Machinery Update - September

Transcription

I s s u e 5 , Vol u m e XI X . S e p t e mb e r/Octo b e r 2 008
MACHINERY UPDATE - ISSUE 5, VOLUME XIX. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2008
The machinery only journal for processing and packaging
inside
News & new machinery
PPMA food initiative &
Machines built with
intelligence pp7 - 15
DAIRY, YOGHURTS & DESSERTS G PPMA SHOW PREVIEW
PPMA Show 2008
Lord Digby Jones to open
the show
Preview pp19 - 49
Installations
Constellation’s new
bottling centre p81
Dairy,
yoghurts
& desserts
PPMA Show 2008 Preview
Plus:
Pack Expo Preview
pp63 - 69
Environmental: Odour
control pp71 - 72
Check up on safety
regulations pp75 - 76
ISSUE 5, VOLUME XIX. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2008
THE JOURNAL OF THE PPMA
contents
Editor: Mary Murphy
Sales Manager: David Chadd
Production Manager: Bill Lake
Production: Janine Berriedale
A PPMA
Publication
PPMA Ltd,
New Progress House,
34 Stafford Road, Wallington,
Surrey SM6 9AA
Tel: +44 (0) 20 8773 8111
Fax: +44 (0) 20 8773 0022
E-mail addresses:
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Web site: www.ppma.co.uk
Applications for free copies
of Machinery Update are
considered from speciﬁers,
managers and purchasers of
processing and packaging
machinery in the UK.
7
news
PPMA supports new £6m facility for the National
Centre for Food Manufacture; BARA reports growth
in food robots but pharma sector is static; food
processors set out technology gaps
12 new machinery
KubiBags provide on shelf impact; Baker Perkins
simultaneously produce soft and hard biscuits;
Cermex regulated flow system for shrink wrappers
15 in-depth
A look at how intelligent automation technology is
speeding up machinery developments
19 ppma show preview
19 what it’s all about
20 PPMA is there to serve
21 Never been 21 before
23 round up of who’s showing what
48 components
51 special feature - dairy, yoghurts & desserts
51 the implications for machinery suppliers
52 challenging markets
53 latest developments and installations
60 case & tray packing
Annual subscription:
£35 (UK), £50 (Continental
Europe), £65 (rest of world).
ISSN 0969-4145
Typeset and printed by:
Manor Creative, 7-8 Edison
Road, Highﬁeld Industrial
Estate, Hampden Park,
Eastbourne BN23 6PT.
Tel: +44 (0) 1323 514400
63
63 UK’s single largest export market
64 robotic systems
67 new product round up
71
The Processing and Packaging
Machinery Association assumes
no responsibility for the
statements or opinions, whether
attributed or otherwise, in
Machinery Update.
This publication is copyright
under the Berne convention and
the International copyright
convention. Apart from any fair
dealing for the purposes of
research or private study, as
permitted under the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988,
no part of this publication may
be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system or transmitted in
any form or by any means in any
form without prior written
permission of the publishers.
pack expo preview
special feature - environmental
Odour is a serious environmental issue covered by
regulation, an expert assesses the implications
75 regulations
Doc Martin explores the ramifications of the latest Euopean
and international safety standards for the machinery sector
78 personally speaking
Donʼt let the doom mongers get you down
81 installations
In-depth look at Kronesʼ €30m installation at
Constellationʼs new European bottling centre. Plus
we explore the latest systems delivered to the oral
health, alcoholic spirit and food markets
84 classified
Machinery and services
Publishers: PPMA LTD
85 buyers’ guides:
85 Ancillary equipment
86 Processing equipment
88 Packaging machinery
102 who what where
People, events, and diary dates
Front cover image courtesy of Gerhard Schubert - see page 56
M AC H I N E R Y U PD AT E : SE PT E M B E R/O CT O BE R 2 008
3
ppma matters
Finger on the pulse
Itʼs ʻShowtimeʼ again and I am sure readers
would be surprised if I didnʼt use this
opportunity to encourage your attendance
at the PPMA Show - September 30 October 2, Birmingham NEC.
Whether you are a visitor or an exhibitor
there is no doubt that despite a tough
market the PPMA Show remains the
premier event in the UK processing &
packaging machinery calendar.
But 2008 is not only about the PPMA
Show; it is also the 21st birthday of the PPMA which will be celebrated
in style at a dinner on the evening of the October 1.
The PPMA has certainly evolved over the past two decades.
Beginning life as a show organiser, it very quickly developed its
services to become one of the most proactive trade associations in
the UK.
So what of the next 21 years?
A good trade association will always seek to have its ʻfinger on the
pulseʼ of the market ensuring that it stays abreast of the key trends
and then working to help its members succeed in the prevailing
conditions.
Underlining the importance of our industry to the UK economy, I am
delighted that this year Lord Jones of Birmingham and Minister for
Trade and Investment - Digby Jones - will be speaking at the opening
ceremony on the September 30 and is planning to take time out to
walk around the show before returning to Whitehall.
Globalisation and the need to respond to the inexorable march of
the low overhead economies remains a primary market feature, while
the UK skills deficit continues to hamper companies realising their
aspirations.
On the technical side, the need to gather momentum in adopting
robotics and automation gathers pace while the environmental
movement has resulted in the need for a pro-active response to end
user demands.
The ever more burdensome government regulatory regime and an
increasingly litigious consumer have led to a greater need for more
efficient foreign body detection and greater product traceability.
The obvious pressure to reduce price-to-customer continues to
remind suppliers of the need for greater efficiency and return on
investment, increased use of common machinery components,
increases in printing speeds and bar code quality not to mention the
never ending improvements in PLCʼs and computer technology.
Whether in developing new digital search engine optimised
advertising products, training courses addressing new technologies
and regulation, fighting for membersʼ interests in governmental circles
or supporting international initiatives such as our China office, the
PPMA continues to adapt and develop its service offering to help
members stay ahead of the times.
Many of the innovative responses to this market evolution will be
present at this yearʼs PPMA Show and whether you are an exhibitor or
a visitor I very much hope to see you there. Join us and see a glimpse
of the future!
Chief Executive, PPMA
M AC H I N E R Y U PD AT E : SE PT E M B E R /O CT O BE R 2 008
5
news
PPMA backs food campus
The food processing sector is
set to benefit from a joint
initiative between the PPMA and
the National Centre for Food
Manufacturing, part of Lincoln
University Holbeach Campus.
The £6m plus facility has
been developed in two phases
and with the second £3.3m
phase being opened officially on
November 6 2008 this will
create a dedicated training and
development centre for the food
industry.
The centre is already
recognised as a Centre of
Vocational Excellence by the
Learning and Skills Council and
the new training centre will
enhance its status as a skills
provider.
“As the nominated sponsoring
industry trade association, the
PPMA is actively supporting the
food processing sector,
research & development and
the important role both
academia and member
companies play in furthering
developments within food
manufacture,” said Chris
Buxton, CEO, PPMA.
The centre, which is built to
food factory specifications,
features a full food processing
line sponsored by PPMA
member company Ishida
Europe, which has provided
National Centre for Food Manufacturing Phase 2 nears completion
equipment for the test bed
facilities.
Ishida Europe is currently
planning a new line to include
additional equipment for
installation at the Centre, which
is expected to be delivered
shortly.
The new facility has three
main areas:
G The Technical Operations
Centre where Ishida Europe
sponsors a fresh food line to
support training and research.
G Food processing and
research is divided into six
zones including vegetable
processing, meat processing,
meat processing and
baking...
G A ʻlive laboratoryʼ for food
production, supported by
several food manufacturers.
The ʻstate-of-the-artʼ training,
research, and educational
resource for the sector offers
specialist food laboratories, test
kitchen, sensory suite and a
food processing (and
packaging) area.
More than 150 food
companies (both large
multinationals and small nichemarket producers) regularly use
the services of the campus,
signalling that the site will
provide the food processing and
packaging sector with a facility
that responds both to the day-today needs and the future
development of food processing.
www.lincoln.ac.uk/holbeach
FSA guidance for vacuum packs
Guidance on vacuum and MAP
packed chilled foods has been
issued recently by the Food
Standards Agency. It has been
developed for small businesses
and environmental health
officers to help tackle the
problem of Clostridium
botulinum.
Although vacuum packing
techniques increase the shelflife of chilled foods by removing
air, certain bacteria including
C. botulinum are still able to
grow, states the Agency.
Controls need to be put in place
to ensure the safety of food as
the C. botulinum bacterium can
produce a very harmful toxin
leading to foodborne botulism
which can lead to fatalities,
states the Agency.
This guidance sets out
processes, such as heat
treatment, pH and salt levels,
that should be used if food
businesses are setting a shelflife of more than 10 days.
Factors to be addressed include
maintaining chill temperatures
throughout the supply chain;
heat treatment of 90°C for 10
minutes; plus a pH of five or less
in complex foods, as well as a
water activity of 0.97 or less.
The technical guidance and
the factsheet are available at:
E: [email protected]
T: +44 (0) 845 606 0667.
NEWS BRIEFS
In what is set to be one of the
most competitive markets in the
world, Cermex has opened a
new manufacturing facility for its
end of line machinery in Beijing.
The assembly facility is
Cermexʼs first outside Europe
and will produce shrinkwrappers, case packers and
palletisers.
Cermexʼs President, JeanFelix Lesueur, said: “The plant
will enable us to significantly
boost our competitiveness by
eliminating customs duties and
intercontinental shipping costs.”
DataLase and ORBID have
agreed to settle the patent
infringement brought by ORBID
against DataLase and
FractureCode, in the
Netherlands. It relates to
ORBIDʼs patents on its 2DMI
technology.
ORBID will be continuing its
case against FractureCode, but
is withdrawing its case against
DataLase.
GIC, the Gainsborough-based
manufacturer of VFFS
packaging machinery systems,
has moved to a new 8,400 sq.ft
manufacturing site, which
includes machinery trial
facitilites.
Turbo Systems has acquired
the rights to manufacture FP
Packaging Machineryʼs range of
de-nesting and associated
equipment at its Hull factory.
Former FP Managing Director,
Charles Guest, has joined
Turbo as technical sales
director for the FP range.
Bosch Rexroth has acquired
Swedenʼs Hägglunds Drives
AB, subject to regulatory
approvals. A leading supplier of
hydraulic drive systems, drive
motors and services, Hägglunds
Drives had sales of about
€200m in 2007. It has offices in
over 20 countries.
7
news
NEWS BRIEFS
A guide to help reduce
carbon emissions from nonresidential buildings has been
issued by the Carbon Trust.
Non-domestic buildings
account for about 20 per cent of
the UKʼs carbon emissions.
Drivers for change include
Energy Performance
Certificates, required under the
EU Energy Performance in
Buildings Directive, which come
into effect from October 1 this
year for most non-domestic
buildings.
Carbon Trust Advice Line
T: +44 (0) 800 085 2005
www.carbontrust.co.uk
Soon there will be no place on
earth without a Tescoʼs. In its
latest deal it has announced an
investment of £60m in a
wholesale cash-and-carry
business in Mumbai, India.
It will offer a range of fresh
food, grocery and non-food
products to small retailers,
restaurants, kirana stores and
other business owners.
Tesco has also set up a
franchise agreement with Trent,
the retail arm of Indiaʼs Tata
Group.
The deal is expected to
support the development of its
hypermarket business, Star
Bazaar.
Drinks giant Diageo is set to
produce 6.5 megawatts of
electrical power and 20MW of
thermal power from a £65million
bio-energy plant, using liquid
waste from the production
process, at its Cameronbridge
whisky distillery in Fife,
Scotland.
The recovered energy will be
fed back into the distillery to
provide 98 per cent of thermal
steam and 80 per cent of
electrical power in the distillery.
Diageo is working with energy
management company Dalkia
and hopes to have the plant
running within two years.
8
Good news for robotics
in food manufacture
Sales of robots used for
automated production in the UK
food, beverage and tobacco
sectors rose by more than 50
per cent in 2007 compared with
the previous year, from just
above 50 to over 80 units,
according to statistics released
by BARA, the British Automation
and Robot Association.
However sales to the
pharmaceutical and medical
sector were static at about 50
units and well below the peak of
70 reached in 2005.
Overall sales of robots in the
UK remained flat in 2007 at just
over 870 units supplied across
all sectors with automotive
applications continuing to
dominate the market.
Sales to the food sector have
remained strong and in 2007 it
was the only sector to show
significant growth. But uptake of
robot technology in most
sectors remains stubbornly
slow, despite reaching a peak of
1,900 units in 2001, after which
sales fell back year on year.
In a presentation given earlier
this year Alan Spreckley of ABB
Robotics pointed out that the
cost of robots has fallen
considerably in recent years and
the BARA figures show more
than 80 per cent of the units sold
were priced between £10,000
and £30,000 with those at
£30,000 to £50,000 accounting
for 16 per cent of sales.
Spreckley believes that the
cost benefits are even more
significant when advances in
technology and performance
are taken into account.
“Integrated vision systems, new
gripping technologies, improved
accuracy and reduced floor
space as well as customisation
for particular applications are
now available,” he explained.
“In addition reduced energy
costs can be achieved by
reducing temperatures where
robots, rather than humans, are
used and ʻlights outʼ production
is also a possibility,” continued
Spreckley.
Sales in other EU countries
continue to run well ahead of
the UK, Germany in particular
has an average way above the
UK at average annual sales
between 2000-2005 exceeding
12,000 units.
BARA statistics were
compiled from figures supplied
by 13 leading suppliers,
including Fanuc, ABB and Kuka.
The figures showed that 129
robots were supplied for
packaging and pick & place
applications, 40 for palletising
functions and eight for testing
and inspection purposes. More
than two thirds of all robots sold
in the UK originate from Japan
with the rest almost entirely
from European sources.
Six axis (80 per cent) and four
axis (13 per cent) machines
dominate the markets. BARA
estimates the current total UK
robot ʻpopulationʼ at around
25,000.
www.bara.org.uk
FDA rules for clinical trials
Most Phase 1 investigational
drugs will now be exempt from
the requirements under 21 CFR
Part 211 regulations according
to a new rule and guideline
published recently by the US
Food & Drug Administration.
The Administration now
accepts a phased approach to
compliance with CGMP, it says.
A companion guide to the rule
change recommends an
approach to comply with CGMP
statutory requirements, such as
M ACH INE RY UPDATE: S EP T E M B ER/O C T O B E R 2 00 8
standards for the manufacturing
facility, equipment, control
components as well as testing,
labelling, stability, packaging
distribution and record keeping.
Much of 21 CFR Part 211 is
directed at commercial
manufacture of products such
as repackaging and relabelling,
rotation of stock and
maintaining separate facilities
for processing and packaging
functions. In contrast clinical
trials are mostly undertaken in
small scale, sometimes
academic environments.
Manufacturers will continue to
submit detailed information
about relevant aspects of the
manufacturing process on their
investigational new drug (IND)
applications. The FDA may still
inspect the operation and has
powers to suspend the trial and
terminate the IND if they see
evidence of inadequate quality
control procedures.
www.fda.gov
news
NEWS BRIEFS
Emballage 2008
AetnaGroup UK senior management team from left to right: Colin Barker, marketing; Paddy McCartney,
national feild sales manager; Nikki Terry, financial controller; David Walkinshaw, nothern sales manager;
Steve Arnold, operations manager
R & D to drive growth
in all new AetnaGroup
The AETNAGROUP, global
specialists in shrink wrapping and
pallet stretch wrapping
equipment, has acquired the total
share ownership of AETNA UK.
The newly named
AETNAGROUP UK is set to
build on its 20 years of
experience in the UK market by
increasing its engineering
capabilities and to further
extend its reputation as a
company dedicated to customer
partnerships, explained Colin
Barker, of the new management
team. In particular the company
plans to increase its penetration
into sectors using its high speed
shrink wrapping solutions,
stated Barker. The Italian group
claims to be the leading global
manufacturer of semi- and fullyautomatic pallet stretch
wrapping systems having sold
90,000 machines worldwide.
Research & development is a
major contributor to this success
with the AETNAGROUP
regularly investing more than 20
per cent of staff and 6 per cent of
annual turnover into its technical
development facilities in Italy.
Barker said: “This is no
surprise give the ethos
embedded within the group to
providing leading edge
machines and systems which
are of robust construction, and
are easy to use and maintain.
Examples of the groupʼs
engineering excellence will be
exhibited at the PPMA Show
2008 through two new pallet
stretch wrapping machines from
AETNA ROBOPAC.”
AetnaGroup is concentrating
its R&D effort on building
modular capabilities into its
systems in order to offer
variation and scope to its
customers; in effect the
machines are able to grow in
line with customers changing
needs, says the group.
In line with the groupʼs
emphasis on engineering and
development AETNAGROUP
UK has strengthened its
engineering capability by four
people increasing its
engineering service personnel
to 14. Barker said: “Engineering
will play an increasingly
important part of our strategy in
the UK. We need to ensure that
our customers can call on us at
anytime to solve machine
problems either over the phone
or by personal visits.”
Centre of European Excellence for UK
A European centre of
excellence for K-Tronʼs vacuum
pneumatic conveying systems
is to be based near Stockport.
At the same time K-Tron
Process Group is moving its
pneumatic conveying product
facilities from Stockport to
Niederlenz, Switzerland.
The changes are a result of the
companyʼs recent purchase of
Premier Pneumatics, of the US,
and the integration of Pneumatic
Conveying Systems acquired in
2001.
The introduction of Premier
Pneumaticsʼ equipment into the
European and Asian markets
and the demands this will place
on production capacity has
necessitated the move to
Switzerland.
Production at the new
Niederlenz facility will allow
manufacture under ISO
procedures using computerised
manufacturing systems. K-Tron
will be investing heavily in its
extensive test lab facility at
Niederlenz to provide
customers with one-stop full
scale material testing abilities.
K-Tron will be increasing the
the number of project engineers
to meet the needs of the
European Centre of Excellence.
And a sales and engineering
presence will be maintained in
the Stockport area.
Emballage 2008, Paris-Nord
Villepinte, November 17 - 21
2008 has attracted some 32
British exhibitorsʼ intent on
promoting their services into the
French and European markets.
The 2,200 exhibitors are made
up of 60 per cent machinery
and equipment suppliers.
PPMA UK member
companies exhibiting include
Allen Coding, Cap Coder,
Enercon, Fischbein Saxon,
Fortress Technology, Oystar
Manesty, Kliklok and many
more. On at the same time at
Villepinte is the food processing
show – IPA, which features
some 600 exhibitors.
www.emballageweb.com
A new research report from
CCFRA explores how clean
filling of products can help
reduce microbiological spoilage
and maximise shelf-life.
The report discusses how
factors such as hygienic design
of the filler, lubricants,
disinfection, product splashing
and sloshing, packaging and air
quality can influence microbial
contamination of a product
during filling, and how these
factors can be mitigated during
commissioning.
It uses schematics to illustrate
the potential impact of the filling
operation on product shelf-life.
[email protected]
Is this the end of Tiffin as we
knew it? UK sales of small
cakes in individual portions are
now twice those of family-sized
cakes, says Mintel.
Sales of individual packages
containing slices of cake or
products such as muffins
increased by 28 per cent
between 2003 and 2007 and is
now worth £767million,
compared with static sales for
whole cakes in packs for the
same period, according to the
research organisation.
9
news
SIDELINES
Packaging growth is at a
standstill, states the latest
statistics from WRAP. Figures
show that the total amount of
packaging on food products
sold in Britain is the same now
as in 2006, despite increases
in the quantities being sold.
The BRC hearalds this as a
victory for retailers. Jane Milne,
director of environment, said:
“The UK population and total
food sales have risen
substantially in two years and
the figures show the extent to
which retailers have eliminated
unnecessary packaging from
own brand products.”
But for many cynics this
sounds like a PR trip.
While the efforts of the
supply chain should be
applauded isnʼt the real
question how much food waste
is ending up in the rubbish bin?
The figures come hot on the
heels of WRAPʼs ʻMore Food ,
Less Wasteʼ campaign which
estimates that 6.7 million
tonnes of household food waste
is produced each year - most of
which could have been eaten.
It is estimated that 20 per
cent of the UK's greenhouse
gas emissions are associated
with food production,
distribution and storage. The
report states: “If we stopped
wasting food that could have
been eaten we could prevent at
least 15 million tonnes of CO2
equivalent emissions/year.”
The real question, even if the
answer is swathed in the
populationʼs anti-packaging
ethic, is how much is this
downturn in packaging use
contributing to food wastage?
The Love Food Hate Waste
document refers to the positive
role packaging plays in saving
food waste: “Packaging plays
an important role in maintaining
food quality for longer, both in
store and at home.”
Hey Ho, never let the facts
get in the way of a good story!
10
Bridging the technology
gaps: process wish list
Access to innovation will help
food companies improve
efficiency and competitiveness,
and help engineering companies
develop the next generation of
food processing equipment,
believes Food Processing
Faraday Partnership (FPFP)
and the ChIEFS project.
David Walklate, technology
translator, FPFP, emphasises
that while innovation may be an
overused word the process of
constantly producing new
products, processes and
equipment is the lifeblood of all
businesses.
The Championing Innovation
between the Engineering and
Food Sectors* (ChIEFS) project
has identified key technologies
that the food processing sector
has on its wish list.
These range from low energy
sealing to waste technologies.
Among the requirements from
food processors is an
increasing demand to form
packs online driven by pressure
on stock holding and waste,
and the requirement for pack
variety.
Increasing the shelf life of
products while also moving
away from preservatives to
meet demand for ʻsimpleʼ low
processed foods and an
increase and/or retention of
shelf life will require further
development of technologies
such as Ultra High Pressure,
says FPFPʼs Walklate.
Among the other areas
highlighted are: fully universal
pot denesting equipment that
features effective pack design
and which respond to the
increasing range of products
and packs on the market.
Another item on the processorsʼ
wish list is a hygienic, easy
clean, quick changeover
depositor that has minimal
moving parts.
Selective heating and cooling
technologies that address the
issue of having to cool a whole
food factory rather than a
localised area is another
requirement.
*The ChIEFS project
develops insights into
technology gaps in the food
sector through Technology
Road Mapping. It is funded by
the East Midlands Development
Agency, and works with FPFP
on a number of projects.
www.foodprocessingktn.com
AEW’s new £1.8m plant Scotland
Wha Hae
Icelandʼs Marel Food Systems
has invested £1.8m in AEW
Delford Systemsʼ new 11,000m2
manufacturing plant in Colchester.
Officially opened by the
Icelandic ambassador, His
Excellency Sverrir H
Gunnlaugsson, the new site
replaces its Harwich factory and
employs 119 people. The plant
will enable the group to design,
develop and produce the latest
generation of machines and
systems for food processing.
