Volume 07
Florian Lemke talks with Armando Orellana Galán, Sales Director for DACH, Benelux & Intern at Baumer hhs, about environmental and economic effects in folding carton production, the Side Seam Gluing Solution, and practical application at Mugler Masterpack.
Florian Lemke: Mr. Orellana Galán, growth has been stagnating for decades in the basic side seam gluing segment of folding carton production. Glue is still being applied with conventional glue wheels, as in the past. Is this method outdated?
Armando Orellana Galán: We asked ourselves the very same question, because there have been disadvantages to glue wheels ever since they’ve been around. They don’t apply adhesive precisely. Cleaning them is time-consuming, which costs valuable production time, and it involves copious amounts of water and wastewater. Many of our customers confirm these drawbacks.
Florian Lemke: A lot of users today still think that there is no alternative to the glue wheel for side seam gluing. Is that true?
Armando Orellana Galán: No it isn’t. We developed our Side Seam Gluing Solution to replace conventional application by glue wheel with a non-contacting, closed-loop system. That means no more time wasted washing glue wheels, no need to dispose of wastewater, and no downtime due to cleaning regimens.
The new equipment applies adhesive with millimetre accuracy and significantly reduces adhesive consumption, effectively increasing productivity and quality, cutting costs and improving resource-efficiency in production.
Florian Lemke: What exactly makes your solution so unique compared to existing systems?
Armando Orellana Galán: The Side Seam Gluing Solution is an advanced bottom-up gluing system which, as mentioned, applies adhesive in a non-contact process, meaning with no physical contact between applicator and box. This sets our product apart fundamentally from classical glue wheels and other contact-based application systems.
With our solution, a high-performance dispenser applies adhesive to glue flaps with millimetre accuracy and in the exact quantity required. No more glue wheels or glue pots that can get soiled, no more time required for cleaning. In addition, the equipment is easy to operate: Instead of having to make tedious settings and acquire years of experience, all an operator has to do is run a sample box through the machine. The system detects the dimensions and completes setup automatically.
In short, the Side Seam Gluing Solution is a technology that simplifies processes, uses resources efficiently and increases reliability in production.
Another advantage is that only one adhesive is needed for gluing, namely the one for use with an applicator. Having various adhesives for various types of application is no longer necessary, which further simplifies a process. Manufacturers also benefit from purchasing larger quantities of a specific adhesive – and the side effect of more favourable purchasing terms.
Florian Lemke: A lot of equipment is advertised as being sustainable, but often that’s an empty promise. How do you make the advantages of sustainability measurable?
Armando Orellana Galán: That is a very important point. We don’t want to claim that our equipment will save the world. What we do, is make efficiency gains measurable. Let me give you an example: In typical two-shift operation, the time required to clean conventional glue wheels adds up to 200 hours per year. That means 200 hours during which no folding cartons can be produced.
Our Side Seam Gluing Solution eliminates this cleaning step almost entirely. In other words, the machine is no longer idle for these 200 hours. It can produce up to 20 million additional boxes, depending on box format and speed, just by eliminating the downtime.
And that’s just one aspect. Cleaning glue wheels also requires about 30 litres of warm water each time. In a multi-shift facility, we’re talking about over ten-thousand litres of contaminated wastewater – per machine – that has to be disposed of. Our solution totally eliminates this. These are concrete figures that are transparent and measurable.
Florian Lemke: It sounds as if the environmental advantages have a direct economic effect. Can you describe that in more specific terms?
Armando Orellana Galán: Yes I can. If we use less adhesive, generate less wastewater and less production waste, then we gain environmental advantages that are also economic advantages. Every litre of adhesive we save not only reduces the burden on the environment, but also directly cuts material costs. Combined with the extra 200 hours of available production time, this results in tremendous economic advantages compared to conventional glue wheels.
The same goes for production waste: Fewer flawed boxes means less waste – and lower material losses. It’s this “symbiotic” effect that makes our solution so compelling. We demonstrate that sustainability in production does not mean making compromises; it means gaining efficiency.
Florian Lemke: One major advantage you mentioned is the reduction in adhesive consumption – Baumer hhs promises a reduction of up to 50 percent. That sounds like a lot. How does that work in technical terms?
