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Due to consumer demands and manufacturers' goals to reduce material and energy usage, sustainability is a prominent trend in the packaging industry. EOL machinery needs to be flexible, adjustable, and adaptive to operate efficiently amid packaging changes caused by these sustainable trends. Particularly three trends are driving innovation in EOL machinery:
Lightweighting is achieved by designing (or redesigning) packaging to reduce material usage, thus decreasing the materials required for production. In EOL machinery operations, lightweighting can be achieved by using thinner films for packaging, thinner or smaller labels, or by designing secondary packaging with less empty space to maximize pallet stacking. A report from the Association for Packaging Machinery, "End-of-Line Equipment Procurement Trends and Design Insights," states that eliminating empty spaces and fill waste can reduce fill material costs by up to 20%.
Thinner packaging, films, and labels result in less durable packaging, meaning that box opening and closing machines and packaging strapping machines and automated handling equipment must be flexible enough to handle different material strengths.
Approximately 60%-70% of North American consumers indicate they are willing to pay more for sustainable packaging, and environmental impact is driving the PCR trend, with increased global legislation aimed at reducing single-use plastics and expanding plastic recycling materials. Leading this movement is the European Union, which passed a law in 2019 requiring bottles to be made of 25% recycled plastic by 2025 (increasing to 30% by 2030).
Some of North America's largest CPG companies increased their use of PCR materials by 22% in 2019, and one of America's largest single retailers increased PCR material usage on their packaging lines from 0.5% in 2018 to 9% by early 2020.
PCR materials sometimes cause variations in opacity, thickness, and strength, which may affect packaging lines, so packaging machinery configurations should be adjusted based on these variations to maximize efficiency.
For 38% of surveyed manufacturers, reducing energy used in operations is another sustainable strategy. While some of these energy-saving strategies indirectly affect EOL packaging, many other approaches are directly related to machine and system modifications to packaging lines themselves. Seeking more energy-efficient machines, integrating robotics technology, reducing reciprocating motion frequency, or integrating electric motion controls are all energy-saving strategies that can be explored.
Even simple modifications to machine design can affect overall energy usage—for example, shrink wrapping systems use up to 90% less energy compared to older machines, or improving existing machine efficiency through timed shutdowns and regular maintenance.
Production planning now incorporates idle time into energy-saving strategies—shutting down machines between runs can reduce electricity consumption. EOL machines that can enter idle mode but are easily reactivated to resume production are becoming increasingly popular among end users.
Manufacturers also hope to improve electrical efficiency through regular maintenance and monitoring of existing infrastructure. For example, air compressors generate $ 3.2 billion in energy waste annually. Packaging facilities can reduce compressed air energy costs by up to 40% through upgrades, maintenance, and monitoring.