In his opening speech the
ambassador pointed out that
Icelandic investment in the retail,
wholesale and manufacturing
industries in the UK accounts for
some 120,000 UK jobs, with
many businesses - including the
largest supplier of fresh produce
to Tesco - owned by Icelandic
companies. AEW Delford also
has two sites in Norwich,
David Ashmore, MD AEW
Delford Systems Colchester left
and His Excellency Sverrir
Gunnlaugsson, at the official
opening
employing a further 145 people,
where they develop and
manufacture high speed slicing
machines and systems, robot
portion loading and batching
systems.
Scotlandʼs food industry is to
benefit from a £6m investment
from the Scottish Rural
Development Programme
(SRDP) to assist business
producing, processing and
marketing local food.
“The funding will help to
develop greater collaboration
and ensure that businesses
can get into supply chains and
meet consumer demand,” said
Richard Lochhead, Cabinet
Secretary of Rural and
Environment Affairs.
Capital grants of up to
£10m/year are available.The
National Food Processing,
Marketing and Co-operation
Scheme has awarded grants
to 27 Scottish companies.
www.scotland.gov.uk
new machinery
Hot knife
for Sabre
Sealed Air is offering a new
side seal unit, the Shanklin®
Sabre™, on selected Shanklin
machines. It has minimal
cleaning and maintenance
requirements, as well as
improved productivity and
lifespan, it claims.
Another feature is that the
unit requires almost no
calibration or set up
procedures.
The Sabre™ is equipped
with an oval shaped hot knife
incorporating four
independent cutting and
sealing surfaces mounted
parallel to and over the edge
of the film.
Running time can be
extended as the blade unit
rotates, when one corner of
the hot knife becomes worn,
to place a new blade in
position.
The company has retrofitted
two Sabre™ side sealers into
production lines at Hasbro,
makers of games and puzzles,
enabling the equipment to run
for 1,500 hours without any
knife blade changes,
according to Sealed Air.
T: +44 (0) 1274 260870
12
New bag format
The new KubiBag bag formats
available on Ilapakʼs Vegatronic
1000 machines will create a
strong visual impact on
supermarket shelves through its
multiple design options, hopes
the company.
Ilapak claims the formats
provide excellent stability while
allowing for a large print area.
The two block bottom formats
available are suitable for a
variety of products, including
coffee, tea, sugar, rice and
pasta as well as dairy and other
fresh items.
Bags can be produced using
a variety of films or laminates
and the Vegatronic 1000 can be
modified easily using simple
mechanical components to
produce the KubiBag styles,
enabling existing users to
retrofit their machines.
The Baseline version (pictured
above) has a ʻwingedʼ design
which, says the company,
enhances product appeal as well
as being easy to open. It also
incorporates a recloseable label.
The Brickline version offers
protection for fragile products as
well as being sturdy and
stackable. Speeds up to 50
bags/minute can be achieved
creating pack sizes between
30 x 30mm and 75 x 75mm.
A further benefit, says Ilapak,
is that bags can be produced
using thinner, lightweight
material with positive effects for
both the environment and costs.
T: +44 (0) 20 8797 2000
Vision system for ePedigree
Optimal Industrial Automation
has developed a 21 CFR Part II
compliant print and inspection
system designed to meet the
impending serialisation and
ePedigree legislation which will
soon be coming into force in
many countries and States
within the US.
The legislation requires
finished healthcare products to
carry a unique identifier on
single units of packaging to
provide complete traceability.
The iPass system uses 2D
Datamatrix codes as well as
human readable texts.
It can be purchased as a
complete in-line machine, as a
hardware and software bundle,
or as software.
The machine is powered by
Optimalʼs synTI software which
is also fully 21 CFR Part II
compliant, integrates printing
and inspection functions and is
able to store a large number of
product configurations.
This software can also be
pre-installed onto an industrial
PC and comes supplied with a
printer and vision system.
www.optimal-ltd.co.uk
new machinery
Automatic payback
Cermex has developed a
regulated flow system to enable
automated format changes on
its range of SDI pin-gated shrink
wrappers, used mainly in the
beverage industry.
The SFR flow system can be
retrofitted to all of its existing
SDI enabled machines,
according to Cermex. Payback
on the investment is effective
when three or more format
changes on the same machine
are undertaken for example 0.5,
1 and 1.5 litre bottles, it claims.
A single cassette, controlled
by a servo motor, is sufficient for
all formats, eliminating the need
for a different pin-gating
cassette for each product. The
data management system on an
industrial PC can be used to
change the positions and adjust
the dimensions.
The company has also
modified its CCO® diagonal
infeed system to accommodate
standard and slim cartons in the
200ml to 1 litre range as well as
PET and HDPE bottles and
cans. Previously the infeed was
specified for small cartons only.
Benefits include savings on
the conveyor length as it
eliminates the need for a lane
dividing system. The
modification also includes a
continuous selection function
which provides a spacing
system, with lateral fingers, for
product protection, says
Cermex. The CCO® is able to
handle any collation within its
maximum dimension tolerance
and is ideal for difficult shapes,
it is claimed.
The component can reduce
overall length on a system by
more than 3 metres, while the
single lane infeed eliminates
mass accumulation upstream. A
further benefit, states Cermex,
is that change parts can be
minimised or not required at all,
facilitating quick and simple
changeovers. Speeds up to
65,000 products/hour can be
achieved.
T: +44 (0) 1480 455919
Sanitation is top priority
The latest vertical form fill seal
machine from HayssenSandiacre,
the ULTIMAX, has been
designed with high levels of
sanitation in mind in order to
withstand harsh washdown and
rinse regimes, states the
company.
The model is aimed
particularly at fresh meat and
poultry, pre-cooked proteins and
similar sectors. The continuous
motion bag maker is made
entirely from stainless steel
which includes solid, rounded
frameworks and sloping
surfaces. Servo motors are also
made from stainless steel and all
electric components are sealed.
A further advantage, says
HayssenSandiacre, is that the
narrow width and low height of
the machine make it suitable for
restricted areas.
Machine operations are
controlled via an Allen-Bradley
ControlLogix platform while
other features include tool-less
changeover and multi-language
operator interface as well as on
screen manuals.
T: +44 (0) 115 967 8787
What a
sauce!
Air Products has teamed up
with Pursuit Dynamics to create
a combined cooking and chilling
unit for sauces as an integrated
single production line.
The PDX® Sonic and
Freshline® Continuous Sauce
Chiller can reduce processing
times and increase throughput
capacities, say the partners.
The combined unit can be
retrofitted into existing process
plant layouts and may reduce
the overall installation footprint.
Several environmental features
are claimed, including reduced
product waste, repeatable
automatic processes, less CIP
effluent and better energy
efficiencies.
T: +44 (0) 800 389 0202
www.airproducts.co.uk/food
13
new machinery
Going soft
on biscuits
Baker Perkins has extended
its range of EM390 rotary
biscuit moulders with an
over-band machine designed
for multi-purpose and multiproduct lines.
An EM390 located above
the band of a sheet and cut
line for hard and semi-sweet
biscuits can be brought online as required to add soft
biscuits or cookies to the
product mix.
Changeover between
sheet and cut and rotary
moulded production is simple
and rapid, according to the
company.
When an assortment of
products needs to be made
simultaneously, the EM390
moulding roll can be
engraved with a variety of
designs across its width.
It can also be engraved
with half the usual number of
rows: the
ʻblankʼ spaces
being filled by
output from a wirecut
machine or depositor. The
only criterion on multiple
product operation is the need
for similarity in weight and
thickness to ensure even
baking, says the company.
A new sandwiching option
involves two synchronised
EM390 units depositing
alternate rows of different
coloured dough. This avoids
the complicated product
handling systems needed
when both colours are
produced on the same
moulder.
Productivity from a
standard EM390 widely used
for moulded biscuits, bars,
mini cookies and pet food is
raised by the new option of a
60-inch wide machine for
high output lines.
Recent upgrading, says
Baker Perkins, has also
enhanced end product quality
by optimum filling of the
mould cavities, achieved by
larger diameter rolls, and
separate drives for feed and
die rolls release, feed roll
heating or cooling, and
dough level probes. For
heavy sanitation
requirements, corrosion proof
stainless steel models are
available.
The standard unit is
portable, but can be
integrated with a fully
automatic dough feed system
to reduce labour costs.
T: +44 (0) 1733 283000
E: bpltd@
bakerperkinsgroup.com
Weigh in for sticky products
Its new range of ʻScrew
Feedʼ multihead
weighers extends the
range of options for
packers of fresh and/or
sticky products, says
Ishida Europe.
The models are
aimed at processors
and packers of meat,
poultry, fish and other
seafoods, where
manual product feeding and
handling is not viable, says
the company.
Currently most systems for
these products use manual
operations or linear designs
which rely on operators to
control the product flow. The
ʻScrew Feedʼ utilises the
established multihead
14
weigher circular layout, but
incorporates rotating
corkscrews in place of the
standard radial feed troughs,
to supply the weigh hoppers.
Two ʻScrew Feedʼ models
are available. The first
features 3 litre stepper motor
driven, anti-stick metal
hoppers and is suited to
larger target weights
and larger piece size
applications, including
ʻon-the-boneʼ products,
according to Ishida. It
has speeds up to 80
weighings/minute. The
second version
incorporates 1.5 litre
pneumatic driven,
plastic scraper hoppers
with a maximum speed
of 60 weighings/minute.
Both models feature the
calculation process software
used in Ishidaʼs R-Series
machines and, it claims, can
double packing speeds for
some highly sticky products
as well as reducing giveaway.
T: +44 (0) 121 607 7700
new machinery
Inbuilt intelligence helps
speed up developments
Intelligent automation
technology is far from new but
just how much cognisance is
given to its role in speeding up
new packaging machinery
developments.
Recently ELAUʼs iSH
Intelligent Servo Modules were
used by German packaging
systems specialist meurer to
integrate tray packing and film
wrapping on its new model
CM/TFS 60, reducing the time
to market for this all new system
to just three months, said Linus
Wöhle, meurerʼs head of
construction.
The small footprint continuous
motion machine collates and
packs PET bottles, glass bottles,
jars, cans and other cylindrical
products into trays, with or
without film wrapping, or in film
alone. It operates at speeds of
up to 60 packs/minute in a single
lane and up to 120 packs/minute
in a two lane configuration.
The machine also features an
optional patented countersupport bar for unstable
products, making “it one of a
kind,” according to Wöhle.
The complete automation
concept is based on ELAU
technology. Motion and logic are
integrated in the ELAU C400
automation controller, using
modular software structures in
an IEC 61131-3 compliant
programming environment.
Servos are networked via the
SERCOS standard while
inverters and gear motor drives
are connected via Profibus.
Linked via the Ethernet
interface on the ELAU controller,
the HMI can communicate with
management systems for data
acquisition and remote service
as well as allowing for future
requirements.
The machine-mounted
modules combine servo motor
and drive electronics in a
compact unit, reducing electrical
cabinet space requirements and
each servo module is connected
by a single cable with snap-fit
quick connects to provide all
necessary communications and
power supply via distribution
modules to a shared power
supply, says Elau.
By moving the 14 servo drives
on to the machine, the electrical
cabinet is small enough to
mount on the side of the
machine instead of in a
freestanding cabinet. “The
relocation of the servo drives out
of the cabinet significantly
lowers power loss, so that we
can do without climate control,
which in turn has a positive
impact on energy consumption,”
said Wöhle.
“The hybrid cables reduced
the overall cable runs required
The compact, integrated tray packing and film
wrapping machine.
for the installation of the servos
by 70%. This makes the
machine very clean,” he added.
“The reduction in cabling,
combined with the plug & play,
snap-fit connectors yielded a
significant reduction in
installation times making it
possible to build and ship a
completely new machine in just
three months.”
The intelligent servo modules
ensure that the modular
CM/TFS 60 tray packing and
film wrapping machine operates
at high speed, with maximum
flexibility, and low energy
consumption, says ELAU.
More about the machine
The CM/TFS 60 has a balcony
construction and is based on a
modular concept that integrates
collating, tray packing, film
wrapping and shrink tunnel in an
inline process. Products are fed
into the collating station and lane
divider, before being transported
to tray blanks drawn from the
magazine by suction grippers.
Once the blank is erected, the
edges are hot melt sealed.
The tray continues into the
film wrapping station where a
revolving carrier system
completes wrapping and lap
sealing. A print mark control
enables accurate placement of
preprinted films. The sealed tray
Close up of two iSH servo modules.
“Despite decentralised drive
electronics, DC BUS coupling is
ensured for all the servo
modules. “
Linus Wöhle, Head of
Construction at meurer,
Fürstenau
then continues on a plastic chain
conveyor through a shrink tunnel
designed to optimise energy
consumption through an easily
adjustable air flow control.
A wide pack size range
contributes to the CM/TFS 60ʼs
flexibility, says meurer. It can
handle formats from 200mm x
50mm x 50mm to 450mm x
300mm x 350mm.
Tray length and width
adjustment is centralised for all
stations and by using servo
technology to drive the pushbutton changeover the company
claims that the number of
adjustment drives are reduced.
www.elau.co.uk
www.meurer-gruppe.de
A single ELAU controller (top)
and two power suppliers are all
that’s ineeded to control 14
servo modules.
15
ppma show preview
20th UK Showcase for
the machinery sector
The PPMA Show, the UKʼs
3-day annual showcase for
machinery, opens its doors at
the Birmingham NEC on
Tuesday September 30 2008.
To be opened by Sir Digby
Jones, now Lord Jones of
Birmingham, the show provides
the ideal opportunity to
“Unrivalled opportunity
for buyers” - Chris Buxton
celebrate the associationʼs 21st
Birthday and creates a
showcase for all thatʼs best on
the UK packaging and
processing equipment market.
Some 300 exhibitors will be
vying for visitorsʼ attention in
Hall 5 where the number of new
developments on show may
give some credence to the claim
that the “credit crunch” isnʼt
bulldozing the sector into
submission.
Chris Buxton, CEO, PPMA
“The PPMA Show remains the
‘must attend’ exhibition for
buyers and users of processing
and packaging machinery and it
continues to attract the single
largest gathering of these
professionals in the UK,”
comments Liz Finlay, PPMA
Show Exhibition Director
said, "In what is clearly a tough
economic climate it is all the
more important for visitors and
exhibitors to take advantage of
the unrivalled opportunity the
PPMA Show provides.
“It remains the largest
medium through which the
sector in the UK can see
equipment from around the
world. And, of course, the
exhibition environment remains
the most cost-effective way of
researching and ultimately
buying capital equipment.”
The PPMA Show has a long
history of offering visitors the
chance to view engineering
advances and while some of the
machine systems being
exhibited were launched at
interpack 2008 the show
provides the first opportunity to
see these in action in the UK.
And, of course, there is still
much that is new.
Among the trends visitors are
likely to come across are an
increasing number of small
footprint equipment; entry level
machinery; simplified robotic
systems for the small business;
software programmes that
provide data at speed to meet
legislative requirements and
provide cost savings; and
Hall 5 Birmingham NEC
Opening Times:
30 September – October 1:
10.00 - 17.00
2 October:
10.00 - 16.00
Free entry
to Interplas
combination machinery that
meets user requirements for
adaptability and fast
changeovers; while there is
more than a passing nod at
energy and material savings in
line with current environmental
challenges.
For further information and to
register free visit:
www.ppmashow.co.uk
Full preview pages 23 - 49
Lord Digby Jones of
Birmingham, Minister of State
for Trade and Investment, will
open the PPMA Show on
September 30 between 09.30
and 10.00. The ceremony will be
followed by a show tour.
Lord Digby Jones was formerly
Director-General of the CBI,
when he took the British
business message to 70
different countries
This year the PPMA Show is
co-located with Interplas (Hall
4) and all visitors will have free
access to the UKʼs leading
exhibition for the polymer
sector covering automotive,
construction, packaging and
medical device sectors.
The show incorporates the
Inspex feature for quality
control and measurement,
backed by the Institute of
Measurement and Control.
The Institute represents the
UKʼs automation industry and
provides members with routes
to Engineering Council
registration as Chartered and
Incorporated Engineers, and
Engineering Technicians.
Inspex provides visitors with
the opportunity to solve their
test and inspection challenges
with the latest technological
innovations and developments.
BPF Seminars
A seminar programme being
organised by The Polymer
Society - a division of IOM3 - in
collaboration with the BPF, will
examine:
Sustainability & the
environment and energy
efficiencies in plastics
processing; Design &
innovation with polymers, and
the past, present and future of
plastics.
Visitors who pre-register for
Interplas 2008 could win one of
three daily prizes: a weekend
for two in Paris, a supercar
driving experience or a 42” HD
ready plasma television.
www.interplas-expo.co.uk
19
ppma show preview
ALL AISLES LEAD TO
ADVICE ON THE PPMA
STAND C70
PPMA staff will be on hand to
offer advice about all the
associationʼs products and
services - publishing,
technical, exporting &
importing.
Visitors can collect a free
combined show catalogue and
show product locator, plus
issues of Machinery Update,
the journal for those involved
in the selection of processing
and packaging machinery.
Show Machinery Finder
Service: Help will be at hand
for visitors seeking out
information about the latest
developments in the
machinery sector. Visitors will
be given assistance to find the
appropriate exhibitors.
Advisory Service: Visitors
can get a FREE personalised
and confidential advisory
service for production facilities
including Tool Box talks, site
area monitoring, Health and
Safety monitoring and policies.
Plus: project plans and their
effectiveness; use of
contractors; and line layouts
and efficiencies.
If you have a question or
would just like a second
opinion visit the PPMA Stand.
Appointments can be made
in advance by contacting
David Harrison at the PPMA
on + 44 (0) 20 8773 8111
To find out more about
all these products and
the complete range of
PPMA services visit its
Pavilion (C70)
or www.ppma.co.uk
20
Association looks
over the horizon
A strong and pro-active
association is an essential
ingredient for the future of any
industrial sector and the PPMA
will be celebrating its 21st
Birthday in style by taking a look
over the horizon and building for
the 21st Century.
A collective voice that drives
the processing and packaging
sector forward is the underlining
work ethic of the association as
demonstrated by the many
services and initiatives being
driven by the PPMA.
A particular example is the
associationʼs role within EAMA the Engineering and Machinery
Alliance - which was formed by
nine leading associations in
recognition of the need to speak
as one industry. The Alliance is
an effective lobbying group that
engages with government,
NGOs and organisations such
as the CBI.
The PPMA is also very active
on its own account with a range
of services for both members
and the customers they serve.
PPMA and UKTI Inward
Missions: Continuing its
commitment to create overseas
links for its membership, the
association will host an inward
mission for Russian and
Brazilian delegations of
potential buyers during the
PPMA Show.
Technical Consultancy: The
PPMA is proactively engaged in
helping shape legislation,
writing standards, liaising with
Government departments and
the European Commission, as
well as talking to machine user
trade organisations.
Other invaluable technical
services include:
Statistical market information
to aid strategic planning: The
PPMA purchases statistics from
various sources including
Customs and Excise. As well as
information gathering, the
PPMA provides interpretation
and assessment on imports,
exports and domestic trade.
Machinery Research: The
association also takes an active
role in helping to set up and
manage research programmes.
Research projects are usually
part funded by the Government
and involve research
associations like PIRA and
PERA, and leading universities.
Current research projects:
• The interaction between
packaging materials and
packaging machinery
• Food processing machinery
research
• Appetite for Engineering – an
initiative from Food Processing
magazine and Food Processing
Faraday and others - aims to
encourage the food industry to
adopt more engineering and
automation.
Seminars and training: The
PPMA runs a series of courses
and seminars to keep both its
customers and its members upto-date on the latest EU
Directives; Machinery Risk
Assessment; climate change
and its impact on the sector;
and much more. It also runs
in-company courses.
Machinery articles - Web
services: One of the most
recent introductions is a guide
to machinery terminology. An
Online Dictionary, the
machinery articles section
provides real focus for customer
searches by creating generic
titles based on commonly used
terminology across 11
packaging and processing
“disciplines”. Each ʻmachinery
articleʼ helps searchers through
the maze of terminology
associated with a particular
discipline and contains the
majority of the common search
terms associated with a
Challenging all you
latent boy racers!
Try your skills with the Racing
Car Challenge on the PPMA
Pavilion. Take a 4 seater Ferrari
355 for a spin around some of
the world’s most famous and
daunting race tracks. The
simulator allows individual time
trials or an out and out race.
We may not find the next Lewis
Hamilton for McLaren but it
won’t stop people trying to
emulate their favourite drivers.
particular sector. It also
provides an overview of the
market and gives real guidance
on machines and systems.
Publishing:
Star of the show
is the bi-monthly Machinery
Update, the only UK title to
concentrate solely on the
machinery sector. The
Processing and Packaging
Machinery Directory, which has
over 1,000 machinery
classifications, provides a
comprehensive guide to
machinery for the UK sector. It
lists all the PPMA members,
gives details on personnel,
machinery ranges, and useful
business information, (trade
names, product index, agency
representation).
International Services: An
approved Accredited Trade
Organisation under the UK
Government Scheme, the
PPMA assists interested
companies to attend overseas
exhibitions and creates both
inward and outward missions.
ppma show preview
Never been 21 before … the
PPMAʼs rites of passage
Turning 21 has always been a
rite of passage, a time to look
forward not back. However,
historical perspective can bring
more to the party than naval
gazing if used as a reminder of
what an entrepreneurial spirit
can achieve.
Officially founded in 1987 the
high spot of the fledgling
association must be the first
PPMA Machinery Show in 1988.
It was born out of dissatisfaction
with the treatment packaging
machinery manufacturers felt
they were receiving at the
hands of show organisers.
Indeed such was the strength
of feeling among exhibitors that
it took only one year to get the
new show up and running.
The birth of the PPMA was
There were those that
felt the idea of a new
show was doomed to
failure with one leading
trade journal likening the
show to “a Reliant Robin
taking on a Rolls
Royce”. How wrong can
you be!
PRESIDENTS ROLL OF
HONOUR
The PPMA says a big thank
you to:
Derek Moore
1987 - 1989
Chris Marks
1990 - 1991
Bob King
1992 - 1993
Derek Moore
1994
David Wright
1995
David Potter
1996
Colin Barker
1997 - 1998
Barry Gunton
1999 - 2000
Barry Tucker
2001 - 2002
John Clayton
2003 - 2004
Mike Randall
2005 - 2006
Jeremy Marden
2007 - 2008
driven by a “gang of eight”
machinery suppliers who
stumped up some £2,500 each.
Chris Marks, founder
member, second president of
the PPMA and the then
managing director of Bosch
Packaging UK, said: “We took
on Andrew Manly as general
Jerry Marden
secretary, took a short lease on
offices in Croydon, hired a desk,
waste paper basket, filing
cabinet, and toilet paper! We
just didnʼt know how long the
funds would last!”
But it didnʼt take long for the
association to grow. It achieved
its first 80 members within 18
months, growing well into the
100s when, in 1989, it took over
the Packaging Equipment
Manufacturers Association.
Although originally conceived
as a pro-active answer to
creating a show that worked for
exhibitors and not just
exhibition organisers, the PPMA
went on to grow a range of
services that became the
forerunners of todayʼs multifaceted association.
