Signode develops integrated handling, conveying and automated storage system for Mondelez

Speaking to WhatPackaging? Sachin Gupta, head training – APAC, Signode, said, “The company has supplied this system to Mondelez International in India. It is a first of its kind system in India that can handle as many as 35 pallets per hour and is equipped with traffic controlling, plus it eliminates manual handling after filling of shipper. Also, there’s real-time tracking.”

The system works across 10 zones consisting of shipper conveyor, upward spiral conveyor, merging station, downward spiral conveyor, inspection and barcode scanning, sorting, robotic palletisation, pallet wrapping and labelling and automatic storage and retrieval system.

Zone-1: Shipper conveying, zone-2: Shipper Conveying, Zone-3: Spiral conveyor (Up), zone-4: merging station, zone-5: Spiral conveyor (Down), Zone-6: Inspection and bar code scanning, Zone-7: Sorting, Zone-8: Robotic palletization, Zone-9: Pallet wrapping and labelling, Zone-10: Automatic Storage and Retrieval System

The system is flexible enough for handling multiple SKUs simultaneously. It can club multiple production lines into one single packaging line. The transfer control of varying sizes of cartons at high-speed (approximately 21,000 shippers per hour).

Gupta said, “It is targeted at automating secondary and tertiary packaging lines in food, pharma and FMCG companies are looking for no touch packaging solutions. It is ideal for the companies looking for automation that complies with FDA regulations, and can provide productivity improvement and manpower reduction.”

Team Signode at Packmachine awards

Besides this, Signode India has bagged six Pacmachine awards in the 2017 edition for auto debander for strap cutting; laminated roll integrated packaging and handling system; automatic strapping with seal pad and label applicator; automatic cross strapping with angle; board and batten feeding and new age slit coil packaging system. This signifies Signode India’s forte in system integration when it comes to secondary and tertiary packaging automation.

Auto strapping seal pad and label applicator

The system consisting of strapping head, seal pad applicator and tag applicator automates the strapping process. It applies a steel band to the coil of varying size along with a seal pad and applies online printed tag.

The Signode M410 Power Strapping Head with heavy-duty jaws feeds the strap through the chute provided across, grips the leading end, pulls the extra length of the strap, provides the set tension and seals the joint in that position. All the operations are done automatically in sequence with the help of electro pneumatic valves and controls.

The seal pad applicator is designed to apply plastic or corrugated seal pads under the steel strap joint location, before tensioning the strap to the coil. The automatic seal pad applicator is placed beside the strapping head. It consists of seal pad magazine with air cylinder pusher and side door for easy loading, seal pad ejector and seal pad clamping and positioning.

The label tag applicator automates the manual operation of printing the label offline and then applying it on the coil thereby eliminating the chances of incorrect label pasting on coils that can cause wrong dispatches and customer complaints.

Gupta said, “The companies these days focus on automation such that the machine does not experience fatigue and inaccuracies and produce high-quality goods at a very fast pace once configured properly. Secondly, a high ROI, and finally safety at the workplace. Our solution outlines all these benefits in-line with market trend and need which will surely scale-up its sales in future.”