The magic of forming. An account of a trip to RPC Bramlage.

Currently there are 68 simultaneously realized projects in RPC Bramlage, not mentioning the ones in design process. The factory has been working for last 10 years 24 hours per day on three shifts, producing over million packaging per day.

While packing for the trip to RPC plant in Bramlage, Germany, I knew I would forget about something. This time it was a fruit lip stick which I rarely go out without. It was a pleasant surprise to receive a brand new one at the site and my joy exceeded all limits when the whole production process of its case was presented to me at the German factory.

 Paulina Malińska

The RPC Bramlage plant hires over 680 employees who work on 3 shifts, 24 hours per day, and produce over milion packagings for food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical sector. It is the only department of this global producer in the world where under one roof so many versatile commissions are realized using thermoforming, inject molding and blow molding technology.  Moreover, the plant is distinguished by its high level of production automatization – from the customized project design, through custom molding (currently there are 24 000 molds in the plant), production, finishing, packing and shipping.  

One of the novelties presented during the visit in RPC Bramlage was Gizmo, the customized cap designed for supreme beverages i.e. teas and energy drinks. The innovation lies in the inner mechanism which releases a hidden mixture inside the bottle while opening it. This solution was designed especially for the Tea of a Kind brand which essence is maintained in sealed container till it is opened by the customer. This way the threat of loosing the taste and quality of the product was eliminated. In the future this solution might be applicable not only fopr food sector but also for pharmaceutical or cosmetics. In the picture Ewa Korzeniowska from RPC Bebo Polska presents how Gizmo solutions works.

First CAD

“When the client comes to us and says he wants to pack his cosmetic powder dispensed in this manner, and not the other way, we never say that this cannot be done” – with these word Alfons Boeckman, Director at RPC Bramlage-Wiko, started the presentation of the plant. It went off innocently – first I saw the designer room, where the new 3D projects come to life and “old” ones are modified. That was the story of the mentioned lip case which previous packaging consisted of four parts and now just of three. Sometimes the whole packaging concept is designed from the scratch with the entire packaging line included. Interesting fact is that 90 % of the RPC Bramlage salesmen are engineers who know the plant from the cellar to the roof! After accepting the design, few molds are manufactured by using vacuum molding in order to check the parameters before implementing them to mass production. If the client accepts the model, the inject molds are produced and later manually polished with diamond paste by the group of students on apprenticeship. “Since the beginning of our plants existence we have been always hiring ca 60 students and, though the economic turmoil on the market, we have never resigned from investing in our team” – explained Alfons Boeckman. The next step is grinding with an accuracy of 0, 001 mm. More than 60 % of the daily used molds is produced and changed every day as long as the client cooperates with the company. One of the famous ones is the inject molding 2K form (melting two different polymers in one molder) which allows production of around one million packaging per day and their automatic change without human interference 

RPC Bramlage cooperates with many worldwide brands as Lancôme, Dior, Puma or NIVEA. Especially for the last one the plant designed a modernized, three-piece lips case. Currently the production process looks as followed: the inject molders manufacture 500 pieces per minute which are finished with screen printing with the speed of 200 per minute and finally assembled and shipped to the client, where after filling are transported to the drug stores and from there to female purses.

Next forming

I went to production hall literally from the „basement” where kilometers of interconnected pipes supply tons of resin from the silos to all injection molding and thermoforming machines in the factory. When it reaches the machines the granulate melts and under pressure of 1000 bar transforms into molders which are transported by compressed air to the decorative line. It is worth mentioning that RPC Bramlage has a vision inspection system which ensures in 100% that each part (even in case of 600 parts per minute) corresponds to the set parameters. The next step is the printing section where, depending on the needs, the containers are printed in six colors in the selected technology: offset, screen, pad and digital printing and than refined by hot-stamping foil, sleeve or IML label. Finally the package arrives at the assembly line and, after placing on the pallets and loading on the trucks, is shipped to the customer. “All our working machines are designed in close cooperation between RPC and our suppliers. This way we posses automates which can re-equip themselves in 2-3 hours saving 2-3 days of manual change-over. In the future we plan to develop even faster devices by combining the assembly stage with molding. But more on that soon” – said with mysterious smile Alfons Boeckman, closing the door to the plant behind me.