Today’s stackers and loaders possess numerous qualities well-suited for today’s fast-paced production environments, such as high-speed operation, flexibility and space-saving footprints. Sophisticated controls and programming, as well as automated response to equipment failures upstream and downstream, are also common features.
The ability of stackers and loaders to handle various product shapes, sizes and materials has improved, too, in response to growth in shelf-ready packaging (SRP). “The SRP movement is calling for cases that fit on the shelf two-deep, which often results in smaller shipping sizes,” says Rick Gessler, director of marketing and strategic account management, Delkor Systems Inc., St. Paul, MN. “This can be straightforward, in some cases, but often the speeds are doubling as case counts are halved. In addition, multiformat loaders are gaining favor, and changeover times are as critical as ever.”