Among the stand out
achievements of the early days
were Machinery Update; the
Processing and Packaging
Machinery Directory; technical
seminars, legal and technical
services; and online services as
the internet phenomenon burst
upon the scene.
Another major contribution
was its pioneering role in
forging relations with China and
setting up offices in Beijing to
ensure UK manufacturers hit
the ground running in this vast,
untapped and fascinating
market.
However, arguably the
PPMAʼs greatest achievement
was its fast reaction to a
changing regulatory
environment and its consequent
ability to participate in shaping
directives and standards
emanating from the EU.
All these initiatives were the
forerunners of todayʼs multifaceted organisation (see facing
page), which continues to proactively grow its activities for
members and customers.
Today, of course, the PPMA
Show has come full circle and is
now run by Reed Exhibitions
alongside the PPMA; which
proves that even exhibition
organisers and exhibitors can
be friends - eventually!
The final word goes to the
current president Jerry Marden,
director of Marden Edwards:
“The PPMA has and must
always mirror its membersʼ
business environment. As we
go forward it is clear that two
relatively recent PPMA
developments - the China office
and investment in the PPMA
website - will help member
companies and their customers
with the new world in which we
work.”
Jerry adds: “Creating a
forward looking and dynamic
association has been made
possible by the firm foundations
provided by all the past
presidents and dedicated staff.”
PRESIDENTIAL
THOUGHTS
“The original
pathfinders
had the fun
and the
pioneering
spirit. It is
always harder
for those that follow because
they no longer have the magic
of having done it first but the
PPMA is just as valid today as
it was in 1987.” - Chris Marks
“Looking back
I would say
that the
hardest part
was
convincing a
sceptical
press and industry of our
ability to achieve our goals.”
- Derek Moore
“The
strongest
story must be
the PPMA
Show and, in
more recent
years, the
emphasis on education and
training.” - Barry Tucker
“Networking
events were a
real highlight.
They gave the
board and
secretariat the
opportunity to
meet members, receive
valuable feedback and discuss
initiatives” - John Clayton
Join the party
Join the PPMA for an evening
of Burlesque to celebrate its
21 years as one of the UKʼs
leading trade associations.
Wednesday October 1
NECʼs Concourse Suite
Contact:
[email protected] or
[email protected]
21
ppma show preview
Coupling at speed
An important step towards
achieving an automatic tool
change facility for coupling tools
to TLM robots will be shown for
the first time in the UK by
Schubert (B21).
The new automated method
will be demonstrated as part of
a high-performance line packing
cereal bar cartons into trays and
yoghurt drink bottles into
sleeves.
The new feature represents a
major step towards Schubertʼs
goal of achieving a
revolutionary automatic tool
change facility on all its
systems, says the company.
The new method typically
reduces machine resetting time
by as much as eight minutes
and eliminates the risk of
control failures caused by loose
contacts, adds Schubert.
I Food and Confectionery
Processing equipment
manufacturer BCH (F72) will
exhibit its vacuum cooling
technology, plus a range of
kettles, atmospheric cooking,
and pressure cooking. It will
also show its low cost
confectionery extrusion line
aimed at new start up
companies or developing
markets in the Middle East,
Africa and Asia.
T: +44 (0) 1706 852122
The tool connects itself to the
robot as both incorporate noncontact electrical couplings. The
toolʼs coupler is programmed
with a pre-set code so the robot
can check the tool matches the
correct application.
Schubertʼs demonstration line
will comprise 3 TLM-F44 pregrouping stations, plus a series
of TLM-F2 robotic units which
will be performing high-speed
erecting, loading and closing
functions.
T: +44 (0) 1676 525825
Loma weigh in with first UK demo
a variable frequency metal
detector that is claimed to make
HACCP and retailer compliance
simple, thanks to its on-board
Ethernet and USB connection.
Its X4 X-ray machine, which
is able to detect non-metallic
contaminants and monitor
weight, size and shape of
products to maintain strict
safety and quality control, will
also be exhibited.
T: +44 (0) 1252 893300
Loma (B75) will be showing off
its new checkweigher the CW3
to a UK audience following its
recent introduction at interpack
2008.
The rugged stainless steel
CW3 is compact and versatile
and can be engineered to suit
individual customer
requirements and will fit
comfortably into most existing
conveyor systems, says Loma.
Loma will also be showcasing
its IQ3+ metal detector system,
Getting smart with ink jet
The Sauven 6000Plus range is
claimed to be a smart alternative
to CIJ printers. To be showcased
by Sauven (G33), attributes are
said to be higher resolution print
without the usual cost,
maintenance or shut down
procedures.
SHOW BRIEFS
The 6000Plus Duo ink jet
printer, which uses leading edge
piezo technology offering high
resolution print up to 34mm, will
be making its debut.
Also on show is the newly
developed compact Sauven
7000 series which offers large
character print up to 70mm for
text, barcodes and graphics with
the benefit of sealed ink
cartridge systems, virtually no
maintenance and made with
economy in mind, says Sauven.
T: +44 (0) 1932 355191
I Russell Finex (F71) will
showcase its range of sieves
and filters including a working
model of the totally enclosed
Russell Self-Cleaning Eco
Filter® unit. Also on display
will be Blow-Thru Sieve,
Compact 3in1, the Finex
Separator with Vibrasonic®
Deblinding System, and an
assortment of different sized
Russell Compact® sieves.
T: +44 (0) 20 8818 2000
I Eco-Cut™ Tray Sealer from
Packaging Automation
(F51), first shown at Foodex
Meatex 2008, is designed to
cut costs, reduce waste and
increase productivity.
Testing carried out to
demonstrate benefits shows
film saving of up to 33 per
cent and a reduction in
production downtime of 20
per cent, claims the
company.
An unnamed customer who
took part in the initial trials
reported sealing 8,200 trays
from one reel of film
compared with 4,440 trays on
a normal tray sealer.
T: +44 (0) 1565 755000
23
ppma show preview
SHOW BRIEFS
I Auto-id and labelling
technology company
Codeway (B36) will exhibit
a range of automatic and
semi-automatic systems to
suit applications in the food,
aerospace, motor,
horticultural, chemical,
plastics, timber and other
industries.
These include weighing
and volumetric systems
which combined with Avery
Dennison print and apply
machinery, provide
comprehensive solutions for
despatch labelling and
control; automatic pallet
labelling machinery
including two side and twin
pallet labelling; and 2D
coding including GS1
DataBar coding.
T: +44 (0) 1206 751300
I Yamato (C91) will introduce
the new Waterproof and
Compact 14 head version of
its Alpha range of weighers.
Also being launched is the
SDW509 semi Automatic
weigher which can handle
sticky items such as fresh
meat, fresh fish and poultry
products.
T: +44 (0) 1132 717999
I OK International Group
(D15) will introduce the
Superliner SL110 polybag-inbox machine. It pulls a bag
from a wicket, opens and
inserts the bag automatically
into a shipping case, crate or
tray and cuffs the bag over
the edges. The machine can
be quickly adjusted to
different container sizes.
T: +44 1359-250705
24
Sweet developments
An high-speed combination
weigher for the confectionery
and small bagging sectors
claimed to be the fastest on
the market will be launched
by Multipond (E76).
The MP28-400/400-A has
been designed to meet the
space constraints, speeds
and accuracy levels required
by these markets. It is
smaller than its previous
counterparts making it ideal
for factories with restricted
headroom, but also offers
increased output at speeds
of up to 430 bags/weighs/
minute, says Multipond.
Under development for 18
months, it features reduced
size hoppers (0.4 litres) and
Multipond’s high-speed combination
has the ability to deposit
weigher
target weights as small as a
weighing (e.g. soup mixes and
third of a gram with high
dried ingredients).
accuracy, explains the
The advanced 28-head
company. This means that, as
weigher combines partial
well as confectionery, it is also
quantities to achieve the target
suitable for complex ingredient
weight; the weighed portion
is then transferred to the
forming tube of the bagging
machine using Multipondʼs
patented ʻOscillating Duplex
Double Duckmouthʼ highspeed transfer system. This
consists of two collecting
hoppers which swivel to a
central position over the
forming tube to deposit the
product. Due to the
alternating motion, deposit
times are halved, claims the
company.
It uses a touch-screen
control unit for easy
adjustment and for changing
products. All hoppers and
product contact parts can be
removed without tools for
ease of use and cleaning.
The compact design and
customisation possibilities allow
seamless integration into the
production process.
T: +44 (0) 1494 816644
Food and pharma showcase
Systems for food and
pharmaceuticals are the main
thrust of the Lock Inspection
stand (C25). For the food
sector the inspection equipment
manufacturer will be
showcasing the latest range of
Universal Digital systems.
In the food sector the new
MET 30+ Universal range,
offers the latest product
enhancements in metal
detection equipment, capable of
highly accurate detection of
ingredients and products
through a range of packaging
materials, says Lock Inspection.
Lockʼs MET 30+ Universal
3f/hf, is a fully automatic triple
frequency metal detector,
capable of highly accurate
inspection of products packed in
PE and metallised film.
The 3f/hf has an in-built
Automatic Frequency Selection
facility which chooses the
optimum frequency, whatever
the product or packaging. High
frequency is selected to inspect
dry foods such as cookies or
snackfoods at 875Khz - four
times more than standard food
industry detectors, claims Lock
Inspection.
Also on show are the
companyʼs digital MET 30+
Universal Pharmaceutical Metal
Detector (for tablets and
capsules) and the Vertical Fall
Metal Detector (for powders and
granules).
The pharmaceutical unit, the
most sensitive in Lockʼs MET
30+ Universal range, is
constructed from stainless steel
and utilises advanced
electronics to ensure that
microscopic foreign bodies in
production lines can be
detected and rejected at speeds
of up to 30,000 tablets/minute.
The units can include a touch
screen control panel interface,
which acts as a user-friendly
HMI for viewing metal detection
data on-screen as well as on a
remote PC.
T: +44 (0) 161 624 0333
E: marketing@
lockinspection.co.uk
ppma show preview
Sailing at speed
The Catamaran modular
and flexible design from
Racupack, of Holland, is
used for two new cartoning
systems for the food
industry being shown by
Hansel UK (H51).
Racupackʼs RTC 220
SLIMLINE continuous
motion side load cartoner will be
shown for the first time.
The servo driven cartoner
features a compact frame with
an integrated side load
mechanism. The side load
mechanism sits directly over the
carton transport chain,
significantly reducing the overall
width of the machine, claims the
company.
It can be quickly and easily
lifted out of the way using
pneumatic cylinders, giving
access to clear jams or to carry
out maintenance.
The machine run at speeds
up to 200 cartons/minute, but
SHOW BRIEFS
Racupack’s C90 carton closer
has a footprint of only 1.5m x
5.5m, making it one of the most
compact machines on the
market, claims Hansel.
Racupack, will also be
exhibiting its latest C90 compact
carton closer for vertically
erected, top-load cartons. It has
a small footprint of less than 5m
x 1.25m and features a new IPC
BUS system.
The machine, which is
particularly suited to delicate
products, features a patented
and gentle carton handling
system giving closing speeds of
up to 200 cartons/minute. The
system turns the carton
progressively, without stopping
it, so problems with product
being ejected from the open
carton are eliminated.
The machine has a lugless
transport system which means
the machine can accept cartons
at random from upstream filling
lines with no risk of carton
damage. There are no size
change parts and changeovers
normally take under three
minutes.
The C90 is available with
either hot melt glue closure or
hot air sealers.
T: +44 (0) 1733 560911
Bakery highlights from PiP
change takes no more than a
The latest Streamfeeder
couple of minutes to
ʻFlow-foldʼ developed by
complete from running to
Partners in Packaging (PiP)
running, says PiP.
will be shown fitted to the
The machine is capable of
discharge of the established
handling a wide variety of
Pro-series ST 1250 (C61).
trays including plastic, foil,
ʻFlow-foldʼ is designed to
paper pulp and multi cavity
take flat pre-creased U and C
trays.
cards and fold them as they
A new continuous motion
are dispensed, alleviating the
High Speed Rotary Pick and
need to make expensive
Place TopSerter II leaflet and
modifications to flowrapper
booklet applicator will also
infeeds, says PiP.
be on display.
The ʻFlow-foldʼ, aimed at
It applies outserts
bakery markets, features an
measuring from 25 x 25 x
additional top control unit to
1mm thick to 75 x 75 x 4mm
increase the range of cards
thick to caps on bottles
which it can handle. The
measuring from 25mm
module is fully adjustable for The Streamfeeder ‘Flow-fold’ developed
by Partners in Packaging
diameter x 65mm high to
a range of card sizes and can
100mm diameter x 200mm high.
denesting plastic trays. The
be wound out of the way when
T: +44 (0) 1706 369000
latest system is equipped with
not required.
The MGS iSys automatic Tray improved adjustability and “user E: sales@
partnersinpackaging.com
friendly” design. A full size
denester will also be shown
I Spiroflow (A40) will show
examples of its conveying
and bulk bag handling
equipment for the food,
pharmaceutical and
chemicals industries.
Its working flexible screw
conveyors exhibit will
demonstrate the function of
these versatile conveyors
and the feeder capabilities
for accurate loss-in-weight
and gain-in-weight metering,
says the company.
T: +44 (0) 1200 422525
I Integrapak (E56) will show a
range of machinery from
Volpak including the SM-360
F3, capable of producing 150
corner cap stand up
pouches/minute. Also on
show will be BrickPouch, a
flexible pack which allows
content optimisation; and the
Duo pouch for juices.
T: +44 (0) 1420 593680
E: integrapak@
integrapak.co.uk
I Troax (F60) will exhibit Rapid
Fix, which the company
claims is a versatile and easy
to install machine guarding
system designed to ensure
high levels of safety on
automated packaging lines.
Also on display is Smart
Fix, a safety fencing system
supplied in kit format.
T: +44 (0) 1793 542000
I Transnorm System (H72)
will feature its range of world
patented belt curves,as well
as examples and applications
from its latest conveyor
system range.
T: +44 (0) 1684 291100
27
ppma show preview
Friendly data capture
A software programme that can link up to
100 checkweighers to provide valuable
production data will be launched by Ishida
Europe (C60). Also on display for the first
time in the UK will be a new entry-level tray
sealer, the QX-300.
The Ishida Data Capture System (IDCS) is
a user-friendly, secure software programme
that offers an extensive range of reporting
options to enable production managers to
employ state-of-the-art monitoring for
legislative compliance while also identifying
cost savings, minimising product giveaway
and improving production efficiencies, claims
Ishida.
Data can be analysed by batch, shift,
operator, product or machine, with fully
customised reports, and is accessed either
on-site or remotely using secure Ethernet
connections.
The QX-300 for the ready meal sector is
claimed to be a reliable, hygienic and easy to
operate entry-level tray sealer, for lowvolumes and for frequent product or tray
changeovers. Top speed is 20 trays/minute.
It is compatible with all types of tray and
top lid materials, including board, plastic and
aluminium. It can handle a large number of
different tray formats in depths up to 130mm
and can be configured to specific product
requirements, including sealing only, vacuum
and vacuum/gas flushing, says Ishida.
Also on show will be the latest Atlas-122
bagmaker, available in either single or twin
tube configuration. It has speeds of up to 250
bags/minute with accurate film registration,
tight bag seals and a unique auto-film
splicing facility, claims Ishida.
The Atlas range is available with advanced
iTPS™ software, which supports integrated
operation with Ishida mulithead weighers,
throat metal detectors, printers, seal testers
and checkweighers to maximise line
efficiency.
T: +44 (0) 121 607 7700
Comet in continuous motion
The PFM Comet vertical FFS machine,
capable of 180 bags/ minute will be unveiled
in the UK for the first time by PFM Packaging
Machinery (E10).
The compact and versatile machine marks
PFM's arrival in the high speed bagging
28
market and coupled with a PFM multihead
weigher it provides a cost-effective solution,
particularly for the snack food and
confectionery industries, states the company.
The continuous motion machine
incorporates a long dwell rotary sealing
system to provide hermetic seals as well as
a short drop height for fragile products. Draw
down of the packaging medium is via
vacuum or friction belts, while gas flushing
for MAP can be carried out at full speed,
claims PFM.
Also on show will be the MBP C2 14-head
multihead weigher, sealed to IP 65 standards
for wash down in the food industry, and the
Scirocco flow-wrapper, a servo driven
machine for high speed MAP applications.
T: +44 (0) 113 239 3401
ppma show preview
SHOW BRIEFS
I Witt Gas Techniques (C85)
will exhibit its new MAPY 4.0,
an ergonomically designed,
multifunctional, mains
operated, O2 and CO2 gas
analyser for MAP lines. Also
on show will be the handheld
OXYBABY® that can be
used both on packaging
lines, and in laboratories. It is
designed for small food
packs, such as salami,
cheese slices and snacks,
including poultry and salads.
T: +44 (0) 1925 234466
I A new ʻSoloʼ entry level
weighing machine designed
for use with dry, free flowing,
low piece weight product
such as snack foods is being
introduced by Easiweigh
(E91). Capable of
weightments up to 2kg and
made from 304 grade
Stainless steel, the machine
features a pneumatically
activated weigh pan and
gating system. It can be
supplied for immediate
connection onto a
customerʼs existing air
supply or with its own stand
alone miniature air
compressor.
T: +44 (0) 1905 28075
I Kecol Pumps (G44) will be
showing an Articulated
Pumping System suitable for
emptying 4 x drums mounted
on a pallet; and a system for
Square Bin/containers for
handling high viscosity fruit
pastes, sausage meat,
pharma creams, etc. without
the need to lift or tip the
containers.
T: +44 (0) 1746 764311
30
Apply for entry
A new generation of compact
entry-level print-apply labelling
machines equipped with e-mail
facilities, to provide remote
warning of errors or service
requirements is being
demonstrated in the UK for the
first time by Logopak
International (F44).
The Logopak 400 range is
aimed at mid-speed duties,
typically 50-60 cases or shrinkwrap collations/minute, and is
self-monitoring to provide site
maintenance engineers with
remote warning of potential
problems via e-mail.
Also on show is the newly
developed I-Quest software that
allows users of Logopak
machines to search for, extract
and present production
management statistics
and other data from endof-line print & apply
operations, says the
company.
The new I-Quest
software runs as part of
Logopak's Synchro-LXS
The Logopak 400
suite of programmes,
which holds and
states the company.
manages labelling data files on
I-Quest is said to allow users
a PC to give real-time data flow
to interrogate the system and
to the labeller, independent of
extract production statistics as
the host computer from which
well as search for specific data
the data is initially downloaded.
and pallets on a key identifier
This allows the labeller to
basis, such as a product code
continue operating at maximum
or production date.
capacity when the host
T: +44 (0) 1904 692333
computer is engaged on other
tasks apart from labelling,
Weighing
and dosing
Play at low speeds
The G300 palletising robot, a
“plug & play” Cartesian type
machine, intended for low
throughput operations in the
region of 300 bags/hour, for
bags from 5 to 50 kg, will be
launched by Newtec (D30).
Bags enter the bottom of the
palletiser and a grabber turns
them through 90° to the left or
right, or through 180°
depending on the palletising
scheme. An optional separator
sheet is placed directly on the
pallet where four stops hold it in
place.
Each machine is equipped
with a a colour touch screen
control terminal and equipped
with a modem that permits
remote maintenance of the
programme.
T: +44 (0) 1673 844534
Industrial packaging specialist
Chronos Richardson (B97)
will show off its recently
introduced Chrono-Weigh™
E55 F1 High-Capacity Nett
Weigher that has an output of
more than 2,000 weighings/hour.
The latest weigher features
servo technology for accurate
control of the dosing device
and precision weighing
accuracy at high speed.The
weigher is controlled by the
SpeedAC NXT controller,
which was recently awarded
the international Measuring
Instrument Directive (MID)
certificate.
Also on show will be the high
capacity Chronos Richardson
RP 1200 robot palletiser. A
new motorised gripped
assembly has been introduced
to provide a fifth movement
axis for precision bag
positioning.
T: +44 (0) 1159 351351
ppma show preview
Mastering foil inspection
ALUMASTER, a compact metal
detection system for products packed in
aluminium foil bags and containers, will
be launched by S+S Inspection (A56).
The ferrous-in-foil metal detection
system is suitable for dry and wet
environments and is claimed to reliably
detect magnetic and magnetisable
metals, including stainless steel and
nickel, within the product. It is suitable
for both end of line and in-process
inspection during packing, weighing
and labelling.
The microprocessor control unit uses
digital data processing and is selfmonitoring and self-balancing, says S+S.
Product compensation parameters are
stored in the password protected non-volatile
memory built in to the control unit. The tunnel
detector is open and easily accessible for
cleaning and maintenance and all surfaces
comply fully with food industry requirements,
says the company.
Four models are available to suit belt
widths from 300- 800mm and product height
up to 230mm. Faulty product ejection
systems include swivel arm, pusher and air
blast, all combined with a lockable reject
container. The conveyor unit is constructed
from stainless steel to minimise effects on
scanning sensitivity and stability.
Designed to be easily integrated with
existing conveyor packing lines, the
ALUMASTER complies with food industry
IFS and HACCP requirements.
T: +44 (0) 1489 553740
Glass checked to perfection
GlassCheK Quad a new detection system for
monitoring high risk products in glass jars will
be exhibited by Mettler-Toledo Safeline (D31).
Said to ensure fast and reliable detection
of foreign bodies such as glass, metal and
stone, it simultaneously scans with one
vertical and three horizontal x-rays beams.
This maximises coverage and probability of
detection within the jar by reducing blind
spots in the base, sidewalls and neck, says
the company.
Multiple inspection settings can be stored
on a single system ensuring optimum
detection whatever the jarʼs size or shape.
The small footprint GlassCheK Quad is said
to be especially effective for wide neck jars
and offers superior detection on shards of
glass, as the four beams cover many
possible placement orientations.
Additionally no manual
realignment of the beams is
required resulting in increased
line efficiencies, claims Safeline.
It features intuitive interface and
product menus, and can be set up
or adjusted by line operators thus
minimising downtime.
The system can also measure
product fill level in a jar and an
optional bar code reader facilitates
auto product changeover for
increased throughput.
T: +44 (0) 161 848 8636
33
ppma show preview
SHOW BRIEFS
I Smiths Detection (E20) will
exhibit its Eagle Pack range
of X-ray inspection
equipment including the 240
for high speed flow-wrap
lines or small-mid size
packaged items, and Eagle
Pack 430 for mid-sized
packaged products.
T: +44 (0) 1472 349204
E: terry.woolford@
smithsdetection.com
I SCM Easypak (E40) will
launch its “Ecolift” rigid mast
flexi hoist and a roll turning
unit. The weightless lifting
unit can be adapted to suit
most industries and
applications, says the
company.
Also on show is its X400
power prestretch pallet
wrapper and the entry level
X200 machine.
T: +44 (0) 1823 325544
www.easypak.uk.com
I Euroflow Engineering
(D11) will launch a new
modular conveyor system
aimed at flexible production
facilities where product
processes and factory
layouts are constantly
changing.
