When I passed by the assembly workshop this morning, Lao Zhang was debugging the dual-channel coffee packaging equipment that had just come off the production line with his apprentice. When he saw me sticking his head out, he shouted: "Come and help! This batch of machines will be sent to Indonesia at the end of the month. They specifically asked to use the same assembly line as XX Coffee (Note: the brand name is hidden)!" This made my heart warm - the scene of signing a five-year agreement with the coffee giant with blue background and white letters three months ago appeared in front of me again. I remember that the first time I came into contact with this project was in late autumn last year. The purchasing director of the other party flew directly to our factory with the R&D team and threw out an "impossible task" at the beginning: "We need coffee packaging equipment that can handle special-shaped drip ear bags and is compatible with nitrogen freshness lock, and the monthly production capacity must cover six production areas in Southeast Asia." To be honest, the existing models in the workshop at that time did not meet this flexible production requirement, but the eyes of the "technical madmen" in our factory were bright - isn't this a good opportunity to verify the newly developed intelligent production line?
In those two months, the R&D department directly set up a temporary laboratory on site. The drip ear bag samples brought by the other party have twelve shapes, from the common trapezoidal to the rare flying bird shape. Our coffee packaging equipment relies on programmable robotic arms + visual positioning systems to control the sorting error at the industry-leading level. The most amazing thing is the transformation of the nitrogen filling module. Engineer Lao Li transplanted the principle of the pressure relief valve of his own pressure cooker to the equipment, and successfully achieved the precise replacement of gas in the corners. Last month, customers reported that after the new equipment was put into production, the residual oxygen content of their drip ear coffee was nearly 40% lower than the industry standard.
What really impressed customers in this cooperation was not only the technical parameters. Before Christmas last year, the customer proposed to trial-produce a batch of holiday limited edition cedar-shaped coffee bags. According to the conventional process, it takes at least 45 days from design to production of a customized packaging system, but we used our self-developed modular mold components and delivered the first batch of samples in three weeks. I heard that the batch of products was sold out in three days after it was put on the shelves in the Tokyo flagship store. The president of the customer's Asia-Pacific region sent us a thank-you video. In the background, you can see the coffee packaging equipment printed with our factory's LOGO running happily on the assembly line!
Now walking into the final assembly workshop, the row of new models with bright yellow bodies in the southeast corner is particularly eye-catching-these are all newly developed coffee packaging equipment for strategic cooperation. The intelligent deviation correction system they are equipped with can automatically identify the difference in moisture content of coffee powder in different production areas and adjust the heat sealing temperature in real time. When the quality control director of the Vietnam branch came to inspect last week, he measured twenty sample bags with a vernier caliper. The sealing flatness was exactly the same, and he added an order for Q1 next year on the spot.
This cooperation has brought us more than just order growth. The customer opened their global supply chain database, allowing our engineers to grasp the equipment operation data of different production areas in real time. Last month, based on the feedback from the Colombian production area, we added a moisture-proof coating option to the coffee packaging equipment; and developed ink-free embossing technology for the minimalist packaging preferred by Nordic customers. These upgrades have now become our trump cards when bidding.
Standing on the shipping platform and looking at the batch of coffee packaging equipment that is about to depart, I suddenly remembered what the customer said when signing the contract: "We are not looking for a supplier, but a technical partner who can accompany us for ten years." Now that I think about it, perhaps it is our factory's "die-hard technology, but not rigid" spirit that makes international giants willing to hand over the production line to us. Next time if you see a big brand's coffee bag with a particularly stunning shape, maybe it contains the wisdom of our workshop?
