Syntegon Brings LFS to interpack
Syntegon launches, at interpack 2023, LFS, the filling solution for numerous liquid and viscous deli food products such as sauces, dips, and salads.
The LFS technology enables brand owners to safely and reliably fill a wealth of dairy and food products. “The machine is available in Clean and Ultra-Clean applications, and stands out due to its high flexibility,” explains Oguz Karcier, product manager at Syntegon. “Thanks to its modular design, the LFS can be adapted to the respective market and production conditions with little effort – ensuring future-proof processes at all times.” An optimized electronics concept significantly reduces the machine’s energy consumption. The LFS is a joint development of two Syntegon companies: the Königsbrunn-based Ampack GmbH designed the versatile solution together with Osgood Industries, a leading U.S. manufacturer of filling and sealing technology. Besides this interpack premiere, Ampack has another reason to celebrate: this spring marks the company’s 50th anniversary.
Filling and packaging machines for dips, sauces, and salads must meet special requirements, especially in process flexibility. “Since production in the deli food industry involves small batches, time-saving format changes are crucial,” says Karcier. The faster these take place, the shorter the downtimes – and the higher the output. Thanks to the tool-less system of the LFS, operators can exchange desired carrier plates and resume production quickly.
The carrier plates can be detached from the transport chain and replaced with the desired format to adjust the diameter, shape or filling volume of the cups, provided the format is not already running on the machine. The format-flexible LFS allows to pre-install up to two different plates, ensuring a fast start of production. This way, the machine covers cup sizes between 60 and 160 millimeters in diameter. Depending on the format, food producers can fill between three and eight lanes simultaneously. Visitors to interpack will be able to experience the flexibility of the LFS live at the booth: using different packaging materials, Syntegon will demonstrate the versatility of the LFS in the Clean application.
SmartFill, the modern filling system of the LFS, is another advantage. It ensures extremely high filling accuracy and effectively prevents product loss due to overfilling. At the same time, SmartFill is one of the flexible components of the LFS and can be easily retrofitted – for example, for filling liquid and highly viscous products.
Innovative technology ensures long-lasting and sustainable systems. Syntegon followed this approach in the development of the LFS: from drive technology to packaging materials, the system makes a significant contribution to more sustainable production. Here, the carrier plate transport chain plays a key role: lubrication occurs directly at the chain via a precise dosing and application mechanism that avoids oil overdosing. Moreover, the chain’s lifespan is up to 20 percent higher than in comparable systems – a significant advantage in view of costly manual chain changes and long downtimes.
Syntegon has also designed a sustainable energy supply for the LFS. Thanks to a modern electronics concept, the LFS can save up to 30 percent of its energy consumption. In combination with sustainable packaging materials, which the LFS can easily fill, the machine makes an important contribution to sustainable food production. In addition to traditional solutions, manufacturing companies can also fill cups made of sustainable materials such as paper or PP monomaterial on the LFS.