FDBusiness.com

With over 50 years of unrivalled sealing expertise, PA support a wide range of customers from the artisan to the multinational, from initial concepts through to installation and beyond. On stand A14, PA will be exhibiting the latest patented innovative technology in high speed tray sealing and a brand new approach to pot filling and sealing.

On display will be the flexible, fully electric SL4 Motion tray sealer which is just one machine in Packaging Automation’s portfolio that incorporates patented motion control technology. Other products boasting the same technology include the Revolution and Revolution XL machines.

The development of this ‘motion’ technology means trays can be sealed at a higher cycle rate to any comparative machine on the market. Cycle speeds of up to 22 cycles per minute can be achieved in a single lane format. These high speeds are now being demanded by customers and especially the produce market where the use of tray sealing has increased dramatically in the last 12 months. The increase in speed is due to the interpolating nature of the transfer arms working in conjunction with the in-feed and stepping conveyor allowing for a continuous feed into the seal cycle.

There are additional benefits to customers using the motion control technology, there is increased stability of packs on transfer which is much smoother than the traditional method. Product handling is gentler and movement of product inside the tray is reduced with the seamless transfer. Markets benefiting hugely from this are blueberry and cherry packers; with blueberries the machine offers high throughput but minimal movement in the tray thus not losing fruit in the transfer. Cherry packers have also seen a large reduction of ‘stalk in seal’ which is a common problem with this product when transferring and sealing on other machines in the market caused by the aggressive movements of the pack on transfer, stepping and sealing.

These features as well as many more will be demonstrated on the SL4 Motion machine being exhibited at the show.

All of PA’s tray sealing machines have the flexibility to offer all seal formats including atmospheric, gas flushing and skin packing.

A brand new product being launched at the show will be the newly designed machine in the pot filling and sealing range. Reacting to the market’s need to be able to launch products to retail quicker, the innovative design and manufacturing techniques used mean that lead times for this machine are improved by up to 40%. The machine comes with the option to run up to 3 lanes dependant on pack size meaning that customers can triple their throughputs for a similar footprint when compared to previous models.  Other innovations include the ability to cater easily to a myriad of customer specifications including multiple fills (wet and dry fill), reel fed film or pre-cut lid sealing, clip on lid over capping, date coding in whichever configuration is required.

With an advanced control system with programmable recipe control, self-diagnostics, and real time adjustment of all operating parameters including fill weights, seal time and film feed.  It is ideal for producers who want higher production speeds and the option of gas flushing for MAP packaging.  It can be used for an extensive range of products including drinks, cream, yoghurts, sauces, dips, soups and liquid desserts, nuts, cereal and confectionery.