Kiolbassa Sausage Switches to Curwood Shrink-film Packaging

Source: PACKAGING DIGEST JULY 2010

Date: 8/5/2010

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PACKAGING DIGEST JULY 2010
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Top and bottom films are registered

Kiolbassa is using Form-Tite® film from Curwood for its packages. A coextrusion of nylon and EVOH, the film was developed in cooperation with Multivac to optimize the equipment's performance. Features of the film include low curl plus high shrink and excellent formability to conform tightly to the product, creating an attractive package without dog ears. The film's high-barrier properties and exceptional puncture resistance extend shelf life and minimize damage and waste throughout distribution.

The R-250 uses two rolls of Form-Tite film to form the package. Both rolls have similar nylon and EVOH construction, but the bottom roll, which forms the cavity for the product, is 100-microns thick, while the top roll, which is sealed across the tops of the packages, is 50-microns thick. The two rolls of film, both of which are flexo printed in eight colors, are registered during the operation to produce the final package.

Multiple steps

To produce the finished package, the intermittent-motion FormShrink machine incorporates a series of steps that start with a bottom-forming station and finish with the package discharge. To start with, a chain with grippers pulls film from the bottom roll mounted on the front of the machine. This chain maintains control of the film through the length of machine.

The film enters the forming section where a combination of air blowing down from above and vacuum from below pulls it into cavities to form the packages. This is a two lane machine that runs three rows of 20-oz packages or two rows of 40-oz packages on each cycle, so each cycle produces six 20-oz packages or four 40-oz packages. The machine runs about 10 cycles/min.

PACKAGING DIGEST JULY 2010
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