Things that matter. Sharing what we know and who we are.
At BMG, we take pride in sharing our perspective on the thermoforming world, offering technology tips that benefit the broader community, and providing insight into our employees' daily lives. Take a moment every quarter to see what we're up to and gather some interesting or entertaining content that will help you better understand who BMG is and what we stand for.
A view from the top.
Approaching 2026 with optimism.
To our valued partners and BMG team members,
As we reflect on a successful 2025, we are proud of the milestones achieved and the innovations delivered to keep your operations competitive. Here are the highlights from our year in review:
Pushing the Limits of Speed: The G5 Wrapper
Launched at Pack Expo Las Vegas, the G5 Wrapper is officially the fastest machine of its kind, capable of exceeding 60 cycles per minute. This breakthrough was achieved by utilizing a precision jaw assembly, lightweighted for maximum velocity without compromising structural integrity. To further maximize uptime, we replaced adjustable crank arms with fixed-length arms, eliminating the risk of erroneous adjustments and ensuring consistent performance.
Your Universal Partner for Aftermarket Parts
Our aftermarket division experienced continued growth in 2025, particularly in non-BMG replacement parts. We have expanded our capacity to support all thermoforming equipment brands, solidifying our reputation as the industry’s reliable, “brand-agnostic” partner. Whether you operate our machinery or another manufacturer’s, we are committed to keeping your lines running.
The Evolution of Machine Controls
We have continued to update your outdated controls with the latest machine control interfaces. These updates are designed to bridge the gap for new operators, providing intuitive, high-level interfaces that simplify complex processes and ensure your facility remains at the cutting edge of technology.
Celebrating 60 Years of Lyle Industries
2025 marked the 60th anniversary of the Lyle Industries brand. Since Bill Oberloier founded the company in 1965, Lyle has grown into a cornerstone of the thermoforming industry. We are honored by the decades of trust you have placed in our products and our team.
Looking Ahead to 2026
The momentum continues as we enter 2026. This year, we have made tremendous investments in ready-now parts inventory, quick-turn operations and world class services to ensure we are ready when you need us most. From continued innovation in thermoforming and automation to exploring new tooling opportunities, we remain dedicated to your success in the years ahead.
Sincerely,
Tim Carpenter
CEO
A little bit about those who make us great!
Collin Sullivan - Beaverton, MI, USA
Collin is a new member of the BMG family and an active supporter of youth hockey, who not only loves the game but also spends his weekends in chilly ice arenas across the Midwest watching and cheering on his sons in a travel hockey program. When he does have a little “me” time, he hits the gym and also spends some extra time with the rest of the family. When the season turns to fall, he turns his attention to one of his other pursuits: football, which has long been a passion of his. As an avid football fan, he loves watching his favorite teams, the Green Bay Packers and the University of Wisconsin Badgers. When he can get away from it all, he would love to visit the Maldives, stay in a beach hut, and enjoy the solitude of the ocean. Somewhere where he, his wife, and the two kids could kick back and enjoy the relaxed atmosphere and everything that the beach has to offer.
Collin is a new member of the BMG family who, early in his education, enjoyed middle school classes in history, and as he progressed to college, he really enjoyed several creative design classes. Since recently joining BMG in Beaverton, MI, he has been happily leading a team that develops and executes global marketing and product strategies to strengthen BMG’s industry leadership in the global thermoforming market. He considers himself a critical thinker and really enjoys the prospect of solving problems and improving manufacturing operations by bringing new products to market that will benefit BMG and its extensive global clientele.
Andrew Redman - Beaverton, Michigan, USA
Andrew has always been an avid outdoorsman who enjoys all types of hunting and fishing during his downtime away from work. This is something that he likes to plan his vacations around as well. Sitting in a blind, the fine art of tracking through the countryside, or finding that secret secluded spot on the river where he can spend endless hours with his line in the water, enjoying the serenity of the experience, are all on the menu when it comes to relaxation. A dog lover at heart, he enjoys the company of our trusted four-legged friends and their genuine friendship and dedication. He has two children who are the apple of his eye, and he spends a significant amount of time with them, enjoying life and their experiences as well.
Early on in his schooling, he, like so many other young students, had visions of becoming a professional athlete, but in the end, Andrew’s favorite classes revolved around the many intricacies of math and its practical applications in the real world. With this in mind, his love of numbers and formulaic equations led him into his professional pursuits at BMG as a CNC machinist. Andrew has been at BMG for over 8 years now and looks forward to a long and rewarding career in the manipulation of metal for the machining of parts that build some of the industry-leading thermoforming machines BMG puts on the market today.
