Low voltage heating is premier sealing solution

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Jun 3, 2004

By replacing its conventional hot-wire sealing system with low voltage heating technology, Premier [International] Foods has cut the maintenance requirements of its shrink-wrap machines by 90%.

By replacing its conventional hot-wire sealing system with Ceetak's ingenious low voltage heating technology, Premier [International] Foods has cut the maintenance requirements of its shrink-wrap machines by 90%.

The reliance of food processors on continuous production flows, as opposed to batch processes, has meant few can afford excessive downtime and the associated effect it has on productivity.

As Rick West, Packaging Manager at Premier [International] Foods, points out, these delays can be extremely expensive.

"We run a continuous process, from the cooking vessels all the way through to the packaging at the other end".

"So if there is a problem, the entire line stops".

"These delays can be very expensive as they can spoil foodstuffs".

"Continuous production flows are therefore very important".

Towards the end of 2002, Premier [International] Foods retrofitted 18 of its MS 30 Learner shrink-wrap machines with an ingenious constant heat-sealing solution from Ceetak, Europe's leading innovator of packaging technology.

The move was intended to safeguard the company's packaging and processing operations against downtime and excessive maintenance stoppages.

Ceetak's LVH (low voltage heating) system replaced Premier [International] Foods' original cut-and-seal tool that relied on a cold-cut knife and hot-wire heater arrangement.

The outdated and temperamental sealing method was prone to stoppages and often halted output.

"When the cold-cut blade got damaged, we would have to strip the machine out to replace it", says West.

"This could take up to an hour".

"The sealing element would also burn out, so we'd have to refurbish the machine and that would take a further half an hour".

"When we averaged it out over a week, the maintenance amounted to an hour for every sealing machine and, therefore, an hour downtime for each production line".

As Premier [International] Foods' Canning Division at Long Sutton, Lincolnshire consists of 20 production lines producing everything from canned vegetables to breakfast fruits, the maintenance burden associated with the original system equated to nearly a day every week.

Not surprisingly, Premier [International] Foods was keen to replace the maintenance-intensive sealing unit.

"The idea was to introduce the LVH systems in order to reduce our maintenance requirements and associated downtime".

"By doing so, the LVH system would provide us with a rapid payback, which I am glad to say has been the case".

Premier [International] Foods initially opted for Ceetak's LVH system because of the ease with which it could be incorporated into the company's existing shrink-wrap machines.

However, the system's tough alloy blade also delivers accurate sealing and cutting, as well as minimising maintenance downtime.

This, along with the LVH's pre-assembled power supply, simple mounting and compatible controllers made it ideal for Premier [International] Foods's retrofitting project.

"Replacing the conventional hot-wire seal bar with Ceetak's sealing blade helped us reduce downtime and achieve a much smoother operation", says West.

"We didn't really set targets as the whole project was more about preventive maintenance, which is far better than following a fire-fighting policy".

"Now, the machines require 20 minutes of maintenance each month".

This represents an astonishing 90% reduction in maintenance requirements.

"We have nothing like the stoppages we had before", he concludes.

"The LVH is more efficient than the old system and has given us less downtime and fewer maintenance headaches".