How Aagard Tackled a High-Speed Chub Packaging Challenge

Some of our favorite projects start with a call from a customer we’ve worked with before—especially when that call comes with a brand-new challenge. That was the case when a long-time partner came back to us, riding the momentum of a previous successful system. This time, though, they needed help with something different: automating a notoriously difficult packaging format—chubs of meat.

They were already working with bagged products on our machines and had seen strong performance, but their new application involved chilled chubs, and their current process just wasn’t keeping up. The speed limitations weren’t mechanical—they were human.

Operators and loaders simply couldn’t move fast enough to support the throughput the rest of the line demanded. What they had was a bottleneck. What they needed was an end-to-end automated solution.

From Bottleneck to Breakthrough

This wasn’t just about adding automation for automation’s sake. It was about designing a fully integrated solution that could seal, label, check-weigh, load, palletize, and stretch wrap, all while managing the nuances of handling an inconsistent, cold-packed product.

And we knew from the beginning that product inconsistency was going to be a key factor. Their upstream forming process introduced variability that we’d need to engineer flexibility around—especially in the infeed and case loading portions of the system.

Once we put pen to paper, the work began.

Designing for Real-World Constraints

The initial concept was solid from the start, but the real challenge came in the layout. The customer’s floor space was extremely limited, and delivery flow in and out of the machine area left little margin for error. We had to think like industrial architects—working through multiple layout iterations (we landed somewhere in the mid-teens) to optimize for flow, orientation, shape, and service access. It was like a giant game of industrial Tetris, with tight tolerances and high stakes.

Throughout this process, we worked hand-in-hand with the customer to gain buy-in for every revision. Their feedback helped us fine-tune critical features, eliminate design dead-ends early, and focus on delivering a combination solution that could do more, in less space.

Flexibility, Pivoting, and Still On-Time

Just when things seemed to be locking in, we got hit with a curveball: a mid-project packaging change. A new display requirement meant we needed to pivot on the case setup, sealing, and printing modules.

At the same time, the customer made a special request to store the system post-build, delaying installation until they could complete upstream upgrades. We had to plan for a long hold period—without compromising on system readiness or risking loss of momentum.

Even with these added complexities, our team kept the project on track and delivered on time, proving again the advantage of working with a partner who builds combination machines to fit real-world conditions—not cookie-cutter specs.

Why Engineers Choose Aagard

This project wasn’t just a case packer, or a labeler, or a palletizer. It was all of those things—plus the critical controls, integration, and product handling expertise needed to pull them together into one seamless line. That’s what we mean when we say combination machine.

And it’s why engineers trust Aagard when they’re facing a challenge that doesn’t have an off-the-shelf answer.

When you work with us, you’re not talking to a sales rep—you’re working directly with the engineering team that will design and build your machine. We don’t just promise customization—we live it, from concept to commissioning.

Have a product that’s hard to handle or a footprint that’s tough to work with? Let’s figure it out together.

Contact Aagard