Case Study: Syntegon Technology Installs Horizontal Packaging System for Wibisco

Syntegon Technology, formerly Bosch Packaging, has helped Wibisco (West India Biscuit Company Limited – a biscuit producer established in 1910) increase its productivity at its biscuit manufacturing facility in Barbados by installing a new horizontal packaging system.

Syntegon Technology shared with us details about the installation of the new line, which helped increase production output in a limited space, maximized efficiency and ensured a high level of cleanability to the business, based both on a reliable feeding process and the packaging equipment itself. 

The plant had two complete horizontal packaging systems for crackers and cookies, including seven horizontal-flow wrappers (HSS) that had been operating in the plant for more than 15 years. To keep up with the changing market demand for smaller sized packages, Wibisco needed to replace some of the older pieces of equipment, according to Delroy Walsh, operations manager of the plant. Additionally, Wibisco wanted to enter new market segments and needed to increase its overall production capacity. The main challenge was that their packaging equipment was not able to process all products coming from the oven because the existing flow wrappers limited the overall production speed. “Therefore, we had to stop the baking process and manually remove cookies from the line and put them into storage containers. These containers buffered the additional products until the packaging line was ready to wrap them. However, this process created another challenge for us. While we were busy with manually refeeding the buffered cookies into the packaging process, products were exposed to increased breakage which resulted in higher wastage volume and therefore increasing production costs,” said Walsh.

A Custom-made Solution
Syntegon Technology was able to solve these issues by designing an integrated packaging system consisting of vibratory channels, two magazine feeders for stacking the products and two Pack 201 horizontal flow wrappers for primary packaging (both for single and multipacks). Besides, once the products are loaded into the vibratory channels, the system can run automatically without employee intervention.

Christiaan Mulder, marketing officer at Syntegon Packaging Technology B.V.,  explained for us why the horizontal packaging system was the recommended choice. They installed a completely new line that would fit with the layout of the factory. Due to the modularity of the machines, they could easily adapt it to the existing part of the production line. “For flow wrapping cookies, horizontal packaging is the only option. If you want to make tight single or multipacks, you need to have full control over the product. Compared to vertical packaging, you are not limited to the fall speed. With horizontal packaging, you can accelerate the products to achieve higher speeds and therefore higher capacities. Also, making stacks of products is only possible when packaging horizontally,” Mulder told us.

The advantage of this particular setup is that there is a perfect balance between automation and manual labor. Therefore, the system is very cost-efficient, the expert added, even while it includes some steps that need to be done manually, such as the loading of the vibratory channels and the loading of the secondary packaging system for multipacks. Regarding the operation capacities, the Pack 201 with three crimper heads on the crimper unit can achieve a speed of 425 packaged products per minute. The maximum film speed on the Pack 201 is 60 meters per minute.

All Syntegon machines have the same standard, which makes it is easy to adjust the line to the customers’ requirements. In this case, the film tower was lowered so that it was ergonomic for the operators. The layout is very compact so that it could easily fit the factory and it can be operated by three people.

Concerning pack sizes and (changeovers for) variations, Mulder explained: “You can pack a new variation by changing the folding box and the pusher pins for the variation you want to pack and by loading a new recipe with the push of a button”.

The product sizes can range from:

• Product length: min 40 max 565 (mm)
• Product width: min 12 max 250 (mm)
• Product height: min 6 max 110 (mm)

In Wibisco’s case, the specialist added that upgrading was not necessary, but, in theory, it would be possible to automate more areas of the line. For example, the loading of the wrapper that makes the multipacks is done manually, but this could be done automatically with a robot.

Maximum Flexibility

Although increasing the production output of the line was a crucial element, the feeding and packaging system offers more benefits. It ensures maximum flexibility and fast changeovers to adjust the format and count of products per package. In this way, Wibisco can easily accommodate different types, formats and shapes (rectangular and round) of cookies on the same line. Once the products reach the magazine feeder via the vibratory channels, they are stacked and grouped into portions ranging from two to six cookies per package, which are then precisely wrapped and sealed by a Pack 201 flow wrapper, creating up to 400 packages per minute.

Additionally, the new packaging system is equipped with a “fill-detection” sensor, which monitors the products coming from the infeed into the flow wrapper. In case of potential jams, when the product is not transferred properly and blocks the transfer point from the vibratory channel into the magazine feeder, for example, the sensor is activated and the whole system (vibratory channel, magazine feeder, and flow wrapper) is stopped. This is possible because the vibratory channels are manually loaded with penny-stacked products that come from the oven belt.

The point where the cookies are erected moves back and acts as a buffer. In this way, the accumulation of products in the vibratory channel is prevented and the operators can easily remove the blockage, eliminating the risk of product waste and machine downtime. On top of that, if metal is detected in the package, it is rejected without stopping the packaging process. To further support a hygienic production, the entire line provides easy access to all elements, which ensures easy cleaning and maintenance.

“The new packaging system allows us to increase our production output for smaller-sized packs by over 100%, while also offering robust performance under demanding 90-degree-Fahrenheit, humid climate conditions in our plant. Besides being able to rely on cutting-edge technology, we are also very happy with the relationship with Syntegon; when they visit our plant, they feel like at home and vice-versa. We built this trust over the years and enjoy having a strong partner at our side,” added Walsh.

Based in Bridgetown, Wibisco is one of the oldest established commercial bakeries in the Caribbean. With a long history of producing quality baked cookies and crackers, Wibisco has grown into one of the Caribbean’s most dynamic and successful companies. With a modern plant and approximately 250 employees, Wibisco has evolved into a world-class operation and delivers its iconic sweet and salty products (like “Shirley Biscuits”, “Eclipse” and “Sodabix Crackers”) far beyond the Caribbean, for example to the U.S. or the U.K.