Düsseldorf, Germany-headquartered GEA will launch its new vertical SmartPacker CX400 D-Zip for pre-packaged food products distributed in both retail and foodservice sectors next month. The equipment combines fast, high-quality operation with maximum flexibility and uptime.
Apart from producing premium quality D-ZIP bags, this easy-to-use machine can produce more than 10 different bag styles for frozen fruits and a wide variety of non-frozen products including candy, nuts and grated cheese. The machine integrates a newly developed corner seal unit, designed to reduce complexity and improve quality, flexibility and serviceability, thereby meeting the demands of today’s processors.
Meeting Market Needs
While the GEA SmartPacker has been on the market for more than 60 years, the new CX400 D-Zip brings vertical packaging right up to date to meet the contemporary needs of both processors and consumers. Users can expect premium performance with an output of up to 100 D-Zip bags/minute, as well as 98 percent uptime and highly accurate operation from equipment that carries the smallest footprint of any other comparable machine in the industry.
In developing the SmartPacker CX400 D-Zip, GEA engineers listened to customers, taking into account key industry trends. For example, more flexibility in bag-styles is required, as seen in the increasing demand for stand-up pouches; a need to reduce maintenance costs and downtime; combining the high-quality of the pouches made on conventional horizontal machines with the advantages of a SmartPacker; as well as the need for increased sustainability in manufacturing.
The SmartPacker CX400 D-Zip is easy to use; creates all existing bag styles; has a changeover time of less than 45 minutes – without the use of special tools – and features front discharge. The premium quality D-Zip bag leaves nothing to be desired with smooth and sharp cross seals, an elegant and slim design, wrinkle-free seals with high density and air/gas-tight sealing.
Newly Developed, Flexible Corner Seal Unit
The SmartPacker CX400 D-Zip features GEA’s new corner seal unit, which simplifies set-up and improves overall quality. The corner seal unit introduces greater flexibility into the SmartPacker, as it is capable of varying in seal width and, depending on needs, can be configured for two or four seals. Like the SmartPacker CX400 D-Zip, it has a compact design and does not require specialist tooling when changing formats. Company engineers have also included a superior accessibility to areas where heavy wear can be expected, including sealing and folding to reduce maintenance time.
The design reduces the amount of plastic required for the zipper by approximately 15 percent by eliminating the zipper-material in the cross seal. Additional plastic waste is avoided given no punching is required in making the zipper.
“The SmartPacker CX400 D-Zip is future-ready,” said Martijn van de Mortel, GEA’s vertical packaging product manager. “Whether the need is for high quality, more capacity, greater flexibility, a small footprint, low maintenance or a combination of all of these, it answers the call. The machine is capable of producing all common bag types on a single machine without compromising any expectations.”
