In an effort to improve packing efficiency and speed up the operation, American Licorice automated their carton assembly system. With a 14% increase in productivity, this system gave American Licorice a payback in 1½ years.

The process begins ands ends in this area of the facility. Cases are automatically formed, taped, and transported to the work station area using conveyor inclines to ceiling-hung conveyors to preserve floor space. The custom spiral chute returns full cases to the top sealer. The spiral chute consumes very little floor space and allows for the controlled descent of the cases.

The empty boxes are transported to four different packing stations. In a typical set-up, ten boxes go to each station in sequence. However there are photo eye controls that let the operator know if one station is empty. After the boxes are filled, they are transported to a vertical lift to overhead conveyor and finally to the tape sealer area.

Prior this each operator had the task of forming their own box, taping it, filling and sealing it. Now all the operators do is fill the boxes.