Ron Crews, Author at High Performance Packaging - HP-Packaging

Posted on May 19, 2014 by Ron Crews — Leave a comment

What to Do When You Have Problems With Your Packaging Machinery

When you work in a packaging plant, productivity relies on the machinery within the space working smoothly and without issue. As many business owners know, however, that’s not always the situation. When there are problems with machines, work can all but come to a halt—so what do you do when you have a problem and need answers now?

Contact Your Machine Supplier

When you have a problem or need troubleshooting help, a great first step is to contact the company you purchased the machinery from. Whether you need help with used Combi scales, Yamato scales, or any other brand, the packaging equipment company you purchased machinery from should be able to help you with any issues that come up. After all, they likely want to keep you satisfied as a customer, and helping you with troubleshooting, repairs, or even further training with something they sold you. Making sure you purchase equipment from vendors who provide great customer support and who will be willing to help you with problems, repairs, training, or any other questions you might have about a product after your purchase.

Purchase Better Packaging Machines or Consider Refurbished Parts and Machines

If your packaging machinery isn’t doing what you need it to, it may be time to upgrade. Think that’s impossible? It may not be as out of reach as you think. Considering used replacement packaging machinery can save your business a lot of money while still allowing you to purchase newer and more efficient machines.

Refurbished machinery has been used, yes, but the company selling it has also taken the time to clean, fix, and restore it to excellent quality. So, even though the price is lower and it has been pre-owned, you’ll still get a reliable, top-quality piece of machinery. What’s better, companies that specialize in selling refurbished packaging machinery are usually invested in their products, since they spent the time refurbishing them, as well as their customers’ satisfaction and thus will want to help you out if you have any questions about the purchase.

Repair the Machines You Already Have

On the other hand, if you don’t need new machinery, but your existing packaging equipment isn’t working quite right, it may need to be repaired or need routine maintenance. Bringing in a repair service is an easy thing to do and can get your machinery back in working order faster than you think. To prevent problems from arising before it’s too late, consider scheduling preventative maintenance services. You wouldn’t let your car go for too long without an oil change, and packaging machinery should be treated with the same care. Maintain it, and it’ll last you for years to come.

Call in Training Specialists

If the issue is that your employees aren’t well versed in how to use the machines, that’s an easy fix. At High Performance Packaging, we’re glad to offer training services for all of our machinery, so that you and your employees can get the most out of your investment. We offer training for machines including:

Combination Weighers
Auger Fillers
Liquid Filling Equipment
Vertical and Horizontal FFS
Tray Packing
Cartoners
Blister Packs
Overwrappers
Case Erecting/Case Packing
Depalletizers/Palletizers

For improving your packaging line, contact High Performance Packaging.

Posted on May 13, 2014 by Ron Crews — Leave a comment

Essential Machinery for an Efficient Packaging Line

When you’re building up a packaging line, you probably already have some idea of what machines you might need. However, if you’re new to the industry, it can help to have a bit of a crash course to learn about some of the more common machines used in packaging lines so that you have some idea where to start looking.

Conveyers

Of course, conveyers are used in all types of packaging lines, simply because they are ideal from taking a product or package from one place to the next. Some conveyers only take pieces of a package down the line, such as bucket conveyers or bucket elevators, while others are simply tasked with moving product along a line, like takeaway conveyers. Most packaging lines will require the use of a conveyer belt in one way or another.

Fillers

Different types of filling machines may also be included in many lines. Filling machines such as auger fillers are used for products including powders, granules, and liquids, and are ideal for filling containers without wasting and product. If your company works with fine powders like talc or flour, which tend to become airborne with some packaging systems, look into using auger fillers in your packaging line to help avoid this.

