Is It Worth the Spend?

How Capital Asset Investments Can Help You Package Better.

Does your packaging line have a bottleneck? Is a manual process slowing production? Does your current line support production demands? Are you unsure where to invest in capital assets?

As budget planning begins for the year ahead, manufacturers and distributors are evaluating where capital spending will deliver the greatest operational impact. Recent research found that 89% of manufacturers reported measurable benefits from technology upgrades, including equipment and automation.

So, where will you be investing? And how?

Identify the Opportunity

First, you need to identify areas in your packaging line facing problems. Equipment upgrades, automation, and process improvements will deliver the greatest value when targeted at a specific challenge. When evaluating, look for opportunities in…

Labour Availability

• Labour shortages and staffing challenges limiting packaging line throughput (more than 80% of manufacturers report being understaffed)
• Employees performing repetitive manual tasks for long periods
• Multiple employees required to complete simple packaging functions
• Overtime becoming necessary to keep orders moving
• Difficult-to-fill positions impacting productivity

Throughput & Capacity

• Product backing up before or after a packaging station
• Equipment that can’t keep pace with production output
• Delays during peak periods or seasonal spikes
• Packaging processes that are slowing shipment readiness

Packaging Consistency

• Variations in wrap patterns, strap tension, or carton sealing
• Packaging quality differences between shifts
• Damaged packaging
• Frequent product damage during shipping
• Rework caused by packaging errors
• Bottlenecks between packaging stages

Material Usage & Waste

• Excessive stretch film consumption
• Damaged products requiring repackaging
• Over-packaging to compensate for inconsistent processes
• Scrap, rework, or frequent packaging errors

Find the Right Fit

Once you’ve identified where investment is needed, the next step is determining which solution makes the most sense for your operation.

Off-the-Shelf, Automated, or Custom?

When people think about packaging line investments, they often picture large-scale automation projects and fully integrated systems. In reality, the right solution depends on your production requirements, facility layout, labour availability, and growth plans. In most cases, packaging investments fall into one of three categories:

• Off-the-Shelf Equipment: Best suited for operations looking to improve efficiency, consistency, or throughput without significantly changing existing workflows. Solutions such as stretch wrappers, strapping equipment, carton sealers, and conveyors can often be implemented quickly and deliver immediate operational improvements. These investments are common in low- to mid-volume facilities where a specific bottleneck has been identified.
• Automated Solutions: Often a good fit for higher-volume operations where labour-intensive processes, repetitive tasks, or increasing throughput demands are limiting productivity. Automated wrapping, strapping, labelling, and material handling systems can improve consistency, reduce manual touchpoints, and decrease workplace injuries caused by repetitive or awkward motion without adding proportional labour.
• Custom-Engineered Solutions: Designed for operations with unique products, facility constraints, specialized packaging requirements, or complex workflows that standard equipment cannot adequately address. Custom solutions may integrate multiple technologies into a single packaging process, helping improve product flow, reduce handling, and maximize available space.

Matching Investment to Output

 

Packaging Volume	Common Challenges	Solution Type	Recommendations	Benefits
Under 25 pallets/day	Inconsistent packaging, manual processes, limited standardization	Primarily Off-the-Shelf	Ergonomic workstations, hand tools, semi-automatic carton sealers, entry-level stretch wrappers	Standardize packaging quality, reduce manual effort, and improve operator consistency
25-100 pallets/day	Growing throughput demands, recurring bottlenecks, excessive handling	Off-the-Shelf + Select Automation	Strapping equipment, semi-automatic wrappers, conveyors, material handling improvements	Increase throughput, reduce product handling, and free up labour for higher-value tasks
100-300 pallets/day	Packaging becoming a production constraint, inconsistent output, downtime	Off-the-Shelf + Automation	Automatic stretch wrappers, carton erectors, conveyor systems, integrated packaging equipment	Increase line speed, improve consistency between shifts, and create additional packaging capacity
300-500 pallets/day	Multi-shift operations, labour constraints, increasing order volumes	Primarily Automation	Automated wrapping and strapping, print-and-apply labelling, automated material handling	Improve throughput, reduce repetitive tasks, improve accuracy, and support growth without proportional labour increases
500+ pallets/day	Scalability, complex workflows, throughput limitations	Automation + Custom Solutions	Robotics, fully automated packaging lines, custom-engineered systems, integrated packaging cells	Maximize throughput, minimize touchpoints, improve line utilization, and support future expansion
Unique products or facility requirements	Space constraints, unusual package sizes, specialized workflows	Primarily Custom Solutions	Custom-engineered equipment, integrated workflows, specialized automation	Solve operational challenges that cannot be effectively addressed through standard equipment

What’s Next?

Upgrading a packaging line is a big investment and doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing decision. Our Custom Solutions experts will evaluate your line, prioritize opportunities and map out upgrades in phases, all tailor built around your specific challenges and objectives.

Looking to learn more about solution options? Our Equipment Selection Guide can help you compare common packaging technologies and identify where they can fit within your operation. And, our Preventative Maintenance Guide provides practical guidance on maintaining performance, minimizing downtime, and protecting your investment.

Or contact us to explore the right solution for you!