Packed With Expertise Blog

• Accraply
• Agriculture & Chemicals
• Automation
• Beverage
• BW Flexible Systems
• BW Integrated Systems
• BW Packaging
• Dairy
• Food
• Integration
• Performance
• Personal Care & Household Products
• Pet Food
• Pharma
• Pneumatic Scale Angelus
• Project Planning
• Requirements Building
• ShePack (Women in Packaging)
• Solution Comparison
• Solution Examples
• Sustainability
• Synerlink

Earlier this year, we at BW Packaging and BW Flexible Systems were shocked and saddened to hear about Chris Frank’s sudden passing. Several of Chris’s BW Flexible Systems co-workers took time to reflect on Chris and the impact he left on their lives, both professional and personal.

In this blog post, we will guide you through the optimal process for qualifying new products and packaging on your existing machinery. We will highlight the significant benefits of following this process and shed light on the risks of not doing so. We will also share examples of specific products and services that Synerlink offers to help customers navigate their particular qualification journey.

Today’s chapter includes a broad range of perspectives from the OEM to the brand owner and even a primary packaging voice. By the time you’ve finished reading this post, you will have confidence in your answers to each of the following questions: When is the best time to involve an OEM in my sustainable packaging project? What should I discuss with my OEM (or prospective OEM) during our first meeting? Which questions will help me determine if the OEM I’m interviewing is right for my initiative?

In this post, we will break down industry best practices for how to invest in spare parts and highlight a handful of ways Synerlink is uniquely suited to offer guidance and support for spare parts on our filling and closing equipment.

In this post, we will share some of the top marketing drivers that could impact your production plant in 2024 and offer advice for how you can prepare to address them when you learn of a packaging design change. We will also highlight specific Synerlink offerings that can help you create a seamless transition for your team members and share real world examples of how this might look in practice.

Michelle Bryson, BW Packaging’s Global Sustainable Packaging Leader, recently shared her wealth of knowledge and inspired a new generation of thinkers at the University of Missouri-Saint Louis during its International Business Career Conference.

Braden Beam, Bag Filling Business Unit Leader for BW Flexible Systems, discusses sustainability and other pet food packaging trends that will continue in 2023.

In this ShePacks profile, we highlight Rachana Creeth, BW Packaging Group President. Rachana’s unique life experiences and her clear priorities guided her to chase her dreams and become the accomplished business leader she is today. From the diverse classrooms of her youth that spanned continents to the executive hall of BW Packaging, her story is a unique one, defined by resilience, family values, and a dedication to leaving a positive impact on others.

Are you a brand owner looking for best-in-class solutions to enhance your production line with top-tier food filling equipment? If so, you've come to the right place. In this post, I will introduce you to the world of food filling machines, addressing your most pressing questions and providing insights into the key factors you should consider when selecting the ideal food packaging machine for your business.

In this blog post, Michelle Bryson, the Global Sustainable Packaging Leader for BW Packaging, leans on her experience as a former brand owner to help dispel five misconceptions about sustainable packaging machinery.

Today, March 8th, marks International Women’s Day, a global holiday with roots in the women’s rights movement, that is now widely known as a day to celebrate womanhood. In January we started the ShePacks blog series to highlight inspirational women in packaging and discuss the importance of diversity in our industry. In today’s blog post, we turn the tables to celebrate the women who inspire our BW Packaging team members every day.

This post is a part of our How to Care for Capital Equipment series. The series explains the top five pillars of a successful aftermarket strategy and this blog post focuses on pillar #2: Technical Efficiency. Read more to understand how today’s CPGs can get more value out of your existing packaging equipment by knowing the ins and outs of technical efficiency.

There are several inspirational women in BW Packaging and the packaging industry, and the on-going ShePacks series celebrates these women all year through in-depth profiles. In our first profile, we focus on Daniela Israel, Vice President of Market Strategy for BW Integrated Systems. We will look into Daniela’s inspiring story as a leader in the packaging industry.

Operational expenditure (OpEx) is the lifeblood of any food and beverage packaging operation. For plant managers and other operational leaders, mastering OpEx is critical. In this blog post, we will explain what OpEx is in the context of packaging and after-sales support for equipment.

In December, Barry-Wehmiller Chief People Officer Rhonda Spencer honored nine BW women at the esteemed Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) Metro St. Louis Annual Leader Lunch. Carol O’Neill, President of BW Packaging nominated two senior Packaging leaders for this recognition in the past two years: Christi Emmenegger, Vice President of Strategic Marketing in 2023 and Rachana Creeth, CFO and COO in 2022.

In this post, Eric Rohlf explains the difference between conventional and robotic depalletizers, and we’ll compare and contrast their capabilities to help you understand which one is best for you

Richard was Accraply’s Global Product Line Leader for shrink sleeve applications, but to those who knew him, he was so much more. A teacher, student, advocate, leader and friend; these are just a few of the many roles Richard played throughout 20+ years with Graham Engineering and Accraply.

