QUALITY - SUSTAINABILITY - SPEED - AUTOMATION

CONDITIONS - Decades ago, clear plastic packaging was hailed as a miracle. Sealed clamshells and blisters became standard tools in the fight against merchandise pilferage, damage and soil.

PROBLEMS - Today, labor cost is driving up packaging cost and the move toward sustainability is changing the type and amount of plastic that may be used. Decades-old assembly and sealing methods can't keep up! Production speed is stuck on "slow." Energy consumption is stuck on "wasteful." Package appearance is often stuck on "poor."

SOLUTION - Partner Pak replaces tons of energy gulping equipment (presses, dies, tooling, shuttles, hydraulics) with fast, light, economical equipment (conveyor, automation, light-sealing).

FACT - If all you ever did was change to "Sealing at the speed of light®," you'd save 2 workers per shift, per line and your electric bill would plummet by a factors, not percentages. Plus, you could use any plastic you wanted...nothing to change. And, there'd be no more dies, tooling or presses.

RF/SONIC/HEAT (Yesterday's Sealing) ---------------> Yesterday’s plastic was sealed via a press/fuse process. When package assembly was complete, a press loader placed closed, filled packages into the bottom of a die-set. Die and package moved to an open press. The press squeezed the top and bottom of the package and a burst of electricity fused the seam. The press then opened. The die and package moved away from the press and a press off-loader removed the package (sending it on for final pack-out. (Note: Some presses use a “die inspector” to check for contaminates and burrs on the die-sets.)

<---------------Sealing at the Speed of Light! The Partner Pak process automatically applies a non-toxic, UV-reactive adhesive to the package seam. Then, instead of yesterday’s press steps, the closed package is conveyed through a tunnel with a UV-light. Light cures the adhesive into invisible, clear, solid plastic (resulting bond is stronger than the substrate). No press. No die-sets. No loader. No off-loader. Just a few feet of conveyor. Sealed packages that emerge, go to final pack-out.

SPEED - Partner Pak customers who have used both processes say, "Sealing with light is so much faster... 2-3 times faster!"

AUTOMATION - Replacing labor with a better way (sealing with light), or with other forms of automation, is the only way beat cheap offshore labor... and beat it, it does. Imagine a completely automated assembly line (GameStop did), then imagine what this means to cost-competitiveness.

QUALITY - Imagine an invisible seal. No scars or scrap cuts. Think about the consistency that assembly robots will produce. Finally, eliminate the heat and pressure. Packaging quality is back on the table.

SUSTAINABILITY - The "greener process" begins by consuming FAR LESS energy. Ease of assembly line changeover means no need for "big inventory runs." Light can seal any plastic (PET, RPET, PLA, etc.) No scrap, no cutoffs, no messy and melted plastic. Sustainability is a big win-win.

Published 5/2/2008