Infinity expands European footprint to 15 countries
Built on over two decades of world-class engineering and robust build quality, manufacturer of automated tissue packaging machinery, Infinity Machine & Engineering Corp. has asserted itself as a prominent supplier in the European tissue converting industry.
Rooted in a commitment to unparalleled customer service and a continuous pursuit of innovation, Infinity has become an international juggernaut, with over 2,500 units of machinery installed across six continents and 30 countries.
Despite its current position within the industry, much of Infinity’s growth, especially
outside of North America, has only occurred within the last decade. Much of Infinity’s first decade of operation was spent perfecting machine designs and maximizing production capabilities.
Designing and manufacturing the highest quality machinery in the industry and offering unmatched technical service allowed Infinity to quickly make inroads with tissue converters throughout North America. As positive word of mouth spread, converters in Latin and South America also quickly adopted Infinity machinery.
While Infinity quickly became the dominate supplier of packaging machinery to the
American tissue industry, the company faced obstacles breaking into Europe.
Founded in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Infinity was initially at a disadvantage with European customers, as they were more familiar with European tissue packaging manufacturers. In order to break Europe, Infinity needed to go to Europe.
To establish itself in the European market, Infinity repositioned itself by opening Infinity Italia in Bologna, Italy. This expansion added the talent and expertise of Italian technical and administrative employees, who offered unique insights into the European tissue industry. Infinity Italia strategically positioned Infinity within the heart of Europe, creating vital links to converters across the continent.
Upon opening Infinity Italia, Infinity’s reputation steadily grew throughout Europe. Between 2015 and 2020, Infinity supplied tissue packaging machinery to customers
across six different European countries.
Seeing significant potential for growth in Europe, Infinity began the process of designing machinery specifically tailored to the needs of the European market. The first foray into targeted machinery came in the form of Infinity’s i18-Bundler.
The i18, and the subsequent generation, Optic M1 Bundler, were designed to package together extra wide format bundles, which are essential to European tissue converters.
The utility of the I18 and OM1 bundlers is complemented with a series of features designed to improve operating conditions, like a quick-change knife system and a poly pull out cart for simplified poly reel loading and unloading.
The performance capabilities and operator focused design of the machine stood out from the competition and European converters took notice. Since their release, the bundlers have been purchased by 16 different converting mills throughout Europe, making them some of Infinity’s fastest selling machines to date.
Infinity machinery made a great first impression as since 2019, sales to European customers increased by over 3,500%. This exponential growth has given Infinity a dominant position in the European market.
Since breaking into Europe, Infinity has become the fastest growing manufacturer of tissue packaging machinery in the region. Today, Infinity proudly supplies machinery to converters across 15 European countries, continuing to build its reputation on quality machinery and dedicated service.
Infinity palletizing solutions: tailored to the needs of your operation
In the modern converting facility, palletizers are no longer a luxury, they have become as essential to production as an unwinder.
While palletizers have been ubiquitous among large and midsize converters, increasing labor pressures have led to widespread adoption across smaller independent converters as well.
While the need for cost-efficient, reliable palletizing is universal across converters, the challenges they face are often unique. Even individual mills within the same company can have wildly different facility limitations and barriers to efficiency.
With the tissue industry full of distinctive needs that often vary depending on the converter, mill, or even line, palletization cannot be a one-size-fits-all all solution.
When Infinity Machine & Engineering Corp. began conceptualizing its expansion into palletizing solutions, the variance throughout the industry was at the forefront of the design process.
To best serve the industry, Infinity has developed a heavy-duty, standard palletizer, as well as a flexible cobot palletizer. Infinity’s standard palletizer was designed from the ground up to accommodate the needs of a variety of converters. Made up of modular sections that can be arranged into countless different layouts, Infinity palletizers can be optimized for everything from single product lines to large-scale, multi-line operations.
The comprehensive range of palletizer sections offered by Infinity includes a pallet squaring unit, automatic slip sheet placement, pallet dispensing, and fully automatic, fully servo stretch wrapping.
These units can be set up in countless different layouts, ensuring Infinity palletizers adhere to desired production requirements within facility limitations.
Depending on the needs of the converter, Infinity palletizers can be equipped with multiple loading arms and build stations, resulting in units that can operate at speeds up to 60 packs a minute on the infeed.
Infinity palletizers can further be refined to the needs of their customers, as they can be equipped with both vacuum and servo gripper end effectors, giving them the versatility to stack cases as well as bundles for Display Ready Pallets.
While standard Infinity palletizers are great for converters that have high production volumes, require the fastest speeds possible, and need robust lifting capabilities, other Converters need different features to maximize production.
