Plan Automation Technology Blog

The Easiest Way to Simplify Your Product Packaging

Posted by PLAN Automation Blog on Fri, Sep 5, 2014 @ 09:09 AM

As many production managers and manufacturers
from countless industriesSave money with automated packaging discover every year, simplifying your production operations can be a momentous task, since there are no clear directions to take when seeking solutions. One very lucrative, high potential area many manufacturers miss out on is in end-of-line packaging and case preparation.

In fact, with the right techologies installed, facilities can see huge savings in their production costs, and significantly streamline processes to extents not thought possible. Don’t keep bare-minimum systems installed at crucial points in your production line; upgrading to modern automation systems can bring the immediate and long-term results your business is looking for.

Packaging Automation for End-of-Line Production

For those seeking to simplify their end-of-line production and reap the direct and ancillary benefits of automation technology, they should look no further than packaging automation. By automating corrugated packaging processes, businesses can see higher output speeds and increased savings in both labor and material expenditure.

It’s for these reasons that automation has become such a lucrative technology… one manufacturers and production managers across the globe have sought after to improve their production and boost performance in other areas of their business.

When it comes to end-of-line packing automation, there are four main technologies to consider for your business:

  • Top load case packing
  • Bottom load case packing
  • Side load case packing
  • Drop case packing

Top load case packing is essentially the standard for packaging automation technology; with speeds capable of processing 30 cases per minute, flexible product capabilities and versatile packaging options, top load equipment has become an integral component of businesses around the globe, without industry limits. These systems can oversee the case erection, collation and loading, and sealing processes of packing, eliminating the need for bulkier, modular systems.

Bottom load case packing, on the other hand, is incredibly popular in the dairy and publishing industries, where it is used to efficiently pack and seal advance prepared product goods. Drop case packing, an older form of packaging automation, is still the preferred method for applications involving plastics, glass and composite containers (most notably, the beverage industry).


Side load case packing is the ideal automation solution for high speed, high output product lines, where speeds well in excess of 75 cases per minute are required. These systems can also be customized to meet specific parameters of many applications and products.

Automated Wrapping

Similar to how packaging automation has
taken end-of-line production to newPackaging automation heights in efficiency, automated stretch wrapping systems have made it possible for manufacturers to cut back on frivolous spending and labor at their pre-distribution processes. Replacing strapping, corrugation and heat-shrink film pallet processing, automated wrapping systems make it possible for users to optimize their entire packaging process, from product to package, and from package to distribution.

Stretch wrapping automation machines make it possible for production managers to lower material costs by optimizing the actual wrapping process itself. Where manual wrapping is based on the human eye and results fallible wrapping strengths, automated wrapping pallets reach peak strength and safety, while consuming less wrapping material.

These systems use pre-stretched wrapping films, rotated around pallets and products from rotary towers, turntables and horizontal wrapping equipment, to create the most secure final wrapping product possible. Each system (turntable, horizontal or rotary) comes with its own unique benefits, which should be considered strongly when deciding if stretch wrapping automation is right for your business.

While rotary towers are the ideal choice for wrapping applications with regular-sized, stationary pallet loads, turntable alternatives are perfect solutions for loads that require a system to vertically wrap a product. Horizontal wrapping systems, an additional automation option, are designed specifically for longer loads that would not fit on pallet-load machines.

The Vast Benefits of Automation Technology

Integrating automation technologies in your
facility has implications beyond aPackaging automation technology simplified packaging system; best of all, these positive implications are measurable in real financial savings and improved product packaging quality throughout your facility.

Automation technology, in its nature, helps manufacturers and production managers cut back on significant amounts of wasted, tedious labor hours, which can be better allocated in elsewhere activities. Automation tools are the ultimate form of modern efficiency in production manufacturing. Once installed, these systems generate both instant and long-term savings in labor and maintenance.

Even further, they are significantly more reliable than human packaging applications, and improve on areas where manual techniques often struggle (such as efficient use of wrapping materials). Too often, manufacturers will wind up costing themselves considerably over time by trusting manual wrapping processes, resulting in large quantities of wasted wrapping material annually; automated wrapping machines help manufacturers avoid the financial and material losses of these behaviors, instead making the most of every inch of wrapping material.

Within stretch wrapping in particular, stretch roping can prove at least four times as efficient as standard stretch wrapping applications, as improved airflow and organic product pallet security beat out any mesh techniques and perforated wrapping models. Stretch roping technologies bring all the benefits of automated wrapping solutions to the organic food industry, where they could previously never perform with the same effectiveness as standard wrapping systems.

For additional information regarding end-of-line automation, stretch wrapping technologies or the benefits these systems can bring your business in the short- and long-term, contact us today.
Stretch Film Roping for Breathable and Unstable Loads - Plan Automation 

Topics: Packaging Automation, Stretch Wrapping, end-of-line packaging, top load case packing