Also being launched in
conjunction with Colpac
Packaging is a new table top
sandwich packaging sealer.
This machine has been
created for small sandwich
retailers and offers them
industrial quality machinery
on a small scale and budget,
says Euroflow. The machine
is also getting interest from
the pharmaceutical sectors
for small batch trials, claims
the company.
T: +44 (0) 1205 357887
34
A wrap for chocoholics
Confectionery manufacturers
will be treated to the first
viewing of LoeschPackʼs LRM-S
high performance fold wrapping
machine for a variety of shapes,
types and sizes of chocolate
bars on Cornwell Productsʼ
stand (D85).
Bars can be wrapped in a
single production step with
envelope folding, sleeve folding,
or cubed folding, with or without
bottom seam closure. The
compact machine packs at up
to 500 bars/minute. Feeding
systems from moulding or
LRM-S high performance fold wrapping machine for chocolate bars
coating lines are available.
Smaller bars such as
Napolitains are usually placed
in multipacks and for this
application the LRM-S is
combined with the LTM-K-SA
multipack machine. This single
station machine produces a
folded carton wrapping for
multipacks with one or more
rows of prepacked bars or mini
chocolates at up to 150
packs/minute.
The LRM-S operates with a
variety of materials including
coated, sealable or paper
laminated to aluminum foil,
embossed or smooth paper,
sealed or glued transparent film,
which can also be combined
with aluminium foil on one side.
T: +44 (0) 1732 866677
Creating a dust free environment
Sieving and vacuum conveying
will be demonstrated live on
stand (E25) by FarleyGreene to
show how a completely dust
and contaminant free system
can be achieved.
The Easilift sacktipping station
and a vacuum hopper loader,
alongside the Sievemaster
Multiscreen grading sieve, will
demonstrate how materials can
be separated into different
fractions within one process.
Also featured will be a
standard 565mm diameter
ʻSlimlineʼ vibratory sieve with
Farleygreeneʼs new ʻHi-Floʼ thruʼ
funnel design. The design can
more than double the existing
throughput rate of this sieve,
Meals at the ready
Multi-Fill Inc, represented in the
UK and Ireland by F.Jahn (D82),
will exhibit its newly developed
product distribution system that
allows its MPFSC120-01
automatic depositor to work with
multi-lane machines, such as
thermoformers or tray filling/
sealing lines.
The system, aimed at ready
meals manufacture, is designed
to handle hard to fill products
such as cooked rice and pasta,
fruits, vegetables and
refrigerated salads at speeds up
to120 containers/minute.
One MPF filling head can now
deal with up to eight containers
in various combinations or
patterns. Alternatively, the
distribution system can be used
as a stand-alone unit working,
for example, directly under a
multi-head weigher.
T: +44 (0) 20 8977 8822
putting it on par with similar type
screeners at twice the diameter,
the company claims.
A sacktip station will be
launched. It includes a check
sieve, dust extraction hood and
frame at a cost of less than
£5,000.
T: +44 (0) 1252 322 233
ppma show preview
Domino is on the case
Making its UK debut will be
Dominoʼs new C6000AS plus
capable of printing on adjacent
sides of outer cases (C11).
Part of the C-Series range of
outer case coders, its
introduction addresses demand
for more efficient use of both
equipment and production floor
space by synchronising two
coding operations via a single
print head, says Domino.
Launched at interpack it is
claimed to be the first coder to
offer this configuration. It is also
said to provide easier set-up,
faster production start-up and
more efficient management of
consumables.
The linerless M500, the latest
addition to Dominoʼs M-Series
range of print and apply
labellers, will also get its first UK
outing. Claimed to respond to
Part of Domino’s M Series
- the M600
waste reduction and productivity
improvement targets the
elimination of backing for the
self-adhesive labels means that
waste is radically reduced and
the labeller can run for twice as
long between roll changes.
Also showing for the first time
in the UK is Dominoʼs new
D-Series plus laser coding
range. The V300+ thermal
transfer printer will be
demonstrated with both 2” and
5” printheads.
T: +44 (0) 1954 782551
For labelling fans
Fan fold PAGOmat 6/5
A Concept 100 labelling machine
will be launched by Pagomat
(B30), which will also show off
its PAGOmat 6/5 that dispenses
labels in a straight line from a
fan folded label web.
The PAGO System 120 B is a
compact concept for front and
back labels. It offers the option
for all-round labelling and its
modular design creates flexibility
with optional equipment for
product singling, aligning and
centring, as well as coding.
The PAGOmat 6/5 provides
accurate automatic labelling,
says the company. One of its
main features is that the liner is
continuously extracted under
vacuum during high speed
labelling (up to 120m/minute) or
removed by a cutter.
T: +44 (0) 1206 755206
Push me pull me anyway you can!
Advanced Labelling Systems
(B10) is introducing the ALS 306
labeller which has dispensing
speeds of up to 60m/minute and
an accuracy of +/-0.5mm. It uses
three heavy-duty precision
stepper motors for powered
unwind, dispensing and rewind.
The synchronised “push-pull”
configuration of the drives allows
constant web tension, allowing
all types of label materials to be
handled at speed, says ALS.
The braked unwind holds a large
400mm diameter roll up to
160mm wide, which can be
placed in four positions when
integrated on a production line.
Also on show is the ALX
3138-L Linerless Print & Apply
labeller that can double the
length of material compared
with a conventional selfadhesive label roll. Labels of
any length can be programmed
using the ALS labelling software
package EtiCAD-5, says the
company.
T: +44 (0) 1844 213177
SHOW BRIEFS
I Newman Labelling
Systems (E103) will exhibit
its new Container Transfer
System, which removes the
need to manually transfer
containers to the labelling
machine or to use a
synchronised screw transfer
system. Now proven in
production at the system
operates at speeds of over
500 containers/minute and
can be used with containers
sizes from 1ml to 20ml. It is
also suitable for use with
glass vials and similar small
cylindrical containers.
The Container Transfer
System is a modular option
to the Newman VAL550 high
speed vial and container
labelling system.
T: +44 (0) 20 8440 0044
I TÜV Product Service (B68)
will highlight its new division
for the machinery sector
aimed at machinery
manufacturers who want
help with international
legislation and
implementation of the
impending Machinery
Directive revision.
T: +44 (0) 1489 558100
I Austriaʼs Austropressen
range of balers for recycling
is now available from Lely
Recycling Engineering
(H80). Models have a
capacity range from 1 ton/
hour - 30 tons/hour, and are
capable of handling a wide
range of applications
including plastic film, paper,
cardboard and textiles.
T: +44 (0) 1480226800
E: recycling.engineering.uk@
lely.com
37
ppma show preview
Compact creations
from Endoline
POWERed
analysis
Thermo Scientific (E50) will
show its POWERx ™, EZx™
and PROx ™ x-ray machines
plus the APEX™ series of metal
detectors for both basic and
demanding requirements.
The POWERx series feature
high-resolution detectors and
sophisticated image analysis
software to achieve the highest
sensitivity and lowest false
reject rates possible, says the
company.
Virtual Contaminant Testing
software is available to simulate
various types, sizes and
positions of contaminants to
determine how to achieve the
best performance in each
application, says Thermo
Scientific.
The APEX 300 Series
designed for the food and
beverage markets is available in
complete drop through (D) and
pipeline (P) versions.
The detectors are ideal, says
Thermo Scientific, for bulk flow
and piped products.
Thermo believes the
machinesʼ small size also
makes it suitable for use with its
VersaWeigh checkweigher to
form an integrated inspection
system.
A patent is pending for the
APEX™ multi-coil design, says
Thermo Scientific.
T: +44 (0) 1788 820300
An enhanced version of the
Endoline Case Erector 221/223 Mk3 - will be
showcased (A70).
Improvements to the case
erector include the extension of
the hopper section by 50mm to
accommodate specified case
sizes. This does not impact on
the compact footprint due to the
removable top mounted hopper,
explained Endoline.
A touch screen interface,
available in four different
languages, has also been
installed. In addition fewer size
change adjustments are
required, says the company.
Features remaining include
the dual opposing vacuum case
opening; a system designed to
ensure each case is opened
positively from both sides
overcoming problems
associated with stiff board and
glue migration.
Following its launch at
interpack, the Versapack a
compact case erecting and
packing system, gets its first UK
outing.
Developed jointly by robot
manufacturer Quin Systems
and Endoline Machinery,
Versapack is a combination of
Quinʼs high speed automatic
RTheta Casepacker and an
Endoline 220 series case
erecting machine. The
development is said to offer
customers additional options for
high-speed case packing in
areas where automation may
not currently be possible.
T: 44 (0) 1767 316422
Spring is in the AIR
Springvale Equipment (D80) will
have a number of its principalsʼ
systems on show. These include
the new AIR manual load
machine from Langenpac. AIR,
which operates at up to 90
cartons/minute is adjustable for
different carton sizes, has quick
change features, plus a carton
ʻpre-break” at the magazine to
ensure full opening of the carton.
Also on show will be
cartoning systems particularly
suited for contract packaging of
pharmaceuticals from U-E-T
Bernd Siebler; Boato Pack an
Italian manufacturer of VFFS
machinery for variable width
sachets and stickpacks; and
UNIFILL vertical thermoform
FS, monodose and single
portion pack machinery for food,
pharmaceutical, chemical and
personal care applications.
T: +44 (0) 1420 542505
SHOW BRIEFS
I Synatel (G28) is introducing
its patented rotary paddle
level probe - the Stepamatic.
The unit uses a stepper
motor instead of the more
conventional synchronous
motor to give a direct drive to
the paddle eliminating the
need for gearboxes and
clutches, says the company.
The direct drive allows
rotation in both directions to
avoid material compaction
and has an adjustable torque
control to allow a single
paddle to suit virtually all
applications.
Synatel says the paddle
design allows the probe to
be inserted via a standard 1”
BSP mounting flange. It is
also available with wire rope
extensions up to 2 metres
long.
T: +44 (0) 1543 277003
I The Sequence Total
front/back labeller featuring
an advanced digital control
box providing reliable
operator interface for quick
and easy format change will
be shown by Sessions of
York (D61).
It will also show the
improved RC30 selfadhesive labelling unit which
handles small cylindrical
items and difficult-to-handle
products such as vials,
syringes, inhalers, pencils,
batteries, tubes and lipsticks.
It now has a smaller
footprint.
In addition the
competitively priced DPM+
print/apply labeller will be
shown for the first time.
T: +44 (0) 1904 659224
E: machine.info@
sessionsofyork.co.uk
AIR manual load machine from Langenpac
39
ppma show preview
And all
that gas
Parker domnick hunter (C86)
will showcase a fully working
nitrogen gas generator system,
provided by Dalco Engineering.
The demonstration will show
how the MAXIGAS nitrogen gas
generator system - CO2 mixing
station operates and makes onsite food-grade nitrogen and
mixed gas from a standard
compressed air supply safely,
says the company.
The system is an alternative to
traditional nitrogen sources used
in the food packaging industry
for applications such as MAP,
gas flushing, pressure transfer
and blanketing of food stuffs.
It is said to save up to 90 per
cent of typical nitrogen gas costs
due to its low lifecycle ownership
and the elimination of costs
associated with cylinder
supplies, refills, and gas prices.
T: +44 (0) 191 402 9000
SHOW BRIEFS
Easy integration
The ease with which a slicer,
flowwrapper and inspection
equipment can be integrated into
a single line will be demonstrated
by Selo UK (B41).
The equipment can be linked
together for operation and
E-stop conditions, while line
data can also be captured for
start/stop time, product count
and the number of rejects.
Toyo Jidoki pouch filling and
sealing equipment will also be
in operation. The Toyo Jidoki
pouch filler is capable of
depositing liquids and solids in
to the same pouch.
The machine is ideal for
packing various products
including soups, sauces, ready
meals and prepared fresh
foods, says Selo.
T: +44 (0) 845 2932910
Non-stop pallet applicator
Weber Marking Systems (F31)
will be unveiling a printer
applicator for pallets, which
allows labelling on adjacent
sides without pallet stop.
The Weber Legitronic TB-2A
pallet printer applicator, on
show for the first time in the UK,
applies labels to moving pallets,
with up to five adjacent
application cycles/minute;
previously this would have
required one or two pallet stops.
The TB-2A can be specified in
either right or left hand versions
and offers three different
labelling cycles - side, front or
back, and side and front or
back. Real time information can
be included for each individual
pallet. It is also suitable for
other forms of outer packaging.
First shown at interpack the
Model 5300 Series printer
applicator combines modular
design with high-speed label
printing, application and RFID
encoding.
T: +44 (0) 1875 611111
Beating the credit crunch
LabelSynergy, a lower cost print
& apply machine, is being
launched by PRISYM ID (F87),
to help customers beat the
credit crunch, it claims.
The machine includes powerful
label design functionality allowing
new labels to be formatted and
set up without having to purchase
a separate software package,
says PRISYM ID.
High end features are said to
include 99 variables in label
formats, unlimited real time
variables include sequential
numbering, time and date
stamp, and the ability to store
various label designs.
LabelSynergy offers a range
of application options such as a
high speed blow applicator
head or precision mechanisms.
Variable data can be pulled from
external databases and
systems such as SAGE, SAP
and MRP systems.
www.labelapplicators.co.uk
I The Hapa 807 BlisterJet late
stage customisation system
for pharmaceuticals will be
given its first UK outing by
Hapa-Laetus UK (B50).
Greater productivity can be
achieved, says the company,
by running large batches of
product in blank blisters
which are then printed offline
with customer- or marketspecific data.
Designed around digital
UV Drop On Demand inkjet
technology, a unit
incorporates one or two
printer modules, format-free
blister magazine and
transport, and is capable of
printing in one or two colours
at speeds up to 200
blisters/minute.
T: +44 (0)1480 414242
E: paul.osborne@
hapa.laetus.com
I Doro Tape UK (A75) will
exhibit its new 3-D label
system - logo-FLEX.
Based on newly
developed technology from
the German parent
company, the system is said
to offer customers the ability
to add a 3-dimensional label
to products.
The self-adhesive labels
are available on a
continuous roll.
Logo-FLEX is made from a
specially developed plastic
material which has a high
degree of flexibility combined
with a quality adhesive
system. This, says Doro
Tape, makes the labels
suitable for use on bottles,
curved containers and
boxes.
T: +44 (0) 1858 431642
E: james.carpenter@
dorotape.co.uk
41
ppma show preview
Lights out but wide awake
UPM Conveyors (B15) will
demonstrate unattended lights
out production with full
automation ranging from belt
conveyor systems incorporating
product counting by weight to
an accuracy of one
component/thousand assuming
a 3 gram weight.
It will also show off its new
Rotary Carousel Tote Box Filler
which is based on two tiers with
a capacity of eight boxes to
minimise the occupied floor
area. Product is fed with a swan
neck belt conveyor fitted with air
ioniser and a cooling
tunnel to give an eight
hour (one shift) buffer,
which allows an operator
to look after several
production machines,
says UPM.
On achieving product
count the in-feed
conveyor stops and the
stainless steel chute
rotates to ensure the
correct position of the
next box.
T: +44 (0) 1753 548801
I TENAX UK (A63) will
display its range of extruded
net and mesh products for
automotive and filtration in
food, engineering and
packaging markets. TENAX
extruded products are
available in a range of
colours, mesh apertures,
weights and thicknesses.
T: +44 (0) 1978 664667
Save your energy with SMC
SMC Pneumatics UK (E90) will
be showing off its new energysaving CVQ series of combined
valve and cylinders.
The series combines SMCʼs
CQ2 cylinder and V100 solenoid
valve. This eliminates the need
for any piping and results in a
space-saving component
offering a reduction in air
consumption of up to 37 per cent
per cycle, says SMC.
Also being exhibited is SMCʼs
range of wet, process and
washdown products for the food
and packaging industry including
its new ʻHYʼ series of hygienic
actuators and valves.
Particularly suited to static
control and elimination in clean
room environments, SMC has
expanded its range of ionisers
to include the IZS31 series.
The bar-type ioniser uses the
corona discharge method to
eliminate static and its smooth
profile and aerodynamic cross
section ensure flow disturbance
and particle generation is kept
to a minimum, says the
company.
T: +44 (0) 800 1382930
Healthy option from Italy
Pharmaceutical and healthcare
markets in the UK are being
targeted with the GTL30 vertical
case packer from Italian
manufacturer MG2, now
exclusively represented in the
UK by Isopak (G40).
The machine, which has
proved successful in the US
market, operates at speeds of
SHOW BRIEFS
18-22 cases/minute and
features automatic hot-melt or
tape closure functions to seal
the tops and bottom of boxes
after filling. Claimed to be
operator friendly thanks to its
touch screen technology, it is
also easy to maintain and clean
due to its cantilever-type design.
It can handle a variety of case
sizes without the need to change
parts as these can be easily
accommodated by simple and
precise adjustments using three
hand-wheels, says Isopak.
The company supplies three
versions of the machine - the
GTL30/L, GTL30/MX, GTL30/L.
T: +44 (0) 1780 410093
I The K-Tron Process Group
(A60) will show off its
Premier Pneumatics vacuum
receivers. They feature
sanitary design and meet the
3-A Sanitary Standard for
Pneumatic Conveyors. The
receivers are designed to
convey delicate materials
such as tablets and capsules
as well as both free flowing
and poorly flowing powders
for industries including
snack, bakery, cereal and
confectionery applications.
The new multiple
feeder/single line operator
interface for the KCM,
K-Vision will be shown. It
features multi-language
support, including Chinese,
and a selectable quad
screen.
T: +44 (0) 161 491 6225
I Turbo Vacuumentation
(A47) will exhibit is Jumbo
Vacuum Tube Lifter suitable
for fast, frequent lifting and
repositioning of cardboard
boxes, sacks, barrels and
sheet materials weighing up
to 300kgs. It can be jib
mounted at a fixed point or
suspended from an
aluminium gantry system.
T: +44 (0) 161 482 4004
www.turbo-vac.co.uk
43
ppma show preview
Ulma at
its peak
SHOW BRIEFS
I D C Norris & Company
(D100) will display its Jet
Cook System. The steam
injection system looks like a
jet engine and performs in
the same way, says the
company. Products are
cooked and heated at fast
speeds atomising steam to
extract the maximum energy.
DCN says that customers
can expect reduced costs
and production times, as well
as a high quality product with
enhanced taste, texture and
appearance.
T: +44 (0) 1767 677515
I Ytron-Quadro (C51) is
exhibiting its new “Plug and
Play” Microfluidizer Model
M-110P laboratory unit for
continuous high shear fluid
processing.
This latest high-pressure
processor, for the production
of emulsions and
suspensions in the nano
particle size range, is
powered by a standard 13
amp supply and requires no
compressed air or cooling
water, says the company.
T: +44 (0) 1494 792898
I Industrial Washing
Machines (B66) will highlight
the environmental credentials
of its tray washer, cabinet
washer and sanitiser range
which incorporate
recirculation systems to help
minimise environmental
impact. The Edi13 ALTA
utensil washer is the first
machine of its type on the
Governmentʼs water
technology list.
T: + 44 (0) 121 459 9511
44
Versatility from ACS
Allen Coding Systems (ACS)
(F26) will be exhibiting its entry
level thermal transfer printer, the
53LTi. Developed for the food
industry the printer will enable
them to upgrade to a more
versatile system that easily
prints vital fixed and variable text
and graphics, says Allen.
It offers many of the features
of more expensive thermal
transfer units says ACS. These
include 300 dpi print resolution;
cassette ribbon loading; 600
metre ribbon capacity; 53mm x
30mm print area; print speeds up
to 250mm/second; and a “best of
breed” thermal print head.
T: +44 (0) 1707 379500
Compact tube filling
Two form fill seal machines for
food manufacturers will be given
their first UK outing by Ulma
Packaging (C20).
Developed by Ulma for high
speed packaging of liquids,
pastes, powders, granulated
foods, snacks, frozen products,
vegetables, and many other
particulate products, the Everest
continuous motion VFFS flowwrapper has an integrated multihead weigher. Suitable for MAP
applications it is capable of
handling a wide range of films,
says the company.
Also on show is the Sienna
fully automatic HFFS flowwrapper for fresh produce,
cheese and meat. Developed to
operate at speeds up to 70
packs/minute, depending on
product dimensions, the Sienna
is suitable for medium to high
volume food applications.
Other exhibits include the
Florida entry-level HFFS flowwrapper; the Taurus 300 tray
sealer, and the TF Supra
thermoformer for high volume
meat applications - with or
without MAP.
T: +44 (0) 1909 506504
Inline capper
Norden (E45) will be exhibiting
its latest tube filling and sealing
machine, the Nordenmatic 602.
The compact machine, which
has outputs of up to 60 tubes/
minute, can support many
optional extras that are normally
associated with much larger
machines, such as two colour
co-extrusion filling, design-a-
seal and scoop seal. It features
Nordenʼs high accuracy filling
system the NM602, is easy to
use, provides quick
changeovers, and allows the
operator excellent visibility of all
machine functions, says
Norden.
T: +44 (0) 1462 895245
Adelphi Masterfil (F61) will be
showing its automatic 4-head
flowmeter filling machine,
semi-automatic 5 litre filling
machine and a Mastercap
inline single head capping
machine.
The fully automatic
flowmeter filling machine is plc
controlled and can be supplied
with 2 to 12 filling heads to give
a fill rate of up to 4500 x 5 litre
containers per hour accurate to
±0.2 per cent, says Adelphi.
T: +44 (0) 1444 472300
ppma show preview
SHOW BRIEFS
I Tsubakimoto (E61) will
introduce a range of ʻgripperʼ
chains for thermoforming
operations in the food,
electrical and medical
packaging sectors. The range
opens to the side as well as
vertically providing a larger
opening to help prevent jams
and make loading easier,
says the company.
T: +44 (0) 1623 688788
I All-Fill International (E30)
will demonstrate its AFI
Series 100 single head inline automatic filling system
filling a fine dusty non-free
flowing food powder into
wide-mouth plastic pots, with
container lift for bottom-up
compressive dust-free filling.
The versatile machine is
designed to fill a wide variety
of container shapes, from
15mm to 250mm wide/tall,
without change parts via
simple no-tools adjustments,
says the company.
T: +44 (0)1767 691100
I Saimo (E15) will exhibit its
SAIMO14 Head Multi-Head
Weigher which incorporates
automatic feed and weight
distribution control. Its dual
servo system includes weight
level sensor and advanced
digital filtering. Weighing
options are available for
applications including fresh
produce, frozen food, dairy
and seafood. Capable of infeed weighing, the equipment
can be either stand-alone or
incorporated into any part of
the packaging line, says
Saimo.
T: +44 (0) 1942 677956
46
tna’s roflo®3
Switcheroo from tna
The roflo®3 claimed to be the
first servo driven, totally
reversible, gateless and
modular food transfer and
distribution system featuring the
new “switcheroo” technology,
will be exhibited by tna (E71).
One roflo® 3 system can now
service a production system that
would normally require a series
of dedicated lines, says tna.
