Project Overview
When a leading U.S. dairy processor outgrew its California facility, the company built a new greenfield production facility in Texas to centralize production and support continued growth. The new plant included two turnkey packaging lines: a fresh cheese packaging line and a cultured dairy bottling line.
Unlike a traditional packaging line expansion, this project required designing, engineering, integrating, and commissioning complete packaging systems within a facility that was still being planned. IPM was brought into the project during the early planning stages, developing initial packaging line concepts that the architect/engineering (A&E) firm incorporated into the facility design.
As the project progressed, production rate requirements, available floor space, and equipment layouts changed. IPM refined the packaging line designs through multiple engineering iterations, adapting to evolving project requirements while coordinating with equipment suppliers to keep the project aligned with the final production objectives.
The Problem
Engineering two turnkey packaging lines within a new greenfield dairy facility presented several unique challenges. Because the packaging systems were being designed as the facility itself evolved, changes to product specifications, production rate requirements, available floor space, and project budgets required multiple revisions throughout engineering.
The project required engineering two distinctly different packaging systems. The fresh cheese packaging line incorporated thermoforming, robotic loading, and sanitary product handling. The cultured dairy bottling line integrated bottle handling, filling, inspection, secondary packaging, and palletizing. Coordinating dozens of suppliers and integrating upstream processing with downstream packaging systems added another layer of complexity as the facility design continued to evolve.
IPM’s Solution
Early Engineering Reduced Project Risk
IPM developed the initial packaging line concepts before the building design was finalized. That early engagement gave the engineering team time to identify and resolve potential issues before they affected building construction, equipment installation, or startup.
“Instead of having six hours to deal with an issue, we have six months to align on the solution.”
— Alex Karr, Sales Engineer, IPM
As production requirements, product specifications, layout constraints, and the building footprint evolved, IPM refined both packaging line designs throughout engineering to support the project’s final objectives.
Fresh Cheese Packaging Line
The fresh cheese packaging line automated the handling of unpackaged fresh cheese from upstream processing through thermoforming, secondary packaging, and robotic palletizing. Because the product remained unpackaged until thermoforming, the robotic loading system was engineered to meet 3-A sanitary design requirements, supporting hygienic product handling. The system was successfully validated during FAT for production rates of up to 180 products per minute per line (360 products per minute total design capacity).
System Components Included
- Thermoform Autoloaders
- Thermoformers
- Robotic Case Packers
- Metal Detector
- Checkweigher
- Case Labeler
- Robotic Palletizing Cell
- Stretch Wrapper
Cultured Dairy Bottling Line
The cultured dairy bottling line automated bottle handling, filling, induction sealing, inspection, secondary packaging, and palletizing for multiple bottle sizes. The system was designed to package multiple bottle sizes at production rates of up to 400 bottles per minute.
System Components Included
- Bottle Filler
- Induction Sealer
- X-ray Inspection
- Bottle Sleever
- Servo Laner
- Case Packer
- Case Labeler
- Robotic Palletizing Cell
- Stretch Wrapper
The Result
The project successfully delivered two turnkey packaging lines for the customer’s new greenfield dairy facility. The completed systems support fresh cheese and cultured dairy production and the customer’s continued growth.
Key Project Data
360
Products / Minute
Fresh Cheese Capacity
400
Bottles / Minute
Bottling Line Speed
2
Turnkey Lines
Delivered
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