Why UK Manufacturers Should Invest in Packaging Machines Now

Investing in automated packaging machines can significantly outperform traditional manual packaging methods by a long way. And since the UK economy is gradually recovering from a downturn, every single cost is vital at the moment. UK manufacturers can imminently get on the path to cost savings and better profitability if they invest in automated packaging machinery. Let’s break down the numbers to see why automation is the smarter choice for your bottom line.

The True Cost of Manual Packaging

Before we dive into the benefits of automation, let’s consider the real costs associated with manual packaging:

• Staff Costs: The average hourly wage for packaging workers in the UK is approximately £9.50. For a team of 4 workers operating 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, the annual labour cost amounts to approximately £79,040, not including benefits or overtime.
• Inefficiency: Manual packaging typically processes 10-15 units per minute. This means a 4-person team might package 2,400-3,600 units in an 8-hour shift.
• Error Rates: Human error in manual packaging can lead to a 2-3% defect rate, resulting in product waste and potential customer dissatisfaction.
• Holidays: You don’t see FL-14 automatic filling machines jetting off to Mallorca or an ELF-50 automatic labeller cruising around the Caribbean. Your production can slow or even halt when people need time off.

The Automated Alternative: Investing in Efficiency

Now, let’s examine the benefits of an automated packaging machine:

• Increased Productivity: Automated packaging machines can process 30-60 units per minute, more than doubling the output of a manual team. This translates to 14,400-28,800 units per 8-hour shift. Our FL-14 for example, can fill up to 60 bottles a minute!
• Reduced Staff Costs: Most automated systems can be operated by 1-2 workers, and sometimes don’t need to be monitored constantly, reducing labour costs by 50-75%.
• Improved Accuracy: Automated systems can achieve accuracy rates of 99.9%, significantly reducing waste and improving customer satisfaction. Our FL-14’s filling accuracy rating is ±0.5%, for example.
• Consistent Quality: Machines maintain consistent performance throughout the day, unlike human workers who may fatigue. You probably won’t see a PL-501 with its feet up! Primarily because it doesn’t have feet other than the little black stubs that keep it off the floor.

Breaking Down the ROI

Let’s consider a smaller automatic automated filling machine costing around £50,000:

• Labour Savings: Reducing the team from 4 to 2 workers instantly saves £39,520 annually in wages alone.
• Increased Output: If we conservatively estimate a 50% increase in output, this could translate to an additional £250,000 in annual revenue for a business.
• Reduced Errors: Improving accuracy from 97% to 99.9% could save £20,000 annually in a business producing 1 million units per year with an average unit cost of £10.
• Payback Period: With these figures, the machine would pay for itself in less than 4 months. And remember we only spoke about the staff wages for a year – the machine is a one-off purchase that cost last 5 years at least with the support of the Advanced Partnership Programme we offer – providing yearly maintenance visits, parts and labour cover and machine servicing.

Real-World Results

A UK-based cosmetics manufacturer implemented an automated filling line, resulting in:

• 200% increase in production speed
• 50% reduction in labour costs
• 75% decrease in product waste

ROI achieved in just 6 months. 6 months! Pretty good eh? Well you could probably do better if you buy one at the right time. Like maybe when the rest of the UK economy is catching up and you stand to gain a disproportionate competitive edge. Hint hint.

We haven’t even mentioned the improvement in workplace safety, reduction in repetitive strain injuries (which affect up to 50% of workers in the manufacturing sector), the increase in production scalability, or the boost in packaging consistency and uniformity. There is such a huge ROI on an investment in an automated packing machine.

And hey, is it even an investment if it literally pays for itself almost straight away? You decide. Oh, and give us a call if you want to discuss levelling up with automated packaging machinery.