The TOP Lines of Innova: Success Stories in Packaging Line Automation
What is the key to packaging automation? How do you carry out a new packaging line project? How do you upgrade packaging systems and update logistical processes in existing automated packaging lines? At Innova Group, with our experience of hundreds of installations worldwide, we can demonstrate the principles of automation through real examples from our customers’ packaging lines.
In today’s article, we will review Innova’s TOP packaging lines, with success stories and examples from various sectors and countries. From upgrading obsolete systems and manual processes to implementing the most advanced technology for the most modern factories.
The TOP Packaging Lines of Innova Group
- Rodacal Beyem: Stretch Hood Line for Cement
- Grupo Nutec: Packaging Line for Pet Food
- Grupo IQE: Special Stretch Hood Equipment for Chemicals
- Nutriart, Stretch Hood for Food Products in Canada
- ITV Ice Makers: Packaging Line for Appliances
- Central Lobão: Stretch Hood for Logistics Picking
- Grupo Argenta: Next-Generation Packaging Line for Ceramics
- Grespania: Packaging Line for XL Formats
- Caiba: Packaging Line for PET Bottles
- Grupo Danosa: Shrink-hood system for Asphalt Fabrics
1. Rodacal Beyem: Stretch Hood Line for Cement
We start our selection of highlights with the case of Rodacal Beyem, which is a Spanish manufacturer of construction materials. They are a leading specialist in industrial mortars for building, masonry, and special applications.
Rodacal Beyem has shown its confidence in Innova by implementing our packaging technology at all of its mortar factories in Spain. The most recent project took place at their main facility in Albacete, where they completed the installation of Stretch Hood systems, making it the latest addition to their packaging lines.
Challenge: Rodacal needed to renew and update its heat-shrink packaging system to Stretch Hood, which was already delivering good results in its other new factories. Additionally, they sought to unify processes and consumables across all their plants and improve the protection and presentation of their mortar bags.
Solution: We installed a Stretch Hood Pro line with a conveyor system to accommodate their various load formats.
Results: Our client increased packaging speed and logistical optimization, improved protection and final presentation, and aligned with sustainability goals by saving energy and reducing consumables.
2. Grupo Nutec: Packaging Line for Pet Food
Grupo Nutec is one of the leaders in the animal feed industry in Mexico, specializing in the production of feeds, pet food, aquaculture, and R&D services in animal nutrition. Nutec is a success story in improving protection, sealing, and hygiene in its logistics with the Stretch Hood application for Pet food packaging.
Challenge: Grupo Nutec needed better protection, as their wrapping system did not provide complete waterproofing. Additionally, they wanted to improve stability during transport and reduce film usage per pallet.
Solution: In 2008, we installed a Stretch Hood packaging line to ensure the stability and protection of pet food bags at their factory in Querétaro.
Results: Grupo Nutec achieved its transportation protection and safety goals and has frequently expressed satisfaction with the Stretch Hood system. The installation completed in 2008 continues to operate like new, thanks to the company’s diligence and Innova’s maintenance plans in Mexico.
3. Grupo IQE: Special Stretch Hood Equipment for Chemicals
We continue with the case of Industrias Químicas del Ebro SA (IQE), a European benchmark with over 50 years in the inorganic chemical sector, specializing in aluminates, additives, silicas, and silicates. Grupo IQE presented us with an interesting challenge, not only for protecting their tall loads but also for maximizing safety during the packaging process at their main plant in Zaragoza.
Challenge: Grupo IQE needed a packaging system that offered greater protection and automation for their high loads, with pallets of FIBC bags and bags up to 2500 mm (100 inches). Their current system was a pallet stretch wrapper that required manual application of a top cover, which was very costly in time and resources.
Solution: We designed a special Stretch Hood system, with a height of 8 meters, and finished in corporate white color. It also included a protective structure composed of side and top panels to prevent air currents during hooding and to maximize the protection of all electronic and mechanical components.
Results: IQE achieved a more efficient and autonomous packaging line, and ensured that their high loads were better protected to prevent damage during transport.
4. Nutriart, Stretch Hood for Food Products in Canada
For food manufacturers like Nutriart, synonymous with delicious chocolates in Canada, ensuring the integrity of their products throughout the supply chain was essential. To address Nutriart’s challenges, Innova installed a packaging line at the end of 2023, consisting of a vertical strapping system and a Stretch Hood system to fully secure and protect their products.
Challenge: Nutriart used a wrapping system that provided basic protection for their chocolate boxes, but it had several issues. These included inefficient use of film, which raised costs and increased the environmental footprint; limited protection, as the film could loosen during transport, causing instability and potential damage; and the need for manual adjustments, which increased time and labor costs.
Innova’s Solution: We installed a Stretch Hood packaging line to provide full protection for their multiple formats (boxes and bags) along with a vertical strapping machine to offer greater load stability during handling and transport.
Results: The new system provided superior protection for their chocolate loads, ensuring that the products remained intact and undamaged throughout the supply chain. The new automated process improved efficiency and reduced consumable costs.
5. ITV Ice Makers: Packaging Line for Appliances
ITV Ice Makers is a leading manufacturer of ice machines and refrigeration equipment. Our client was looking to automate and homogenize the packaging of more than 30 formats of equipment, in addition to significantly reducing the use of consumables to protect their loads. ITV Ice Makers chose Innova to install a Stretch Hood packaging line at their facilities in Valencia (Spain).
Challenge: In this case, ITV Ice Makers needed a packaging system that could accommodate their multiple equipment formats, reducing manual labor and consumables. Previously, they were using a semi-automatic process with manual protection systems, such as cardboard boxes and additional bags, as well as a pallet wrapping system.
