To meet the demands of an evergrowing market, increasingly demanding in terms of quality and safety, Empresas Polar, one of the leading food companies in Venezuela invests in extremely versatile and innovative production processes and systems.
To keep up with changing consumer demands, the Caracas-based company must in fact equip itself with machinery that ensures operational flexibility of the plants and advanced automation of production processes.
The CSK 40 T ERGON automatic packaging machine supplied by SMI is the ideal solution for packaging Pampero brand glass tomato paste bottles, in practical bundles with tray and shrink film, a practical, appealing “packaging” that is highly appreciated by consumers.
Quality, practicality and flexibility
Empresas Polar is particularly attentive to the level of quality of its products, eco-sustainability, safety and efficiency of the systems and the reduction of management and maintenance costs of the operating structures.
Starting from these needs and from the request of the Caracas company to package the glass ketchup bottles in practical and resistant bundles with tray and shrink film, SMI’s designers proposed a shrink wrapper from the CSK ERGON series, a versatile and efficient packaging solution, together with the handling systems for incoming bulk bottles and outgoing packs.
The CSK ERGON series is the ideal solution for the automatic packaging of food products in different formats and methods; the model installed at the Valencia plant packs 198 g and 397 g glass containers in 6×4 tray + film bundles and is prepared for the future packaging of the 567 g and 1000 g bottles in 4×3 and 3×2 formats respectively, always with tray + film.
The tray support is the most suitable choice for glass bottles, as it ensures greater robustness and practicality of the package both during palletizing and during handling and storage in stores.
Empresas Polar’s decision to invest in the purchase of a new packaging machine revolves around the need to increase the performance of the current Pampero ketchup production line; the machine model supplied by SMI ensures high flexibility and automation of production processes, fundamental factors for responding promptly to market demands.
In addition, the compactness of the CSK series ensures optimal use of existing logistics space and easy use by operators during plant operation and maintenance activities. These characteristics have already been widely tested and appreciated by the Venezuelan company since 2009, the year in which SMI supplied Empresas Polar with a shrink wrapper from the LSK ERGON series, together with a DV 500 ERGON model divider.
SMI solutions for Empresas Polar
For the packaging process of Pampero brand bottles, Empresas Polar relied on the experience of SMI, with which it had already collaborated in 2009 for the supply of a packaging machine.
The CSK 40 T ERGON series shrink wrapper, recently installed in the Venezuelan company’s Valencia plant, is the ideal solution for tray + film packaging of glass ketchup bottles and stands out for its operational flexibility and ease of format changeover.
The choice of this model appeared to be the most suitable solution to optimize the end-of-line secondary packaging process, thanks to specific features such as advanced automation, versatility of use, low energy consumption and respect for the environment.
PACKER CSK 40 T ERGON
Key features:
• Compact and ergonomic design
• Carton magazine positioned under the infeed belt, from where the cardboard blanks are picked up by means of an alternating movement sheeter consisting of a group of suction cups with a vacuum suction system
• Curvilinear cardboard climbing in the initial and final section, to facilitate the insertion of the cardboard pad
• Very smooth product infeed system for easy channeling of loose bottles on the conveyor belt equipped with thermoplastic chains with low friction coefficient
• Grouping of bulk containers in the desired format continuously
• Film cutting unit with a compact design, with high-precision film cutting operations thanks to the brushless “direct-drive” direct drive motor
• Simplified maintenance operations thanks to the ergonomic design of the machine
• Smitec ICOS motors equipped with integrated digital servo-drive (driver), able to simplify the wiring of the machine and ensure greater energy efficiency, less noise and reduced wear of the components
• The model installed at Empresas Polar mounts an optional additional 1,150mm belt, positioned at the exit of the tunnel, for rapid cooling of the packages and better aesthetic quality of the package itself
• Machine supplied with other optional devices, such as the output product stabiliser and the bottle presence verification system installed upstream.
CONVEYORS
Key features:
• Smooth handling of loose bottles and tray+film packs
• Simple and intuitive human-machine interface
• Simplified maintenance
• Reduced format changeover times for the transition from one production to another.
• Efficient accumulation system between the shrink-wrapper outlet and the palletiser inlet.
