Agribusiness & Food

Concetti bags a major pet food supply contract

Concetti has supplied a new version of its twin spout IPF 40 bag filling system to a British manufacturer of premium pet food.

Concetti has supplied a new version of its twin spout IPF 40 bag filling system to a British manufacturer of premium pet food.

Flexibility, seal appearance and integrity were crucial for the customer, which sells its product in the highly competitive supermarket sector.

The IPF can handle a wide range of bag sizes from 500 grams to five kilograms. The customer uses pre-made gusseted paper and polyethylene/aluminium foil bags, which can come with handles and resealable zips, which the IPF can fill at speeds of up to 1800 bags per hour.

Packs come in all shapes and sizes, with widths ranging from 140 to 300 millimetres and lengths measuring in anywhere from 270 to 600 millimetres. Because of this, Concetti has included a variable geometry bag-holder that can adjust automatically to different sizes of packs.

Concetti has focused on delivering technological features that can improve the quality and shelf life of the product. One example is the high-definition thermal camera, which is used alongside proprietary software to detect poor or potentially faulty packs by comparing each seal against a stored standard. Imperfect seals are rejected automatically.

Related stories:

Two steered beam laser marking systems are also incorporated into the system. They analyse the bags before they are filled and look for flaws in the font, code or graphics on the design of each. Cameras can then verify if the bags in the magazine match the selected program, and if not, reject the bag before it is filled.

The IPF 40 comes with servomotor control for most parameters, allowing rapid changeovers to occur in under 90 seconds. Quick release sealing jaws mean that different bag widths can be swapped easily when necessary. Plug and socket connections with built-in recognition check the jaws match the selected program. The machine has been supplied predisposed to permit a double seal if required.

Drop through metal detectors were supplied and diverters allow residual end-of-batch product to be recovered without needing to be packed.

“Once again, Concetti demonstrates not just the product range and willingness to embrace new ideas, but also the engineering competence to integrate devices and complex solutions that match individual customers’ distinct needs,” Trevor Mitford, area sales manager says.

The system supplied to GA Petfood Partners is the first in the world to include this system for pet food.

Send this to a friend