Adapting to Change: Strapping in the Age of Darwin

While many of us don’t subscribe to Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, most of us, if we study the man’s life will find some wisdom in his teachings. One of his most quoted statements is: “It is not the strongest or most intelligent who will survive, but those who can best adapt to change”.

At EAM-Mosca we subscribe to this thought, at least as it pertains to a recent strapping application we ran across.

A key Midwestern distributor brought us into the operation of a major window and door manufacturer who had a problem. They took us to an assembly line where product is assembled vertically, but at an angle, easel style. Product varies in size from 2 feet to about 9 feet tall. They were looking for a strapping system to apply straps vertically to the array of products coming down the line, to hold an assembly of product and packaging together prior to film wrapping for shipment.

It wasn’t a new line or a new problem. They had tried at least two different manufacturers strapping products in the past but were dissatisfied with their reliability and operating cost. The EAM-Mosca distributor had recently sold them a standard Mosca model ROMP6 walk up strapper with Mosca’s Sonixs ultra-sonic sealing technology for another application and they were very happy with the machine’s performance. So they requested a quotation for a solution for the “easel” line, insisting that Sonixs be a part of it.

The problem for EAM-Mosca was that we had no standard solution that combined the special track configuration (550mm wide x 2850mm tall), the angular attitude required to mate with the existing assembly equipment, and Sonixs sealing capability. But we didn’t want to pass on the opportunity to expand our business with a distributor and customer who were so enthusiastic about Mosca products.

As we evaluated our options, we realized that our “ability to adapt to change” could yield a solution. By mating several modules into a unique final assembly we could meet the customer need. For many years we have sold a caster mounted carriage into the printing industry as the chassis of a machine that strapped “signatures”, bundled segments of book pages as they come off a printing press. We were able to mate the carriage with Mosca’s modular Sonixs strapping head that is used in large strapping systems sold mainly to the corrugated container market. Then, we attached our narrow gage spring gate feed track system that is used on a variety of other products, and sized it for this application. Finally, we took advantage of the signature carriage’s ability to be set at an angle to match the assembly line in place at the customer plant.

So we ended up with a special machine that was made up of adaptable modules to form a solution that met our customer requirement, at a reasonable cost and in a workable lead time. The unit is now in line, running EAM-Mosca’s 9mm Polyester strapping, offering a savings in strap cost to the customer as well as significantly improved operating reliability.

Using our internal design capability to advantage, we adapted our product and solved a customer problem. It may not look like its predecessor strapping machines on this line, but quoting Darwin again: “I am not apt to follow blindly the lead of other men”. Touché.

EAM-Mosca has placed over 20,000 machines in the Americas in industries as diverse as corrugated, protein, mailing, graphic arts, agriculture and more. EAM’s German parent company Mosca GmbH has been providing strapping solutions since 1966. The company’s stated goal is to serve customers reliably for millions of cycles over many years. Their high cycle efficiency and frequent ability to reduce strap sizes are not only cost-cutting measures but positive contributors to sustainability.EAM-Mosca Corporation provides high-performance strapping system solutions to a variety of industries, including pharmaceutical, warehousing, corrugated, food, graphic arts, mailing, fulfillment, logistics, wood, and other industrial or consumer goods. The company combines innovative equipment with strapping materials manufactured to maximize machine performance, and customer support programs that help customers meet their performance and productivity goals.

EAM-Mosca is headquartered in Hazle Township, Pennsylvania, USA, and was founded in 1982. Manufacturing facilities are located in Hazle Township and Ontario, Canada. Sales and service offices are located throughout North America, along with distributors and contract service providers in Central and South America, and sales/services offices in Monterrey, Mexico.

To learn more about any of EAM-Mosca’s other productivity enhancing strapping systems, please call us at 800-456-3420, or email us at info@eammosca.com. You can also connect with EAM-Mosca on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn via links above.