When you’re a manufacturer dealing with large volumes of product, the work of erecting cases and packaging your goods is far from trivial. Even if you’re a smaller operation, you still want to keep up with production demands. Automating your case erector and packer functions can provide a wide range of benefits:

• Increase Productivity. Automated case erectors can put boxes together much faster than an average worker. For example, a worker might take a minute to create one single box, while even a compact footprint erector can create over 30 boxes a minute. That increase in productivity will make your line much more effective.
• Streamline Employee Assignments. If you find that you need to keep increasing the number of employees assigned to end-of-line operations, automation may be able to help you manage the growth of your workforce. You will be able to reassign workers more effectively and/or reduce overtime.
• Improve Safety. Putting cardboard boxes together and packing products is very repetitive work. Eliminating the human factor means that you are less likely to have injuries due to repetitive strains.
• Eliminate Storing Empty Boxes. Large shipments will usually mean that you need to get ahead of the curve by preparing boxes in advance. However, then you have the problem of what to do with the empty boxes waiting for the product. They take up a lot of room but don’t contribute anything until the shipment is ready to go.
• Reduce Waste. Whenever people are involved in an operation, there is the possibility of human error. With automation, you won’t waste materials.
• Reduce Shipping Damage. People can’t create a box as square as an erector can. A square box can handle heavier weights and will resist shipping damage.

A case erector is a machine that turns a collapsed cardboard box into a completed box with

a sealed bottom that is ready to be packed. Acquiring a case erector will allow you to establish or maintain a competitive edge, and scale your business without the cost of increasing your workforce.

You need to purchase the right case erector for your operation. A high speed case erector solution will be attractive to large volume manufacturers and distributors. On the other hand, a smaller operation would be more interested in a small box erector that is compact and highly cost effective.

Placement is another consideration. If you need to create boxes of different sizes, you could end up with too much equipment and too little space. Look for a case erector that has a small footprint and does automatic changeovers to reduce the amount of space you’ll need.

When you purchase a case erector that fits your requirements, it will improve your operations in terms of saved time, labor, safety, and cost.

A case packer is a piece of equipment that comes in various configurations to make it possible to use an automatic packer for any product you’re shipping. Packers can include partitions or glued-in C-pad inserts to ensure that your packing is secure. They can offer full automatic loading or manual load stations.

Choosing packers that use a modular approach will give you a customized piece of equipment that more closely meets your needs and budget. Here are three of the different types of case packers available:

• Tray Packers. You can pack cases, cartons, and ringed cans in a small-footprint tray packer that allows you to pack dozens of units per second. They’re often used in the craft brewery industry as a reliable and cost-effective way to get product to customers safely.
• Wraparound Case Packers. This case packer machine is especially useful for more delicate products that wouldn’t work well using a hand-wrapped approach. Wraparound case packers give products more protection, and keeps the packaging looking great all the way through the supply chain. Furthermore, the machines use corrugated blanks sized to fit your product exactly, which can lower material cost.
• Regular Slotted Container (RSC) Case Packers. RSC boxes are popular for today’s manufacturers because the design is efficient and the waste is minimal. RSC boxes can be top loaded, side loaded, or end loaded. Some shippers of products such as liquor like RSC boxes because the customer can use the box for other purposes. In addition, top load RSC cases have the best stocking strength, and are often used for products that compress such as trigger bottles.

We offer many types of case erector and case packer machines that can meet a variety of needs. Feel free to take a look at all of our products to find the solutions that will make your operation more productive. In addition, if you have questions about whether automation will help you, we’d be glad to help you find the answers. Contact us anytime to speak to our experts about finding the right automation solution for you.