OEM APPLICATION NOTE
Cartoning and Coding Line Delivers COVID-19 Vaccine Vials Equipment for cartoning, serializing, and case packing vials was designed and delivered in just a few short months. KEREN SOOKNE, DIRECTOR OF EDITORIAL CONTENT
↑ A line of this size and complexity would typically take approximately 10 to 11 months to deliver, but this line for cartoning, serializing, and case packing vaccine vials was designed and delivered in mere months. (Image credit: ESS Technologies, Inc.)
With time of the essence, numerous lines for packaging COVID-19 vaccines were installed or reconfigured to meet public health needs. A major pharmaceutical CMO in the U.S. required one such expedited line for cartoning vaccine vials. They sought out ESS Technologies, Inc.—an OEM specializing in health sciences—and Videojet because of their long-standing experience in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. The new line was identical to one that the companies had provided approximately one year prior in 2020. At about the time that first line was up and running, the CMO approached ESS and asked how soon they could procure a second line. Having been deemed an essential business at the outset of the pandemic, Walt Langosch, Global Business Development at ESS, explains they “were vetted by the Department of Defense, and we were told that this project takes priority over everything else we were doing.” ESS sent their quote in Sept. 2020. “Usually, a line of this size and complexity would probably take around 10 to 11
months, but because it was for COVID-19 and it was a priority, we had it installed and running in February 2021,” he says. Cartoning vials Coming off of a WLS (Weiler Labeling Systems) VR-72 labeler at 150 vials/min, capped five mL vials arrive at the ESS VC 30 cartoner where they are placed in a 2x5 pattern into a 10-count carton. A Fanuc SR-6iA SCARA four-axis robot erects the carton and at the next station, a partition is inserted. Cartons and vials are conveyed to the Fanuc LR200iD robotic loader, which places the vials in the carton, followed by an SR-3iA robot that inserts a pre-folded leaflet on top of the vials. See a similar line in action at pwgo.to/7529 The system closes the carton’s top flaps, and the carton is laser marked with the lot, expiration date, and a 2D barcode by a Videojet 3340 CO2 laser marking machine. The Videojet 3340 laser system is ideal for high-speed pharmaceutical serialization applications, March/April 2022 • Healthcare Packaging | 13
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