State-Of-The-Art Molding Plant Opens In B.C.

Ropak Packaging has started-up a highly-automated injection molding plant for packaging products in Langley, BC. The new 206,000 sq.ft. Northwest Division plant houses the combined manufacturing operations of Ropak’s former Seattle and Vancouver divisions.

The plant is HACCP certified, a key point since a major market for this division is food-packaging applications. HACCP is a system used to identify and control food-processing safety hazards.

The new Northwest Division is the latest addition to Ropak’s series of leading-edge automated plants. Plants in Georgia and Oakville, ON use a similar design, incorporating automated guided vehicles to deliver finished product from the molding machines to stretch-wrapping stations and then to the warehouse. (The Oakville facility was profiled in the May 2000 issue of Canadian Plastics. Check the archives at www.canplastics.com.)

The Northwest Division incorporates some improvements over the earlier plants. These include gravimetric blenders over each molding machine, enhanced water, resin and packaging systems, and upgraded fire-safety and air-quality systems.