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• Gerhard Schubert GmbH to present at Fachpack 2024 in Nürnberg
• 2024 IDF Dairy Innovation Awards finalists announced
• Tetra Pak names Andersson as the new managing director for North Europe
• Mengniu launches limited edition range in Tetra Pak

The post Roundup: Packaging appeared first on Dairy Industries International.

The international sustainability megatrend is certainly nothing new for Schubert: With its Mission Blue Sustainability Initiative, the machine manufacturer has set itself ambitious goals that have already resulted in a multitude of specific measures. These are also detailed in the Schubert ANNUAL 2023 – the combined annual and sustainability report for the year 2023 – published for the first time earlier this year.

One of the company’s key objectives is to support consumer goods manufacturers on their journey towards a sustainable future. It is therefore constantly evolving our modular machine technology. On the one hand, to improve energy efficiency in machine operation, and on the other, to maximise the efficient use of all technical components in line design and achieve optimum performance from the leanest possible solution.

Lean machine concept saves resources and costs

This can be experienced live on the ‘Power Compact’ line showcased at the Schubert stand. The bar packer with a single-lane erector and blank infeed directly from the pallet via a Comfort Feeder offers manufacturers an exceptionally advantageous, lean machine concept: a very compact and space-saving line, erecting, filling and closing at 60 cycles per minute, few system components whose performance can be fully exploited thanks to single-lane carton processing, lightweight 3D-printed robot tools and a blank infeed that enables continuous operation for up to five hours without refilling. Moreover, the efficient erecting process can be flexibly integrated into other Schubert lines. This concept not only saves material and resources, it also enables customers to achieve high packaging output with high-quality technology and surprisingly cost-effective operation.While these initiatives already go a long way towards sustainability, Schubert customers can improve their ecological footprint even further with this type of machine solution: In many cases, packaging in fully recyclable cardboard boxes can replace conventional variants with plastic film or plastic labels. The blanks fed in via the Comfort Feeder can be optimised in advance to ensure the greatest possible recycling of the packaging material. The precise, robot-assisted filling in the top-loading process is especially well suited for placing products precisely into narrow cartons and saving packaging volume – one of the new PPWR’s specific requirements.

Sustainable solutions through the interaction between packaging and machine

Whether existing cartons need to be machine-compatible, new cardboard packaging is required instead of plastic packaging or alternatives are being developed together with a packaging manufacturer, Schubert has solutions to address these and many other packaging issues. The manufacturer’s flexible, modular and easily convertible packaging machines process both conventional and fully recyclable packaging. Visitors to the stand will experience how Schubert is using its decades of experience with cardboard and the creation of innovative technologies, such as Dotlock, to develop more sustainable packaging solutions. Dotlock is a new technology for joining packaging made of solid or corrugated cardboard entirely without glue – but with the same strength as glued packaging. In the future, it will be possible to fully integrate the erecting process for Dotlock packaging into the packaging line. Schubert also offers advice and solutions for switching to more sustainable packaging in the area of plastic films: With the Schubert Comfort Package sample book, the manufacturer supports its customers in selecting the optimum flow-wrap film in terms of machinability and recyclability – taking into account specific product properties and requirements.

Visitors to the trade fair are welcome to discuss their individual needs and questions with the Schubert experts at Stand 1-244 in Hall 1.

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An important component of the company’s Mission Blue sustainability strategy is collaboration with regional suppliers. Five of them were recently honoured by Schubert for their outstanding performance last year with the “Supplier Award”. Procurement time and reliability played a key role in the assessment.

In the so-called “Supplier League”, Schubert measures its suppliers against competitors who offer the same range of goods and evaluates them using a point system. The benchmark for exceptional performance is primarily a procurement time and availability of high-quality materials and parts within a maximum of 3-4 weeks. Oliver Palmert, Head of Supply Chain at Gerhard Schubert GmbH, knows how much this means for companies: “Especially in the current market, where supply bottlenecks and shortages of raw materials are commonplace, extremely punctual and reliable delivery can never be taken for granted. It calls for steadfast discipline, which Schubert continuously works on with its partners to permanently improve the joint customer-oriented procurement strategy within the supply chain.”

The Schubert “Supplier Award” – a coveted distinction

Those who achieve the ambitious goals are honoured with the coveted Schubert “Supplier Award”. The first-place awards in the respective product groups for 2022 were given to the following suppliers:

• Walter Ohr Frästechnik, for the machining product group
• Hofmann Blechbearbeitung GmbH, for the sheet metal working product group
• ADS Drehservice GmbH, for the plastics product group
• Grau und Wagenblast GmbH & Co.KG, for the surface product group, and
• layer manufactory GmbH, for the 3D printing product group.

