See new food packaging & processing solutions at PACK EXPO in Chicago
Discover new food packaging and processing innovations from 2,500+ suppliers, all under one roof at PACK EXPO International in Chicago.

PEC Innovations Report

The latest in machinery at PACK EXPO Connects.

1 Triangle

As flexible packaging continues to grow in popularity partly due to its sustainability bona fides, it comes as no surprise that innovations in both vertical and horizontal form/fill/seal systems were on full display at PACK EXPO Connects. Here we take a brief look at seven notable developments, beginning with one from Triangle Package.

For liquid or semi-liquid fill applications, Triangle’s new Model XYTLF (vf/f/s) bagger (1) offers greater throughput, superior sanitation, and material savings, according to the company, all without a required film contract. Designed for foodservice and other applications, including hot fill and pumpable products, Model XYTLF packages products such as soups, sauces, mashed potatoes, bakery batters, and fruit fillings, as well as ready-to-eat macaroni and cheese. Speeds run up to 30 gal/min.

Model XYTLF offers several unique benefits, including improved productivity thanks to an innovative design that uses servo filling with squeegee staging for better precision, flexibility, clean seals, no leakers, and less air in the bag.

Sanitary design features include quick removal of sealing jaws and back seal components for easy washdown, hygienic IP69K stainless steel motors with air purge, and pivoting control box for four sides of machine access. To top it off, optional features include ultrasonic sealing for higher speeds and 100% seal integrity, and check weight feedback for precise filling.

Visit Triangle’s PACK EXPO Connects Virtual Showroom at PE.show/140.

1 Triangle

BW Flexible Systems new Hayssen ISB vf/f/s solution (2) aims to provide best-in-class sanitary design, modern industrial machine intelligence, and intuitive operation for vertical form-fill-seal packaging. To develop the ISB (intelligent sanitary bagger) BW Flexible Systems conducted voice-of-customer interviews in target markets—including fresh produce, frozen/individual quick freezing (IQF), and cheese—asking about pain points and preferred features.

“What we heard in those conversations was a need for an unparalleled hygienic design that was both easy to change over and flexible and intuitive to operate,” said Ed Haarsgaard, BW Flexible Systems’ Sales Leader for new machinery.

The entire machine is high-pressure washdown capable, including its human-machine interface (HMI), which would typically require protection due to its sensitive components.

Furthermore, the Hayssen ISB uses standoffs and flanged fasteners to eliminate secondary hardware like washers, and the bagger’s film rollers are fully removable without tools and come completely sealed with lifetime bearings. 

Visit BW Flexible Systems’ PACK EXPO Connects Virtual Showroom at PE.show/146.

2 Hayssen

Mark Stenske, Service Manager for Matrix, a ProMach brand, used PACK EXPO Connects to demonstrate how the Matrix Bag-in-Bag provides an innovative way to fill single-serve and multiple-serve pillow bags in an overwrap or master bag.

The Matrix Elete Bag-in-Bag machine is essentially two machines in a single frame. In the demonstration, one bagger above was feeding into another below in a single enclosure. In a ground coffee application, the top section packages product into heat-sealed filter paper pouches, and the lower section bags those pouches in metalized film packs. Both rolls of filter-paper material and foil film are on the back of the machine. On the front, pull belts advance the upper filter paper as the vertical seal bar intermittently seals the top, and the end-seal jaws separate each filter-paper pouch, dropping them into a funnel to introduce the second portion of the machine.

See ProMach Matrix’s PACK EXPO Connects Virtual Showroom, at PE.show/300.

According to WeighPack Systems Inc., its extremely versatile XPdius Elite 1700 vertical bagger (3) is able to fill bags up to 17 in. W x 24 in. L and includes film tracking, tool-less removable pull belts, forming tube, and film roll. Available options include bag gusset attachment, gas flush, hole punch, tare notch, polyethylene sealing assembly, pivoting bag support, bag tapper for product settling, and lot code printing.

Capable of producing up to 3,000 large-format bags per hour, the XPdius vertical bagging machine includes twin servo motors and drives for its pull belt assembly and horizontal seal jaws. These drives assure total control over acceleration, deceleration, and positioning while ensuring high performance throughout production.

Visit WeighPack Systems’ PACK EXPO Connects Virtual Showroom at PE.show/796.