Sustainability isn't just a trend at BW Packaging. It's the future of fighting climate change, and it's one of the ways we try to build a better world. In this post, we share the stories of five BW Packaging team members and the sustainability projects they've taken on to help eliminate waste, reduce CO2 emissions, and lower the impact of their lifestyles on the environment.

Thinking of adding a depalletizer to your packaging line? BW Integrated Systems' Eric Rohlf covers the most important aspects to consider during the depalletizer purchasing process.

Taylor Corporation recently upgraded their labeling capacity with the help of the Revolve™ Platform from Accraply. We caught up with a few team members from Taylor Corp’s Prime Labels and Packaging division to see what they thought of the new equipment.

In celebration of International Women's Day, we profiled a few women in key roles at BW Packaging: BW Flexible Systems' Denning Saum, Synerlink's Marine Jacolin, Pneumatic Scale Angelus' Bethany Rothermel, and Accraply's Kristin Overton.

In this post, Kevin Moore, a Senior Digital Innovation Controls Engineer for BW Packaging, examines how smart human-machine interfaces (HMIs) can help to streamline operator training and, in turn, help lower business costs.

In this post, Carol O'Neill provides a brief recap of how and why the BW Packaging platform of companies came together and discussed the recent rebrand to "BW Packaging" and what it means for our customers.

In this post, Earl Wohlrab highlights the key points from his interview with Packaging World on the new all-electric mid-size case palletizer, Maximus.

In this post, Michelle Bryson recaps her interview with Packaging Europe about Synerlink's Snapcut solution, which was recognized as a finalist in the 2022 Sustainability Awards.

At Pack Expo 2022, BW Flexible Systems and Synerlink were interviewed by Cheese Market News about their latest cheese packaging innovations. In this post, we'll share the highlights from those interviews.

In this post, Tim Paprocki offers an abridged history of can end manufacturing systems, an introduction to the new 6-lane format, and highlights the latest can end innovations available to can making machine suppliers today.

In this post, Joe Leonard provides an introduction to basic resources for understanding plastic label recyclability, highlights some exciting new developments in sustainable shrink sleeve technology, and presents new equipment that makes it possible to introduce these innovations to the market at scale.

Earl Wohlrab, Director of Product Strategy and Innovation for BW Integrated Systems, answers questions about collaborative robots (cobots) and the safety precautions that are necessary when integrating cobots into a packaging line.

There is an ongoing and rigorous debate about which label technology is best. Both pressure-sensitive and shrink sleeve label applications have their place. This article highlights some of the main differences between the two label applications.

Joe Ambrose, Digital Innovation Program Manager for BW Packaging Systems, answers questions about open-source HMIs and their viability for packaging machinery.

In this post, Taz Lombardo highlights five new features that have been included in the new website to support customer care initiatives.

To meet Killer Brownie’s needs for a flexible, easy-to-use brownie packaging solution, BW Flexible Systems (BWFS) horizontal flow wrapper (HFFS) and provided constant guidance and training to the Killer Brownie team throughout the project and afterwards.

In this post, we’ll define TCO for packaging equipment, provide a list of factors you should consider during cost calculation, and share tips for how you can keep costs low.

Carol O'Neill discusses sustainability in the global packaging industry and how BW Packaging Systems can help brand owners navigate the ever-evolving landscape.

In this post, Richard Howlett discusses the trend of downgauging shrink label films and the effect downgauging has on shrink sleeve labeling equipment.

In this post, we'll take a closer look at what's driving demand for sustainable packaging solutions and examine how some CPGs, material suppliers, and equipment manufacturers are partnering to bring fiber-based bowls to market at scale.

There are two machine classifications that dairy processors commonly choose between – form-fill-seal (FFS) and fill-seal (FS) machines. In this post, Fabien Jego and Gilles Demare compare the pros and cons of both FFS and FS yogurt cup machines and offer advice on when you might choose one option over the other.

Michael Dann explains the complexity of offering “sustainable” packaging solutions, and shares some suggestions for possible collaborations that can lead to better solutions.

Pet food packaging experts share methods for managing maintenance costs including parts and service agreements, purposeful equipment design, and remote troubleshooting capabilities.

Tec Wright explains how smart HMIs can improve operational efficiency for consumer products companies & provide a list of features to consider when purchasing a new labeling machine.

Pet food packaging equipment manufacturers share tips on how to manage operational cost factors including line flexibility, changeover efficiency, raw material movement, and balancing staff and automation requirements.

Eric Collier discusses transparency, OEM management, packaging line design, and other contributing factors of successful packaging line integration.

Pet food packaging equipment manufacturers discuss pack formats, changeover efficiency, utilities, automation, and other project planning and capital cost factors for co-packers.

As 2020 winds to a close, BW Packaging Systems Group President Carol O'Neil takes a minute to reflect on our learnings from this difficult year and express her sincere gratitude toward our customers, team members, and industry partners.

The secondary converting process is critical in converting a printed shrink sleeve stock onto the final product container. To achieve a best-in-class shrink sleeve application, the converting and the application processes need to be aligned and functioning in harmony.

Séamus Lafferty highlights challenges to the shrink sleeve format including sustainability concerns, competitive technologies, e-commerce, and quality issues.