With
environmental awareness growing and the scientific evidence for Global
warming piling up, it should come as no surprise that organisations and
individuals are busy casting around for targets to which blame can be
apportioned. From Big Oil and Big Manufacturing to anyone who drives
their kids to school or heats their home, we are all guilty in the eyes
of some. Right up there with the worst of them, apparently, is the
Packaging and Labeling industry.
It's simple to understand why the industry has attained this pariah
status; packaging is ubiquitous these days, by its design extremely
obvious, beautifully created and produced and very easy to think of as
unnecessary. Grist to the mill of the green lobby who’s
members
would happily live in a world unable to distinguish their cornflakes
from their washing powder.
But on the other hand, the constant demand of the average consumer is
for more choice, and better informed choice at that. We want to be able
to select the product we prefer from a range of alternatives and the
Government wants us to know what they actually contain. Fat content,
salt content, traffic light health indicators and, most recently,
alcohol unit values now have to be present on packages and labels. A
faintly ironic additional twist now sees a number of major
manufacturers and retailers such as Walkers, Boots and Tesco, working
with The Carbon Trust, planning to introduce ‘Carbon
footprint’ data on their products in the near future. This
information has to be printed somewhere so, despite the howls of
complaint from environmentalists, it seems likely that packaging will
be around for quite a while.
The reality is that in the future consumers will 'do their bit' for the
environment by recycling and composting more of their refuse, by
insulating their homes and by regularly checking their tyre pressures.
Governments will want to be seen to be involved and will eventually
introduce green legislation that rewards those consumers who recycle
and punishes those who don't. In addition, there will be greater
scrutiny and regulation of manufacturing businesses; those who are
ahead of the game will reap the benefits.
Manufacturers involved in the Packaging and Labeling industry will find
themselves increasingly questioned and will need to ensure that their
processes are as eco-friendly and effective as possible. Newer, more
efficient machines should be installed, factories will be designed with
green issues in mind and the use of recycled paper and board will
continue to grow. If manufacturers minimise their emissions and carbon
footprint at source, their business and products will become something
to shout about, rather than hide, offering the potential to attract
both clients and investment.
A first step to achieving this is the consideration of how best to
minimise wastage, throughout the production chain. This need not be
only in terms of final product, but within all stages of converting and
laminating as well as printing and finishing. With equipment running at
speeds of 600 metres per minute and above, the slightest fault or
wrinkle can result in a significant length of waste material.
Waste production is triply expensive - you pay for the materials, you
pay to run the machines and you pay to dispose of the spoil. This means
that even the enviro-sceptics amongst us can see the potential benefits
of waste reduction. Every metre or copy saved has a positive impact on
the bottom line.
Of course, a lot of waste produced in any factory is an inevitable
by-product of the manufacturing process. Makeready and splices are
clearly unavoidable but a significant proportion - often 10-20% - of
what is disposed of as waste, is in fact perfectly sellable product.
Operators, under time pressure and unable to accurately isolate an area
of spoil, cut out and discard a length of product far in excess of the
actual problem area. This is completely unnecessary; by optimising the
production process this good product can be reclaimed.
It takes time and teamwork to ensure that whenever improvement
techniques are introduced, full implementation is effective and
calculable. The key to such change is the buy-in of the full production
team of operators and management. Many operations discuss each step
with their teams prior to moving forward, some even offer incentives to
their staff in order to drive high impact results.
Technology is also important and to maximise results in the area of
waste reduction, market leaders are investing in ever-improving web
inspection systems. These units are camera controlled and capable of
identifying errors and issues at extremely high speed. The ability to
distinguish good product from spoil can greatly assist the production
team in its efforts to improve efficiency.
The trick, however, is not just to know that the error exists, but to
accurately isolate the spoiled section from the good product, ensuring
that unnecessary wastage is kept to a minimum.
This can be achieved with the addition of a web marking device that
fires adhesive tabs onto the web edge, without physical contact with
the web itself. Operated either manually or from an automatic trigger
signal from the inspection system, faults of all kinds can be
identified, marked and separated from good product. The benefits are
immediate. Unnecessary waste is reduced significantly; productivity
increases and subsequent finishing processes become more efficient.
Web inspection and marking systems are good value. Compared to the cost
of the press or converting machinery the price is relatively minor and
once operational the return on investment can often be measured in
months rather than years.
The Packaging and Labeling industry is extremely competitive. Margins
are tight, run lengths are shrinking and end-users demand late changes
and ever shorter delivery times. Simple, cost-effective steps that
reduce waste and emissions while improving productivity and the bottom
line should always be considered. In both the immediate and long-term
future, any process enhancement that can be applauded by both
Shareholders and environmentalists is likely to be good for business.
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