See interview with Kate Putnam, President of Package Machinery, in which she discusses how she acquired and runs her company in Women on Business July 18, 2010.

Kate Putnam indicates what motivates her in running Package Machinery, how she got where she is and what she sees going forward, in an interview by George O’Brien of Business West in March 2010,

Package Machinery is pleased to announce its new wrapping machine designed for small items. The new TTDF is perfect for supporting great wraps on small items such as individual candies.

While the new TTDF’s first application is for specialty tape wrapping in foil, Package Machinery has already taken orders for candy wrapping.

The new TTDF wrapper is semi-automatic and is designed to run at speeds up to 18 cycles per minute. Heat sealing is an option.  It can handle round, square or rectangular items up to one inch in height and up to 2 inches in diameter. A larger version will handle products up to 3.5 inches in diameter.

Wrapping materials can include foil, paper, waxed paper and film.

The TTDF can be plugged in with a regular three prong outlet for use with 10 amp/120 volt service. It requires 60psi compressed air to support its operation. With a 2 foot square footprint and standing only 19 inches tall, the machine is economical in its use of space as well as energy.

For more information, please contact sales @packagemachinery.com

Our President Katherine Putnam was quoted in The Springfield Republican 2010 Outlook on February 14, 2010. Here is a link to the article. In it she speaks about how many consumer products companies were unwilling to invest in new wrapping machines due to the economy in 2009.

Package Machinery co Inc is very pleased to share that its president Kate Putnam has been chosen as a Top Woman Entrepreneur 2009 by Work Life Matters magazine.

Package Machinery Co Inc. is a manufacturer of wrapping machinery for consumer products. Its machines produce a wrap that enhances product attraction and protection while minimizing material and energy consumption.

Ms. Putnam has been President of Package Machinery since its inception in 1996. She is passionate about making packaging more sustainable and helping consumers to understand how to dispose of it.

Ms. Putnam will be honored at a breakfast on December 14^th at Club 101 at 101 Park Avenue New York NY.

Work Life Matters magazine reaches 10,000 senior executives at Fortune 1000 companies throughout the U.S. including CEOs, CFOs, and COOs.

For more information, please visit
http://www.packagemachinery.com or call 413.732.4000
http://www.sokolmediaonline.com or call 973.769.7012

Recently we were asked to evaluate a consumer product that was flow wrapped for overwrap. We carefully undid the wrapping, so that we could see how much material was being used to flow wrap. We laid that film out flat against what we cut to do the overwrap; then we measured the difference.  The difference in square inches was 14% less for the overwrap. That means a 14% film savings over the life of the machine.

We then went on to look at the case pack. Because the excess film took up so much space in the box, there was an extra inch along one side of the box. We cannot do the calculation of what that might mean over a pallet load but we believe that one inch might be huge when looked at over a truck load, or many truck loads. We see sustainability written all over it.

Flow wrapping is a great choice for airtight sealing. You can use clear or printed film and have a total barrier seal. Some candy companies have switched to flow wrapping their candy bars because the candy lasts longer in vending machines.

So what is flow wrapping? Think of a tight fitting bag that your product is slide into and sealed. That is not quite how it happens but that is the net effect. The product ends up with tails and flap of long seam on the back/bottom. For larger products, there is also a tucking action that makes the flow wrap conform better to the product, like a gusseted bag.

Overwrap, like a neatly wrapped gift, is not as complete a barrier wrap, since it uses a tuck and fold to more tightly hug the product with sealing centered on the bottom seam and the tuck and fold, but it commonly considered to be a more attractive wrap.

Flow wrap and overwrap both use polypropylene film (BOPP) to create the wrap. Both can use printed film. Overwrap offers the versatility of wrapping with other materials such as paper, waxed paper or cellophane.

We cannot be sure that every package would show this difference in film consumption, but we now know that there are opportunities for material savings between flow wrap and overwrap.

In the past year, we have had two customers shift from shrink wrap to overwrap for their candy boxes.  In one case, it was to achieve costs savings in wrapping material. This customer is now looking at the energy savings that accompany getting rid of a shrink tunnel. Oddly though, the energy savings seem less important than the upscale look of their overwrap packaging  which they find more attractive than the shrink wrap.

What is the difference in the two processes?  Shrink wrap uses polyethylene film which is fitted around a package loosely, crimp-sealed around the edges and the excess cut off. It is then shrunk 20% in a heat tunnel to fit the package. The excess film that was cut off is sometimes recycled.

