The Anuga Foodtec trade show in Cologne, Germany March 10-13 was the stage for the introduction of the Unika, a new machine that integrates an extrusion blowmolding system from Italy’s Techne (Bologna) with a filling unit. Techne claims this is the first single, integrated system combining blowing and filling of HDPE bottles.
During the trade show, Techne’s system processed and filled monolayer 250cc HDPE bottles for a dairy application at a rate of 4500 bottles/hour. Techne’s Bologna neighbor, Acma, supplies the filling machine end of the system.
According to Techne, energy savings realized by integrating the blowing and filling into a single unit amount to about 35% over conventional lines. The manufacturer also says that “only a few minutes” are needed to change package color, molds, or even the liquid being filled.
The Unika systems can blowmold and fill bottles (mono or multi-layer) sized from 80 ml – 2L, and use is foreseen for applications such as food (dairy products, sauces, fruit juices) and industrial applications (personal care, lubricants and house-hold chemicals).
Such combination systems already are offered for PET bottle processing/filling. At the same trade show in 2003, form-fill-seal thermoforming machine manufacturer ERCA-Formseal (Courtaboeuf, France) introduced a form-fill-seal (FFS) machine for thermoforming of bottles, filling and sealing, as reported here, but it never caught on commercially. —[email protected]
