EMBRACING VERSATILITY

Compact Design HS Mini Carton and Tray Former / Erector

Ideal for space constrained areas, the HS Mini Single Head Carton and Tray Former offers a compact footprint without compromising on advanced functionality. Despite its smaller size, the HS Mini retains all the features of its larger counterparts, providing the ultimate flexibility to handle a variety of carton formats and sizes. This machine is designed to meet fast-changing production requirements, offering quick changeovers and the ability to erect different styles of lock and glue cartons or trays.

Efficiency and Flexibility with the RA60 Carton Closer / Sealer

The RA60 Right-Angle Carton Closer, another featured machine, showcases Bradman Lake’s unique ‘Flexible Carton Control’ (FCC) technology. This innovative feature utilizes flexible rubber fingers to close cartons containing products of inconsistent size or protruding above the carton base walls, allowing cartons to be closed without jamming, ensuring smooth operation and reducing downtime. With its tool-less size changeover capability, the RA60 is perfect for customers running multiple carton sizes, maximizing productivity and minimizing interruptions to production.

SL903 High-Speed End Load Cartoner with Cascade Loader

The SL903 High-Speed End Load Cartoner is renowned for its robust stainless-steel construction and ability to erect, load, and close cartons within a single frame. Equipped with a multitude of optional features, the SL903 can be customized to meet the specific needs of each customer.

Bradman Lake’s packaging machinery is designed to cater to diverse market sectors, including bakery and biscuits, chocolate and confectionery, cereal, chilled and frozen foods, and more.

McIlhenny first installed the R.A Jones Legacy^® cartoners at their Louisiana facility in 1968; they are still in use today. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic supply chain disruptions, McIlhenny Company began to look to new paperboard suppliers to ensure adequate supply.

Changing suppliers introduced a new set of challenges and created some inefficiencies with the older equipment, mainly brought upon by the need for continuous machine adjustments. So, in anticipation of the equipment’s 60th anniversary, McIlhenny decided it might be time for retirement.

Resorting to its “Make it Better and Make it Last” principles, McIlhenny returned to R.A Jones, a global leader in the design and manufacturing of primary and secondary packaging machinery, to upgrade its production lines with four new Legacy CS-600 ultra high-speed Horizontal End Load Cartoners.

Fast-paced Operations Require Well Matched Equipment

Currently, the facility operates 5 days a week, 2 shifts a day, year-round, with all products made, packed, and shipped from Avery Island.

“One of our cartoners has put an estimated 1.25 to 2 billion bottles in a carton over more than five decades,” said Mathieu Gélineau, Director of Engineering at McIlhenny Company. “We see that as a true testament to the quality of the equipment and the support from R.A Jones over the years.”

Although the original machines from the ‘60s were still operating, certain lines could only run certain products, limiting McIlhenny’s flexibility and line usage. Now, faced with potential material inefficiencies, the company elected to address the problem sooner rather than later.

“We were thrilled when McIlhenny approached us about modernizing their packaging lines,” said Marty Bechtel, Sales Director – R.A Jones. “The Jones’ machines had served the company well over the years, but like anything, wear and tear began to show their age. Older equipment can lend itself to increased maintenance needs and unwanted downtime, so by upgrading their cartoners to the Legacy CS-600, McIlhenny can significantly reduce unnecessary costs associated with both.”

“Having equipment with an improved carton feeding system, which allows the line to run a variety of carton materials, including sustainable paperboard alternatives, is critical for boosting overall performance and delivering a consistent product worldwide,” Gélineau continued. “As we look to integrate new packaging equipment, speed and flexibility are essential, as we offer various products in a variety of materials and sizes. Ultimately, we want to look at the big picture and ensure that the machines powering our production lines are helping us meet the company’s vision in the future.”

Another area McIlhenny was considering was changeover time.

The legacy machines can take multiple hours to undergo a changeover, requiring a few hours to dial in before ramping up to a good, consistent run speed.

The new fleet will be outfitted with R.A Jones’ Acc-U-Change™ solution, which allows for more efficient and repeatable changeovers. This option also better controls the integral variables of the machine, ensuring that operators can easily change and minimize the risk of a costly mistake.

Beyond the Build: Why OEM Relationships Matter

R.A Jones has been in the business of packaging equipment and machinery for more than a century. However, McIlhenny didn’t just come back to R.A Jones because of the OEM’s historic machine quality and industry expertise. From the beginning of the five decade’s long relationship, R.A Jones has consistently provided them strategic consultation and guidance– starting when McIlhenny purchased its first legacy cartoner over 55 years ago.

The R.A Jones Legacy line is a high-speed bottle and box cartoner and is designed for pharmaceutical applications, resulting in a smaller machine pitch and footprint.

The reason why R.A Jones recommended the Legacy series was due to the pharmaceutical-style design, which provides sanitary benefits to plant operations. A 3-foot inline bottle screw helps stabilize the product, enabling McIlhenny to run speeds of up to 425 bottles per minute for its 2-, 5- and 12-oz. sizes.

Additionally, R.A Jones also provided McIlhenny with key input when conceptualizing how to package the product. Before construction of the machines, there were numerous discussions surrounding the orientation of the product to ensure that when it was pushed into the box, it would align with the graphics on the outside as well as into the cartoner.

“They’re world leaders in cartoners like we’re world leaders in pepper sauce,” says Gélineau. “Working with a manufacturer that stands behind its product, even if it’s 50 years old, and still gives support and sells parts is what makes the difference.”

R.A Jones is currently building the four new Legacy CS-600 cartoners at its Covington, Kentucky facility and is expected to ship the equipment to McIlhenny by year's end. For more information about R.A Jones cartoners and its digital service opportunities, check out rajones.com.

Powered by advanced servo motors, the IWK CH 4 Cartoner can produce up to 120 cartons per minute while assuring gentle product handling, simple 10-minute format changeovers, and easy cleaning. To save on operation expenses, the cartoner delivers cost-effective regeneration by applying the energy gained through recuperation directly back into the production of the cartons. This results in a 21% overall reduction in energy consumption.

The CH 4 is quickly adaptable to a wide range of applications and cartoning specifications and, thanks to its compact design, the machine builds upon IWK’s reputation for cGMP-guaranteed, floorspace-conscious equipment.

The IWK CH 4 Platform can form and fill cartons from 50-230mm in length, 15-160mm in width and 15-100mm in height. Depending on box size and insert parameters, the machine can produce up to 120 completed cartons per minute — considered top-speed in a sector that has experienced surging demand.

“The new IWK CH 4 is a reflection of IWK’s 75-year history in the cartoning machinery industry — the longest legacy of any major company,” said Dana Austin, IWK Packaging Systems, Inc.’s General Manager, North America. “That unparalleled experience allows us to deliver innovation while adapting quickly to evolving industry needs.”