Converting equipment

Cap and liner top Tree Top's switch to PET

Changing from glass to heat-set PET boosts sales of apple juice and cider by 60% on 1-gal bottles. PP closure and EVA liner provide tamper-evidence and eliminate labor-intensive cap inspection.

March 31, 1996

Filling, Capping & Closing: Page 73

Filling/capping, dry

Web cleaning system

The Kelva noncontact web cleaning system for flexo, gravure and web offset printing applications is available from Erhardt + Leimer (Spartanburg, SC).

February 29, 1996

Bag/pouch fill/seal (pre-made bags)

Form/fill/seal system

Universal Packaging (Houston, TX) has redesigned the Mark Series automatic vertical f/f/s system to incorporate PLC-driven Touch Command software. All set-up and filler functions, including fill and production weights, seal temperatures, batch counts, machine timing and storage, can now be handled from a single control panel.

February 29, 1996

Conveying & accumulation

Versatility drives Shrader line design

A short while ago, contract packager Shrader Canada rarely filled more than 8ꯠ bottles of liquid automotive products per shift. A new and versatile line now lets the firm reach 26ꯠ per shift .

February 29, 1996

Filling/capping, dry

Capacitive sensors

Capacitive sensors from Namco Controls (Highland Heights, OH) are designed to sense nonmetallic products. They can be adjusted to ignore or "see through" an object to detect a second object behind it.

January 31, 1996

Conveying & accumulation

Marigold sweetens sour cream line

New line lets Marigold Foods double its filling speeds for 8-, 12-, 16-, 24- and 32-oz cups of sour cream or yogurt. Programmable limit switch plays a key role, too.

January 31, 1996

Filling/capping, dry

High-speed capper

PMC Industries' (Hackensack, NJ) new high-speed capper applies pump caps at speeds to 300/min. A programmable controller governs machine operations, including the flow of caps from the sorter and automatic shutdown in case of overloads at transfer points.

December 31, 1995

Filling/capping, liquid & viscous

High speed bottle fillers

Krones (Franklin, WI) VP electro-pneumatic bottle fillers accurately fill plastic or glass bottles within ±2 mm fill-height accuracy, and at speeds to 1겨/min, depending on model and bottle size.

December 31, 1995

Conveying & accumulation

Seals create I-D for lubricant

Induction-sealed PVC bottles that don't leak enable Westridge Laboratories to introduce personal lubricant to the pharmaceutical market and boost sales substantially.

December 31, 1995

Feeding/inserting/unscrambling

Bundlers shrink labor costs

Private-label pharmaceutical manufacturer Biocraft Laboratories saves $900ꯠ a year in labor and materials by installing collator/shrink bundlers on 13 lines.

December 31, 1995

Converting equipment

Glidden's paint testers pass with flying colors

High-density polyethylene test containers let homeowners test a color before plunging into the purchase of a gallon of paint.

December 31, 1995

Conveying & accumulation

Deodorant sticks chill big time in small space

Tom's of Maine doubles its production of stick deodorants by adding an in-line chiller that uses liquid nitrogen to rapidly cool the hot-filled product.

December 31, 1995

Conveying & accumulation

Twin-auger filler is pick of the litter

Automated filling and capping of jugs containing cat litter helps Mid-Florida Mining reduce giveaway by 83% and labor costs by 45%. Increased efficiency helps push new product offerings and increase sales.

December 31, 1995