In the world of packaging machinery, it may seem odd to refer to a diverse range of products like baking mixes, ground coffee, spices, and powdered sugar simply as "powders." However, regardless of the industry, producers share similar priorities when it comes to evaluating packaging solutions for their products.
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When it comes to selecting packaging equipment for your free-flowing powder product, the sheer number of models and brands available can be overwhelming. However, before diving into the comparison of run rates, technical features, and bag styles, it is essential to determine which factors are truly crucial for your business. Automation, accuracy, accessibility, and long-term support are some of the key considerations that can greatly impact the long-term success of your operation.
The importance and prioritization of these categories may vary depending on the type of product and your specific performance needs. Nevertheless, they all play a vital role in ensuring the efficiency and sustainability of your business.
High Automation for High OEE
When selecting a powder filling machine, one of the primary considerations is the level of automation required to streamline production. Some auger filling machines are designed with advanced automation capabilities, while others offer more manual operation features. If you have a low current volume and staffing is not a pressing concern, investing in a highly automated solution may not provide a justifiable return. However, if you are aiming for higher output, automation will significantly impact your overall performance.
Automated filling components, though not exclusive to powder filling, are particularly well-suited for high-volume operations. These machines often boast advanced features that enable you to accomplish more with fewer labor resources. For instance, certain models offer hands-free washdown capabilities or the ability to adjust auger screw rotation based on measured weight or volume, reducing the need for constant monitoring by operators. This level of automation proves invaluable in high-speed operations where precision is paramount, thus leading us to the next evaluation category: filling accuracy.
Filling Accuracy
The higher the value of your powder product, the higher that filling accuracy is going to fall on your list of priorities. Powder packing filling accuracy can be tricky, because even environmental factors can affect the density of the product being fed to your filling component.
For example, humidity level changes from day to day can change how dense a powdered product will become at room temperature. Temperature fluctuations throughout shifts can cause similar problems- so to avoid having quality issues with low-accuracy machine components, it&#;s important to choose products that are built to adapt as the production environment fluctuates.
These machines can be fully integrated with the bagger to include auxiliary sensors to monitor fill weights and can adjust settings automatically, minimizing variance in density across different powders. Accurate powder filling machines help ensure that end-users do not experience quality issues due to too much variance in overall powder weight percentage and help you to minimize product giveaway.
Powder Filling Machine Accessibility
A third crucial factor to consider when evaluating powder packaging solutions is the level of accessibility. What is packaging machine accessibility? This is the level at which operators and maintenance people can visually and/or manually gain access to a variety of components on their machinery, as needed. This can be anything from the electrical components, to the product in the machine.
High machine accessibility ultimately translates to shorter periods of downtime for washdown, which saves you money. It&#;s important that maintenance tasks are not only easy but also safe so they can be carried out effectively shift after shift, year after year.
There are a variety of solutions available to help your operation meet hygiene and automation requirements and allow for faster changeovers. ROVEMA auger fillers are available with automated, chemical-free washdown systems as well as a split door hopper that allows for easy cleaning and maintenance and also feature a window on the side of the hopper to allow operators to monitor the product.
Tech Support and Long Term Customer Experience
When you invest in capital equipment that you plan to have for decades, it's crucial to have a thorough understanding of what your overall experience will be like when issues arise. It's not enough to simply purchase high-quality and reliable packaging machinery; you must also ensure that the technical support, training, and wear parts provided by the manufacturer are of the same caliber.
Technical support plays a vital role in the long-term success of your operation. If when unexpected problems occur, you need a support team that is knowledgeable, accessible, and responsive. It's frustrating and costly to be left waiting for hours or days to get assistance. Your support team should be readily available to provide guidance and resolve any issues efficiently. They should feel like an extension of your own team, dedicated to your success.
In addition to technical support, training is another important aspect to consider. Investing in high-quality packaging machinery means that you want to maximize its potential and ensure that your operators are fully equipped to operate and maintain the equipment effectively. Look for manufacturers that provide comprehensive training programs to ensure that your operators have the necessary skills and knowledge to optimize machine performance.
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Wear parts are also a critical consideration when evaluating packaging machinery. High-quality and durable wear parts are essential to minimize downtime and maintenance costs. You want to avoid constantly replacing worn-out parts or dealing with frequent breakdowns. A reputable manufacturer will offer reliable and long-lasting wear parts, ensuring that your machinery operates smoothly and consistently.
Furthermore, it's essential that your support team understands the urgency and cost implications of machinery issues. Emergencies can arise at any time, and you need a support team that prioritizes your needs. They should be responsive and efficient in addressing any problems, minimizing the impact on your production and profitability.
