Automation Theme Pays Dividends at Pack Expo Las Vegas
"Simple Automation(TM)" message drives purchases of eight Lantech machines from show floor.
Louisville, KY, December 2007 - Attendees at the recently concluded Pack Expo Las Vegas were looking for ways to implement lean practices and improve labor utilization - and they found those themes well represented in the technology at Lantech's 7400-sq-ft booth, according to company President James J. Lancaster. "We were one of the largest exhibitors at Pack Expo, and demonstrated 16 different machines in our booth, several of which were new and aimed directly at the cost reduction issue our customers are contending with," he stated. "The vast majority of our customers are looking for ways to cut costs by multiplying the output of their labor force, and our solution is Simple Automation(TM). Simple Automation yields disproportionately large improvements in output without the cost, complexity and inflexibility of full automation. For the vast majority of our customers who will always have a labor component in their operations, this is the low-hanging fruit of cost reduction. This approach helped us sell eight machines from the show floor."
Aiming squarely at the sustainability issue being driven by Wal-Mart and other retailers, Lantech also highlighted new No-Film-Break(TM) technology at the show on its RS-6000 stretch wrapper, the fastest machine of its type in the world. Using a radically different film delivery system, the machine cuts film use by 30 percent or more, while eliminating film breaks during high-speed wrapping. "The No-Film-Break capability is a huge technology breakthrough that allows high wrapping speeds and wrap force, but with less film," Lancaster said. "We believe it will have as much impact on the industry as did the invention of stretch wrapping itself."
Lantech's latest case packing technology, the Profit-Pack(TM) concept, also received enthusiastic reviews from customers and distributors alike, according to Lancaster. The Profit Pack(TM) system demonstrated at the show married the company's shrink wrapper and shrink tunnel with a product orientation and delivery belt that staged product at a hand packing station located at the exit of a Lantech case erector. A downstream case sealer completed the system. "We have well-developed case packing technology targeted to labor-intensive applications where we can have the most impact," Lancaster stated. "We know customers using our low-speed case erectors are packing boxes, too, and it's almost always by hand. The Profit-Pack(TM) system will be available in a number of variations up to a fully automated system that integrates robotics."
Lantech's packaging and productivity solutions include semiautomatic and automatic stretch wrapping; automatic case handling; shrink packaging; and pallet-load conveying systems. Lantech is the originator of stretch wrapping technology and world's largest manufacturer, with 60,000 systems placed around the world and 175 U.S. and foreign patents. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, with manufacturing operations in the U.S. and Europe, Lantech products are sold and serviced by a worldwide network of 175 distributor locations. Visit www.lantech.com for more information.
