Flexible Packaging Needs Flexible Processes | Rockwell Automation

In the modern manufacturing sector, arguably the most important attribute a manufacturer can have is flexibility. That doesn’t just mean flexibility in terms of product offerings, or being able to adapt quickly to unforeseen circumstances, but the ability to change how machinery is utilized, depending on pressing need.

The sector now moves at a quicker speed than ever, and – with no sign of slowing down any time soon – no one can say that what is happening on one day will be the same on the next. There could be a requirement to change small things on a machine, such as altering the package size or shape, or even the contents of a certain package.

With this mentality now hardwired into the industry, manufacturers need to ensure they have equipment which can efficiently work within today's structures, but also support quick, seamless adaptations in order to future proof operations. This requires a tricky balancing act whereby industry leaders need to be prepared for the future without sacrificing effectiveness or efficiencies today.

This aim is made more difficult due to the necessary sustainability requirements which manufacturers need to facilitate – such as increasing the life cycle of a machine – again without impacting flexibility. However, balancing these different aspects of manufacturing operations all comes back to focusing on one area of the business: technology that encourages flexible processes.

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How technology enables flexibility

Technology is a key differentiator for companies in equivalent sectors. Now, manufacturers can take advantage of different, more advanced technologies in their software, but also their hardware. This enables manufacturers to utilize processes that would have been unimaginable several years ago, and business leaders need to be willing to recognize this change and adapt accordingly.

But for this to be successful, flexibility must be incorporated into initial designs. This entails not only overall machine flexibility, allowing for quick and accurate changeovers depending on demand or requirement, but also adaptable software to keep up with fast and constant change.

Improving manufacturing technology and operations naturally encourages greater levels of flexibility – a matter of great importance in increasingly complex markets such as pet food packaging. Here, a typical customer may have about 2000 machine changeovers a year per machine, each with around 15 to 20 minutes changeover time. This adds up to a huge amount of time where the machine is not being used. If the time to perform a task change can be reduced to just one or two minutes, that’s a transformational advantage.

Being able to find these types of operational improvements through something as simple as seamless changeovers can save hundreds of hours, encourage efficiency, mitigate waste, and promote more sustainable practices all at once.

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Flexibility that encourages sustainability

When a packaging provider can run a wide range of formats and packaging styles, big or small, paper or plastic, all on one machine, it improves the sustainability profile for the entire organization. If operations are flexible enough to allow it, manufacturers can use the same equipment for different tasks, improving the carbon footprint of a piece of equipment by doing more with less.

Improving flexible processes this way can also extend the lifespan of machinery and packaging lines, generating sustainability benefits alongside efficiency gains. This can be achieved by replacing and upgrading specific modules over time to bolster legacy operations, rather than replacing entire lines, which is not only costly, but inefficient.

Packaging companies looking to promote flexibility for smoother, more efficient format and product changes on high-speed machines now have many options to encourage this change by integrating elements such as Motion Control and iTRAK into the broader operational capabilities.

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Future proofing with flexibility

Adaptability and flexible processes add constant, incremental value to packaging companies by allowing them to switch printing and text for different languages seamlessly and change artwork on the fly. This can be done for packages of varying sizes and with unique or custom shapes, so companies can move quickly to changing customer demands in various markets.

For packaging companies, it is therefore important to think not simply in terms of machinery, but also in terms of broader, more comprehensive solutions. To do this, it is advisable to engage with partners who have expertise in helping facilitate flexible operations that maximize the potential of hardware, software, and the wider workforce in the packaging sector.

If not, it becomes likely that packaging companies will get stuck in the traditional way of doing things and overtaken by more technologically driven, flexibility focused competitors.

To learn more about how flexible processes support flexible packaging, watch the ROKStudios interview with Olaf Clemens.

Published October 10, 2023