Flexible polythene packaging specialist, Reform Plastics (Derby) Ltd. has recently invested in a BMTEK ETL 1.4 Automatic Bag Making Machine supplied exclusively in the UK by Packaging and Converting machinery supplier Optimation Ltd.
Optimation
Reform Plastics extrudes, prints and converts high, medium and low density polythene film and bags. Film is produced in the form of lay flat tube, centre fold sheet, single wound sheet and double wound sheet. The film can be supplied in roll form or can be converted into bags, sleeves or sheets. These converted products are presented either boxed or tear-off on the roll.
Manufactured in Bologna, Italy, by BMTEK, their new Automatic Bag Making Machine is already making a dramatic difference to Reform’s production capabilities.
Managing Director Dave Waller said: "This machine has increased our production process significantly. It is already performing at a higher output than our existing machines and we have not yet used it to its full capacity. With such an improved metres per minute conversion rate we are fulfilling orders more quickly and invoice sales have increased, thus reducing our work in progress, which takes up shop floor and racking space. We are a BRC accredited company and the quality of bag produced is vitally important. With this machine we are confident we will not sacrifice quality with the increased outputs. Our reaction time to orders is now far faster and we have added flexibility."
When considering the purchase of the BMTEK ETL 1.4 Automatic Bag Making Machine, Reform Plastics were very exacting about their requirements.
Working a 24-hour operation with a variety of films it was essential that a new machine would be robust and reliable. It would also need to provide consistent production speeds, quick start-up and size changes.
The BMTEK machine features a motorised unwind to facilitate the movement of large and heavy reels. Designed to align with the height of a pallet for ease of loading the reel onto the motorised rollers, the system allows two or more reels to be loaded easily with no need for a shaft inside the reels. This makes it possible to utilise reels with damaged cores. A tear line perforation system is installed between the rubber rollers and the distance between perforations is adjusted through a roller for length control.
The machines additional tear off on the roll facility also enables Reform to manufacture bags on the roll with a registered print, something their current tear off on the roll machines are not capable of as they operate in line with extrusion.
A password protected touch screen controller is included. This has the ability to implement and control a wide range of operations including speed of cycle, bag length and repeat weld (sealing twice on the same bag) with the possibility to delay the film advance in order to make a stronger seal or to have two separate seals at the bottom of the bag. At a recent demonstration event held by Optimation, visitors were able to see the machine operating with three reels and the manufacturers were keen to show that the ETL 1.4 is effective even when three different densities or gauges of material are processed at the same time. In this situation there is no compromise on the quality and strength of the bottom seal. It is also possible to pre-set the number of bags for each batch and the total number of batches.
With the help of Optimation, Reform Plastics sent some of their most challenging thin gauge film to the manufacturer for extensive trials which were videoed for them to scrutinise back in the UK.
Waller added: "The results were superb. Extremely thin gauge film, i.e. 12 micron is a very sensitive material, prone to jamming within the machine. The BMTEK machine had no such problems.
"Both Optimation and their supplier have been exceptionally supportive both pre sale and going forward and this was a key factor in our decision to invest in this particular Bag Maker. We operate a 24-hour system and I feel particularly reassured by the fact that should an issue ever arise with the machine, any fault can be rapidly diagnosed by a computer link to the manufacturers."
