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| Cantisano
Partners with Standard-Knapp |
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By
Kristofer Kolstad
Vice President of Marketing
Cantisano Foods, located in Fairport, New York,
is one of the premier contract packers in the
food industry. In the fall of 1996, Cantisano
Foods was in the process of selecting a third
supplier for their planned installation of two
tray/shrink systems. Two previous machinery suppliers
fell short of Cantisano's requirements for a
quick and simple changeover while maintaining
high line efficiencies.
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Changeover
had to be absolutely positive and simple, with no
tweaking required. Before making a final decision,
Cantisano's top management team decided to spend
a few days at PMMI's PackExpo in Chicago. Their mission was to identify the
best "high-speed" and "changeover
efficient" tray packer and shrink wrapper available on the market. Upon
visiting the Standard-Knapp booth, John LiDestri of Cantisano exclaimed, "How
did you do it with so few parts? That is a really simple design." Cantisano
purchased the machinery that was on display in Standard-Knapp's booth -- the
Continuum Tray Packer.
Ralph Cantisano
started Cantisano Foods in 1978 as a contract manufacturer
of red and white sauces. Mr. Cantisano
was the former president and owner of Ragu Foods, and
several former Ragu professionals joined him at Cantisano
Foods, including John and Santi LiDestri. The Cantisano
team was formed around this nucleus, and the company
quickly became a premier manufacturer of sauces. Today,
Cantisano promotes their own Francesco Rinaldi brand,
as well as contract packing for some of the largest food
companies in the world. Cantisano has developed high
quality standards and has thrived with very nimble and
quick changeover capabilities. As with most successful
companies, Cantisano's strength stems from their people
and their "Can Do" company culture.
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| Continuum Tray Packer |
Continuum eliminates bottlenecks. |
Cantisano
chose to partner with Standard-Knapp on their 65-trays
per minute "changeover" line in the
fall of 1996. It was serial number 101 -- our prototype
machine for the Continuum Tray Packer. Although the
first few weeks of the installation were not perfect,
the Continuum
immediately demonstrated superiority over the two previous
competitors' designs that had since been removed, due
to their inability to run multiple sizes at high speeds
and high efficiencies.
Perhaps the
most demanding aspect of the Cantisano application
is the variety of product sizes that run regularly
on
the line (over a dozen). Production demands sometimes
dictate several changeovers in a single shift. Cantisano's
management and technical staff worked in coordination
with Standard-Knapp to identify several areas of potential
improvement. Out of this collaborative effort came a
superior "changeover-friendly" infeed design
(with no moving parts), enhanced reliability in the controls
system and a more robust compression section. These improvements
are now incorporated into our base machine design and
have significantly contributed to the Continuum's ongoing
success in the food and beverage industries. Cantisano
has since purchased several machines from Standard-Knapp,
including another Continuum. This second Continuum arrived
on their shipping dock on a Friday and was running production
on the following Monday.
Cantisano's management has been
extremely gracious in allowing Standard-Knapp to demonstrate
our new technology
to dozens of visitors from food and beverage companies.
Visitors have been impressed with the entire Cantisano
operation, including their high level of automation,
high line efficiencies, and plant cleanliness. Bottlenecks
have been eliminated from all of their lines. Cantisano
provided Standard-Knapp with an ideal test bed for
the Continuum prototype. By proving the machine in a
highly
demanding environment, we were able to quickly refine
the design to satisfy those demands. Cantisano is clearly
an example of the modern and well-managed food plant
with a forward-looking operations philosophy, and our
partnership has been mutually beneficial.
Continuum
Advantages
| • |
High
reliability, low maintenance |
| • |
Zero-Gap
infeed eliminates lane division voids |
| • |
Positive
magazine and tray transport for improved corrugated
handling |
| • |
Simple
servo grouper eliminates mechanical timing issues |
| • |
Quick,
positive, no-tools changeover in under 15 minutes |
| • |
Servo
homing for pitch changes |
| • |
Simple "By
the Numbers" system eliminates operator errors |
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Rugged,
304 Stainless Steel design |
| • |
Open
tubular frame with "gull wing" guard
doors for easy access |
We trust that Standard-Knapp Innovations
will keep you informed of our capabilities and
technologies. Please provide any feedback that you have
to kkolstad@standard-knapp.com, or fax your comments
to 860-342-0783. |
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| Advantages
of the new Sliding Door Grid |
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By
Katrin Wood
Product Design Supervisor
In
response to the demands for diversity in today's
case packing market (full depth RSC or
Bliss cases), Standard-Knapp has recently upgraded
its case packer technology to provide customers
with grids that handle a wider variety of multi-packed
products. Not only are multi-packs in greater
demand, but the variety of pack styles has also
proliferated in recent years. Quick changeover
and higher speeds are required to meet this recent
surge in demand. The speed and changeover limitations
of the older technology are directly related
to the complexity and shortfalls of the actual "Trap
Door" grids.
