Carton Sealers
Trade News / September 1999MainPackaging Digest / September 1999
In need of a custom answer to its efficiency concerns, Remington Arms Co. installs automatic random case sealer in its ammunition packing area. The result? A time-saving sealing solution that is flexible enough to handle over 25 product carton sizes while humming right along with Remington's production demands. Following the recommendation of an associate, Remington selected BestPack Packaging Systems because that company's machinery and the ability to handle the board case size ranges that Remington was supplying. The wide variety of case dimensions ranged from the minimum size of 7 X 5 X 5 in. all the way up to 18 X 181/2 X 71/2 in. and 20 to 30 varying case sizes within those measurement ranges. BestPack was able to modify their Random 9 automatic case sealer to fit Remington's special size needs, fitting very small case sizes as well as larger sizes. Besides the size range constraints, Remington had set a goal of maintaining the same rate of production with less personnel so workers could be more effective in another part of the packaging operation. The ammunition products are places onto the case and they feed down the conveyor line with the top flaps up and open. So, Remington was also looking for a machine that could close the inner flaps first, then close the outer flaps over the top, then tape up both top and bottom and "spit them out" without any human intervention. There are a number of individual workstations that feed onto a single conveyor. Each workstation could be working on a different product, resulting in a multitude of different sized cases being fed to the single conveyor. These cases are of standard material construction and filled with various ammunition sizes weighing from 4 lb up to 42 lb. Remington needed an automatic random case sealer that would keep up with their output: BestPack assured them that, that would be the case. The specifications called for 10 random-sized cases per minute to be closed and sealed, top and bottom. Right after installation last November, there was a push on for year-end production and they were running 11 to 122 cases per minute. The system performed extremely well, without slowing down the line at all, Remington reports. Remington was able to meet its goal: after the BestPack Random 9 case sealer was placed inline, two previously under utilized employees were free for more effective duties. Remington also reports that there have been no problems and maintenance is very simple. "Just take and air hose and blow the unit down twice a day, clean the knives and change the tape in two minutes when needed," Remington's spokesperson said. Remington has also added downstream a barcode scanner and sorting system to direct cases to the correct palletization area. Reprinted from PACKAGING DIGEST September 1999 ? 1999 by CAHNERS BUSINESS INFORMATION |
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