Packaging Story
The Packaging Solution Behind the Mask
The Packaging Solution Behind the Mask
In 1900 the world was awash with dreams, and so was Martin Luther (M.L.) Beistle. As a young man, M.L. worked for the Pittsburgh Art Calendar Company; he was a progressive salesperson who knew the importance of listening to his customers carefully. While in hotels showcasing his calendars, his customers more than once commented about the constant need to water the lobby plants. His solution was simple and brilliant: he could offer artificial plants made from paper. They always looked fresh and they didn’t require water.
Beistle was always looking for opportunities that involved decorative paper products. In his travels to Germany, he observed a paper honeycombing technique and being a visionary entrepreneur, skillfully conceived of a process of combining his decorative paper products with the innovative honeycomb tissue paper technique. On this product, the Beistle Company was formed.
For nearly 120 years the company has manufactured paper decorations and party goods. Today Beistle is the oldest continuing manufacturer of paper decorations and party goods in the United States – and while the product line continues to grow, paper party decorations (from New Year celebration party kits to honeycomb wedding bells to mascaraed party masks) continue to be an important part of their 10,000-item product offering.
Working with PAC as a team
Like so many other businesses, product packaging has a great influence on profitability. As The Beistle Company’s product lines grew, packaging was beginning to cause a bottleneck. The task of identifying the ideal solution came under the purview of Joseph P. Messich, Automation Design Manager at the Beistle Company.
The Beistle Company had done business with PAC Machinery in the past, so PAC was already qualified as a potential resource. After studying the PAC Machinery website Messich believed he had found a solution. The next move was to reach out to PAC, and speak to a packaging equipment expert. This led to a consultation with PAC. Like the company founder Martin Luther Beistle, PAC’s Sales Manager listened carefully as Mr. Messich detailed his goal – and the machine he believed he needed. But the more the sales manager listened, the more he believed he had a better solution in mind. The next move was to review the application in detail with PAC’s Product Line Manager. Together, as a team, they examined ideas and approaches until they agreed on a solution that checked off all the boxes: Consider the RollbagTM R3200 Automatic Bagger.
Rollbag R3200 Automatic Bagger
Messich learned that the Rollbag R3200 Automatic Bagger is a super-versatile, automatic poly bagger that could be used for the high speed packaging requirements at Beistle. The automatic bagger can be configured to make poly bags on the fly or can cycle at speeds of up to 80 bags per minute using Rollbag pre-opened bags on a roll. For Beistle, the real magic of the R3200 is that it could both make bags from poly tubing as well as dispense and seal pre-opened bags on a roll. This feature got Joseph Messich’s attention; he quickly recognized the important benefits they would enjoy by using poly tubing as an adjunct to roll bags:
- Reduced material usage
- Material cost reduction
- Rapid product change-over as bag length adjustment is a matter of pressing a couple buttons
- Reduced bag inventory by eliminating a large number of unique bag sizes.
With the ability to run and/or make bags as small as 2” x 3” or as large as 16” x 32”, the standard R3200 bagger offered the exceptional flexibility that Joseph Messich was searching for. These features all support the lean production initiative that Beistle was trying to achieve. Plus, if the need should arise, Beistle could order the larger R3200XL for bags up to 22″ x 36″. Both models can be equipped with a wide range of options, including printers and feeding devices, all designed to maximize and automate the packaging process.
More tangible benefits
Floor space at Beistle’s packaging operation is at a premium, and the The Rollbag R3200 bagger is designed around a robust yet compact platform. Plus, the bagger is built with high-quality off-the-shelf components. This is important to Beistle because in the unlikely event the machine ever requires replacement parts, they are readily available without undo delay. This reduces the chance of costly downtime waiting for proprietary, hard-to-find parts. The sleek R3200 automatic bagger is designed to withstand rigorous manufacturing environments and deliver maximize uptime; it’s exactly what Messich was looking for – plus so much more.
A long-lasting solution
In the final analysis, the expertise of a PAC Machinery Sales Manager and Product Line Manager combined with the vision of open-minded Automation Design Manager, saved Beistle from purchasing a machine that would merely “work”. Now the growing company will enjoy a sophisticated solution that will earn its keep every day, and will continue doing so for years to come.