Innovation, where you would least expect it!
WorldPressOnline First Call - One of the most important manufacturers of household and cleaning products in Europe with a presence in more than 50 countries worldwide came out recently with an innovative products range for toilet bowl cleaning. As with most creative packaging, these products present significant filling challenges with a direct impact on the choice of the filling technology.
First, the recipients come in two formats. The first set is made of two very low volume containers (duo liquid blocks), grouped together through a thin plug-on cap, with the second set being a single container. Second, the viscosity is equivalent to the one of mustard. Finally, the manufacturer had ambitious output and change-over time requirements with five combinations of liquid colors.
Among the various filling technologies considered, the weigh filling technology was selected for its advantages in terms of accuracy, reliability and filling speed.
With 40 years experience in net weigh filling, Serac was naturally considered to address this project.
According to Bertrand Gruson, Director of R&D at Serac, “This type of filling technology is particularly appreciated by our customers as it avoids overfills: by measuring the weight directly in the container, the weight filling system takes into account the changes in pressure, temperature or nature of the product and systematically corrects the fill drift, even the slightest, without the need for human intervention.”
In order to meet these specific requirements, Serac engineers came out with two major technological innovations:
The continuous rotary machine combines a set of two, fully synchronized, electronic weigh filling carousels equipped with 20 filling stations and 10 capping jaws each. Depending on the recipient to fill, one or two filling-capping set is used. Only one conveyor is used for bottles and caps.
Although pucks are traditionally used with such small formats, Serac managed to get rid of this requirement while ensuring smooth product circulation. This puck free solution provides considerable savings in terms of equipment purchase and associated maintenance. Associated with a customized Cleaning in Place solution, one can expect change-over time of 15-20 minutes with only 1 operator.
Today, the monobloc Serac machine is in production and enables this manufacturer to comfort its leading position for WC blocks in own-brand products across Europe.
Serac Group will exhibit a weigh filling machine at the Fach Pack exhibition in Nuremberg on September 28-29-30 (Hall 4, Boot 553). For more information: www.serac-group.com