Volm Companies, Inc., an industry leader in providing the highest quality packaging and equipment solutions to the fresh produce industry, has announced that its partner, Manter International B.V. of Emmen, Netherlands, has acquired shares of Solidtec BV. Solidtec, of Dronten, Netherlands, has been manufacturing gantry style palletizing systems for fresh produce and other markets since 1999.
The merger allows for a close collaboration between the companies, resulting in a more cohesive process for customers who are more commonly choosing a single source for both packaging and end of line solutions for their operations.
With the merger, Volm will complement their portfolio of palletizing offerings by offering both robotic and now, conventional palletizing systems. Volm has been manufacturing custom robotic palletizing solutions since the company opened its Ancaster, Ont., facility in 2016. Since the opening, new palletizing and material handling solutions have been introduced for robotic palletizing. In 2018, the patent-pending bin filling solutions end-of-arm tool, capable of placing multiple bags into a bulk bin, was introduced.
In North America, Volm has seen an increasing demand for any type of palletizing solution, with both conventional style and robotic stacking solutions. “We’ve been able to do this with the help of suppliers in the past but feel this was a better business decision for both Volm and Manter moving forward, with all customers being able to benefit from the advantage of looking to one party for the manufacture, design and integration of the systems they need,” says Matt Alexander, vice-president of sales for Volm Companies.
For Manter, in the European market, they’ve seen an influx in requests from their customers for help in integrating palletizing solutions into the packaging and weighing systems they install. “The closer involvement and cooperation with the Solidtec team will enable us to be more efficient with the integrating of our weighing and packaging machines along with the palletizing solution the customer needs for their application,” said Herman Wehkamp, managing director of Manter.
Solidtec’s managing director Edwin Moerdijk adds: “In the next steps of our growing process, the cooperation with both Volm and Manter is a logical choice.”
All companies will continue to operate independently, and collaboration between all parties will be available via press releases and social posts.
