Les ulis, france, october 12, 2015. Fifty years ago, the &ldquoformfillseal&ldquo concept developed by ima erca marked the dawn of a new era in the packaging machinery industry. It dramatically simplified the entire production process for packing liquid and pasty foods now a single machine could be used to form cups of different sizes from plastic film, fill them with yogurt, sour cream or similar products, and seal them immediately. Moreover, the ffs concept made it possible to achieve higher standards of hygiene than had been the case with preformed cups. And it also reduced material and energy costs &ndash saving as much as 60, depending on the product. In the years that followed, ffs technology continued to inspire a whole series of innovations. In 1966, ima erca developed the first cup with an interior label for gervais &ldquopetit suisse&rdquo yogurt. In 1970, the company introduced the ppn composite cup for improved labeling.
During this cup&rsquos forming process, the label was drawn at the same time and perfectly matched to the individual shape of the cup. The ffs system with &ldquoopen mold&rdquo technology for the production of thermoformed containers with and without labeling followed in 1980. This new system significantly reduced trim waste and enabled additional cost savings in the use of materials. Keeping costs under control one of the more recent examples of innovation is the &ldquoef 400&rdquo with inline fruit feed. Launched on the market in 2010, this ffs machine minimizes fruit loss. The investment costs for this machine can be amortized in less than two years.
At 300 production days per year with 10 daily product changes, for example, the ef 400 saves approximately 180,000 kilograms of fruit mixture &ndash the machine pays for itself in 21 months. Ima erca unveiled another minor revolution at the industrial trade fair &ldquointerpack 2014&rdquo since that time, the previously established &ldquomf 14&rdquo multipack ffs machine can also produce cups made of polypropylene pp.
Not only does this reduce costs, it offers the advantage that individual cups are significantly more robust and the multipacks can be separated more easily. The pp option can be seamlessly integrated into existing mf 14 machines. Meanwhile, ima erca is filling more than just food the &ldquoef 600&rdquo form, fill and seal machine produces and fills transparent cups with mineral water, for example. The ef 600 manufactures up to 27,000 cups per hour with filling quantities of 100, 125, 200 or 250 ml. It uses apet material, or amorphous polyethylene terephthalate. This material is transparent like glass, but not nearly as heavy. At the same time, the amorphous structure makes them easy to grip, without the cups &ldquobuckling&rdquo when used for drinking.
Environmental protection and awardwinning innovation one of ima erca&rsquos other core concerns has always been environmental protection. That&rsquos why the company provides its customers with biodegradable packaging materials that minimize the use of raw materials. Take the renewable material &ldquopla&rdquo for example it can be composted and then disintegrates into the natural components of carbon and water, thus providing for a positive energy balance. Pla is compatible with all dairy products and preserves the taste and flavor of the products. In addition, ima erca relies on monomaterial packaging, which simplifies recycling, because cup, lid and label are all made of the same material.
Moreover, all ima erca machines are available in three different hygiene levels &ndash &ldquoclean&rdquo, &ldquoultraclean&ldquo and &ldquoaseptic&rdquo &ndash depending on product requirements and shelf life. Since its foundation in 1965, ima erca&rsquos innovative force has helped it to become the world&rsquos leading supplier of form, fill and seal machinery. Today some 2,000 machines all over the world are supporting major international food and beverage corporations with efficient thermoforming solutions and pioneering cup formats.
That performance has also earned ima erca several awards, including the &ldquooscar de l&rsquoemballage&rdquo and the &ldquoworldstar packaging award&rdquo as well as the &ldquodanone supplier award&rdquo in the category &ldquobest innovative idea&rdquo.
