Machinery News

1 October 2012




Benson Box buys first Heidelberg

Printed carton supplier Benson Group has installed a Diana X115 folder gluer from Heidelberg at its Bardon UK plant, which specialises primarily in food packaging.

Mike Owens, general manager of Benson Box, says: “We took a range of jobs to Heidelberg in Germany to check the Diana X115 could achieve the required speed at the right quality level. It could, and we also liked the Autoset and memory features, which will significantly reduce set-up times. We should see a three-fold increase in output across the carton styles for which this machine was targeted.”

Benson Box increasingly handles four-corner, six-corner and crashlock cartons. Retailers and their designers are spear-heading the move to more complex packaging products, putting suppliers with the most modern equipment in pole position.

The company has a number of folder gluers but this is the first it has bought from Heidelberg, having been a regular purchaser of Speedmaster press technology, most recently ordering a second Speedmaster XL 106, which has an output of 46 million impressions a year, while at Drupa.

The Diana X115 is available in many versions, offering high flexibility and productivity. For instance, a braille module or inline inspection can be added. Handling a full range of material, it is said to be ideal for both short and long run lengths with its short and efficient set-up times and potential running speed of over 200,000 cartons/hour at speeds of up to 650m/min.

Crown launches Smart Capper

The Smart Capper is the latest addition to Crown Food Europe’s capping portfolio for food and beverage packaging, which includes the High-Speed Capper, the Global Capper and the EuroCapper.

The new system helps reduce downtime and is said to be ideal for small and medium size manufacturers requiring quick and easy cap and glass size changeovers.

The machine can run at up to 150 caps/min, and can be operated at a speed adapted (via an electronic link) to the rest of the production line.

Effective removal of metal contaminants

Wear and tear on processing machinery can cause contamination from metal particles, often very small, into the product during the production process. The simplest method of removing metal that can be magnetised is to use an array of strong permanent magnets. However, as most food processing equipment is made of stainless steel, an extremely strong magnetic field is needed to remove all metallic contamination.

Liquimag from S+S Inspection uses rare earth neodymium magnets producing a very high magnetic flux density of 13,700 gauss to attract and hold the smallest magnetic particles, even some stainless steel grades. The units are certified for ATEX Zone 0 operation while the solid stainless steel construction is fully compliant with all IFS, HACCP and BRC requirements.

Originally designed for use with liquids, the system has proved equally effective with viscous products and pastes, such as jams, pâtés and ketchup, and many non-food products.

Trident gains GS1 certification

Trident Industrial Inkjet has achieved GS1 Standards Solution Certification for demonstrated reliability in the inkjet printing of high quality barcodes.

The impulse ink jet printhead employs a piezoelectric crystal that changes shape when an electric field is applied across it. This allows it to produce high quality GS1 128 symbols encoded with variable information.

“Trident is proud to have achieved this prestigious GS1 certification,” comments Des O´Neill, European business manager at Trident. “We are firmly committed to producing technologies capable of printing consistent, verifiable, readable and cost-effective GS1 barcodes. This certification will enable our OEM partners to deliver complete printing systems, employing Trident printheads and ink, to the end-use market secure in the knowledge that these components have met strict GS1 criteria for superior barcode production.”

New portable printer from TSC Auto

TSC Auto ID has added a robust but lightweight portable thermal label printer, the Alpha-3R, to its range. This new model for on-demand printing features a high capacity 7.4V/2500mAh rechargeable lithium ion battery that is guaranteed to last for more than 12 hours. Ultra clear LED displays provide a clear view of the remaining charge at all times. The weight of the printer, with battery, is only 550g, so it can easily be worn on a belt for extended periods.

A 32-bit RISC CPU high speed processor allows printing speeds of up to 102mm/sec at a resolution of 203dpi. It has a maximum printing length of 2,286mm and can process media rolls of up to an outer diameter of 57mm.

Pleats add style to wet wipe packs

Improved rigidity for wet wipes packs, giving enhanced appearance and better access to the contents can now be achieved with a new system available on flow wrappers built by Italian manufacturer PFM Packaging Machinery.

Developed from the four-side-seal technology employed to create the PFM Steelo stand-up bags on vertical form-fill-seal machinery, the system in this case operates horizontally instead, sealing the film back-to-back to create four 10mm deep pleats running the entire length of the pack.

“The result is a stylish, distinctive pack and one that the consumer can access much more easily as the contents are used up,” points out PFM sales and operations director Chris Bolton.

Wet wipe packs in the new style can be produced using the PFM Scirocco and other PFM flow wrappers on which film cutting stations are also fitted to create an aperture followed by application of either plastics lids or pressure sensitive closure labels.


Benson Group's new Diana X115 folder gluer from Heidelberg Diana X115 Smart Capper from Crown Crown TSC Auto ID's new lightweight portable thermal label printer TSC Liquimag from S+S uses rare earth neodymium magnets to attract and hold the smallest magnetic particles S+S GS1 Standards Solution Certification for Trident Trident Improved rigidity for wet wipes packs available on flow wrappers from PFM PFM

Crown Crown
TSC TSC
S+S S+S
PFM PFM
Trident Trident
Diana X115 Diana X115


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