Vegan Products

Helping A Booming Vegan Manufacturer Ease Into Automation

A vegan creamery in California was experiencing what every small business owner dreams of – sudden and exponential demand for their products. The years it took to craft their flavorful 100% non-dairy butter and cheese wheels were starting to pay off in a big way – market penetration and a steep demand trajectory. It came to no surprise to them, they believed in their products and positioned themselves well within the vegan market. What they were not prepared for was keeping up with orders with their manual operational packaging process.
 

The company had been hand packing their butter and cheese wheels into cartons. This was not where the bottle-neck was in their operation however. What was holding up production was the fact they were hand forming and gluing all of their cartons. The time it was taking three employees to pull, form, and glue the cartons began to impede production, while delaying order intake and fulfillment. Leadership quickly realized they needed to consider some aspect of automation, enter R.A JONES.
 

The west coast company was not very familiar with R.A JONES. Most US-based manufacturers assume R.A JONES is a top packaging equipment manufacturer for only larger operations. In reality, with additions to an already extensive portfolio of equipment, R.A JONES is quickly gaining the attention of small to mid-sized organizations all over the world.
 

After discussing the manufacturer’s recent production challenges and equipment requirements, the project management team at R.A JONES went to work. The CMV-150 cartoner was an obvious base solution to start with. It was a quality machine that other first-timers to automation found easy to operate, reliable, and affordable. This stock cartoner would automate the forming, closing and gluing of each carton at a speed that would allow the product to continue to be hand-packed. However, given the uniqueness of this particular customer’s operation, it required some customization:
 

  • The loading section of the cartoner was extended so employees could hand load their products.
     

  • A stainless-steel bucket conveyor was placed on the front — separated by a wall — so it could be washed down without hampering the rest of the machine.


The machine was delivered according to the company’s timeline and expectations. The new machine was installed and running within one week of being shipped.


Since acquiring the CMV-150, the company has been able to dramatically reduce its staff-hour obligation related to the assembly process while also increasing their packaging speed and delivering a better-quality carton for their product. Three employees – previously dedicated to forming and gluing cartons – were freed to focus on other operational activities. By selecting to work with R.A JONES, the manufacturer has established a strong packaging equipment partner that has packaging solutions that can grow along with production line changes and sku proliferation


Whether you are considering automation equipment for the first time, current equipment cannot keep up with production demand, or you have unique products with special packaging requirements, R.A JONES has over 114 years of experience to identify and provide the best packaging machinery solution for you. If you would like to discuss an upcoming packaging project with one of our experts, please reach out to us below!

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