Form Fill & Seal Machines

Form fill and seal machines are also used in many companies’ packaging lines. Should you need one of these, you can choose between vertical and horizontal form fill and seal machines, which are each used for different products, generally speaking. Vertical form fill and seal machines are used for products that are packaged in multiples—candies, snack products, for example—as well as product that are not ideal for horizontal filling—like sugar. These machines can be used for non-food products as well, though the food industry does use them a lot. Horizontal form fill and seal machines are better suited for heavier items and items that are packaged either one to a container or need to be vacuum-sealed –think frozen pizza or a package of hot dogs. Those products are vacuum-sealed before being shipped off, so horizontal packaging machinery is the better choice.

Weighers

One more machine that is often used in packaging lines is the weigher. Weighers are what keep your packages consistent in weight, of course—this ensures not only product quality control, but also that your company doesn’t lose out by accidentally putting too much product the packages it sells.

If you’re not sure which machines you should purchase to build your packaging line, the knowledgeable staff at High Performance Packaging is happy to help – contact us anytime.

Posted on March 21, 2014 by Ron Crews — Leave a comment

Why Use Ilapak Machinery?

When you’re looking for packaging machinery for your production line, plenty of manufacturers make the machinery you need, so it can be difficult to make a decision when it seems like all of the machines are the same. It can help to know a little bit about some of the common brands in order to start narrowing down your decision, though. Let’s learn a bit more about Ilapak today.

About Ilapak

Ilapak was founded in 1970, with a dedication to customer satisfaction. Since then, the company has grown to 450 professionals, selling more than 650 machines every year—both individual machines and complete packaging lines. The company is headquartered in Switzerland, but has five production sites in Switzerland, Italy, China, Arkansas, and North Carolina. Each site is dedicated to creating industry-leading packaging machinery. The company focuses on meeting the needs of various industries, and with plenty of satisfied customers, 70% of the company’s sales are from existing customers. Their developments are in tune with current needs of packaging companies, so when you’re in need of packaging machinery, you can rely on Ilapak machines.

What Do They Specialize In?

Ilapak machines cover a range of packaging needs, such as feeders, weighers, and horizontal and vertical form fill seal machines. Packaging and filling machines from Ilapak are designed to package products with durable seals, hermetic seals for MAP applications, three- and four-side seals, sachets, block-bottom bags, and more. Ilapak supplies entire packaging lines as well as singular machines. Whether you need automatic feeders, horizontal form fill and seal machines, or other packaging equipment, Ilapak may have just what you’re looking for. That’s why at High Performance Packaging, we’re proud to offer used and refurbished Ilapak machines.

What Industries Are Their Packaging Machines Ideal For?

Ilapak machines are ideal for food industry packaging needs, including:

Bakery products
Biscuits and cookies
Cheese
Chocolate and candy
Coffee, sugar, and tea
Meat and poultry
Pasta
Pizza and tortillas
Produce

These machines are good for other industries as well, including wet wipes (baby care or household use); non-food packages including single- or multi-packs, shrink-wrapped items, and more; liquids and pastes (both food and non-food); dry pet food; and cards—including 4-sided seals.

Ilapak machinery is known to be durable and high quality. If you have any questions about the brand or any of the machinery High Performance Packaging offers, contact us today.

Posted on March 17, 2014 by Ron Crews — Leave a comment

Brand Profile: Kliklok-Woodman Machinery

When considering different manufacturers of packaging machinery, it can be overwhelming to sort them all out and determine which are among the best. One name you may have heard in the business is Kliklok-Woodman. They’ve been in the industry for nearly 70 years, and focus on serving a variety of industries with their machinery, including food packaging industries as well as industries requiring top-notch packaging machines. Learn more about Kliklok-Woodman and their machines.

About Kliklok-Woodman

Founded in the 1940s, Kliklok-Woodman began as a promise between a food producer, a machinist, and a vendor selling basic packaging materials. Together, they worked to create the solution to packaging problems – needing the technology that would allow businesses to be more efficient. [M1] Since then, they have built the reliable, high-quality machinery that High Performance Packaging is proud to offer today. Kliklok-Woodman’s focus has always been versatility, speed and innovation, with solutions made for new and emerging packaging needs. Since many consumer decisions are based on the packaging presented, it’s essential for companies to use a package that is appealing and durable, as well as packaging that improves shelf life when possible.

