Among Paris-based Sanofi S.A’s more popular products is Enterogermina Oral Suspension, a probiotic used to treat diarrhea and other gastrointestinal problems. It’s sold in 73 countries (though not in the U.S.), and 58 of those markets are supplied by the Sanofi plant in Origgio, Italy, just outside Milan. That’s where four BFS BP 460 aseptic blow/fill/seal systems from Rommelag are producing 5-mL bottlepacks made of low-density polyethylene that feed into secondary and tertiary packaging equipment supplied primarily by Marchesini.
According to Luca Angelini, Technical & Information Services Manager at Sanofi, the Marchesini packaging line became necessary in 2016 when the third and fourth Rommelag systems were added. Soon, he adds, a fifth and sixth BFS BP 460 will be installed along with a new Marchesini line that will replace an existing packaging line that dates back to 2007. For now, the 2016 line accepts the output of all four Rommelag machines. Since each of these blow/fill/seal systems is capable of 20,000 individual bottlepacks/hr, the Marchesini equipment has to be mighty capable, to say the least. Helpful, as we’ll see in a minute, is a clever buffering system at the very beginning of the 2016 line, which is the line we’ll look at in this story.
