Five Common Questions From First Time Packagers

While every packaging project is unique, and new packagers have many different questions about packaging machinery and processes, there are a few common, recurring questions that LPS Packaging Specialists hear from first time or future packagers.

Will Your Equipment Work for My Products?

Imagine all of the liquid products that are packaged in a bottle or other type of container. It's a difficult thing to do simply because there are so many different products. It is no surprise then, that a common question from new packagers is will your machinery work with my products. In almost all cases, the answer to this question will be yes. Liquid Packaging Solutions manufactures custom packaging machinery, including filling machinery, capping equipment and more, for a wide range of liquids. The better question is normally which machines will work for my products, and LPS will work with packagers to find the most efficient and reliable machinery based on the needs of the individual packager. While there are a few exceptions, for those packaging a liquid, LPS equipment will work with their product.

Can Your Equipment Handle All My Bottle Sizes?

While some packagers will use one bottle or container to package a product, the more common scenario will include a packager using different size bottles for the same product or even different bottles for different products. For those using multiple bottles or products, they necessarily want to ensure that the equipment will work for all bottle and product combinations. All LPS equipment will be built to handle a range of containers, from rinsers and fillers to capping machinery and even conveyor systems. Typically, the standard adjustments on different machinery will allow equipment to handle the range of bottles run by any given packager. Where bottles range from tiny to large, some modification may be necessary, but in all but the rarest of cases, only one machine will be needed to run the packager's range of containers.

How Fast Will The Machinery Run?

The speed of packaging machinery is often one of the first questions asked by potential packagers. The answer to this question is necessary to allow a packager to plan for their production schedule and meet production demand. For automatic equipment, this number can usually be determined by measuring a cycle, be it for a rinse, fill or other process. For instance, if a filling machine has 10 heads and can run 5 cycles per minute, the machine will fill 50 bottles every minute. Semi-automatic machinery, on the other hand, depends in large part on the speed and skill of the operator, though a less accurate estimate can be made. The real answer to this question, however, is how fast does the packager need the equipment to run? LPS manufactures both semi-automatic and automatic equipment that can meet needs that range from a few bottles every minute to thousands of bottles a day. Finding the right equipment for any given project requires determining how many bottles a packager needs to fill every day.

Is the Equipment Easy to Run?

Packagers want to ensure that the operators of any packaging equipment will be able to run the machinery efficiently and effectively. While "easy" is probably a subjective term, LPS equipment is always manufactured to be user-friendly. Most automatic equipment will include a touchscreen operator interface that allows the operator to interact with and set up the machine from a central location. Recipe screen also allow operators to save and recall all settings for multiple bottle and product combinations, making changeover quick and easy as well. Both automatic and semi-automatic machinery will usually include tool-free changeover and set up following initial installation, and LPS offers both installation and training to ensure operators have the required knowledge to run the equipment.

Is Your Equipment Manufactured in the United States?

Simply put, yes. LPS packaging equipment is manufactured in La Porte, Indiana, just a little east of downtown Chicago and is in use across North American and overseas as well. LPS actually encourages packagers to visit the LPS plant, especially when equipment is finished to join in on-site testing using the packagers products and bottles whenever possible. This Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) allows the packager to see their equipment in action and also request any changes before the machinery is delivered!

Of course, new packagers may have many more questions than the five listed above, and LPS is always available to answer the less common inquiries as well. Packagers can use the LPS website to send in questions, contact requests, quote requests and more, or simply pick up the phone and contact one of the LPS Packaging Specialists toll-free at 1-888-393-3693.