New production systems that reduce our impact on the environment
In spite of the insurgence of the pandemic, values such as environmental sustainability and reducing our impact on the Planet have burst onto the economic stage, with growing numbers of people showing increased sensitivity towards these themes.
Commitments by companies also play a fundamental role in this area. Opem Spa is among one of the most sensitive companies in terms of the health of the planet and has played an active role for some time.
RESEARCH AGAINST PLASTIC
Opem Spa, a leading company in the packaging for granular and dry products sector with almost half a century of experience, has for some time been competing for customers with larger competitors thanks to its avant-garde machinery and technologies.
Opem Spa designs and builds packaging machinery for food and beverages (with a particular focus on coffee, the company’s core business), and for some time it has been trying to reduce the use of plastics preferring alternative materials. Just like in other sectors, the coffee sector is promoting the use of less plastic.
For this reason, the internal Opem Spa R&D department has been making considerable investments to research alternative materials, especially biodegradable, recyclable or completely compostable materials.
In view of this, Opem Spa developed a project which was submitted to the European Commission for validation. The goal of the project was to create a capsule machine and production line that not only use less energy but can also handle recyclable (such as aluminum) and compostable materials.
The company submitted a project to the EU for a machine that subsequently received an award. INNOVATION
The project submitted to the European Commission (and for which Opem Spa also received an award), shows how much the company cares about putting forward technologies that provide high production levels with the lowest possible use of materials and energy.
The machines designed and manufactured by Opem Spa employ highly energy efficient electric and electronic components as well as Artificial Intelligence control systems combined with top performing mechanical components with minimum weights and clearances.
This means each packaged product can be manufactured at an extremely advantageous cost. However, Opem Spa is not just about economic savings, it is also very interested in using more sustainable materials. In fact, the company makes large use of electronics to make sure its entire machine fleet functions perfectly and without using excess energy. Mechanics also play an important role in company procedures.
Opem Spa production lines are not confined to just production: the company ensures they are maintained in top condition to drive down costs and waste (as concerns materials and energy) and, whenever a line reaches the end of its life, it is dismantled in a way that reduces its impact on the environment. Therefore, energy efficiency plays a fundamental role in terms of economic performance for Opem Spa systems.
However, all this should not be seen as a mere utilitarian calculation but a virtuous tool for developing a business that conjugates profit with sustainability.
The “smart” version of packaging
Artificial Intelligence has now permeated many companies improving performance and making machines more efficient. Opem Spa has certainly not lagged behind in this area.
In fact, by adopting key words such as packaging integration, productivity and flexibility, the company has played a prominent role in the development of its technological innovation projects. Some Opem Spa machines are already equipped Artificial Intelligence to make sure the company reaches its goals to reduce its environmental impact and manufacture impeccable products.
Increased care for the Planet
Over the past few years, other food and beverage packaging companies have also shifted towards a greener economy, adopting more sustainable policies, which mainly aim to reduce their carbon footprint and make the entire packaging portfolio more reusable, recyclable and compostable.
All this to cut the quantity of materials used, employ low impact resources and improve the end of life of packaging through reuse.
