Equipment Round Up: Packaging Equipment 2010

April 9, 2010
FoodProcessing.com examines six equipment products available for the food and beverage industry April 2010.

Packaging meat cuts
This automatic bag loader provides food processors with gravity-enabled vertical loading of roll-serrated bags for whole muscle fresh red meat or loose meats. The autoloader handles bag widths of 9-14 in. and lengths of 10-33 in. Depending on bag length, the system can load up to 15 packages per minute. The system is suited for whole muscle, boneless or bone-in fresh meat cuts, such as rib eyes, strips, two-piece pork butts and ham.
Cryovac div., Sealed Air; Duncan, S.C.
800-845-3456;
www.cryovacequipment.com

Fractional carton caser
The Fractional Quart Carton Caser packs 240 cartons per minute into single cases using a 4x4 packing pattern. The caser has a servo control load head to adjust to various fractions of quart side cartons and is height adjustable. It comes with dual in-feed carton conveyors, case conveyor and line breaks. Among the options available are extensions to carton and case conveyors and motor controls for incoming conveyors. It’s constructed of stainless steel, which can be useful for wet environments such as those found in dairy and beverage facilities.
Westfalia Technologies Inc.; York, Pa.
800-673-2522;
www.westfaliasua.com

Quick-change tray sealer
This compact tray sealer can seal almost any shape or size tray. One-button changeovers make the sealer suitable for flexible production of fresh, frozen, dry and liquid products in single and multi-compartment trays. Its user-friendly touchscreen control stores all operating configurations for each filler and tray. Tooling can be exchanged in minutes using a portable cart. Models are available for medium speed manual loading or fully automated sealing of up to 200 trays per minute. It’s self-draining and has no inaccessible areas. Conveyors and belts can be removed without using tools.
Heat and Control Inc.; Hayward, Calif.
800-227-5980;
www.heatandcontrol.com

A hygienic team player
A wide spectrum of packaging sizes and materials as well as package types can be processed on the R 245 thermoformer. The spectrum ranges from vacuum packaging to protective gas packaging using both rigid and flexible film materials. This is part of a suite of packaging machines with hygienic design based on international standards. The entire piece of equipment can be washed down. Contaminants and cleaning fluids simply drip off of the smooth, sloping surfaces. The removable covers and panels open toward the outside so wet cleaning can continue inside.
Multivac; Kansas City, Mo.
816-891-0555;
www.multivac.de

Sealed with a tape
No longer is adhesive sealing the only option for packagers running high speed lines. The Model 436 sealer seals cases with tape at speeds to 50 cases per minute. This tape sealer provides automatic case feed and spacing, and squares cases as the tape is applied. The rotary flap tucker smoothly breaks the score of the leading inner flap for accurate folding and securely tucks the trailing flap. The tape system is designed for minimum downtime, with the tape head mounted outside the machine frame for quick and easy tape roll changes. A “roll empty” sensor eliminates tape head rethreading; the sealer stops when the roll is depleted, and the new roll can be simply attached to the end of the previous roll.
A-B-C; Tarpon Springs, Fla.
800-237-5975;
www.abcpackaging.com

Robotic intelligence
The Alvey 950 hybrid in-line palletizer uses one or more robotic arms for pattern forming, making it ideal for handling small finished case sizes, multiple product formats and complex patterns. Designed with high-speed and flexibility in mind, programming from the human-machine interface allows for fast and easy product reconfiguration and quick line changeover for packaging rates in excess of 100 cases per minute. Flexibility is further enhanced with the choice of robotic arm manufacturer and operating software.
Intelligrated; Cincinnati
513-881-5239;
www.intelligrated.com

Next-generation bagmaker
The P3 VFFS is the new generation of the Polaris II, the snack food packaging workhorse. The bagmaker has a sleek, modern, sanitary design with state-of-the-art
off-the-shelf controls. The reduced footprint, low profile, high-performance machine is considered a “universal bag” format machine.
Kliklok-Woodman; Decatur, Ga.
770-981-5200;
www.kliklokwoodman.com

What's up your sleeve?
The SetLine Sleeving-Packing System combines sleeving and case packing technology into one space-saving, cost effective operation. The packaging system forms groups of product either directly off a multi-lane filler or from a traditional single lane infeed, and places the groupings into multi-pack sleeve sets. Sleeves are then finished by glue and directly packed in a final shipper for palletizing. The system is capable of producing sleeves from either micro-corrugated or solid board. Sleeve styles range from wrap-around, over-the-crown, drop through, and clip sleeve.
Oystar USA; Morganville, N.J.
732-536-8770;
www.oystarusa.com

Continuous sleever
The 60 Series Evolution Shrinksealer is a shrink sleeve and labeling system for manufacturers that do continuous production and for contract sleevers who need equipment with the broadest range of capability. It applies both full-height bodysleeves and tamper-evident banding and features two servos for product handling and sleeve registration. The sleever can apply full height bodysleeve labels with primary graphics, and is compatible with jars, bottles and products of all types. The sleeve label can be designed to extend up over the cap, with a horizontal perforation for consumer tamper evidence.
PDC International; Norwalk, Conn.
203-853-1516;
www.pdc-corp.com

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