A Sweet Solution for a Candy Company

Client: One of the world’s largest confection companies that manufactures and packages at the same physical plant. Their prize-winning packaging is extremely complex and can include vacuum-formed plastic components, flexographic shrink wrapping, and/or a rigid, full color box.

Problem: After the client moved to state-of-the-art presses, formers, and box-making equipment, their lines began to suffer from unexpected and inexplicable interruptions such as “sticky bag” and jammed paper handling components.

Solution: Sunnyday’s engineers identified the source of the problem as ambient (air) humidity and room temperature in the plant, as the new higher-speed higher-precision equipment was not as “forgiving” as the previous machinery. Sunnyday worked with the client’s production team to develop new machine settings (both manual and PLC) that could be adjusted as the seasons and weather changed: ink solvent composition, air dryer temperature and velocity, adhesives used in the hot-melt applicators, etc. Eventually, it became clear that the best solution in the long run was to better control the ambient conditions in the plant, and Sunnyday was contracted to design and install a new environmental envelope for the building.