Page 50 - Packaging News Jan-Feb 2020

50 PRODUCT WATCH www.packagingnews.com.au January-February 2020 Lifdek brings out efficient corrugated pallets
Lifdek has partnered with Crownhill Packaging in North America to launch what it calls the most efficient corrugated pallet technology on the market.
The cardboard pallets weigh less than eight pounds (3.6kg) on average, and offer a safe and sustainable alternative to wood or plastic pallets, according to Joseph Danko, president of Lifdek Corporation.
“It’s time customers optimise their pallets to their pallet loads, rather than forcing their load configuration to accommodate today’s standard pallet dimensions.
“Eliminating just two inches of empty space on a pallet dimension would add enough room for four additional pallets of product in a fully cubed 53-inch trailer; that’s an eight per cent reduction in freight costs and emissions,” he says.
The pallets consist of two die-cut blanks that can be assembled on site in less than 30 seconds without glue, and thus can be
Case packer enters the Robomatrix
specifically designed for the optimum load configuration of a customer’s products, according to Lifdek.
Crownhill’s existing North American corrugator infrastructure will be used to die-cut and ship the blanks in local proximity to customers, reducing inbound pallet freight costs and emissions by up to 75 per cent.
E: gnicholls@lifdek.com
Sidel launches flexible case packer
Sidel has introduced its new Cermex FlexiPack pick-and-place case packing solution for glass bottles, which incorporates robotic technology.
FlexiPack, which can handle between 10,000 and 18,000 bottles per hour, has been designed with high flexibility and operability in mind for each of its submod- ules, says Sidel. These include bottle channel infeed, numerical-axis gantry manipulator, and its regular slotted contain- er case conveying part.
The FlexiPack can also be complemented by an upstream DiviArm positive bottle distribu- tion system, which Sidel says allows limited pressure and zero shocks when bottles are
divided into packer infeed channels, thus ensuring maximum product integrity.
According to Sidel, the high level of automatic adjustments and lighter redesigned parts allow for ergonomic, reliable, repeat- able, and toolless changeovers, which can
be completed in less than 10 minutes.
Sidel bills FlexiPack as an energy saver as well, due to its lightweight gripping head and its replacement of pneumatic actuators with electrical ones. This could save up to 10,000 kWh of electricity over five years, or 3.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide, the company says.
W: sidel.com/en
Foodmach recently launched the Robomatrix Case Packer range, an award-winning in-house line of machines to place primary product (bottles or packages of all kinds) into cases.
This machine’s flexibility is a stand-out feature, according to Foodmach. Robot arms and tailored end-of-arm tooling can accommodate the widest range of products, in random or frequently changing patterns.
Robomatrix can be combined with existing equipment or supplied with case-erecting and sealing equipment that can handle all case materials and RSC case sizes.
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Versatile and compact, the Robomatrix automated Shelf-Ready Case Packer has a small footprint, is flexible, modular, and can be tailored to suit the individual customers’ needs, says Foodmach.
It uses two robots, each performing the same function and working in series, to collate and pack products into shelf-ready cases at speeds of up to 17 cases per minute and up to 100 products per minute.
The Robomatrix Shelf-Ready packer can be tailored to suit various products and packaging styles, including stand up pouches, pillow pouches, cartons, trays and bags.
E: sales@foodmach.com.au
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