About

Mississauga Cartons is a family-owned manufacturer of custom corrugated packaging solutions serving Ontario manufacturers, distributors, third-party logistics providers, and e-commerce clients. Operating from a 40,000-square-foot facility in Mississauga, the company produces custom boxes and related packaging formats for customers that require varied dimensions, short lead times, and reliable fulfillment. Its current production process relies on manual and semi-manual cutting, scoring, and assembly of variable-dimension corrugated boxes. As demand for right-sized packaging and high-mix order profiles grows, the company is investing in automation to improve throughput, reduce labour dependency, and lower material waste.

Project

This project will develop and validate a robotics-assisted automated custom box production cell that integrates robotic handling, PLC-based control, digital order-to-machine workflows, and variable-dimension cutting and scoring. The system will use robotic actuators configured for precision cutting and scoring, a programmable logic controller to translate digital order inputs into executable production instructions, and a custom toolpath generation module that dynamically creates cutting and scoring paths for each box dimension. McMaster Manufacturing Research Institute will support robotic cell layout, control architecture, validation methodology, and live production testing across multiple box configurations.

Impact

The project will deliver a validated robotic production cell capable of reducing labour intensity, improving dimensional consistency, and increasing production throughput for custom packaging orders. By automating high-variability cutting and scoring work, Mississauga Cartons can better serve growing demand from Ontario manufacturers, fulfillment operators, and e-commerce customers. The resulting system is expected to reduce material waste, improve delivery reliability, and create a repeatable automation model for custom corrugated packaging. The project supports Ontario’s advanced manufacturing and logistics ecosystem by demonstrating practical robotics adoption in a small-to-mid-sized production environment.