FDBusiness.com

The markets of coffee, tea and herbal tea in cups are experiencing strong growth in the beverage market, with increasing investment in technological high-speed systems. Cama, a private company based in Lecco, Italy, is a leading supplier in cartoning technology and one of the early pioneers in the cup sector, continuously investing in innovative solutions to meet the growing demand in superior technology for high-speed packaging systems.

Cama has gained further trust from leaders in the international market for coffee/tea cups and has increased its experience over the years in high-speed cup packaging solutions. In 2003, the company provided a large and reputable ‘multinational’ company with the one of the first robotic lines in the world that was able to package up to 1,400 cups per minute; arguably the fastest in the world. The ongoing success is due to Cama’s continuous attention to detail and commitment to constant improvement of its packaging systems that is driven by the customer.

Global Consultant

Today Cama continues to innovate offering its customers comprehensive technical advice on the best cardboard packaging solutions in relation to project specifications. The company presents itself as a ‘global consultant’, providing customized technical solutions, combining both skills in packaging and robotics, materials, packing styles resulting in pay-back on investments. Cama also offers multiple combinations that are made possible for secondary packaging.

Annalisa Bellante, marketing manager of Cama, explains: “Our customers often tell us that we are the ‘ideal partner’. Our experience in coffee packaging does not only concern cups though. We provide multiple applications for pods, bags, doy-packs and instant coffee stick-packs. Stick-packs now at run production speeds of 960 per minute, thanks to special hopper loaders used to handle high speeds.”

For state-of-the-art top loading solutions, Cama can pack at more than 780 cups per minute with special packaging configurations. The line, consisting of a box forming machine, a double-loading robot, a box closing machine and a case packer, has proven to be extremely flexible and reliable. Cups are loaded into a special configuration to optimize the size of final packaging. They are then placed in cartons containing 8 to 48 pieces, gathered together and packed in an American case. The increase in sales, combined with the high-level relationship between technology and reliability of the production system, has led some customers investing again and subsequently doubling the number of production machines.

For the primary packaging of coffee cups using flowpack or bags, Cama usually offers side loading solutions, equipped with its legendary range of high-speed cartoning machines. The cartoning machines make light work of many different complex product configurations in a flexible and reliable way, with added reduced footprint and easy maintenance.

Custom-made Packaging Solutions

Depending on requirements and a wide range of project specifications, Cama is able to offer its clients custom-made packaging systems from the company’s diverse portfolio including: robotic solutions (top loading), cartoning (side loading) and case packing with wrap-around display stands or display-boxes.

Cama produces machines with what it describes as Italianita (the Italian spirit) which lives right through the company philosophy today. It is still a privately owned company and headed up by the Bellante family.

Annalisa Bellante adds: “The development of cups is always intrinsically linked to the machine, they are like hand and glove. We have a strong cultural bond to coffee too here in Italy! This, together with our family spirit and creative technology offers, is what I would say ‘an unrivalled package’ in the exciting beverage market and we are very proud to be at the forefront.”