A team approach to solving packaging problems creates value for manufacturers.
Have you ever thought about what happens from the time an egg is laid until it finds its way onto your breakfast plate?
As with any industry, the egg segment has its own unique challenges. California-based package sealing expert BestPack recognized that customization would improve their egg-producing clients’ product deliveries and reached out to Millcraft packaging specialist Randy Miller for help.
The Problem
Handling huge quantities of fragile products such as eggs is a delicate, labor-intensive task that requires precise timing and close attention to detail. Risks of packaging inconsistencies due to human error―and the associated costs to correct them―exist all along the production line. But what if a machine could take over the task of manually boxing up the cartons at the end of the line?
The Win-Win-Win Solution
A first-to-market machine that 1) could operate at great speeds without jostling or causing damage to the eggs and 2) featured a bypass mechanism for clients requesting specific tape closures (e.g., bottom only/top and bottom, etc.). After brainstorming, concept, development, and testing, the end result was a Millcraft-made packaging machine flexible enough to run different amounts of products at one time, with a bonus feature of a quickly replaceable tape head to reduce the downtime and the potential for human error. And for added value, Millcraft designed a customer credit program so sealing tape purchases could be applied towards future equipment replacement part purchases.
The Result
Because BestPack paid close attention to inefficiencies challenging their clients, and because Millcraft, in turn, listened to a customer’s needs, a long-term “egg”-cellent partnership between the two was “hatched”.“[By listening to the customer], you’re helping them get past a roadblock or frustration that costs them time and money,” says Miller. “With the same amount of people [packaging eggs’], they’re getting so much more done and doing it better.”
