Packaging Machinery Integration Explained

Anyone that has shopped around for packaging equipment likely learned early on that there were few, if any, companies that manufactured every piece of equipment needed.  Rather, packaging machinery manufacturers normally focus on one or a few machines.  Some companies may build only filling machines, others just capping equipment.  Some manufacturers may focus on the beginning of a line, unscrambling, orienting and loading bottles.  Others may choose only to fabricate conveyor systems.  Some may focus only on packing.  In the end, each company will decide what machinery to manufacture.  So how do companies like Liquid Packaging Solutions (LPS) offer customers turnkey packaging solutions?  The answer is simple, packaging machinery integration.

Integration is the bringing together of different parts to create the whole.  In this case, it is the bringing together of packaging machinery manufacturers, and the equipment they are best fit to produce.  While Liquid Packaging Solutions manufactures a number of different packaging machines, we also use a number of different other machinery manufacturers (OEMs) to build complete lines for our customers.  Let's take a look at a complete, automated packaging line for bottled water to see how Liquid Packaging Solutions and our OEM's interact.

Let's assume our bottled water line consists of the following packaging machinery:

• Loading Turntable
• Power Conveyor System
• Bottle Unscrambler
• Bottle Rinsing Machine
• Overflow Filler
• Spindle Capping Machine
• Wrap Labeling Machine
• Hot Stamp Coder
• Shrink Wrap Bundler
• Accumulating Conveyor

In most situations, Liquid Packaging Solutions would manufacture the turntable, conveyor system, bottle rinser, overflow filler, spindle capper and accumulating conveyor. Different packaging industry OEMs would manufacture the Bottle Unscrambler, Labeler, Coder and Shrink Wrap Bundler.  It is our relationships with these OEMs that allow our customers to purchase the entire turn key packaging system from Liquid Packaging Solutions.  In essence, we work as a dealer for the other manufacturers, in order to provide our customers with options for any and all packaging equipment they may need, as well as a single point of contact for consulting, questions or troubleshooting.  Once the ideal packaging system for any given project is established, our team of packaging specialists will contact the necessary OEM's to procure the packaging machines that will be added to the equipment manufactured in house.

In most cases, once all of the machinery has been manufactured, each piece of packaging equipment will be brought to Liquid Packaging Solutions.  The complete line will be set up at our plant for testing and tweaking using the unique bottles, caps and product of the customer.  The customer will be invited for a Factory Acceptance Test of the entire line, LPS and OEM equipment.  It is this Factory Acceptance Test that ensures that all equipment on the packaging line functions to the customer's expectations before it reaches the plant and production starts.

Integration is a term often used in the packaging industry, but perhaps not well understood.  If you have any questions regarding packaging machinery and integration, or about packaging equipment in general, contact our offices today to speak with a Packaging Specialist.