Many smaller-scale converters require palletizing solutions that can be deployed quickly and integrated with existing equipment. Infinity’s cobot palletizer is the perfect fit for these converters.
The cobot palletizer has a compact footprint and can easily be maneuvered via integrated casters or built-in forklift pockets. This simplifies its installation and enables dynamic repositioning of the cobot to different lines as production demands change.
This functionality is made possible because the machine doesn’t require any guarding or additional safety devices. Equipped with a sophisticated system of proximity sensors, Infinity cobot palletizers can detect if a person or object enters the palletizing arm’s range of motion. If something is detected, the palletizer automatically slows to a crawl, and if the cobot makes contact, it immediately freezes in position.
Combine this comprehensive safety system with the cobot’s two standard build stations, and operators can remove completed pallet stacks from the inactive build station while the machine is still in motion, allowing for optimal efficiency in the pallet building process.
Whether your production requires a robust machine that can handle the highest throughput possible or a highly adaptable, space-saving solution, Infinity has a palletizer that will seamlessly fit your operational requirements.
Infinity expands palletizer offerings with new Cobot palletizer
Infinity Machine and Engineering Corp. is proud to announce the newest addition to our line of palletizing solutions, the Infinity cobot.
Infinity’s cobot palletizer is engineered to increase productivity while seamlessly integrating with an existing workforce and facility.
Designed to stack finished product onto pallets for shipping or storage, the palletizer can complete its operations safely alongside a human workforce without the need for guarding or additional safety devices.
The advanced safety system of Infinity’s cobot can identify if someone or something is within the radius of its arm. If a person or object enters the cobot’s range of motion, the palletizer automatically reduces its speed to a crawl. If the arm of the cobot makes contact with the object, it immediately freezes in position.
Combine this sophisticated safety system with the cobot’s two standard build stations and operators are able to remove completed pallet stacks from the inactive build station while the machine is still in motion, allowing for optimal efficiency in the pallet building process.
Operator convenience is also prioritized in the palletizer’s design as key operating factors like recipe, product location, and product type can be modified directly from a touchscreen tablet.
The Infinity Cobot is set to redefine the efficiency of your operations with an advanced safety system allowing for uninterrupted production runs and improved operator convenience.
Infinity Machine & Engineering Corp. to exhibit at Tissue World 2025
From April 8 th to April 10 th , Infinity Machine & Engineering Corp. will return to the Messe Dusseldorf to exhibit at Tissue World 2025.
The previous edition of Tissue World took place last January in Miami and brought together professionals from across the American tissue industry. This year’s exhibition is expected to draw visitors from across Europe and will focus on future proofing the tissue industry for sustainable growth.
Since establishing a base for its European operations in Bologna, Infinity has developed a significant presence in Europe. In the last ten years, Infinity has sold over 120 units of machinery to customers across 15 European countries.
A key piece of Infinity’s machine catalog that has greatly contributed to its growth in Europe is the Optic M1 poly bundler. Designed with the unique needs of the European tissue market in mind, the Optic M1 boasts swappable flight bar and upender units. The interchangeable upender/flight bar units give the machine increased flexibility on the product infeed, allowing for the production of bundles with vertical and horizontal roll formats.
To learn more about the Optic M1, as well as Infinity’s entire roster of innovative tissue packaging machinery, be sure to visit Infinity’s booth at space F40.
Infinity’s C15 casepacker provides functionality and sustainability with display ready trays
As ecological consciousness has continued to become more prevalent on a global scale, consumer data has clearly indicated individuals take their own environmental impact into account when making purchasing decisions.
In a 2020 consumer study conducted by McKinsey & Company, 78% of consumers indicated sustainability as an important factor of their lifestyle and more than 60% of consumers stated they would be willing to pay more for a product if it was packaged sustainably.
In consumer product industries like tissue, sustainable packaging creates an opportunity for product differentiation. If brands utilize sustainable packaging effectively, there is increased potential to establish and develop customer loyalty.
Infinity Machine & Engineering Corp. produces both multi-pack and single roll wrappers with a proven history of providing sturdy, sustainable, primary packaging for tissue rolls across a multitude of formats. Due to Infinity’s innovative packaging machinery, smaller packs of bathroom tissue and kitchen towel wrapped in paper overwrap are becoming increasingly more common in storefronts.
Despite the advantages of sustainable packaging, next time you go to your local supermarket, you may be surprised to see how little it is being utilized in large bundles of tissue products.
