But today’s selective consumers do not just want their food to be fresh—they want it to be fresh for longer, with greater usability. This places complex requirements on both food manufacturers and packagers, and presents an array of challenges.

Eric Aasen, VFFS Product Line Manager, dives into the requirements and challenges of packaging fresh food products in an article published today on Packaging Digest.  The article focuses on fresh produce packaging using vertical form fill seal machines but many of the insights shared in the article can be applied to all types of packaging machines.  Read the entire article here.

http://www.packagingdigest.com/article/523031-A_fresh_perspective_on_flexible_packaging_equipment.php

Gary Anderton, General Manager – Bosch Packaging Services, talks about what we’re looking forward to in 2013.

In addition to the sealers, spare parts kits and an optional table top mounting stand is available for purchase in the online store.

For more information on the Doboy tabletop sealers watch the video below or visit the Bosch website.

Endangered Species™ Chocolate expects more than a 230 percent boost in output by using Bosch’s Pack 401 horizontal flow wrapper, enabling it to meet increasing demand for its chocolate bars. As evidenced by its name, the premium chocolate company donates 10 percent of its net profits to species and habitat conservation efforts.

The company has been using Bosch machines since opening in 1993. As more and more consumers were craving its 0.35-ounce Organic Chocolate Squares, known as Chimp Mints and Bug Bites, Endangered Species needed to increase production capacity. The Pack 401 enabled production to jump from 120 pieces per minute to 400 pieces per minute.

“The Pack 401 wraps our products faster than we can currently produce them,” said Bryan Fuller, Director of Operations, Endangered Species. “This positions us for our anticipated growth over the next few years.”

Previously, defective packaging had to be manually sorted and discarded.  The Pack 401 features sensors that automatically detect and reject inadequate products and packaging, such as empty packages, uncut packages, or packages with film splices, which increases efficiency and saves on labor costs.

“Our conservation mission is the core of our organization and we fully trust that Bosch’s technology will produce results,” Fuller added. “Higher profits and reduced waste mean more donations to our not-for-profit partners.”

As the company experienced tremendous growth in production, it needed a machine with simplified cleaning and maintenance to ensure product safety and remove all traces of allergy-causing ingredients. “The Pack 401 is an expertly planned machine – every section is easy to access and clean,” said Fuller.

“We always enjoy helping our customers reach their production goals and it’s even sweeter when this also benefits important causes,” said Paul Garms, Marketing Manager, Bosch Packaging Technology.

Endangered Species’ previous solution required that the chocolate squares be manually transferred from their molds to the primary packaging machine. The Pack 401 automatically directs the chocolates from the mold line to the flow wrapper without human intervention, allowing the company to redirect labor to higher skilled positions.

To find out more about the Safe Water – Saves Lives program visit the Unicef website.

Although the Customer Satisfaction Survey is our primary way of gathering feedback from our customers please feel free to use this blog as a forum to provide us with your feedback year round by simply completing the Contact Form or commenting below.

See what you missed at our booth, or share with your colleagues the exciting new machines you saw.  The virtual booth includes 17 different displays that you can interact with.  Navigating the booth is easy.  Simply click on the left or right arrows to move around the booth and then select the machine or kiosk that is of interest to you.  It’s a great way to explore new packaging technology without leaving your office!

Select a machine or kiosk to see a close-up view like this with descriptive text. Buttons on the bottom of the screen allow you to watch a video, go to the product page on the Bosch website, request a quote, contact Bosch, or request a brochure.

With our one on one on-the-job (OTJ) training our trainers accompany your team during production runs and offer their professional advice on maintenance and changeover operations.

Our classroom training is a modular group course that can be held at your premises or at our in-house training center.* It is targeted for your company and the group that you need trained.

Computer based training (CBT)* is a multimedia training module specifically adapted for the respective target audience and the existing equipment. CBT is independent, individual and interactive. It is the ideal tool to refresh and deepen your knowledge and to maintain optimum line efficiency.

For more information on our training options contact us.

*Classroom training and CBT options only available for certain machines, please discuss with your sales representative or customer contact if this option is available for your machine. 

In both cases, we complete this step with a report on the overall line efficiency. Based on the analysis we can either start a technical solution, which is an implementation of a measuring system to obtain daily machine data, or an OEE Improvement Project.

The OEE Improvement Project enables us to develop specific solutions for you by combining our joint expertise and competencies. We assess the machine’s performance potential to reach your defined target using tailor-made solutions. A cost-benefit analysis lies at the center of this operation.

For more information on OEE Consulting check out our FAQs Page or  contact us.

New VFFS machines, like the Bosch SVI, are now able to make a wide range of bag styles and can even incorporate popular reclose features that traditionally were only available in pre-made bags.   Reclose features have gained popularity, and are widely used in the pet treat market on doy style bags.  Horizontal pouch machines, another alternative to pre-made bags, can produce high quality doy style pouches as well.  However, they are significantly more expensive than VFFS machines and have a much larger footprint.

As a provider of both bag closers and VFFS machines, Bosch can help pet food operations decide which machine will help them best meet their packaging goals.  For many operations, pre-made bags continue to be the best solution; especially where large package sizes and high speeds are needed.  However, with the potential to reduce material costs by up to 40% over pre-made bags,  vertical form fill seal baggers should be considered for those operations where they fit the requirements.  For more information on the Bosch SVI and pet food packaging visit www.boschpackaging.com/nrd/petfood.

Using the OCI, product information may be transferred to your internal purchasing catalog or ERP system. This allows you to order parts via your company’s internal system while still being able to use the E-Portal information.

In the Corporate Portal, several location-specific E-Portals may be combined. This combination can be a big benefit for a corporation, or a purchasing organization. It enables an E-Portal user to manage the ordering process for several locations and still have access to the relevant information on all the spare parts.

For more information on the Bosch Packaging Services’ E-Portal contact your sales or customer service representative or visit the E-Portal site.