MU May / June 2015

42 MACHINERY UPDATE MAY/JUNE 2015 www.machineryupdate.co.uk
Feature: Confectionery
Tray sealers are
making it simple
for confectioner
Two high output packaging lines featuring tray sealers from
Sealpac are achieving production and marketing gains for the
chocolate covered marshmallows produced by Lotte Wedel
at its historic building located in the centre of Warsaw
When Lotte Wedel invested
in tray sealing technology
for its best-selling product:
Ptasie Mleczko it worked
in close partnership
with Sealpac and its Polish distributor
Premac who designed two high output
packaging lines for its chocolate covered
marshmallows.
Ptasie Mleczko is a chocolate-covered
candy filled with soft milk soufflé
produced in high volumes with different
kinds of filling, such as chocolate, vanilla,
lemon, coconut and caramel flavour, but
always covered with a chocolate layer.
NEW PRODUCTION LINE
When Wedel first invested in a new
production line for its Ptasie Mleczko, two
open trays were stacked on top of each
other with a paper insert in between, and
then placed in a cardboard box. However,
not only did it make the chocolate covered
marshmallows vulnerable to damage,
it also meant the use of a considerable
amount of packaging materials.
An alternative packaging solution was
therefore sought.
Now, the fully automated tray sealing
system has increased overall production
efficiency while also allowing the
expensive paper insert to be dispensed
with, resulting in a more sustainable
pack. Also, the chocolate covered
marshmallows are better protected
due to the top film that is sealed to the
tray. Furthermore, shelf life is extended
compared to the previous solution.
Two double lane traysealers; an A8
and A10 are achieving this.
In the first months after installation,
Premac and Wedel put a lot of effort into
increasing the output of the lines for
Ptasie Mleczko by gradually optimising
the various steps in the production
process. After producing the chocolate
covered marshmallows according to their
secret recipe in Wedel’s kitchen, they
enter the loading zone, where they are
picked up by robot arms and loaded six
pieces at a time into the automatically
denested tray.
The trays are then transported to the
buffer zone, where they are stored until
they are handed over to the Sealpac A8
traysealer. Arriving single lane, Sealpac’s
lane divider arranges for a smooth
double-lane tray in-feed. Sealed ten trays
at a time, the sealed trays are converged
back to single lane and then loaded by
SUMMARY
SEALING AT SPEED
In operation, the tray sealers offer
a host of benefits such as…
■ Less damage to the delicate product
■ …with less packaging materials
■ Faster production speeds
■ An extended shelf life
■ Easy top film changeovers
■ Less overall downtime
■ Reduced air consumption and maintenance
robots into their cardboard secondary
packaging.
In the case of the A10 double lane
traysealer, both the in-feed and out-feed
are double lane. Here, 14 trays are sealed
in each cycle.
Both traysealers are positioned on the
first floor of the historic Wedel building
in the centre of Warsaw. As such, the
impact of the equipment on the floor had
to be calculated to see whether extra floor
support would be necessary. With the
A8 and A10 using servo technology, the
vibration impact on the floor remained