Roberts PolyPro, powered by Pro Mach, is showing for the first time at Pack Expo 2014 the highest speed, most innovative handle applicator in the company’s history.
This new up to 600 bottles-per-minute handle applicator utilizes a continuous motion roll-feed design to achieve two, four, six, eight, and 12 packs.
The roll-feed design has reduced the cost of handle dies, as well as the number of dies required – one die per bottle neck size, not pack-size configuration.
This significantly lowers the acquisition cost of this new continuous motion handle applicator.
The latest generation of fully recyclable high density polyethylene handles are thin, light and strong.
The cost compared to the previous generation of handles has fallen by 26% principally from a significant reduction in material sourced per handle.
Operators no longer have to fill stacks of handles into a machine magazine, but load a roll of handles onto the machine.
To change rolls, operators weld the end of the in-use roll to the beginning of the next roll with one push of a button. Each machine accommodates two rolls of handles. These features help reduce labor costs.
In the past, handles were applied at the end of the packaging line to bottles already packed in cases, which limited throughput to less than 500 bottles a minute.
The new machine is located right after the capper.
Not having to deal with in-case application meant that design engineers could reduce the footprint of the new machine.
