Automation & Electrical Solutions for Corrugated Manufacturing

Automation Built for Corrugated Plants That Can't Afford Downtime

A corrugator down for an hour doesn't cost you an hour—it costs you the shift. Board quality drifts, changeovers eat into run time, and an aging control panel can take a finishing line with it when it finally fails.

ACI has performed electrical installation on hundreds of corrugator machines across the U.S. for more than 20 years, working at virtually every leading OEM and end user in the industry. We design control systems, fabricate UL-listed panels, and self-perform electrical installation for corrugated and containerboard plants, packaging manufacturers, and paper mills—under one roof, with our own people, not subcontractors.

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Paper & Packaging

Sector Expertise: Where We Work in Corrugated, Packaging, & Pulp/Paper

ACI has deep expertise working in corrugated plants, and it shows in how we approach a project. We design for line speed, changeover time, and the reality that a control panel failure on a corrugator doesn't just slow one machine, it can stop the plant.

Corrugated Manufacturing Lines

Our primary focus. We've performed electrical installation on hundreds of corrugator machines nationwide, across virtually every leading OEM platform and end user—new installs, relocations, and upgrades—building the electrical foundation and controls that hold line speed, protect board consistency, and cut changeover time.

Converting, Finishing, & End-of-Line

Integrated controls and electrical work for roll handling, sheeting, and palletizing—the systems that turn a finished web into a shippable pallet without a bottleneck.

Flexible & Rigid Packaging

Engineering and electrical installation for manufacturers producing films, bags, wraps, and rigid containers on high-speed forming and converting lines.

Paper Mills & Pulp Processing

The upstream side of the business that feeds corrugated and packaging production. We deliver automation and electrical infrastructure for woodyard controls, stock prep, recovery boiler systems, and paper machine drives.

Towel, Tissue & Specialty Papers

Web handling, tension control, and coordinated multi-drive systems for high-speed tissue and specialty paper lines.

Secondary Fiber & Recycled Pulp

Automation for re-pulping and recycled fiber operations—pulpers, screens, cleaners, and reject handling—built to hold process consistency and cut energy use.

Our Corrugated Manufacturing Automation Services

We deliver three services. Most corrugated and paper mill clients use all three together, because splitting engineering, panel fabrication, and installation across different vendors is where projects go sideways.

Industrial electrical installation on a corrugator production floor

Electrical Installation

Self-performed. No subcontracting. Licensed industrial electricians on our own payroll handle full facility builds, production line expansions, MCC installation, and conduit work for corrugator drives, converting lines, and paper machine sections alike. ACI is a licensed electrical contractor in 23 states.

Machine installation and upgrade work is where most of our corrugated business happens. Whether it's a new machine landing on your floor, a machine being relocated from another plant, or an upgrade to equipment already running, the electrical work determines how it performs for years afterward. Our scope covers all three:

  • New Machine Installation: Clean wireways, correct terminations, and a startup that doesn't turn into a punch list.
  • Machine Relocation: Electrical demolition and disconnect at the origin plant, then full reinstallation at the new site.
  • Machine Upgrades: Updating electrical and control systems on equipment already in service.

This is a big part of why plants call us back for the next line, the next move, or the next upgrade.

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Control panel fabrication workshop

UL Control Panel Fabrication

Every panel we build is fabricated in-house, wired to UL 508A and UL 698A standards, and point-to-point tested before it ships. That matters in a corrugated plant, where a single panel failure can shut down an entire line. Whether it's a coordinated MCC enclosure or a standalone drive panel, we build it to run for years, not months.

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Control system engineering workshop with open control cabinet

Control System Engineering

PLC programming, HMI development, SCADA integration, and legacy system modernization—designed by engineers who understand corrugated and paper mill processes, not just control theory. We do the engineering, the panel build, and the field install ourselves, so there's no vendor handoff for something to fall through.

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Our Corrugated Manufacturing Automation Services

We deliver three services. Most corrugated and paper mill clients use all three together, because splitting engineering, panel fabrication, and installation across different vendors is where projects go sideways.

Electrical Installation

Electrical Installation

Self-performed. No subcontracting. Licensed industrial electricians on our own payroll handle full facility builds, production line expansions, MCC installation, and conduit work for corrugator drives, converting lines, and paper machine sections alike. ACI is a licensed electrical contractor in 23 states.

Machine installation and upgrade work is where most of our corrugated business happens. Whether it's a new machine landing on your floor, a machine being relocated from another plant, or an upgrade to equipment already running, the electrical work determines how it performs for years afterward. Our scope covers all three:

  • New Machine Installation: Clean wireways, correct terminations, and a startup that doesn't turn into a punch list.
  • Machine Relocation: Electrical demolition and disconnect at the origin plant, then full reinstallation at the new site.
  • Machine Upgrades: Updating electrical and control systems on equipment already in service.

