Following a reorganisation last year, packaging specialist Franz Henke has invested in 26 new injection moulding machines from Sumitomo (SHI) Demag to increase its production efficiency and help the company in continuing to meet the BRC/IoP certification standards.
Based in Germany’s Oldenburger Münsterland region, last year, 1.3 billion items left the plant in Lohne, the majority of which comprised packaging for foodstuffs. Manufacturing items such as ice cream containers, bowls for ready-made salads, containers for icing sugar and dessert tubs, Franz Henke regularly utilises the in-mould labelling process. The food-packaging manufacturer produces a variety of closures, including snap and push-fit lids for closing and sealing cardboard tube containers and tin cans, cardboard and foil insertions and snap caps with tamper-evident closures.
Lids for baby food are also manufactured at the facility on an EL-Exis SP 350-3000 machine from Sumitomo (SHI) Demag. Because the lids can come into contact with the baby food, trust in the production process is paramount.
“European manufacturers of baby food are currently recording enormous growth rates, especially in the Asian market,” said Sumitomo (SHI) Demag head of sales André Bergmann. “We are benefiting from this growth. Baby food lids are classified as hygiene critical and this internationally active baby food manufacturer has placed its trust in our production.”
At the Lohne production site, new quality assurance processes were introduced and an external laboratory regularly carries out tests on the baby food lids. After testing out Sumitomo (SHI) Demag’s electrical IntElect system with 1,000 kN clamping force, Franz Henke recently placed another order for two machines from this range.
Franz Henke CEO Jürgen Henke “Although we don’t need a clean room at present, customers, such as manufacturers of baby food, are increasingly expecting us to carry out our manufacturing under controlled conditions. Electric machines are ideal for this“.
Having purchased its first Sumitomo (SHI) Demag machine – a hybrid El-Exis S 550 – in 2008, Franz Henke updated its injection moulding fleet in 2013, ordering 25 more systems from the company. Alongside a hydraulic Systec with 600 kN clamping force, all of the others were hybrid, high-speed machines, ideal for the packaging area, with clamping forces between 1,500 and 5,800 kN. Integrated into many of the Sumitomo (SHI) Demag machines are special in-mould labelling (IML) functions.
“Sumitomo (SHI) Demag is the right partner for our requirements,” said Henke. “The machines deliver the right performance and price/performance ratio. Furthermore, the service is very good.” Franz Henke now has more than 84 injection moulding machines with Sumitomo (SHI) Demag making up over 30% of the fleet.
With efficiency being the key driver behind the German company’s overall strategic reinvestment, valued overall at around €8 million, Franz Henke has recently reported a significant reduction in energy consumption. Overall, the power drawn by the machines has dropped by 600 kW to 1500 kW – with increased performance capability.
Henke said: “Above all, the new high-speed machines have enabled us to increase our stroke rate in production. This is currently paying off in many new projects.”
Franz Henke is also testing out bioplastics and the brand is trying out maize starch as an alternative renewable resource to further decrease environmental impact. “This represents a future arena for us by means of which we can set ourselves apart in the market,” says André Bergmann. “There is demand for such packaging, above all from manufacturers of organic foodstuffs.”
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