In the cosmetics sector, packaging quality is a crucial element and IMA, a leader in the development and production of complete packaging lines for the cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and food industries knows this well.
The Italian company and holder of over 1700 patents, provides complete solutions for packaging that are in line with the growing demands of the market. Demands that, with respect to the past, mirror a global scenario where products have a shorter life cycle and the technology used to meet the needs of end-users have to be increasingly more advanced.
In fact, today’s industry requires higher levels of output and efficiency, integration of checks and programming language, increased delivery speed times, and more attention to costs in both economic and environmental terms.
And then there’s the quality of the packaging that, in some sectors like cosmetics, must be extremely high because it’s a defining element of the products itself.
CARTONING MACHINES: HORIZONTAL OR VERTICAL ?
In IMA’s ample product portfolio that varies from filling machines to solutions for secondary packaging, a range of cartoning machines that carry out the task of forming, filling, and closing cartons finds its place. Everything is done with extreme precision, without any accidental scratches or folds.
Amongst the solutions offered by IMA, besides the more traditional vertical cartoning machines, are also different types of horizontal ones- a must for packing hair dyes or for working with some types of die-cutting as Gianluca Ferriani, Key Account Manager, IMA Safe division explains in this interview.
Let’s talk about horizontal cartoning machines. Is it true that they represent a strategic product for IMA? Are there different models?
Yes, they are extremely important products for us. Horizontal cartoning machines, together with vertical machines, cover every possible commercial request coming from cosmetic clients.
We’re talking about machines that IMA has been building and selling since the beginning of the 1980s. The evolution over time has been unstoppable as we’ve gone through the trends and demands of our customers, developing and modifying solutions. One above all: the change from chains to flat belts to eliminate noise, contamination, and to simplify maintenance.
Today we’re able to cover a range that goes from the smallest intermittent motion cartoning machine to our flagship product named DYNAMICA. The latter is a machine able to package up to 400 cartons a minute, even in the presence of coding systems, adding serial numbers and accessory components such as information liflets or instruction booklet. Dynamica can pack single bottles as well as work with cartons containing ten small bottles each.
What are some of the advantages of IMA’s horizontal cartoning machines?
All of our cartoning machines are characterized by high standards of user-friendliness, performance, and quality, hence there aren’t any “extra” advantages but rather, it’s about characteristics that are better fit for some types of products as opposed to others.
An example? We prefer to work with jars vertically, whereas with a tube, horizontal would be preferred.
The horizontal version becomes a mandatory choice when we have to pack tiny cartons containing perfume samples or when we get into the sector of hair dyes where there’s a need to insert 3-5 different components. This situation doesn’t allow for other alternatives besides horizontal machines.
We could say that horizontal cartoning machines represent the technical solution which answers specific requests: for example, to work with some types of die-cut packaging, for specific product categories (tubes, soaps, bags) or for special packages (like that of perfume samples).
The choice of horizontal cartoning machine over vertical depends on many factors…
Yes, absolutely. Given that the horizontal machine is certainly very versatile and offers an ample range of formats, speeds, and solutions, there are products that must be treated with horizontal machines out of necessity, as mentioned early – all tubes, soaps, bags or special die-cut products.
In addition, there are also customers who, due to a long-standing history and affinity with this type of technology, prefer to use horizontal machines.
Let’s talk about technology and design, two key aspects for industrial automation…
IMA’s horizontal cartoning machines use sophisticated technology but at the same time they are meticulously designed according to new criteria coming from the cosmetic market in terms of speed, performance, simplicity in changing format, and user-friendliness.
And then there’s the design, characterized by ergonomics and a balcony style design. Elements that guarantee they are simple to use, easy to clean, and offer the maximum amount of safety for the operator as well.
Is this type of machine usually used in other sectors as well?
As we were saying previously, horizontal machines are very versatile and are used both in the cosmetics sector as well as in the pharmaceutical sector. With some differences. In the cosmetic sector, in particular, more flexibility is requested and the delicate nature of the packaging’s surfaces, which are very often glossy or decorated, must be better preserved.