Pallet & Packaging Manufacturers (FEFPEB) has expressed its deep sympathies and support for the people of Ukraine and advised that the conflict in Ukraine is expected to cause significant pressure on the supply of wood, and therefore pallets and packaging, in the coming weeks.

Last year, Ukraine exported more than 2.7 million cu m of sawn softwood timber, a significant amount of this for wooden pallets and packaging manufactured in European markets including France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland. The country also produced and exported an estimated 15 million pallets, mainly to Europe.

The severe slowdown in the Ukrainian economy and stop in production will have serious direct impacts on countries such as Hungary, Italy and Germany (the three most prolific softwood importers from Ukraine); and also an indirect impact across Europe by unbalancing the market and increasing competition for more limited wood supplies and putting upwards pressure on prices.

Meanwhile, with Russia exporting approximately 4.5m cu m of softwood timber into the EU (with Estonia, Germany, Finland the largest importers) and Belarus exporting approximately 3.1m cu m (spruce and pine combined), Europe will be significantly impacted by trade sanctions that have been introduced against the two countries – which FEFPEB supports.

Some countries source up to 25% of their pallet and packaging timber from the three countries. Alternative timber sources including Scandinavia, Germany and the Baltic States are only capable of covering a small proportion of the shortfall.

Energy supplies have also been severely disrupted, increasing the price of fuel, with growth in the price of petrol of more than 30%, and the cost of a barrel of oil now more than US$110. This, says FEFPEB, will have a “significant impact” on the cost of heat treatment and kiln drying of timber to ISPM 15 standards, on transport and on the overall cost of production – leading inevitably to product price rises.

The above challenges add to existing pressures caused by the ongoing global shipping crisis, labour shortages, low availability and high prices of raw materials – including a severe shortage of steel for the production of nails – and generally disrupted transport flows around the world.

FEFPEB Secretary General Fons Ceelaert said: “The terrible events unfolding in Ukraine have had an immediate impact on industries of all kinds, disrupting vital trade flows, and reducing availability of many different materials and goods. The usual supplies of timber needed for the production and repair of wooden pallets and packaging have had been hit hard, and availability has been significantly reduced.

“Alongside the sizeable ongoing international challenges that already exist in the market, we expect to see a general upward trend in the price of all commodities, including wood. In the meantime, our member associations’ businesses around Europe are working hard to secure supplies from their partners in order to maintain continuity of pallet and packaging production.

“FEFPEB is in close contact with CEI-Bois and the European Commission, with whom we have shared our moral and economic concerns. We will continue to liaise with industry sources and monitor up-to-date information to enable us to keep our membership and the market informed about the very latest developments in this ongoing situation.”

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Logistics in Ukraine: Still Going

 

 

 

Sparck produces 100-millionth fit-to-size box

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Sparck Technologies, the new name for Packaging by Quadient, has hit a major milestone with 100 million boxes produced on its revolutionary fit-to-size packaging machines worldwide. As Sparck’s advanced CVP Everest and CVP Impack packaging systems make each cardboard box to the exact size required for every particular order, the company calculates that some 34,250,000 sq m of cardboard has been saved through the use of its technology, equating to the preservation of 46,000 trees.

In addition to the material savings and ecological benefits, the effect of the total volume reduction resulting from fit-to-size packaging across 100 million packages is estimated to have removed 31,700 lorry loads from the roads, contributing to reductions in the carbon footprint of Sparck Technologies’ customers worldwide.

Jo Bradley, Business Development Manager, Sparck Technologies, says: “Hitting this key milestone of one hundred million boxes really brings home the growing pace of adoption of right-size packaging technology and the important role it is playing in making ecommerce more sustainable.

“Our calculations relating to the significant total savings in resources and transport that have been achieved, gives some idea of the collective, positive impact individual companies can make by using available technology to right-size their packaging. Given that the collective gains are clearly so significant, imagine what could be achieved through industry wide adoption.”

With the capability to tailor-make up to 1,100 packages per hour, for multiple or single items, the CVP Everest and CVP Impack Packaging Systems offer automated solutions for e-commerce operations challenged by increasing order volumes, labour shortages and rising shipping costs. With installations in more than 13 countries, the CVP Automated Packaging Solutions effortlessly create, fill, fold and label each parcel in one seamless process – reducing package volumes by up to 50%, cutting cardboard usage by 30% and eliminating the need for void fill.

Kite Packaging invests in new delivery fleet

Posted on by David Priestman

Kite Packaging has elevated its enterprise with the introduction of eight new delivery vehicles in order to continue its rapid levels of growth.

This investment will supplement the vast increase in demand for Kite’s packaging products, allowing the business to maintain its quick delivery turnaround. Currently, Kite has a standard 2-4 working day delivery which is free for orders over £100 and the option to upgrade to next working day delivery for an additional fee.

The updated trucks are the latest-specification DAF 18 tonne Euro 6 rigid body lorries with a combination of tail lifts and towbars. The lorries will be stationed at the North East, Rotherham, Midlands, Swindon, Letchworth and Portsmouth Regional Distribution Centres (RDCs). Therefore, this development will have significant impacts across the country, empowering Kite to have a greater all-round accessibility to its customers.

As the only employee share-owned business in its sector, Kite says it has an unrivalled commitment to excellent service, a goal that is facilitated by this investment into high-quality resource. The expansion of delivery vehicles will be instrumental in granting businesses the materials they require efficiently to fulfil their own orders and experience their own growth.

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