Dairy - what packaging machine do I need?
Paramount Packaging Systems, along with Fuji Machinery & Co., have a large install base and many years of experience in providing flow wrapping systems to cheese producers in the UK and Ireland.
During this time, we have identified the Fuji horizontal flow wrapper to be the ultimate machine for packaging dairy products.
In this blog, we’ll look at the key benefits of packing cheese using a Fuji horizontal flow wrapper and what makes it so popular with customers.
Fastest on the market
Fuji’s box motion end seal is the fastest on the market and can produce fully sealed packs at up to 200 packs per minute. For processed cheese that does not require a gas tight pack, it can reach speeds of over 300 per minute.
Environmentally-friendly
The Fuji horizontal flow wrapper uses the least amount of packaging material required to pack a product.
It can run recyclable, biodegradable and compostable materials on the same machine, with just a temperature and tension change required, which the machine does automatically once programmed.
Handles different products well
We have developed multiple solutions for packing cheese in its various formats with Fuji, ranging from extruded cheese-shaped dinosaurs weighing 20 grams, to 15kg Euro blocks packed for further ripening, and everything in between.
Blunt, sensitive and heavy products, in particular, benefit from the Fuji "attachless" infeed system. The inverted type horizontal flow wrapper synchronises the infeed belt and the packaging, while film is unwound from below. This means products are carried through the packaging process on the film, with the longitudinal fin sealers above the product, and with our box motion end sealer, strong seals are produced, which is required for MAP packs.
Easy product changeover
The Fuji horizontal flow wrapper allows flexibility on the product range, as it makes product changeover so easy.
Once the next product to be packed is selected from the list on the HMI, the machine makes electronic changes, such as heater temperatures and set speed, then the operator simply follows the user prompts on the HMI, making the mechanical changes to infeed guides, forming box and jaw height, against a pictorially-based scale screen. A complete product change can be accomplished in under 5 minutes.
Automated
Automation can easily be added, connecting a flow wrapper directly to a portioner or processed cheese production line.
Increases product shelf life
The Fuji horizontal flow wrapper packages the cheese to preserve its hygiene and freshness, which increase its shelf life and ensures the consumer receives the product in optimal condition.
Easy-to-open packaging
The packaging material used can be a high barrier film for Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP), shrink film or a film with an inbuilt easy open-reclosable function.
Cheese blocks, half wheels or wedges can be easily handled on a horizontal flow wrapper and packed in standard pillow type packs, shrink packs and 3 side or 4 side seal packs (mainly for sliced cheese). All the packs can be MAP and allow the addition of an easy open-reclose feature accomplished by adding a zipper, reseal label or adhesive type reclose using tape or glue.
Product innovation
For one recent installation, Paramount entered into a development contract with a customer who required a 5kg deli block to be packed in a gas flushed, fully sealed shrink pack; not the easiest packaging format to produce, but the Paramount team enjoy a challenge!
We set up a stock wrapper to prove the process, with the addition of their soft-vacuum system and a hot air curtain. The wrapper was tested and inspected by the customer, with the results being exactly what they were looking for. The machine was delivered and installed with a few final tweaks and straight into full production, replacing a manual bag and vacuum process, doubling the throughput of the line and removing the manual handling of the blocks completely.
Thanks to the extraordinary Fuji format flexibility, Paramount’s flow pack machines are perfectly equipped to pack both small pieces of cheese and 15kg Euro blocks.
If your business is looking to increase production capacity or has a challenging new packaging format you need help with, contact Paramount Packaging Systems on 01252 815 252 or fuji@paramount-packaging.co.uk.