2020 was a year like no other - cancelled trade shows, customer projects halted or postponed, new clearance and hygiene rules, fewer customer visits, adjustments to processes... "The year 2020 demanded a particularly high degree of agility from us - as it does from all other organizations and people," says Thomas Weber of ATS-Tanner Banding Systems AG, based in Zug, Switzerland.
"We had a task force that exchanged information several times a week, depending on the current situation, to analyze the situation and come to quick decisions. The bottom line is that we can look back on a successful business year," says the manager. It was a learning process for the company: "We have questioned and learned a lot - about ourselves as well. We are very differentiated and have packaging solutions for a wide range of industries, applications and requirements. That has certainly helped us in this turbulent year."
Automation was an important topic this year, "Many companies seem to have become aware that while people can get sick and break down for long periods of time, machines do not. The trend toward end-of-line automation has therefore intensified once again, in our eyes."
But the perennial favorite, ecologically sensible packaging, has not disappeared from the focus in this Corona year either: "The demand for environmentally friendly packaging was greater also- specifically packaging with less or no plastic. Here, of course, we are well positioned with material-saving banding. For example, all the major retailers have set their sustainability targets and are now passing on the new requirements to their producers and suppliers. We have implemented many projects and, for example, replaced plastic bags and labels with printed paper banding for zucchinis."
Banded zucchinis
Even independent of the pandemic, ATS is constantly working on improvements and new solutions, Weber stated. "As a system provider and machine builder, we are of course constantly innovating, to meet demanding customer requirements, for example. When it comes to banding material, we should highlight our partially coated banding paper, with significantly less than 5% foreign material." For paper to be recycled in the paper stream, it must not contain too much foreign material. Depending on the country, this legally regulated proportion can fluctuate. "Our partially coated paper meets the strict requirements from France, among others. It is already being used successfully there by various large apple producers."
The partially coated banding paper meets the strict French requirements as well.
For ATS-Tanner Banding Systems AG, the coming year will also be all about optimizing and reducing packaging. Weber concludes: "We are certainly not sitting still; we are continuing to develop our banding machines and systems as well as the consumables with many ideas and great passion. The same applies to our services and customer support. In general, we expect continued high demand for automation solutions and packaging solutions that are both ecologically and economically sustainable."
For more information:
Thomas Weber
ATS-Tanner Banding Systems AG
Poststrasse 30, CH-6300 Zug
+41 56 676 67 14
t.weber@ats-tanner.ch
ats-tanner.com