Wrapping machine for cubes and tablets

THERE is growing demand for convenience foods worldwide, including Africa, where producers have had to set up production systems that correlate to changing lifestyles. This is why the region becoming the main market for the BCW3 high performances wrapping machines from Theegarten-Pactec, and more than two-thirds of these machines are in operation in Africa, where food producers predominantly use these machines to pack soup cubes and tablets for the domestic markets. 

Ease of operation and maintenance as well as high levels of reliability are features that are of course in demand in Europe, too, where 20% of all machines have been sold since this model was introduced in 1995. Another key market is South America with a 10% share.

Machine number 100
The 100^th BCW3 has left Dresden with its destination in Africa at the end of 2011. It is the combination of high tech performance and sturdy technology that makes this model highly attractive for emerging economies: even in a demanding production environment, this wrapping machine meets the highest quality expectations. It can process up to 1,200 pieces per minute.

The BCW3 allows double-point end fold and bottom fold for cubes and also envelope fold for tablets. A unit for an integrated pull strip (easy opening) is an option that can be integrated.
Originating from the U1 series that gained a reputation for dependable and well-engineered mechanics over four decades, the BCW3 is characterised by a unique sturdiness. Another benefit is the two-lane design which means that the high output quantity is subjected to less stress compared to a one-lane machine. The machine is also equipped with a touch screen monitor as standard.

Product-friendly processing is another quality feature of this model. As the required minimum firmness is constantly being reduced, even very soft pieces can be processed with this machine due to the option of electronic product separation. This option is also available for processing cubes, thus enabling the producers to wrap highly sensitive products in all format ranges.

Optimising the design
The engineers from Dresden are constantly working on optimising the model and opening up new markets. Within the scope of a joint project between Theegarten-Pactec and one of its customers, the wrapping of products has been converted from composite-layer film to mono- layer film because with the new mono-layer film a 25 per cent cost reduction in purchasing could be achieved. A second measure was the conversion from envelope fold to double point end fold, which reduced the consumption of wrapping material by 20 per cent.

At its launch, the BCW3 operated at 1,200 cycles/minute for cubes and tablets which is already far above the commercially available limit of 900 cycles. The next milestone is about to be reached: currently 20 machines are operating in a test environment processing cubes at a speed of 1,500 pieces per minute.