Equipment

Müller has installed a Rose Forgrove high-speed Integra flow-wrapper at its Market Drayton repackaging operation, in order to meet increased demand while keeping labour costs down.

Over the last five years demand at the plant has increased from 60m to 400m pots/year. Müller’s previous hand-packing system would have necessitated a significant investment in labour in order to meet demand, reducing the firm’s competitiveness.

The Integra flow-wrapper is capable of 80 wraps/min and complements Müller’s four existing Rose Forgrove Merlin flow-wrappers and single Minerva flow-wrapper.

Gary Highfield, Müller’s raw material and repackaging production manager, said: “It is Rose Forgrove’s responsiveness that keeps us coming back to them for machinery and, in this case, because of its adaptive and advanced programming, the Integra was successfully added to the existing portfolio of Rose Forgrove flow-wrap machines.”

A modem connection between Rose Forgrove’s Nottingham office and the Integra has reduced the need for service calls by allowing simple software problems to be debugged remotely. Pack quality has also been improved because the machine’s jaw-motion traps less air inside the packaging. Also, the Integra’s gull-wing main door gives easy access for maintenance.

Other features that have improved the flow-wrapping line are product sensors, an automatic film-splice device and a lot number print and verify device.

The Integra can be used across a wide range of product sizes, giving Müller the flexibility to handle future products.