WILPAC Automotive Parts Packaging Lines: VCI Rust Protection and Cushioned Cartoning for Export

An automotive part travels further than most consumer goods and is judged long before it is fitted. A brake disc leaves a foundry with a machined surface that starts to flash rust within hours in humid air. A bearing cannot tolerate a single particle. A rubber seal must not be crushed by its own packaging, and an aftermarket kit must arrive with every bolt, clip and gasket in the same box, or the workshop returns the whole shipment. Overseas distributors add a fourth demand on top: the carton label, the barcode and the part number on the bag must all agree, because a mismatch in a warehouse management system costs more than the part itself.

WILPAC builds lines that combine three different protection tasks in one flow. Metal parts pass a VCI film bagging station, where a controlled atmosphere bag releases corrosion inhibitor vapour onto the machined surface and protects it for up to twenty four months, including the weeks a container spends at sea. The bag is evacuated to a preset level and sealed, then a desiccant sachet is added for tropical routes. Plastic and painted parts skip the VCI stage and go straight to cushioning, where EPE foam, honeycomb paper or moulded pulp inserts are erected and loaded. Heavy items such as discs and hubs are stacked with interleaving and a corner protector, so that a stack of cartons can be double stacked in a container without the bottom layer deforming.

Verification is the part of the line that customers ask about most. A vision station reads the part number printed on the bag and compares it with the part number encoded in the carton label, and the case packer will not release the carton unless the two match. Weight checking catches a kit that is missing a bolt or a gasket long before it reaches a dealer. A print and apply labeller produces GS1-128 and DataMatrix codes with batch, date and serial information, and every carton is scanned into the line controller, which builds a full traceability record from raw material lot to shipping pallet. Where a customer runs mixed cartons, the line sorts by part number and builds a pick list per pallet, so that one pallet holds only the references a single distributor ordered.

One controller manages the whole hall, holds the baggers back when the palletiser is full, and keeps format recipes for every part reference so a changeover takes minutes rather than a shift. Changeover is tool-less on the main format parts, and the same line handles a 200 millimetre disc and a 600 millimetre exhaust section. Energy consumption, film usage and downtime are reported per shift. WILPAC supplies stainless and painted-steel executions, ESD-safe options for electronic modules, and operator training, and supports automotive parts and aftermarket kit producers across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia.