Strong demand for robotic equipment drives growth at Essex-based Pacepacker
Pacepacker managing director Dennis Allison, left, with technical director Richard Gladwin. Picture: Pacepacker - Credit: Archant
Essex-based automated packing equipment manufacturer Pacepacker has continued to expand after securing a number of new orders.
An automated packing line built by Packpacker. Picture: Sabino Parente - Credit: Archant
Pacepacker, based at Great Bardfield, near Braintree, has now recruited six new team members in the past 12 months as is responds to increasing customer demand for more complex machines offering higher levels of efficiency.
This has included its largest-ever fully automated line, for a world leader in occupational skin care and hand hygiene products, which comprised 15 individual elements from nine different suppliers and took eight months to design and engineer.
“Projects of this scale tend to be fairly bespoke and as such require more resourcing and design expertise, as well as field and installation support,” said Pacepacker managing director Dennis Allison. “In five years we’ve increased our full-time equivalent headcount by over 50% and now employ over 27 people nationwide.”
He added: “In the last decade, all of our retained profits have been reinvested in research and development to extend our case loading and palletising product range.
Students at a STEM open day hosted by Pacepacker. Picture: Kirsty Sharpe - Credit: Archant
“We also invested significant resources and money redesigning our flagship bagging system - the GT sack placer. The new FastPac range is 20% faster than previous models and we’ve sold seven FastPac systems so far this year.
“We are now strategically resourced and well-positioned to go to market with a complete portfolio of efficient bagging, case loading and palletising systems and extend our market share.”
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Pacepacker has also continued to achieve awards recognition, its latest success being a win in the Skills and Development category of the Food Processing Awards.
The honour recognises Pacepacker’s response to growth in knowledge-based jobs in food factories which has involved apprenticeship schemes, free automation workshops for customers and STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) open days and internships for students.
Members of the Pacepacker team with the two trophies received by the company at the PPMA awards event. - Credit: Archant
This accolade followed a double win at the PPMA (Processing & Packaging Machinery Trade Association) Group Industry Awards which saw Pacepacker collect the trophies for Most Innovative Packaging Machinery and Most Innovative Ancillary Equipment.
