The Bradman Lake Group has acquired extensive expertise in the packaging techniques required for handling and packing tea products. Throughout the world, Bradman Lake has installations from horizontal flow wrappers, cartoners and case packing machines with many of the tea industries major producers and they are meeting demanding production output and packing line efficiency requirements. These machines can be supplied either as individual, stand-alone, machines or as part of a completely integrated packaging system.
A recent example of this global presence was proven in 2011 when a UK based, premium quality, loose tea manufacturer purchased three Bradman Lake® SL902 end load cartoning machines with the intention of installing them in two, completely different, worldwide locations. One was in Russia and the other is in United Arab Emirates.
The factory in Moscow, Russia received a brand new Bradman Lake® SL902 end load cartoner packing bags of tea into straight or reverse tuck-in flap style end load cartons. The SL902 was integrated by Bradman Lake® with a “Cascade Lite” automatic bag loading system so that it can automatically load bags directly into the pocketed product infeed conveyor of the SL902 thereby making a total integrated packaging solution. This new order is a repeat of a previous installation for a similar machine in the same factory.
The newly constructed factory in the UAE received two new SL902 end load cartoners. Again, each machine was fitted with the new “Cascade Lite” automatic bag loader to automate the cartoning operation. In this installation one SL902 cartoner handled reverse and straight tuck- in flap style end load cartons and the second had the additional flexibility to close tuck style or hot melt glue the end flap closures. This flexibility to close cartons in different ways on the same machine is one of the specification advantages offered in Bradman Lake machines.
Bradman Lake involvement in these installations was not limited only to the supply of these machines. They provided tangible design engineering support to assist this customer with designs for the layout of these packaging systems in the plant complete with integrated connecting conveyor systems and carton construction advice. All of this expertise is made available to Bradman Lake customers whenever individual machines or system are purchased.
Bradman Lake was able to win this order despite strong competition from other UK and European suppliers for a number of reasons but the deciding factors were their ability to assemble a flexible packaging solution using well-proven standard machines, their attention to technical details to ensure this equipment met and exceeded installation and production start-up expectations and finally the confidence provided to the customer based upon proven, previous, expertise gained in these type of applications. Additionally, this customer was re-assured by the fact that they had an existing SL902, purchased some years previously for their Russian factory.