The sustainable lightness of packaging
Galdi is one of the main global players in the design and construction of filling machines for cardboard containers such as Gable Top. It was born 34 years ago from the brilliant intuitions of Galdino Candiotto, owner of a small dairy and with a passion for mechanics. Since the creation of the «Number 1», the company has evolved into a modern reality dedicated to innovation. Today it has more than 90 employees at its headquarters in Paese (TV) and four foreign Business Units (Russia, Morocco, USA and Algeria) that provide commercial support and technical assistance.
Galdi’s headquarters
“Galdi’s strength lies in creating machines compatible with all the formats and configurations of Gable-top cardboard on the market“, says Luisa Binotto from the marketing office. “In this way, we are able to meet the needs of both small and large producers: we offer the most flexible and customised solution, as well as know-how and many years of experience in various areas of the food industry. Mainly for the dairy sector, but also for fruit juices, non-carbonated drinks and food and non-food products in powder and granules. This type of packaging, the Gable-top, more commonly known as «tetrapak», is more environmentally friendly than plastic, both in terms of recycling and logistics. It also gives more visibility on the shelf, as the printing surface is three times that of a label“.
Innovating and growing together
Since 2011, the management of the company has passed into the hands of Antonella Candiotto, daughter of Galdino. “People are our most important resource, and a positive and dynamic working environment increases their satisfaction“, explains Antonella. “We try to improve from all points of view, to build a relationship of trust with our employees, who express their needs freely, giving us the opportunity to grow together“. Antonella is also vice-president of Assindustria VenetoCentro (a business association) with responsibility for trade union relations, safety and the environment: a position that goes hand in hand with her attention to sustainability and human relations. “I devote time and energy to giving back to others what I received, and this is very gratifying. Moreover, meeting people who share the same passion as me, but who also face the same problems as me, is very pleasant and useful at the same time. An experience of great human value“.
Antonella with his father Galdino
At Galdi there are many initiatives aimed at the well-being of workers: corporate welfare, smart working, special permits for mothers and fathers, flexible hours.
Asking her how the Galdi sales network is organised, Antonella explains that “everyone in the company is a salesperson, because the customer does not rely on a single person, but on a team. The more serene, stimulated and rewarded people are, the more efficient, responsible and proactive they are“.
A lot of space is also devoted to training, both with technical and operational courses on the use of new machinery and software, and with activities of personal growth, aimed primarily at what are called soft skills. Construction is underway on the Galdi Village, a structure that will house the Business Museum and, above all, spaces dedicated to the well-being of the company’s employees, customers and suppliers.
When we visited Galdi we realized how improvement, evolution and innovation are part of a shared culture. In Galdi there are no fixed workstations: everyone has a backpack and a laptop, you never sit in the same chair. The work groups are fluid, depending on the project you are working on. “Mobile workstations are a sign of change“, explains Alessandro Gobbo, purchasing manager: “If you get used to sitting anywhere you are even more predisposed to continuous change“.
Continuous improvement
The same tendency is physically reflected in the production environment, where process analysis never stops. “The sector of filling machines to which Galdi turns does not have a predictable trend and it was essential for us to manage fluctuations optimally and level the workload. We set ourselves the ambitious goal of reducing the time taken to process customer orders from a specific model, the RG270, from 19 to 12 weeks, substantially reducing the time taken to procure materials“, Alessandro continues. “It was an excellent job of sharing and collaborating with suppliers, which led to the optimization of purchasing and logistics management and to level and synchronize the workload. As far as the reduction of the time required for internal workings is concerned, a criticality had emerged in the bending department“.
The bending machine used by Galdi was a Gasparini POA 200 t/4 m torsion bar press brake from 1988. After almost 30 years of honourable activity, it was time for an update. Andrea Santin, Quality Improvement Manager, initially considered the option of retrofitting the machine. However, to follow up Alessandro’s important work, Galdi chose to equip himself with a new press brake. “We have set ourselves many goals for our internal machining department. More and more important for us is the ability to quickly produce prototypes, to support the activities of the Research and Development department“, Andrea tells us. “By purchasing a laser cutting machine, we have reduced cutting times by 70%. We aim to move the design philosophies from welded steelwork to bent parts: this will allow us to save raw materials, reduce processing times and costs, increasing the level of hygiene of the machine“.
For a filling machine, in fact, it is essential to ensure a very high level of cleanliness of the components, which must follow the instructions of the stringent European and international regulations. Welding is often a major problem from this point of view, not to mention the aesthetic point of view, which in any case assumes an increasingly significant weight. The press brake recently purchased from Galdi is equipped with the GPS4 real-time angle control system. Paolo, an expert operator, considers it a valuable aid in his work: “To reduce waste of material and time, nesting in laser cutting is increasingly optimized. Often the parts to be bent are oriented in a variable way and it is difficult to manage the springback of the sheet metal. With GPS4, I’m sure I’ll get the right angle the first time“.
Many are the benefits obtained from the implementation of GPS4, especially for very special pieces such as the longitudinal members, where the precise angle of bend is very important. Before, the operator had to measure and correct the part many times. “When we tested your system with a go-no go gauge, we were convinced: the part was perfect“, says Andrea. “We have thus achieved the first set objectives, which are to be quick to program the machine, to be quick to bend and above all to bend with high precision. The choice fell on Gasparini also for this reason: we chose you for the reliability and speed guaranteed, as well as for the energy savings derived from the new machinery“.
Left to right: Alessandro, Paolo, and Andrea.
Not just bends, but also data
The machine is equipped with a data transfer system that facilitates the integration of information between the technical and production departments. “The PDM software loads the 3D CAD drawing into the Profile T offline software, which generates the bending program and loads it into the CNC of the bending machine“, explains Andrea. “Using the CNC functions, we extract bending times, number of pieces per day, downtime and rejects for a certain code, job and process type. This data is then loaded into the management system and helps us to better understand our production“.
“The reduction in setup and bending times has made the difference“, continues Andrea, “combined with a reduction in corrections, welds and additional activities. On average, we have seen a 35% reduction in time. In addition, we make better and more beautiful products, which the customer appreciates and to which he recognizes a value“.
Galdi’s machines are also becoming increasingly intelligent: TYE, an acronym for «Through your eyes», is an augmented reality system that allows the operator to carry out maintenance and repairs with the interactive assistance of our technicians. The MaSH (Machine System Health) system, on the other hand, monitors machine status, collects, presents and communicates data on the performance and yield of the filler. This «black box» allows you to monitor the machine and carry out preventive maintenance. But it is not just a service tool: “Monitoring machine performance allows customers to take action to resolve any critical issues. For example, the system allowed one of our customers in Indonesia to collect structured information throughout the line and understand that inefficiencies were linked to different levels of operator training. They have taken action to fill in the gaps,” explains Luisa.
The vision for the future
Galdi’s drive for improvement did not end with improvements to the machines and the purchase of lasers and press brakes. The plans for the future are far-reaching, as Antonella tells us: “We want to grow, help our customers to find solutions to their problems to compete and differentiate themselves from their competitors. We want to create long-term relationships thanks to the partnerships we are building today. For the next 20 years we will be committed to reducing the environmental impact of our company and products, developing new technologies that can lower our carbon footprint and resource consumption, and experimenting with new business models that enhance the sustainability of our solutions. This is an important aspect, not only for us, but also for the end users“.
For this reason, the Fill Good spin-off was born, with the mission of helping food manufacturers to innovate, choosing sustainable packaging and the most convenient filling solution. Often new technologies are needed to achieve packaging innovation, and consequently high upfront investments are required to achieve them. Fill Good is a partner in the combination of product/packaging/filling solutions thanks to the expertise of Benedetta Zancan (designer) and Ilaria Trento (biologist).