In contract, there is no excess film with overwrap. The tuck and fold is neat to the package with no windows in the wrap. Heat is used for spot welding of the long seam and the tuck and fold.  Overwrap uses polypropylene film which is less expensive pound for pound than polyethylene of the same gauge. Because polypropylene film is crisper, you can fold it like paper and achieve that high end gift wrapped look. Because it is not shrunk, you can use registered film and have artwork on it.

We had one customer who achieved a 3 month payback on his switch to a high-end registered polypropylene laminate overwrap on a bundle rather than a shrink wrapped box with smaller boxes inside. He had additional savings in corrugated box costs, since his packages were smaller without the box.

So when do we recommend you use shrink wrap? Use it for ultra- low volume runs where the cost to set up or changeover is too high. Use it for oddly shaped packages that are not suitable for a tuck and fold wrap/ gift wrap. If you want your package to be neat, and have a high end appeal, look at overwrapping it. Package can offer some low volume overwrap solutions.

You need a packaging machine. You pretty much know what kind of machine you like. You place an order for your wrapping equipment. Now What?

1. Show up for the Factory Acceptance Test. These guys are your partners in a successful installation.  In fact, come visit ahead, if you can, to see how it is going in the last two weeks. This is the ideal time to spot flaws or errors. Be firm about what is critical for it to work in your plant, but not nit-picky, so that the important things are correct before it arrives. Setting a tight time table can set you up for a late delivery, but it is better to make sure that the machine is correct before it leaves the hands of the guys who built it than to meet the time table and need lots of rework or downtime in your plant.
2. Read the manual. It is not art work for your office. Have others read it too. Ask for two copies so you have the spare. So that you can ask good questions, get it ahead of the FAT. A good manual is important. Make sure it comes with exploded drawings, so that if you have a questions later, you can discuss it with the manufacturer using their terms.
3. Establish a designated “owner” in your plant for your new machine. It cost your company a lot and you need to invest some personnel time in understanding how it works, so you can get the most for your money. Make sure that the new “owner” is someone on the plant floor with a mechanical understanding who will be doing the set ups for that line. In an ideal world that person comes to the FAT in the builder’s plant. Not having an “owner” means that no one will know the ins and outs of the machine and will create more downtime while different people play with different settings on the machine. This is especially important if you run multiple shifts. Have the ”owner” do the set ups and instruct others.
4. Buy consistent consumables. Every time you change material, the settings on the machine may need adjustment. This takes away from your smooth operations. Sometimes material suppliers make changes without telling you. Sometimes those who sell on price make substitutions without notice. You want to control when you make changes in your material, not be reactive to unforeseen changes.
5. Ask questions. The better you understand your machine the better it will perform. Ultimately you will know your machine better than the people who built it.

ndq6h5mgt2

West Springfield, MA –January 12, 2008 – Package Machinery Co., Inc. today announced the appointment of executive and management consultant Patricia Reinhardt to its Board of Directors.  Package Machinery Inc. is a manufacturer of wrapping machinery for consumer products manufacturers and is certified as women-owned by Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).

“We are pleased to welcome Patricia Reinhardt to our Board of Directors,” said Katherine Putnam, Package Machinery Inc.’s President.  “She is a highly experienced executive who has significant business knowledge. We look forward to working with her to strengthen our organization and drive strong growth in the wrapping sector.”

Reinhardt is Managing Partner of Reinhardt-Lippincott & Co. a company that redefines and strengthens the financial base of small to mid-size companies facing financial and operating issues due to either rapid growth or an unanticipated decline in revenues.

Prior, Reinhardt served as Managing Director of DRS Capital, LLC, a private equity fund, CEO of Digi-Block, Inc., an educational products company, and President of BOTEC Analysis Corporation, a firm which focused on economic analyses of public policy issues.

She has Master’s Degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Mary Washington. She is additionally on the Board of Directors of KLD Analytics, Inc. She is also an active member of The Boston Club.

Package Machinery is the leading manufacturer of all servo, high speed overwrapping machinery for consumer products applications. The company was the first in wrapping machinery to create an all-servo machine and offers machinery from the semi-automatic, entry level Wrapster to the high speed FA-ST. To learn more about the company and its capabilities go to http://www.packagemachinery.com.