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Solutions for Increased Production in 2015

As we near the end of another year, a majority of packagers will have at least one goal in mind for 2015. That goal would be to sell more product. Of course, as companies plan a production schedule and set goals for the coming year, it also provides a good opportunity to examine and evaluate the current packaging system.

Of course, a simple increase in production demand from one year to the next will not usually warrant new packaging equipment. Liquid Packaging Solutions manufactures as much equipment as possible to grow with a company, allowing for easily upgrades that can increase production. As a simplified example, if a company is using a four head filling machine and expects production to double in the coming year, on most automatic liquid fillers an additional four heads could be added to meet that extra demand.

On the other hand, the addition of equipment may be warranted, depending on where the company currently stands with their packaging equipment. A company doing all of the filling, capping and labeling by hand may need to increase speed to keep up with growing production demands. The automation process can take place all at once for significant increases in demand, or it can progress over stages, sometimes over a period of several years.

At LPS, we have seen companies procure large contracts that move their production from a few hundred bottles a week to thousands of bottles per week or even day. When large scale increases occur, companies can move from simply hand packing to a fully automatic solution. A basic automated system may include loading and accumulating turntables and power conveyors along with filling, capping and labeling machinery. This set up allows a company to load, package, accumulate and pack product efficiently, though many additional machines and many variations of the machines mentioned exist, allowing for hand-tailored packaging solutions.

Other companies see an slow and steady increase in production as their product or products gain popularity. It is in this scenario that the upgradeable quality of the machinery becomes extremely important. It is also in these cases that a company may choose to automate one component of a packaging system at a time, depending on their own needs and their own process. LPS will help a company analyze their packaging process and identify those components that will provide the most benefit if automated, working toward an end goal of complete automation.

Finally, some companies will simply not need complete automation due to the industry or area they serve. These companies may take still take advantage of automatic equipment, or they may use semi-automatic liquid fillers, capping machines and labeling equipment to meet their demands. Sometimes the need for equipment serves a purpose other than simply adding speed to the process. Capping equipment can be added to a system to ensure consistent and reliable sealing. Filling equipment can be used to meet volume demands for certain industries. Labeling machines may be necessary to keep wrinkles off of bottles or other containers. In these situations, automatic and semi-automatic machines can achieve the end goal, with the packagers own needs in mind.

As we near the beginning of another year, we encourage anyone looking for improvements to their packaging system to call and speak with a Packaging Specialist from LPS. WIth years of experience and acquired knowledge, our staff may be able to suggest alternatives that are both efficient and cost-effective.