COO Sean Hartness tells Exec how simple, sustainable
innovations hit the spot for this packaging solutions provider
Written by Anne-Frances Hutchinson and Produced by Rob Benson
Once he’d purchased the Pepsi bottling rights for Greenville, SC, it didn’t take long for Tom Hartness to start developing equipment to make his production line run more smoothly. That was nearly 60 years ago. Today, Hartness International is not only an innovator in packaging technology and systems – it’s also still in the family.
Chief Operating Officer and VP Sean Hartness is bringing the firm into a new phase of growth and development, guided by his grandfather’s ethics and operating philosophy: that economic sustainability and simple solutions translate into a better quality of life.
“Over the last five years we’ve essentially reinvented the company,” the younger Hartness reports. The company’s traditional business – manufacturing case packing equipment – represents approximately 10 percent of its US $100 million annual revenue. At present, the firm has shifted focus to providing complete end-to-end engineered product line solutions.
“We can provide parts, production lines or complete systems, integrate others’ content and provide in many cases up to half of the content of the system. We’ll engineer a complete system, we will install it mechanically, electrically, we’ll commission a complete production line and then train the plant staff and hand the production line over to the customer,” Sean explains.
Deceptive simplicity
With a culture that promotes simple innovation, Hartness has grown to a firm with global reach and six divisions. From systems integration to robotics and automation, conveyor systems and performance solutions, the divisions exist to improve overall effectiveness at every level of the packaging and bottling process. By rethinking controls and systems design, Hartness International Integration delivers systems that require less space, reduce labor requirements, and increase system flexibility compared to traditional designs.
“The Hartness Conveyor Systems Division came around about the same time as integration,” Sean estimates. “As we became an integrator we needed conveyor content; to be cost competitive we designed a line that fits into 20 to 30 percent less space, allowing us to put more production lines in smaller spaces.”
Hartness Performance Solutions leverage video capture technology and line monitoring systems to improve production performance. Their FlashBack remote troubleshooting system analyzes the motion of production equipment to quickly identify problems and their root causes.
“FlashBack allows customers to run more efficiently with less waste; service technicians can immediately address their issues as opposed to spending lots of money to fly a technician in to address them. We give our customers the tools to do that themselves,” Hartness explains. The division’s Global Messenger product is an inventive, real-time method of transferring line information to PDAs and to desktops to keep managers connected and minimize downtime.
Lean and green
With a firm belief that economic sustainability is tied to environmental sustainability, Hartness has developed an impressive roster of proprietary products designed to help their customer base meet their sustainability goals. “These types of consumable products offer advantages in operational cost efficiency and have a positive impact on the environment,” Sean says. “We see that as a huge benefit.”
Traditional soap and water conveyor lubricating processes use approximately 250,000 gallons of water annually; Hartness proposes a dry conveyor lubricant that uses food grade oils to completely eliminate the need for water as a lubricant. The firm also offers a unique ultrasonic foam eliminator for carbonated soft drinks that speeds production and dramatically eliminates yield loss.
In a bold move, the company formed a division to refine and market organic ink designed specifically for use in glass packaging. Sean illustrates the thought process behind the decision. “Instead of printing ink on the substrate, paper or plastic, and then sticking it on a glass or plastic bottle, why not come up with an organic ink that you can print directly to a glass bottle and allow the glass bottle to always be recycled as clear glass?”
The answer to that question emerged as Uvaclear™, a proprietary organic ink designed to be directly printed onto glass using high-speed screen printing machines. The ink is cured instantly by ultraviolet light, and as a result, bottles can be handled immediately after printing without the need for additional post-curing routines. The ink represents a departure from the widely-adopted applied ceramic labeling (ACL) process, which contains heavy metals and requires an extensive, energy gobbling curing process. Unlike ACL ink, which is less efficiently recycled, the Hartness ink disappears when the glass is crushed, and the bottles recycle as clear glass. Hartness’ continuous improvement strategies include reducing solid waste and wasteful practices.
A strong sense of social responsibility extends to Hartness International’s involvement in their community. “It’s fun to be part of that kind of legacy. It’s all symbiotic,” he says “Every bit you give you get back somehow. That’s my grandfather’s mantra.”
Describing his management view, Tom Hartness wrote, “…the lengths to which we go in order to support our clients might not be acceptable in many publicly-held companies. The freedom to invest in and pursue our core competencies, customer satisfaction and innovation, are only enhanced by our years of experience and status as a family owned business.” There’s no doubt that legacy will endure.