Mikhail Afarinov, Head of Packaging Equipment, Agrotrade Company
Do potatoes need packaging? If you answer this question from the point of view of the buyer, then of course yes: taking a ready-made package from the shelf is convenient.
For a grower of potatoes and outdoor vegetables, using retail packaging is an opportunity to sell their products at a higher price. This is especially true in cases where a significant part of the crop falls short of the definition of "large potatoes".
What types of packaging for potatoes and vegetables are popular on the market today? The stores are widely presented with the usual options: mesh bag, mesh sleeve, a house made of various combinations of polyethylene and mesh, a pillow bag made of polyethylene, etc.
Each has its advantages, but there is also one common disadvantage - standard plastic and polyethylene cannot be classified as recyclable materials. Meanwhile, the Russian government is actively preparing for the transition to a new stage of the "garbage" reform, developing the concept of extended producer responsibility (EPR), which assumes that producers in the coming years will themselves dispose of packaging of goods or pay for this eco-collection. Considering this fact, as well as following global trends, many retail chains are beginning to introduce their standards for environmentally friendly packaging.
Against this background, it is easy to assume that the priorities of packaging customers will soon change, and the most environmentally friendly option from the existing ones - a paper bag - will come to the fore.
It must be said that the modern paper bag, in addition to being recyclable, has many other advantages. In particular, it has excellent strength characteristics: in the assortment of products of paper mills there are products that can withstand a weight of up to 20 kg. Bags for vegetable products are made of several layers of paper of special elasticity and high tear resistance, so you can be sure that the packaging will not tear at any stage of delivery from the store shelf to the consumer's home.
The paper bag helps to extend the shelf life of potatoes and vegetables: it reliably protects products from light and provides ventilation.
Through the cut-through window, the consumer can assess the quality of the offered product.
In addition, the package provides the widest advertising opportunities: you can apply text on the paper surface telling about the potato variety and the place of its production, and non-standard color design will allow you to highlight the position on the shelf.
European manufacturers of packaging equipment offer a wide range of equipment that automates the process of filling products into paper bags.
Among the most common models are Upmatic 4110 (Upmann, Germany) - a fully automatic packer for packing product into paper bags with or without handles ranging from 1 to 10 kg. It is a reliable, time-tested, simple machine in design and control.
The principle of its operation is as follows: paper bags come from a cassette / pack and pass under the filling hopper, open with a pneumatic module, after which the product is filled. At this moment, the bag is shaken for a more even distribution of the product. After filling, the bag is closed, stitched and transported to the exit of the packer.
All settings for various packet sizes are carried out without the use of an additional tool.
Combination with any automatic weighing batcher is possible.
The manufacturer's product line also includes the Upmatic 4115 model, which provides the ability to work with packages up to 15 kg.
Depending on the series, the packaging machine comes with a variety of sewing machines (including the well-known Fishbein sewing heads), a collecting belt conveyor and a vacuum pump.
Specifications:
• Performance:
- packages up to 1,5 kg - about 30 cycles / min.
- packages up to 2,5 kg - about 20 cycles / min.
- packages up to 10 kg - about 15 cycles / min.
• Package size:
- up to 10 kg: min. 160x80x300 mm; Max. 300x180x600 mm
- up to 15 kg: max. 400x180x700 mm
• Cassette volume: approximately 300 bags / sacks
• Rated voltage: 220/400 volts, 50 Hz
• Power consumption: 3,0 kW
• Air pressure: 6 bar
• Air consumption: 13,8 l / cycle
• Weight: 700 kg
Optional equipment:
• label printer with dispenser and programming device, thermal printing;
• thread control system;
• electric adjustment of the conveyor height;
• electrical adjustment of the bag feeding hopper.
Higher productivity rates can be achieved by using the Upmatic 4210 model (packing in two bags up to 10 kg at the same time).
In Russia, there are still few examples of the introduction of such equipment, although interest in it is steadily growing. At the moment, there are projects that are at the implementation stage. Unfortunately, this process takes a lot of time, as the demand in Europe for packers for filling paper bags is very high. Due to the "queue", the average project implementation period (from the buyer's application to full commissioning) in our country is about 26 weeks. But such a margin of time allows you to bring the project to perfection. In particular, we recently sent Russian-made packages that customers chose for packing potatoes for approval by an equipment manufacturer in Germany in order to clarify how the packaging will meet the requirements for the size and density of the material.
More about the equipment:
(831) 461-9158
8 (910) 899-62-93
afarinovma@agrotradesystem.ru