Huhtamaki

Huhtamaki

Huhtamaki is the leading manufacturer of consumer/specialty packaging. They have 12,800 employees worldwide and are headquartered in De Soto, Kansas. They make a massive 800 million in annual sales and have a total of 15 locations worldwide. This was the largest manufacturing company as well as facility I have been able to tour so far in Materials and Processes. Huhtamaki primarily uses paperboard, plastic resin, molded fiber and metals such as aluminum and carbon steel. This specific plant, founded in 1994, deals with paperboard since they primarily make cup stock. I learned that there is a lot more to making a simple cup. The paperboard has to be bleached white and is poly coated(LDPE) and clay coated for smoothness. A very thin layer also protects the ink that is applied.  Like Lawrence Paper Company, Huhtamaki also considered the environment and resourcefulness when making cups. They need durable materials that act as a good barrier but also need that material to break down over time. They recycle everything. The trimming, which we got to see,  are sucked through a giant vacuum and compacted together very tightly. They are then sent to a pulping facility within the company and reused to make more products. The process of making the cups in this facility was actually very interesting. We saw the sheeter which cuts rolls of paper and the 8 color printing press that copies the design onto the paper. The technology of this facility was amazing. I was fascinated with the system of tubes that launched cups through the air and all over the place. They also had suction box movers that allows employees to move boxes with out physically lifting them. Then there were the robots. This was the probably my favorite part of the tour. These self-driving robots were programs to work like forklifts and do a lot of the labor automatically.  This was a great experience and very eye opening.

Markets: Retail and consumer goods

Materials: paperboard (bleached white), plastic resins, molded fiber, metals and engineered plastics

Forming Technologies: Sheeting

Cutting Technologies: CNC router, dye cutting

Joining Technologies: Steam activated adhesives

Finishing Technologies: Industrial printing