articles - Middle East Food (MEF)

DEPARTMENTS PRODUCTS & SERVICES
SternVitamin Introduces Fluid-Bed Drying
at Vitafoods
SternVitamin’s work focuses on tailor-made micronutrients.
In close cooperation with its customers the
company develops special vitamin and mineral premixes
for fortifying foods and for use in the production
of food supplements. At Vitafoods Europe in Geneva,
SternVitamin will be demonstrating the benefits
of modern production technologies as well as the latest
innovative products from its range.
Optimum distribution of the active ingredient
Fluid-bed technology has become one of the principal
formulation methods in the food and pharmaceutical
industries. By spraying in liquids during agglomeration,
granulation or coating it is possible to determine
the exact physical and application-related attributes
of solid products. By agglomerating the nutrients with
the excipients it is possible to reliably prevent separation
during the tableting of food supplements, for
example.
Moreover, grain-formulated powder from fluid-bed
drying dissolves and disperses much more readily
in liquids than fine, spray-dried powder. It is also
High Performance with the New SmartDate® X60
Markem-Imaje has announced the global launch of
its new SmartDate X60 thermal transfer coder. Smart-
Date X60’s long life, high-speed printhead is designed
to meet the needs of customers in the most demanding,
high-volume production environments. Combining
blazing-fast performance with the SmartDate
The new SmartDate X60 thermal transfer coder transfers
more performance to customers
SternVitamin uses the new fluid-bed drying plant to produce
granulates for precise dosing
easier to handle. Because of their compact form the
granulates are simpler to dose and cause much less
dust. Another point in favor of fluid-bed technology
is gentle processing of the products. With careful
control of the drying temperatures the product is
normally only exposed to moderate heat between
40 and 70 °C. To produce granulates for precise dosing,
SternVitamin uses the new fluid-bed drying plant
at the facility of its sister company SternMaid, where
two dryers with different capacities are available.
legacy of proven reliability on thousands of packaging
lines around the world, the SmartDate X60 can print at
pack speeds of up to 1,000 mm per second at full 300
dpi resolution, according to Andy Gray, Markem-Imaje
Product Marketing Manager.
The SmartDate X60 is well suited for manufacturers
of baked items, biscuits, cakes, and pasta, as well as
chocolate and sugar confectioneries. Markem-Imaje
engineered the SmartDate X60 on the requirements
of customers like Angel Juan Perez, maintenance manager
of a bakery manufacturing plant operated by La
Flor Burgalesa in Spain, who says, “Single size packs
are an important share of our production. These are
lines that run at very high speeds and that require
high speed coders.” Gray adds, “We’ve incorporated
sensitive ‘dead dot’ detection, and the ability for customers
to avoid ‘dead-dots’ on the printed image on
line, without needing to shut down production and
change the thermal head.”
Designed to reach a high level of performance, built to
lower total costs over time, the SmartDate X60 represents
Markem-Imaje’s commitment to both its customers’
production line and their financial bottom line.
Middle East Food (MEF) April 2012 / Vol. XXVIII Issue 4
52