Manufacturers must continuously evaluate production lines and enhance efficiency —all while protecting quality, meeting regulatory demands and, ultimately, ensuring customer satisfaction. This is especially true in the food industry, where companies face increasing competition and a growing demand for a variety of products.

As a result, professionals in this industry need to proactively seek out new ideas and solutions. That was the case with SatisPie Manufacturing Co. The company began in the 1960s as a baker of freshly made pies for local hotels and restaurants near its Rochester, New York home. Over the years, the business expanded its operations, targeting health-conscious consumers, with baked goods that are trans-fat and preservative-free and made with pure cane sugar. Today it ships to branded, private label companies and in-store bakeries in all 50 states as well as abroad.

As demand grew and product lines expanded to multiple flavors, sizes (8-, 9- and 10-inch) and recipes with different sweeteners, owner Mike Pinkowski realized his packaging setup could not keep pace. He saw his operation in 2013 as, “four employees babysitting a cartoning machine that was at the end of its lifecycle” and it was affecting SatisPies’ bottom line. The company saw a significant drop in its production curve.

With an urgent need for equipment to reduce downtime and maintenance requirements, he targeted PACK EXPO Las Vegas for a solution.

“We needed to identify technology alternatives that would enhance our infrastructure. PACK EXPO connected me to the latest educational resources and top suppliers in the industry,” says Pinkowski.

A Unparalleled Solution

On site at PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2013, Pinkowski found ADCO Manufacturing’s ConCENTRiX® SDBC Horizontal End Load Cartoner. Its centerline design and automated features minimize changeover time and enhance repeatability while its advanced design maximizes access for maintenance and sanitation. The flexible cartoner features an easy-to-load, high-capacity magazine that reduces operator fatigue and increases run time.

Pinkowski immediately decided to invest in the cartoner — a decision cemented by ADCO’s willingness to customize the machine to match SatisPie’s needs seamlessly.

“In addition to offering the solution we needed, ADCO’s team really stepped up to the plate across the board. Their level of communication was fantastic, and their efficiency throughout the whole installation process was unlike that of any other supplier I had worked with before,” says Pinkowski.

Since 1958, ADCO Manufacturing has helped many of the world’s leading consumer packaged goods producers in a wide range of industries address their most complex end-of-line packaging automation challenges.

“SatisPie was suffering from their infrastructure,” says Scott Reed, VP of sales, marketing and customer service at ADCO. “We have a long tradition of partnering with our customers to design, build and test equipment, as well as providing exemplary support once it is in the field. That’s what we did for SatisPie, and we are pleased with the great results their business has seen.”

As with any successful installation, timing was everything.

“It was a seamless process,” says Pinkowski. “They scheduled a training session with the SatisPie team, and in two days everyone was on board. We rolled the equipment off the truck, moved it into the facility and completed all the preparation for installation on a Friday. On the following Monday morning, ADCO came in to finalize set up and by 3 p.m. that same day, we were producing cartons.”

With the ConCENTRiX, SatisPie’s productivity has more than doubled. Additionally, labor requirements decreased substantially —from four people handling a single piece of equipment to one person, half-time, overseeing the new machine’s operation. Pinkowski estimates this translated to a direct labor savings of approximately $100,000 per year.

Get Inspired at PACK EXPO Las Vegas

At this year’s PACK EXPO Las Vegas and the co-located Pharma EXPO (Sept. 28–30; Las Vegas Convention Center) manufacturers from a range of vertical industries will explore the latest processing and packaging solutions and benefit from educational opportunities available throughout the show. Top suppliers—including ADCO, (Booth C-2841)—will showcase innovative technologies that can help brand owners enhance their supply chain.

“PACK EXPO provides access to so much information and innovation, and it’s all under one roof,” says Pinkowski. “This year, we are looking forward to exploring new technologies that will help us advance our business even further — particularly x-ray machines and laser coders.”

 PACK EXPO Las Vegas and the co-located Pharma EXPO present attendees with technologies for the entire processing and packaging supply chain within the food, baking and snack, confectionery, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and biotech sectors. The side-by-side events offer robust educational programming and networking opportunities and the benefit of the cross-pollination of ideas between the pharmaceutical industries and the food, beverage and other industries served by PACK EXPO.