It uses servo-driven, linear
motion and modular
components, to electronically
control speed and direction via
a touch key pad.
The aptly named “switcheroo”
technology which controls the
roflo® 3ʼs bi-directional feed
allows its stainless steel pans to
be tilted or raised up and down
to accommodate one or several
lines and various configurations.
The ʻswitcherooʼ offers
automatic finger touch factory
reconfiguration of an entire line
or a section of line, explains tna.
roflo® 3 can be in-fed from
multiple locations, handling
multiple products on one line,
with ʻzero riskʼ of cross
contamination and a
significantly reduced need for
accumulation, it claims.
Also on show will be the
robag®3 VFFS bagger
integrated with kanga jaw
technology and Delta 514 scale.
The system is claimed to
combine high speeds with even
faster batch changeover and a
greater choice of gusseted bag
formats.
The robag® 3 fx 180 rotary
triple jaw VFFS bagger, said to
be ideal for high density snacks
and confectionery products,
reaches speeds up to 300
bags/minute. It has four servo
drive motors giving improved
control and operational
flexibility.
T: +44 (0) 121 628 8900
Wolke show off with Sunala
some of the more sophisticated
features of the m600 Advanced
printer.
It can drive up to two print
heads with printing speeds of
up to 300m/minute with a
maximum resolution of 600dpi.
Sunala will also demonstrate
the recently launched
m600 Advanced, a new
version of its
Pharmacarton Coding
Station. It is designed for
in-line high resolution
printing of lot, expiry and
bar codes for
pharmaceutical and
medical cartons. One
key benefit of the m600
Advanced is its ability to
meet track and
The new version of Wolke’s thermal ink jet traceability requirements
printer, the m600
by printing variable
On show for the first time in the
UK is the new entry-level
version of the Wolke thermal ink
jet printer m600 Advanced,
displayed on the Sunala stand
(C16). The m600 Basic is
designed for users who require
fast, quality coding without
Datamatrix codes to ECC 200,
says Sunala.
Also on show is the latest
Travtec TR-750 Speed-Feeder
designed to feed flat cartons,
paper sheets and blister cards
for coding by ink jet, laser,
labeller or print and apply
labeller.
The machine can be supplied
as a stand-alone system or
tailored to customer
requirements for integration with
existing equipment. It can
handle cartons up to 400mm x
250mm x 5mm, with throughput
speeds up to 250 products/
minute, depending on pack
size. Product changeovers can
be completed in less than five
minutes, says Sunula.
T: +44 (0) 1942 674440
ppma show preview - components
SHOW BRIEFS
COMPONENTS
I Jokab Safety (G24) will
show off its Vital System, a
low cost, high safety level
method of connecting safety
devices to one control unit.
This system has an IP69K
non-contact sensor which
can be used in wash down
applications operating in
temperatures from -70 to
+70° C. A live robotic
demonstration will be
featured.
www.jokabsafety.com
I Aucotec (G8) will be
showing its Engineering
Base software for electrical
engineering design. It is
suitable for machine, factory
or process plant electrical
design and maintenance
applications.
www.aucotec.com
I Lake Image Systems (A26)
is launching the LakePLAS
imaging system. By
concentrating on common
fault areas, and mounting
cameras in these locations,
they automatically trigger
and capture several events.
A library of sequences can
be built up and analysed at a
later stage.
www.lakeimage.com
I Motion Control Products
(C71C) will launch its
flagship ACSM1 range of
Servo Drives from ABB with
power up to 110kW.
new ACS MC4U motion
control system. The MCP
IntB has brushless
integrated motors with an
optional stainless steel
version rating to IP67.
www.motioncontrolproducts.com
ABB is out in force
ABB will be exhibiting its robotic
prowess both at the PPMA
Show (C34) and Interplas with
its latest generation pick and
pack systems and force control
technology.
On show at the entrance to
Interplas Hall 4 will be its
RobotWare Machining Force
Control (FC) technology that
provides control in different
machining applications where a
robotʼs sensitivity responds to
process forces, the company
explained. Two advanced
software features are at the
heart of the technology. FC
Pressure allows robots to grind,
polish or buff products while
maintaining a constant pressure
between the tool and the
surface.
FC SpeedChange, enables a
robot to debur, deflash or part
line surfaces of products at a
controlled speed, slowing down
when encountering excessive
burr. For full functionality, the
system requires standard ABB
robots fitted with a force sensor;
an ABB IRC5 controller housing
an interface card linking the
sensor to the controllerʼs
computer; and cabling between
the sensor and the controller.
At the PPMA Show, ABB will
display the FlexPicker 360,
which is said to offer the ability to
handle heavier objects and
accommodate the sophisticated
grippers required to handle
diverse products, along with its
PickMaster software.
T: +44 (0) 1925 741111
Roll out for screw technology
position controller in a single
industrial grade enclosure.
This eliminates the expensive
and failure prone interconnections usually associated
with a typical servo system,
says Olsen.
The units are fully
programmable from external
command signals making it
ideal for controlling valves and
dampers in process control
applications. It also features
motion control software
www.consultolsen.com
Olsen Engineering UK (A52)
will show the new Tritex series
of servo linear actuators
featuring patented inverted
roller screw technology.
The roller screw technology is
said to offer up to 15 times the
life of ball-screw or other linear
actuator types, with higher
speeds, greater torque and high
shock resistance making them
ideal for high speed packaging
applications it is claimed.
They incorporate a brushless
servo motor, servo amplifier and
PIAB operating in a vacuum
Industrial vacuum technology
specialist PIAB (B16) will exhibit
its complete line of C Series
hygienic vacuum conveyors for
powder and bulk applications in
the food, pharmaceutical and
chemical industries.
ergonomic IC Series of industrial
vacuum conveyors, mainly used
for conveying in manufacturing.
The two systems are based
on the companyʼs patented
COAX® multi-stage ejector
technology. By integrating the
internal components of a multistage vacuum pump into a
vacuum cartridge, COAX®
offers customers a smaller,
more efficient, and highly
flexible technology, says PIAB.
PIAB will also demonstrate its
Automatic Vacuum Management
(AVM™) as an integrated control
option for highly automated
systems using the P3010, a
multi-stage ejector vacuum
pump; VGS™ 3010 (Vacuum
Gripper System), a flexible
solution for automated material
handling applications.
T: +44 (0) 1509 814280
ppma show preview - components
Inspector calls!
Inspector a powerful 2D vision
sensor will be launched by
SICK UK (D46).
The easy to use and powerful
camera with a standard
photoelectric sensor comes with
integral lighting, powerful
processing, Ethernet
communication and rugged
industrial housing, says Sick.
The Inspector has a choice of
illumination types and its
powerful image evaluation
capability and easily
programmable configuration
make it suitable for a wide
range of packaging
applications, the company
claims. This includes label
presence and positioning, pack
sealing and level fill verification.
The rugged housing
incorporates either a standard
ring light, or a diffuse dome light
for inspection of glossy,
reflective or metallic surfaces.
The Inspectorʼs intelligent and
fast algorithms, and powerful
processing enable it to meet the
speed of any production line, with
time optimised evaluation and
real time differentiation with a
simple pass/fail output, says Sick.
Individual items do not require
identical positioning for
inspection, as the software
evaluates edges, contours,
contrasts, grey scale values or
pixels in milliseconds,
regardless of alignment.
T: +44 (0) 1727 831121
Sorting it out with RADIX Systems
RADIX Systems (E86) will
exhibit its AUTOSORT range of
electronic sorters used for
sorting natural and process
defects in foodstuffs.
On show will be the new
MC- D ʻDouble-sidedʼ Sorter
used for inspection of larger
foods such as baby carrots and
florettes, diced vegetables or
nuts. It complements the
existing MC-A, for smaller
applications. Two or four
cameras are positioned to give
an all-round view, detecting
defects at top, tail and round the
product.
A new ejector configuration
combined with fast pneumatic
valves ensures accurate
removal of defects and
contaminants with reduced
wastage, says RADIX. The
sorter features the RADIX
designed ʻSnapshotʼ processing
technology which is claimed to
Visionary sensors
Balluff (C45) will exhibit its
new BVS Vision Sensor which
combines vision capability and
photoelectric sensor simplicity.
The optical sensor provides
reliable error proofing and
quality inspection and at just
58 x 52 x 40mm the sensor
can be placed virtually
anywhere a photoelectric
sensor can be mounted, says
the company.
T: +44 (0) 161 282 4700
be capable of inspecting more
than 500,000 items/minute.
High resolution line-scan
cameras allow detection of
defects as small as 1.0mm.
The inspection in blue, green,
red and infrared wavelengths
enables detection of subtle
colour differences and
contaminants of the same colour
as the product, says Radix.
T: +44 (0) 1794 830240
SHOW BRIEFS
COMPONENTS
I Real-life scenarios,
developed in response to
requests from machine
manufacturers and users,
will be shown by Omron
Electronics (F81).
The scenarios will
demonstrate the latest
developments in vision
systems for process
monitoring, quality control
and automated inspection;
remote connectivity as an
aid to maintenance, data
collection and error
diagnostics for single
machines or complete
production lines; and
systems that provide singlekey machine set up.
T: +44 (0) 1908 258258
I Keimis and VisDA are
joining forces to show off
their manufacturing
efficiency and packaging line
performance experience
(H70). VisDA Technology
specialises in improving total
packaging line efficiency
through the design and
application of electronic
controls, production
monitoring and diagnostic
systems. Keimis is a
provider of IT Solutions
targeted at optimising
manufacturing performance.
www.visdatechnology.com
I Gemba Solutions (E29) is
launching Overall Equipment
Effectiveness (OEE)
IMPACT software that helps
companies to identify
production problems and
make improvements to
reduce downtime, improve
quality and increase yields.
www.gembasolutions.co.uk
special feature
dairy, yoghurts & desserts
DAIRY
DIGEST
Healthy outlook for
dairy products?
The annual UK milk market is today worth about
£3.2 billion, up by more than 20 per cent on 2003,
according to figures released recently by Mintel.
And the dairy sector as a whole is worth about
£6bn. But this growth is driven by value rather than
volume; and this is set to continue with deliveries
of milk to processors down by more than 13 million
litres already this year.
While the prices of milk and dairy products has
risen, so too have the costs of production,
particularly feed and energy, squeezing the dairy
farmers hard. But most forecasters are optimistic
about the longer term prospects for the dairy
sector and see one reason for this being value
added products, such as probiotic and yoghurt
drinks, which are gaining in popularity and diversity
all the time.
So what are the implications of these
changes in the product make-up for packers
and machinery suppliers?
Forecasting investment
trends for the conservative dairy
industry has never been easy. But there
are clear signs of a new generation of drinks
and desserts requiring innovative processing
and packaging solutions. And in terms of the
staple products like milk, butter and cream,
these are seen as essential commodities
in 98 per cent of households. So even if
demand only remains stable volumes are huge
(more than 5 billion litres for liquid milk in the UK,
annually) there is plenty of room for developments.
Current issues around processing and
packaging are ones of energy and sustainability as
much as efficiency.
A senior packaging manager at one of the UKʼs
major dairy companies told MU that they must
always look for ʻquick winsʼ on production
efficiencies because of the retail environment, but
are always keeping their eyes open for more
strategic ʻwinsʼ for the future.
“Currently we want new equipment to be more
energy efficient and this goes for the conveyors
and motors and just about every other
component,” he said. “Also filling line designers
need to eliminate ʻdead timeʼ during production, for
example where conveying stops if there is a halt in
production.”
Encouragingly he said that co-operation with
machine suppliers about weight reduction and
recyclable material usage had improved
considerably. “We do not have to wait for the
technology to catch up now as we work together to
trial alternative materials or lighter containers.”
He added: “The challenge is not always to do
things in a new way but to do the things we are
doing better and that means using the expertise of
our suppliers.
“Sometimes the major ʻsystemsʼ companies
try to be all things to all men and do not meet
required specifications. We buy the best
machines for the job and these can come from
smaller machinery companies with specific
expertise. Total solutions companies can be
useful, but they are not a panacea.”
Price rises are a major challenge for dairy
product producers. “Our challenge is to ensure we
produce as efficiently as possible in order to
minimise the price. How much would a litre of milk
be if a ʻdo nothingʼ scenario existed?” he asked.
“Dairies deliver direct to major stores in a ʻclosed
loopʼ system for most of the standard product
ranges, only a few cheeses and butters might go
to regional distribution centres. This means we
have very tight control of the whole production and
distribution process.
“The degree of line control is greater than ever
before with advanced software and SAP. This is
driven by the retailer and automated management
systems are more reliable.
“But RFID and other Track and Trace
technology does not work well in a dairy. So
there is a challenge for someone.”
Finally on production technologies across
process as well as packaging he feels the same
rules apply. “We want it faster, more automated,
shorter times for things like CIP and more energy
efficient systems for pasteurisation, et al. But we
are not expecting revolution. Evolution will do - we
can work together on that.”
Chinaʼs per capita
consumption of milk is
21.7Kg per annum, according
to a recent report in the
Peopleʼs Daily, only one fifth
of the world average. However
the China Dairy Association
expects consumption to reach
40Kg per head by 2020. There
is a wide discrepancy between
consumption of fresh milk in
urban and rural areas. The
current average in cities is
24.8Kg while country dwellers
consume only 2Kg each year.
Beijingʼs residents drink a
massive 46.2Kg annually,
says the Association.
The average price for
100kg of milk in the EU has
risen by 22.7 per cent in the
past year to Euro 32.90,
equivalent to 25.28 pence
per litre (ppl).
In April 2008 the UK had
the lowest price average at
23.55 ppl while Greece was
highest at an equivalent of
33.82 ppl.
Generally in France,
Germany, the Netherlands,
Poland and the UK prices
are now static or falling.
But between May 2007
and May 2008 fresh milk
prices increased by 14.2 per
cent, butter 31.9 per cent
(now falling) and cheese
16.3 per cent compared with
an overall rise in UK RPI of
4.4 per cent.
Source: DEFRA/EU Statistics
Long life dairy: A recent
report in The Times says that
cheese and fruit yoghurts
may have been made 8500
years ago. Researchers
have found traces of fat on
shards of pottery which
indicate dairy processing
was being practiced by
Turkish farmers from the
Dardanelles in 6500BC.
51
special feature
DAIRY
DIGEST
Danisco AS of Denmark has
developed a protective
culture under the
HOLDBAC™ YM brand.
It contains bacteria which
has a specific inhibiting
effect on yeasts and moulds
found in fresh fermented
dairy products such as
yoghurts, sour cream, and
cottage cheese.
HOLBAC™ YM can make
fresh fermented dairy
products less susceptible to
spoilage during their shelf
life - reducing potential
consumer returns and
facilitating distribution over
longer distances, enabling
the production of larger
batches, said Danisco.
www.danisco.com
Sainsburyʼs has announced
a trial, at 35 of its stores, to
sell milk in recyclable bags.
The milk is decanted into a
re-usable jug which can be
bought from the retailer. The
bag has been designed in
conjunction with Dairy Crest
and is aimed at cutting milk
packaging by up to 75 per
cent. If the trials are
successful the bags could be
available in up to 500 of
Sainsburyʼs stores by the end
of the year.
www.sainsburys.co.uk
C-Series conveyors,
manufactured by PIAB, have
enabled Danone Poland to
improve production at its
automatic powdering station
for transporting moisture
absorbing whey and nonfree-flowing starch. The
conveyors, which are
powered by pneumatically
driven vacuum pumps can
move up to 15 tonnes/hr of
product.
T: +44 (0) 1509 814280
52
Portion packs get
Machinery Update looks at machine systems developments that are helping customers build
success in value added markets
The birth of a new generation of ʻhealthyʼ dairy
products is being ably assisted by many
machinery companies. For example equipment
suppliers can now offer unit dose equipment
whether that is in a bottle, sachet, pot, pouch or
stickpack form. And several companies have
developed Ultra-Clean or Aseptic filling lines,
some with thermoforming capabilities.
Certainly the vogue for all things in a pouch is
now finding success for products such as
fromage frais and other spoonable dairy products.
For example, the SMA-260 from Volpak (UK
agent Integrapak) first launched at interpack
2005, is now available in a fully aseptic version
that can also be fitted with a screw top for
resealing. Volpak is also producing a stand up
pouch for grated cheese products incorporating a
slide zipper device.
Michael Lindsay, sales manager, Integrapak,
says the benefit of fully aseptic machines
compared with Ultra-Clean is the greatly extended
shelf life for cold chain products, although it also
improves ambient product shelf life. A better clean
down regime is also an advantage, he said.
Stickpack style products for yoghurt drinks, or
squeezable products such as soft cheeses, have
Customers are demanding a longer shelf life - not
just for branded white milk, but also for value
added milk and flavoured milks that kids will enjoy.
Elopak believes Extended Shelf Life (ESL)
technology will play an important role in the further
development of these dairy segments
(Picture courtesy of Elopak) www.elopak.com
been launched in the UK with varying amounts of
success. Mueller, always one of the most
innovative dairy companies, were the first to try it.
And Integrapak has supplied Yeo Valley Organics
with a Schwarze machine to produce a fromage
frais snack.
Pundits believe snack, convenience and health
products are where growth will come for the dairy
sector and this is backed up by a Mintel forecast
that flavoured milks will show 35 per cent growth
at todayʼs prices between now and 2013.
Skimmed milk is now claiming re-hydration
properties for use after sports. New products such
as Mars Starburst fruit flavoured shakes and
Cravendaleʼs Half Pint, marketed as an energy
supplement will, states the study, find their way
into lunch boxes and vending machines with
increasing regularity.
Stylish formats
Currently children get more than 40 per cent of
their milk consumption via the milk poured on
cereals each morning. This will change as new
products with stylish, convenience formats
increase in popularity.
Hassia, part of the Oystar Group, and
represented in the UK by Engelmann & Buckham,
has several machines catering for the new pack
styles required. The companyʼs SVL and SAS
Aseptic StickPack systems have established
markets in margarine, portable puddings,
cheeses and fruit mixtures.
The machines also produce a dual stick pack
with a yoghurt bar and fruit mixtures bar in a
single stick pack.
Its range of TAS Aseptic thermoforming
machines offers many styles of pots, including
dual cavity for products such as cereals with milk
and yoghurt and fruit. Hassia claims its Steam
Aseptic system is a breakthrough in both
customer satisfaction and production safety. No
chemicals are used in the foil sterilisation
process, so there is no flavour taint due to residue
and as steam is already present in the plant there
are energy saving implications, plus greater
safety for operators who are not exposed to
volatile substances.
Another Oystar company, Erca-Formseal,
which claims to have pioneered the cup FFS
special feature
green light
process in 1958, recently introduced its next
generation EF400 for 4 x 6 125g cups which
applies labels in two steps per run at a capacity of
up to 40,000 cups/hour. The company produced
the first thermally formed 100ml bottle in 2007,
says Oystar.
‘The real thing’
Consumption of UHT products remains constant
at about 8.5 per cent of the UK market. But
innovations in the process are leading to
improved taste with several dairy producers
claiming that long shelf-life products can taste just
as fresh. One of the UKʼs leading Organic
suppliers of dairy products is about to launch a
42-day shelf life milk which, it says, is just as
good as the real thing.
Demand for powdered milk products continues
to grow strongly, particularly in the BRIC
economies. This, according to forecasters, will
continue to suck in investment in processing and
packaging capacity, although local machine
suppliers will probably meet most of this demand,
as consumption of the products is largely
domestic.
Overall the dairy sector and its suppliers have
grounds for cautious optimism, particularly when
compared with the recent past. But UK milk
production is still in decline and, despite prices to
consumers increasing the production margins are
still very tight.
However demand for milk products is stable
and the potential for better margin, added value
products seems bright. The diversification of
packaging and packing styles is to be welcomed
after years of bricks and bottles. Those with the
equipment to meet the demand for sticks,
pouches, sachets, monodoses and pots could be
the ones to prosper.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Integrapak
T: +44 (0) 1420 593680
Engelmann & Buckham
T: +44 (0) 1420 82421
Erca-Formseal
www.oystar.erca-formseal.com
3-D effect for singles
Individual 3-D packs of cheese, fromage frais and yoghurt drinks
can be produced on the new Unifill® TF-02.
Producing up to 24,000 ʻ3Dʼ style mono doses/hour, the
thermoform fill seal machine
uses a single web of plastics
material, which can be
laminated and/or coextruded as PET/PE or
PVC/PE, using thicknesses
between 90 and 500
microns. Ultra clean versions
include sterile air
thermoforming, inert gas
flushing and laminar flow
with HEPA filter.
The material is folded into
a V-shape prior to entering
the thermoforming area
which enables stand up
containers to be produced.
The use of a continuous strip
eliminates the need for side
trimming, so reducing
material waste. Print registration for both front and back is
available.
The film enters the thermoform area which comprises a double
pre-heated station, one set of heated moulds and one set of water
cooled moulds. The moulds
are located on an accessible
hinged balcony for ease of
service and changeover.
Mould length is 210mm while
height can be varied between
50 - 120mm.
Following the filling
process, which can be
adapted depending on the
product characteristics, the
strip is conveyed through the
progressive sealing system.
Once the container neck is
sealed the final cutting station
separates the doses to the
required shape via a
dedicated die-cutting unit.
Multipack formats are also available. A variety of closures can be
attached which include, sticks as well as screw, flip-top and breakoff styles. Unifill is represented in the UK by Springvale Equipment.
The company has also introduced a soft, flexible bottle pack, the
QwikPak™ produced on its TF-400 machine. It can be used for
drinks, sauces, edible oils or toiletries such as shampoos. Again the
bottle shape can be cut to customer requirements.
T: +44 (0) 1420 542505
53
special feature
Cell provides
pots of stability
RTS Flexible Systems has developed a high
speed robotic cell ideal, it says, for picking
and packing yoghurt and dessert pots even
when shapes are inherently unstable.
The cell can be adapted to cope with any
shape of pot and can easily be integrated
into most pot filling operations. The system,
which allows one picking cell to deal
reliably with different products with almost
continuous operation, has taken 18 months
to develop, says RTS.
“The RTS gripper technology allows
greater flexibility for dairy and dessert
makers,” says Etienne Croquette, RTSʼs
UK sales manager for the sector. “It does
away with the need for dedicated lines or
running a production line on one pot shape
for one order,” he claims.
The solution picks pots and places them
in preformed plastic or cardboard tray at
speeds up to 160 pots/minute. Two
variants are available, one enables pots to
be picked at high speed directly from the
filler while the other collates and packs the
pots downstream.
T: +44 (0) 161 777 2000
Coding is best
A leading US manufacturer of frozen dairy
dessert mixes, Galloway Company, has
switched from self adhesive labels to a
large format thermal transfer coding
system, supplied by Norwood/Allen, to
help solve the problem of detached labels
on its bags of mixes.
The problem arose because of the
transition from warm to cold conditions
during the process which was affecting
delivery and distribution.
