Case study with video - Innviertler Teigwaren (Dry Products)

Quote from the customer: "The machine was delivered on time. Within one day the belts were set up and after another day of machine set-up time we were able to go into production immediately."

Pasta packs in cartons or in bags are the field of activity of the SOMIC 424 DT at Innviertler Teigwaren in Ort, near the German-Austrian border. Hans-Peter Aigner and his wife Romana Kerber are the fourth generation of the family to run this lean, high-performance company.

Around 8,000 tonnes of different pasta variations can be produced and packaged in this production facility every year. 400 articles, 80 packaging formats and pack sizes from 300 to 1,000 grams - that is the framework Aigner has set for its new final packaging machine. "Although we are mainly active as a supplier for large companies," explains the owner, "the food retail trade (LEH) is becoming more and more important for us: in the early days of the pandemic there were, after all, the so-called hoarding purchases. This showed us that we have to be more flexible when - as is currently the case - the food service sector is not doing so well, but the food retail sector is doing better. That was ultimately the decisive factor in our investment decision."

Clean and fast

Innviertler Teigwaren is not a producer of mass-produced goods for discount or food retail - rather, the company focuses on organic production and flexibility. It must also be possible to process small batches of only a few tonnes for packaging in mixed cartons in the case packer. The newly developing volume could no longer be handled with manual packaging. Before the SOMIC machine was commissioned, three to four people were employed at the packing table to pack away these volumes. "We have almost full employment here in the Innviertel. Finding employees is almost impossible." With automatic packaging, the pasta producer has elegantly freed itself from this problem: "It is an immense relief that we have been able to achieve with this machine in secondary packaging. The bags enter the machine automatically. You no longer need to pick up a product, because now a complete carton comes out of the machine quickly and cleanly."

Special format requirements - no problem

With the SOMIC 424 DT, the company uses a lid-tray machine for an output of up to 150 packs per minute. 15 different formats are pre-configured. For single-variety product groupings in 1 x 6 to 2 x 6 formations, as well as for mixed different product groups in 300-gram to 1,000-gram pouches and a wide variety of carton sizes, the machines now offer the desired flexibility. It was important to keep all options open: Currently, for example, a customer in the UK ordered a carton with exactly three packs, a rather unusual concept compared to Austrian secondary packaging with ten or twelve products. Here, the cooperation with SOMIC was already in demand shortly after the start-up. "Together with the carton experts from SOMIC, we designed a suitable carton for this UK specification." But that will not have been all. Aigner sees further demand here: "We also expect new impulses for secondary packaging from the trade in the future. However, these are topics that are not disclosed in advance."

In any case, the SOMIC technology is flexible: the products are allocated from two buffer belts and fed into the machine. After passing through an equalising roller, uniformly shaped tubular bags arrive in the fan-type collector and are transferred to the subsequent grouping unit. "In terms of the system, I liked it very much, the noodles are pushed off, pushed, the cardboard lid is neatly put over the noodles, and the whole thing is then pushed onto the tray. This works flawlessly with all the carton systems we have. The boxes are neatly glued and shaped. I like that, that's exactly how I need it." The entrepreneur had done his research well. Even before he took over the family business, he had been exposed to different types of packaging machines during his apprenticeship. "My packing master Albert explained machines from different manufacturers to me during my apprenticeship - including a SOMIC. I worked with this at the time and got to know the advantages of this case packer well in practice."

Fast format changeover

Operation via the touch panel quickly became routine. This offers numerous query points, an easy-to-understand selection menu and information messages that can be quickly grasped. "We received very good training from the technician, who explained all the steps in the machine function in detail." Running empty, clearing out, parameter display or informative signal lights are just a few keywords of this training. The topic of format changeover was dealt with in detail, because at Innviertler Teigwaren the format is changed three times a day.

The Innviertler packaging team quickly got to grips with the new technology. The simple SOMIC QuickChange system, the comprehensive operating instructions and the well numbered change parts make it easy to change over the machine. The format parts cradles are also extremely helpful: The change parts are fixed to the format parts trolley via a plug-in system, can be easily removed and are thus neatly tidied away. "After all, these are valuable tools that are important for the clean processes in the machine. It is simply part of Good Manufacturing Practice to store these parts properly," emphasises Aigner.