It was not long ago that RSC top load was the dominant style of case packing within the food industry for sauces, dressings, condiments, and other products packaged in bottles or jars. However, in the past several years the push for machine flexibility and the rising cost of corrugate have contributed to an ongoing shift toward wraparound cases as the preferred style of case packing. When you take a closer look at the advantages wraparound delivers to applications, the decision becomes easier for customers to make.
The rationale for replacing top load systems with wraparound case packing technology is rooted in four main benefits: flexibility, footprint, capital investment, and corrugate cost.
Flexibility – Wraparound gives you the ability to run multiple case styles for different types of secondary packaging on one machine. These include both low-wall and high-wall tray, display case, shelf ready perforated case, as well as a regular shipper case. As customer demands dictate different types of cases, a wraparound machine provides the flexibility to accommodate those requests quickly and easily. Most top load machines and the adjoining case erectors are limited to accommodate only one type of case.
Footprint – Wraparound reduces your overall footprint by as much as 50 percent compared to a top-load system. The space savings is seen through the elimination of a case erector, the infeed and outfeed conveyors to and from the case packer, and the supporting controls. As plant space becomes scarcer, the ability to add efficiency to your secondary packaging line and do so in a smaller footprint is a strong advantage for wraparound case packing.
Capital investment – Dovetailing on the advantages seen with a smaller footprint, wraparound can be about 30 percent less expensive when compared to a top-load system. The cost savings are achieved through the elimination of the supporting equipment listed above (case erector, conveyors, controls etc.) that is not required with wraparound. When you can reduce your upfront costs by 30 percent while still achieving your production goals, wraparound is an attractive option that makes sense.
Corrugate cost – It takes about 25 percent less material to form a case around products versus using pre-made cases. With many top-load applications, costs start to rise due to the steps corrugate manufacturers perform to prepare cases, including designing, cutting, scoring, folding, gluing, and then restacking them for shipment to your facility. Wraparound largely eliminates those steps, further reducing your overall corrugate cost.
The advantages wraparound brings to food manufacturers are what sells the equipment. Reaching speeds up to 75 cases per minute, wraparound is a cost-effective case packing technology that delivers a strong ROI for bottled products.
Pat Davis is a Regional Sales Manager for Brenton (https://www.brentonengineering.com/). He can be reached at Pat.davis@promachbuilt.com.