Healthy lifestyle trend influences machine design

Speaking to FoodProductionDaily.com, Jela Grubesa, marketing manager for the equipment supplier, said that the trend for healthier lifestyles in combination with the increasing number of single person households as well as the trend towards portion packs supported Bosch’s decision to focus on packaging machinery for the fresh produce industry.

Waste reduction​

She said that Bosch’s existing flow wrapper, the Pack 201, which was designed originally to handle chocolate bars and biscuits, now has several options to prevent product damage and reduce waste, including gas flushing for the packaging prior to the filling and sealing stages in order to maintain produce freshness and reduce contamination, thus leading to extended shelf life.

And the machine's carrier chain ensures gentle feeding of difficult-to-handle fresh produce and minimization of additional heat through friction during product transport.

Downtime addressed​

Photoelectric sensors integrated in the tube tunnel guarantee that the gap between the different products, during sealing, is big enough for the sealing jaw to avoid damage of either the product or the machine: “This results in reduced product spoilage and cleaning efforts, and minimizes production stoppages for increased efficiency,”​ added the marketing manager.

Moreover, said Grubesa, the robust machine design accommodates short change-over times in a market where product types vary according to the season.

Less material usage​

She said that during the transportation of the product through the fin seal section, small support rollers on the deck plates reduce tensile load on the film, which avoids film rupture for heavy products, thus allowing manufacturers to save material costs by using thinner, more cost-effective packaging material.

Fruits and vegetables have acidic properties that can erode machinery contact parts; with this in mind, Grubesa said, the Pack 201 FV is made of stainless steel to extend the machinery’s life-cycle and enhance operational efficiency.

She said that the machine is also very easy to clean through its good accessibility, minimisation of parts, as well as the extra protective measures against water intrusion.

Grubesa added that the upgraded equipment has a modular design to allow for the integration of other processing and packaging modules, with minimal engineering effort.