Sustainability in a changing global economy.
With a view across our global landscape, it is easy to see that the paper and plastic thermoforming industry is undergoing rapid transformation, driven by advances in materials, technological innovations, and an increasing emphasis on delivering more flexible and efficient solutions. As markets expand and consumer demands evolve, industry leaders are under pressure to innovate continuously, streamline manufacturing processes, and develop products that are not only high-quality but also adaptable to a range of complex applications. This dynamic environment requires companies to stay agile, responsive, and forward-thinking to meet the shifting landscape of packaging and manufacturing.
A significant factor influencing these trends is the increased emphasis on sustainability. With growing awareness of environmental challenges, regulatory bodies are implementing sustainability taxes and standards, compelling organizations to prioritize eco-friendly materials and practices. Companies face mounting pressure to optimize production processes to reduce waste and lower their carbon footprints. As a result, investments in sustainable materials and technologies are no longer optional but necessary for long-term market viability.
At BMG, with over 70 years of industry expertise, our long-term vision is deeply rooted in a comprehensive understanding of market trends, customer needs, and technological developments. We recognize that lasting success depends on listening carefully to those on the front lines—our clients—and responding with solutions that address their real-world challenges. Our approach is highly collaborative: product improvements and innovations are driven by the voice of our customers and input from industry insights, ensuring our offerings remain relevant and impactful.
Our latest innovation, the G5 Wrapper, was designed to deliver the speeds your environment requires. By incorporating servo control, lightweight seal jaws, and an enhanced film drive system, we are achieving 60+ cycles per minute. But we didn’t stop there. To further improve machine performance, we analyzed data from our legacy wrappers and identified opportunities for improvement. With the introduction of fixed-length crank arms on the G5 Wrapper, we have streamlined the design to enhance reliability and ensure consistent operation, effectively minimizing downtime and optimizing performance. To further enhance our responsiveness and service quality, we are making strategic investments in spare parts inventory, including expanding our floor space and deploying dedicated machines specifically for critical components. These investments allow us to guarantee faster turnaround times and ensure the timely delivery of essential parts, significantly reducing downtime for our clients and supporting uninterrupted production.
Through these initiatives—combining technological innovation, customer-driven product development, and strategic investments BMG is dedicated to providing sustainable solutions that are faster, more flexible, and more dependable. Our goal is to empower our clients to operate more efficiently, adapt quickly to new market demands, and achieve sustained success. As the industry continues to evolve, BMG remains committed to shaping the future of thermoforming with the tools and expertise to help our clients thrive in the years ahead.
Collin Sullivan
VP Global Marketing & Product Strategy
Tech Talk and other interesting tidbits.
It has always been BMG’s perspective that an educated client is a prosperous client. When you succeed, we succeed. Because everything we create is a complex collection of precisely engineered processes that constantly need attention to operate at their potential, we feel it is necessary to share technical information as often as possible to give our clients the information they need to succeed in a fast-paced industrial environment. As part of our ongoing client relationships, we want to share key insights and process information every quarter that may help keep production technology up and running without a hitch. We are all well aware that downtime is the demon we work very hard to keep at bay. So, please check back every quarter to see what we have included in this section. You won’t want to miss any of it.
Top 5 Most Overlooked Safety Features on Your DX Thermoformer.
This quarter, we are going to take a look at some items on the DX thermoformer that are easy to monitor in your regularly scheduled maintenance programs. To be honest, when things are running smoothly, safety isn’t always top of mind. But the best production environments should make safety second nature, not second priority. Thermoformers like the DX series are designed with layered protections: gates, estops, interlocks, valve isolation, and warning systems. But over time, even the best operators can become too familiar with the machine, and that’s when critical safeguards get overlooked. Here are five safety features we frequently see neglected, bypassed, or misunderstood, and why revisiting them in your regular checklist of observational checks can prevent downtime OR injury later.
- E-Stops Are Not Reset Buttons. E-Stops are meant for emergencies only. Hitting one to stop the machine or to halt a minor issue causes premature wear and increases the risk of component failure.
- Pro Tip:
Instead of using the estop, use the “Stop button” on the HMI to allow the machine to finish its cycle safely. Only use estops when there’s an actual hazard.
*DX machines have four estops. Each disables heating, press motion, transport, stacker, and winder instantly.