Galloway chose a NGT series system
because of its large print area, which at
160 x 155mm is claimed to be the largest
on the market. The NGT 8 E can achieve
213x155mm, according to Norwood/Allen,
a subsidiary of ITW. The new printer
eliminates 15-20 label changes a day,
reducing changeover times from 10
minutes to less than one minute.
www.itw-norwood.com
54
Novel nozzle for milk
A mid-speed powder filling line to handle
delicate products such as milk powder
without risk of damage from contact with
moving parts is being launched by ADG
Packaging Systems.
Aimed typically at shorter run speciality
and own label products, the automatic in-line
Albro Alpha weigh filler can provide speeds
up to120 packs/minute. It uses a novel filling
valve with no moving parts in place of the
auger dosing systems used traditionally on
medium speed powder fillers.
The valve operates using a porous plastic
nozzle that allows product flow, under
gravity, to be regulated and shut off simply
by varying air pressure. While product is
being filled, positive air pressure applied
through the porous nozzle fluidises the
powder for rapid bulk flow. Once 90 per
cent of the fill has been made, air pressure
can be returned to atmospheric, reducing
flow rate for final accuracy. At this point a
low vacuum is applied to the nozzle causing
the product to bridge immediately for a
clean cut-off.
Throughout the cycle, the filling head is
controlled via a weigh cell, giving an accuracy
of typically ±1-1.5g on fills up to 2kg. There
are no rotating augers or scrapers in contact
with the powder, preventing risk of
contamination or attrition and presenting a
smooth unobstructed flow path for easy and
secure clean down. Elimination of moving
parts such as auger drive motors and clutch-
Albro Alpha from ADG
brakes also improves reliability while
reducing maintenance and capital cost, says
the company.
ADG has also announced a new version
of its Albro Theta rotary vacuum assisted
powder filler, available in 12-36 head
options. It combines gentle handling of
delicate products such as milk powder with
the ability to run at high speeds, typically up
to 400 containers a minute.
T: +44 (0) 1233 629161
Flavour dosing at the double
Grunwald has shipped a new Foodliner 5
lane cup filling machine to Australia.
It is said to incorporate a number of
technical developments including an in-line
fruit dosing system which allows various
fruits to be mixed with the base yoghurt at
the point of packaging to provide faster
flavour changes, as there is no need to
clean the base yoghurt between flavours.
The fruit dosing ratio can be adjusted to
run in synchronisation with other machine
functions, says Grunwald. Other
advantages are claimed to be the
accommodation of different viscosities at
high speeds with and without fruit pieces,
while product splash is restricted thanks to
servo filling and indexing. An integrated
laminar cabinet is used to sterilise the
empty cups with steam and hydrogen
peroxide while the foil lids are pre-sterilised
using UV light.
ʻDouble Stepʼ tooling ensures two format
sets are permanently mounted on the
machine bed for fast changeovers. A slide
in, slide out mechanism is incorporated for
easy reloading of cups and lids.
T: +44 (0) 1529 414999
special feature
User friendly Lots of shapes and sizes
yoghurt filler
Packaging Automation (PA) has redesigned its Fastfill volumetric filling, heat
sealing and over capping machine range to
meet the needs of ice cream and frozen
yoghurt product makers. These innovations
have eliminated bug traps found in
previous models, while lighter and simpler
change parts are more ʻuser friendlyʼ when
frequent changes are needed. Cup Ring
changeover times have been reduced by
as much as 30 per cent, it claims.
The companyʼs latest technical
development has seen the introduction of
MAP (modified atmosphere packaging) on
its volumetric machines. This, says PA,
enables it to offer extended shelf life for
some products. The advance follows
extensive trials with a customer on a new
drink product which requires less than 2
per cent residual oxygen. The machine
consistently achieved less than 1 per cent,
says the company.
T: +44 (0) 1565 755000
Campina commissioned Gerhard Schubert
to develop an automated picking system to
pack multipacks of different flavoured
yoghurts at its Heilbronn facility.
The operation required unpacking of filled
trays of single flavours, pot alignment
according to the print inscription and
collation using cardboard sleeves, to create
the multipacks of mixed flavours.
A further requirement was that the
system should be capable of processing
different pot sizes and shapes. Campina
uses round, single portion pots of 75mm or
95mm which differ in height and weight
depending on the product, as well as four
pot and hexagonal packs.
Changes for alignment, filling and closing
are undertaken semi-automatically using
Schubertʼs TLM (Top Loading Machine)
technology, which shifts the machine
functions from individual mechanisms to the
machine software. Product specific
requirements are handled using
exchangeable tools.
An optical detection system sorts out the
random pot formation. Two TLM-F44 robots
align and pick pots at speeds between 75-
Lighten up
CAMA line up
The BF 70 is a new thermoformer of
bottles for yoghurt and juice drinks
launched by Adolf Illig Maschinenbau
earlier this year, produces bottles that are
claimed to be 50 per cent lighter than the
blowmoulded equivalent and feature
shorter conversion times and the flexibility
to produce different bottle shapes, says
the company.
A new type of process sequence
produces a uniform wall thickness
distribution, despite the small original area
and extreme depth of draw. The machine
is roll-fed and a punching station
separates bottles from the web using steel
cutters. The BF 70 works at speeds up to
25 cycles/min producing up to 30,000
bottles/hr. It can be linked into existing
filling and sealing lines easily and
efficiently, says the company.
T: +44 (0) 1767 310555
CAMA Group has recently
completed a project to tray
pack single and OTT
sleeved bottles of probiotic
yoghurts at up to 68,000
bottles/hour for a major
European dairy producer.
The line takes the
bottles from the outfeed of
Cama’s high speed electronic sleeving machine
the filler and delivers
into trays which have been pre-erected on a
loaded trays to the infeed of the
CAMA forming machine.
palletisation unit.
The system can also pack single bottles
The machine is interfaced with upstream
into cartonboard trays. They are fed via a
processing equipment and transfers bottles
line running parallel to the buffer tables. It is
in two lanes to buffer tables where
accumulation for up to 7 minutes is possible able to handle three different bottle sizes up
to a maximum speed of 285 bottle
should downstream operations halt.
packs/minute in a 2x2 configuration or 95
Bottles for group packing are then
trays/minute for single bottles in a 3x4
transferred to the CAMA sleever which can
configuration.
over wrap the containers in two lanes in
T: +44 (0) 1793 831111
various configurations. These packs are
then fed to the robotic unit for placement
56
100 pots/minute and ensure the required
assortment is achieved.
Another TLM-F2 robot picks up the
groups of pots and places them in
cardboard sleeves. Trays which were
previously emptied are re-filled with the
multipacks.
T: +44 (0) 1676 525825
special feature
Lucky lotto for Chocomel
Domino has helped one of the worldʼs
largest dairy companies, Friesland Foods,
to improve its track and trace processes
with the installation of several A-Series
continuous ink jet printers and C-Series
outer case coders.
The A-Series equipment also enabled the
customer to introduce a lucky number
lottery promotion at no extra cost to mark
the 75th anniversary of its Dutch Chocomel
brand. A sophisticated Windows-based
Domino Editor GT controller, capable of
processing large quantities of variable
codes, managed an A200 to print unique
numbers on to each Chocomel carton.
The purchase of 10 A400 and eight A200
printers are being used to apply best before
dates and batch or line numbering. A
customised version of the A-Series, with
dual heads was also supplied to meet
requirements for more than four lines of
print.
The C100 large character printer for
outer cases was particularly suited to the
Friesland Foods operation, says Domino,
as its sealed ink container meets the
companyʼs stringent hygiene requirements.
The dairy company financed the
equipment through Dominoʼs ʻRelaxʼ five
year pay-per-code package which enables
it to expand, upgrade or exchange existing
systems as well as leaving maintenance
and consumable planning and operations
to the supplier.
T: +44 (0) 1954 782551
The long and short of it!
Astec Conveyors has completed a
£270,000 contract to convey blocks of
warm cheese over 300 metres down a
hillside from the production plant to a new
cool storage facility at South Caemarfon
Creameries.
Used to transport 20kg of vacuum packed
cheeses, the conveyor had to be
constructed on platforms and with walkways
to avoid buildings and other site services as
well as spanning a road and a river.
The construction, which can span 15
metres unsupported, includes a watertight
stainless steel tunnel and galvanised
platforms and walkways, and comprises
modular plastic belt conveyors; indexing
conveyors to facilitate non-contact
accumulation of the cheese; low, back
pressure chain conveyors; gravity rollers
and a brake metering belt for the various
stages of the blocksʼ journey. Previously the
cheese was transported between the two
units by lorry.
In another dairy installation Astec has
supplied Lubborn Cheese with an
accumulating chain conveyor and lowerator
for its palletising operations handling 10
500kg pallets/hour, although Astec says the
system can run at far higher capacities, up
to 60 1500kg pallets/hour.
T: +44 (0) 1283 210333
special feature
Zips in the pocket
The BG2800 Zip machine
The Pocket Bag recloseable tab with an
adhesive strip, zip or label
Recloseability in cheese packing is
increasingly being seen as part of the basic
specification, according to Chris Bolton,
sales and operations director at PFM
Packaging Machinery.
As a result, PFM launched a new high
speed MAP flow-wrapper for reclosable
zipper packs earlier this year. (See MU
Jul/Aug p12). In fact, the new BG2800 Zip
machine follows the introduction by PFM of
two other form-fill-seal machines capable of
producing various types of recloseable
packs for the cheese industry: the Vetta
bagger used principally for grated cheese
and the MAP Pocket Bag flow-wrapper.
The Pocket Bag is based on the
companyʼs established long-dwell seal
Scirocco flow-wrapper, offering speeds up
to 120 - 130 packs a minute.
The machine first die-cuts one side of the
wrapping film with an extended V-shaped
notch to provide slightly tapered flaps and
the product is then loaded onto the film from
a belt infeed and carried through a forming
box set at 90° to normal so that the
longitudinal seal is made at the side. This
ultimately becomes the head of the wallet
style bag.
The longitudinal seal is peelable and made
at the base of the flap, which is then folded
over and held in place by a pressure sensitive
label printed on-line including variable
information. Cross-sealing completes the
pack. Once opened, consumers can reclose
the bag using the label.
For grated cheese the PFM Vetta is a
multi-format bag maker capable of
producing stand-up pouches and ʻquadʼ
packs with reinforced corners, in addition to
standard pillow pack bags. The variable
axis sealing jaws, which can be turned
horizontally through 90deg also make it
possible to produce Doypack style bags
with a bottom gussett.
The Vetta can be equipped to add zipper
tape either in web direction or cross web,
depending on bag style required, and will
also produce bags that can be reclosed via
adhesive tape introduced into the pack as it
is made.
T: +44 (0) 113 239 3401
Ultra clean filling from Waldner
A new concept for ultra clean filling
and closing of dairy products, the
Waldner Dosomat 20.8 Compact
AS Flexo, is an 8 lane machine
capable of outputs above 400
cups/minute.
It has three typical cup formats 71, 86 and 91mm diameters – and
does not require a traditional
laminar air flow cabinet as the
complete filling/lidding process is
enclosed in a sterile air tunnel, says
Waldner.
Cups are de-nested using
positive mechanical scrolls assisted
by vacuum and are cleaned using
intense UV light. The non-drip filling
head uses tappet valves. Options
are available for the pre or postfilling of fruit particulates, jams, and
The Waldner Dosomat 20.8 showing the packaging cleansing
syrups.
area, main filler and sterile air tunnel
The initial closure uses plain
rollstock, print registered or pre-cut
foil. Maximum UV exposure for
cleaning these is achieved through
an intermittent motion as the
material passes the light. A setter
unit presses on a lid to complete the
closure process. Coding is
undertaken using a Waldner
designed traversing unit which,
says the company, gives ʻtotal
controlʼ during this operation.
Integral case packing within the
constraints of the 5 x 1 metre wide
footprint completes the turnkey
system. Elau PacDrive servo units
ensure quick changeover.
The machine is also available in
a rotary version and both formats
have economic footprints, claims
Waldner.
T: +44 (0) 1722 782625
59
special feature
DAIRY
DIGEST
Sealed Air has introduced a
co-extruded shrink bag for low
gassing hard and semi-hard
cheese packing and curing.
The OSB 4550 shrink bag can
be used for curing times up to
six months and for industrial
and consumer unit packing.
The crease and fold
features of the bag allows the
machine operator to overlap
the material during the
sealing and vacuum process,
thus enabling higher output
rates on vacuum chamber
machines, claims Sealed Air.
Depending on machine
configuration and product
size up to 60 bags/minute
can be achieved.
T: +44 (0) 1274 260870
Tetra Pak says its new Tetra
Lactenso aseptic dairy
processing line includes
energy and product saving
technologies, including
IntelliCIP and Aseptic Energy
Hibernation.
IntelliCIP is a cleaning
programme which can reduce
chemical usage by 20 per
cent, it says, as well as being
able to adjust the cleaning
sequence to the exact time
and input levels required. The
Aseptic Energy Hibernation
unit is claimed to lower
steam, water and electrical
consumption by as much as
75 per cent when the UHT
system is in stand-by mode.
www.tetrapak.com
Enercon now offers remote
control monitoring on lines
equipped with its induction
sealing systems. This
enables users to incorporate
induction sealing into
sophisticated line control and
SCADA options via PC.
T: +44 (0) 1296 330542
60
dairy, yoghurts & desserts - case & tray packing
The cartoning message
Kliklok International has installed three PRIMA
end-load cartoners at Unilever Bestfoodsʼ plants
in UK, the Netherlands and Germany, where they
are packing Becel pro-activ® spreads.
The challenge for Kliklok was to combine
cartoning with an automatic product feeding
system, plus the insertion of an information
booklet, at speeds above 220 packs/minute.
A five-crease sleeve was developed with
Unilever so that a common profile existed across
all the factories. The rotary feeder on the machine
erects the carton and accurately shapes the pack
to allow the inner product retaining tab to be
folded and formed, locking the product in place.
Kliklok has also developed a special closing
mechanism on its ECT500 glue-form erector for
a major Scandinavian cheese maker. The
hexagonal carton and lid required a half toploading and half wraparound solution.
The base is formed on a standard ECT500
erector, but with one side open. The product is
pushed through the opening and the side glued
into position. The lid is folded and glued using a
modified single flap closer. Speeds reach 80
packs/minute.
T: +44 (0) 1275 836131
Packed with liquid energy
Multipack cartons of high energy liquid dairy
products supplied to hospitals by Dutch dairy
group Nutricia (Holland) now carry large print &
apply labels that wrap around the corner to allow
the cartons to be easily identified within fridges
from their front or side.
Nutricia has installed two Logopak 920 print &
apply labellers on a new production line. The two
machines run in tandem to eliminate risk of
downtime, as the product has to be chilled
immediately after manufacture. Speed is 30 a
minute on cartons measuring 300 x 300 x 450mm.
A label 200mm wide x 80mm deep is printed
long edge leading to ensure that bar codes are
printed in picket fence orientation for best
scanning results. The label is then applied to the
leading face of the carton and folded round the
carton side to give adjacent side labelling.
The tandem controller supplied for the two
machines allows the variable label data to be
recalled only once to be sent to each machine,
ensuring commonality of data. Scanners are
integrated on each machine to ensure label
presence and that all bar codes are legible.
T: +44 (0) 1904 692333
Dimac St@r turn for Friesland
Friesland Group turned to Dimac, part of the Aetna
Group, to produce different pack types on the
same line prior to palletising at its plant in Lumen,
Belgium. The facility produces whipped cream and
milk drinks in up to 500 varieties.
Initially three Dimac St@r T45 tray packers were
acquired with the capacity to carry out 18 different
formats at up to 45 packs/minute. Friesland
produce a large number of private label products
with format changes up to every 3-4 hours. To give
flexibility the St@r T45 utilises a patented CAD
system which allows 64 formats to be introduced
on each machine with average changeover
periods of less than 10 minutes, says Dimac.
Formats are recalled using icons on the Allen
Bradley touch screen.
The machine features unwinding control of the
film based on the trajectory described by the
wrapping bar, Electronic cams aid quick cutting
and automatic centring at up to 60 packs/minute.
T: +44 (0) 1234 825050
pack expo preview
Links across the Atlantic
continue to prosper
The US spends more than $6bn
annually on packaging
machinery and is still the largest
single machinery market in the
world, according to the
Packaging Machinery
Manufacturers Institute (PMMI)
which represents over 550
makers of machinery,
converting equipment,
components and containers.
So it is little wonder that the biannual Pack Expo International
exhibition held at McCormick
Place in Chicago (November 913 2008) is the second largest
packaging event in the world only interpack is larger.
The show attracts some
1,600 exhibitors spread across
1.1 million square feet, (thatʼs
about 110,000 m2 in modern
parlance), and anticipates
50,000, (6,000 overseas)
visitors from 125 countries.
A mystery
Yet to many in Europe, Asia and
Africa the US market remains a
mystery and its machinery
supply industry virtually
unknown. In truth US packaging
machine companies export less
than 20 per cent of production
and a good deal of that goes to
countries on their doorstep such
as Canada; Mexico and other
South American markets. But
that 20 per cent still represents
about $1bn worth of equipment
and some of it does find its way
across the Atlantic where
companies such as Doboy,
FMC, Hayssen, Loveshaw, OK
International, Markem, Nordson,
Raque and many others have
flourished for several years.
The US is also an enormous
importer of machines; figures for
2006 indicated $1.5bn of
machine sales from overseas
suppliers.
UK packaging equipment
export statistics have
placed America as the
number one single market
for its products for
several years, with more
than 20 per cent of
exports by value finding
their way across the pond.
Likewise the major European
manufacturers all consider the
US market as vital and have
invested in sales, service and
manufacturing operations.
During the 1980s and 1990s,
pioneering UK companies such
as Cintex, Harland, Loma and
Newman Labelling all saw the
potential for their products in the
US and set up operations which
continue to prosper to this day.
US companies such as BarryWehmiller, Markem, Valco
Cincinnati, Videojet and more
recently Thermo Fisher invested
in British technology companies
or set up manufacturing
facilities. So strong cross
Atlantic links always existed.
But with more than 600
manufacturers this
ʻlinkageʼ accounts for only
a fraction of the potential
available in the US,
probably less than 10 per
cent are known outside
the US. Why?
One very good reason is that
the domestic market is worth $5
billion to its own manufacturers,
which keeps them pretty busy!
Many companies are small and
specialised, just as they are in
Europe.
The PMMIʼs own member
statistics some years ago
showed the majority had an
average turnover of less than
$5m. While that figure may
have risen, the demographics
remain the same; the industry is
effectively SME-based.
Given the size of the internal
market, even some individual
States, there is little surprise
that many US companies look
no further than their own
borders, or just beyond for
sales.
They take comfort from
familiarity with its laws, financial
structure and distribution
systems. Something Europeans
cannot do.
Global events
In the 80s and early 90s US
machinery makers made
machines to meet the demands
of their customers for speed
and simplicity - not longevity
and sophistication. But today
machine safety, labour costs,
ROI, lifetime costs and
sustainability issues are
important on both sides of the
Atlantic. And, of course, global
brands want global solutions.
PACK EXPO International will
showcase the technologies and
expertise available from both
inside and outside America and
is probably unique in enabling
visitors to get an in depth view
of developments in US
machinery designs side by side
with those from overseas.
www.packexpo.com
ALL ABOUT
THE SHOW
Opening Times:
November 9 – 12:
9am to 5pm
November 13:
9am to 2pm
Pre-registration costs $30.00
On-site registration $60.00
Special Features:
I Containers & Materials
Pavilion
70,000 sq ft of exhibits
I Showcase on Packaging
Innovation™
featuring all this yearʼs
Award Winning pack designs
I RFID Pavilion
including technologies to upgrade conventional lines to
RFID enabled lines
I Brand Protection Centre
dealing with bio-terrorism,
pack tampering,
counterfeiting and product
adulteration
I Contract Packing Pavilion
I The PPMAʼs British
Pavilion
Booths S-3016, S-3031
Co-located
exhibitions:
ProcessExpo
550 exhibitors in 22,000m2
Printing Expo (CPP)
Exhibitor coverage pages 64 to 69
63
pack expo preview
ALL ABOUT
THE SHOW
Conference:
More than 50 sessions will
run during the show,
between November 10 - 12.
Each day will begin with a
keynote address concerning
aspects of sustainability,
which will be a recurring
theme of the conference.
Highlights include:
I Wal-Mart:
Since the launch of its
controversial Sustainability
Scorecard in 2006 more than
10 per cent of its 60,000
suppliers are entering data.
Amy Zettlemoyer-Lazar,
co-manager of the
supermarketʼs Sustainability
Value Network will explain
how Wal-Martʼs sustainability
policies are evolving.
I Dow Chemical Company:
Glenn A Wright will speak
about ʻPackaging, part of the
solution, not part of the
problemʼ.
I Nestlé:
Betsey Cohen, vice
president of sustainability,
will talk on ʻMore safety
versus less material. Where
does packaging go?ʼ
I Deloitte Consulting:
Trevor Cusworth, director,
will present a series of real
life case studies to
demonstrate sustainable
operations and practices
which can be adopted when
designing and installing new
lines and equipment.
Pre-registration $55.00 each
session.
On-Site registration $75.00
each session.
Delegates must be
registered visitors to the
exhibition.
64
Robotic solutions find
In the run up to Pack Expo 2008 (Chicago November 9 - 13 2008) Machinery Update takes a look at
the drivers behind the predicted growth of robotic systems in the US and some of the companies
showing off their systems at the show…
In a recent survey entitled
ʻRobotics Study of the
Packaging Industryʼ,
commissioned by the
Packaging Machinery
Manufacturers Institute (PMMI)
in the US, it predicts that the
number of packaging lines with
robots in America will grow from
17.4 per cent today to 41.7 per
cent by 2012.
This is driven by the need for
more speed, throughput,
accuracy and efficiency,
according to the survey.
The study also discovered that
there is increasing acceptance
and liking for robotics solutions
by brand owners and end users
with over 93 per cent expressing
satisfaction with their choice of
robots.
While palletising/depalletising,
case packing and pick & place
are still the most common
robotic applications, systems
are being used increasingly for
tasks such as unscrambling and
glue applications. New focus is
now being placed on designs
for primary packaging solutions,
rather than just end-of-line
systems.
Many primary applications
involve food where visionequipped systems can handle
randomly presented nonuniform products.
“There is a better
understanding of the equipment
today and a better recognition
of the benefits,” believes Dick
Motley, account manager for
national distribution sales at
FANUC Robotics America. He
also feels that the fall in robot
and robotic systemsʼ prices has
led to ROI being achieved in
one to three years, an
acceptable time frame for most
end users.
John Dulchinos, president
and COO of Adept Technology,
agrees: “During the past five to
10 years we have seen a
crossing of the (cost) lines for a
variety of applications and
niches where it is now more
cost effective to use robots. We
are seeing a lot of robotic
palletising right now.” But he
also notes:
“The more precise the
packaging requirement the
more suited it is to robotics.
