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Manual labor is still a part of modern tortilla production. Packagers at all production levels employ human operators to fulfill most stacking, filling, and closing operations using soft, wicketed polyethylene bags and semi-automated equipment. Many cite the historically lower up-front costs of a labor-centric system and inexpensive materials over packaging robots, system automation, and improved…
Consumers say sustainability, not Styrofoam, should be poultry packaging’s new status quo Packaging for mass-produced poultry has not seen significant change in over 30 years. For more than three decades, many of the top producers in the nation have relied on overwrapped polystyrene foam trays to preserve food and transport goods to market. These non-recyclable…
Consumers are endlessly hunting for healthier tortillas in today’s marketplace. As freshness, nutrition, and a shorter ingredients list become “must-haves” with Gen Z and Millennials, the drive to know what is in the tortillas is taking center stage. This focused buyer behavior also has producers reimagining the ways their tortillas are processed, packaged, and marketed…
There are several costs, savings, and value adding components to evaluate when considering a new automation project. We’ve written about the value of automation and how to justify automation in your plant, but this article will break down some of the more tangible costs you should budget for outside of the packaging line itself. Ancillary…
Building a business case for implementing automation on your packaging line is no easy task. The project is a large investment, and like any other business investment, it needs to be justified. In many cases, this justification includes a strong financial return on investment. While that’s important to calculate, the increasingly strategic nature of automation…
One of the first questions you may ask yourself when evaluating an automated packaging solution is: How much is this going to cost? The answer is more complex than a sticker price. We’re going to break it up into 3 parts below: Evaluating the cost of your current packaging system Assessing the full range of…
You’ve heard of all the amazing benefits of automation and now you’re considering implementing it on your line, but how do you know your operation is ready to make that investment? And further, how do you know you are automating the right processes? There is no universal answer to both of those questions. Your goals and requirements for an automation…
Automation is a broad term in the manufacturing world and can apply to many parts of your production line, from processing to packaging to an automated palletizing system. Our expertise is in packaging automation, which starts with your unwrapped product fresh off your processing line, and ends with a finished pallet, ready to load onto…
Whether this is your first automation project or your fifth, chances are it’s far from your last. Current trends indicate that automation is the future of packaging across virtually every market, including food. It’s fair to say that the perceived value of automation has evolved over time. Today, automation’s biggest driver is business optimization, as…
There are several different packaging automation options to achieve your goals at each stage of your process. The basic types of automation are primary, secondary, and palletizing. While robotic packaging can be a part of each of these types of automation, it offers some unique solutions that are worth taking a closer look at. We’ll…
