How CAMA NORTH AMERICA helps food processors improve efficiency, production and sustainability

Whom do food processors in the US turn to when they’re looking for secondary packaging systems to improve efficiency, production, and sustainability? Increasingly, the answer is Cama North America. Based in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, Cama North America is a leading supplier of secondary packaging, robotic systems, and integrated packaging solutions for a wide variety of food markets, including Bakery, Confectionery, Coffee, Dairy, Grocery, Ready to Eat Meals, and Pet Food.

Cama North America is a subsidiary of the privately-owned Cama Group, Italy, which is known throughout the world for its cutting-edge technology and reliable, innovative packaging systems.

Cama’s BreakThrough Generation (BTG) series of secondary packaging equipment features accessible, sanitary frames; TPM (Total Productive Maintenance); ease of use; Industry 4.0 diagnostics; and industry leading efficiency.

They also offer advanced rotary and linear servo technology, along with inhouse-developed robotics, in order to deliver better flexibility.

By helping food packagers with easy to operate and state-of-the-art cartoners, case packers, sleeving systems, and robotic loading systems, Cama has developed a steady base of repeat customers and helped hundreds of plants solve production, labor, sustainability, and other pain points.

Cama North America’s ability to provide local engineering, manufacturing and aftermarket services, including technical service, programming and parts, is also an advantage many customers appreciate.

Improved Production, Efficiency

The chance to improve flexibility and efficiency was just part of the reasoning behind one customer’s decision to purchase two Model IF318 robotic loading systems and a Model FW748 wraparound case packer from Cama North America.

For this project, the customer — a Midwest cheese producer — was packing divided trays containing cheese, nuts, dried fruit, etc. They were challenged with a unique package, complicated pack patterns, and two existing machines that were not performing to their standards.

For the dairy customer, Cama’s solution featured a Monoblock design that greatly improved reliability and efficiency. Explains Jim Campbell, Midwest Regional Sales Manager, “The IF machines feature 2-axis robots that provide forming, loading and sealing in a methodic, controlled environment.

This greatly improved their efficiency and offered a more flexible solution that allowed the customer to package 3-, 6- and 8-count trays in a sleeved package. They also were able to carton and case pack in the same footprint they previously utilized for just one machine completing one operation.”

TPM, AR Technology

The company was so pleased with the installation that they have two more machines on order, which will also include Cama’s Augmented Reality (AR) technology. AR provides digital tools to help maximize operator efficiency and reduce planned and unplanned downtime. In addition to maintenance and spare parts management, AR provides virtual training and remote support.

Cama’s sanitary design and TPM focus have led to numerous opportunities in various markets, including bakery, petfood, dairy, and prepared meals. A US bakery packager, which was previously, using various vendors to process 3,000 cookies per minute into multiple lines, selected Cama’s Model IT285 to case pack flow-wrapped cookies into an RSC.

For this customer, flexibility, ease of changeover, and the wide range of products the IT285 could handle at high speeds, were key decision factors. Impressed with the top loader’s ease of maintenance and operation, not to mention the highest efficiency on the market, they were so pleased that they returned to Cama a year later to order a second system.

Improved Sustainability, Material Savings

Finally, for companies looking to improve sustainability, Cama has its own packaging materials department, which lends its decades of experience in the design and testing of packaging paperboard and cardboard in order to achieve the highest efficiency.

In many cases our sales engineers can suggest slight modifications to a carton, tray or case design that offer significant material savings while providing stacking strength, display ability and/ or additional features required by the end user.