Filling machine: an additional product on an existing line

Challenge

The Rotselaar plant of this food company specializing in dairy and vegetable products wanted its expand production with a plant-based product. Thus, it would become a hybrid production site. In addition to dairy products, vegetable products would also come off the line.

But at their production site, there were too little square footage production space available for expansion.

So the key to success lay in a modification of the existing filling machine. But the manufacturer of that line balked at the task, due to being too complex. Their suggestion: have a second, additional line built.

The food company contacted us to investigate the possibilities for their existing filling machine. With the necessary modifications, could this existing line handle a second product? Without risk of contamination between the plant product versus milk product?

Solution

We built a new heart for their existing filling machine: a multifuction filling carousel, which brings together all the previous, sequential steps:

• centering,
• filling,
• bottle straighten up,
• sealing with an aluminum member,
• and finally put a cap on it.

Result

• An additional filling plant integrated into an existing machine.
• On the same number of square meters AND with the same machine, make two instead of one product.
• A solution at a fraction of the investment of a new line.
• Realization in a much shorter lead time than a new machine.
• A faster and more precise filling process. This by bringing together what used to be separate process steps.
• A more energy-efficient filling machine. The old drive was replaced with a servo-controlled drive.