What Types of Machinery Do They Offer?

Kliklok-Woodman offers several different types of machinery. Perhaps most well known are their vertical form-fill-seal (VFFS) machines, which include bagmakers and filling systems to create great packages for the snack food, bakery, confectionery, and frozen food industries. Kliklok-Woodman also offers cartooning machines, including topload machines, endload machines, and wraparound machines. Carton formers are available for a range of different carton styles, perfect for many products and industries. The company also manufactures special-applications products, such as multi-bag balers, pie wedge lines, trolly loaders, DCLs, and more. Whether the industry you need packaging for is a food industry or a non-food application, there are solutions available that can be tailored to your needs.

If you’re interested in learning more about Kliklok-Woodman machinery or would like to find out more about any of the brands we carry, the professionals at High Performance Packaging are ready and waiting to discuss our catalog of used and refurbished machinery with you. Our used Kliklok-Woodman equipment is held to a high standard of quality and is available to you in excellent condition.

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Ron Crews — Leave a comment

What to Look for in Vacuum Packers

If you’re looking for a vacuum packing machine to add to your lineup of equipment, it’s important to know what to look for in order to ensure you don’t end up with a machine that is low quality. Finding a machine that has both a high power vacuum pump and efficient heat sealing capabilities is essential. Since the main function of a vacuum packer is to seal the product inside an oxygen-free bag in order to increase shelf life, it’s important for the machine to be tailored to the specific product you are attempting to seal. There are different types of vacuum packers, and if you are looking to purchase one, it’s important to know what will work best for your needs so that you can plan the investment well.

Nozzle Sealer Vs. Chamber Sealer

Both types of vacuum sealers should be able to seal a solid product with ease; however, each type has benefits for certain types of other products. For instance, nozzle sealers will provide a faster vacuum seal, and provide a great amount of control over the bag; however, chamber sealers work more slowly but are capable of removing enough oxygen to achieve an oxygen level of .02% within the package. Depending on what type of product you are sealing, one machine or the other may be a better choice for your particular application.

Things to Consider When Purchasing a Vacuum Packer

Some of the things you’ll need to take into consideration when you’re purchasing a vacuum packing machine include:

How many packages you need to seal per shift
How large the packages you need to seal are
What the packaging material is made of
The type of product you’re packaging
Whether you’ll need to increase production anytime soon

The type of machine that will be best for your specific use may vary from industry to industry or even from product to product. If you’re unsure of what type of machine your business will benefit from, contact us at High Performance Packaging. Our specialists will be able to advise you on what types of machinery will best suit your business’ needs.

Purchasing used vacuum packers is a great way to expand your line’s efficiency without breaking the bank; even better, you may be able to purchase multiple machines since you’ll be saving money. Contact us today for more information about the products we currently have available.

Posted on March 11, 2014 by Ron Crews — Leave a comment

Packaging Equipment Training Programs

Packaging machinery is complicated—there’s no way around that. Purchasing new machinery has the potential to slow down your production, particularly if your employees are not well versed in how to use it. Training can take some time, but if you don’t know how to train the employees on the new machinery, you may be stuck. Thankfully, when you purchase used packaging equipment from High Performance Packaging, you get the additional benefit of our training programs.

Helpful, Time-Saving Programs

At High Performance Packaging, we are dedicated to providing our customers with the best service we can, and that includes offering used packaging equipment training courses. That means that in addition to simply selling the machinery like other suppliers, we also understand how all of the machines work and can help our customers learn how to use them efficiently. We offer programs for on-site training which help your machine operators and other personnel learn how to maintain, operate, and troubleshoot used packaging equipment. Some of the machinery we offer training for includes:

Combination weighers
Tray packing
Blister packing
Auger filling & liquid filling equipment
Cartoners
Depalletizers and palletizers
Vertical and Horizontal FFS

Learning how to use and troubleshoot equipment can not only decrease the downtime between implementing new equipment, but can also shorten the time spent on maintenance or repairs. If your staff has a firm grasp of how to use and maintain the machinery on your line, they will be able to quickly identify issues that arise.

