Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock (
) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Parker Plastics, Inc. – Industry 4.0 Grant Application Support for Technology Adoption
With the help of: Maryland MEP
About
Parker Plastics, Inc. (PPI) is a custom blow molder of plastic bottles and containers. Since 1989, PPI has focused on developing customer-driven packaging solutions with the highest quality products and customer service levels. PPI utilizes extrusion blow molding and re-heat and blow processes to manufacture products made of PET, HDPE, LDPE and Polypropylene resins (all BPA free). PPI operates four 100,000-square-foot facilities located in Sand Springs, Oklahoma; Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin; Hagerstown, Maryland; and North Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Challenge
Parker Plastics identified an opportunity for implementing a vision system and auto case filling system to streamline a production line process. The goal was to improve the output, quality, and consistency of bottle containers to their customers, by detecting and avoiding any quality defect issues during the production of the bottle containers. The project would improve the plant productivity and quality, increase production capacity, efficiencies and provide new capabilities for quality check to be done with visual technology to ensure a quality product. The automatic case packing will provide 100% accuracy of bottles per bulk container verses the current state of operator counting. For help, Parker Plastics turned to Maryland MEP, part of the MEP National Network™.
Receiving the M4.0 grant marks a significant milestone for Parker Plastics. This grant has empowered us to reform our manufacturing processes, integrating new technologies to enhance efficiency and sustainability. With the support of M4.0, we've been able to upgrade our production operations, reduce waste, and increase productivity to keep our competitiveness in an evolving market. We extend our appreciation to Maryland MEP for their partnership and commitment to driving innovation in Maryland manufacturing.
MEP's Role
In support of Parker Plastic’s goal, Maryland MEP provided feedback and guidance throughout the Maryland Department of Commerce’s M4.0 grant application process. This included application review and the sharing of best practices and lessons learned from previous M4.0 grant application rounds. As a result, Parker Plastics was successfully awarded an M4.0 grant to support the cost of the vision system and automated packaging system.