The immediate solution would seem to be replacing polyethene packaging with more sustainable paper overwrap, as it is done in smaller packs. However, large bundles of multiple tissue packs present additional challenges. The increased mass of bundles makes paper wrapped solutions much harder to implement effectively, especially when you consider the durability polyethylene provides.
Furthermore, the difference in material properties between paper wrap and polyethene would require new means of forming, sealing, and cutting bundles, which would require additional engineering and development.
Confronted by this dilemma, Infinity engineers further developed some of our existing capabilities to provide a more ecological alternative to polyethylene bundlers.
Since its debut in 2010, Infinity’s C15 casepacker has become a fixture of tissue packaging, with over 250 machines installed across six countries. Designed to provide secondary packaging for tissue, diapers and hygiene products, the C15 can pack product into corrugated cases or trays.
While cases are much more common, corrugated trays are becoming more frequently utilized due to the ecological benefits they offer. Corrugate trays can often be made using less than half the material of cases, with the C15 capable of loading trays with bottom gap flaps and a wall height as small as 100mm.
These trays can suitably support poly wrapped or paper wrapped packages and can be designed with easy open perforations for display. Some supermarket chains in North America have already begun to adopt these display ready trays.
The utility of these trays doesn’t end with display functionality. Utilizing trays instead of bundles for bulk tissue packaging creates a unique way to differentiate products, while also improving the sustainability of product packaging.
Innovative packaging solutions that prioritize the environment, like replacing plastic bundles with corrugate trays, ensure that sustainable packaging is not a trend, but rather an evolution of the industry. Infinity Machine and Engineering Corp. is committed to being at the forefront of this evolution, ensuring that our customers can prioritize sustainability and functionality.
Infinity expands product line to offer warehouse automation solutions
Throughout its 20-year history, Infinity Machine & Engineering Corp. has been a company committed to innovation, fine-tuning the design of automated tissue packaging machinery to best suit the needs of their customers. In its 20th year of operation, Infinity is embarking on another bold path, this time into warehouse automation.
Infinity’s line of warehouse automation solutions features a palletizer, a pallet conveyor, and seven different models of Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs). Combined with Infinity’s comprehensive line of tissue packaging solutions, Infinity customers can have every process after the log saw completed by integrated machinery from a single supplier.
The AGVs offered by Infinity can perform a range of warehouse operations, across a variety of industries. Infinity’s fleet includes a small, AMR-style AGV, four fork truck models, including an outrigger model with a small turning radius, a narrow-bodied model that can easily maneuver throughout a warehouse, a single double vehicle that can transport two pallet stacks at once, and a forklift designed specifically for Over the Road (OTR) trailer loading and unloading. Infinity also offers two AGVs designed for raw material transport, a cradle-style vehicle, capable of omnidirectional travel, and also a counterbalanced clamp vehicle.
Infinity pallet conveyor systems boast a wide range of conveyor sections that ensure that the pallet sorting process is streamlined. Each line of conveyor can be customized to the unique requirements of the customer’s operations. These conveyor sections include pallet squaring units, pallet destacking/restacking units, pop-up transfers, and pallet rotating conveyor.
Similar to the Infinity pallet conveyor, Infinity palletizers are made up of modular sections that can be arranged into countless layouts. The flexibility created by Infinity palletizers makes them perfect for a multitude of product lines, from single products to large-scale, multi-line operations. Infinity palletizers offer fully servo, fully automatic stretch wrapping, slip sheet placement, and an integrated labeler.
Infinity Releases Wrapper for Wide Diameter Rolls
International leader in automated tissue packaging machinery, Infinity Machine & Engineering Corp. has released the new VGXL multipack wrapper, a machine capable of producing multi-roll packs as wide as 720mm.
Based on the robust design of Infinity’s VISION G3 multipack wrapper, the VGXL shares attributes that have made the VISION G3 famous, like top and bottom infeed belts, and an accessible design that allows for simplified maintenance.
The VGXL is the result of Infinity recognizing consumer preferences shifting towards purchasing larger, wide-format rolls. As consumer trends continue to evolve, tissue packaging machinery must adapt to enable consistent, high-quality packaging of these wider rolls. The VGXL is the perfect machine to serve this growing sector of the market.
South Korean Tissue Manufacturer Increases Investment in Infinity Machinery
MSS Holdings of South Korea has purchased its third packaging line from international leader in automated tissue packaging machinery, Infinity Machine and Engineering Corp.
This most recent investment in Infinity equipment by MSS Holdings is the company’s second Infinity packaging line purchased for their brand Monalisa.
Infinity will be providing an EPXL poly bundler, VISION G3 multipack wrapper, and conveyor system for the project.
