Page 49 - Packaging News Sep-Oct 2020

MEMBER NEWS
PROFILE SOLUTIONS TO SET LEAK TESTER RECORD
Profile Solutions, an Australian manufacturer of leak detectors and automation equipment, is on track to manufacture a record number of leak testers, despite the difficulties of working during the Covid-19 pandemic.
A statement from the company said, as of mid-July, Profile Solutions had made more than half
HMPS AND SMC DEVELOP CUSTOM POUCH UNLOADER Machine builder HMPS partnered with the SMC Corporation ANZ to design and custom fit a new HMPS pouch unloader cell for an export customer in Thailand, claimed to be an industry-first of its kind.
The machine is used to unload pouches of pet food from trays. According to a statement from SMC, it is the first machine where a robot is retrofitted with a vacuum head for off-loading pouches of pet food from a retort.
Pouches have increased in
popularity over the years as a flexible packaging option and using a vacuum system to handle this packaging option remains the most reliable and trusted solution.
HMPS project engineer Sergio Palacio said the customer had an old compressor in their factory and requested a solution that is more energy efficient in terms of compressed air.
“Compressors can be expensive to replace; our customer wanted to automate their line without causing unnecessary downtime, additional costs or drastic changes to the rest of the plant,” Palacio said.
SMC area sales engineer Jason Sutton said the two companies’ design departments worked
the number of leak testers as it had over the entirety of the previous year.
“Covid has been a trying time, with air freight cost and availability affecting inward and outbound costs and an area government has been very slow to try and fix,” the statement said.
“We also will have some new models in testing machines this year that will be finished in the next few weeks that will open up new markets for us.
“We have seen a very significant increase in the order of our multi-head machines that fill a sweet spot which compared to our competition in the US and EU are half the cost or less of leading suppliers from those countries.”
Profile Solutions manufactures and sells high-speed leak testers, which are exported around the world. While based in Australia, the company has offices in Singapore and the US.
Some 60 per cent of the company’s current production is exported to more than 20 countries in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
The company says it makes the world’s fastest single head tester.
together to deliver an innovative solution. “From SMC’s side, the design was led by our
engineering department in New Zealand, headed up by Sergey Vetrov while I oversaw the project on the ground together with the HMPS team. Our team was proactive, detail orientated and invested in the project,” Sutton said.
While the specially engineered vacuum head used in this application is made up of standard SMC vacuum products, this solution has been engineered into a unique multi-functional and energy-efficient vacuum design.
According to SMC, the latest machine performs far better than its predecessor and has achieved 28 per cent in energy savings.
WRAP AND LABEL CLAMSHELLS WITH HERMA For the requirements of the food industry in wrap labelling, self-adhesive specialist Herma offers a versatile labelling machine, available locally through Result Group. The 752C is designed to wrap a single label around the top, front, and bottom, as well as, optionally, the back of the packaging in one pass and thereby sealing it.
For three-side labelling, the label is dispensed at the front side of the product into the split conveyor belt and applied onto the top and bottom of the packaging as it passes through.
In doing so, the label not only performs sealing and information functions, but also contributes to the stability of the thin and consequently unstable plastic packaging. For four-side labelling, the label additionally wraps the back of the packaging. Due to the length of the sealing and identification labels, absolutely precise dispensing must be guaranteed – particularly with four-side labelling, so that no spiral misalignment occurs. The wrap labeller 752C meets these requirements through the compact but robust design of all machine components.
Herma head of product management and labelling Ulrich Fischer said: “As fresh snacks don’t have any additional outer packaging, the perfect positioning of the labels plays an important role. A precise and properly applied label indicates the high quality of the packaging contents.”
MACHINERY MATTERS SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2020 5