Marden Edwards Journal

Marden Edwards has just completed the installation of a number of overwrapping systems being used to wrap an innovative product from Imperial Tobacco, West Quickies XL.
The overwrappers form part of the new production lines at the Imperial Tobacco Reemtsma plant where the new style of cigarette is being produced. Quickies are 180mm long tobacco rods that can be trimmed by the consumer to any length required, thereby using a smaller amount of amount tobacco if only a quick smoke is wanted.

Marden Edwards has been responsible both for the overwrapping systems used to wrap the individual packs and the collating and wrapping machines used to produce the five carton distribution packs.

A combination of new and existing machinery has been used on the lines. The individual pack wrappers are new and feature the latest site controls standards, whilst a number of existing cigarette collating and wrapping machines have been refurbished, bringing them back to an as-new condition. In addition the infeeds have been changed to fit in with the new line layout.

Dirk Huckebrink, the Project Manager responsible for the installation, says “We were very happy with the rapid response from Marden Edwards who were able to supply the new equipment and re-furbish the existing machinery exactly to our specifications and within the required timescales. As a result we have a good combination of efficient machines that represent value for money and are backed by high quality on site service.”

As with all Marden Edwards equipment, the machines supplied are extremely versatile and are suitable for rapid change over from one size to another. Not only is each machine configured to wrap and collate either of the two production sizes but they can cope with any size changes that may be needed in the future to meet as yet unknown requirements.

A large international condom manufacturer has recently taken delivery of a new WR200s fully automatic high speed over wrapper for its factory in Thailand.

Film overwrapping of condom packs is essential to promote the integrity of the product inside. It shows that there has been no tampering of the product since it left the factory and that the contents are secure. Tear tape is used to ensure that wrap is easy to remove.

The customer, already the owner of a Marden Edwards B25FF overwrapping machine, contacted their local agent Clearpack when they had the need for extra capacity. A number of different speed and price options were discussed before the 140 per minute WR200s machine was chosen.

The WR200s is manufactured in Marden Edwards’ factory in Germany, near Hanover. The design was newly introduced in 2005 and launched at the Interpack exhibition. The WR200s is a development of the existing WR200 high speed turret wrapper. This has dramatically reduced the size and the cost of the machine.

The WR200s is available as a side feed or front feed packaging machine. For this application, a side feed machine was supplied. The film cutting system consists of a rotary knife whilst the film is positively transported using grippers. The wrapping turret itself contains six stations and enables underfold, side folding and lateral sealing all to take place at the same time. The lateral seal is on the trailing edge of the pack.

Speed of changeover for a three dimensional size change is less than 30 minutes and all adjustments are controlled via a hand wheel with analogue indicators. The machine is of an extremely robust construction and means that continuous 7 days per week production can be achieved at line speeds up to 150 wraps per minute. Tear tape and print registration are typical options.

The WR200s provides a cost effective, robust machine designed for extremely reliable high speed wrapping.

In the search for market differentiation in the tobacco, cosmetic and food industries more and more brand owners are turning to non rectangular cartons for their products. These trapezoidal, ballotin or bevel edge packs have been considered difficult to overwrap.

Marden Edwards, by virtue of the design of its wrapping processes and many years experience of non rectangular product overwrapping, have developed many techniques to provide a high quality, overwrapped product.

In the confectionery industry, especially in Belgium, trapezoidal “ballotin” boxes have for many years been considered as the ideal gift box for the high quality chocolates contained within. Whether the ballotin is to be wrapped with heat sealable polypropylene film, cellophane film or heat sealable paper, Marden Edwards machines accurately handle such packs to ensure that although the top of the box is wider than the bottom of the box, high quality end seals are maintained.

A development of the ballotin box is the “gold block” of chocolate. This format was recently wrapped on a Marden Edwards machine for National Chocolates in Columbia. Even though the box has an extended lip, the resulting overwrap was of a high quality and provided the product with the protection that it needed.

An even more extreme development of the ballotin box is the hexagonal box. This pack has the end folds placed along the bevelled sides of the box. A clever tucking mechanism and an extra side sealer heater pad ensure that this pack is wrapped on a standard machine. To return to a purely rectangular carton was purely a matter of following the standard, rapid, changeover procedure.

In the tobacco industry the bevel edged 10s or 20s pack has become something of a standard for some brands. The outer carton which contains 10 packs of 20s has had to follow suit to provide a facsimile of the individual pack. The video shows a bevel edged pack running through a Marden Edwards S4B100FF machine which has only had new pack support fingers to enable this pack to be wrapped.

Marden Edwards has also had success wrapping trapezoidal perfume and fragrance boxes. For the perfume industry, quality of wrap and position of trailing edge seal is paramount. At a recent installation of its TM100 overwrapper in a French company, Marden Edwards wrapped a full trapezoidal pack with the lateral seal placed on the angled trailing edge. The adaptations necessary have become part of the regular size changeover procedure.

Marden Edwards has just delivered another of its’ new range of trailing edge overwrappers to a French customer wrapping perfume cartons. The TM100 range of machines has been available for nine months and has been suitable for products with a height up to 100mm. The TM120 is a development of the original TM100 and now has the ability to overwrap products up to 120mm in height.

The new TM120 overwrapping machine is designed to provide an extremely high quality of wrap with all parameters relating to seal positioning being under the operator’s control. Change over from one size to another takes less than 10 minutes and is assisted by the servo motors which meter the film and control the infeed pusher. This enables the machine timing to be optimised for any given pack size resulting in highly efficient running.

The machine sold featured two options which are popular for the perfume and fragrance industry. The built in film slitter, which enables one size of film roll to be used for many different pack sizes, automatically winds the waste material onto a separate reel allowing for easy changeover between sizes. In addition, an individual pack separation system is used to transport the box through the folding sequence. This assists in keeping the box square and accurately positions the dot end seals.

The TM120 has the ability to wrap with both polypropylene as well as cellophane and the new biodegradable films made from cornstarch. The TM range of machines is ably supported in France by Involtec who are dedicated to supporting all wrapping machines operating in the cosmetics, fragrances and perfumes industries.