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Schubert: Flexible flow-wrapping covers biscuits
Flexible flow-wrapping covers biscuits
An Alsatian manufacturer with over a hundred years of heritage relies on a modern flow-wrapping machine from Schubert to package its baked goods. The flexibility of the robot-assisted flowpacker ensures that the producer will be able to switch to more sustainable packaging in the future.
The flowpacker can also process mono films and, as shown here, paper-based films
+Today, the variations in material and shape of packaging are practically endless – coming in handy for providers to satisfy an increasing variety of customer requirements and preferences. Sustainability is becoming increasingly important for consumers and manufacturers alike. The share of paperbased packaging elements is steadily increasing, for example, the sweet baked goods segment (especially so in the B2Cdominated food sector). It is not only industry giants that are driving this change; small and medium-sized confectionery manufacturers are also closely examining alternative possibilities of packaging their popular products sustainably. Among them is a producer of traditional baked goods from Alsace that required a new packaging machine to meet the customers’ changing values regarding packaging.
This small bakery has been making biscuits for over 100 years. As a traditional operation, it values the diversity in its products. A wide range of fine pastries is produced here, including many organic offerings. There is something for every biscuit lover in the portfolio of this manufacturer: wafers and biscuits with and without chocolate, in layers or fully coated, and all in a wide variety of sizes. To properly sustain this multitude of products, production managers placed great importance on the flexibility of a new packaging machine. For medium-sized companies, in particular, the switch to new types of packaging cannot be made overnight, and their needs can evolve differently depending on the sales market. A multitasking machine was needed, one that could keep up with the wide range of products and packaging, including sustainable solutions.
Packaging as diverse as the contents
The bakery wanted to be able to handle plastic and paperbased films, trays made of cardboard and plastic, and U-boards – all of this in a process involving fragile products that needed delicate handling after production, for quality control and packaging into flowpacks bags, both with and without trays. The changeover of packaging forms and products had to be carried out quickly and efficiently. And finally, there was another requirement: the packaging machine would have to be as compact as possible.
Schubert’s flow-wrapping machine met all its requirements. It was especially the necessity of a compact design that favored the flowpacker: “Our integrated system, which includes de-stackers, pick & place robots and the Flowmodul flowwrapping unit, was the ideal solution from our point of view,” explains Dominique Spitz, area sales manager at Schubert. In a small space, the flow-wrapping machine in Alsace has been handling all the steps of the packaging process since its installation in June 2020. Flexibility is required right from
Facts & figures
+Compact machine layout + 9 different product formats + Efficiency of 98% + Output of up to 100 flowpacks per minute + Sustainable packaging materials
The flow-wrapping machine combines de-stackers, pick & place robots, quality control and the Flowmodul in the smallest of footprints
In less than 30 minutes, the flow-wrapping machine switches between different formats. Paper-based trays, U-boards and film are also supported
© Gerhard Schubert GmbH
the beginning of the process because the biscuits come directly from the oven to the packaging line without a buffer. This is how the robot-assisted flowpacker plays out its strengths, without the need of a conveyor belt: three F4 robots pick up the product flexibly and gently and place it into the trays or directly onto the flowpacker infeed belt. Technology is key to the efficient use of available space: when needed, a fourth F4 robot is used variably. If packing into trays, it removes them from the magazine and places them into the tray chain for filling. For batches where the products go directly into flowpacks, it picks biscuits from the product belt and places them onto the flowpacker infeed belt.
“By using robots in our flow-wrapping machine, we can minimize breakage, damage and waste,” Spitz points out. To entirely rule out damaged goods, each product must also pass through an incident-light scanner. Schubert’s image processing system only passes on the data of flawless products to the robots’ control system and rejects defective goods. Only the high-quality baked goods are then either packed directly into a flowpack or stacked into trays or cardboard U-boards, which are in turn packed into flowpacks.
To ensure the efficiency of this last step of the packaging process, the Schubert line uses a specially developed sealing technology: “First, the flowpack’s longitudinal seam is closed using ultrasonic sealing. Then, a heat-sealing system with a flying cross-sealing unit is used,” Spitz explains. The flying sealing unit adjusts itself fully automatically to the speed of the upstream pick & place robots for each flowpack. This ensures a high sealing quality with constant sealing times.
Fast format changes
If a format change is required, only a few manual operations are necessary, which can be completed in less than 30 minutes. All format parts are easy to exchange and immediately ready for use without requiring subsequent adjustment. The machine then restarts and immediately packs into the new formats. The change of the flowpack film during operation is also supported by a corresponding automatic mechanism.
Flexible robot technology and fast format changes are advantages that are paying off today for the traditional Alsatian bakery, while equipping the company for the future. The flowpacker not only processes the usual laminated films, but also mono films, which are being used more and more frequently in the market, especially because they are recyclingfriendly. “It is already foreseeable that the development in packaging technology will continue, particularly in the direction of paper-based films,” Spitz confirms. Schubert’s packaging line is prepared for this: if the Alsatian biscuit maker decides to use recyclable paper-based packaging materials or new developments such as compostable films, the flow-wrapping machine can support these options. The sealing unit is also ready for such changes, as it can process paper-based packaging as well as plastic films. Innovation awaits. +++
KOENIG Motiv4 NTS 91x53.qxd 12.02.2007 11:10 Uhr Seite 1
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