Case: sugar packaging machine and palletizer at Candico
A packaging line and palletising robot divided over 2 floors, which packs and prepares candy sugar for transport? Candico’s needs were clear. The solution was less obvious, but not impossible.
Candico is a renowned producer of candy sugar products, the most famous of which is their brown sugar candy. The company, which is located in Merksem, near Antwerp, has been part of Tiense Suikerraffinaderij since 1969. It produces and packages candy sugar for both B2B and B2C end users.
The request
Candico’s request was twofold:
1. They wanted to package candy sugar for their industrial customers (in 20 or 25 kg bags) in PE film instead of the paper sewn open-mouth bags they had been using. This would enable them to fill more bags and give their sugar added protection against sunlight and moisture as bags made of PE film close more securely than sewn paper open-mouth bags.
2. Their old palletizer needed replacing. They wanted a robot palletizer to stack their bags fully automatically.
The challenges
Candico is located in an old, albeit modernized, concrete building. The ceilings are not high and, moreover, the packaging process was on 2 floors: the packaging line was on the 2nd floor while the products were stacked on the 1st floor. Because of the limited space, this could not be changed.
We probably don’t need to tell you that candy sugar is a sticky product. Obviously, the filling machine had to be easy to clean.
The Ausloos approach
We developed a complete line tailored to this challenging environment. As space was limited, we made sure that each and every component was installed correctly, down to the last millimetre.
The sugar packaging machine was placed on the 2nd floor by crane, while the palletizer was installed on the 1st floor. Instead of installing a lift, which would have made the work more cumbersome, we left a space in the ceiling through which the robot palletizer could pick up the bags on the 2nd floor and stack them on the 1st floor.
We made sure that the sugar packaging machine was easy to clean by placing it on rails. It is now possible to move the machine to a separate cleaning position to clean it easily and meticulously.
A sugar packing machine, palletizer and accessories: the challenges of food
Thanks to our many years of experience, we are all too familiar with the challenges inherent to the food sector. If you need a partner to analyse and optimize your food packaging line, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Or if you want to make your packaging line more efficient, ask us for a free audit and we will see if your process can be made better, more efficient and more stable.
Machines used in this installation
- MTB FFS machine for tubular film
- Europack Winner 400 for stacking bags
- Europack warehouse pallet and roller conveyors
