The Italian Group has built an innovative robotic packaging line for an important Austrian company leader in dry pet food
Gampack Group, based in Piacenza in the heart of the Emilian packaging valley, offers know-how in systems integration for secondary and tertiary packaging gained over the years.
Today, it designs and builds innovative solutions for an optimal and profitable management of end-of-line packaging of products in the food, beverages, dairy, pet food, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, chemical, personal and house care industries.
More specifically, the solutions proposed by the Gampack Group for case-packing and palletizing systems are based on a skilful blend of innovative robotic solutions and the most advanced technologies of traditional packaging machines.
Thanks to its network synergy and simultaneous development in innovation and in eco-sustainability, Gampack Group has been able to counterbalance the difficulties due to the COVID-19 which has damaged the global economy by capitalizing on its core assets and utilizing the flexibility of its packaging machines to respond to today’s very demanding market.
One of the top segments where GAMPACK GROUP has grown during these last years is PET FOOD, which recorded in 2021 a growth of about 6% in the United States and 4% in Europe. More in detail, in Italy PET FOOD has developed a turnover of 2.431 million euros with an increase of +8%.
Customers need very reliable and flexible machines with compact dimensions. In order to satisfy these requirements, Gampack Group has recently created an innovative robotic packaging line for a well-known Austrian company leader in dry pet food.
The robotic system designed and engineered by Gampack Group in fact offers high flexibility, while ensuring a high degree of efficiency. Dry pet food is kept safe and airtight inside of doypacks arriving from the upstream machine.
Doypacks arrive lying with bottom forward. First, they pass through an integrated dynamic checkweigher, fitted with a dedicated ejection device which expels the non-saleable doypacks by means of a stainless-steel chute.
Then the products arrive onto a conveyor that proceeds under a 3D vision system which checks the position of each doypack and gives the proper information to two high speed delta robots, which pick products up and place them into the open cases previously formed by a dedicated robotic station.
Products are positioned according to the planned configuration (in this case, first the lid is filled, then the tray is placed on top of it and finally the package is overturned – in other circumstances the package can be differently done).
Cases lids are formed using a three-axis robot that picks up the flat blanks from the horizontal Lid Magazine, erects them in a hopper and places them onto an inclined motorized cleated conveyor that moves on in counter-flow with respect to the arrival of products; this arrangement allows for maximum filling efficiency.
The lids thus filled are then closed laterally and, subsequently, a polar manipulator robot picks a flat blank from the Tray Magazine and places it on the formed filled lid, completing the display-box. The closed cases are then overturned and moved onto a belt conveyor underneath the product transport, which then brings them back to the exit following the production flow, with a maximum output speed of 15 trays/minute.
The above-described line has been the optimal answer for our customer to his space problems, while ensuring the best synergy between the filling machine of Doypack and the packaging machine downstream, which are linked together in a harmonious design solution.
The key to success of Gampack Group is its innovative strength and the market proximity, which allow the company to respond to Customers’ requirements developing pioneering and dedicated solutions.
Thanks to the significant experience gained also in the pet food industry, once again Gampack Group has been able to offer high-profile technological support in the design and implementation of efficient and modern packaging systems.