What is CMB’s assessment of 2023?
“We can’t complain, 2023 has been a good year,” explains Juan Barberán, CMB’s managing director. In fact, just a few weeks before the end of the year, they are working with a high level of demand for their new welding module incorporated in one of their heat packaging systems, specifically, for one of the ERB Series packaging machines, which is going to be of great benefit to their customers.
“This is an enhancement module that allows for increased production for those companies that need it.” Starting in 2023, CMB customers will be able to choose between two types of sealing systems on ERB Series machines: the conventional pneumatically driven one, and the one that includes this module, with a motorized sealing head to reduce film sealing times and increase production, all complemented by a heat tunnel with three aeration nozzles to speed up the shrink wrapping of the package to be packaged, which allows a significant increase in productivity.
Working tirelessly, persevering and trying to improve in order to offer effective solutions to the needs of our customers are just some of the elements that define CMB’s way of working. It is precisely these values and this way of understanding the work that have allowed the company to reach the present day, overcoming complicated past times derived from the multidisciplinary crises of the environment.
A 2023 with an eye on the other side of the Atlantic
CMB’s international expansion began two years after the company was founded, so it is not surprising that internationalization is still a fundamental pillar for CMB today.
For several years now, exports have accounted for around 90% of its production. In 2023, many industrial powers around the globe have placed their trust in CMB. From Azerbaijan, through Norway, to Canada and the United States, these are just some examples of countries that have opted for the reliability, quality, precision and durability of CMB machines, in addition to its proven reliability as an exporting company.
A large COMBO Series machine has traveled to the USA.
The United States of America continues to be one of the reference markets for CMB to market its packaging machines. This year 2023, among many other orders, we have sent to the other side of the Atlantic a machine of enormous dimensions of the COMBO Series, specifically the COMBO 3 model, that is, three fully automatic film changes, which stands out for its speed, reliability, quality of finishes and its great capacity for automation.
This machine is equipped with a reading system using different types of photocells placed at the beginning of the infeed conveyor table, which identify the size of the product to be packaged. From here, the data read are sent to the control cabinet of the installation where the automaton is located and, automatically, the system decides and orders the module to apply the layer of material to achieve maximum use of the fully recyclable polyethylene shrink film that is being used to package the products.
Although it has been a close contest: cold packaging systems have been the winners in 2023, albeit by a very narrow margin.
If we had to choose the most successful packaging system in 2023, it would be a close race, because there were about the same number of orders for machines that pack cold and machines that use a heated system. By a very small margin, the cold-packing system took the lead, since the total number of orders for ERL and COOLPACK machines was slightly higher, but not by much. In terms of packaging proposals with the application of heat, the COMBO Series and ERB Series machines continue to be the favorites.
Objectives and goals for 2024
“We are optimistic, and if nothing prevents it, the outlook for 2024 is exciting,” says Barberán cautiously. This coming year CMB will continue to be present at the most important international fairs in the furniture and wood packaging sector to try to open new markets and consolidate existing ones, with the aim of providing its packaging solutions to those companies that may need them, wherever they may be, exporting all over the world.
Currently, our main objective is to continue strengthening and betting strongly on the markets and countries on the other side of the Atlantic. “Consolidating the market in Canada, the United States and Mexico will undoubtedly be CMB’s goal for 2024”.
