Pharmaceutical and small-format finishing is a robust and specialized category that can be very profitable to serve. However, until recently the category was in dire need of a technology overhaul to remove labor from the process, increase quality and security, reduce make-ready times, and increase production and changeover speeds.

For example, legacy miniature folding systems that are around today can date back as far as the 1990s with manual operator functions and four- to 12-hour machine setups for complicated work. That’s fine for longer-run and repeat jobs, but for today’s shorter-run jobs, manual machines are an obstacle to productivity. Not to mention the immense challenge of finding and retaining skilled operators to set up and run the work. On the output side, machines are often run at speeds of only 5,000 pieces per hour due solely to the physical limitation of the operators stacking material by hand.

MBO America recently released a case study on the miniature folding category, sharing that a few years back H+H GmbH embarked on a journey to develop the miniature folding “model of the future,” with the goal of removing the artful skill from the job through automation, and increasing the productivity of a single machine while requiring less than a full operator to run it without fatigue on a long shift. Without spoiling it for you, let’s just say they achieved their goal. As it turns out, the drive for automation and disruptive technology in the small format category is one that several other manufacturers have adopted as well—and I think you’ll be very impressed with what’s available in the space.