Eco cleaning with concentrated products

JAWS® Intl. Ltd., Toledo, OH, is revolutionizing the household cleaning profession with a new line of concentrated retail cleaning products that minimizes packaging. The new product line features small, 10 mL cartridges of concentrated solutions that the consumer discharges into spray bottles containing tap water.

The line features four different products: Bathroom Cleaner Deodorizer, Glass & Hard Surface Cleaner, Disinfectant Cleaner/Degreaser and Multi-Purpose Cleaner/Degreaser, with additional new products planned to follow in 2011.

JAWS Intl. Ltd was founded in 2001 by R. Bruce Yacko, who introduced the JAWS (Just Add Water System) cartridge concept to the industrial cleaning market. He expanded the concept into the retail market in 2009, when the retail product line went commercial. It is currently available in multiple independent grocers throughout the Midwest, as well as in OH and MI Bed, Bath & Beyond (BB&B) stores. It is also available in some other BB&B stores nationwide.

JAWS operates on the premise of delivering only what the consumer and supply chain need, driving the company’s commitment to stop shipping water when and wherever possible. The key element is the company’s patented 10mL cartridge that delivers concentrated chemistry to the JAWS spray bottle once it the consumer fills it with water. The result is a reduction in logistics cost, emissions, slotting space and consumer expense. “It’s the right thing to do,” says Yacko. “It’s right for the environment, the supply chain and the consumer.”

Starter kit with bottle, two cartridges
To use the product, the consumer buys a starter kit consisting of a 32-oz bottle of ready-to-use product with two of the 10mL cartridges of concentrated product that are attached. The cartridges are contained in a caddy that is attached to the end of the bottle. The suggested retail price for this combination is $6.99. When the consumer has used the product in the bottle, he or she fills the bottle with water, inserts one of the cartridges into the top of the bottle and screws on the spray nozzle. The product is now ready to use. After the first two cartridges are used, the consumer can buy a two-pack of cartridges for $3.69 and continue to use the bottle they have. 

Obviously, having a durable, long lasting sprayer is essential. According to Todd Frendt, director of materials management, JAWS worked with a sprayer manufacturer to manufacture a sprayer that would withstand the extended use that this system entails. “We refilled a bottle 26 times without the sprayer failing,” he says.

Packaging line produces cartridges
The product is packaged on a prototype line at the Toledo facility. The bottles are filled and labeled in another part of the plant and delivered to the cartridge filling operation. At this point, workers use hot melt glue to apply a small plastic piece that the plant calls a “caddy” to the end of the bottle. This holds the two cartridges of concentrated product.

The cartridges consist of two components—valves and bodies. These are sorted and oriented in two vibratory bowl sorters. In this operation, a flighted elevator discharges the valves and bodies into their respective bowls, where they are vibrated around a rising track.

As they travel, they are separated and then pass over a section where they are oriented properly. Pieces that are not properly oriented drop back into the bowl and pass through the system again.

The pieces from each bowl discharge onto a vibratory track that transports them to the cartridge assembly machine. The track containing the bodies is situated below the track containing the valves as they enter the machine so the two components are situated for assembly. The valves are partially pushed into the bodies on their way to the filler.

Filler fills 20 cartridges/cycle
 The cartridges then enter the inline, intermittent filler, which fills 20 cartridges at a time with 10 mL of product each. Product is pumped from a hopper through hoses to 20 individual valves that regulate the amount of product that is dispensed. The valves are connected to the horizontally mounted fill nozzles by hoses. After filling, the cartridges travel to the closing section of the machine, where a plate descends and pushes the valves completely into the bodies.

The cartridges leaving the filler pass a vision system that checks that they are properly sealed. The cartridges then travel past an inkjet printer that applies a code date to the bottom flange. Workers manually place two cartridges into the caddy affixed to each bottle and slip a clear plastic shrink sleeve over the bottle and caddy. The bottles are then conveyed through a shrink tunnel.

Custom designed sprayer “We custom designed the sprayer, cartridge, dispensing mechanism and the connection to the bottle,” says Todd Frendt, director of materials management “It’s a patented process in which all of the components  work together. For example, having a durable, long-lasting sprayer is essential, so we worked with a sprayer supplier to manufacture a sprayer that would withstand the extended use that this system entails. We refilled a bottle 26 times without the sprayer malfunctioning.”

Line upgrades planned
”Obviously, we are in the early stages of this project,” he continues, “and we will be upgrading the line to keep up with demand. Cleaning out the entire filling system whenever we change products is a major effort, so the filling system is designed to be disconnected very easily. We plan to have a separate system for each product to minimize downtime.” Frendt says that Jaws Intl is also planning to install a machine to glue the caddies to the bottles and is looking at downstream casepacking equipment.

Positive market response
Market response has been very positive, according to Jen Arbaugh, director of marketing. “We’ve spent a lot of time in stores demonstrating the product, and customers love the concept,” she says.

“Our products not only perform as well as our competitors, but they generally cost less, so that’s a big selling point.  We are also seeing a lot of interest internationally, particularly in Australia and the U.K.”

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