Cannabis Distributor Supercharges Packaging Efficiency with Automation
Automation is the key to scale
Founded in 2017 by a group of cannabis entrepreneurs with the goal of creating a robust and efficient supply chain of legal cannabis throughout California, lbs. Distribution has lately been on an automation journey. In the early days, the West Sacramento, Calif.-based firm managed to manually fill and seal 300 pre-made bags per person per day. So with a team of five, that was about 1,500 units/day.
A significant improvement was made in 2020 when the firm installed a 14-bucket combination scale from High Tek. Operators held the premade bags beneath the discharge chute of the scale and manually put the bags through a heat-sealing system, an approach that got a team of five to 2,200 units per day.
Then in January of 2023, the firm installed a High Tek bagging machine. Integrated with the High Tek combination scale, it lets a team of two operators package nearly 6,000 units per day. The bagger uses vacuum pickup cups to pick a premade pouch from a magazine feed and place the pouch in a shuttle. The pouch is mechanically pinched to help open it. Then a puff station blows a burst of air into the pouch to fully open the bottom gusset. At this point the pouch is ready to receive product from the discharge funnel of the High Tek combination scale. Next is a station where the pouch is aggressively shaken to settle the product down into the bottom of the pouch.
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