Marden Edwards Journal

Imperial Tobacco in Nottingham has not only improved the integrity and security of transit packs holding either 3,000 or 5,000 cigarettes but is also saving space on shipping pallets thanks to the installation of several PSB1000 collating and stretchwrapping machines supplied by Marden Edwards Ltd.

The PSB1000 uses twin reels of polyethylene film which is stretched around the collation, forming a very tight band and drawing the packs tightly together. This systems produces a stable and uniform bundle before the seal is made and the film cut.

The machines at Imperial Tobacco are being used to collate and wrap overwrapped packs holding 100 cigarettes and they have the capability to handle these packs at speeds up 100 a minute. They are grouped into collations 5 packs wide by 5 packs deep and 2 packs high, measuring 600mm by 300mm 200mm overall and wrapped using film which can be up to one metre wide.

Once the collation has been wrapped, focused heat guns are used to shrink the overlapping film onto the sides of the collation, fully enclosing the bundle. This prevents the ingress of dirt or dust and makes it difficult for anyone to remove an individual pack without cutting or tearing the film, so providing a high degree of tamper evidence.

This system provides considerable cost advantages over casepacking when the price of polyethylene film is compared to corrugated cases and the resulting transit pack takes up less space than either the casepacked or shrinkwrapped equivalent.

Intraocular lenses used in eye surgery are the latest in a line of surgical items now benefiting from the protection and convenience afforded by overwrapping, following the installation of a Marden Edwards overwrapper by lens manufacturer Rayner.Traditionally these lenses have been packed into a carton and distributed to the surgeon for use in the operating theatre. However, the increasing demand for tamper evidence and proof of integrity led Rayner to take the decision to wrap the boxes in of lenses in plastic film at the point of production. For several reasons overwrap was selected as the preferred method of wrapping. For one thing there is little heat used in the wrapping process, reducing the risk of any heat damage to the acrylic lens inside the carton. In addition, the wrap retains a near hermetic seal until the moment of opening and it is possible to incorporate a tear strip with extended tab, enabling the cartons to be opened easily and quickly in the operating theatre.The machine chosen by Rayner has been newly introduced by Marden Edwards this year and is a cost effective entry level overwrapping machine that bridges the gap between basic shrinkwrapping systems and high speed overwrappers. It is simple to use and provides a high quality wrap over a wide range of carton sizes.Other surgical products overwrapped using Marden Edwards machinery include scalpels, syringes, hip replacement joints, colostomy bags and sutures all of which benefit from the integrity and ease of opening that overwrapping provides.

Tony O’Connor at Rayner says, “We researched the market for overwrapping machines and made contact with a number of suppliers. The price and performance of the Marden Edwards met our budgetary needs and meant that we could purchase a new machine with a full guarantee instead of having to settle for a second hand system.”

Marden Edwards has recently supplied one of its B100LH8 collating and overwrapping machines to a multi media supply company in California, USA. The application involved the collating and over wrapping of two plastic, DVD style, clamshell cases which contain digital media devices.

To achieve the high collating speed of 80 cases per minute on the B100LH8 low cost overwrapper, an innovative collating system was designed which allowed the bundle to be made cheaply and efficiently.

Marden Edwards’ usual method of product stacking on the B100LH8 is to lift the pack up to sit on sprung fingers. This system is tried and tested and suits a wide variety of packs and collation configurations. However, the pneumatic system used on the B series range is limited to 60 rows per minute. For speeds greater than this traditionally Marden Edwards supplied the LX range of wrapping machinery which incorporate either a mechanical or servo stacker suitable for speeds of 120 lifts per minute or greater. Read the rest of this entry »

Marden Edwards, one of the world’s major suppliers of overwrapping machinery, has just launched a brand new overwrapper – the Evo-Fold.

The Evo-Fold has been designed as an entry level, fully automatic overwrapping machine capable of speeds up to 45 packs per minute. Typical applications that the machine has been designed for include the wrapping of tea, confectionery, cosmetic and tobacco products.

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Marden Edwards Limited, the UK based manufacturer of overwrapping and shrinkwrapping systems, has recently supplied its first overwrapper to incorporate an integrated shrink tightening system fitted within the frame of the machine.

Marden Edwards developed the ST100 Shrink Tightener to enable the wrap on uniform products such as cartons to be tightened using a controlled amount of heat, applied to the finished wrap using heated belts. The system is ideal for cigarette producers who are looking for improved wrap quality and enhanced shelf appeal and now insist on a skin tight overwrap. Although a traditional overwrap is tight, any slight variation in the size of the outer box can lead to small “stress” lines at the edges of the wrap. The ST100 offers the ideal solution as it not only draws the film very tightly around the pack but leaves the tear tape straight, still allowing the wrap to be easily removed. Read the rest of this entry »