Page 40 - Food&Drink magazine July 2021

PACKAGING
Selecting the right form fill seal machine for your application is not a matter of luck. Matrix general manager
Marc Wolf explains why due diligence ensures good results.
Signed, sealed and delivered
Do your due diligence for the best form fill seal solution.
WITH any substantial purchase, you must research different machine styles, evaluate vendors, solicit recommendations and input from colleagues, read topical articles, watch videos of machinery in action, as well as review any other form of comparative analysis.
Due diligence goes a long way toward ensuring a proper match between your new form fill seal equipment and your production and sales goals.
GETTING STARTED
A successful project requires thorough understanding of all the variables that are involved in your packaging line.
To do that, you need to look at the whole picture, and know what’s happening to your product before it arrives at the bagger, as well as its destination after it’s been packaged. Here are some questions to ask yourself when getting started:
• what are you looking to
achieve out of this line, both short term and long-term planning;
• what is the available floor space for the machine;
• what is the product being
filled and how will it be fed;
• what are the flow
characteristics;
• what type(s) of film will be used;
• what is the speed of every
piece of equipment behind
and ahead of the bagger;
• what are the bag sizes, styles
and what kind of selling properties do you expect your packaging to have;
• what is the desired fill rate per minute and target product weight;
• will there be many changeovers or SKUs;
• will maintenance be performed in-house; and
• what is the budget and the timeline for this project.
Vertical form fill seal machines create bags by pulling roll stock film around a forming tube. The process of sealing the film and filling the pouches occurs at very high rates, up to 200 per minute, and does so in a compact footprint. They can create a variety of package styles, including pillow, quad, gusset, flat bottom and others. Dairy, spices, coffee or powders,
packaging. Becoming better stewards of the environment is a great thing and helps brands connect to the ideals of their customers. However, before jumping in, you need to research sustainable films and their structure to ensure they’ll meet your packaging goals.
Some sustainable films may not offer the right sealing properties to align with your product; the films’ structure may limit the speed at which they can run through a bagger, or the films shelf-life may be limited. While gaining in popularity, sustainable films are still an emerging market.
It’s best to lean on film suppliers for their guidance and recommendations to which material(s) will work best with your application.
While these are just a few of the components that go into a successful form fill seal project, communication with your OEM is the most important. Keep the lines of communication open for best outcome. ✷
✷ ABOUTTHEAUTHOR
“ Due diligence goes a long way toward ensuring a proper match between your new form fill seal equipment and your production and sales goals.”
Knowing this information upfront will greatly improve communication of the project with the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). Also, having answers to these questions in the early stages is critical because each one influences the other; if one of the answers to a question is unknown, it can sometimes dramatically change the scope of the project.
DIRECTIONAL CHOICES
The two main styles of
form fill seal machines are vertical or horizontal. Each bring their own strengths to packaging, so it’s important to select the proper style
to best meet your needs.
IQF, fresh or frozen fruits/ vegetables and pet food are just a few examples of products typically filled on a vertical form fill seal machine.
Horizontal form fill seal machines are typically used to manufacture and fill a higher- level, premium package. Because of the step-by-step manufacturing process, horizontal form fill seal baggers can create stand-up pouches, as well as three – and four-sided pouches or special shapes, and come with a variety of closure options, for example zipper, spouts or other fitments.
SUSTAINABILITY
We’re seeing more brands go green through sustainable
40 | Food&Drink business | July 2021 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au
Marc Wolf is the general manager and vice president of Matrix (a ProMach brand), a specialist
manufacturer of vertical
form fill seal (VFFS)
packaging equipment.
He can be reached at marc.wolf@promachbuilt.com.