The latest news, trends, analysis, interviews and podcasts from the global food and beverage industry

Multivac has developed the new Multivac Pouch Loader (MPL) for chamber belt machines, created as a semi-automatic solution to improve the filling of the film pouches and loading into the packaging machine. The MPL is said to provide up to 40% reductions in personnel costs and an increase in efficiency when compared to manual loading – and all with maximum flexibility in terms of products and pack formats. The pouch loader works by having one person position the products on the infeed conveyor of the machine. Two other people then load the products by pulling the film pouches over the loading conveyor, so that the product can be conveyed automatically from the conveyor into the film pouch. The film pouch goes through a heat of 90 degrees and is placed on the machine conveyor and subsequently vacuum packed and sealed. When compared with the manual procedure, only three operators are necessary with this semi-automatic solution. The new system is beneficial in terms of hygiene and ergonomics with operators no longer needing to lift and place products in the pouches, reducing the risk of contamination. The MPL can also be integrated into line solutions from Multivac with either the B 425, B 525 or B 625 chamber belt machines. Additionally, it can be combined with the Multivac Pouch Rack, the compact pouch rack, which can take up to ten different stacks of pouch sizes. Korbinian Wiest, product manager for chamber belt machines at Multivac, said: “We can for the first time offer our customers a complete solution from one source for pouch applications on chamber belt machines…. The Multivac Pouch Loader stands for a simple and effortless packaging process with a high degree of efficiency, reliability, operating convenience and cost-effectiveness.” The MPL is able to accommodate pouch lengths in a range of 200 to 800 mm, as well as pouch widths between 150 and 600 mm.