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When
faced with the challenge of upgrading our existing
grid technology, Standard-Knapp had to develop
a solution that would allow customers to run
a wide variety of products, as well as changeover
in less than five minutes. Standard-Knapp's
previous "Trap Door" grid solution
required that operators remove the entire grid
frame to complete a changeover. This procedure
often took more than 30 minutes to complete.
The "Trap Door" solution was limited
in its flexibility. Speeds are limited to 20
cpm, and the vertical descent of the packs
included the height of the case plus the radius
of the trap door.
Standard-Knapp
overcame these limitations with our new "Sliding Door" grid
that utilizes our patented "Snap-in" Grid
technology. This design allows the operator
to easily change
grids by placing the incoming grid on a grid caddy
and then pivoting the caddy into place beneath
the riding strips. The Snap-in Grid design reduces
the traditional 30 minute grid frame replacement
to a five-minute task that can be completed without
tools. An additional benefit of the new "Sliding
Door" grid is its simplicity; the design utilizes
far fewer moving parts, thus reducing maintenance
costs.
The
movement of the Trap Door's vertical swing limits
the speed of the existing grid design. For
applications requiring speeds of 20 cases per minute,
this is generally not a concern. The "Sliding
Door" grid assembly moves each door horizontally
to release the product for its descent into the
case. This action can occur more rapidly and the
retraction can occur almost immediately, allowing
the packer to prepare for the next cycle. On Standard-Knapp's
new Versatron S, the "Sliding Door" grid
is operating in the field at 40 cases per minute
for 8 oz. PET multi-packs.
Also,
the infeed elevation is reduced as a result of
the horizontal motion
of the "Sliding Door" design
versus the vertical swing of the "Trap Door" grid.
This advantage reduces required elevations by
up to 6 inches and allows the operator easier
top
access to the bottle infeed.
Standard-Knapp's
new "Sliding Door" grid
is available as an upgrade for existing case
packers or as a replacement for the older "Trap
Door" grid.
The "Sliding Door" grid can handle
Hi-cones, Mead-wraps, Contour packs and shrink
bundles packed
into RSC cases, HSC cases, Tab-Locked cases,
Bliss cases and low-walled trays.
| • |
Five
minute changeover |
| • |
Shorter
descent of packs into the case |
| • |
Higher
speeds |
| • |
Lower
product elevation |
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| Old "Trap Door" design |
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| New "Sliding Door" design |
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| H.P.
Hood Application promotes New Technology |
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By
Pat Williams
Tray Packer Product Manager
When
H.P. Hood of Oneida, NY approached Standard-Knapp
for an innovative solution to their new milk
carton packaging line, we had the chance to showcase
our existing machine flexibility, while upgrading
new technology. The objective of this project
was to develop a vertical case packing solution
that would gently handle 1/2-gallon gable-top "Pure-Pak" cartons
packed 4x3x1, at speeds of up to 28 cases per
minute. In addition, H.P. Hood requested a right-angle
case feed and a dual-lane infeed that would allow
the machine to run as either a tandem or a single
head case packer. "There were some significant
challenges in handling a non-round application
with a lowering head assembly," said Al
Bozzi, Manager, Product Engineering.
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| Traditionally,
Standard-Knapp handled this type of application
using a horizontal case packer, but the H.P
Hood application offered Standard-Knapp an
opportunity to upgrade its existing lowering
head technology, while providing an innovative
solution for the customer at the same time. "When
H.P. Hood approached us for this project, they
indicated that our lowering head technology
and our flexible floor plan were significant
advantages," said Bozzi. "Our machine
was able to grip incoming product about the
gable-top and not compromise the integrity
of the product or the pour spout."
Introducing
a lowering head assembly into a non-round application
was a challenge that Standard-Knapp was able
to meet through the implementation of "Pneu-Grip" Grippers.
Standard-Knapp's existing lowering head assemblies
utilize a pneumatic bladder to grasp the top
of each container as it is lowered into the
case. This pneumatic bladder design is not
suitable for the non-round gable top containers.
