Urgency or Emergency? Why Packaging Automation Can’t Wait

For manufacturers, the challenge isn’t whether to automate — it’s how to do it effectively. Image courtesy of Harpak-ULMA Packaging.

By Michael Terry, Content Manager, Harpak-ULMA Packaging

The packaging industry is changing fast. Labor shortages, rising costs, and growing demand for efficiency are forcing manufacturers to rethink operations.

By 2030, the global manufacturing sector will face an 8-million-worker shortage, making automation a necessity.  Meanwhile, the global packaging automation market is projected to hit $86.72 billion by 2025, signaling a major shift.

For manufacturers, the challenge isn’t whether to automate — it’s how to do it effectively. The right automation solutions not only improve production speed and maintain product quality but also increase profitability across every cycle.

However, automation doesn’t automatically require a full production line overhaul. Companies are integrating automation more completely and successfully than in years past, but also more efficiently.

How?

The key is identifying and understanding vital areas where automation is most effective, asking the right questions pre-integration, and proactively overcoming challenges to gain advantages only production automation can offer.

Identify the Best Areas to Automate

Successful producers start by automating high-impact areas, even integrating “value-added automation” in key phases of the packaging process, to alleviate production challenges while remaining cost-effective:

Product Inspection: Bypassing manual vision inspection and opting to automate with advanced vision technology can reduce product defects by up to 25-30%, ensuring optimal packaging safety and accuracy and avoiding costly recalls.

Primary Packaging: Automated filling, wrapping, and sealing systems can boost output by up to 30% while lowering labor costs, alleviating reliance on manual processes, and ensuring optimal product quality.

Secondary Packaging: Case packing and tote management can reduce operating expenses by up to 20% or more and improve product per package/package per case accuracy, coding and labeling, and regulatory compliance.

Palletizing: Automating stacking and wrapping can replace up to 20 manual workers per shift, improving throughput by up to 50% and reskilling employees for improved job placement and satisfaction.

The right automation solutions not only improve production speed and maintain product quality but also increase profitability across every cycle. Image courtesy of Harpak-ULMA Packaging.

Overcoming Barriers to Automation

Despite proven success, many manufacturers hesitate to automate production due to common, prevalent, perceived obstacles. Yet employing automation addresses many of these challenges simultaneously while delivering the speed, savings, and consistent quality the market demands:

Cost: Targeted automation delivers ROI in under two years (on avg.) — with some companies breaking even within 12 months or less.

Labor Concerns: Automation allows employees to shift into higher-value roles, increasing employee retention by up to 30%.

Space Limitations: Modern automation systems are 30% more compact than past models, making integration easier without costly expansion.

Measuring the Impact of Automation

Most importantly, producers that automate production see measurable improvements across key metrics, year over year vs. manual operations.

Productivity Gains: Automated systems increase output by up to 22% per year.

Cost Savings: Automation has proved savings of up to $450 billion annually by automating key processes.

Scalability: Automation enables expansion without significantly increasing labor costs.

Quality Control: Vision inspection reduces human error, ensuring near-perfect product consistency.

Choosing the Right Automation Partner

Finally, success depends on more than just technology — it requires the right partner. A trusted OEM provides tailored automation solutions, seamless integration, and maximum efficiency, all attuned to your production and goals.Choosing packaging experts who apply lean manufacturing principles improves flexibility, conserves resources, and reduces waste, while integrating technologies like collaborative robotics (COBOTS) to make automation more accessible. This helps you future-proof operations and drive long-term success.

The Time to Automate Is Now

Labor shortages persist, and demand is rising. Automation is no longer optional — it’s essential for survival and success. The question isn’t whether you can afford to automate—it’s whether you can afford not to.

The Art & Science of Packaging Automation

When it comes to the adoption curve, automation’s relentless progress reminds us of the pop culture phrase coined as part of Star Trek’s unstoppable villain, The Borg: “Resistance is Futile.” It’s a given that automation will continue to grow in terms of its capabilities and breadth of applications. The question is, when and where does automation make sense in your operation? This primer is designed to help you understand the fundamental precepts of automation, from types, stages, and components to running an automation project.

Download the eBook by Harpak-ULMA Packaging.

About the Author

Michael Terry is Content Manager at Harpak-ULMA Packaging. In this role, he is responsible for the company’s content strategy for digital and print media and meeting its short and long-term reporting and marketing needs across various packaging industry segments. Before being named Content Manager for Harpak-ULMA Packaging, Michael was Senior Copywriter for Gannett Media, where he wrote print and digital marketing copy, web content, and commercial collateral for small, medium, and international businesses as part of transformational, high-growth digital marketing strategies across myriad business sectors. Michael assumed the Content Marketing role with Harpak-ULMA Packaging in 2021. Learn more: https://www.harpak-ulma.com