Variable geometry is major sustainability benefit in flow-wrap says system supplier

IMA Ilapak is claiming a ‘world first’ in flow-wrapping with the Delta OF-360X machine and its options for using a wide range of material types, from paper to mono-polymers or laminates.

The company claims its all-electric platform and variable geometry make this the most energy-efficient and flexible flow-wrapper on the market – as well as future proofing it against tomorrow’s challenges. 

The Delta OF-360X is capable of running any packaging materials, it claims, from paper-based substrates to complex laminates and recyclable mono-polymer films, with changeovers effected simply by pressing a button on the machine’s HMI. At a time when the future direction of sustainable packaging is fluid and uncertain, the company adds, this machine gives manufacturers and packers total flexibility to switch easily between different substrates – whether they already exist or have yet to be developed.

While the flow-wrapper industry has sought to respond to the rise of ‘sustainable’ packaging films, the primary strategy to-date has been the development of machines that are dedicated to specific materials. But events of the last year or so, which have seen energy and raw material prices spiral and supply issues with some materials, have rendered this approach unworkable, the supplier maintains.

This was the context to the development of the Delta OF-360X, which represents a radical departure from the former ‘rigid’ approach to flow-wrapper design in favour of a material-fluid approach that offers infinite flexibility.

Naturally, says Ilapak UK sales and marketing director Tony McDonald, the company cannot change the environment in which manufacturers have to operate.

“But we can help them to be adaptable to change and equip them for all eventualities by building total flexibility into our flow-wrapping solutions,” he explains. “The Delta OF-360 X frees manufacturers from the constraints of conventional flow-wrappers and gives them the assurance that they can handle whatever packaging materials they need to, now and in the future.”

As well as future-proofing factories to keep pace with packaging material changes, the Delta OF-360X can insulate manufacturers against energy price rises, the company adds. The machine is built on IMA Ilapak’s new all-electric flow-wrapping platform, which uses on average 37% less power than a conventional flow-wrapper. IMA Ilapak says its engineers have achieved these efficiency gains by replacing energy-intensive pneumatic applications with highly efficient linear actuators. 

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www.ilapak.co.uk