For Haver & Boecker, sustainability is crucial to its day-to-day operations. ABHR examines how the concept defines the company’s technology, packing solutions, and dedicated Australian division.
Sustainability is the name of the game for many in the bulk handling industry, but for Haver & Boecker, the concept drives everything from product development to technical support.
When the company launched its Planet Blue campaign, it had a simple mission: offer smart solutions and technology to improve its clients’ sustainability and overall business efficiency and productivity.
“Whether you’re a producer of cement or other building products, chemicals or food, you will be looking for more sustainable solutions,” Haver & Boecker Australia sales engineer Alexandre Santi told ABHR.
“We’re trying to improve the living conditions of humanity through our technologies and services as much as we can. This way of thinking is good for our customers as well if they want to become more efficient in their processes and help the environment.”
The company has made its reputation in developing tailored packing, storage, and palletising solutions for manufacturers of bulk handling powders globally. It also creates dry mix solutions, including full dry mix plants. In Australia, Haver & Boecker’s dedicated local operations have been partnering with local businesses for more than ten years.
Its Planet Blue campaign has put an ongoing focus on key areas of Haver & Boecker’s product design. Minimising product loss by ensuring customers can process, pack, store and deliver goods safely, efficiently, and effectively minimises CO2 emissions and waste throughout the supply chain.
ADAMS technology
The company’s ADAMS originated from a Haver & Boecker client who needed a packing bag that could handle the UK’s weather conditions.
The resulting PE bag, designed by Haver & Boecker for durability and weather resistance, ensures that if the bagged product is stored in an unprotected area, it remains safe. By reducing loss and wastage, the product’s carbon footprint is minimised.
ADAMS technology combines form-fill-seal (FFS) technology with conventional filling technology. Tubular PE bags are fed via a roll into the machine. The machine cuts, welds, and shapes the bag for maximum fill before feeding it to the filling spout. The clean filling process uses a vibrating lance and vibrating table to extract air from the bag before welding, delivering a completely sealed bag ready for compact transport and storage.
The bag’s corner seals and gusset design are easier to open and ensure all of the product can be removed from the bag.
Santi said ADAMS is ideal for bulk-handling companies working with dry-mix products. Research from Haver & Boecker revealed customers who used the ADAMS bags had up to four times better shelf life compared to other products. Company data also showed that ADAMS bags had the highest filling degree compared to competitors on the market.
Working to improve the circular economy, the Haver & Boecker Institute plays an important role towards more sustainable solutions. The world’s largest and most comprehensive technical institute for filling in the world works closely with bag manufacturers to develop more sustainable PE film, focusing on the use of recycled materials as much as possible. The bags themselves can also be recycled.
“We’re heavily invested in research and development and collaborate closely with bag manufacturers around the world to design and make the best, most eco-friendly bag we can,” Santi said.
SEAL technology
In bulk handling, your bag can effectively be your business card. It needs to look good, be compact, clean, and fully enclosed to ensure bulk material is handled safely with no loss of product.
These factors and feedback from the industry led to Haver & Boecker creating its SEAL technology, another enhancement to the sustainability of the supply chain. After the bag is automatically or manually placed on the filling tube, the bag holder fixes the bag and a pneumatic sensor checks whether the bag is correctly placed, and in the correct position. The activation of the inflatable sleeve seals the bag valve during filling and ensures that no product escapes between the bag valve and the filling tube during the filling process. After filling, the upright bag is pushed from the filling tube into the sealing position. This process ensures that no product escapes from the still-open bag valve.
The bag valve is then closed via ultrasonic sealing by pressing the anvil against the sonotrode, heating and closing the valve with a high frequency of 20,000 Hz in around 0.5 seconds. After the sealing process, the ultrasonic sealing unit opens, returns to the initial position and releases the bag for discharge and a new cycle can begin.
The result is clean, well-presented bags, with no product loss and high weight accuracy, with data showing the technology reduces dust by 30 per cent. This translates to better health and safety for customers and staff, protecting them from issues like silica. It also ensures the packaging is safe from contaminants during filling, transport, and storage.
Santi said companies in the bulk-handling powder sectors, including cement and building materials, chemicals and food would benefit from this approach.
“Our SEAL kit, which can be retrofitted, means much cleaner filling, which reduces the spillage of product and increases product protection,” he said.
“Ultimately, no matter the scale of your operation or budget, we are here to help our customers find the very best packing solution for their product and chosen bag type – whether that be valve, FFS or big bags,” Santi said.