COMMERCIAL tableware manufacturer Churchill China has recently re-configured the packaging of its ceramic products to achieve improved protection and reduce the overall packaging content.
James Fowler, project engineer at the business, explained that, despite the strength and durability of the products, the company had experienced some issues with transportation protection due to the fact they are despatched to hospitality customers all over the world.
“We have now worked with automated packaging specialists Yorkshire Packaging Systems to develop a new packing system that significantly improves this issue and achieves this with the use of less packaging material overall, further contributing to our environmental goals,” he added.
The new automated packaging system combines an inline sleeve wrapper with a kissing conveyor, completed with a heat shrink tunnel. Stacks of products such as plates or bowls are tightly shrink wrapped together to form a secure, cohesive block.
Previously, these stacks of products had been packed with paper between each item, which was manually placed. The shrink wrap achieves such a solid block that the paper is no longer required. This previous method consumed more packaging materials and was labour-intensive. The reductions in both areas are said to have resulted in a lower-cost packing solution.
The addition of the kissing conveyor enables the full range of Churchill’s products to be packed in this way, including small items such as dip pots. The conveyor ensures there is no dead area between the infeed and outfeed, further increasing the stability of the wrapped stacks of products.
“Our new packing system has proved to be a win-win for us with reduced material use, lower costs, increased line speeds and the all-important improvement in product protection,” James added.
Jaques-Pierre Macchi of YPS commented, “With the introduction of pEPR regulations, we’re seeing a growing number of manufacturers prioritising reductions in their packaging material usage. In response, we’ve been developing and implementing a range of tailored solutions to help our customers achieve meaningful material savings across their operations.”
