Inline Plastics Playbook v2 JUL-21

More Automation Stories

• Freed’s Bakery (nowMaplehurst) – New Hampshire Freed’s Bakery was a growing cupcake producer in 1998. They were buying button lock clamshells at the time from DFI. Inline was offered half of their container business. Previously, Freed’s had hired an independent automation firm to design a high speed automated cupcake production and packaging line. Cupcakes would arrive in the packaging area in baking pans on a conveyor. A de-nester would place the button lock clamshell containers on another conveyor, and a robot would place the cupcakes into those containers. The containers would then move down the conveyor to a unique closing machine designed exclusively for the DFI button lock container. We had to insure that our containers would work in their existing automation system 100% of the time, even though the DFI containers did not work 100% of the time in that system. Inline’s automation team worked with our container designers to insure that our containers would work in the existing automated system. Then the automation team made modifications to Freed’s closing machine and de-nesters to make them work more reliably. The result was that we secured all of the container business due to our ability to improve the customer’s efficiency. Maplehurst is still a large Inline customer today. • Baldor Foods – New York We quoted automation equipment to Baldor for years. In 2016 they finally purchased a STF pinch belt closer. They wanted to expand their operation this year and needed our help. We designed the entire packaging line, and made a custom packing conveyor, with custom racks, to hold the fresh cut fruit for ergonomic loading. They continue to grow, and are expanding their operation in the Bronx. We will be helping them with all of their equipment needs going forward.

• Brads Raw Foods – Pennsylvania In mid-2011 Automation made a sales call with Mike MacBride and Bunzl to visit the startup company Brads Raw Foods. Brad, the owner, was an eccentric character with a great story line, hitting a healthy trend just starting to gain traction – KALE. He was drying his kale and flavoring it to make it taste better. The product didn’t look very attractive, but his story on the huge wrap around label really sold the product. He was an overweight salesman in poor health, practically on his the death bed, when he started eating raw foods, and miraculously it saved his life! He was selling a lot of product in our TS24 container, and he was packing it all by hand. We had a STF pinch belt closer to offer him, but what he really needed help with was production floor layout, design, and a custom labeler. We did the floor design drawings for him and made several visits for design review and in the end Brad could not get anyone to quote the crazy label machine he needed for his near 360 degree wrap around label. I’ll never forget Mike MacBride looking at me in the car and pleading – “Joe – if you can’t build this custom labeler we’ll probably lose the business” – all while grasping me by the shoulders and shaking me as he spoke. We eventually developed a way to automate the wrapped label. It worked, and we still enjoy their business today.

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