R.A. Pearson Co., the Spokane-based designer and manufacturer of packaging machinery, has secured a contract with Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. to make 80 new machines for the soft-drink bottler.


The machines will help Coca-Cola efficiently distribute its canned beverages when theyre packaged in a new, more convenient way for consumers, says Michael Senske, president of R.A. Pearson, at 8120 W. Sunset Highway.


The contract is expected to be worth between $4.4 million and $6.5 million to R.A. Pearson, depending upon what machinery options Coca-Colas franchise bottlers request, he says.


The machines, which R.A. Pearson designed, tape together pairs of new 12-pack soda cartons, called fridge packs, to make them a single unit for shipping. The industry likely will replace its conventional 12 packs with the new fridge packs over the next five to 10 years, opening up opportunities for R.A. Pearson to do business with other beverage bottlers, Senske says.


Even though Coca-Cola is the initial purchaser of the equipment, weve already sold two machines to Pepsi, he says. When Busch, Coors, and Miller (all large U.S. beer makers) adopt the same packaging style, and we think that they will, it will lead to substantial growth and increased employment for R.A. Pearson, Senske predicts.


Fridge packs are 12-pack containers of beverage cans packaged in a two-by-six configuration, rather than the more customary three-by-four configuration. The fridge packs are longer and narrower than conventional 12 packs, so they fit onto refrigerator shelves more conveniently and also fit differently on palettes.


Coca-Cola has begun distributing soda in fridge packs in the southeastern U.S. and is expected to offer its products that way here by the beginning of next year, Senske says.


Its exploring packaging bottled soda that way, too, which could mean more opportunities for R.A. Pearson to sell its carton combiner, he says.


Every day that goes by, they keep identifying new possibilities, Senske says.


Employment at R.A. Pearson will remain steady for now, though, at about 176 employees, he says.


The machines, called N2250-T carton combiners, bind the fridge packs by applying a 3-inch strip of tape to the tops and bottoms of pairs of cartons as they are pushed over static plates.


The carton combiners bind 225 pairs of fridge-pack cartons a minute, Senske says.


Taping the cartons simplifies the processes of conveying them, loading them onto pallets, and distributing them, he says.


R.A. Pearson sells each carton combiner for about $54,000 to about $74,000, he says.


It is the only company that manufactures such a machine, Senske claims, and it has filed for patents on two of the carton combiners components.


Development of the carton combiner has helped the 48-year-old company, which occupies a 110,000-square-foot facility near Airway Heights, during a slow time for the machinery-manufacturing industry, Senske says.


Its filling a hole for us that otherwise wouldnt be filled, he says.


R.A. Pearsons employment is down about 26 people from 202 in 2002, due in part to greater manufacturing efficiency and fewer orders, Senske says. He projects that the companys sales will top $25.2 million this year, which would be a 10 percent gain over its 2002 sales of $22.9 million, he says.


Meat-industry machine


Meanwhile, R.A. Pearson has developed another machine, the CR900 top loader, that could be in high demand soon from the meat-packing industry, Senske says.


The company recently received a $640,000 order for four of the machines from Smithfield Foods Inc., of Smithfield, Va., he says.


The top loader sorts packages of meat, picks them up using a vacuum, then places them in cases for shipping. It gently layers the products at the proper levels inside the cases and puts a corrugated cardboard pad between each layer, Senske says.


For years, meat packers have sent large pieces of meat to retail stores, where butchers made cuts desirable to individual consumers. The industry is changing, though, and more butchering work is done at the packing plants now, Senske says. Over the next decade, case-ready meat, as the smaller, packaged portions are called, will be sent directly to stores, saving them time and money, he says.