To meet this demand Langen Packaging’s latest BREEZE™ and VENTO™ are offered in intermittent and continuous motion versions (respectively) and feature servo driven movements and quick change features that are fundamentally important to improving manufacturing efficiency and bottom line.
Case Study - Gable-Top Style
Langen recently delivered stainless steel cartoners to two ready-meal producers sporting features attractive to their business and marketing goals. One cartoner was delivered to a Californian producer of rice-based ready-meals and incorporated a stainless steel bucket conveyor, PLC control with statistical and diagnostic reporting as well as gable-top tooling. This producer keenly promotes the health attributes of their product and the billboard-like surface of the cartons allows striking graphics and important information to be prominently displayed. To ensure preservation of the package’s all important visual appeal, the carton lugs in the product path actually carry the carton rather than drag it along the chain where it could be damaged. The gable-top tooling creates a structural presentation that distinguishes the range of this producer’s products from those of its competitors. The entry-level cartoner is based on a standard design that allows it to be offered at an attractive price-point for emerging manufacturers in the 80-100 CPM bracket.
Case Study - Tapered Carton Style
The second installation is characterised by a microwavable meal that is packed into a tapered carton. When a number of the tapered cartons are stacked on retail shelves a sort of pagoda-like structure is formed drawing attention to the display. However, the tapered design presented challenges during the carton erection stage due to the speed and unusual geometry. The rice-based product, itself packed in bags, is manually loaded at a rate of 60 CPM on a stainless steel product path with specially-designed tapered transport lugs. The tapered lugs serve two purposes: to protect the graphics on the surface of the carton by carrying it, and to accommodate the tapered sides. The product rate challenge was overcome by using a double pitch indexing belt and angled carton magazine with dual feeder. Once positioned in the lugs the carton tops wanted to form an arch; a special device was developed to ensure that the hexagonally-shaped carton blank was formed into a proper tapered carton.
For all ready-meal manufacturers ease of maintenance and price are as important as attracting customers to their section of the retail space. A key aspect of the new Langen cartoners is the lower parts count, which is the result of lean engineering and customer interaction, the BREEZE™ and VENTO™ have 25% fewer parts than the Chinook, and the Chinook already boasts ½ the parts count of traditional cartoners. Lower parts counts lead to more competitive pricing and easier maintenance.
Both the BREEZE™ and VENTO™ are ideal for more standard cartoning applications in the food (including fresh, frozen and prepared) and consumer goods sectors, while retaining the attractive and practical features of the Chinook, including full stainless steel construction, servo driven movements and quick change over features including pre-sized templates for carton blank size changes. The fall-through design is welcomed by customers looking for hygienic qualities.
• BREEZE™ - up to 80 cartons/min in intermittent motion; carton sizes in a 7.5 and 15” pitch
• VENTO™ - up to 450 cartons/min in continuous motion; carton sizes up to a 9” pitch
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