3 Paxiom

With increased snack food demand in 2020, pouching systems have been a popular choice for machinery due in part to the pandemic and people spending more time at home. At PACK EXPO Connects, PPi Technologies Group showcased the new SN FME 50 (4), a small-footprint hf/f/s machine from SN Maschinenbau designed for short lead times and an entry level price point for end users packaging snack foods, gummies, herbs, spices, powdery products, lotions, and more.

Thom Cain, sales support manager at PPi, said that for the past few years, the industry has seen a push to run thinner, monomaterial films because multi-layer films aren’t easy to recycle. “But if a machine is not designed to run that material, it can rip.” With package sustainability in mind, the SN FME 50 is designed to run recyclable films, pulling evenly to avoid tearing without sacrificing speed.

The system runs at speeds up to 100 pouches/min and is capable of format changeover (toolless, as much as possible) in less than 15 min. With a small footprint of approximately 12.0 ft. × 4.10 ft. × 6.6 ft., the system doesn’t require much space to get new packaging capacity up and running.

With an added multi-head weigher (from a scale vendor) the machine can run gummies, which have seen increased demand in the nutraceutical and cannabis industries. Delivery speed is a main feature of the SN FME 50—remote installation can be completed in a few days.

View PPi Technologies Group’s PACK EXPO Connects Virtual Showroom at PE.show/486.

5 P Pi Fme50 Totale Frontal Vhf1589

New from Cloud Packaging Solutions, the CMR II continuous-motion hf/f/s machine  can be configured for a wide range of complex filling applications. Among its features, the machine can handle pouches from 4 to 12 in. W × 6 to 15 in. H, with a gusset of zero to 5 in., operates at speeds to 140 pouches/min, is compatible with a wide variety of zipper closures, and is USDA-washdown sanitary.

According to Kyle Scalise, Global Account Manager at Cloud Packaging Solutions, who unveiled the new machine during a live demo at PACK EXPO Connects, “Cloud developed this machine as the next generation of our existing machine, the CMR 1500. The CMR has been very successful for us over the years in all dry-flowable piece applications, especially with very large fills. It has been embraced specifically in the pet food industry where products have difficult geometries and large fills, where a traveling funnel extends the fill time, allowing more time for the product to get into the pouch.”

See Cloud Packaging Solutions’ PACK EXPO Connects Virtual Showroom at PE.show/519.

Inspection systems aplenty

Featured at the Peco Inspx PACK EXPO Connects showroom was the ScanTrac Fermata X-ray system, which provides high-resolution X-ray inspection for products conveyed through a pipeline. It has a variable-diameter inspection plate assembly for accurate and repeatable inspection of product flow. Metal ceramic X-ray tubes enable the Fermata to identify small pieces of foreign material, such as bone, metal, glass, and rubber.

The system can be equipped with a remote monitor for the inspection of pipelines off the production floor. The standard Fermata configuration includes a 4-in. diameter inspection pipeline assembly and a positive-acting two-way discharge valve assembly with mounting.

The Fermata is designed to work with piston pump systems. Material flowing through the pipe must be continuous with no air pockets. The Fermata pipeline system inspects bulk flowing through a pipeline at speeds up to 600 ft. or 300 gal per min. From proteins to vegetables and fruits, product conveyed in bulk through a pipeline can be inspected for foreign contaminants prior to packaging. Rejected product is diverted for disposal or further inspection.

Visit Peco Inspx’s PACK EXPO Connects Virtual Showroom at PE.show/161.

THiNK, a new artificial intelligence tool (5) integrated on Sesotec metal detectors, is designed to help food processors produce safe food, comply with food safety guidelines and regulations, reduce waste, and protect their consumers and brands. The tool can virtually eliminate the influence of product defects and provides accurate detection of metal parts, with fewer false rejects.

“We’re using artificial intelligence in metal detection to detect smaller contaminants than before,” said Christian Stadler, Group Director of Marketing at Sesotec. “This allows for higher food safety.” 

According to Sesotec’s live demo at PACK EXPO Connects, it’s difficult to detect metallic contamination in a product if the packaging contains metal or metallic film. THiNK technology has the advantage of working well with metalized packaging. 

See Sesotec’s PACK EXPO Connects Virtual Showroom at PE.show/529.

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