General Paperboard Manuf.

A brief outline of the manufacture of a corrugated pack, from when the raw material enters the plant to when the completed cases leave it, will now be given before entering into each section of the plant in more detail.

GENERAL PROCESS

  1. RAW MATERIALS
  2. CORRUGATOR
  3. SECONDARY PROCESSES
  4. DISTRIBUTION

RAW MATERIALS

The paper which is used is may be made from virgin Kraft fiber or recycled Test liner. An individual reel may be up to 2 tons in weight, 2450mm (8 feet) in width and 4 1/2 miles in length.

CORRUGATION

The corrugator is the machine which fabricates the corrugated boards. It also cuts it into the overall widths and lengths required for the various orders.

By using different types of paper across a wide range of basic weights (usually measured in either lbs per 1000 square feet or grams per square meter), this machine can produce hundreds Of different strengths of corrugated board, exactly meeting the packaging requirements of any customer wishing to use corrugated board. The fabrication process is very simple in principle. Initially, two reels of paper are fed into the machines. One of these is a "liner", the other is a corrugating medium. The corrugations, or flutes are impressed on the corrugating medium and delicately glued to the liner. The next process is a further gluing operation, which joins these two sheets with a second liner.

In order to assist the bond and to dry out the board it then passes over a hot section. It is then cooled, cut into widths and lengths and distributed around the plant for further processing. For heavier, stronger board ('twin' board, is used more demanding industries) the machine can handle five reels (three liners end two fluting media) at once.

SECONDARY MANUFACTURING PROCESSES

Casemaking machines - these will print in usually one, two, three or four colors flexographically, cut-out the slots, fold and glue the cases. When a batch of cases has passed through one of the Casemakers, all that remains to be done is palletization and distribution.

Printer-slotters - these machines will neither fold nor glue, but they will cut out slots and print flexographically, like the Casemakers.

Die-Cutting - certain cases, especially those designed for display purposes, require to be cut to very intricate shapes. For this purpose, the die-cutting machines, some of which also print, are used. Die-cut cases often do not require further processing, as they may be designed to fold-up and lock, providing their own structural strength.

Fitments and Division-Assembly - Customers who package glassware, bottled commodities, etc. sometimes require divisions within the cases in order to give the products greater security in transit and storage. In this section of the factory the divisions, which have been cut to size, are slotted and assembled. Internal fitments such as pads and liners are also produced here.

Case joining - in this section of the factory the cases are stitched, glued or finished in some other method, as required. This section also includes the palletizing press. From here, the pallet loads of cases are taken to the warehouse and subsequently dispatched.