For example, a robot can
work three to five times faster
than a person when placing a
square candy in a pocket or
tray.”
This new popularity for robotics
is leading to a number of
developments by US providers
and many of these will be
showcased at the PACK EXPO
International.
What’s on show
Tegrant Alloyd Brands has
collaborated with ESS
Technologies and Dorner
Manufacturing Corp to integrate
a TaskMate robot from FANUC
and a Dorner conveyor into its
eight-station, 20 cycles/minute
Aergo 8 rotary blister packing
machine. The first of these went
Delta-style Quattro robot from
Adept offers patented four-arm
design that increases payload
capacity, speed and reach of its
“spider” robot
to a battery manufacturer,
where it has automated hand
picking and loading, replacing at
least one operator.
High speed capability makes
delta-style robots especially
suited to primary packaging
applications. “There is
competition in the market now,”
reports Rick Tallian, sales
manager for packaging and
materials handling at ABB Inc,
Robotics Division.
Expirating of licencing
agreements related to the delta
robot concept has opened the
door to new players. However
Tallian warns that his company
still holds several patents
related to the design of its delta
robot arm. “Anyone can build a
delta robot, but they need to do
their homework to make sure
they are not infringing.”
ABBʼs first generation delta,
introduced nearly a decade ago,
has been succeeded by a
second generation unit, the
IRB360 FlexPicker which, it
says, combines 20 per cent
faster speed and 50 per cent
higher payload capacity in a
smaller footprint and also
includes integrated vision
software and conveyor tracking
capability.
Adept Technology has
introduced a faster, more
powerful delta-style robot, the
Adept Quattro™ s650 which
has a patented four-arm design
making it 20 per cent faster than
traditional deltas and capable of
handling bigger payloads (5kg
compared with 2kg), says the
company.
In addition it is reportedly the
only robot on the market with a
built-in controller, eliminating the
floor space needed for the
control cabinet and associated
cabling. It also incorporates an
pack expo preview
favour across the pond
Entry-level robotic palletising cell
from KUKA helps brand owners
automate palletising
integrated vision system and
vision-guided conveyor tracking
to handle randomly orientated
products faster than pedestalstyle robots.
Two of the newest food grade
robots on the market include the
LR Mate 200iC Food Option
and the M-430iA/2F, both from
FANUC Robotics. The LR Mate
is part of the companyʼs mini
series being slim and
lightweight, ideal for narrow
spaces in a variety of
orientations, says FANUC. The
unit is IP67 rated and can
handle payloads up to 5kg.
The 5-axis M-430iA/2F has
set a new speed record for
articulated robots of 120
cycles/minute, at 1kg payload
and 100 cycles/minute at 2kg,
claims Sumeet Vispute,
FANUCʼs product manager, and
is the fastest robot ever
designed by the company.
He says the model, while
designed as food-grade, is also
compatible with clean room
applications. Vispute sees a
trend to use robots in this
environment for vial and syringe
filling applications for sterile
parental products.
ATS Automation has
developed a robot that is not
only rated ISO Cleanroom
Class 4, (Class 10 under US
Federal Standard 209E), but
also withstands the hostile
environment created by the
vapour hydrogen peroxide
sterilisation process normally
used in vial and syringe filling.
Elsewhere, for the wellestablished palletising robots
sector, several companies have
designed systems to pick and
stack cases or totes. For
example KUKAʼs entry level
system targets smaller
companies wishing to change
from manual to automated
processes.
The system consists of a 4axis KUKA KR 40 PA or 100 PA
robot, (40kg and 100kg payload
respectively), end effector, base
and infeed conveyor plus the
companyʼs PalletTech software.
It is designed to plug-and play
and requires only 64sq ft of floor
space.
Another trend in the US
Vision guidance and conveyor
tracking help FANUC
M-430iA/2F food-grade robot
handle randomly presented,
non-uniform product
market is the merging of the
robot into the packaging
machine in such close
integration that it is no longer
two machines but a robotic case
packer. John Dulchinos, Adept
Technology explains, “Our
company, and others, offer
control solutions that work as a
subset of machine architecture
so the robot in the machine is
transparent to the user and
works just like a traditional
packaging machine.”
A number of robotic case
packers have come onto the
market recently, including the
Adabot from Fallas
Automation and the
RoboPacker and Flexipack
machines from Applied
Automation Robotics.
The Fallas Adabot R700 case
packer incorporates a patented
delta robot capable, says its
maker, of handling bigger
payloads at higher speeds and
is designed to be close coupled
with a FFS machine. Adabot is
modular and can handle circa
2.5kg payloads at about 80
cycles/minutes. For higher
speeds up to four additional
modules can be linked and run
through one controller, resulting
in big cost savings, says Fallas.
Parallel configurations can
handle output from two FFS
machines. The machine can
also handle unusual pack
configurations, such as U
patterns and even change
patterns from layer to layer.
The RoboPacker machines,
while featuring similar attributes
to the Adabot, are designed for
payloads in excess of 140kg at
up to 40 cycles or 25
packs/minute. The highly
flexible dual-axis servo gantry
robot can top load pillow bags,
stand up pouches, gable top
cartons, glass and plastic
bottles, into a variety of cases
and trays, yet occupies less
than 23sq ft of floor space.
All the above companies will
be exhibiting at PACK EXPO
International and clearly
demonstrate the level of
enthusiasm for robotic
packaging solutions in the US
and the machine and robotics
manufacturersʼ commitment
to continuous development
generated by strong demand
from end users.
ALL ABOUT
THE SHOW
Sustainable
credentials
I To help visitors identify the
exhibitors with sustainable
packaging initiatives a
special icon will appear
beside their entry on the
show website, in the Pocket
Guide and on their booth.
There is also a new
search function for
sustainable and
environmentally friendly
technologies on the website.
Show organisers, the
PMMI, are also exhibiting
their Green credentials with
a number of initiatives
including the reduction in
size of the show directory to
a Pocket Guide; waste paper
collection bins; power down
policy for non-opening
hours; and free Metra
commuter rail passes for
exhibitors and visitors
www.packexpo.com
FURTHER INFORMATION
ABB
www.abb.com/robotics
Adept Technology
www.adept.com
Applied Automation
Robotics
www.aarobotics.com
ATS Automation Tooling
Systems
www.atsautomation.com
Dorner Mfg
www.dorner.com
ESS Technologies
www.esstechnologies.com
Fallas Automation
www.fallasautomation.com
FANUC Robotics America
www.fanucrobotics.com
FLEXiCELL
www.flexicell.com
KUKA Robotics
www.kukarobotics.com
Tegrant Alloyd Brands
www.tegrant.com
65
pack expo preview
Plug and play
Schneider Packaging Equipment
will display its Robox ʻplug and
playʼ palletising system which
can be customised to suit end
Operating
in isolation
The new STERICLEAN robot
from Stäubli Robotics can
operate in barrier isolated
environments used in aseptic
processes and, it is claimed, will
withstand corrosive cleaning
regimes such as hydrogen
peroxide sterilisation because of
its surface coating and full
encapsulation.
The robot can be moved
during sterilisation to ensure all
areas, including the underside,
are reached. Tests with systems
integrators and end users have
shown that the rate of fill for
syringes can be increased from
200 to 800 fills/minute using the
STERICLEAN, claims Stäubli.
www.staubli.com
user requirements for handling
products including rigid boxes,
bags, cartons or trayed products
at up to 30 picks/minute, it says.
Palletising from a single infeed
the Robox automatically rotates
between two stations to load the
pallets and can be preprogrammed for any SKU pallet
configuration. The system
utilises FANUC robot technology
and is suitable for most
applications including up grades
from manual loading to more
heavily automated lines.
www.schneiderequip.com
Depalletising in bulk
FleetwoodGoldcoWyard,
manufacturers of conveying and
product handling systems, will
introduce two new robotic
products – a bulk depalletiser
and a rotary case palletiser.
The depalletiser can remove a
layer via either a magnetic or
vacuum pick-head. It will remove
and stack the separator sheets
between layers and also the
empty pallets. The Barry-
Wehmiller company claims that
the equipment can replace
multiple depalletising systems.
The robotic case palletiser can
handle up to eight SKUs
simultaneously and can handle a
range of case sizes and pallet
layer patterns. The equipment
can operate in cold store
conditions at -10°F, says
FleetwoodGoldcoWyard.
www.fgwa.com
Health & beauty showcase
Italian company IMA SAFE will
be demonstrating several new
machines from group companies
serving the pharmaceuticals and
cosmetics sectors.
PG will show its C102
compact, entry level tray former,
which complied to GMP
standards. It has a balcony
construction and is ideal, says
IMA, for small to medium
production runs and clinical
trials. It can be used for trays of
blisters, ampoules or vials.
Co.ma.dis will exhibit two tube
fillers, the newly designed C1110
for filling and folding aluminium
tubes at up to 100 tubes/minute.
IMA’s C970
Tube changeover has been
simplified using graduated
scales and can be achieved
without tools, says IMA.
The C970 can handle both
metal and plastic tubes with
either hot air or heated jaw
options for the latter. The
machine now features a new
style empty tube feeding
magazine. The dosing pump
can be removed without tools.
The machine can fill 70
tubes/minute.
The vertical CARTOPALLET
is a monobloc case packing and
palletising machine equipped
with a 6-axis robot. The
company says the system can
discharge a full pallet and load
an empty one without stopping
the machine.
T: +44 (0) 1789 767330
SHOW SHORTS
I
Pack Expo Selects:
The third PACK EXPO
Selects™ competition will
enable visitors to choose and
vote on the most innovative
packages they see at
Chicago, from a shortlist of
finalists, selected by a group
of experts, prior to the show.
The finalists will be
displayed in the Showcase of
Packaging Innovations®
feature where visitors can
vote at the My PACK
EXPO™ kiosks.
All entries must have been
developed within the last 12
months and be available on
the market.
I The Unison® guide rail
adjustment system from
Septimatech allows up to
100ft of guide rail, including
corners, to be changed from
one position to another
without pneumatics.
The tool-less adjustment can
be made manually or
automatically via a PLC. Top
and bottom rails can be
adjusted independently and
the system eliminates the
need for personnel to change
every vertical support.
www.septimatech.com
I Barry-Wehmiller Company
will demonstrate the new
MicroPast SE 100/200 range
of micro pasteurisers
designed for craft brewers
and regional beverage
production. The Model H
tunnel pasteuriser offers the
most advanced PU control
technology and a ten year
structural guarantee, says
the company.
The Volutherm Flash
pasteuriser allows rapid
pasteurisation at low energy
outputs and with gentle
product handing, it claims.
www.
barry-wehmiller-company.com
67
pack expo preview
SHOW SHORTS
I Relco manufacturers of
capless induction sealers in
the UK are exhibiting on the
PPMA Pavilion, the latest
servo driven FCS machine
which is claimed to reduce
the cycle time of the sealing
process and improve output
by up to 50 per cent.
Machines now feature a
patented all-in-one foil
cutting and sealing system
where the foil is cut, located
and sealed in one vertical
movement. Speeds of up to
600 containers/minute are
claimed. Induction sealing
can save between 20-25 per
cent of plastic content in
many bottles by removing
the thread required for other
closures, according to Relco.
T: +44 (0) 1923 241231
I NJM/CLI will exhibit a new,
integrated packaging line for
ePedigree serialisation and
track and trace applications
for regulated pharmaceuticals.
The main feature of the line
will be the Model 130 Bronco
applicator linked to an Optel
vision system.
The system can apply 2D
bar codes or RFID labels on
to bottles, bundles, cases
and pallets with full data
capture. The line displayed
will handle square bottles
from 50 to 90cc but options
for other shapes of
containers are available.
Speeds of 200 bottles/
minute are achievable and can
be increased by using a laser
coder. The Model 130 Bronco
applies single or wraparound
labels on a variety of container
shapes between 25-356mm
high and 16-178mm diameter
and can be fitted with add on
features such as hot stamping,
thermal transfer and missing
label detector.
www.njmcli.com
68
New coding
Matthews Marking will
demonstrate three new coding
and printing machines:
The I-Mark™ C84 continuous
inkjet printer can produce up to
4 lines of text from 1.25mm to
15mm high at speeds up to
1,050 feet/minute. It can be
used to produce codes and
logos, on both porous and nonporous material, says Matthews
Marking.
The e-SolarMark FL fibre
laser marking system can be
used for both moving and
stationary products made of
metallised or plastics material.
The equipment is claimed to
have a lifespan of 100,000
working hours and,
being air cooled, is
more energy
efficient than YAG
lasers, says the
company. It has the
ability to turn the
text/code through
90° and so print
horizontally or
vertically anywhere
in the print area.
The high resolution IP7000
printer eliminates the need for a
label, claims Matthews. The
machine has a minimum print
height of 2mm and maximum of
100mm. It is PC based and
network ready, and is able to
produce up to 32 lines of text. A
recirculating automatic prime
feature (RAP™) means it
consumes 35 per cent less ink
than similar machines, says the
company.
www.matthewsmarking.com
Speedy labelling solutions
Accraply, a Barry-Wehmiller
company, will feature several
labelling solutions including:
SP20 - a servo driven
applicator with a push-pull
indexing drive, vertical fixture
roller to minimise label skew on
wraparound applications, a
servo-powered label wrap belt
with variable velocity offset speed
control; and a stainless steel
raised bed product conveyor.
The Model 924 print applicator
has 300dpi near-edge print
quality, 16 inch/second print
speed, web-enabled HTTP
remote control and a large
ribbon capacity. An RFID version
is available.
The new design of the Trine
Model 4600 label applicator
allows it to accommodate
smaller labels at faster speeds, it
is claimed and includes servo
controlled label registration.
Accraply says the new layout
allows companies to up-grade
existing lines to higher speeds
without the need to re-configure.
www.accraply.com
Swifty bagger weighs in
WeighPack Systems will
introduce the Swifty™ SB-1200
big bag horizontal bagger
designed for pre-made stand up
bags ranging from 8” x 18” deep
and 8”x 12” wide. This makes it
ideal for the snacks, petfood
and hardware industries, says
the company.
The bagger incorporates a
new encoder which enables the
machineʼs PLC to determine the
position of the shaft and improve
accuracy. The SB-1200 can run
at up to 20 cycles/minute to
open, fill, flatten and seal the
bag prior to discharge.
Dosing equipment made by
WeighPack can be integrated
with the new bagger to provide
a complete dosing/filling/closing
system.
www.weighpack.com
pack expo preview
Contour wrapping
Douglas Machine Inc will showcase its latest developments in case packing
and shrinkwrapping.
The Contour™ Series SPS-75 shrink wrapper for bottles features the
patented Smartrak® steady stream infeed system, plus the patented
Slipstream™ HS pin-less metering.
The Contour (right) features an ergonomic tray blank magazine, a servo
driven film wrapping wand for
accurate film placement, and
a heat tunnel which uses a
patented airflow and heat
management system. The
equipment can run at speeds
up to 75 packs/minute.
The Axiom® IM case packer
is built with next generation
electronic motion controls
which enhances changeover
repeatability, facilitates fault
detection and recovery as well
as simplifying the addition of
different product sizes, claims
the company.
The machine operates at
speeds up to 45 cartons/
minute. An entry level case
packer, the Invex® will also be
demonstrated.
www.douglas-machine.com
Carton
control
Doboy, part of Bosch
Packaging Technology, will
unveil its mid-range carton
closer the TSC-090, and a
horizontal wrapper for high
speed applications. The closer
features positive carton
control throughout and
requires no carton turning. Its
welded structure makes it
stable with good alignment. It
can handle a wide range of
carton sizes.
The Pack401 wrapper is
designed for confectionery and
food applications where up to
500 packs/minute are required.
It can be used as a standalone
machine or can be fully
integrated into an existing line.
www.doboy.com
The Contour™ Series SPS-75
special feature
environmental
The sweeter smell
of odour control
Odours, like noise, are now a serious environmental issue, particularly in the food and chemical
industries. MU asked Bob Maloney, an expert in odour control, to explain the issues and how
they can be tackled effectively.
Earlier this year Environmental Permitting
Regulations were introduced requiring operating
sites to assess the emission of offensive odours.
The nature, strength, persistence, frequency and
likely areas affected need to be identified as well
as the possible sources and the actions needed
to tackle and monitor any such odours.
This assessment covers both normal and
abnormal operating conditions. A dispersion
model may well need to be produced to enable
the site operators to have confidence that they
are meeting imposed boundary conditions.
The options
A classic hierarchy of preferred options has been
developed to minimise the financial and
environmental burdens of odour emissions. At the
top of this hierarchy is eliminating the odour
source. This may be achieved through the use of
alternative production materials or processes. An
example of this is the advances made in inks
which has enabled some printing applications to
move from solvent-based (with their VOC/odour
emissions) to odourless water-based inks. The
opportunities for this option tend to be limited, as
indeed does the second option of either recycling
the air in a closed loop, or of sealed containment.
An extension of this would be the use of an
odourless gas (such as nitrogen) under positive
pressure to prevent noxious gas release.
The third option aims to reduce the volume of
odour to be treated. This is possible where
different odour concentrations normally exist in
separate sectors of the process plant. The
potential may exist to “internally transfer” the low
odour emissions through to the high odour areas
before final emission, thus reducing the overall
volumetric emission. The reduction may be as
great as 50 per cent.
If further remedies to odour problems are
required, dispersion would be considered. A good
example of the potential savings from “disperse
alone” treatment can be seen in the snack food
industry where upwards of 500,000 m3/hour of air
was being abstracted. By assessment of odour
emissions (and elimination of fugitive emissions)
it proved possible to comply with local authority
requirements, regarding boundary levels and
beyond, by installing a stack without the need for
a treatment system which could cost well in
excess of £1m.
If all options have been considered and
shown not to be practical or effective in
addressing the odour issue then the site
is faced with the prospect of an
abatement system.
At this point the possible treatment options
become extensive and selection is subject to
various considerations. These include the
average/maximum odour emitted and by what
degree it must be reduced?
An understanding of the
terminology is helpful:
Odour is defined in odour units/m3 where 1
odour unit is that quantity of a gas/mixture
which, distributed in odour free air, can be
distinguished by half a panel of observers
from odour free air. The concentration is
therefore equivalent to the number of times
the air sample must be diluted to reach that
distinguishing level. Different gases have
markedly different concentrations at which
this 1 odour unit, (referred to as the odour
threshold), is registered. For instance, the
Hydrogen Sulphide threshold level of 18ppb
contrasts with DiMethyl-Sulphide level of
2ppb, highlighting the importance of
analysing gas concentrations in determining
removal requirements.
Adequate definition of the extent of the odour
problem is critical to enable the treatment
continued on page 72
71
special feature
environmental
continued from page 71
requirement to be correctly specified. Parameters
to be considered include identifying all odour
sources; determining the contaminants present
and their concentrations, understanding the
prevailing conditions in terms of temperature,
humidity and wind effects; identifying the
frequency of emissions and the variance; and
finally identifying issues of space, access,
topography and local amenity influences.
These combined factors will influence the
selection of suitable abatement equipment, as will
the overall removal efficiency required to meet the
imposed boundary/receptors odour levels.
Abatement processes
Four main types of abatement processes are
available, although there are some emerging
technologies with niche applications. Sometimes
a combination of technologies will be favoured.
The main types are:
dry scrubbing,
I
wet scrubbing, biofiltration
I
bioscrubbing
I
thermal catalytic oxidation.
I
Dry scrubbing generally uses activated
carbon relying on the physisorption (physical
adsorption is a type of adsorption in which the
adsorbate adheres to the surface) of
contaminant molecules onto the activated
carbon having an extremely high internal surface
area and network of pores. Removal efficiencies
are high and it is particularly suited to low
concentration intermittent odour emissions.
Activated carbon is an expensive media to
purchase and replace, leading to high running
costs in circumstances where the quantity of
media required is high or the life is short.
Wet scrubbing uses a different mechanism
through which water soluble oxidising
compounds (selected for specific odour
components) pass through one or more packed
bed columns in which the water and air contact
each other. These systems have a small
footprint with normally low maintenance costs
and can achieve good removal efficiencies
provided the dosing and control systems are
properly maintained. High capital and running
costs may limit the application of this process if
other processes prove acceptable.
Biofiltration/bioscrubbing processes
achieve odour abatement by the aerobic
conversion of odorous components using
specific micro organisms supported on a carrier
72
media. For the majority of applications, which
involve substantial frequent or continuous odour
emissions, this process would have the lowest
running cost with removal efficiencies typically
between 95 per cent and 99 per cent. The main
disadvantage is probably the footprint – though
this has been addressed by the use of more
robust medias (capable of greater bed depth and
hence smaller footprint) and, in some instances,
multi-stacked units.
Thermal and catalytic oxidisers convert
odourous compounds to carbon dioxide and
water through the application of high
temperature (with heat recovery). The use of a
catalyst enables this type of oxidiser to operate
at lower temperatures. Although oxidizers have
a small footprint and high odour removal
efficiency, they are high on capital cost and very
high on running costs in virtually all odour
applications.
Common issues
For a particular application a matrix is
established for the processes identifying
common issues and individual parameters to
enable a cost comparison to be identified. If
either activated carbon or biofiltration/scrubbing
is the preferred route then pilot trials can be
undertaken to confirm the efficiency of the
process.
Instances often arise during the course of
these trials highlighting manufacturing
operational issues impacting on odour
emissions. Trials also allow the opportunity to
alter the design loadings for the main plant which
can lead to significant changes in plant costings.
Inappropriate technology or undersized
systems that cannot adequately cope can lead to
renewed odour complaints and the imposition of
stringent measures by the local authority.
Choosing a process contractor with design
knowledge, application experience and the
financial support of a group plc can provide that
reassurance of the sweeter smell of odour
control across the manufacturing sector.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Bob Maloney
Managing Director
Bord na Móna Environmental UK
T: + 44 (0)1384 486978
www.bnme.co.uk
regulations
In step with safety
standard changes
In the past two years we have
not only seen changes to all the
main European Directives which
affect processing and packaging
machines but also a large
number of changes to the many
European and International
standards which support this
legislation.
The major cause of
consternation at present is the
revision and renumbering of
basic concept standards like EN
292, now EN ISO 12100; safety
issue specific standards like EN
563 (hot surfaces) now EN ISO
13732-1; and safety product
standards like EN 418
(emergency stop devices) now
EN ISO 13850.
These changes are the result
of the Vienna agreement
between the European standard
organisation CEN and the
International Standards
Organisation ISO to turn the
basic EN safety of machinery
standards into EN ISO
standards.
The latest product of the
Vienna Agreement is EN ISO
13857: 2008, Safety of
machinery - Safety distances to
prevent danger zones being
reached by the upper and lower
limbs - merges probably the
best known EN standard, EN
294 (upper limb reach
distances) with EN 811 (lower
limb reach distances).
Fortunately this merger has
not changed the dimensions in
the tables and the two most
frequently used tables of EN
294, Tables 2 and 4 are still
Tables 2 and 4 in EN ISO
13857. So while this change will
not alter the design of guards, it
will mean that every company
involved in making and
modifying machines will need to
purchase a new standard and
revise their Declarations of
Conformity.
