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CHS packaging machine for Finnish chocolate

In order to increase packaging capacity at its production site in Vaajakoski, Finland, the northern European company Orkla has invested in a new CHS packaging machine from Theegarten-Pactec for packaging its chocolate products.

In order to increase packaging capacity at its production site in Vaajakoski, Finland, the northern European company Orkla has invested in a new CHS packaging machine from Theegarten-Pactec for packaging its chocolate products.

For the packaging of confectionery such as chocolate and liquorice at its Vaajakoski site in Finland, Orkla was previously using two older packaging machines that had been reaching their capacity limits for some time. At the same time Theegarten-Pactec in search of a customer for the industrial testing of its new high-performance packaging machine CHS.

Following installation in March 2021 and a successful test phase, Orkla recently decided to invest in the Theegarten-Pactec solution. The optimised CHS packaging machine, specially designed for chocolate products in various fold types, had already been in a development process lasting several years extensively tested at Theegarten-Pactec in Dresden.

„This was the perfect opportunity for us to test the CHS under real conditions in a confectionery production facility. An endless product flow, continuous operation, different packaging materials and product qualities, cleaning and maintenance work during operation or even difficulties such as a process system failure - there are many things that cannot be fully simulated. Ultimately, such tests are essential for putting the finishing touches to a new development and getting it ready for the market.“

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Daniel Schibur, Head of Sales at Theegarten-Pactec

Dual-lane feed enables high output

The CHS modular high-performance packaging machine was put through its paces at Orkla. In addition to the general functional tests the two-lane feed of the machine - a special feature of the CHS - was tested in detail. The challenge here is to divert some of the products from the endless product flow of the main belt to the two-lane infeed of the CHS and also to ensure that there is constant equalisation between the two lanes. It must be ensured that each of the two feed lanes is continuously supplied with 900 products per minute, which are combined in the packaging process to form a single-lane flow of 1,800 products per minute.

The solution of the CHS: an integrated camera system and effectively positioned sensors. These constantly check the incoming product flow on the main conveyor. The same applies to the products on their way from the main conveyor to the packaging machine. This makes it possible to determine exactly how many products are on the two-lane infeed in each case. This guarantees that the two product flows upstream of the machine do not differ by more than five products. In this way, the CHS can achieve an output of up to 1,800 products per minute for the double twist wrap folding method.

Modular machine adapts to market requirements

At Orkla in Finland, only the double twist wrap folding method is currently used for packaging chocolate products. However the machine can be flexibly converted to nine different folding typesDouble twist, protected twist, top twist, side twist, tin foil, bottom fold, side fold, Viennese fruit fold and - most recently - letter fold. The machine allows quick changes of fold type and format within just four hours. Most of these can be carried out by just one employee.

In addition, the required folding types can be easily retrofitted - regardless of the original configuration of the CHS when purchased by the customer. As customers always have to react quickly to new market requirements, such as changes in the dimensions of chocolate products, Theegarten-Pactec has also adapted the format range of the CHS. Whereas product lengths from 16 to 45 mm were previously packaged, the new system offers a range from 16 to 60 mm. The Dresden-based company has also adjusted the width - previously 12 to 25 mm, now 12 to 35 mm - thus opening up even more application options for its customers.

Source: Theegarten-Pactec

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