FP027 is the Tecno Pack wrapping machine used by Qualità Leone. Horizontal multi axis it has been developed to the modified atmosphere packaging of cheese.
Bavarian Emmental, Swiss Emmental, Maasdam, Fontal, Gouda, Pecorino, Ricotta salata, Rosa Camuna, Monte Veronese, Asiago. From foreign to Italian cheese, as well as the typical area of Villafranca and Monti Lessini: these are just a few of the over 120 portioned cheese which FP027 flow pack is able to pack. FP027 is one of the four machines specific for the dairy sector, proposed by Tecno Pack. It is suitable to pack cheese in bulk, which are transferred directly on the film, avoiding the problems of conveyer transport, thanks to the bottom-mounted reel. Conversely, FP200 EVO has top-mounted reel and so it is suitable for cheese portions packaged in tray; FP025EVO and FP025EVOBB complete the range. Cheese portioning, loading, collection of packs, palletizing: the horizontal packaging machines are placed at the center of these passages and, therefore, they have been designed in order to be combined with robotic systems, such as automatic product feeding, with the purpose of minimizing human work.
FP027 at work
FP027 is manufactured in Schio, near Vicenza, in the Tecno Pack plant. The company was founded in 1985 when two friends began to “restore”, as they used to say, old used packaging machines. It did not take much time for the fi rst packaging machines to be produced and for extensive experience in fl ow pack systems to be gained. An FP027 machine was installed at Qualità Leone, a historical company in Villafranca di Verona, which took its fi rst steps in the small and medium-scale distribution in 1966. This family-run company is specialized not only in packaging medium-hard cheese, but also in producing their own cheeses, such as Rigatel del Castel and Roverella. Tecno Pack and Qualità Leone met at Cibus Tec 2011, almost by chance. And they immediately decided to work together. In FP027, cheese in different shapes, all perfectly aligned on the machine’s loading conveyer, is fi rst detected by a barrier photocell, which, by sending signals to the front camera and working in synergy, allows to understand which, among them, is in phase and which, very rarely, is not. In this case, the machine either stops, or triggers an alarm, or misses a package. Thanks to seven different motors, this “cut and paste” control system also manages the sealing precision, depending on the used materials: from fi lm to paper-film, packages intended to different market segments can be achieved. The keyword is modularity: instead of a single large loading conveyor, it is possible to insert two, four, six belts coupled with an automatic cutting line, so as to be able to introduce many pieces of cheese in the machine and speed up the process. It is a technology which can meet all traders’ needs in terms of small quantities and of many formats worked. This allows understanding how FP027 is able to meet the demands of large and medium enterprises which, on the contrary, need less formats and large quantities. Tecno Pack has built FP027 with primary emphasis on the machine’s ability to seal all different types of fi lms: from simple fi lms to paper-film, which, having a transparent window in the middle, gives a sense of craftsmanship to the package. A very common mistake in the packaging process is, however, the use of a single fi lm for many radial sections of the pieces of cheese: the risk in this case is to fi nd an excess of fi lm above the pack, an unaesthetic and dangerous situation, since a wrong sealing results in the gases leak and, consequently, in shelf-life reduction. FP027 can handle this problem thanks to its double reel holder, so that, if necessary, it moves quickly from one to another.