Also there is a steady trickle
of new standards being
published and the latest of
these in the packaging
machinery sector is the product
specific standard EN 415-8:
2008 Safety of packaging
machines - Part 8: strapping
machines. The PPMA was
responsible for producing this
standard in conjunction with the
British Tensile Strapping
Association and European
colleagues and it is the latest in
the EN 415 series of safety
standards for packaging
machines.
Periodic reviews
Another reason for changes is
the periodic revision of EN
standards that have to be
routinely reviewed every five
years. Revisions may not
always be required, but
complex standards like EN
60204-1 (electrical equipment
on machines) are regularly
revised and republished, so if
you are still using the 1997
version you should be aware
that it has been replaced by a
2006 version and that work has
already started on the next
revision.
This periodic revision process
DOC MARTIN
Martin Keay
Ensure Consultancy Limited
T: +44 (0)20 8149 0325
has recently begun for EN 453
(dough mixers); EN 1204
(bread moulders); EN 415-2
(preformed rigid container
packaging machines); and EN
415-4 (palletisers and
depalletisers) but any changes
are unlikely to be published
before 2010.
There are a lot more changes
to standards in prospect. One of
the consequences of alterations
to the Machinery Directive is
that all of the standards linked
to the Directive have also got to
change.
For most Directives there are
only a handful of so called
harmonised standards. But for
the Machinery Directive there
are over 600 all of which need
to be checked and amended in
some way. In theory this should
occur before the new Machinery
Directive comes into force on
December 29 2009.
There will be three types of
amendment for the new
Machinery Directive.
The majority of standards will
continued on page 76
75
regulations
continued from page 75
undergo what is termed a type 1
amendment where the only
change is to Annex ZA which
currently refers to the existing
Machinery Directive 98/37/EC
and this will be changed to the
new Directive number
2006/42/EC. So it is important
for legal but not practical
reasons.
Type 2 amendments involve
changing not only annex ZA but
also the so called “normative
references” which are the
numbers of the other standards
referred to in the document.
Here again provided you are
aware of the changes to the
numbers of the different
standards used as normative
references you will not find any
technical changes in a type 2
revised standard.
A small number of standards
need to be completely revised
so that they can comply with the
new Machinery Directive. These
are termed as a Type 3 revision
and when eventually published
they will contain technical
changes.
Why it's important
For those of you whose
companies are ISO 9000
registered you will immediately
understand the importance of
having the current version of
each standard that you use but
it is also important for everyone
else as well. If suppliers quote
the old standard numbers in a
Declaration of Conformity it
immediately begs the question
“How seriously does this
company take safety?” and
similarly if purchase documents
make reference to out of date
standards, suppliers will begin
to wonder how much the
purchaser knows about the
subject.
So whether you are a
machine purchaser or a
machine supplier, it is important
to make sure you have the
latest standards and ensure that
your documentation refers to
the correct standards.
Comparison of new and old standard numbers
Old number New number
New Title
Date
EN 292-1
EN ISO 12100-1
Safety of machinery - Basic concepts, general principles for design - Part 1: Basic
terminology, methodology
2003
EN 292-2
EN ISO 12100-2
Safety of machinery - Basic concepts, general principles for design - Part 2: Technical
principles and specifications
2003
EN 294
EN ISO 13857
Safety of machinery - Safety distances to prevent danger zones being reached by the upper
and lower limbs
2008
EN 418
EN ISO 13850
Safety of machinery - Emergency stop - Principles for design
2008
EN 563
EN ISO 13732-1
Ergonomics of the thermal environment - methods for the assessment of human responses
to contact with surfaces - Part1: Hot surfaces (ISO 13732-1: 2006)
2006
EN 811
EN ISO 13857
Safety of machinery - Safety distances to prevent danger zones being reached by the upper
and lower limbs
2008
EN 954-1
EN ISO 13849-1
Safety of machinery - Safety related parts of control systems - Part 1: General principles for
design
2006
EN 1050
EN ISO 14121-1 Safety of machinery - Risk assessment - Part 1: Principles
EN 1088
EN 1088 + A1
Safety of machinery - Interlocking devices associated with guards - Principles for design and
2005
selection
EN 60204-1
EN 60204-1
Safety of machinery - Electrical equipment of machines - Part 1: General requirements
76
2007
2006
personally speaking
A look beyond
the red light!
In the first occasional personally speaking column to appear in Machinery Update, Stuart
Brettell, managing director, RNA Automation asks: Are the doom mongers taking
recessionary talk too far?
Oil prices at record levels, stock
market gyrations, banking crisis,
and housing markets collapse;
hardly an indication of
propitious times ahead!
Nevertheless, the much
forecasted recession refuses to
arrive and while a downturn in
economic activity seems
inevitable, perhaps the worst
case scenarios of the doommongers can be avoided.
It is often said that the capital
equipment market is the first
into recession and the last out.
But although activity levels are
uneven, this is only something
with which we, in the special
purpose machinery industry,
have had to learn to live.
There seem to be few signs
of a dramatic downturn in
investment just yet. And it is
essential that investment levels
are maintained if the developed
economies are to compete
successfully with the emerging
and lower cost nations.
Short termism
The inadequacies of short
termism still donʼt seem to have
sunk in. It is still something of a
mystery as to why businesses
still use the 12 months payback
as their yardstick for investment
decisions.
There was an argument for
caution in the 1960s through to
the 1980s, but we have just had
an unprecedented period of
stable inflation and interest
rates.
It doesnʼt add up that you can
borrow money at under 10 per
cent and still expect a 100 per
cent return on your investment
in the first 12 months; the
benefits of taking a longer view
are self evident.
As an example, one of RNAʼs
customers is an owner managed
business but its competitors
form part of much larger stock
market listed groups - an
unequal struggle? No.
While its competitors “mind
the cash”, RNAʼs customer has
invested heavily not just in
equipment, but in research and
training. RNA has participated in
this with the supply of several
robot guided vision systems,
through its association with
automation company SVIA.
Virtuous circle
This virtuous circle of
investment, cost reduction,
innovation and growth has seen
the company prosper and
consistently take market share
away from the competitors.
Acknowledging the need for
shorter product life cycles and
contract duration, RNA has
responding with flexible
automation; equipment which
can accommodate component
changes and new products.
This offers customers extended
equipment life and minimises
the investment risk.
For example, tool less
changeover on vibratory
feeders is now possible in
seconds and guided robots can
handle multi parts and new
additions to a range, an easy
teach process that takes only
minutes.
There are some signs that
businesses managed by smaller
owners which have resisted
automation are now seriously
considering this option. In effect
this is being forced on them by
price pressures and, with
overheads already cut to the
bone, there are few palatable
alternatives.
Nevertheless there are still a
few diehards who will never
change. At a recent exhibition I
heard one visitor say to his
father, “That robot is doing the
job that Joe does”. The
response: “Thatʼs right son and
when you own the business you
can buy one, but not while Iʼm
around.”
The truth is “Joe” has
probably been doing that job for
many years and investment
would have paid itself back
many times over by now.
In the end, businesses need
to see beyond the red lights and
invest to maintain a competitive
advantage.
FURTHER INFORMATION
RNA Automation specialises
in the supply of parts
handling and orientation
equipment including feeders
and conveyors, advanced
robot and vision systems,
tray/denesting equipment,
rotary index tables and
precision link conveyors. It
offers a range of standard
and customised automation
solutions.
T: +44 (0) 121 749 2566
If you want to get something off your chest with a Personally Speaking article, drop a line with
your ideas to the editor, Mary Murphy at: [email protected]
78
installation news
Star winery project for Krones
Being part of the creation of the
largest wine bottling facility in
Europe is a major project for
any company, but Krones UK
has taken up the challenge to
supply two complete processing
and packaging lines operating
at 24,000 bottles/hour for
Constellation Europe at its
€30m green field site in Bristol.
Reducing production costs is
the main driver behind
Constellationʼs new facility,
along with increased service
levels for the European market.
The site will take over the
bulk production of all
Constellationʼs 75cl UK bottled
table wines - the company
producing five of the top 20
wine brands in the UK.
Flexibility
Keeping wine losses and capital
costs to a minimum, while giving
Constellation as much flexibility
as possible, were among the
major challenges for Krones
when planning the installation,
explained Nigel Leah, Project
Manager, Krones UK
On the packaging side
Krones decided on an arena
layout to reduce the number of
operator positions. And, said
Leah, “The ability to handle
wine bottles with no label
panels was a requirement, so
pressureless accumulation was
an essential. It was also
necessary to plan for the future
possibility of handling sparkling
wines. Here the filler block
needed to include a
wirer/hooder while the capsuling
equipment needed to be
prepared for champagne-style
capsules.”
Constellation said: “Kronesʼ
technology offers us the
optimum possible benefits. The
turnkey offering of process
technology, tank houses and
production lines is only
available from Krones.”
The turnkey installation will
include 84 55,000 litre tanks,
split across two rooms of 42
each, for storing incoming wine.
These will feed the processing
system for wine intake and
delivery to the bottling lines
using Kronesʼ Botec (Batch
Oriented Technology software).
Configured for flexibility and
modularity Botec will also be
used as a batch and orderoriented module in the filling
and packaging control centre,
and will form the basis of the
batch tracing operations.
The majority of the machines
being installed are Kronesʼ tried
and tested models, but all
include its latest technology
including servo-control, reduced
change over times, the latest
hygienic designs and touch
screen operator interfaces.
Each packaging line will
include the Pressant Universal
1N single-column depalletiser,
upgraded to include equipment
for magnums.
Rinsing
A Variojet rinser, set up for
variable rinse times, will be
used to treat bottles prior to the
filling process. An infeed worm
and an infeed starwheel will
transfer the containers to plastic
jaw grippers where the
containers will be inverted by
180° prior to the cleaning
phase.
A nozzle is positioned directly
below the bottle neck finish and
sprays the chosen rinsing
medium into the bottle. After
rinsing and drip-off, the bottle is
returned to the upright position
and transferred to the discharge
starwheel.
The Mecafill VKP-CF, based
on the mechanical counter
pressure principle features an
electro pneumatic control
system, and will be used for
filling and fill level correction.
Adjustable vent tubes and
automatic CIP Cups are claimed
to be a big advantage. They
simplifiy changeovers and
minimise change over times.
Nitrogen dosing underneath the
cap, was a particular
requirement for the Hardy's
range of wine. The system
features two turrets with space
for an additional turret for new
product developments. It will
operate on both cork and ROPP
closure systems.
Fill level, cap and label
inspection will be undertaken by
the Checkmat system arranged
in a compact column, into which
camera analysis units and
special sensors are integrated.
An additional camera will be
used for ʻcockedʼ caps.
Multiple label designs will be
accommodated by the
Multimodul which has a 2.4
metre carousel to provide 'future
proofing' for design changes.
On schedule
The labellers feature a ʻtrue end
of reelʼ facility to ensure that all
self-adhesive labels on a reel
are used, ensuring cost and
waste reductions. They include
electronic camera orientation for
optical detection of both glass
seam and logo/embossing.
Due for completion in early
2009, Krones is on schedule:
the wine storage tanks are
installed, the processing system
installation is underway, and
the packaging machinery is due
on site early this month.
T: +44 (0) 1942 845000
81
installation news
INSTALLATION
SNIPPETS
Kliklok has teamed up with CT
Pack (Vortex) of Italy to supply
El Globo food company of Chile
with a system to pack six
individually flow-wrapped muesli
bars into an end load carton.
The Vortex automatic small
footprint loading system places
the bars on edge and collates
them prior to being crosspushed into the extended
pocket infeed of a Kliklok SFR
cartoner.
The machine operates at 120
cartons/minute and can be
moved between production lines
quickly and easily. No ʻon siteʼ
assembly was required as it was
shipped as a complete unit.
T: +44 (0) 1275 836131
E: m.tatum@
kliklok-woodman-int.com
Hazeldene Foods has added a
sixth Yamato Scale weigher to
its portfolio of machines at
Wigan where it produces a
range of leaf salad products.
The 14 head weigher is of
stainless steel construction and
has fully interchangeable
buckets for different salad
specifications. The factory
produces up to 50 tonnes of
salad product daily.
T: +44 (0) 113 271 7999
Herbert Industrial has supplied
McGheeʼs Bakery in Glasgow
with a Taurus labelling machine
to help improve the appearance
of its branded products, says
Hebert Industrial.
The machine is being used to
label cakes, potato scones, prepacked bread rolls and other
confectionery products.
McGheeʼs supplies a wide
range of baked products to local
authorities, caterers, cash and
carry outlets and independent
retailers.
T: +44 (0) 1440 711439
82
Versatile x-ray
Loma Systems has supplied its
latest X4 X-ray machine to Culi
dʼOr to inspect baked desserts
at the companyʼs Velp
production facility in the
Netherlands.
The products are produced in
aluminium trays and the X4 high
speed technology maximises
sensitivity to both metallic and
non-metallic items, including
ferrous and non-ferrous metals,
stone, glass, HD plastics and
calsified bone.
The machine also has the
ability to detect other
product defects such as
component count, zone
mass measurement and
shape conformity,
according to the makers.
Loma believes X-ray
systems will become
increasingly popular due
to their multi-function
features, previously found only
on separate inspection systems.
The X4 also has advanced
image processing and simple
set-up routines, claims the
company, and is built to
withstand harsh environments
and cleaning regimes.
T: +44 (0) 1252 893300
It’s a “gargle” for the Weiss
Rising sales of its
CORSODYL oral
hygiene products has led
to GlaxoSmithKline
purchasing a UNIROB
top loading cartoner from
R Weiss, of Germany,
represented in the UK by
Optima Packaging
Machinery.
Up to 150 bottles/
minute can be packed in
groups of six. The carton
blanks are erected using
hot melt glue and lid
flaps closed on three sides.
However single and prepacked bottles can also be
handled in this modular system,
says Weiss.
Robots are mounted in an
upside down position in
the individual modules
and all transports,
grouping and additional
functions, such as
coding, are positioned
underneath the robots.
Format changes can
be achieved
automatically and the
modular small footprint
construction of the
UNIROB machine
enables future
expansion, according to
the company.
T: +44 (0) 5602 588242
Domino brings cheer to Bacardi
Buxtehude, the German home
of Bacardiʼs subsidiary, which
produces 25 million bottles of
spirits a year, has chosen the
A300 small character
continuous ink jet system from
Domino for its three
filling lines.
Bacardi Deutschlandʼs
technical director, Herr
Grabow, said “One
reason we chose the
Domino systems was
they represented a
universal solution for the
various substrates on
which we need to print, such as
bottle necks, paper labels and
cartonboard trays. This has
resulted in simpler logistics,
delivering significant cost
reductions.”
The uniform, menu-driven
operation and one button
function for starting and
stopping the system were other
benefits identified by Bacardi.
T: +44 (0) 1954 782551
installation news
Stacks of added value
Weyfringe has helped
Pregis FoodService to
supply its customers with
pre-labelled pots and
containers to save them
undertaking ʻnon coreʼ
labelling activities while
adding value to its range
of food containers.
The individually labelled
pots, identifying the yet to
be added contents,
include single part
containers with hinged lids
and two part packs with
snap-on lids.
A bespoke handling system
was designed and built by
Weyfringe to support tall stacks
of pots and lids. It also controls
dispensing of individual
containers to the conveyor for
labelling through a twin
reciprocating jaw mechanism.
A series 6000 applicator
is employed to fix the
labels accurately and a
built in conveyor fitted
with elevated flights
ensures the correct
location of the product
before the label is
applied.
Collating the finished
pots and lids into selected
stack sizes is achieved
via a thrust mechanism
with twin traversing
collators which counts
and re-stacks containers
and switches destination
collator as required.
T: +44 (0) 1642 490121
Shrimps no problem for Ishida
Ishida Europe claims to have
doubled the speed of packing
for frozen shrimp supplier
Goldfish B.V. since the
installation of two R-series
multihead weighers.
The company, in Volendam,
the Netherlands, has seen
speeds double to 160
weighings/minute since the
purchase of the twin outlet 16
head R-series weighers and a
custom-built and designed
Ishida distribution system.
Goldfish previously used two
linear multiheads. Pack sizes
are 100g, 200g and 500g. The
200g tray former operates at 10
cycles/minute with an effective
weigh speed of 160/minute,
although higher speeds are
achievable.
From the twin weigher outlets
a servo-driven swing chute
delivers the product to a
Multivac thermoformer with a
4x4 format. Ishida says the new
system also has improved
accuracy with giveaway
reduced to 0.5 per cent.
T: +44 (0) 121 607 7700
Fine tuning helps sieving
Triebacher Industrie AG of
Austria, that manufactures
powders and coatings for the
chemical and metallurgical
industries, has invested in
several Finex Separators ™
and Vibrasonic ® deblinding
systems from Russell Finex.
Installed on a new line
manufacturing Tungsten
Carbide under licence, the
latest Vibrasonic® deblinding
system unclogs the sieve mesh
using ultrasonic vibrations and
adapts to different product types
by adjusting the settings for the
ultrasonics and base machine.
In effect, says the company,
the system is ʻtunedʼ to
accommodate the
characteristics of the particular
powder. This, it claims, ensures
repeatable product quality for
very fine sized particles, which
is essential for sieving materials
such as nitrides used as
coatings for cutting tools and in
medical technologies.
T: +44 (0) 20 8818 2000
INSTALLATION
SNIPPETS
Quay Pharmaceuticals, which
provided outsourcing services
for the development and
testing of pharma products,
has taken delivery of a Dott
Bonapace BD3000 capsule
banding and sealing machine
from UK agent Isopak.
Operating to the customerʼs
output requirement of 3,000/hour,
the fully automatic machine
features fast changeover
between capsule sizes and can
be bench mounted, says Isopak.
T: +44 (0) 1780 410093
Langmead Farms, which makes
high quality salad products,
used Conveyor Systems
(CSL) to integrate its automatic
cartonboard tray erectors, on its
new space saving mezzanine
level, with its bagging and
inspection machines which are
sited at ground level.
The CSL system transports
up to 20 trays/minute down a
stainless steel chute where
personnel remove them
individually for hand packing of
upright bags of salad prior to
being conveyed to end-of-line
operations.
T: +44 (0) 1283 552255
E: sales@
conveyorsystemsltd.co.uk
Tekpak has supplied an
automated case loading system
to a major pharmaceutical
company based in Ireland, to
help it eliminate production
back-logs for its range of
nutritional supplements, packed
in plastic bottles.
A 2-axis, servo driven robotic
loader packs the bottles in
groups of eight as well as
closing and sealing the cases.
The number of personnel on
the line has been reduced from
four to one.
T: + 353 53 915 8724
83
who what where
Users’ drop
in centre!
A two-day International
Showcase of snack and
breakfast cereal processing
equipment at Baker Perkinsʼ
Innovation Centre in
Peterborough attracted
entrepreneurs, product
development managers and
engineers from manufacturers in
the USA and Western Europe,
plus developing markets in
Eastern Europe, Mexico, Brazil,
Korea and India.
Visitors saw a range of
equipment being built for
installation world-wide, including
the new SBX Master extruder
and co-extrusion machinery for
snacks and cereals, plus cereal
toasting, cooking, flaking and
coating units.
T: +44 (0) 1733 283000
E: keith.graham@
bakerperkinsgroup.com
Whoʼs done what
and gone where ...
Adrian Shepherd
Nathan Williams
Allen Coding Systems
Adrian Shepherd has been
appointed managing director of
Allen Coding Systems (ACS).
The hot foil and thermal
transfer coding systems
specialist ACS is part of the
Fortune 500 group ITW.
The initial strategy for ACS
will be to focus on Europe,
Middle East and Africa (EMEA)
countries where Shepherd
believes customers feel
neglected by recent merger
activity.
“We are winning customers
within EMEA and have also
recently won significant orders
in the US and South America,
Australia and South Africa.
“Asia is also looking very
promising,” said Shepherd.
Shepherd will be responsible
for the organisational and
operational development of the
Hertfordshire-based companyʼs
business activities and he will
also adopt a similar role for
sister organisation ITW
Betaprint in Barcelona.
Adrian is well-known in the
coding and marking sector
having been president of Imaje
USA, where he built the
companyʼs Atlanta-based
manufacturing operation. He
also worked in senior positions
for GEC, Willett and Videojet.
Immediately prior to joining
ACS, Adrian was CEO of KCC
Inc, a privately owned
packaging consultancy, which
he started, grew and
subsequently sold.
tna Europe
tna Europe, a leading supplier
of turnkey, integrated packaging
and processing solutions for
food production companies
worldwide, has appointed Con
Dedousis to head up its
European project management
team. He joins from tna
headquarters in Australia.
Endoline
Nathan Williams has been
appointed export sales manager
for Endoline following the
companyʼs announcement that
it intends to build exports to 50
per cent of its business by
2010. Nathan was previously
Endolineʼs sales manager for
the West and key account
manager for United Biscuits.
Practical application of functional safety
Visitors in the Baker Perkins
Innovation centre watching a
demonstration of co-extruded
snacks being made on a twinscrew extruder
Skills Academy
CCFRA has become a centre of
specialist learning for bakery and
confectionery through
accreditation as part of the
National Skills Academy (NSA) for
Food and Drink Manufacturing.
The NSA was launched last year
as one of the Government's new
sector-based skills academies,
operating as a 'Network of
Excellence', to promote high
quality development and training.
BARA, the British Automation
and Robot Association, has
announced the next conference
in its popular series on machine
safety for 2008.
The conference will take
place at Bletchley Park on
September 30.
The conference is run in
association with Drives &
Controls and sponsored by the
Laidlers, the Health and Safety
Executive, IET, IMechE and
MachineBuilding.net.
The conference focuses upon
the practical application of
Functional Safety.
www.bara.org.uk
DATES FOR THE DIARY
18-21 September
Indiapack 2008
Bombay Exhibition Centre
www.expomediagroup.com
30 September - 2 October
PPMA Show
NEC, Birmingham
Including the PPMAʼs 21st
birthday celebrations
www.ppmashow.co.uk
7-11 October
Tokyo Pack
Tokyo, Japan
www.tokyo-pack.jp
102 M ACH INE RY UPDATE: S EP T E M B ER/O C T O B E R 2 00 8
9 - 13 November
PACK EXPO International
Chicago, USA
www.packexpo.com
17 - 21 November
EMBALLAGE 2008
Paris, France
www.emballageweb.com
19 - 22 November
PackTech India 2008
Bombay Exhibition Centre
www.packtech-india.com
20 November
Machinery Risk Assessment
PPMA Seminar
Marriott Hotel, Northampton
www.ppma.co.uk
27 - 30 January
UPAKOVKA/UPAK ITALIA 2009
Krasnay, Moscow, Russia
www.upakovka-upakitalia.de
23 - 26 February
Gulfood 2009
Dubai, UAE
www.gulfood.com

Machinery Update - September

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