Standard-Knapp introduced a mechanical gripper
assembly that positively controlled the product
about the gable-top. |
| Groupers
positively control gable-top cartons. |
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In
addition to the lowering head technology, Standard-Knapp
offers
flexibility on the case feed layout including
in-line, right angle, or counter-flow configurations.
Based on the layout of the new line in their plant,
H.P. Hood decided on the right-angle case feed. Cases
enter at a 90 degree angle to the machine and cycle
through two at a time. This tandem case handling feature
allows the machine to cycle at relatively low rates
and still maintain high case outputs. "Most companies
don't develop flexible case feed options to introduce
cases into their machines," said Bozzi. "Flexible
case feeds are an option we have provided for a number
of years. This, along with our lowering head assembly,
was the reason Hood chose us for this project."
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Product
is fed into the machine through a dual lane
divider that evenly separates the product in
the infeed. As a special feature, H.P. Hood
requested that the case packer run as a single
head application if the divider shut down one
lane of product. "Despite the obvious
challenges at the beginning of this project,
I think the design of our lowering head assembly
benefited from this project," said Bozzi. "Now
we can handle both round and non-round applications
at high speeds. It has opened a new market
for us."
Company:
H.P. Hood
Location: Oneida, NY
Machine: 939 Case Packer
Options: Lowering head assembly
Application: 1/2-gallon (gable-top) Pure-pak milk cartons
Pack Pattern: 4x3x1
Speeds: 28 cpm
Construction: NEMA 4x for all electrical panels, enclosures, and junction boxes
Controls: PanelView 600 operator interface; SLC 503 processor
Installation Date: Fall 1998 |
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| Stockroom
Audits Increase Customer Satisfaction -- Bottom
Line |
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By
Ed Bartus
Parts Manager
Standard-Knapp recognizes that the goal
of our customers is to produce and package
their products as cost-effectively as possible.
With many food and beverage markets at little
or no growth*, reducing costs is one of the
only ways to increase the bottom line. In
this new age of increased productivity and
less frequent downtime, the last thing a
customer needs to worry about is the amount
of spare parts they are carrying to support
the continuous operation of their Standard-Knapp
machinery. In response to these inventory
dilemmas, Standard-Knapp has developed a
Stockroom Audit Program to bring the customer's
stockroom up to par and to eliminate any
unnecessary inventory.
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The
Stockroom Audit is quite simple. After obtaining
a list of your company's existing machinery and spare
parts inventory, a factory-trained spare parts professional
will travel to your facility for the one-day audit.
First, a complete audit of all Standard-Knapp machinery
(including change parts) will be conducted to confirm
that the parts required to maintain operations at
optimal production levels are in stock.
During
the Stockroom Audit, all efforts are made to reduce
the customer's inventory by either
returning excess spare parts or reducing order
quantities and reorder points. By reviewing
the on-hand inventory, the Standard-Knapp auditor
can make important and timely decisions on
what
spare parts should be stocked. Past audits
have resulted in many positive experiences for our
customers. One large customer realized the
following
benefits:
| • |
A
35% reduction in Standard-Knapp inventory
dollars |
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Just
In Time (JIT) shipments of spare parts for
rebuilds or system overhauls |
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A
20% reduction in stockroom spare parts, due
to less parts required |
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A
low inventory dollar amount required for
obsolescence |
| • |
Timely
maintenance, due to readily available spare
parts These benefits represent just some
of the value-added features that our spare
parts audits provide to our customers. |
| Ed assists customer with stockroom
audit. |
|
An
important benefit of these audits is the
information gained by Standard-Knapp auditors.
Meeting with the customer during a Stockroom
Audit allows us to update our vast database
with current information. Standard-Knapp
can then meet the needs of the customer
faster and more efficiently.
Recently,
a customer called with an urgent demand
for a spare part that he was sure they
did not have in stock. In addition, the
customer was having difficulty running
their machine at production speeds. Standard-Knapp
had previously conducted an internal parts
audit for this customer, and a check of
our database revealed that they did have
the part in stock. From our plant in Portland,
Connecticut, we were able to tell the employee
who called where to find the part in his
own stockroom. He called back within the
same hour and thanked us for our quick
response.
The
goal of this program is simple. We want
to ensure that our customers are carrying
the right parts, in the right quantities.
We want our customers to run at continuous
speeds for as long as possible, without
significant downtime due to low or incorrect
inventory of spare parts. This program
fits in with our goal of knowing our customers
and provides a vehicle to fill their needs
quickly and with complete satisfaction. |
*
Wall Street Journal, Sept. 13, 1999, page C1. |
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