The EPXL poly bundler features a wide frame that allows the machine to create wide format packs, which are common in the South Korean market. Additionally, the EPXL also boasts an integrated diverter and flight bar for simplified product collation, and an automatic poly pull out cart for safe and convenient poly loading.
MSS Holdings selected the VISION G3 multipack wrapper for their new packaging line as Infinity’s most advanced wrapper. The VISION G3 Infinity will be supplying to MSS Holdings will feature an external handle applicator, giving MSS holdings the ability to differentiate their product with increased consumer convenience.
Infinity has steadily increased its influence in the Asian tissue market as Infinity packaging machinery is operated across South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
Infinity releases R10SW Palletizer
It is no secret that in recent decades manufacturers have pivoted toward automating the production process at a rapid pace. And as the cost of labor has steadily increased, there is no indication this shift toward automation will slow down anytime soon.
Tissue converters have been especially proactive in implementing automation into their production process as nearly every step of the converting process can and has been automated.
In 2004, Infinity Machine & Engineering Corp. was founded in response to the surge in automated tissue converting lines and has led the charge in automating the tissue packaging process ever since.
Already boasting the most comprehensive roster of automated packaging machinery in the industry, Infinity is further expanding their roster of automated machinery to cover the end of the production line with the R10SW palletizer.
Responding to consumer demand, the R10SW palletizer can be integrated with Infinity packaging lines, enabling Infinity machinery to automate every step of the tissue production process after the log saw.
A key aspect of the R10SW palletizer is its modularity. The R10SW is made up of modular palletizer sections that can be arranged into countless different layouts to accommodate production requirements, as well as facility limitations. The flexibility created by these palletizer sections makes it perfect for a multitude of product lines, from single products to large-scale, multi-line operations.
The palletizer segments offered by Infinity include automatic slip sheet placement, integrated labeling, and fully automatic, fully servo stretch wrapping. All are designed to provide extreme efficiency and versatility in a minimal amount of space.
The R10SW palletizer comes equipped with an articulated robot arm from FANUC, one of the world’s largest industrial robot manufacturers. The R10SW’s FANUC articulated robot arm is capable of quick cycle times and robust performance. The development of the R10SW palletizer has led to Infinity being an official “FANUC Authorized System Integrator”.
Extreme versatility is built into the design of the R10SW, either vacuum or servo gripper end effectors can be equipped on the palletizer, allowing for high-speed stacking capabilities on a wide range of products, including cases, bundles, and DRP.
The versatility of the R10SW is complemented by robust performance as the palletizer has a full unit load total height of 110 inches.
Infinity engineers prioritized operator convenience and safety in the design of the R10SW, resulting in a machine that is as safe as it is accessible. The palletizer features multiple safety zones, separated by access gates, allowing for safe up-close monitoring of production. Access to hard-to-reach areas of the machine has also been improved.
As tissue converters throughout the world continue to embrace automation, flexibility is as essential in the production’s end-of-line as it is in the converting and packaging process. The R10SW brings Infinity’s signature innovative engineering and robust build quality to the world of palletizing solutions, making the production end-of-line safer, smarter, and as flexible as the rest of your line.
Infinity Machine & Engineering Corp. to exhibit at Tissue World 2024
From January 31st to February 2nd, Infinity Machine & Engineering Corp. will return to the Miami Beach Convention Center to exhibit at Tissue World 2024.
The previous show, Tissue World 2023, took place in Dusseldorf and brought together tissue industry professionals across Europe. This year’s exhibition promises to draw representatives across the North American, Latin American, and South American tissue markets.
At this year’s exhibition, Infinity will officially launch their line of palletizing solutions, expanding the Infinity product line beyond primary and secondary tissue packaging.
Responding to consumer demand, Infinity palletizing solutions can be integrated with Infinity packaging lines, enabling Infinity machinery to automate every step of the tissue production process after the log saw.
A key aspect of Infinity’s palletizing solutions is their modularity. The unit is made up of modular palletizer sections that can be arranged into countless different layouts in order to accommodate production requirements, as well as facility limitations. The flexibility created by these palletizer sections make it perfect for a multitude of product lines, from single product, to large-scale, multi-line operations.
The palletizer segments offered by Infinity include automatic slip sheet placement, integrated labeling, and fully automatic, fully servo stretch wrapping. All designed to provide extreme efficiency and versatility in a minimal amount of space.
To learn more about the palletizing solutions offered by Infinity, as well as new developments among its existing roster of machinery, stop by the Infinity booth located at space B30.