New bagger brings sweet rewards
Apr 17, 2008Matrix was recently featured in the April 2008 issue of Packaging World magazine showcasing their vertical form fill seal system for Windy Acres, a candy and nuts manufacturer.
The constant breakdowns and the introduction of a bigger bag led Windy Acres to invest in the G Series Mercury from Matrix Packaging Machinery. The new vf/f/s machine can handle bag widths from 2 to 11 in. and bag lengths from 3 to 15.75 in. at speeds up to 130 cycles/min. Windy Acres runs the Mercury at 50 bags/min—up from 32 bags/min on the previous machine—to keep it in synch with the printer.
Windy Acres is thrilled with the Mercury's performance: "It's faster and easier to operate, and it doesn't take up much room," says English. The machine runs so fast, in fact, that an extra person is needed to dump product into the bin if the level gets too low. "Before we installed the Matrix equipment, two people ran the line. One would pack bags into boxes, while the other would float to check on things or dump an extra box of peanuts," he says. "With the Matrix machine, we’re doing bigger runs, so we have two people dedicated to the line and a third person to dump product." Rather than seeing the need for an extra person as a detriment, English views it as proof of the machine’s success.
Since installing the Mercury, production speeds have increased about 75%. "We do frequent changeovers," says English, "and the Mercury makes it easy to change bag size and speed. Before, we were packaging five items a day. Now we’re doing eight or nine items a day."
Read the entire article at Packaging World >>
About Matrix
Matrix is an industry leading manufacturer of rugged, cost competitive, and easy-to-use vertical form fill seal (VFFS) equipment for all types of flexible packaging and operates as a master distributor of INVpack stickpack and sachet machines, and Pacraft pre-made pouch packaging machines. With more than 30 years of flexible packaging expertise, Matrix has the ability, knowledge, and commitment to tailor highly efficient and profitable packaging systems for our customers on a global scale. Matrix is a product brand of ProMach, a global leader in packaging line solutions. As part of the ProMach Flexibles & Trays business line, Matrix helps its packaging customers protect and grow the reputation and trust of their consumers. ProMach is performance, and the proof is in every package. Learn more about Matrix at www.MatrixPM.com and more about ProMach at www.ProMachBuilt.com.
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