GEA develops high-capacity skin pack thermoforming technology with vacuum and MAP flexibility

20 Apr 2021 --- GEA is unveiling a new version of its skin thermoforming packaging technology – the PowerPak Skin.50 – which can perform vacuum and Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) packing on the same machine. 

The thermoforming packaging machine provides processors of sliced products, meat cut, sausages, fish, hard cheese and seafood up to 100 mm high with high-capacity packing, protruding up to 50 mm above the level of the packing tray.

The technology brings together “the highest production capacity currently available and excellent packing quality with the minimum of wrinkles in the finished package.”

Flexible and modular design
GEA has achieved this high capacity through innovative engineering, giving an index length up to 600 mm, up to eight tracks and four rows of product.

Meanwhile, quality enhancements have been achieved by using a new top film guiding and pre-heating station. The new technology avoids film tapering, makes the top film easier to form, preventing wrinkles and improving the overall packaging appearance, and ensures the correct alignment during the sealing process.

The GEA PowerPak.50 skin thermoforming packaging system’s modular design allows a choice of feeding, labeling and end of line equipment to match any food producer’s demands.

The system can also be adapted to provide vacuum and MAP, supporting its “all-round” performance and flexibility.The GEA PowerPak Skin.50 high-performance skin thermoforming packaging system.

The skin thermoforming trend
Skin packaging is becoming increasingly popular as the packaging choice for many fresh and premium-grade foods.

The versatile process wraps all products efficiently on a second skin, even those with sharp edges and irregular shapes.

The process also eliminates air, preventing oxidation and maintaining the product’s original color and flavor, maintaining shelf life, keeping juices and marinades within the package, and providing a clear view of the entire product.

Skin thermoforming also minimizes packaging waste by using thin films and recyclable paperboard webs while providing an attractive price-performance ratio.The thermoforming machine provides processors of sliced products, meat cut, sausages, fish, hard cheese and seafood up to 100 mm high with high-capacity packing.

Paper-based dimension
Earlier this year, GEA added a paper-based packaging dimension to its PowerPak Plus thermoforming machine.

The new packaging option is made from a moldable paper composite consisting of more than 80 percent paper and a residual amount of plastic for features delivering barrier properties.

“The packaging market is currently in a state of flux,” explains Volker Sassmannshausen, senior product manager thermoforming packaging systems at GEA.

“While consumers and food retailers are demanding reductions in plastic usage, the food industry must ensure safe packaging from beginning to end of the supply chain.”

“Not only must all hygiene and quality standards be met, but also legal requirements which call for a significant reduction in the amount of plastic used in packaging.”

Sassmannshausen told PackagingInsights customer demand for paper-based solutions has increased in recent months.

“The need for these solutions is coming from the market and the regulations, [specifically] the need to first reduce the amount of plastic film used in packaging, and second the possibility to separate completely and easily both materials – plastic film and paper – and recycle them.”

The EU Plastics Strategy requires all packaging to be recyclable in an economically viable way by 2030.

In November, GEA announced it is supplying aseptic separator systems for COVID-19 vaccine and other pharmaceutical production to Chinese biopharmaceutical company Beijing Sinovac Life Sciences through an expanded partnership.

By Joshua Poole