Stretch winding helps protect product safety

Jack Daniel's brewery, which uses fully automatic stretch-packaging equipment, has been operating efficiently, and it protects each glass bottle of sour mash from which it is whisked.

A unique square glass bottle with a bottleneck and a black bottle label and a neck mark printed with Jack Daniel's unique brand pattern, showing the company's origins and traditions. Jack Daniel's bottling and packaging process has very strict standards to ensure that the product is properly protected. The key to the entire packaging process is the stretch packaging equipment provided by Orion Packaging Systems.

Jack Daniel used the recipe for wine that was invented in 1866. The charcoalization process first followed by ageing in white American oak barrels. These two processes gave the smoky flavor and amber color of the whisky.

In the early 1990s, Bill Mace, a product engineer at Jack Daniel, decided to automate the factory's stretch packaging equipment. “Our products must maintain a beautiful appearance at all times. With the increase in our overseas business, our products need to be transported by train or ship. The poor transport environment will cause the appearance of the products to deteriorate, and automatic stretching of packaging equipment will ensure that each of us The palletizer product maintains the same look and quality and is delivered to dealers."

At that time, the brewery purchased the first Orion MA-33 fully automated stretch-wrapping equipment at speeds of up to 60 lbs. per hour. Mace said, "Our customers' requirements for palletizing must be strong, only in this way their products will not be damaged."

Select rotating equipment
When the factory wanted to add another packaging machine, several suppliers proposed to provide customized equipment, but Mace still wanted to purchase standard equipment. “We want to buy a rotary packaging machine that will keep the product stable when it comes out of the packaging, instead of loading it onto the turntable. Orion is the only one of these suppliers that can meet our requirements.”

Mace went on to say, "Not only that, Orion just installed two new MA-33s in another factory not far from our factory. The project engineer at that factory told us that Orion Packaging Machine is the most in their procurement plan. The one that succeeded. It also increased our trust in Orion."

The new MA-33 ultra-high-speed stretch wrapper has a maximum packaging speed of 92 yd per hour and can reach such a fast speed, relying on the three-speed structure and direct braking system of the device.

According to Paul Maxwell, the factory marketing manager, “We can now pack about 80 yards per hour, two shifts per day, and 99% efficiency.” The original equipment is now only available.

At the same time, the new MA-33 has been upgraded to use a 30” wide film instead of the 20′′ in the past, and the device for sealing the film at the end of the film is wider than before. The gripping position of the gripping film is lifted up. The bottom of the film is on the conveyor belt, not the entire product and the tray. In this way, workers can use the forklift to remove the entire product from the tray. These pallets are no longer attached during transportation and cost savings are realized.

The MA-33 also features Orion's RevoLogicTM function to accurately calculate the amount of pre-stretched film to reduce material waste. In addition, Orion's Insta-SenseTM technology can stop the entire stretch winding process immediately when the stretch film ruptures and misalignments are discovered. Once the fault is removed, the system will start from the point where it was stopped and re-enter the cycle.

Winding process

The packaging machine receives products from seven packaging lines. The capacity, weight, and shape of the seven packaging lines are all different. Before reaching the stretch packaging equipment, the bottles were filled, capped, labelled, sealed, packaged, and stacked.

Each pallet enters the stretch wrapper through the conveyor belt and the electronic camera eye will monitor the pallets ready to enter the stretch pack area. Every time a stack enters the packaging area, the camera eye transmits a signal to the security door and the security door closes immediately.

Then stretch packaging began, and Orion's Insta-Tread® film delivery system pre-stretched the film to 217%. The company used low-density polyethylene film, but the supplier's name was not disclosed. Maxwell said that the factory is using 80-ga stretch film, and the equipment is currently packaged with pallets that are 2,200 lb, 54” wide.

The robot arm rotates around the pallet, and there is about 10-12 rotations depending on the size of the pallet load. The tail of the film is automatically cut. After completing this series of actions, the security door opens and the pallet enters another conveyor belt. The entire device requires only one operator. He can also handle both forklifts and packaging machines.

"The stretch wrapper helped us ensure product safety." Mace said, "We know that Orion will help us and they deserve our trust!"