Pack Expo: Sampling of materials handling on the show floor

PMMI, owner and producer of the Pack Expo trade shows, recently announced that Pack Expo International 2012 (October 28-31; McCormick Place, Chicago), has sold out of exhibit space. The show will be the largest edition of the show since 2002, with a record 1,800-plus exhibitors showing off the latest in packaging and processing innovation across more than 1.1 million net square feet of exhibit space.

Here’s a look at some of the materials handling packaging solutions to look for on the show floor.

Orbis to host panel discussion, Room E-265
Orbis will host a free luncheon and panel on Monday, Oct. 29 from 12:00-1:30 p.m. featuring interaction with and insight from experts at global companies who actively support the concept of reusable packaging. Registration is required and can be done at [url=http://www.orbiscorporation.com]http://www.orbiscorporation.com[/url].

Packaging users from any industry are invited to attend this event to hear firsthand how reusable packaging positively impacts the environment and injects sustainability throughout their global supply chain.

Attendees will learn why companies like PACCAR began using reusable packaging, how they use reusable packaging today, and the positive impacts reusable packaging continues to have on the supply chain for both their own companies and for the businesses with which they work. The panel will be open for questions about trends in reusable packaging, and an insightful discussion into the best practices that make reusable packaging beneficial across a multitude of applications.

Intelligrated, Booth 2274
The products featured at Intelligrated’s booth will highlight examples of flexibility.

Alvey 950 Series Hybrid Palletizers
The Alvey 950 series hybrid palletizer combines the speed of an industry-leading robust and dependable in-line palletizing machine (rates in excess of 125 cpm) with the flexibility of robotic arm(s) to provide precise and repeatable pattern forming as well as gentle handling required for reduced secondary packaging. The Alvey 950 series now has the options of an integrated control system that allows both the machine and the robot(s) to be controlled from a single PLC, as well as a hoist-mounted stretch bander that allows for handling of unstable loads.

Alvey Robotics
Intelligrated’s Alvey Robotics, a systems integrator, provides single-source solutions for a variety of applications in manufacturing and distribution facilities. The booth will highlight some of the depalletizing capabilities. The systems can integrate a variety of materials handling components into systems, including robotic arms from multiple manufacturers. Fanuc, Kuka, and Motoman articulated arm robots will all be shown in the booth.

Storopack, Booth 8566
At its booth, Storopack is presenting an assortment of protective packaging products used in implementing protective packaging (in-the-box), the protective packing process (into-the-box) and the overall packaging process (around-the-box) solutions.

These solutions include two innovations in the area of paper padding. The new generation of equipment, PAPERplus Chevron², provides 50% greater operating speed. PAPERplus GE is the first step toward a complete redesign of conventional paper padding products.

The air-cushion system AIRplus will be displayed as well as the new air-cushion line, AIRplus Bubble. Bubble-on-demand protective packaging for product wrapping can replace ready-to-use bubble-wrap, producing a corresponding reduction in warehousing and handling expenses.

As part of the FOAMplus Foam-in-Place product-line, Storopack will display custom product protection with Pre-Molded Foam-in-Place. Through the expertise of the company’s Design Center and using state of the art CAD & CAM technologies, quality Pre-Molded Foam-in-Place packaging can be produced on-site.

Buckhorn, Booth 6718
Buckhorn offers an extensive selection of reusable bulk boxes, hand-held containers, intermediate bulk containers, pallets and specialty boxes designed to reduce packaging costs and protect products.

640 Cheese Container
Buckhorn’s new plastic 640 Container has a 24 x 30 x 37-inch footprint and a 710-pound fill capacity. It reduces waste and improves sanitation and quality by replacing wood boxes, which can splinter and contaminate cheese during the materials handling process. The container reduces cool down to 40 degrees within seven days, thereby minimizing cold storage requirements and producing more consistent cheese from the core to the outside surface. The container is USDA approved. Its composition meets dairy industry 3A Sanitary Standards, which assure the material is up to the challenge of repeat use and rigorous cleaning requirements.

BN4845
Ideal for the manufacturing and automotive industries, Buckhorn’s new bulk box design BN4845 is available in 25- or 34-inch heights. It includes ergonomic handles as well as four drain holes for better outside storage. It nests with competitive bins when upright or collapsed, and it provides four-way forklift entry. The doors do not block fork openings, minimizing damage to the container. The bulk box is 100% recyclable. It offers a 3:1 return ratio—234 collapsed containers will fit in a 53-foot trailer. It also features added decoration areas often required for industrial applications, including multiple recessed ID tag areas on all four sides of the base and additional flat surfaces on the panels and doors for labels or RFID tracking.