Manufacturing Packaging Machinery About More Than Building Machines

Over the first six months of 2013, the production floor at Liquid Packaging Solutions has seen numerous filling machines, capping machines, conveyors and other packaging equipment take shape before shipping out the door to find a new home.  LPS builds packaging machinery.  It is what we do, but it is not all that we do.  Our relationships with our customers and their businesses start well before the first piece of metal is cut or the first screw is put in place and continues well after the first bottle is filled, capped, labeled and prepared for the end user.

Before any single packaging machine is built, the Packaging Specialists at LPS will work with each customer individually to identify the specific and unique needs of each project.  Though packaging machines are classified by type in most cases, each machine will be built a little differently to accommodate the bottle, cap, label and product for the project at hand.  For instance, while two companies may both use an overflow filler, one may use two 1/2" nozzles to run production while the second will need sixteen 3/4" nozzles to meet production demands.  Engineers, sales representatives and project managers will all work with the customer to ensure that the packaging equipment chosen is ideal for the container, product, space and demand through the use of line layouts, site visits and any other means necessary.  

Once the correct machinery has been identified, the production floor takes action.  From cutting frames to machining components and eventually assembling the machine itself, employees on the production floor work together with the customer, sales department and other Packaging Specialists to ensure no detail gets overlooked.  As the machinery is built, the production team will stage the individual machine on the floor for testing.  Whenever possible, LPS will test run the machines using customer bottles, caps and product to find initial settings and ensure smooth, consistent operation.

Of course, many times customers are looking for complete, turnkey packaging lines.  Not only will our production team stage single machines, but they will also prepare complete lines on the production floor, allowing for testing of the packaging system as a whole.  While LPS manufactures many different pieces of equipment, from turntables and power conveyors to liquid fillers, capping machines and container cleaning equipment, the company also uses other equipment manufacturers for our turnkey lines.  For example, production employees may add a labeling machine or an induction sealer to the equipment manufactured by LPS.  These machines will be brought to the LPS plant and integrated with the other equipment on the packaging system, allowing all equipment to be tested before reaching the customer.  This testing will normally include a visit from the customer for a final Factory Acceptance Test before the equipment ships from LPS.

Once the packaging equipment is tested to the customers satisfaction, it will be loaded up and sent to its final destination, the customer's production floor.  Just as the machinery was set up and run on the floor at LPS, technicians and installers will set up the packaging machines on the customer floor as well.  Initial set up ensures that the equipment will be fine tuned and ready to run production as soon as the customer is ready to begin.  The installers will then spend some time with the operators or employees who will be responsible for the equipment at the customer facility.  Having the installers available allows the operators to ask any questions they might have immediately while learning the new equipment and gives them the opportunity to run the machinery without fear of making a mistake.  When the installers leave the customer plant, both the machinery and those individuals responsible for the machinery will be fully prepared to meet production demands.

Of course, not everything always runs as smoothly as we would like, and packaging machinery likely includes wear parts.  Technical assistance is always available for issues that cannot be easily resolved by those employees trained to run the machine.  Technicians are available by phone or email for setting adjustments or refreshers on operating machines and can always return to the customer floor if larger issues are encountered.  In addition, spare parts and replacement components are always just a phone call away, as the LPS parts department exists to ensure that any downtime encountered will be limited and resolved quickly.

 

Liquid Packaging Solutions does build quality equipment, but in addition, we build quality relationships with our customers.  We are well aware that our success depends entirely on our customers success and that our quality relationships make that success easier to achieve for all involved.