Armando Orellana Galán: A conventional glue wheel functions mechanically. It is durable but not very precise, and it always applies a solid strip of glue across a glue flap.
The Side Seam Gluing Solution works with non-contacting, high-performance applicators. They can precisely control where adhesive is applied and how much, whether in a solid line, segments or dots. Adhesive application can be closely adapted to requirements. The result: Up to 50 percent less adhesive is needed to obtain glued joints of the same, or even higher, strength.
Considering that adhesive has to be purchased, transported and stored, you can see how great the environmental and economic effects are. Fewer transports, lower energy consumption in production and reduced costs for the manufacturer.
Florian Lemke: What are your customers saying about their experience with the Side Seam Gluing Solution?
Armando Orellana Galán: Thanks for bringing that up. Mugler Masterpack is an excellent example in this context. In autumn 2023, they installed the Side Seam Gluing Solution on one of their folder gluers – for a totally pragmatic reason: The old gluing unit had broken down and needed to be replaced.
Installing the new equipment was easy: They dismantled the old system, put ours in the same spot, received brief training, and production was up and running in no time. Since then, the machine has been in three-shift operation without any interruptions.
The company’s results are impressive: adhesive consumption reduced by up to 50%, several hundred hours of added production time per year, greatly simplified operation and flawless glued joints. Managing Partner Ulli Mugler put it most succinctly: “We purchased the ‘Ferrari’ of gluing units.” That really says it all. Mugler Masterpack is now planning to equip all its production lines with the Side Seam Gluing Solution.
Florian Lemke: An absolute success story.
Armando Orellana Galán: And it’s not an isolated case. These results can be transferred to other businesses. Actual savings naturally will vary depending on box type, production speed and the number of shifts. But the basic principles – less adhesive, no downtime for cleaning, less production waste due to the improved quality of application – apply to any folding carton manufacturer.
Florian Lemke: Another big issue in the packaging industry is the shortage of skilled labour. How can the Side Seam Gluing Solution help out in this regard?
Armando Orellana Galán: By greatly simplifying machine operation. Operators working with conventional systems had to have a lot of experience in order to avoid inside gluing due to setup errors. Today, the system goes through setup on its own in automatic mode, saving time and reducing training.
This is a decisive factor particularly when skilled workers are hard to find. In this case, automation does not replace people; it supports them. Florian Lemke: How many companies ultimately ask if the equipment pays off? Can you give us some figures on how short the payback period is for the investment?
Armando Orellana Galán: It depends a lot on the production conditions, but we generally assume a very short return time. If you gain 200 hours of production time per year, you can produce up to 20 million more boxes without additional machines or staff.
If you also calculate the money saved on adhesive and the cost of water and wastewater, the payback period for the investment is within a year in most scenarios. That’s a strong argument – sustainability suddenly makes sense economically, too.
Florian Lemke: Where do you see the Side Seam Gluing Solution in five to ten years? Will it replace glue wheels entirely?
Armando Orellana Galán: I think that we won’t be seeing virtually any conventional glue wheels in operation in five to ten years, at least not in businesses that want to stay competitive. The potential savings are just too significant.
Our customers confirm that the Side Seam Gluing Solution doesn’t merely replace old equipment; it is a step towards a new era in folding carton production.
Florian Lemke: In a single sentence, how would you summarise the significance of the Side Seam Gluing Solution for the industry?
Armando Orellana Galán: It shows that sustainability and economy are not mutually exclusive, but rather factors that reinforce one another, and that sustainability in production means one thing above all: greater efficiency.
Florian Lemke: If I understand you correctly, the industry is no longer just about applying adhesive reliably, but about finding solutions that offer both ecological and economic advantages. Is that the core of what Baumer hhs is pursuing with its Side Seam Gluing Solution and its other solutions?
Armando Orellana Galán: Exactly. We see ourselves as a partner to our customers, providing technological answers to the huge questions facing the industry: How can resources be conserved, costs reduced, and processes simplified—all without compromising on quality or productivity? With Side Seam Gluing Solution, we have developed a technology that does just that, paving the way for a new era in folding carton production.
Florian Lemke: Mr. Orellana Galán, thank you for the insightful conversation.
Armando Orellana Galán: My pleasure.