09 October 2023 //
Installing an additional packaging line allowed this leading manufacturer of skin products to increase capacity and shift quickly to meet the demands of an ever-changing customer market.
Kutol, a Cincinnati-based company founded in 1912, produces hand soaps, hair and body washes, industrial hand cleaners, and foam and gel hand sanitizers under its own brands, Health Guard® and Kutol® Pro, as well as for private label brands.
THE CHALLENGE
Due to a sudden and significant product demand, it was decided to dedicate all of Kutol’s filling lines to handle one product to meet the need at hand. To make the situation even more challenging, the high-demand product is typically produced in an explosion-proof room and safety measures across the entire facility had to be managed.
Additionally, it was also decided a fifth filling line to handle plastic bottles and containers needed to be added.
“We always planned on adding a fifth line… We realized if we wanted to sustain three to five times our usual volume into the future, whether that be two or 10 years from now, we would need another line,” said Kutol’s Vice President of Operations John Rhodenbaugh.
THE SOLUTION
All four of the filling lines already operating at Kutol were anchored by machines made and installed by DTM Packaging. The newest of the four became operational in late 2018. “That line helped us out significantly through the pandemic,” explains Rhodenbaugh. “We made the decision to turn to DTM again for a high-speed fill line that would fill smaller sizes than our previous line and accommodate not just the hand sanitizer, but any of the products we produce.”
DTM recommended a fully integrated bottling line with a DTM Purefill 2500 In-Line Walking Beam Flow Meter Filler to handle a wide range of containers. The walking-beam format of the filler means it operates on a continuous-motion basis. The simple-to-operate machine features a clean hygienic design and a sanitary product path. An on-board pressure supply tank is equipped with dual-spray ball cleaning. Other design features include top-fill anti-foam nozzles or bottom-up fill capability for filling foamy or high-viscosity products and quick changeover for a range of products and container sizes.
The bulk of business at Kutol is hand soap, so it was not necessary to upgrade all the lines to be explosion proof. But it was important to have a safe fill line for those products and all the lines.
THE RESULTS
Kutol is now running PET, HDPE, PVC, or PETG containers in sizes from as small as 1 oz to as large as a half-gallon on their new filler, affectionately named “Fill-Zilla” by employees at the plant. The filler can be used as a standalone machine or as part of the complete bottling line supplied by DTM.
While the DTM Purefil is capable of handling up to 300 bottles/min, Rhodenbaugh says Kutol will likely average about 80 to 120 bottles/min based on the bottle sizes and configurations. “There is definitely room for expansion on the line in the future,” he says. “But already we see an increase in capacity somewhere in the range of 200 to 400 percent compared to where we were. This boost in capacity will allow us to meet our growing needs, while keeping Kutol’s teammate headcount the same.”
Another significant design feature is that the filler is explosion proof, making it ideal for handling product containing alcohol. The DTM Purefill is electrically closed, intrinsically safe, and in a classified area. Other machines on the line include an unscrambler, a capper, an inspection system, a checkweigher, a labeler and a case packer.
In addition to increased productivity, Rhodenbaugh says Kutol will benefit from using all DTM filling lines because the software and hardware is the same, making it easier to train operators across all the lines. “They offer ongoing support after installation,” adds Rhodenbaugh. “That’s why we’ve had them build filling lines for us since 2005.”
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