Case packing and palletising machinery builder, HMPS, has been awarded the contract for the installation of its HMPS1000 RSC Bag in Box (BIB) case packer and system integration solution at a large dairy producer to erect, load and seal a carton containing bags of cream cheese.
HMPS had to work to specific customer requirements and the HMPS machine had to be integrated with two other machines from separate suppliers – a vertical form fill seal (VFFS) machine and a pumping dosing unit containing a lance which would fill the cheese into the bag.
The system integration had to be seamless to avoid downtime. Downtime in this particular application would mean spoilt goods for the customer or manual labour.
According to Mark Emmett, MD of HMPS, the intricacy of this machine lies in the way the bag is filled.
“Standard BIB machines would fill the bags and then place the bags into the box. This particular machine places the bag into the box and then it's filled once in the carton.”
The long, thin shape of the carton made it difficult to place a filled bag into the box.
“Processed cheese comes with its own set of packaging challenges,” Emmett says. “There should be no air bubbles; the bag needs to be completely filled with high temperature cheese in a way which will allow it to set in the correct size and shape during transit. Once filled, it is difficult to fit a bag of processed cheese into a carton as the cheese immediately starts to set and takes on the shape of the bag, and not the carton,” he explains.
The lance used in this process has the advantage that it could start filling the bag from the bottom, and move up as it starts filling – this means no air bubbles and no splashing.
The pump speed can also be varied to allow for faster filling initially and then slowing down as it reaches the top of the bag. The result is a completely square block of cheese with no air bubbles which can be cut to the exact size required for a fast food chain.
The installation, which was recently completed, will see the company benefiting from an automated, low maintenance and easy-clean solution that meets Australian OH&S (Occupational Health & Safety) standards.
The solution will ultimately alleviate the company’s end-of-line labour constraints.
HMPS will be exhibiting on Stand 69 at AUSPACK 2017, from 7-10 March at Sydney Showground.