This is a big part of why plants call us back for the next line, the next move, or the next upgrade.

Learn More
UL Control Panel Fabrication

UL Control Panel Fabrication

Every panel we build is fabricated in-house, wired to UL 508A and UL 698A standards, and point-to-point tested before it ships. That matters in a corrugated plant, where a single panel failure can shut down an entire line. Whether it's a coordinated MCC enclosure or a standalone drive panel, we build it to run for years, not months.

Learn More
Control System Engineering

Control System Engineering

PLC programming, HMI development, SCADA integration, and legacy system modernization—designed by engineers who understand corrugated and paper mill processes, not just control theory. We do the engineering, the panel build, and the field install ourselves, so there's no vendor handoff for something to fall through.

Learn More

Why Corrugated Manufacturers Work With ACI

Hundreds of Corrugators, 20+ Years

We've done electrical installation on corrugator machines across the U.S. at virtually every leading OEM and end user in the industry. This isn't a market we're new to.

One Company, Start to Finish

Engineering, panel fabrication, and electrical installation come from the same team—not three vendors pointing fingers at each other when something doesn't fit.

Triple UL Certified

UL 508A, UL 698A, and UL NNNY—including hazardous-location work most panel shops won't touch.

30 Years in Industrial Automation

ACI has been building control systems and panels since 1995.

Licensed to Work Where You Are

Electrical contractor licensing across 23 states.

Self-Performed Electrical

Our own licensed electricians do the field work—nobody else's crew, nobody else's schedule.

Featured ACI Corrugated & Pulp/Paper Automation Projects

Robotic Palletizing System
Food & Beverage Control Systems

Robotic Palletizing System

A high-speed palletizing solution for a global food producer.

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SCADA Upgrade
OEM Robotics

SCADA Upgrade

Modernizing plant-wide monitoring and control for a chemical facility.

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UL508A Control Panels
Chemicals Electrical Contracting

UL508A Control Panels

Custom control panel design and build for a large machinery OEM.

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Corrugated & Pulp/Paper Automation: FAQs

  • Corrugated manufacturing automation is the use of PLCs, SCADA platforms, HMIs, and industrial electrical infrastructure to control and optimize production on corrugators, converting lines, and finishing equipment—everything from raw material handling and board forming to glue application, print/die-cut operations, and palletizing. The same disciplines extend upstream into pulp and paper mill production.

  • A corrugated and packaging control system integrator designs, programs, and installs the automation and electrical infrastructure for corrugated lines, containerboard plants, packaging manufacturers, and paper mills. ACI delivers all of it—engineering through electrical installation—under one roof.

  • ACI provides full-service industrial electrical installation: complete facility builds, production line wiring, motor control center installation, drive panel wiring, and conduit systems. All work is performed by our own licensed industrial electricians—never subcontracted.

  • Corrugated manufacturers face a consistent set of operational challenges that well-engineered automation systems directly address.

    • Line Speed and Changeover Time: Precise, coordinated control keeps corrugators and finishing lines running at speed with less downtime between jobs.
    • Board and Product Consistency: Real-time process control holds board quality and glue application steady.
    • Unplanned Downtime: Legacy control systems and aging electrical infrastructure are leading causes of outages in corrugated and paper facilities.
    • Energy Consumption: Corrugated and paper production run energy-intensive equipment; automated motor controls and drive optimization cut costs.
    • Labor Availability: Automation reduces reliance on manual intervention as skilled labor gets harder to find and retain.

  • Manufacturers that invest in modern automation systems for their paper mill or corrugated operations typically see improvements across key areas.

    • Higher throughput
    • Tighter product consistency
    • Less unplanned downtime
    • Lower energy use
    • Safer operations
    • Simpler regulatory and emissions reporting for mills
    • Faster changeovers on converting and packaging lines

  • Nearly every stage of production is suitable for automation, including:

    • Corrugated Lines: Speed synchronization, glue control, board quality monitoring
    • Converting and Finishing: Web tension control, reel change sequencing, sheeting, slitter/rewinder automation
    • End-of-line and Material Handling: Palletizing, roll handling, warehouse automation
    • Woodyard and Raw Material Handling: Conveyor sequencing, chip level monitoring, feed rate control
    • Pulp Processing: Stock prep, chemical dosing, consistency control, bleaching sequence automation
    • Paper Machine Drives: Coordinated multi-drive systems with closed-loop tension and moisture control
    • Recovery Boiler and Powerhouse Systems: Burner management, steam pressure control, emissions monitoring
    • Water and Wastewater Treatment: Automated chemical treatment, flow control, compliance monitoring

  • No. Every electrician on your project is on ACI's payroll. On corrugated plant and paper mill work, that means the team that engineered your control system and built your panel is the same team pulling wire on the floor—no scope gaps, no miscommunication between separate firms.

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