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Stand-up pouch stands tall on the shelf

A first-of-its-kind rotary hf/f/s machine helps Indiana candy and snack maker Golden Stream introduce 30 products in stand-up pouches. Retailers like the ways pouches can be merchandised; consumers like the resealable zipper that's applied in-line.

Film unwinds from left to righton this horizontal rotary form/film/seal machine. The machine produces about 60 pouches/min. A sa
Film unwinds from left to righton this horizontal rotary form/film/seal machine. The machine produces about 60 pouches/min. A sa

Golden Stream Quality Foods president and CEO Stephen Farber reaches into his desk drawer and pulls out a letter from a consumer. She writes that she's delighted with the quality of the product in the company's new stand-up pouch. She compliments the resealable zipper, and how easy it is to discard the pouch, believing that its small size and light weight must make it an environmentally smart buy.

The letter is in response to the company's introduction last November of stand-up pouches for 30 of its products. The Fishers, IN-based candy and snack food producer's stand-up pouch-packed products are now sold in some 4귔 retail outlets in nearly 20 states. Within the next year, Farber expects distribution of the products will be nationwide.

Retailers like the stand-up pouches, Farber says, "because they can be displayed both on the shelf and on pegs." Consumers, it appears, are buying more pouches as they become more familiar with them for a variety of products (see Packaging World, April '97, p. 2).

First user of machine

 

The packs are currently produced at rates of 55 to 60 per minute, nearly 15 hours/day, six days/week, on an RPM L horizontal rotary form/fill/seal packaging machine from Klockner Packaging Machinery (Sarasota, FL). The machine produces Klockner's Delta-Pac(TM) gusseted pouch.

Klockner reports that Golden Stream is the first commercial user of the "L" version of the intermittent-motion hf/f/s machine. The "L" designation refers to "larger format" in that it produces pouch sizes up to 91/2" wide x 121/2" tall. That's larger than the RPM 100, which accommodates pouches to 71/4" x 10". Golden Stream's pouches currently measure 73/4" x 8", though larger sizes are likely.

Cutting changeover

 

Using the same size pouch for all products takes one key variable out of the changeover equation for Golden Stream. To further reduce potential downtime for changeovers, the company has done its homework. Rather than filling products in a haphazard order, Golden Stream schedules like products to succeed one another.

For example, spicy mixes might be filled one after another. Between the different mix products, Golden Stream uses compressed air to blow out product from certain areas of the machine such as scales, buckets and other product-contact parts. After each of these similar mixes are filled, a more complete washdown is performed on the entire machine before Golden Stream fills another type of product, such as chocolate candies.

"We're a smaller company, so we've got to get the biggest bang for our buck," notes Jim Greskamp, plant engineer. "We're trying to smarten up when it comes to preparing and running product on the machine. For example, when we run gummy bears, we store them in the cold room and fill them when it's not too humid outside. This way we can prevent sticking and fill them more efficiently."

Greskamp "re-engineered" a "duckbill" device that helps to fully open the pouch. Product is filled through the duckbill. When the fill is complete the duckbill retracts out of the pouch in order to repeat the process.

"From product to product, all we really have to do for a changeover is to change the film, and adjust the stop/open position of the duckbill," says Greskamp. "We wanted to use the same duckbill for all of the products we fill into stand-up pouches, without needing to make a part changeover for every product."

The challenge was met by programming both the opening and closing of the duckbill and the filling speed for each particular product into the control system. Yogurt-covered pretzels, for example, are difficult to fill because they're light, yet they're one of the larger-sized items. Therefore, they fill up most of the pouch. To accommodate them, the duckbill must open wide and be "finessed" back out of the pouch so that within milliseconds, it's ready to open and fill the next pouch.

Sunflower seeds, on the other hand, are smaller and easier to fill. In this instance, the duckbill doesn't need to open as far as it does with pretzels. Because of that, the duckbill can be retracted from the top of the pouch without first being closed.

Pouch packs sales appeal

 

Fill weights range from 4 to 12 oz per bag, depending on product density. The stand-up pouches are produced from rollstock supplied by Printpack (Atlanta, GA). The 3.5-mil structure includes a 3-mil sealant layer of linear low-density polyethylene that's adhesive-laminated to a 48-ga polyester coated with polyvinylidene chloride for added moisture barrier. The polyester is reverse-printed flexographically in eight colors.

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