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2020/12/04 Case Study: Stand-Up Pouch Making (part 1 of 2)

Case Study: Stand-Up Pouch Making

Toll Converter Meets High-Volume Demand with Stand-Up Pouch Machine

Source from: Case Study: Stand-Up Pouch Making | 2020-12-01 | Flexible Packaging (flexpackmag.com)

Atlapac’s servo-based stand-up pouch machine from Modern Manufacturing Services helps it to meet the fast-moving consumer packaged goods world.

Atlapac holds the title of major player in the flexible packaging segment as a toll converter and contract manufacturer, producing packaging for multiple sales channels, including c-stores, gas stations and club stores. The company also delivers a wide range of flexible packaging formats for major consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies, with impactful stand-up pouch designs and straightforward flexible packaging bags for high- and low-volume runs.

As stock keeping units (SKUs) from CPG companies have increased tenfold over the last 15 years, Atlapac’s packaging operation has grown in parallel to meet the many new consumer packaging demands.

“Atlapac is very efficient with our toll converting operations and customers know we have a high aptitude when it comes to sophisticated stand-up packaging,” says Paul Unrue, president of Atlapac. There are many reasons why the toll (converting) side of our business has grown over the last 15 to 20 years.”

As Atlapac had grown over the last 20 years, the company decided in 2018 that it needed a stand-up pouching solution. That year, Atlapac added Modern Manufacturing Services’ 610 Momentum Series stand-up pouching machine to add more operational flexibility, throughput and meet increased demand from CPG companies with recycled film material for pouches.

“With increased use of sustainable films by companies, the 610 stand-up pouch machine opened up new opportunities for us to run different structures and materials,” says Unrue. “Plus, the machine allows us to set up quickly and minimize scrap.”

The stand-up pouch machine features servo technology with multiple sealing heads and provides another level of control, according to Atlapac. The standard 610 Momentum Series machine includes 10 sets of servo motors for the Inteliseal system and a minimum of three sets of servo motors on the web feed, which are independently controlled. This servo-based system eliminates many mechanical parts while eliminating lower cams on the machine.

“We’re up to a minimum of 13 axes of servos per pouch line,” says Jim Russell, president of Modern Manufacturing Services. The servos provide independent control on all of the sealing processes.” The overall machine control is done by a programmable-logic control (PLC) and also allows Atlapac to store recipes for quick changeover.