Members of the writing profession can hardly avoid them: Staedtler Mars pens. They can be found in the pencil cases of teachers, editors and authors all over Germany. They have also made it into the pen holders on the desks of executives. Efficiency, accuracy, reliability of process steps, adherence to project plans and overall top performance are among the success criteria of the company, which can call itself one of the largest German manufacturers of wood-cased pens, foil pens, fine leads, erasers and modeling compounds. In order to remain competitive, the company has endeavored to find potential savings, particularly in the previously labor-intensive packaging of products.

One player in this field is the company Karl Knauer. Its core competencies lie in packaging and advertising materials as well as gift packaging made from cardboard, corrugated cardboard and paper. With three locations in Germany (Biberach, Neuenstein) and Poland (Pniewy), the company is one of the leading suppliers in the packaging sector. Customers from the branded goods and service industries throughout Europe benefit from the company's diverse expertise and high level of vertical integration. In dialog with its customers, the company develops designs that meet all packaging requirements - from protection and safety to attractive presentation at the POS. Karl Knauer offers specialized ranges with state-of-the-art packaging technologies for eight areas of industry expertise: cosmetics/care, pharmaceuticals/health, environment/nature, food/agriculture, beer/beverages, home/industry, blister cards and mechanical engineering. In addition, we are working flat out on innovations for the packaging requirements of the future. Be it in the areas of smart packaging, convenience, product safety, counterfeit protection, finishing technologies or efficiency and sustainability.

Decades of experience in the development, design and production of cardboard packaging also make the company a sought-after partner for the design and construction of packaging machines, especially when it comes to individual, holistic optimization solutions.

Flexible interception of peaks

Previously, there were two employees at the end of the production line at Staedtler Mars, each packing ten blister cards in an outer carton. In order to achieve a smooth process, outer cartons with automatic bottoms were used. After manually closing the cartons, the employees still had to label them and then pack several outer cartons into a shipping carton. Above all, the packaging specialist had three improvements in mind: simple carton blanks were to replace the outer carton with automatic bottom. The machine was to be quickly converted to other formats. There was to be a significant reduction in personnel costs and, ultimately, an increase in output.