- Gate Switches Still Matter. Gate switches stop the press, but not everything else. We often find operators think that opening a gate disables the whole machine. This is not true.
- When a gate is opened:
● Press motion stops.
● Heating and transport still have power.
- Pro Tip:
Train new staff on exactly what gates do and don’t disable. False assumptions are dangerous.
*DX machines use separate safety sections for estops vs. gates to allow maintenance access without shutting down other subsystems.
- Lock It Out Like You Mean It. We’ve seen it too many times: someone working inside the panel without full LOTO (Lockout Tagout). That servo press? Still energized. That air valve? Still charged.
- DX machines include:
● Manual air isolation valve.
● Main electrical disconnect.
- Pro Tip:
Always lock both electrical and pneumatic sources before reaching near the platen, press, or tooling, even for a quick adjustment.
No software is 100% fail-safe. Always verify that air and power are off before doing maintenance tasks or working around the press.
- Safety Blocks: The Unsung Heroes of Setup. They’re low-tech, but they’re your best defense during mold access. A properly placed safety block protects your hands when working near the knife and platen.
- Place the grain parallel to the knife edge.
Ensure it rests below the cutting edge.
Never remove plastic manually without it.
- Pro Tip:
Use only BMG-provided blocks. Avoid plastic, metal, or makeshift tools.
*Even during warm-up or cleaning, a sudden close without this block can cause serious injury.
- Static, Nip Rollers, and Burn Hazards Get Ignored. Not all hazards look dangerous. Static discharge from plastic rolls can zap operators. Nip rollers can pinch fingers. Preheaters can burn skin. And noise levels over 120 dB during setup? Well, they can cause hearing loss.
- Pro Tip:
Make PPE part of your startup process: gloves, glasses, and hearing protection should be routine, not optional. And never assume the plastic roll is safe to touch while unspooling.
*The quiet risks, like static and noise, often do the most damage over time.
In Closing: Safety Enables Production. You can’t hit cycle-time targets if your operator is injured. And you can’t maintain uptime if motors fail prematurely due to misuse. It is imperative that all personnel train for safety, design for safety, and operate with safety in mind. It’s not just a compliance checklist. It’s your best strategy for a safer, productive work environment.
Stay safe, and keep forming,
Mike MacNeil
Senior Trainer & In‑House Support Specialist – BMG Canada
These are just a few key items to consider, whether you are performing scheduled maintenance or a situation has evolved, and you need assistance in confirming a solution. It is essential to gather all relevant information and parts beforehand and ensure you have everything you need. If you need assistance with a solution during the repair process, please reach out as soon as possible, and BMG will assist you with whatever means necessary to complete the job.
Check out our incredible ebook collection!
We have compiled a few interesting reads for your review.
As we have improved technology and other innovations in our day-to-day travels down the thermoforming highway, we realized that many of the findings and processes we encountered might be of interest to our clients and the general public. With that in mind, we have established a repository on our website where you can download our ebooks and read them at your convenience. We might even have to do one on creating free moments! Anyway, just scan the barcode below or click the link to access all the e-books we have created to date. Don’t forget to check back periodically, as we continually add new content.
Review our Ebooks
“How to” Tech Talk videos have arrived.
It has always been BMG’s perspective that an educated client is a prosperous and successful client. When you succeed, we succeed. Because everything we create is a complex, intricate collection of precisely engineered processes that constantly require attention to operate at their full potential, we believe it is essential to share technical information as often as possible, providing our clients with the information they need to succeed in a fast-paced industrial environment. As part of our ongoing client relationships, we want to share key insights and process information every quarter that may help keep production technology up and running without a hitch. We are all well aware that downtime is the demon we work very hard to keep at bay. So, please check back every quarter to see what we have included in our video section on the BMG website. You want to miss any of it.
Helpful Videos
A great place to visit BMG in 2026
BMG will be attending a great show this year in the Windy City.
United States
Pack Expo International - 10/18-10/21
South Hall, Booth S 4147
McCormick Place, 2301 S. King Drive,
Chicago, Illinois 60616
Working together towards a sustainable future!
In an ever-changing and unpredictable global marketplace, BMG continues to create category-leading sustainable, renewable thermoforming solutions, providing best-in-class engineering and manufacturing, enhanced by unparalleled support, all delivered to a worldwide market from our/your backyard.
If there is anything that you would like to see us address in our Tech Talk section in the next edition of Trade Trends, drop us a note here. We will certainly put your suggestion into action, and thank you in advance for helping us provide important information to those who find it useful.