Many different approaches for more sustainable packaging solutions

Sustainable packaging is so much more than just a current trend. It is an economic factor that should not be underestimated in the future. Discover at this year’s Fachpack (September 24 – 26) in Nuremberg how sustainable packaging works at the packaging manufac-turer Schubert from Crailsheim.

New sustainable concept

The new ‘Power Compact’ machine concept – high output in the smallest space with lean yet high-quality technology – a bar packer with a single-lane erector and feeding via the Comfort Feeder will be in operation at the stand. The Schubert experts will also be demonstrating how further sustainability potential through the interaction between packaging and machine technology can be harnessed. 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.

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. Schubert is therefore constantly evolving their 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.

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

About Gerhard Schubert GmbH

Gerhard Schubert GmbH is a globally recognised market leader in top-loading packaging machines (TLM). For its digital, robot-based packaging machines, the family-owned company based in Crailsheim (Baden-Württemberg, Germany) builds on an interplay of simple mechanics, intelligent control technology and high modularity. With this philosophy and a highly developed culture of innovation, the company has been pursuing an entirely independent technological path for more than 50 years.

With its TLM technology, the machine manufacturer provides its customers with future-proof packaging machine solutions that are easy to operate, flexible in terms of format conversion, high-performance and stable in function. The TLM packaging machines pack products of all types and from all sectors – from food, confectionery, beverages, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics to technical products – into trays, cartons, boxes or into flow-wrap bags.

Well-known global companies in the consumer goods and pharmaceutical industries rely on Schubert’s automation solutions, as do numerous small, medium-sized and family-owned companies. Founded in 1966, the second generation of the company now employs 1,700 people.

Learn more:

Website: www.schubert.group

Facebook: www.facebook.com/SchubertGroup

Twitter: www.twitter.com/GerhardSchubert

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gerhardschubertgmbhverpackungsmaschinen/Gerhard Schubert GmbH packaging machines