Packaging machines are an essential aspect of any meat processing facility, from local butcher shops to grocery store delis to the biggest producers of meat products on the market. In addition to providing all the supplies and machinery you need for food packaging, Bunzl Processor Division offers packaging machines maintenance services to keep your roll stock, stretch wrap, and chamber vacuum machines functioning at peak capacity!

Packaging Machines for Food Processing

Packaging needs vary depending on the size and scope of your meat processing facility. Whereas a small butcher shop may only require a simple stretch wrap machine to handle their packaging materials, larger meat processing plants likely have an extensive department with an entire fleet of packaging machines!

The most common packaging machine is a roll stock machine, designed to completely form, fill, and seal your food products in either forming or non-forming web films with high-barrier, medium-barrier, or non-barrier roll stock. Because it can be tooled for so many different packaging styles and methods, roll stock machines are used by most meat processing facilities in the final stages of preparing meat products for sale. These kinds of machines are even used for other food products like cheeses and pre-packaged snack foods!

To ensure your roll stock packaging machines operate at top speed with the best possible quality and consistency—and to avoid needing to entirely replace your machines due to extensive failure—they will require maintenance. Let’s look at what types of maintenance your packaging machines need, and how Bunzl can help:

Types of Maintenance for Packaging Machines

Like all complex machines, packaging machines generally require two types of maintenance: preventative maintenance, and emergency maintenance.

Preventative Maintenance

Preventative maintenance is any form of routine maintenance performed to inspect, clean, and service machines before they break down. By having your packaging machines inspected and repaired regularly, you can save a lot of time and money down the road. Think of it as an oil change or a tune up for your car—you do it to keep your motor running so it won’t fail later and require much more expensive repairs.

In addition to the time and cost savings, preventative maintenance gives your machines detailed records that may be essential for warranties and proving adherence to safety standards. Caring properly for your machines makes the most of your investment!

Preventative maintenance can include:

• Cleaning out debris
• Inspecting parts
• Replacing parts
• Disassembly and lubrication
• And anything else specific to a particular brand or packaging machine.

Preventative maintenance should be performed regularly, but the frequency depends largely on the volume of production. Smaller producers only need to have their packaging machines serviced once a year, whereas larger facilities should do so at least twice a year. Bunzl Processor Division even has customers whose packaging machines require quarterly preventative maintenance.

Emergency Maintenance

Emergency maintenance becomes necessary when a packaging machine fails or breaks down unexpectedly. Even with regular preventative maintenance, packaging machines can have unexpected breakdowns that require immediate attention to keep production moving.

Some signs your packaging machine may require emergency maintenance include:

• The packages not having a good seal
• Poor vacuum level for packaged foods
• Inability to pass the quality control phase for packaging inspection
• The packaging machine has visibly broken parts
• Or the packaging machine won’t reliably turn on (or, on the other hand, keeps shutting off)

While the signs of emergency issues can vary, you will know them when you see them! And to make sure your operations don’t experience a long (and expensive) shutdown, you’ll want those emergency issues to be resolved as quickly as possible. For this reason, our team at Bunzl Processor Division works hard to accommodate a 48-hour return on emergency maintenance calls within the continental United States. Even for our customers in Alaska, we can often address maintenance concerns within just a few short days!

Bunzl Processor Division is Your One-Stop Shop for Packaging Machines Maintenance

Bunzl Processor Division offers everything you need to get your food packaging department up and running. We work on every name brand, making it easy for large companies with a wide variety of machines to get the necessary maintenance in one place. Having a full-service maintenance provider like BPD means you don’t need to find a new service tech for every machine.

In addition to rapid response emergency maintenance, our dedicated equipment service team provides national coverage of preventative maintenance for our customers. Our equipment service team offers cleaning, inspection, lubrication, and replacement of all parts for roll stock machines to keep every element running smoothly. This includes servicing the sealing die top, sealing die lift, transport chains, sealing die bottom, and the sealing vacuum valve to ensure packaging is perfectly vacuum-sealed for an A+ quality control score!

Jim McQuerry leads BPD’s team of packaging service specialists, bringing 20 years of leadership and industry expertise to the table. Jim and his team of dedicated maintenance experts boast over 40 years of combined experience that will service your machines correctly, quickly, and significantly below typical industry rates! To learn more about our maintenance services and get the support you need for your packaging department, contact Jim and his team at 1-800-888-3610 and request your free packaging consultation!