Volm Companies, Inc. (www.volmcompanies.com) recognizes that partnering with a leader in vertical form-fill-seal packaging equipment would enable it to develop an innovative automated solution for its customers’ needs for high-speed fresh produce packaging.

Although Volm developed a proprietary mesh fabric with unique durability and the ability to preserve product freshness, its goal was to integrate the use of the fabric with advanced packaging equipment. The company collaborated with Matrix Packaging Machinery (www.matrixpm.com) to develop a vertical form-fill-seal solution that would enable its customers to eliminate former labor-intensive mesh fabric packaging methods and double their packaging speed.

Matrix built vertical form-fill-seal machines that enable Volm’s customers to package up to 50 one-pound bags of onions, potatoes, or fruit per minute in Volm’s proprietary polypropylene mesh bags. The machines not only improve users’ packaging speeds, but also give them the flexibility to use rolls of different colored meshes and apply customer-specific labels inline, which further increases production speed.

Bybee Produce LLC, Prosser, WA, a premium grower, packer and shipper of onions, recognized that this innovative vertical form-fill-seal solution would provide key marketing benefits over its former clip bag packaging and small wineglass labeling. The company is now able to provide a more attractive package that is easier for stores to stack and consumers to pick up, carry, and store. With the ability to apply high impact graphic labels that include nutritional information, recipes, and the company’s website, Bybee Produce believes that the packaging will also attract more customers.

Working together, Volm and Matrix developed a reliable, easy to maintain produce packaging solution that provides users with higher production speeds, labeling flexibility, and enhanced marketing opportunities.