Diving Deeper: Evaluating Your Machinery Solution
If you're currently deep in the weeds of evaluating a solution for your products and need a tool to help break down additional specifics, I recommend downloading our free comparison matrix spreadsheet. It's a good starting point for evaluating different vendors and machine specs and can help you understand where ROVEMA falls on the spectrum for many critical factors.
It's time to save money on your packaging. Here are 6 simple ways.
Have you ever thought about some of the ways that you could find some hidden cost savings potential in packaging? Ten years ago, it wasn't a high priority. However, as transportation and warehousing costs have continued to steadily rise, companies realized that packaging offered a fresh opportunity to cut costs.
Despite that new found awareness, many companies are still struggling to identify where exactly they can cut costs in their packaging without creating bigger problems down the line. A good place to start, say some experts, is with small incremental changes that can add up to big results. Here are a few to consider.
1. Cut the size of your primary packaging. Sometimes, a small change to the product's primary packaging (what the consumer takes off the shelf) can result in a big reduction in overall supply chain costs. For example, a food company redesigned their packaging for frozen pizza so that the box's length and height were reduced by 1/16th of an inch and 3/8th of an inch, respectively. It was almost imperceptible to the consumer, but that small decrease allowed the company to use a different size case, which in turn allowed it to utilize the pallet better and fit more boxes of pizzas into a case. These changes ultimately resulted in transportation cost savings of over $500,000 per year.
2. Change the count. Sometimes you don't even need to change the size of the packaging; you just need to reconfigure it so you can fit more product inside. A health and beauty company saved a quarter of a million dollars by changing the package to allow products to nest inside it differently, which reduced the package profile. The new package also resulted in a smaller case, which saved materials and drove cube efficiencies, creating a 50% increase in product density, so there was more on a pallet. And when you increase product density like this, it can create a kind of ripple effect, gaining efficiencies in warehousing and storage and in transportation, while reducing handling and labor.
3. Alter the size of the shipping case. Making small adjustments to the secondary packaging (the box or case in which the product is shipped) can also produce big savings. For example, by slightly altering the size of a case of product and how it was unitized on the pallet, one major retailer was able to add an extra layer of product on the pallet. That extra layer allowed them to get more product into each truckload shipment, cutting down on the number of shipments of inbound product by several hundred over the course of a year.
4. Leave a gap. And sometimes the changes to the shipping case don't even have to affect the box's overall size. Walking through the DC one day, one manager began to wonder whether he could use less material to create the shipping cases for cereal boxes. At the time, the company was shipping its cereal boxes in a "full-coverage" regular slotted carton created by gluing the flaps together. Could they get away with cutting the size of the flaps by an inch? The box would now have a gap in the middle, but it would still be able to safely transport cereal boxes. That simple change saved about 20% on the shipping case material required, which netted a little over a million dollars in material savings in a year, and all they did was adjust the glue nozzles on the case erector, moving them by a mere inch.
5. "Rightsize" your carton lineup&#;which may mean more, not fewer, options. Sometimes, companies try to save money by limiting the number of shipping boxes and cases they use. While that can save money on material costs, but it often turns out to be a case of "saving nickels by spending quarters." Many times, this effort to reduce complexity means that the company is shipping products in boxes that are too large. To keep the product from rattling around in the box and becoming damaged, the company often has to pay more for filler material, and the product takes up more room in the warehouse and on the truck than is strictly necessary. Sometimes something like increasing the number of boxes available from, say, nine to 12 has ended up saving a company around half a million dollars a year.
6. Buy better-quality corrugate. While using a better corrugated box for your secondary shipping packaging might raise your corrugate costs, using a sturdier box might end up saving you money overall. First off, a better-quality corrugated box can provide better protection to the product, which reduces damage. Second, with a stronger box, you can stack more cases on top of one another, and thus, get more cases on a pallet. This allows you to save money on storage and transportation.
BUT DON'T GO TOO FAR! As you make these tweaks to your packaging, be careful not to go too far. Keep in mind that the primary purpose of packaging is to ensure the product arrives at its destination undamaged. The quarter of an inch that you shave off here or the extra product you squeeze in there should not lead to a higher incidence of product damage.
How do you avoid making that mistake? You need to test it to make sure it will work in a distribution environment. Test the packaging at both the case and unitized-pallet load level to see how it handles compression, shock, and vibration. Drop tests, for example, will indicate how well your packaging can prevent product damage.
Think about how all of the packaging components (the box, the pouch, the case, the pallet, the shrink wrap) will work together as a total delivery system. It's not about minimizing the costs of the individual components; it's about optimizing the overall system.
Contact us to discuss your requirements of Powder packaging machinery. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.
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