Fit for filling

Starlinger delivers 600th sack line

Starlinger recently supplied its 600th Kon series line, which converts tubular fabric woven from polypropylene tapes into sacks with bottom seam or consumer-friendly opening features.

The latest generation Kon 2002 is suitable for leno fabric, coated and uncoated fabric, OPP laminated material and material tubed from flat fabric. In an automatic, continuous process, the woven tube is cut to length, sewn and the required closure type is added. Several closure options are available to match the wide variety of applications for this type of sack. The currently popular easy-open closures offer important advantages in consumer goods packaging.

Starlinger has paid special attention to material saving techniques, because even optimised folding can save significant quantities of fabric. A few millimetres of fabric saved, sack for sack, adds up in mass production to a real financial advantage for the customer, the company confirms.

Energy consumption is also a key issue for the company. At only 2.3kW, the Kon 2002 stands at the lower end of the spectrum of comparable machines and 50% below the consumption level of the first Kon lines to be marketed in the 1990’s.

CB sets its sights on growth

Multi-wall paper sack manufacturer CB Packaging has expanded its operations site in Northern Ireland to support continued development of the business and strategic expansion into the UK market. The company has completed a 12,500ft² extension of the Bangor site and upgraded its bag making technologies, to offer the entire range of products to its large customer base from one site.

CB, part of the Clondalkin Group, manufactures paper sacks for a wide range of markets, including milk powder, flour, animal feed, seeds, pet food, root crops and construction materials, with sizes ranging from 5-50kg and from 1-5 ply. Products include valve pasted sacks which use high porosity paper and ultrasonic valve technology to enable high speed filling alongside excellent bag sealing characteristics. These sacks are used primarily in the construction industry.

Speciality products include easy-open food sacks, self-sealing milk powder sacks and pet food sacks, all manufactured using the latest paper converting technology and 8-colour printing.

Open mouth block bottom sacks with sealable closures and internal barrier films provide longer shelf life to food and dairy products. CB’s open mouth double-fold bottom sacks are suitable for mineral, animal feed, flour, food and root crop applications.

Sacks are produced to the highest standards of quality and hygiene, through the company’s BRC and ISO accreditation systems.

Managing Director Paul McEnaney says: “We have 50 years of expertise and experience as well as the latest technologies in areas like traceability to call upon and to ensure we provide the very best service to existing and new customers. There is considerable scope within the construction industry, as well as the food and agricultural sectors, for the high quality service levels we can deliver over short and medium runs.”

Eurosac Grand Prix 2010

This year’s Eurosac congress in Stockholm took the theme Naturally Sustainable, and the main criterion for the Eurosac Grand Prix was that the sack had to be a direct relation with nature and sustainable development. The winner was the Terra Bag, developed by Mondi Industrial Bags. Terra Bag is a paper sack with one or more plies of paper with a biodegradable film for humidity protection. It is certified according to EN 13432, entirely biodegradable and optimised for industrial composting, turning waste into valuable humus. It has a reduced environmental impact and reduced CO₂ emissions and saves non-renewable resources.

Around 70% of Europe’s paper sack manufacturers are members of Eurosac, producing about 5 billion sacks of a total weight of 650,000 tonnes/year.

Drying test proves IR power

In a comparison test, set up alongside hot air blowers to establish the best way to speed up glue and ink drying on a sack manufacturing line with a capacity of over one million tonnes/year, the drying performance of Solaronics-Bekaert electric infra-red (IR) Monocassettes was said to be immediately apparent.

With 100% radiant power provided within one second of switch-on, the Monocassette delivered 92% of that power directly to the material being dried, as opposed to the hot air blowers, where heat is dissipated over a wider factory area. This resulted in an order for a 790mm length, 3Kw Monocassette complete with integrated fan and control unit.

As with other users of Solaronics-Bekaert IR equipment, the sack manufacturer also found energy costs reduced.