ALEXANDRIA, Minn., April 5, 2023 – When it comes to pet care packaging, dogs and cats agree – Brenton and Matrix Packaging Machinery, both ProMach brands, have you covered! Brenton will be showcasing its palletizing capabilities for 15–60-pound bags of petfood, while Matrix will be demonstrating its Pacraft TT-8D-N pre-made pouch filler/sealer and the Elete vertical form fill seal machine. The two companies will be in booths 2816 and 2818 at Petfood Forum, May 2-3, at the Kansas City Convention Center, Kansas City, Missouri.
Brenton is a leader in designing and manufacturing integrated end-of-line packaging systems and machines, specializing in case packing and palletizing using both robotics and other automation for the pet care and pet food industries. Matrix is a leading manufacturer of vertical form fill seal machines; Matrix is the master distributor of global flexible packaging brandsPacraft (formerly Toyo Jidoki), and INVpack.
Brenton
Brenton has emerged as a leading manufacturer of robotic palletizing solutions for the pet care and pet food industries. While robotic palletizing is not a new concept in the pet solutions industry, there have been strong improvements to make this operation more precise and reliable. Here’s how Brenton is doing that:
The density of pet food bags tends to change throughout the day, and that is usually due to environmental factors such as temperature and humidity. This can result is bag sizes being altered, which in turn can affect the robotic palletizer’s ability to properly pick and place the bag of pet food. Typically, the robot is programmed to grab the bag at a specific spot. If the bag size is altered, even slightly, it can affect the robot’s ability to properly pick and place that bag.
Brenton has added intelligence to its robotic palletizing systems to effectively pick the product and place it onto the pallet, regardless of bag size variances. The benefit to the pet food manufacture is consistency in their end-of-line operation. They will see an increase in production uptime as the robotic palletizer performs as expected, without interruption. Although this may seem like a minor upgrade in performance, over the long haul, smoother operation with increased system uptime does add up to significant time savings.
Brenton will be demonstrating its palletizing capabilities for pet food bags weighing up to 60 pounds, as well as its other robotic solutions, through interactive animations.
Matrix / Pacraft
Petfood Forum attendees will see the Pacraft TT-8D-N pre-made pouch filler/sealer, and learn why it is the preferred packaging solution for pet treats and other pet care items. At the show it will be using recyclable and standard pouches. Designed for small to medium size pouches ranging from 4.72” to 10.23” (120 – 260mm), and lengths from 5.11” to 15.74” (130 – 400mm), the TT-8D-N is a flexible machine and reliable workhorse. Its pouch formats and product types including flat, stand-up, retort, and press-to-close styles, all while sealing up to 55 pouches per minute.
Matrix / Elete
The hygienic stainless-steel vertical form fill seal machine, Elete Premier, will also be on display for attendees. This machine is designed for filling pillow, gusset and flat bottom bags at speeds of up to 130 BPM in a frame built to withstand high sanitation and washdown environments. With a laminate or poly film sealing capability and compatibility with all types of fillers, the Elete is the perfect solution for hygienic packaging in the pet care industry.
Troy Snader: Tech Talk
Additionally, Troy Snader, Senior Vice President of Business Development for ProMach’s Secondary Packaging Group, will present a Tech Talk on the state of compostable and recyclable materials and machine compatibility, at 10:35 a.m., Tuesday, May 2.
Green initiatives continue to permeate the pet food industry. Whether raw materials or end product, every company today wants to be associated with “green” initiatives. Most applicable of which deal with packaging materials, such as recyclable, compostable, and dissolvable. Everyone wants the tag, but what do they mean? Is it as simple as stating “within 10 years, all of our products will be in compostable materials”, or “our company is focused on being green with 15 years.” Is the supply chain ready? Do we have the right machinery to do so?
This is the basis of Snader’s discussion. He will talk about these green materials and how they operate within packaging machinery. The presentation gives an update on compostable materials, primarily PE and PET, and sealing methods for handling the materials. This includes new details on machinery considerations and materials for the pet care industry.
Plan to visit Brenton and Matrix and Brenton in booths 2816 and 2818 at Petfood Forum 2023 to see how their solutions can work for your next pet care packaging line. For more information on the Troy Snader’s Tech Talk presentation, visit https://www.petfoodforumevents.com/news/latest-product-innovations-to-take-the-stage-at-petfood-forum/; for more information on Matrix, visit https://www.matrixpm.com/.