Baking & Snack - April 2024 - 88

SNACK PACKAGING
Romualdi echoed this, noting the
flexibility needs requested by a customer
significantly impact the efficiency
of the machine. He said IMAIlapak's
R&D team has focused on a
fast and effective format changeover
system across its machines.
" Thanks to these efforts,
the most critical operations
related to format
changes are now completely
automatic and
toolless, " he said.
Avoid pack size
problems
The hottest
Snack producers
should be clear with
suppliers on what
products they plan to
run on a line.
TNA Solutions
line, from 150 small bags to 20 big bags per minute.
Becker noted, however, that more flexible machines
may come at the price of lower throughput. With this
in mind, he said snack manufacturers should carefully
consider all their options and production variables before
investing in equipment.
" Manufacturers consider labor hours per pounds
of throughput as one of their key metrics, " he explained.
" Slowing down the line and using the same
labor means that product will have a lower margin for
the manufacturer. "
snacks
on
the market are constantly
changing, and so too are the packs
they come in. Inflationary pressures and other
consumer trends have snackers opting for packs on both
ends of the size spectrum, which can impact a packaging
operation in different ways.
" Larger and small pack sizes both impact packaging
and for certain the machines that will be used to run
these packaging formats, " Becker said. " There is no 'one
size fits all' on the market to solve this problem. "
Kehrli observed that smaller sizes, including singleserve
and bite-size packs, are trending.
" With inflation, people are not so willing to spend as
much money as they were, " he said. " I think today people
are also a little bit more health-conscious. "
As pack sizes get smaller, packaging lines will have to
run faster to meet the line's capacity, Curcio noted.
" Furthermore, as the packaging shrinks, it becomes
more difficult to package larger snacks, like tortilla chips
and potato chips, " he said.
Almond added that these manufacturers may need to
run some larger bags to increase the line's production.
" The other challenge with small bags is how best to
pack them, " he said. " There needs to be a balance between
processing capacity and optimizing case packing,
regardless of whether manual or automatic. "
Consumers seeking more bang for their buck are also
opting for larger family-size packs. Zermeño noted that
while these larger pack sizes will require more packaging
material, they lower the percentage of packaging costs.
Larger bags also typically require fewer packaging
systems to pull production capacity, Almond observed.
To help snack producers better respond to these
trends, more packaging equipment today can easily
handle a range of pack sizes. Almond said Heat and
Control's equipment can run the entire bag range on one
88 Baking & Snack April 2024 / www.bakingbusiness.com
Pack to the snack
Installing or upgrading a packaging line is also highly
dependent on the product being run. Even small differences
in texture, volume and weight can have big impacts
on line speed and accuracy.
EVEN SMALL DIFFERENCES
IN TEXTURE, VOLUME AND
WEIGHT CAN HAVE BIG
IMPACTS ON LINE SPEED
AND ACCURACY.
" Irregular shapes and small snacks can be more challenging
to handle and package quickly, " Zermeño said.
" Thin and fragile items prone to breakage might require
careful handling to avoid damage during packaging,
slowing down the process. "
This includes lighter snacks like potato chips and
popcorn. Conversely, denser and more uniform products
like pretzels and nuts are typically easier to package
quickly and accurately, Shukla said.
Kehrli observed that softer and stickier items like
snack bars and cakes pose challenges of their own.
" They could require significant changes to the product
handling system; it could require lower speeds, " he
said. " Stickier products require less contact. So we have
to keep them separated somehow and then still run
them fast. "
Almond added that packaging speed is also determined
by product charge length, how product flows
down the chutes and how it transitions to the filling tube.
" All factors, such as seasoning, breakage and modified
atmosphere should be considered to reliably determine
speed and accuracy, " he said.
Snacks are ever-popular and ever-changing, which
can prove challenging for packaging departments. But
manufacturers who find the necessary balance between
line speed, accuracy and flexibility can pack snacks with
success and stay on top of this dynamic category.
*
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