KHS has introduced the Innopack Kisters WSPP A secondary packaging machine for cans. The flexibility of the packer aims to satisfy any secondary packaging requirement in the market. Additionally, existing Innopack Kisters machines in the Advanced series can be upgraded to a WSPP A.
Last year, KHS presented a machine that wraps beverage cans in paper. “Paper as a packaging material is still a novelty on the beverage market,” said Ernst van Wickeren, Packaging Product Manager for KHS. “However, this alternative is already definitely meeting with great interest from beverage canners. Many of our customers who sell organic beverages, for instance, also want to convey the notion of ecology through the packaging – and in doing so are satisfying a rapidly growing consumer demand.”
Since then the company has expanded on the concept with the Wrap-around Shrink Paper Packer Advanced (WSPPA) machine, which features a combination of modules capable of processing multiple kinds of secondary packaging.
The modular design of the machines means existing shrink wrapping or paper wrapping models in the range can be retrofitted with the additional functionality.
The shrink tunnel can be individually configured and scores on low energy consumption. A gas heating system can be used here as a further option that reduces energy costs by up to 50% and cuts CO2 emissions by up to 60%, the company says.
If paper is used in place of film, the machine conveys the finished packs through the shrink tunnel that has been switched off. If paper wrapping is to replace film packaging entirely, the shrink tunnel can be completely removed, then making the machine no longer in its dimensions than a previous packer design.
Looking at the annual electricity savings shows just how energy efficient paper packs are compared to film packs. With a shrink tunnel consumption of up to 72 kWh in two-shift operation on 300 days of the year, a maximum of €30,000 can be saved per year, KHS claims. Retrofitting an Innopack Kisters WSP is not difficult; all that needs to be done is to replace the existing wrapping module with the further developed wrapping module with its additional functions and to install the paper folding and gluing module.
