Aseptic fillers target improved production speed

SIG Combibloc says that the its new CFA 124 and CFA 724 machines can fill carton at speeds of 24,000 packs an hour and are already in use by some of the world's leading dairy processors including Friesland Foods and china-based Mengniu Dairy Industry. The manufacturer claims that with food processors increasingly under pressure to offset higher materials costs, the fillers can provide significant improvements in production efficiency. Both machines have been designed with a servo drive system to allow for better control of the production process as well six tracks instead of the four used in the group's other fillers to speed up filling, according to the company. These additions also require little additional plant space or manpower to operate compared to the company's previous models, SIG Combibloc said. The group claims that the machines expanded capacity can reduce total operating and investment costs on a unit basis. Volume applications ​ According to the company, the CFA 124 system can be used to fill 125ml, 150ml, 200ml and 250ml carton packs. The CFA 724 offers an expanded number of volume applications ranging from 150ml, 200ml, 250ml, 300ml, 330ml and 350ml cartons. SIG Combibloc claims that both devices allow a processors to adjust the fillers' capacity in a few steps, which can then be set using the onboard touch screen monitor to maintain efficiency during changeover.