Liquid Packaging Equipment - Line Speed Considerations

When talking about purchasing automatic packaging machinery, or adding a new machine to a line, one topic that always arises is the speed of the equipment. And rightfully so, automatic packaging machinery is an investment in efficiency and production, with speed often one of the main factors for such upgrades. However, when talking about the speed of the individual machine, packagers often forget about the overall speed of the entire packaging line.

While filling and capping machines that can run 100+ bottles per minute are attractive to a great many packagers, it is important to remember that a packaging line will only produce finished product as fast as its' slowest machine! So a capping machine that seals 120 bottles per minute will not make a line more efficient if the labeling equipment has a top speed of 60 bottles per minute.

This is not to say that reasons do not exist for purchasing equipment that runs faster. An automatic packaging line can be an evolving creature. As production demand increases, certain components of a packaging line may be upgraded to meet the demand, rather than the entire line being upgraded at once. In other cases, the process as a whole may not be automated from the beginning, but only certain components that take the most time or effort. For example, a filling machine may be used to produce 100 bottles per minute, but the filled bottles may be accumulated and manual labor employed to cap, label or otherwise prepare product. In this situation, a handheld capper or tabletop labeler may be used to assist in the production, but would not be expected to keep up with the filling machine.

Each and every packaging line will be built and put in place to meet the ever changing goals of the individual packager. While this may eventually lead to a fully automatic line, not all packagers will want or need that level of equipment. The important thing is to understand when inquiring abotu the speed of a machine is how the speed of that machine will work on any given project.

To learn more about the equipment manufactured by Liquid Packaging Solutions, feel free to browse the website by equipment cateogory, found to the left. To discuss a current project with a Packaging Specialist, contact LPS Toll Free at 1-888-393-3693.