Solution: Innova installed a packaging line with a Stretch Hood system and a special conveyor line adapted to the space of their factory. In addition, Stretch Hood was adapted to work with very small formats and a special super Stretch Hood film.
Results: ITV Ice Makers was able to further automate the process, unify its multiformat packaging, significantly reduce the use of consumables, and improve product presentation.
6. Central Lobão: Stretch Hood for Logistics Picking
Central Lobão is a leading company in the marketing and distribution of tools, machines, and hardware in Portugal. This customer wanted to modernize its end-of-line packaging, unify the packaging of its very irregular picking loads, and relied on Innova’s Stretch Hood system for its main plant located in Santa Maria da Feira, near Porto.
Challenge: Central Lobão was using a manual packaging system that was inefficient and slowing down their logistics chain. They needed an automated solution that could adapt to a wide variety of load formats and sizes since most of them were palletized picking loads.
Solution: We designed a Stretch Hood line adapted to Central Lobão’s multi-formats together with a special conveyor line for loading pallets at different transport heights.
Results: The installation of the Stretch Hood line allowed our client to automate their entire packaging process and significantly improve their logistical efficiency. It also aligned with their sustainability goals by reducing packaging consumables.
7. Grupo Argenta: Next-Generation Packaging Line for Ceramics
Factory 5 of Grupo Argenta located in Vall d’Alba, Castellón, is one of the most advanced ceramic plants in automation and innovation. To equip this plant they again chose Innova Group, with whom we work for all the packaging lines of their group. For the Factoría 5 project, two automated and robotized packaging lines were installed to meet their high production.
Challenge: Argenta needed a packaging solution that would guarantee the complete protection of their large format loads, and that would also integrate with their automated system and robotic warehouse.
Solution: We designed two packaging lines with the combination of “Argenta signature” systems with a Horizontal Strapping system, a Ring Stretch Wrapper, and a Stretch Hood for big loads, to guarantee maximum protection and fastening of the ceramic products.
Results: With the installation of the double line, Argenta established itself as the ceramic manufacturer with the most advanced and specialized packaging line.
8. Grespania: Packaging Line for XL Formats
Grespania Cerámica presented us with another large-scale packaging challenge, to protect their XL format ceramic slabs up to 3500 mm (140 inches) long. After installing two Innova packaging lines in their Castellón factory in 2020, they trusted us again to obtain a new line in their Coverlam factory in Moncofar dedicated to the production of large slabs and tiles.
Challenge: The company needed a packaging system capable of handling very large and delicate ceramic formats, ensuring maximum protection and stability during transport.
Solution: Innova developed and installed a special Stretch Hood for the XL format, capable of wrapping loads up to 3,500 mm (140 inches) long and 2,000 mm (80 inches) high. The Innova Stretch Hood XL system is an innovative solution in the sector, being the only Spanish manufacturer of packaging systems that offers this solution.
Results: Grespania achieved exceptional stability and protection for its XL ceramic formats. The new line also improved operational efficiency and reduced packaging costs, helping the company maintain its reputation for quality.
9. Caiba: Packaging Line for PET Bottles
Caiba, an European leader in the PET packaging sector, sought Innova’s support to enhance its bottle packaging line. The collaboration resulted in an efficient packaging solution with a high degree of automation.
Challenge: Caiba needed a highly automated packaging system to handle its wide range of PET bottles. Caiba’s existing automatic rotary arm stretch wrapping system did not meet the high production and stability needs required. It needed a solution that would provide greater speed but also greater safety and load securing during stretch wrapping.
Solution: We installed a high-production AWR Pro automatic ring Stretch Wrapper. The ring wrapping machine is equipped with the Pisor system, which is used to fix light loads such as Caiba’s PET containers, and the reinforcement cord system.
Results: Caiba achieved its goal of increasing production while gaining better clamping and stability. Caiba showed their confidence in Innova Maquinaria, and their satisfaction in the project and technical service received during the installation.
10. Grupo Danosa: Shrink-hood system for Asphalt Fabrics
Completes our selection of Innova’s TOP Line, a line with a heat-shrinkable system that in this case was selected as a specialized solution and that responded to the needs of Grupo Danosa’s asphalt fabrics.
Grupo Danosa is one of the leaders in construction materials, being the leading manufacturer in Spain of waterproofing asphalt sheets, thermal and acoustic insulation, drainage, and geotextiles for housing and civil works. The packaging project was carried out at its Guadalajara plant, which is its production center from which it supplies the entire national and international territory.
Challenge: Danosa required extra protection and fastening with a single system. In this case, it needed to protect its asphalt fabric product, which comes in tubes that require total protection from moisture and other agents and additional securing for transport, as it is an unstable load on the pallet. The other packaging systems did not offer him the benefits of total, watertight protection and extreme securing of the product to the pallet.
The solution: The shrink hooding system was the solution that best suited their needs: the hooding provides total protection and watertightness against external agents and the shrink wrapping allowed them to exercise the extra hold that Danosa was looking for. Innova installed a packaging line with a heat-shrinkable system, a double reel to adapt to its different pallet formats, and a shrink-wrapping system with a low-consumption program.
Results: Danosa not only achieved a better grip with shrink wrapping but also achieved a packaging that adds safety to its products, protecting its pallets during handling on construction sites, even outdoors, thanks to the increased thickness of the shrink film. In addition, this type of packaging allows total visibility of the product and the brand, offering added value in terms of image.
As we have seen, each sector and client has very different protection requirements and needs depending on the characteristics of their product and industry. Although most lines and projects use Stretch Hood packaging technology, we also want to highlight lines with other systems or needs.
Our technical team studies each project and performs packaging tests to find the best solution for each case and client. Don’t hesitate to contact us with no obligation.
