A Tight Fit

27 October 2009



As mail order and Internet sales started to grow, UK company Friedheim International seized the opportunity to distribute Beck Packautomaten shrink wrapping machinery and Pfankuch Maschinen feeders, which were seen at the recent PPMA show in Birmingham. Maureen Byrne reports


Friedheim has been in business for 125 years, starting life as a graphic arts business. With the growth in Internet and mail order sales, the demand for shrink wrapped products also grew, and the company decided to distribute a reliable line of shrink wrapping machines to the UK market, choosing German manufacturer Beck to partner with.

Subsequently, the company took note of the growth in promotional materials being inserted into packaging, and decided to distribute feeders and wrapping machines made by Pfankuch, another German manufacturer.

“The Beck range of machines can wrap virtually anything from blankets and shirts to DVDs and books. It can even wrap tyres and front doors,” says managing director Peter Morris.

Niels Haussmann, sales and marketing manager at Beck explains: “The Serienpacker machines wrap packages on all four sides very tightly and neatly. They use two rolls of flat film without a form shoulder, which causes less static. They are medium speed machines: for example they can pack magazines at speeds of up to 70 a minute.

“We use recyclable materials on the machines, and we can even use biodegradable film, although there is not so much demand at the moment due to price,” says Mr Haussmann.

The biggest market for the company is currently paper graphics, as in books, stationery and cards; but the variety of shapes and sizes of products that can be shrink wrapped is boundless.

Pfankuch

On the PPMA exhibition stand, a machine for applying promotional neck collars to bottles was on show - one of a large range of options from Pfankuch, explains Stuart Bamford, sales manager for Friedheim’s Post Press Division.

“The machines are bespoke, and can handle applications such as feeding promotional leaflets into packs of all sorts, or silicon sachets into electronics, for example. If you tell Pfankuch what you want, they will do it,” says Mr Bamford.

The Pfankuch ASB feeder head offered by the company is used for automated separation, counting and feeding of flat products in numerous areas worldwide. ASB feeder heads operate on a top load, bottom feed friction principle.

The variety of Pfankuch ASB models offers different feeder dimensions for processing product sizes up to 575mm wide. The horizontal delivery is height adjustable, and different delivery lengths are available.

“Accuracy and speed are the biggest advantages of the feeders,” explains Mr Bamford. “They come in all sizes and are very reliable and highly thought of.”

Pfankuch also offers film wrapping machines, which are distributed by Friedheim. The Pfankuch collating and OPP film wrapping line is modular, and is proven in various applications worldwide. Typical product applications are telephone cards, stickers and labels, office supply articles and promotional inserts. The upper and lower film feed allows processing of different film qualities and film combinations from 15-35 micron, and various sealing alternatives are available.

To complete the range, Pfankuch has a high speed cutting and feeding machine, the Cut’N-Feed ASB-175 cutter. This is used for synchronised high speed feeding of bandoleer packed promotional items into or onto packaging applications. The cut and feed signal is initiated by printed marks or by sensing the compressed seam seal between the packs. Non-stop production of up to 20,000 items or more is possible, depending on the product size and container volume.

This machine is already in use for putting 3D novelties into cereal and baking kit packs. It is also suitable for sachets filled with drying agents, sugar, salt, spices, liquids and pastes in food packs as well as liquid absorbers in meat packaging trays.


The Beck Serienpacker SX wraps packages on all four sides tightly and neatly Beck The Pfankuch ASB BNA Bottle Neck Inspector is available from Friedheim International Pfankuch

Pfankuch Pfankuch
Beck Beck


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