Durham, N.C. – Winners of this year’s Postal Technology International Awards were announced Sept. 23 at a special awards ceremony at POST-EXPO 2014 in Stockholm, Sweden.CartonWrap™, a dynamic packaging system manufactured by CMC in Città di Castello, Italy, and distributed exclusively in North America by Bell and Howell, was named Parcel Handling Innovation of the Year. 

CartonWrap automatically boxes and labels ready-to-ship goods for the eCommerce fulfillment market at up to 15 boxes per minute. This eco-friendly solution creates boxes from a continuous reel of corrugated materials to fit the volume of the content, thus maximizing space while reducing shipping and labor costs, warehousing of materials, and use of filler material.

Products to be shipped enter the machine inlet where a 3D scanner determines the dimensions of the contents to be boxed. CartonWrap then uses that data to cut the corrugated material to precise measurements, assemble a box around the contents, add an invoice, apply labels, and even print out the shipping data.

The system is operated by one person and can run from different reel and carton widths from 800mm to 1,200 mm using either a single-faced or double-walled substrate. CMC estimates that CartonWrap can replace between eight to 10 operators working in two shifts a day.

“This process reduces costs, allows for increased capacity, aids supply chain management, and means environmental accreditations can be met,” said Giuseppe Ponti, President of CMC. 

“Bell and Howell has partnered with CMC to bring this award-winning technology to eCommerce and shipping operations throughout North America,” said Mike Swift, Vice President/General Manager, Sorting & Parcels Strategic Business Unit. “Not only does CartonWrap increase throughput and efficiency through automation, it can save space and money through less warehousing of filler and corrugated materials.”

Postal Technology International magazine began accepting award nominations from readers in May. A list of finalists was then forwarded to a judging panel consisting of 18 postal and shipping experts from around the globe. Final selections were made by the panel and announced at POST-EXPO.