Secondary and group packaging

Everything that combines primary units into a transport or retail group: shrink film, a tray with film, a wrap-around carton box, a cardboard tray, a multipack. This is the link between filling and palletising.

Shrink film is cheaper in consumables and faster, and suits drinks and canned goods well. Carton gives a better appearance on the shelf, rigidity and space for printing. A combination is often used: a tray plus film — a compromise between price and strength.

By the type and weight of the primary pack, the arrangement pattern within the group, the required capacity and the number of formats. A glass bottle, PET, a can and a doypack behave differently within a group, so the group forming pattern is developed for the specific product range.

Modern machines work with several arrangement patterns and group sizes; changeover is done by selecting a programme plus replacing the format parts. The number of formats should be fixed in the technical specification — the design, the price and the changeover time all depend on it.

The finished group is transferred by conveyor to the palletiser or to a manual stacking area, and then the pallet is wrapped. We design the end of the line as a whole — from the outlet of the filling equipment to the wrapped pallet — so that no bottleneck appears between the sections.