BACKGROUND

Three challenges, one solution 

“Wohnfühlen” at home? Shouldn’t that actually mean “feel good at home”? No, Reflexa has deliberately chosen this statement. At home, people live and feel good with Reflexa products. Even after a hard-working day of packing in a warehouse. How this works, how to pack sustainably and ergonomically with the help of a Packsize solution, is described here.

Packsize and Reflexa have a long-standing partnership in the packaging sector. For productivity reasons (productivity in this case stands for fast and easy packaging, optimisation of processes and the saving of unnecessary packaging material), the current process was supplemented by a customised solution consisting of a Packsize cutting machine as well as Becker Sonder-Maschinenbau components. How was such a complex project implemented? Reflexa places great value on ergonomic working, especially with heavy and large products such as awnings and external venetian blinds; this approach is important and necessary. Packsize and Becker took on these challenges to deliver ergonomic and efficient work processes in the long term.

Ergonomic, sustainable, and optimised processes as well as customised packaging solutions are the success factors of this project. 

SOLUTION APPROACH

Two simple ways to take the employee’s life, and packaging to the next level:

1. Sustainability: Products are packaged on-demand and in perfectly fitting boxes, thus saving corrugated board and filling material and sustainably protecting the environment. Standard box sizes are avoided to prevent small items being shipped in boxes that are far too large. This means that more packages fit on one truck and fewer vehicles are needed – a great contribution to C02 minimisation. In addition, the boxes are no longer sealed with staples, but with hot glue, and more of the packaging is paper-based and recycleable.
2. Ergonomics: People are important project drivers. Aside from efficiency improvements and significantly higher throughput, the focus is on safe and healthy work. This was achieved by means of ergonomic workstations. So-called folding tables on the machine line help the packer to erect and fill the boxes in batch size 1, products are lifted into the boxes with the aid of a lifting device, transported along the entire line, sealed, and then transferred for further internal transport using a vacuum lifting device. Safe, fast and effective packaging are thus no contradiction. An enjoyable feel-good evening at home is assured…

RESULTS

CONCLUSION

Exciting goals that have been achieved…

The drivers of the semi-automated sunscreen packaging solution are:

• Improved ergonomics, less lifting for packers
• Customer satisfaction – alternative sealing technology through adhesive application and closing
• Element packaging for external venetian blinds & awnings
• Less packaging material, less storage
• Cycle time 30 sec./box, box length up to 7.3 m

Ergonomic packaging and scalability for future growth is the sustainable concept of the packaging solution.