Cama’s modular concept redefines shelf-ready packaging

Cama Group redefines consumer packaged goods and health and personal care packaging practices with modular, high flexibility, fully automated packaging solutions. These solutions can deliver multiple shelf-ready formats with minimal costly and time-consuming re-engineering. 

As consumer demand and marketing promotions demand a wider choice of product varieties, many leading consumer packaged goods (CPG) and health and personal care (HPC) companies are requiring far greater flexibility and agility from their OEM machine suppliers. 

Traditionally a stalwart of the confectionary and bakery sector, Cama Group has bought its packaging expertise and technology into the CPG and HPC domain, delivering shelf-ready packaging solutions that far surpass those from many of the industry’s traditional suppliers. 

According to Alessandro Rocca, sales group director at Cama: “Generally, in the personal care market, there is a tendency for higher in-feed and box speeds, which is not always conducive with creating packaging that has the all-important visual appeal. This style of shelf appeal has always been important in the food industry and, as such, this type of packaging format is much more developed. Indeed, we are now seeing many CPG and HPC companies looking to food industry suppliers such as Cama, which can supply machines that work from blanks and will eventually deliver good shelf appearance.” 

Rocca says that high output and flexibility are not strong points of traditional suppliers, where packaging in-bulk and mass shipping have taken precedent over aesthetics. 

“We see the same opportunities in other markets and products, where speed coupled with appealing visuals are starting to define future plans,” he explains. 

Modern shelf-ready packaging solution

Cama recently worked with a leading global HPC brand to develop an aerosol-can packaging solution that delivers all the key facets of a modern approach, including speed, agility, flexibility, careful product handling and, of course, shelf-ready packaging. 

The Cama IF series – based on the company’s award-winning modular monobloc architecture – offers users a unique combination of integrated packaging machines and robotic loading units. Through tight integration of each of the primary modules of forming, loading and closing, Cama has developed a machine that delivers the incredible flexibility demanded by the HPC industry, but within a reduced footprint. 

“We worked very closely with the customer on the design and realisation of this variant,” Rocca comments. “It was part of an internal development project that had been formulated to address rapidly changing market demands – in terms of product variety and the resultant changes in packaging formats – but without sacrificing quality or visual appeal.” 

The customer still needed high throughput, so Cama brought its expertise from the other industries it serves and deployed them in a machine that Rocca says, “will redefine CPG and HPC packaging going forwards”. 

Unique gripper technology

In operation, the machine receives capped aerosol cans from an infeed system, with each can being allocated a separate feed pocket. This keeps each can separated and provides precision and positive control, which are core elements of Cama’s product handling philosophy. The box for the aerosol cans is formed in parallel on a forming machine. This machine is designed to create boxes that can accommodate a wide range of product counts, diameters and heights. 

Once the boxes are formed, the cans are picked up individually – in groups/ counts defined by the packaging recipe – by a dedicated multi-format gripper. The technology of the gripper is unique and was developed in collaboration with the customer. A quality control solution, delivered by a Cognex camera-based vision system, checks the product count and cap quality before the boxes are passed to a closing station, completing the packaging operation. 

“Each individual gripper is adjustable,” Rocca elaborates, “meaning minimal re-engineering is needed when the product format changes. This flexibility and changeover speed are reflected in the machine’s other modules. As a result, it can handle 14 different box configurations and multiple product formats. Tightly integrated automation provides the differentiation with servo motors delivering most of the axes control.” 

These servo solutions are complemented by Cama’s two-axis robotic loading technology, which was designed in-house to closely match the machine’s operational parameters. With a choice of Rockwell Automation or Bosch automation solutions, the customer gains the ability to integrate the machine more easily into its wider enterprise. In this application, Rockwell Automation control architecture was deployed, which was backed up by the automation supplier with training for the customer.

Strong synergies and a global presence

This development project and working in close collaboration with the customer has resulted in a machine that can gently and accurately package a wide variety of products in a range of shelf-ready packaging formats at a rate of up to 60 boxes per minute. According to Cama, this figure is much higher than the throughput any of its competitors can commit to. 

“We now have some amazing references in the CPG and HPC industries, including multi-variety product packaging applications,” he says. “Flexibility is key, combined with shelf-ready cases and high line output. We can also address any Industry 4.0 and IIoT initiatives with ease, as the control solutions we deploy offer seamless connection to plant-wide systems. To strengthen our design capabilities – and to make life easier for our customers – we are working on virtual commissioning and digital/virtual twins alongside our own software and control applications, which communicate with higher level control systems, while delivering robust cyber security.” 

Rocca adds that “the customer came to Cama because of its global presence with offices located worldwide”. 

“The customer realised that if its own supplier base did not offer the technology and solutions required, it would need to look elsewhere – which led the customer to Cama. We have since signed a global agreement for the supply of technology to other plants within the customer’s global network. Our capabilities span multiple industries and what we learn in one we can deploy in another – it is a constantly evolving process, which strengthens our capabilities and the services we offer to our customers,” he concludes.

USS Pactech is the local agent for Cama Group.