Industrial Packaging
July/August 2019
Spirofl ow
extends
shelf life
S
pirofl ow is offering businesses a supply chain cost benefi t
by including foil or plastic bag liners within their woven
bulk bags.
Working closely with leading bag liner suppliers, Spirofl ow’s bulk
bag fi lling equipment can now integrate these liners, which,
following a nitrogen purge and heat sealing process, can
signifi cantly extend product shelf life. The solution will be of
particular interest to producers of nuts, seeds, coffee beans, dried
fruits or any manufacturers in the pharmaceutical or chemical
sectors who could benefi t from extended product storage.
Commenting on the initiative, Spirofl ow’s James Podevyn, said:
“Traditionally when bag fi lling, the bag would be infl ated with air
before fi lling commences. Filling it with nitrogen instead eliminates
any oxygen within the bag and after fi ll the bag can be left infl ated
or vacuumed, then heat sealed, thereby no air can get in or out.
Bacteria feeds on oxygen so by removing it, products can last longer
and shelf life will be increased.
“The foil or plastic bag liner could be used with any bulk bag
fi lling construction we make and the customer may choose the
perfect, bespoke bag for their product, enabling us to build the
equipment to meet their exact requirement. This enhanced bag
process could benefi t any product that has a shelf life, is affected by
contact to air, or is hygroscopic in
nature. The scope of uptake may
well go beyond the food and
pharmaceutical industries and we
are excited to see how this process
solution can innovate a breadth of
businesses.”
Spirofl ow offer two types of bulk
bag fi llers. The C Series, for low to
medium volume applications, has
a modular construction which has
the capability to be scaled up from
a basic set-up, to be modifi ed
when a change in production
requirements demands it.
Spirofl ow’s fi lling equipment can now
The Cone Table Elite (CTE) Bulk
integrate bulk bag liners, which, following
Bag Filler has a densifi cation
a nitrogen purge and heat sealing process,
can signifi cantly extend product shelf life
system that can increase bag
stability and fi lling quantity suited to high volume fi ling or where
considerable densifying is needed. By increasing the densifi cation,
the cost of shipping is reduced as the bags can be fi lled with more
product. By increasing the stability of the bags they become safer to
handle and to ship which could reduce costs.
www.spirofl ow.com
Plasti c pallets a perfect
pla� orm for ospreys
G
oplasticpallets.com has donated seven plastic pallets for
use in the Rutland Osprey Project which aims to return
the previously extinct bird of prey to England.
The plastic pallets are to be used to provide artifi cial nest platforms
to attract breeding pairs of ospreys back into the Rutland area.
Historically, ospreys were widespread throughout the UK, but were
driven to extinction by man. In 1954, ospreys naturally returned to
Scotland and began breeding, but due to their instinct to return to
the place they are born, they were not spreading south to England.
The Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust and Anglian Water
worked together to instigate a reintroduction project to bring the
osprey back to England, and it was A success. Since the fi rst
breeding took place in 2001, 117 young ospreys have fl edged from
nests in the Rutland area, of which there are now eight.
Goplasticpallets.com donated seven of its heavy duty Qpall 1210
HR 5R pallets, which are made from recycled polypropylene for use
in the project. Volunteers from Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust built and
installed the platforms on farmland in South Lincolnshire with
assistance from Western Power.
To make the platforms, the central webs were removed from the
plastic pallets to make a socket for the pole. The nest was then built
by fi xing twigs to a weld-mesh base, which in turn was fi xed to the
pallet. After installation the nest was fi nished by adding moss,
grasses and other nest material.
www.goplasticpallets.com
B ULK D ISTRIBUTOR
Rikutec launches all-plasti c twin drum
B
low moulding specialist Rikutec Group has introduced
what it says is the industrial packaging industry’s fi rst all-
plastic Twin Drum that meets the highly stringent demands of
ADR Packaging Group 1 regulations.
The blow moulded ‘tank in a tank’, which requires no secondary
container, also meets UN-sanctioned approvals in Europe and US
Department of Transportation regulations.
“Rikutec has developed the highest rated dual-containment drum
in the industry,” said Rikutec America president Andreas Amberg.
“This fi rst all-plastic Twin Drum is the next generation of industrial
packaging which sets a new benchmark for high purity with the
lowest metal and particle content while
meeting the highest safety standards.”
The 200-litre drum stores and transports
highly aggressive chemicals in an ultra-
clean environment for a range of industrial
markets including the pharmaceutical and
semiconductor industries. The all-plastic
drum delivers numerous advantages over
competing metal and plastic-metal drums
including corrosion resistance, high
pressure resistance, and 100 percent
recyclability. Another advantage is that the
Rikutec’s all-plastic Twin Drum
requires no secondary container Twin Drum can be fi lled and dispensed by
using QC-Dip tubes which prevents any
contamination of the contents.
The Twin Drum successfully withstands the
45-degree ‘on rim’ drop test (three times) from
2.8m (9.2ft) and absorbs the impact and energy
from falls for the highest safety performance for
transport. The Twin Drum is a 320 kPa (46 psi)
pressure-rated container for packaging group
1(X) rated high-density materials up to 1.9 kg/
dm.
It consists of a two-layer inner drum made of
high-purity, totally virgin high-density
polyethylene (HDPE) with no additives or
stabilisers. The two-layer outer drum is made of
UV-stabilised HDPE, providing safe secondary
containment. The two tanks are inserted
together and a hot plate welder joins the two
tanks together with an HDPE cap.
All three drum structures are manufactured on
Rikutec’s patented multilayer coextrusion blow
moulding machine in a cleanroom environment
at the company’s Westerwald, Germany plant.
www.rikutec.com
7