Smart Tray Sealing Solutions
With technological advances in the
food production sector coming thick
and fast, it can be difficult to know
when to make the leap into smart
manufacturing. MPE’s i3 Tray Sealer, for example,
leverages the power of OMRON’s
SYSMAC Platform to enable faster,
greener, more efficient processes
now, and to create, test, and deploy
additional functionality in the future.

The i3 Tray Sealer is an all-electric,
high-throughput, small footprint
solution for meat product, fresh produce,
and ready meal production lines. It is
powered by the SYSMAC Studio, the first
integrated development environment
(IDE) to bring logic, motion, robotics,
human machine interface (HMI), vision,
sensing, safety and 3D simulation
together in one single platform.

Using this approach, MPE has
developed a range of time-, energy- and
resource-saving features all designed
to help customers stay ahead in this
highly competitive industry.

John Hodgkiss, MPE UK Ltd.’s
Technical Director on the i3, said, “One
of the key features is that the machine
is all electric. There are no pneumatics,
which provides energy savings and a
quicker payback on investment.”
Calculations in the US, found the
machine cost just $8.50 a day to run.

While the exact figures will vary
accordingly to local energy costs,
Hodgkiss said it usually added up to a
saving of at least 50%.

New Sales Engineer
Macpac has announced the appointment
of Andy Cutler as Sales Engineer
with primary responsibility for the
food market.

Andy Cutler comments, “I am
delighted to be joining Macpac, we
have a fantastic 50-year heritage
In addition, the energy-efficient
nature of the machine means that
producers may be eligible to green
Government grants, such as those
offered in the UK.

A total of £500m of funding, for
example, is available through the UK’s
Industrial Energy Transformation
Fund (IETF), which has been designed
to help businesses with high energy
use invest in solutions that cut their
energy bills and emissions. Various
capital allowance and tax incentive
programmes also encourage businesses
to invest in green machinery.

The absence of compressed air
combined with the use of OMRON’s PLCs,
also makes the i3 easier and quicker to
install than traditional tray sealers.

“Because we are using the OMRON
PLC, you do not need any additional
motion controls. Everything is done
within the EtherCAT, which uses just
one controller and a cable to the servo
drive,” said Hodgkiss.

This, he added, reduced the number
of components required, and simplified
the whole installation process. “From
an electrical point of view, you could
wire the machine in a week, from start
to finish. Similar set ups would usually
take twice as long as that,” he said.

The i3 can seal up to 20 cycles a
minute with up to eight trays per cycle,
equating to a throughput of around
160 per minute.

The MPE team have leveraged
SYSMAC technology to provide
advanced, built-in predictive
maintenance. The machine’s control
system uses sensors and algorithms to
track factors such as motor vibrations,
which can be an indication of loose
components, and motor temperature,
which can signify over-tensioned belts.

This allows the factory team to identify
and rectify potential issues before they
have a chance to impact on productivity
with unplanned downtime.

It also has a ‘no snap film’ feature.

Using the torque control function
block on SYSMAC Studio, the machine
continually adjusts the tension of the
film to the size of the reel and the
product. This reduces the strain placed
on the film, lowering the chances of
breakages – and the resulting downtime.

“We have made the tooling specific to
the size of the tray,” said Hodgkiss. “The
operator just presses one button on
the screen, and everything is released.

They just lift it out and put in the new
tooling.” It means that operators can
go from sealing joints to sausages, for
example, in just minutes.

Crucially, it’s a flexibility that
extends to meeting future needs, as
customer challenges evolve. Hodgkiss
said, “We have made the machine as
mechanically simple as we can, with
as few components as possible, and
really focused on the software. That
way, we can easily add capability and
improvements by updating the software,
rather than having to rewire anything.”
In essence, he said, it’s about future-
proofing the solution, and ensuring
customers have greener, faster, more
efficient tray sealing solutions for years
to come.

and are well respected within the
thermoforming industry. I believe
that with our technical expertise and
planned investment we will continue
to strengthen our position across
a broad range of markets. Despite
challenging times for the plastics
industry, I am very confident that we
can drive the business forward.”
Simon Firth, Macpac’s Sales Manager
adds, “We are delighted to welcome
Andy to the business. His skillset and
thermoforming know-how are ideally
placed for expanding our presence in the
food industry including the confectionery,
bakery, fresh food and ready meal sectors.

We know he is going to be great and
wish him every success in this new role.”



High Barrier Films for Food
Packaging Growth Advances
While food packaging is largely
recognised as a long-term and
resilient industry during economic
downturns, its enduring growth is
surpassed by demand for high barrier
films in food packaging.

In the latest market report from
AMI, titled “High Barrier Films
for Food Packaging – The Global
Market 2024”, expert consultants
have combined first-hand industry
insight across all polymer
substrates with data analysis to
give a comprehensive picture
of this increasingly important
sector. The research, which was
released in November 2024, gives
investors and industry participants
a thorough grasp of the competitive
challenges, market dynamics,
and industry development.

The report divides the global
market into eight separate regions,
differentiating between the four
distinct markets of Asia, which show
differing speed of growth, direction
of growth and use of substrates and
barrier materials with the Indian Sub-
Continent enjoying the highest rate
of growth contrasted with North East
Asia, where demand for high barrier
films is stagnant.

Growth drivers are varied and
complex. Sustainability is a key
factor in the rise in demand for high
barrier films as these films serve to
prevent food waste, reduce packaging
and replace mixed material alufoil
laminates. However, in developed
regions, poor consumer perception
of plastics could hinder growth, as
brand-owners and converters seek
alternatives through the use of paper,
with many development projects and
trials underway. Across Asia, more
cost-effective mixed material laminates
are expected to remain prevalent.

The report provides insights into the
different reasons behind these distinct
drivers for growth and offers analysis of
future outcomes.

The report covers all transparent
and non-transparent barrier materials
which are typically used to replace
alufoil. It explores the significant
future potential of emerging barrier
and substrate materials, some of which
accelerated in uptake during raw
materials shortages.

Chilled products such as meat/fish
and dairy account for the majority of
high barrier films applications in 2023,
and whilst snack foods will be the
fastest growing application, meat/fish
will provide the largest volume growth
as retailers seek to further protect this
high value segment.

Advances in technologies such as
MDO-PE and BOPE as well as improved
coating solutions will enable further
growth in the use of high barrier
films for stand-up pouches and retort
pouches, which are increasingly popular
for their convenience features, while
allowing for increased regulation for
sustainability and recycling purposes.

Mondi Bakes Sustainability into New Premium Bread Packaging
Mondi is partnering with Welton, Bibby and Baron, a packaging supplier to
the UK food and FMCG markets, to introduce recyclable paper-based bread
bags to retail shelves.

WBB is converting Mondi’s
FunctionalBarrier Paper Reduce
to create brown and white paper
bags for different pre-packed
fresh bread products. Mondi is
producing the strong base kraft
paper from responsibly sourced
fibres and coats it in-house to
ensure the final packaging’s
essential barrier properties.

FunctionalBarrier Paper Reduce
is the thinnest paper possible in
Mondi’s barrier paper range, offering
the strength needed for higher filling
weights while delivering superb
food compliant protection against
water vapour, grease and moisture.

The final packaging keeps the bread
fresh, soft and moist, while offering
a recyclable alternative to the
previous unrecyclable packaging.