Nick Payne, Managing Director of Suffolk, UK-based Package-In Ltd, has confirmed the company has recently commissioned a new casemaker and materials handling line at its facility in Haverhill. The project was handled in conjunction with GTS (Europe) Ltd, the UK and Ireland agent for Latitude and Emmepi Group.
At the heart of the expansion of this privately-owned sheet plant business is a Latitude PP1230 quick set flexo folder gluer. Equipped with three print units, this high speed casemaker handles a wide range of box styles on a 1200 x 3000mm format. However, there is more to the project than simply a casemaker — as Payne explains. “We have a rather unusual factory, in that it is split across three levels. To get the machine in, we had to be able to move materials efficiently to the LMC line and also take the finished boxes away, palletise and then lift them to the warehouse. It has been a very technical installation and we are now up and running.”
At the first stage, pallets of corrugated sheets are placed onto a material handling system and by way of scissor lift, are presented to the Favalessa ‘Revolver’ pre-feeder (a unit that is designed by Emmepi Group for top printing converting lines).
Once the boxes have been made on the LMC, bundles of finished boxes are strapped on an Emmepi PC Jogger, from where they are alternated and then formed into finished loads on an Emmepi Group palletiser. A robotic pallet dispenser and protective sheet inserter ensures pallets are available in real time for smooth throughput of the entire line, prior to final pallet strapping on an Emmepi heavy-duty unit. A final scissor lift takes finished pallets and sends them to the warehouse, prior to despatch.
“It is a sophisticated and highly technical solution that we have installed at Package-In,” confirms David Williams, Managing Director, GTS (Europe) Ltd. “The entire line is linked with one software system from Emmepi Group, featuring a one-touch set function for the whole line, from the pre-feeder to the palletiser. Thanks to the quick set functionality of the LMC, Package-In benefits from a high volume line that will be the heart of the future growth of their business.”
“We are excited about the opportunities this new line will offer us,” concludes Payne. “This is the largest single investment in the history of our business and we are gearing up to bring the ultimate in service levels and quality production to our growing customer base in London and the south-east.”
