Theegarten-Pactec has installed its BLM cartoner at a manufacturer of bouillon cubes. The machine is intended to supplement the primary packaging machine already in use. This is the cartoner's first use under real conditions in the industry.
Universal Investment & Industries from Ghana, headquartered in Accra, has been successful in the service and packaging industry for many years. The company packs Confectionery such as chocolate and biscuits as well as milk powder and stock cubes for cooking. We have a long-standing partnership with the German company Theegarten-Pactec.
At its site in Ghana, Universal Inv. & Ind. uses a BCW3 from Theegarten-Pactec specially designed for the primary packaging of pressed bouillon cube tablets. The High-performance packaging machine processes up to 1,400 boiled cube tablets per minute in side folds - and, according to the company, is currently one of the world's fastest packaging machines for stock cubes.
Universal Inv. & Ind. needed to purchase a corresponding machine in order to be able to efficiently carry out the secondary packaging of the stock cubes in-house in future. Theegarten-Pactec will install the BLM cartoner at the end of 2022.
One of the main advantages that made Universal Inv. & Ind. decide in favour of BLM is that it received a packaging process „from a single source“. So the BLM uses the same operating concept as the BCW3, This optimises communication and control between the systems and reduces problems at the interfaces, such as product jams. The operating concept also reduces errors in the application. Should faults or errors occur between the primary and secondary packaging machines that they are unable to resolve themselves, Universal Inv. & Ind. employees are never far away from a direct contact at Theegarten-Pactec for rapid fault diagnosis and resolution.
The BLM is the first cartoner from Theegarten-Pactec. After five years of development and extensive test phases, the Universal Inv. & Ind. was the first company to use the BLM in industry. becomes.
„The BLM delivered excellent results in the tests. However, we cannot simulate every possible situation 100 per cent and are therefore always very excited when we use a machine for the first time at a customer and run it under real conditions.“
Christian Pötsch, Sales Manager Africa at Theegarten-Pactec
The BLM is a modular system and processes different product sizes, carton dimensions and product formations in different output ranges. At Universal Inv. & Ind., the BLM is currently used for the secondary packaging of stock cubes. Up to 1,400 tablets of stock cubes per minute are currently dispensed by the BCW3 and then packed into cartons by the BLM at the same high output. The secret: a coupling of the BLM via direct feed, which eliminates the need for time-consuming re-sorting of the products.
„The BLM is perfectly adapted for connection to the BCW3 high-performance machine. From our experience, we know that it is not easy for many companies to find a suitable cartoner that matches the high output range of the primary packaging machine. This limitation often means that the packaging process cannot take place at full capacity, resulting in a reduction in efficiency. With the BLM, small products from the food and non-food sectors can now also be packed at high speed.“
Christian Pötsch
Universal Investment & Industries was also impressed by the compactness of the BLM. Thanks to its design, the cartoner helps to save additional belts and interfaces in the company and requires a smaller footprint in production compared to conventional toploaders. Thanks to its low height, it also offers the operator an optimum overview of the entire packaging system. Handling is also simple: the BLM is completely operated from the front. This means that employees have simple, short and therefore time-saving walking distances and the machine is easily accessible for operation, maintenance and cleaning. Thanks to its modular design, the machine can be adapted to difficult structural conditions in the production hall if required. Transparent machine panelling enables additional visual inspection.
Another feature is the flexibility of the BLM. With regard to the product arrangement in the cartons Single-row, multi-row, multi-layer and other pack formations possible with just one machine. And the option to expand the BLM with additional technical features also contributes to its flexibility: for example, an additional coding device for best-before date or batch number, a tool-free format change throughout or a network connection for remote diagnostics can be integrated.
Thanks to the modular design of the BLM, it was possible to configure it precisely to meet the requirements of Universal Investment & Industries. In any case, the installation of the BLM was a complete success in West Africa:
„The fact that our customer is extremely satisfied with this solution is evident from his reaction: he has already received a second production line consisting of BCW3 and BLM.“
Christian Pötsch
Source: Theegarten-Pactec
