CASE STUDY ANIMAL FEED & PET FOOD

ACROPAC-T – A FLAGSHIP MACHINE
FOR THE PACKAGING OF POWDERY PRODUCTS

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ACROPAC-T – A flagship machine for the packaging of powdery products

ACROPAC-T –

A FLAGSHIP MACHINE

for the packaging of various powdery and dusty products

aging line consisting of ACROPAC-T and PRINCIPAL-R convinces with reliability and flexibility. Together with Global Packaging Automation Ltd., an exciting project has been implemented in the UK for Alltech UK Ltd.

Acropac bags come out on the conveyor belt

THE REQUIREMENTS

A flexible and reliable packaging machine for different powdery products and neatly arranged pallets

One packaging machine for numerous different feed additives
Output between 250 and 500 bags per hour
Filling weight 25 kg
Move to fully automatic palletizing with one palletizer for the different bags
Fully automatic pallet securing

THE SOLUTION

For packaging: the ACROPAC-T (T stands for dusttight filling spout) was chosen because of the lower capacity requirements and the powdery and dusty products For palletizing: the PRINCIPAL-R robotic palletizer is the perfect complement to the ACROPAC-T and is ideal for the customer requirements due to its high flexibility

Open-mouth bagging machine ACROPAC-T
Net weighers with screw dosing for product feeding
PRINCIPAL-R for neatly arranged pallets
Stretch hooder for pallet securing

The previous fully automatic packaging system for natural feed additives had become too slow and the company still relied on manual palletizing.
Pallet securing was also shifted to a fully automatic solution in the course of the project. The new bagging machines should package numerous products and recipes in pillow bags, therefore, the high flexibility of the machine was of significant importance.

Alltech UK Ltd. was founded in 1980 in Lincolnshire with a vision. Today, a global team of more than 6,000 people around the globe share this vision of the preservation and nutrition of plants, animals and people of the world.

The new fully automatic bagging machine for natural feed additives was required to be faster and more reliable than the old one. Additionally, the customer wanted to use one machine only for the packaging of all products and recipes. Not an easy task with so many different products.

Since palletizing was done manually before, the requirement for the new robot palletizer was particularly neatly arranged pallets. Thanks to decades of experience of STATEC BINDER and Barry Hobson (Global Packaging Automation Ltd.), Alltech UK Ltd. decided to assign the project to the Austrian company.

“When we started our quest to find a solution for, what is a complex and long-standing packaging issue, we wish we had known about STATEC BINDER at that time. STATEC BINDER worked with us as a partner and solution provider in the true sense of the meaning. We shared a combined vision of what success meant to us.” says Hal Gervis, Director of Operations Europe at Alltech UK Ltd. “We now have a solution that will provide the basis of our operational performance in bagging the finished product for years to come. This has been achieved in partnership and collaboration with STATEC BINDER and could have only been achieved with a business relationship of this type.”

“The customer gave us 13 products for testing purposes. After a few tests, the ACROPAC, equipped with a dust-proof filling spout, has proved to achieve the required performance by reaching an output of 250 to 500 bags per hour, depending on the nature of the product. Especially the product feeding had to be ideal for all products – whether they were dusty, greasy, or finely powdered products of the customer, which all show different flowing properties. That is why we decided to use a net weigher with screw dosing. Two screws, one with main feed and the other one with triple feed, ensure the optimal product feeding.” states Paul Piantino, Sales Manager at STATEC BINDER GmbH.

The extensions of the packaging machine, for example, the bag top de-aeration unit or the labeling of the bags, as well as the additional control equipment (metal detector and check weighers) used before the bags are finally palletized, comply with the requirements of the customer. The PRINCIPAL-R was chosen for palletizing because it can position the bags in an overlapping arrangement and because of its low space requirements. Before the palletizing starts, a cover sheet made from paper or a plastic film from the roll is placed on the empty pallet. At the end of the packaging line, a stretch hooder was additionally installed.

„Working with our project partners (Alltech UK Ltd and Global Packaging Ltd) was excellent and on a cooperative level. Today, Alltech is very satisfied with the packaging line, which reinforces us in what we do in our daily business. Thanks to a good maintenance through our customer, the packaging line still stands as a flagship machine for different and especially powdery products.“ states the project manager from STATEC BINDER.

Statec Binder Assembly Hall robot palletizer Principal-R

REFERENCES CASE STUDIES

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