At Karmelle, we strive to build strong long-term relationships with our customers, supporting them as their production requirements change. Our partnership with Furniture Clinic began in 2012, when we designed and manufactured a semi-automatic Bench Top Filling Machine for its furniture-care products. Other items of equipment followed – and, in 2020, the market-leading brand approached us with a new project in the form of mini-monoblock filling.
The challenge:
Furniture Clinic manufactures specialist cleaning and restoration products for furniture, upholstery, car interiors, carpets and clothing.
Launched in 2004, it now boasts four UK branches, and offices in New York, Hong Kong, Bulgaria and Germany.
With demand for its products growing overseas, the business needed to increase production at its Newcastle-Upon-Tyne manufacturing base. This would involve automating the filling, capping and labelling of several key products. Equipment would need to accommodate two different plastic bottles – one 15ml, and the other 50ml.
Having already supplied a Bench Top Filling Machine and Three Point Wraparound Labeller to Furniture Clinic, Karmelle were well placed to assist with this new automation project.
“We’ve developed a strong working relationship with the Karmelle team,” said Furniture Clinic’s Production Manager, Dan Dodds. “When we identified a need for an end-to-end liquid packaging solution, they were the obvious choice of partner.”
The solution:
After initial consultations, the Karmelle team proposed a solution; a Mini Monoblock system, featuring a Rotary Infeed Table, and filling, capping and wraparound labelling stations.
The Mini Monoblock was designed to handle smaller volumes, making it ideal for Furniture Clinic’s 15ml and 50ml bottles. With a footprint of around 5.9 m2, it would provide a compact, end-to-end solution.
The system was manufactured, assembled and tested at Karmelle’s Huddersfield facility. Furniture Clinic attended Factory Acceptance Tests prior to installation and commissioning.
The process:
- Empty, uncapped bottles are placed on the Rotary Infeed Table.
- Bottles are indexed into the Rotary Filler, where product is dispensed.
- A rotary star wheel carries filled bottles round to the capping station, where a cap is applied.
- Filled and capped bottles pass into the labelling system, which applies a single wraparound label.
The result:
The Mini Monoblock has enabled Furniture Clinic to meet increased demand for its product, achieving production rates of 15 bpm (on 15ml bottles). With filling accuracy of +/-0.2%, it delivers consistent, shelf-ready results for this growing brand.
Dan Dodds added, “the system has allowed us to scale-up production without compromising on quality. We also know that we can rely on Karmelle for servicing and spares support, which is key to keeping production running smoothly”.
To discuss your own liquid packaging project, contact our team on +44(0)1484 533356, or email karmelle@gmail.com.