Format flexibility as the key to competitiveness in the personal care industry

Increasing complexity due to product variation

The growing differentiation of products in the personal care market is leading to an ever-increasing variety of container shapes and sizes. Particularly noticeable is the trend toward larger fill volumes and thin-walled bottles with reduced plastic content. These place increased demands on stability and handling within the production line.

Traditional machine designs quickly reach their limits here. Many systems are often designed for specific formats, requiring adjustments beyond a simple format change as soon as certain container shapes or sizes change. This leads to downtime, recurring mechanical changeover efforts, and limited responsiveness to short-term market changes.

Flexible conveyor systems as the foundation for format diversity

A key factor in achieving greater format flexibility lies in the production line’s conveyor system. In many facilities, this system determines how containers of varying sturdiness or design can be safely guided through the process. Modern concepts therefore move away from fixed-format components and rely on solutions that adapt to changing packaging shapes.

Modern approaches make it possible to transport different container shapes independently of fixed format components. Within the same application, both classic pucks and puckless transport systems can be used. In puckless solutions, for example, the bottle is stabilized and guided by flexible gripping elements. This allows for safe handling even with thin-walled packaging.

The key advantage: New packaging shapes can thus be integrated into existing processes more quickly without the need for extensive approvals or manual adjustments.

Responsiveness as a competitive advantage

This increasing format flexibility directly contributes to a production line’s economic performance. When production systems can adapt to new variants with minimal effort, launch times are shortened, downtime becomes less frequent, and overall plant utilization increases. Especially in markets with frequently changing product portfolios, this capability is a key factor in being able to respond to trends even at short notice. At the same time, the risk of misinvestment is reduced, as systems no longer need to be designed for a narrowly defined product range.

What the industry needs now

Format flexibility and small batch sizes have become key requirements for efficient and future-proof production processes in the personal care industry. They enable manufacturers to respond more quickly to market changes and launch new products cost-effectively.

The OPTIMA SpeedCare Line Smart (SLS) is an example of how modern machine designs meet these requirements today. Thanks to a conveyor design that operates largely independently of fixed format components and functions with or without pucks, new container shapes can be integrated without fundamentally modifying the line. Combined with changeover times of less than 20 minutes, a compact design, and a high degree of automation, this creates a production platform that is prepared for changing requirements in the long term.