In addition to receiving a certificate and a glass trophy, all employees of the winning companies are invited by Schubert to a hearty breakfast. Oliver Palmert highlights: “This gesture is very important to us in order to recognise the special achievements of those who also work for us outside Schubert at supplier companies. Some of these people have been working closely with us for several decades and are key contributors to our successful company.” The award is also widely recognised in the industry. Suppliers are therefore free to publish their certificate on their communication channels and advertise with it.

Collaboration with regional suppliers within the framework of “Mission Blue”

The Suppliers’ League has a special status not only for the participating companies, but also for Schubert – also when it comes to the topic of sustainability. Marcel Kiessling, Managing Director Sales/Service at Gerhard Schubert GmbH explains: “As part of our Mission Blue sustainability initiative, we have defined specific sustainability goals and fields of action. One of these is climate-neutral production at Schubert. A key factor in achieving this is reducing our CO₂ balance, i.e. our ecological footprint. In addition to the many measures we are taking to achieve this, we rely on local suppliers, because regional supply chains shorten transport routes and protect the environment. For us, value creation is generated as close to home as possible.”

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Schubert UK was founded in Birmingham in 2002. Prior to this, Schubert was only active on British soil with its modular robot-assisted top-loading machines through commercial agents. Birmingham is the second largest city in the United Kingdom after London and its central location makes it strategically very attractive: An international airport as well as the international railway network and conveniently located motorways ideally connect the region. Cadbury, also based in Birmingham, was Schubert UK’s very first customer.

Schubert UK got its start with a small team of four people. Twenty years later, under the management of Mark Stepney, the team counts fifteen employees who work on innovative packaging solutions for their customers every day and now generate 16.4 million euros in sales. The culture within the company is marked by exceptional mutual trust, says the company. “We have an inclusive caring family spirit in our business, much like that of our parent company,” Stepney explains. The employees work together as a well-coordinated team and have far-reaching expertise.  Schubert UK has a long list of customers who have been working with the company since its launch 20 years ago.

Mark Stepney is proud of his team, but also of the positive contribution Schubert UK is making to the environment, says Schubert. For example, the entire vehicle fleet in Birmingham is equipped with electric or hybrid drive vehicles. The company is also committed to the Mission Blue Sustainability Initiative, which Schubert launched in Germany in May 2022. With this initiative, the packaging machine manufacturer is pursuing goals such as sustainable corporate management and climate-neutral production. Moreover, Schubert helps its customers achieve more environmentally friendly packaging solutions with durable machines and optimised packaging. As a value-oriented family business, Schubert aims to contribute to a ‘healthy environment and a future worth living in.’

“What will happen in forty years?” Mark Stepney is optimistic. As vice-chairman of BARA (British Association of Robotics and Automation), Mark Stepney is convinced that automation will also play an important role in the future of the UK. This is why he is also involved in organising the new Automation UK trade fair. “Automation UK will play a key role in highlighting the very real added value of automation and robotics technology to the UK economy. The trade fair is a must in 2023,” highlights Stepney.

For more information, visit: www.schubert.group.

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In 2008, packaging machine manufacturer Schubert opened a French sales and service location in Compiègne. Luc Jamet, who had been working the French market for Schubert since 1983, took over from the Crailsheim site. Together with his team, he strengthened the confidence of French manufacturers in the flexible, “made in Germany” packaging machines and succeeded in continuously expanding the site into one of Schubert’s most important markets. Luc Jamet recounts: “Back in the 1980s, Schubert recognised that flexible, automated packaging machines were important and therefore embraced robotics technology at a very early stage.”

In July 2021, Charles-Antoine Freiher took over from Luc Jamet as sales manager following an in-depth induction phase in Crailsheim. With him, Schubert has gained an established expert in the field of packaging and packaging machines. Freiher was previously sales director at Aries Packaging. He also has extensive expertise in the field of filling machines and packaging solutions for dairy products, beverages and food from his time at Synerlink. “In the past, I only knew Schubert as a competitor and am now delighted to be working for the company itself. The family business from Crailsheim has always been a trendsetter and of course intends to remain so. High-level creativity is needed to achieve this,” says Freiher.

The French market also demands flexible, agile packaging machines and sustainable packaging solutions. Smaller batch sizes are playing an increasingly important role in the food sector. “This is why we develop simple mechanics and intelligent software solutions at the Crailsheim site, with which the machines can be controlled ideally and flexibly. Our team in Compiègne will further establish these forward-looking technologies in the French market.”

Luc Jamet, who has been working for the Crailsheim-based packaging machine manufacturer for more than 40 years, will remain loyal to the family business. In the future, he will work for management in an advisory capacity and, of course, continue to support his colleagues in France with his wealth of experience.

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