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PowderandBulk.com publisher Joe Taylor suggested it would be fun to do one of those year-end articles, maybe predicting what will happen in the New Year. Like, "Ohio State's football team won't be humiliated in the 2008 BCS bowl the way it was in 2007." (Joe couldn't help reminding me of how wrong I was in taking his dinner bet on the OSU-Florida game at the beginning of this year).

"Those who live by the crystal ball end up eating glass," an economist friend once warned me. So while I feel it's way beyond my limited powers to predict 2008 sports winners or the economy, I'm a bit more comfortable reflecting on what I've learned this year. In thinking over 2007, one thing stands out: the number of outstanding manufacturing facilities I've seen across the U.S. I've visited the manufacturing facilities of Gundlach Equipment Corporation in Belleville, Illinois, Pennsylvania Crusher's manufacturing plant in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, Jeffrey Specialty Equipment Corporation's plant in Woodruff, South Carolina, and Premier Pneumatics in Salina, Kansas. 

Every one of these facilities is dedicated to producing capital equipment that in turn is used to add significant value to the processes where they are employed. Two of them, Jeffrey and Penn Crusher, have been manufacturing industrial equipment for more than 100 years. All have skilled workers, excellent engineering, design and production capabilities, and all have experienced steady growth over recent years.

There was a period in these post modern times when manufacturing was in decline, but it's been a growth business for these manufacturers. Talk to Mark Kohler at Gundlach or Marty Bates at Penn Crusher, and they'll tell you about how they've worked to increase production and shorten lead times for their parts and equipment. Since becoming part of K-Tron International's Size Reduction Group, Mark and Marty, along with their counterparts at Jeffrey, and most recently Rader, have begun collaborating to develop best practices and share production resources.

At a recent visit to Penn Crusher in Cuyahoga Falls, a suburb of Akron, Ohio, Marty Bates talked about how Penn Crusher has begun working with Jeffrey to improve the manufacturing capabilities of Rader, which was acquired in September of 2007. It doesn't take long in talking to Marty, or in walking through the factory and talking to the people you meet on the floor, to come to the conclusion that these folks in Ohio like making things. And they're good at it, too. So here's my observation for 2007 and fearless prediction for 2008: for those who have the skill, there's a very good future in manufacturing.

As for Ohio State: whatever happens, Buckeye fans had a better run than expected this year. No one picked OSU to be in the BCS, and if they can stay off the cover of Sports Illustrated they have a shot this time. Joe Taylor wouldn't bet a dinner on the game this time; so that's a good sign. I'm sure I'd find some folks at the Penn Crusher plant in Cuyahoga Falls who'll be rooting along for Ohio State on January 7, 2008, when they meet LSU at the Superdome in New Orleans.

Happy New Year to all and "Go Buckeyes."
Don Dunnington
Blog Moderator

The November meeting of the Australian Institute of Packaging [AIP] took the form of a plant visit when members and guests visited Visy Automation in the outer Melbourne suburb of Coolaroo.

Visy Automation was formed in 1978 and specialises in the engineering and integration of high quality packaging equipment and robotic solutions designed to increase productivity, profitability and plant safety levels. The visitors came away with an understanding that almost all disciplines within the domain of Packaging Technology can be automated in some form or another. At this stage writing reports is not automated so it is up to me to tell the story!

Adam Lipscomb, Visy Automations’ Sales Manager for Projects, gave a most “automating” overview of the operation when he addressed the audience. Not one umming or arring or repeated comment came forth over fifteen to twenty minutes at the podium or three quarters of an hour on the shop floor; at the end although his voice was scratchy his enthusiasm had not diminished.

Team Automation comprises of dynamic engineers and development partners with significant experience in the packaging systems and flexible automation industries, offering customers full automation consultancy and project management services, the design and manufacture of special purpose machinery, control systems design and development, as well as all the necessary equipment support, service and training.

Adam related that he recently met a person who was confused as to the Visy business whether it was in packaging materials or automation. His response was that the two are intrinsically linked and that there is an obvious “synergy” between packaging material and packaging automation.

The stand out advice was that “in the competitive world market anywhere you can improve productivity and reduce OH&S risks you can achieve an overall business advantage” and in defence of redundancy it was mentioned that only “low value added” positions are generally replaced by automation. Underpinning automation there is always the desire to retain staff, knowledge and provide for more skilled employment with the resultant higher wages.

“in the competitive world market anywhere you can improve productivity and reduce OH&S risks you can achieve an overall business advantage”

Visy Automation claims to be the only packaging organisation “fair dinkum” about automation and is exporting its technology to the world. With eleven packaging partners across the globe and a joint venture in the USA – HartnessVisy Automation, Visy Automation has expectations of achieving US$80million in global sales by 2010.

Adam presented a number of Visy’s successful automated solutions including a high speed robotic palletising system from the HartnessVisy Automation joint venture that is palletising 120 cartons a minute and an innovative tray former that has cut cardboard wastage from 3% to 1%.

The high speed palletiser outlined cost approximately US$0.6M to install but delivered over a million dollars worth savings from light-weighting bottles alone compared to older ‘legacy’ palletising systems. The system is installed into one of the industries that Visy Automation targets and holds forth in the Visy Vision Statement “To be the most successful, innovative, customer relationship-orientated and cost efficient provider of packaging and recycling services to the Australasian food, beverage and primary industries”

Visy Automation builds all systems in house using the best available robotics and offers clients:-

• The design, manufacture and construction of stand-alone packaging equipment
• The supply, integration and support for world class 3rd party equipment
• Automation and Packaging System project feasibility and specification
• Project Management and facilitation services
• Cost benefit analysis for automation and packaging systems projects
• Development of long-term plant wide packaging and automation strategies

The automation of packaging systems can only make Australian Industry more internationally competitive increasing exports and decreasing our reliance on imports and Team Automation is waiting for your call.

The evening concluded with a presentation to the host and an automatic gravitation to a local watering hole to consider the messages received.

by Michael B Halley FAIP
Australian Institute of Packaging
www.aipack.com.au

Visy Automation
www.visyautomation.com.au