Syntegon Technology is equipped to demonstrate its resource-saving technologies for confectionery, bakery and pharmaceutical packaging applications at this year’s inaugural Virtual Show, held from May 7 to 13, 2020.
The event is designed to compensate for the postponement of conventional trade shows, notably interpack. Formerly known as Bosch Packaging Technology, the company will be exhibiting flexible packaging equipment for snack bars, cookies and bakery products with seamless wrapping systems. It will also be showcasing its filling lines for pharmaceuticals as well as new software solutions for product traceability.
“Being a 100 percent digital event without a physical trade show booth, the event is a new experience for us as well as for our customers. We hope to attract a large number of visitors and want to offer an alternative format, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. We want to use every opportunity to engage with our customers as a reliable partner, despite the current situation,” Nicole König, Spokesperson Product Communication at Syntegon Technology, tells PackagingInsights.
“We believe the virtual show offers an opportunity to elevate our communication efforts and collaborate digitally with our customers on various projects, such as machine acceptance tests and remote services for maintenance and repairs. We will also present our new product designs and new technologies for the food and pharmaceutical industries, as well as new sustainability and digital service solutions,” she adds.
Seamless paper packaging system for bars
Virtual event attendees can see Syntegon’s high-speed seamless system for snack bars in action, including all steps from process technology up to case packing. As the new WRW Flex compression roller allows manufacturers to adjust the height and width of their bar mass slabs during production, it consequently minimizes trim and reduces product waste.
“Consumers are increasingly concerned with packaging waste and look to food manufacturers for solutions, such as recyclable or biodegradable packaging materials. Paper is an obvious choice for many consumers due to its more natural look and feel, with plastic packaging often drawing the short straw, despite major sustainability breakthroughs. This is partly because the difference between recyclable mono-material and multi-layer film is not apparent to consumers. Food manufacturers would do well to take this into account when designing their packaging,” König highlights.
Once the bars are cut and fanned out, they are fed into the Sigpack HRM flow wrapper by the contactless, format-flexible and compact Sigpack FIT infeed with XTS linear motor technology. The HRM features the new paper-ON-form retrofit kit in combination with cold sealing technology, which does not compromise on speed and product safety.
“The biggest challenge when using paper is the desired production output. On horizontal flow wrappers, for example, cold seal plastic films run at a speed of up to 800 pieces per minute. To achieve comparable speeds with paper, technological developments were needed, especially in the area of paper forming and heat-sealing media. The new forming unit forms the paper without wrinkles, scoring or tears, while the tailor-made cold and heat-sealing tools gently create the sealing seams.”
The entire system comes with the Sigpack TTM top load cartoner, which processes cardboard made from 95 percent recycled fibers with “utmost precision,” the company states. The Sigpack FWV feeding module ensures that the paper flow wrap’s sensitive barrier layer remains intact, even at maximum speeds.
The case packer, called the Elematic 2001, can maximize packaging materials used in case wrapping, including slightly bent blanks as well as grass fiber corrugated board. “The challenge lies in being able to process the widest possible range of packaging materials – including corrugated and solid boards made from fully recycled fibers or grass fibers – without requiring complex machine adjustments or changeovers,” says König.
“Syntegon’s Elematic has a higher tolerance for blanks that are slightly bent due to humidity and changing temperatures. As a result, fewer blanks need to be thrown away, contributing to a less wasteful production,” she continues. The Elematic can handle up to 100 different case designs with a speed of up to 40 cases per minute.
Heat sealing for bakery packaging applications
For bakery products, such as cupcakes, Syntegon Technology is presenting an all-round packaging system, featuring the direct depositing pull-nose distribution station, the new Pack Feeder 4 and the Pack 403 horizontal flow wrapper. The latter is also equipped with the paper-ON-form retrofit kit to flow-wrap cupcakes in paper.
Unlike the bar system, the Pack 403 uses heat sealing combined with the paper forming unit. This provides tight seals, even with highly insulating paper materials. Once flow wrapped, the Paloma robotic pick and place solution arranges the cupcakes for the downstream tray-forming equipment. The bakery system is completed by the new Kliklok ACE carton former.
High-speed packaging for cookies and crackers
Syntegon will further demonstrate its compact, high-speed solution for tight packs with fully recyclable mono-material films for cookies and crackers packaging. The Sigpack HCS flow wrapper is equipped with the latest amplified heat sealing (AHS) technology and due to extended sealing times, the flow wrapper can process a large variety of films at high speeds. Applying heat to the film guarantees tight packs, with materials ranging from multi-layer films to fully recyclable mono-materials.
In terms of product handling, the system includes the new Sigpack FGMT (FGM-Turbo) measuring solution, which adjusts formats on the HMI “at the push of a button,” Syntegon boasts. In the last step, the Kliklok MEC endload cartoner is seamlessly integrated into the system and is highly flexible in terms of carton styles and sizes. It offers tool-less changeovers, a stainless steel execution and optimal operator access. The Kliklok MEC also processes cardboard with a high proportion of recycled material.
Pharmaceutical packaging innovation
Outside of the bakery world, Syntegon will also showcase its new technologies for liquid pharmaceutical processing. Whether syringes, vials or cartridges, pharmaceutical manufacturers can select the different modules individually with Syntegon’s new Flexible Filling Portfolio, which is a configurable, modular machine concept for processing small and medium batches.
“We see a clear trend in the market to more flexible machines with lower output. This is driven by new biotech drugs, which are more specific and personalized than in the past, and leads to smaller batch sizes and higher value per container. It is a clear goal of Syntegon to supply this market segment with our new Flexible Filling Portfolio,” König affirms.
Responding to data protection demands, the Syntegon SODA system provides primary packaging materials with a unique data matrix code to ensure traceability throughout the entire manufacturing process. The codes are scanned by cameras that can be used to equip and retrofit filling and closing machines such as the ALF 5000 as well as upstream and downstream equipment.
Syntegon will also be using artificial intelligence (AI) for visual inspections. “In visual inspection, there is a constant challenge to optimize inspection results, especially for products that are difficult to inspect, such as highly viscous parenteral solutions, lyophilized products or complex pack styles like double-chamber syringes,” König explains. The main advantages of AI include higher speeds, a more stable process due to reproducibility and more consistent results caused by fatigue or emotional effects.
In a bid to shorten the length of the production line, the new version of the FLK 9000 piston filling machine will also be on display. This monobloc solution consists of the linear FLK filling and the rotary VRM capping machine for liquid pharmaceutical and cosmetic filling. The newly developed three-axis drive for the FLK’s filling pipe carrier ensures the bottles are now continuously filled, before being capped in the synchronously running VRM capping machine.
While this novel way to market company innovation is “new for us as well as for the market,” König concludes that: “The virtual show offers us the same benefits as a brick-and-mortar trade show. We can meet with customers, conduct business, arrange meetings and hold presentations on market trends and customers’ needs.”
By: Anni Schleicher
Source: Food Ingredients First
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