SternMaid Invests in Additional Co-packing Lines
SternMaid, one of Europe’s leading contract manufacturers, has commissioned a new, fully automatic can filling line for powdered and granulated products at its facility in Wittenburg, Germany. A tray and wrap-around packer and a buckling-arm palletizer have also been installed. The equipment enables the contract manufacturer and co-packing specialist to handle up to 90 cans per minute, greatly increasing the plant’s filling and packaging capacities. SternMaid has invested some Eur750,000 in this enlargement.
The can line is designed for filling food supplements and granulated, extruded or powdered foods into composite (wound), tin or plastic containers. SternMaid can fill different sizes from 50 to 5,000 grams. A wrap-around unit with downstream automatic palletizing is available for subsequent packaging. It places flat, ready-cut cardboard wraps around the cans and sticks the latter to a fully enclosed fibreboard box with tear-off perforation or a tray, according to the customer’s specification. On request, the trays can be protected against dust with a wrapping of PE film, applied to the product directly in the heat tunnel. The wrap-around unit can pack about 20 boxes per minute in this way.
Mark Riemer, Commercial Director of SternMaid, comments: “Not only do these new investments increase our capacities in the co-packing sector; they also make us much more flexible. In the past, we only had one fully automatic can filling line, and in the event of a longer breakdown we would not have been able to make up for its output with the existing semi-automatic lines. What is more, we can now carry out even large orders in a short time. And the design of the plant is such that we don’t need separate parts to accommodate different can diameters. That means we can offer new can sizes faster and more cost-effectively. To meet the increasing demand for filling into plastic tubs, the necessary features like an induction heating tunnel for the lid membranes and the relevant closing and labelling equipment are already at the implementation stage.”
Besides manufacturing powdered foods, food ingredients and food supplements and active pharmaceutical ingredients and excipients on a contract basis, SternMaid blends and processes special ingredients for baby food, vitamin mixtures and OTC products. In all, eight different blending lines are available to meet all manner of different requirements. This range of equipment is complemented by a fluid bed processor for gentle drying, agglomeration, coating, instantization and granulation. With warehousing, co-packing, logistics and purchasing, the contract manufacturer offers a full range of services all from one source.
