Cause and effect situations are prevalent on product lines in beverage manufacturing plants. Just as a jam upstream can cause proliferation of product downstream, palletizing equipment has been affected by industry trends toward higher line speeds and lighter packages, which has influenced new advancements.
To continually improve its capabilities as a contract packager, Nor-Cal Beverage Co. Inc., Sacramento, Calif., has made investments exceeding $100 million in its two facilities in California. The improvements have placed the third-generation family-owned company on track to produce 45 million cases of product in 2011 for companies such as The Coca-Cola Co., Hansen’s Natural and Ferolito, Vultaggio & Sons.
With the goal to get products out the door as quickly and efficiently as possible, bottlers and distributors would like to keep the line moving effectively so they can focus their attention to the numerous other tasks at hand.
Doing more with less is one of the goals when automating beverage manufacturing. Although many steps are involved, beverage mixing and blending equipment and technology help facilitate changeovers and can get more products to market faster with more efficient processes no matter how complicated the formula.
PMMI’s Pack Expo attracts more than 45,000 attendees and a number of new innovations. The Packaging Manufacturers Machinery Institute (PMMI) hosted Pack Expo International 2010 from Oct. 31 to Nov. 3 in Chicago. The event featured 1,600 exhibitors and more than 45,000 attendees from 110 countries.
Beverage companies require coding technology that keeps up with the entire packaging line, which means different speeds, complex patterns and technologies.