Dartronics, Inc. is a trusted provider of end-of-line solutions for all industries. With over 25 years of experience as a system integrator, we specialize in automating integrated solutions for industrial packaging facilities of any type. Our skilled team of engineers is capable of designing automation solutions that can solve production challenges with ease. We offer both customized and unmodified vendor products to cater to your manufacturing needs, no matter how complex they may be. Our automation solutions are designed to increase your ROI (return on investment), ramp up production, and automate your process while saving you time and money. With our expertise, we are confident that our automation solutions will help you take your business to the next level. Below are some examples of our automated end-of-line solution success stories in a few industries we have worked with over the years.
Beverage Industry
The Customer Challenge:
At the request of wholesale club stores, the customer– a major sports drink manufacturer– needed to take all single-flavored sports drink shrink-wrapped trays, sort the drinks by flavor, and repackage them into multi-flavored shrink-wrapped trays. They needed a fully automated system in order to keep up with the volume demand from the retailers, the desire for rainbow packs from customers, and also for quality reasons, as they needed to track inventory automatically through the mixing and re-palletizing process.
Automated Solution:
A system was created, operating at speeds up to 70 trays per minute, increasing capacity by 30% and adding the ability to track products through the entire repacking process. The system utilized robots with clamp-style tools to remove an entire layer of trays of the sports drink, take off the shrink wrap, use vision technology to resort the drinks into multi-flavor shrink-wrapped trays and palletize and stretch-wrap the trays for shipment. The new line replaced over 100 people and had an 18-month ROI.
Food Industry
The Customer Challenge:
A leading poultry company has finally decided to invest in an end-of-line system for the first time. The company formed an automation council to evaluate different vendor solutions to streamline the process and increase production. The customer preferred to work with a single supplier to upgrade automation and boost capacity. They set a target ROI of 25% on the proposed integrated solution.
Automated Solution:
A meeting was scheduled to discuss end-of-line automation solutions for the packaging line. As a result, an integrated system was created that provided a packaging and palletizing system for bags of chicken pieces, capable of operating at speeds of up to 50 bags per minute. This integrated solution demonstrated an ROI of 50% to the customer.
Pharmaceutial Industry
The Customer Challenge:
A leading manufacturer of dietary supplements was exploring the possibility of replacing its existing four-hand packing lines with a new case packing system. The customer stated that they were in the process of upgrading their manual operations and replacing worn-out machines with new equipment. They expressed a need for both stretch wrapping and labeling machines. The customer also mentioned they had already received quotes from several vendors for each piece of equipment.
Automated Solution:
The customer had received quotes from various suppliers, but they were inclined to consolidate vendors. The quotes they received offered similar products with comparable prices and features. However, the customer realized the advantages of choosing one vendor for the entire solution set. Consequently, they purchased four systems, a stretch wrapper and four ID Technology labelers. By buying all their equipment from one brand, the customer had a single point of contact for the entire project. This reduced the risk of project failure and increased their time to production.
Technology Industry
The Customer Challenge:
A prominent technology company was in need of replacing their current packaging line to enhance its capacity and automation accuracy. The customer expressed their interest in obtaining a fully integrated system that could ensure that the right carton was selected, and the accurate product and leaflet were packed. They also prioritized selecting a provider that could deliver superior customer service and timely spare parts.
Automated Solution:
The system introduced an automated retail multipack line that helps package inkjet cartridges at a speed of up to 220 cartons per minute. This has enhanced the capacity of the system by 30%. The line features six work cells, including a robotic de-palletizer, robotic tray unloader, continuous motion horizontal cartoner with literature placement devices, carton nesting, shrink bundler, printing and robotic case packer. Additionally, the line incorporates peripherals such as vision, coders, scales, and RFID, improving accuracy by 20%. The process is now verifiable, and an onsite project manager is provided until the entire line is installed and running.
