Meeting COVID-19-related e-commerce demands: Hugo Beck unveils efficient packaging machines

04 Jun 2020 --- Packaging machine specialist Hugo Beck has launched two packaging machines specifically designed to meet the demands of e-commerce packaging. Timo Kollmann, Sales Director at Hugo Beck, tells PackagingInsights that e-commerce has been growing significantly over recent years and meeting the packaging needs for this sector has been a key requirement for the company. “With the outbreak of COVID-19, we have seen an increased demand for even more products to be delivered to consumers’ homes. Providing sustainable packaging options to enable the safe delivery of goods is more important now than ever before,” Kollmann highlights.

“The e-commerce sector demands a wide variety of packaging styles. This, alongside the need to wrap a wide range of products quickly, flexibly and sustainably, means that our new machines are suitable for delivering perfect packaging results at high speeds and across a choice of paper or packaging substrates,” Kollmann notes.

Tailoring packaging to the products
The company’s PB 800 E-Com packaging machine offers the unique capability to pack products in either paper or plastic film, delivering the flexibility and choice in sustainable packaging styles and substrates – all from one machine. Automatically adapting the bag size to the dimensions of the product, the new PB 800 E-Com is Hugo Beck’s most flexible and efficient machine, packing goods of up to 800 mm width by 200 mm height and 700 mm length.

Both uncoated and coated paper can be used for producing bags with two glued or sewn sides plus a top overlap. When using film, the patented tight bag packaging ensures there is a minimum excess with only as much film being used as is needed.

Timo Kollmann, Sales Director at Hugo Beck“Whether dealing with the direct dispatch of individual goods, packing groups of products or meeting the complex requirements of returned goods packaging, the PB 800 E-Com hybrid solution ensures companies are perfectly equipped to meet the needs of e-commerce packaging,” Kollmann says.

Alongside the PB 800 E-Com, and for manufacturers looking to pack only with film, the flexo 600 E-Com machine packs e-commerce goods by minimizing film use and maximizing results both with and without shrinking the film bags. Designed to process products with a width of up to 600 mm and a height of 300 mm, a quick changeover adjusts between product batches. Optionally, the machine can also automatically adapt to changes in a product’s length, height or width.

Speed and flexibility are key to the design of both machines, with up to 11,500 cycles per hour available. The PB 800 E-Com can handle paper gauges of 80 to 130 g/m² and both machines can handle film thicknesses of between 30-100 μm.

Connectable to customer’s ERP or control systems, both machines can also be easily integrated within a production line. Additional options include the ability to add an easy-opening perforation to the packaging as well as inserting a double-sided adhesive tape for resealing a bag for returns. An integrated scanner with a controller for product detection and creation of a shipping label can also be included on the line for additional capability.

Paper or plastic?
According to Kollmann, each company has its own unique requirements for packaging its goods and Hugo Beck seeks to ensure that its customers can select the best material according to their specific product application and sustainability objectives. “Delivering choice to our customers is key,” he says.

“The current debate regarding sustainability and the use of plastic film in the packaging industry shows how complex the issues are, with different materials meeting the many different environmental objectives our customers’ face.”

He goes on to explain that from lightweight thinner films to bioplastics or the latest mono-material films and recycled content materials, there are many options for manufacturers and the company’s latest machine technology now enables the cost-effective, flexible use of paper alongside film packaging to deliver even greater functionality.

“Over the last year, we have experienced an enormous change in demand for alternative packaging solutions. While the topics of sustainability, recyclability and the circular economy of packaging are not new, the urgency and awareness in the industry to become active, beyond mere talking, has increased significantly,” Kollmann flags.

Packaging plays an essential role in society, ensuring the protection, hygiene and extended shelf life of goods across healthcare, pharmaceutical, food and drink and other critical sectors, he adds.

“Specifically, in the field of e-commerce we see more and more initiatives that aim to reduce the amount and use of plastic and other packaging materials, for example, through reducing the bag size or using recycled content materials and to increase the recycling rate.”

“Our machine technology supports this by minimising material consumption across the packaging process – only using the film or paper that is truly needed. This, combined with our alternative machine technologies to enable the flexible switch to paper-based materials and various other substrates where this is a viable alternative to plastic film, is helping deliver the choices in sustainable packaging our customers demand,” Kollmann says.

Dealing with COVID-19
To deal with the coronavirus outbreak, the company instigated contingency plans across Hugo Beck to ensure the manufacture and supply of its packaging machines carries on with minimal disruption. By using traditional and new communication methods, everybody at Hugo Beck continued to be available for all customers and all projects have been managed effectively across the business, Kollman explains.

“By remaining agile and working together across the whole supply chain, we believe that the industry has and can continue to meet the demands for all critical products and in this way we will mitigate against the impact of the coronavirus outbreak,” he concludes.

To keep readers informed of these rapid developments, PackagingInsights is updating its daily news feed for the coronavirus-related information and insights you need to guide your business through this challenging period.

By Kristiana Lalou