Why Buy Used Packaging Equipment?

If you’ve been looking to add machinery to your packaging line, purchasing used equipment is a savvy, beneficial way of doing so. Not only are you able to add efficiency by way of having more machinery in your setup, but also you can save money by purchasing used or refurbished machines. At High Performance Packaging, we offer our clients a wide range of refurbished machines that are repaired and brought to industry standards, so even though you’re saving a lot of money, you’re still getting the high quality, reliable machines you need. When you need to increase production or replace machines, consider buying used from HP Packaging, where you’ll get the added bonus of available training programs.

Posted on March 3, 2014 by Ron Crews — Leave a comment

Reduce Downtime By Implementing Preventative Maintenance on Used Machines

Once you’ve gotten your packaging line set up, it’s important not to simply churn through the work every day and ignore any sort of maintenance routine for the equipment. Of course, not every machine is going to need the same schedule of maintenance to keep it working the best it can, so it’s ideal to have an organized set-up of when certain maintenance jobs should be done.

Reducing Downtime and Extending Machine Life

When your company takes pride in efficiency and consistency in production, one machine being nonfunctional for even a few days can really jam up the workflow. And when you have multiple machines, there’s the chance that multiple machines can fail at the same time. Planning regular maintenance, regardless of whether your machinery is new or used/refurbished, is highly important when it comes to prolonging the life of the machine. When machines and moving parts are not tended to regularly, issues can pile up resulting in major repairs being necessary. When you purchase used packaging equipment from a supplier, that supplier should be able to help you learn how to properly maintain it, and at High Performance packaging, we do just that.

Customized Maintenance Plans

Few problems within your company can cause as much inconvenience as surprise machine failures and unscheduled downtime for your production line. With a regularly scheduled tune-up and maintenance routine, you can stay on top of potential issues and monitor anything that looks like it may cause problems down the road every time you do your maintenance. High Performance Packaging offers a customized service plan for all of our clients, which means we will work with you to design a customized plan tailored to your specific production line and machines. Because our technicians have decades of experience, they have a thorough understanding of all the machines we sell. When you want to ensure that your packaging line won’t have to shut down because of a simple problem that could have been prevented, implementing a preventative maintenance schedule is key.

Posted on February 27, 2014October 29, 2021 by Ron Crews — Leave a comment

Buying Used Packaging Machines: Why Is It Better?

When you’re in the market for packaging machinery, you have a lot of options—let alone choosing a brand name and model, you also have the option to purchase new or used and refurbished machines. Besides the obvious benefit of saving money when you buy used, there are a few other reasons why buying from a used machinery supplier can be beneficial to your business.

Enjoy Being Able to Purchase More

Used and refurbished machines are going to cost less than their new counterparts. That not only means that you’ll save money, but also that you have the potential to purchase better machinery—higher end brand names at more manageable prices, due to their refurbished status. You’ll still be getting the same great product, however, and since you’re spending less per machine, you may even be able to expand your production line. This could lead to additional possible production, which could mean more sales, more success. Being able to purchase more machinery for a lower overall cost puts expanding your business well within reach.

Get Advice, Customer Support, and Troubleshooting Help

Aside from saving money and having the option to purchase more machinery, perhaps a more useful benefit of purchasing used machinery is that the company you buy from is likely to be more invested in your satisfaction with the purchase. Rather than simply selling you a machine and being done with the transaction, they will be able to help you in the future should you need support, troubleshooting, employee training. And, what’s better, is that because used packaging machinery is usually refurbished in-house by the company you purchase from, their staff is likely to have a thorough understanding of how their products work. If you have trouble or need help on figuring out a problem with the machines, they may have encountered that issue before and can advise you on what to do. In the same vein, they may also be able to offer knowledge for your employees in regards to learning how to operate the machines.

