Miller Magazine Issue: 143 November 2021

67 COVER STORY MILLER / november 2021 sewing is available for open-mouth bags, whilst impulse sealing is offered for hermetic sealing of plastic packaging. The built-in height adjustable conveyor system makes packaging changes fast and simple, whilst allowing the operator to work at an ergonomic height. The integrated control panel makes it easy to reconfigure the process to activate the new functions as needed. FOOD INGREDIENTS Powdered food ingredients that require a care- fully controlled auger metering system will benefit from this option on the GEA SmartFil M1. The ver- tical auger design with integrated shutoff is well proven technology that is adapted from other filling systems in the GEA range. With an optional inte- grated deaeration probe, this filling system will en- able food ingredients manufacturers to safely and reliably fill powdered products into bags, boxes or drums. With a continuous heat-sealing config- uration, the SmartFil M1 can consistently produce finished products into 25kg open-mouth bags with either glued closure or sewn closure if required. Alternatively, the impulse sealing option is ideally matched with plastic bags that are commonly used with boxes or cartons. COFFEE & FREEZE-DRIED PRODUCTS Coffee and freeze-dried products tend to be frag- ile or friable and therefore demand a gentler ap- proach to filling. For these applications a vibratory feeding solution can be employed to finely meter the product for high accuracy filling. This type of feeding solution eliminates rotating or close con- tact parts from the product stream, thereby reduc- ing the risk of product breakdown. To ensure the integrity of the finished product, these types of products are typically filled into flex- ible plastic bags inserted into carboard boxes. For this application, a dust free bag clamping system was chosen. Once filled, the neck of the plastic box liner can be easily inserted into an impulse type sealer for hermetic sealing. The integrated height adjustable conveyor enables simple and quick ad- justment to suit the selected box/drum size, allow- ing the operator to work at an ergonomic height. A pivoting conveyor can be added to compensate for height adjustment when the GEA SmartFil M1 is connected to an optional integrated downline. DAIRY INGREDIENTS Small scale dairy plants requiring a hygienic pow- der filling solution in a compact form can select the GEA SmartFil M1 with auger feed, deaeration (option) and continuous heatsealer with integrated fold-over. This is a cost effective, high quality solu- tion for their powder packing operation. When in- tegrated with a downline bag handling system, this cost-effective semiautomatic solution provides high quality, accurate filling and closing of open-mouth, multi-wall bags. For aluminum foil bags, the sealing system can be changed to an impulse type sealer as required. PET FOOD The GEA SmartFil M1 can be configured to pack granular products, such as dried pet food, into lam- inated paper/polypropylene sacks that require a sewn closure. The vibratory feeder provides a gen- tle metering option, which can be coupled with the sealer/sewing system for effective closure. SAFETY FIRST Product safety is important to all food/pet food processing companies. The GEA SmartFil M1 is certified according to current hygiene standards. GEA integrated technology elements, which secure product safety focused on special areas of the pro- cess. Being a semi-automatic operation, it is import- ant that the filling system is easily accessible for cleaning. This was part of the design concept. Low height, accessible components make maintenance and cleaning operations easier, thereby minimizing potential machine downtime and lost production. About GEA GEA is one of the world’s largest systems sup- pliers for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical sectors. The international industrial technology group specializes in machinery and plants as well as advanced process technology, components and comprehensive services. With more than 18,000 employees, the group generated revenue of more than EUR 4.6 billion in fiscal year 2020. A major fo- cus is on continuously enhancing the sustainability and efficiency of customers’ production process- es. GEA plants, processes and components help achieve significant reductions in carbon emissions, plastic use and food waste in production worldwide. In this way, GEA makes a decisive contribution to- ward a sustainable future, fully in line with its corpo- rate philosophy of “engineering for a better world.”