As the economy is expected to show signs of recovery in the next year, now is the ideal time to evaluate how you can save costs while scaling production up to meet rising demand. Automated packaging machinery offers a significant advantage over traditional manual packaging methods enabling businesses to scale up production without the corresponding increases in workforce costs. Automated packaging machinery brings speed and efficiency to production lines, delivering significant cost savings and measurable improvements in output quality. Let’s dive into the detail.
The True Cost of Manual Packaging
Before we dive into the benefits of automation, let’s consider the real costs associated with manual packaging:
- Labour Costs: Packaging workers in Australia earn an average of $33.52 per hour. A team of four working eight hours a day, five days a week, cost approximately $279,000 annually, excluding benefits and overtime.
- Inefficiency: Manual packaging handles 10-15 units per minute. Over an eight-hour shift, a four-person team packages 2,400-3,600 units.
- Error Rates: Human error results in defect rates of 2-3%, leading to wasted product and potential customer dissatisfaction.
- Downtime: Unlike automated machines, employees need holidays. Your Packserv liquid filling machine won’t be wine tasting in the Barossa or at a yoga retreat in Noosa, ensuring uninterrupted production all year round.
Automating Production and Investing in Efficiency
Consider investing in an automatic liquid filling machine priced at AUD $85,000:
- Labour Savings: By reducing your team from four to two operators, annual labour costs drop by at least AUD$139,500, effectively paying for the machine in a year.
- Higher Productivity: Automated liquid filling machines can handle around 60 bottles a minute – four times faster than using manual labour.
- Improved Accuracy: With a 99.9% accuracy rate, automated systems minimise waste and align with sustainability goals.
- Consistent Quality: Automation delivers reliable, consistent performance. For industries where accuracy and precision are of critical importance for compliance, automation is indispensable.
Use Case – Full Production Line
Here’s an example of an Australian business who was able to reduce costs through transitioning from a semi-automated to an automated product line.
The business specialising in organic products had been fulfilling orders manually with a limited level of automation. As demand grew, they decided to invest in their production line. They purchased a filling machine, capping and labelling machine along with a conveyor and infeed and outfeed tables.
Results
Watch an Example of an Automatic Full Line
For customers requiring more flexibility as they ramp up production, Packserv also offers a rent-to-buy option, which is a more flexible route to asset ownership without the upfront costs.
Call us at 1300 377 512 or contact us to learn more!