Signs Your Packaging Operation is Ready for Automation

Packaging Operation is Ready for Automation

Is your food packaging line largely dependent on manual labour? Are you finding it difficult to keep pace with increasing production? Having issues with labour and cost of packaging? Planning to expand your product range but doubt your current setup can handle it?

Automated Packaging Systems can make a difference. Let's run through some of the most telling signs that your business will benefit from automating your packaging line.

1. Labour

Are labour costs eating into your profits? Do you have difficulty recruiting good resources? Is it a hassle to train and manage temporary staff when your regulars are sick or workload increases? Do long shifts make your labour tired and inattentive? Dealing with human resources on the shop floor is no easy task, and most of the time, in the long run, machines cost much less than labour.

2. Accuracy

After all, we're human. Mistakes are bound to happen. Manual packaging is a monotonous, tiring job and humans are likely to occasionally spill contents, make mistakes in filling, sealing and counting, etc. Automation ensures consistent quality and accuracy while reducing, and sometimes eliminating, errors. 

3. Wastage

Everyone's going lean, and waste is a major no-no for all businesses. Sometimes, you could be using too much packaging material or wasting product dues to spills and poor sealing. You could even be wasting time as labour struggles to maintain speed and cycle times, or extending shifts to cope with extra capacities. Automating your packaging operation can significantly increase packaging line efficiency while reducing costs.

4. Capacity

Planning to add more products to your basket? Want to cash in on increasing demand from growing markets? If you're planning on enhancing your production capacity, an automated machine should be your first choice. Faster speeds mean more packs per minute - so you save time and operating costs while you keep up with the increased manufacturing output.

5. Customer demand

Today's customers are demanding. They want their favourite foods packed in a variety of pack sizes and with modern conveniences like zipper bags or bags with easy-pour spouts. They want small packs that are easy to afford and carry. To tackle all these variations, automation makes good business sense. Packaging machines nowadays are versatile with easy cleaning & changeover, so you can offer your consumers a variety of products and pouch formats.

Consumers also want neat, attractive packaging. So the primary packaging is crucial but the wrapping & cartoning needs to be accurate and tidy too.

How automation helps

Automation uses technology to improve the speed, performance and optimization of equipment and systems at the unit, line, plant and enterprise levels. In recent years, there have been developments that have dramatically improved packaging line operations. These include:

• Motion control including servo drives;
• Sensors and machine vision systems;
• Touchscreen human-machine interfaces;
• Communications through wireless capability whereby one can monitor and control the packaging machine from anywhere, anytime.

Conclusion

Automating your packaging line can be confusing. It helps to talk to a packaging partner who will take the time to study and understand your needs and future plans. They might even identify opportunities for improvement in packaging line efficiency, cost reduction, and productivity that you may not recognize.

Nichrome India is one such partner. A leading provider of innovative packaging solutions, Nichrome offers custom packaging systems with packaging systems integration. Food packaging systems, pharma packaging systems, secondary packaging systems – Nichrome can design and develop the entire package to suit your operations. With over 4 decades of experience in the field, Nichrome is your trusted partner for packaging systems automation and integrated packaging solutions.