Used packaging machine suppliers are generally more invested in the products they sell since they took the time to bring the machines back to full working condition; they’ll usually be more than happy to help you with any questions or concerns you might have.

Posted on February 24, 2014October 29, 2021 by Ron Crews — Leave a comment

How to Find the Best Used VFFS Machine for Your Project

Whether you’ve been using packaging machinery for a long time already but have plans to start producing a new product, or you’re just getting started and need to plan out the best and most efficient packaging line for your business, it’s always best to discuss the different options with machinery suppliers. Some business owners will opt to purchase the fewest amount of machines, intending to use them for all of their products. While this works, it’s not necessarily as efficient a process as it could be. Instead, think about purchasing machines that will get your jobs done faster, even if that means purchasing more overall. Having the ability to get things packages more quickly may help in the long run, especially if you end up needing to ramp up production.

If Possible, Don’t Use Just One Machine

Instead of trying to only get one machine to do all of the jobs you need, perhaps consider purchasing used packaging machinery so that you can expand your packaging line without going over your budget. Many first time buyers will choose the machine that works best for their largest bag, which makes sense—buy one machine, and it can handle both the largest bag as well as all of the smaller bags. However, doing this may end up not being the best idea, since while it will be efficient at filling the wider bags, large machines don’t perform as well when filling smaller bags. Also, bigger machines tend to be more expensive. Instead, choose a machine based on the width of the size you most often use. That way, you’ll be able to get the most bang for your buck, and you can always add additional machines later on.

Get Advice from Manufacturers and Suppliers

If you aren’t entirely certain which machines would be best for your production line, or most adaptable to different products, you can always ask machinery suppliers. Ultimately, manufacturers and sellers want you to be satisfied with a purchase, and should be willing to help you find the machine that will most benefit your business. It never hurts to ask the sellers what their recommendations are in terms of which machine will best match up with your current product line as well as, if possible, any future plans for other products you intend to need packaging machinery for. They’ll be able to point you in the right direction.

Posted on February 20, 2014October 29, 2021 by Ron Crews — Leave a comment

How Can Choosing Used Machinery Help to Change Your Packaging?

When you and your company are in the market for packaging machinery, you may think that the best option is one certain machine. However, you may be surprised to learn that machinery suppliers may be able to suggest a better or more efficient machine. Many customers go to machinery suppliers and already have a package in mind that they want to keep producing, and are unwilling to budge. The truth is, however, is that if you go to a supplier with an open mind, they may be able to suggest something that’s better or more efficient, or a machine that’s better suited to your industry.

New Film May Work Better

If you’re purchasing used machinery to replace your current packaging line or to add more efficiency, using the same film as you did on the previous machinery for packaging may no longer be the best option for the specific machine you are buying. A slightly different width, length, or film type may mean a more efficient packing line, depending on the type or brand of machine you’re using. That doesn’t necessarily mean that your original product will have to be gotten rid of or thrown out, just that there may be a more efficient option that you can switch to when it’s most convenient for your business. It pays to discuss the options with different manufacturers if you can, or a company that sells multiple brands. This way, you can get a good idea of what will work best on your machinery.

Manufacturer-Specific Advice

When you choose to purchase used packaging machinery, you may have the option to talk to someone from the company that makes the machine, or at the very least, a third party who is incredibly knowledgeable on the products they sell. That means they can help you decide which types of bags and films are best for what you’re packaging. Paired well, the right film has the ability to cut costs and speed up your line’s productivity. Wherever you’re getting used packaging machinery from, there should be staff on hand to help you find the best materials. Make sure to discuss what your goals are for the machinery purchase with the company you are buying from, in case they have any advice or tips for you.

If you’ve been looking for a way to streamline your packaging setup, purchasing used packaging machinery can be one way of doing so, as there may be more efficient materials to use for your products.