Linkx erects trays economically for Huegli

10 July 2013

A new Linkx TF500 tray erector with electro-pneumatic controls proved to be an excellent match for the needs of Huegli, one of Europe’s largest producers of food ingredients, when the company recently decide to upgrade its packaging operations for sachets of cook-in sauces.

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Key requirements for the machine were that it should be versatile, dependable and capable of future enhancement, and also that it should have a low initial purchase price.

After exploring the available options, Huegli decided to purchase a Linkx TF500 machine, a decision that was partly influenced by the very positive experience Huegli has had of working with Linkx and using Linkx machines in the past, and partly by the excellent value for money offered by the TF500 and, in particular, the electro-pneumatic version of this machine.

The Linkx TF500 with electro-pneumatic controls has been specifically developed as an entry-level machine that provides cost-effective access to automatic tray erection. It can handle board blanks up to 500 mm x 500 mm and can erect almost any format of tray, including the shelf-ready trays with high backs and low fronts that are used in the Huegli application. The machine incorporates, as standard, a two-gun hot-melt glue system.

In this application, the formed and glued trays are presented automatically to the production line operatives, who load them manually with sauce sachets.

Using changepart tools, the machine offers fast and easy changeovers for different sizes and formats of tray. The electro-pneumatic version offers a throughput of up to 35 trays per minute, which is ample to meet the current requirements at Huegli. Should higher throughput be needed in the future, however, the machine can be readily upgraded by fitting servo controls, which will allow it to erect up to 60 trays per minute.

Chris Hurt, Huegli UK Managing Director, said: “Linkx delivered the machine, to our requirements, against tight deadline since installation it has performed very well.”