Anuga FoodTec 2024: a busy and successful week for the companies of the Smart Packaging Hub

The 2024 edition of Anuga FoodTec, held in Cologne at the end of March, was a great international success, confirming it as the world’s leading trade fair for the food & beverage industry, a platform of excellence for innovation and networking in the sector.

Responsibility was the main theme of the fair where solutions for sustainable resource management along the value chain were presented.

Exhibitors displayed the latest technological innovations in processes, food safety, packaging systems, automation, digitisation and intralogistics.

Among the areas of focus were solutions to reduce the use of plastic through alternative packaging materials, including paper.

Anuga FoodTec 2024 in figures

With an increased exhibition area and the participation of more than 1,300 exhibitors of excellence, the 2024 edition of Anuga FoodTec in Cologne closes with a major turnout of almost 40,000 visitors from 133 countries across Europe and several countries around the world.

During the event, key decision-makers from the global food & beverage industry met with top suppliers of technology and process innovation, developing important business and technology growth opportunities at all stages of the supply chain.

Smart Packaging Hub at Anuga FoodTec 2024

In the exhibition area of the trade fair dedicated to packaging technology, the Smart Packaging Hub stand stood out successfully.

There were many visitor interactions between the Hub companies, interested in learning more about the integrated solutions they can offer together as Smart Packaging Hub.

For each of the companies in the Smart Packaging Hub, the balance of the fair is decidedly positive with the majority of visitors coming from all over Europe, but also visitors from America, South Africa, the Middle East, Australia, Israel and Ukraine, confirming the international level of interest in this event.

Below is Anuga FoodTec 2024, narrated by the five companies of the Smart Packaging Hub.

Baumer

<< An edition of Anuga FoodTec exceeded expectations, with a great turnout of visitors from all over the world >> comments Roberto Campagnini, Sales Manager of Baumer.  

<< Several prospects stopped by the stand interested in learning more about the technological innovations of our araund wrap-around case packer with 90° infeed, which they were able to see in operation here at the fair >>.

<< The 90° infeed system of the machine on display makes it possible to eliminate the classic divider on parallel rows with accumulation, allowing a reduction in overall dimensions >> continues Campagnini, << the product is then conveyed directly into the machine in a single row, with phasing managed by electronically controlled brushless motors >>.            

<< We have also eliminated the use of pneumatics, realising the movements with mechanical organs combined with electronically controlled brushless motors, raising the standards of precision on product positioning and phasing. This solution, appreciated by visitors, has also allowed us to contain energy consumption in favour of environmental sustainability >>.

Campagnini concludes: << Prospects have positively assessed the functionality and versatility of this case packer, which, by adapting to any type of product such as bottles, cans, bricks and more, with shapes that can be cylindrical, oval and rectangular, allows rapid automatic format changes, increasing productivity >>.

Cama

<< During this edition of Anuga FoodTec we had very positive feedback and we are very pleased with the success of our IF series monobloc line exposed at the fair >> comments Paola Fraschini, Marketing Manager of Cama Group.

<< Prospects appreciated the construction peculiarities of our robotic monoblock.  It is a machine characterised by important technological innovations for secondary packaging, developed according to responsible criteria involving food safety and sustainability, with energy saving and production efficiency concepts >>.

<< With the monoblock exhibited at the show – continues Fraschini – we also presented the new augmented reality system ‘Augmented Machine Assistant’, making interaction with the machine even smarter through a functional and intuitive user interface, which aroused particular interest among visitors >>.

<< With the ‘Augmented Machine Assistant’ system, the user not only has an unrestricted view on a tablet of the internal parts of the monoblock, but can also call up drawings of the electrical and pneumatic diagram on the mobile device, making control and maintenance operations more practical and intuitive. The operator is guided with the help of images and interactive films, which explain the procedures for interacting and working on the machine >>.

<< Another special feature of the monoblock on show at the fair is the robotic loading unit with the suction cup gripper structure made using 3D Printing technology, a solution that was positively evaluated by prospects >>.

<< In this specific case, we 3D printed the gripper heads with a body and shape designed specifically for the application. In this way, we were able to reduce the weight of each head, with the aim of placing less stress on the mechanical organs of the robot and thus saving energy. We were also able to create special cavities in the body of the heads for the pneumatic wiring and for the fibre optic control sensors, resulting in a neat and ‘clean’ device, also to comply with the machine’s hygienic design standards >>.

Fraschini concludes: << Cama is investing heavily in the 3D printing technique, as it allows the production of polymeric material components with structures and geometric shapes tailored to the application and in some cases difficult to realise with other technologies and expensive equipment such as moulds >>.

Clevertech

<< An enthusiastic edition of Anuga FoodTec attracted the interest of an unexpected number of industry professionals from all over the world >> comments Luca Carollo, Business Development and Key Account at Clevertech.

<< We highlighted the qualitative level of demand from the new customers we met at the fair, with an interest that no longer focuses solely on single machine automation solutions, but on the design of a fully integrated packaging line capable of sharing the flow of data along the supply chain for product traceability and production flow management. Clevertech, in synergy with the companies of the Smart Packaging Hub, is able to meet these demands >>.

<< In the context of automation systems with robot cells in the palletising phase, we exhibited ‘Raptor’, our innovative and versatile module using 4- or 6-axis articulated robots >> continues Carollo. << The ‘forklift-style’ gripper is the key element of ‘Raptor’, which attracted the interest of many prospects >>.

<< With the same multi-tasking gripping head, the robot can accurately handle various types of secondary packaging such as cardboard boxes, open trays with or without film, cans, and even products as small as 100x100mm packages together with bags up to 30 kg and interlayers. It adapts with versatility to the customer’s palletising requirements >>.

Carollo concludes: << Visitors appreciated the quality and flexibility offered by ‘Raptor’, features that also made it possible to make interesting assessments of the speed of return on investment >>.

Tosa

<< We are satisfied with the results achieved during this edition of the Cologne Fair, which allowed us to establish new relationships at an international level with prospects interested in our technological innovations to develop automated end-of-line packaging solutions with a focus on environmental sustainability >> comments Marco Cocino – Sales Area & Marketing Manager at Tosa.

<< Multinationals and SMEs in the food & beverage sector are increasingly supporting eco-sustainability, including the tertiary packaging phase >>.

<< We are witnessing a significant change in the world of packaging, with paper becoming one of the main green alternatives to replace plastic. In this context Tosa Group is ready to propose concrete solutions at the end of the line >>.

Cocino went on to say: << We met several prospects interested in evaluating the technology of our ‘Cai Lun Hybrid’ wrapping machine, which is designed to work with the paper reels on the market, mainly kraft paper. This machine was also appreciated for its versatility as it can also use plastic stretch film, adapting to any production requirement >>.

<< We also brought a ‘deformable paper’ to the fair, the result of Tosa Group’s commitment to research and development. Thanks to its deformable fibres of up to 40%, this paper is particularly suitable for wrapping loads with irregular profiles >>.

Cocino concludes: << The visitors also appreciated the technological innovations and design aims of ‘Juracàn’, our rotating ring wrapping machine suitable for plastic film rolls for high production requirements. It features a new structure design based on innovative construction concepts aimed at reducing materials and energy consumption, in line with our sustainability principles >>. 

Zacmi

<< We are very pleased with the success of this enthusiastic edition of Anuga FoodTec in Cologne, during which we celebrated our company’s 70th anniversary>> comments Marco Motta – Zacmi Area Sales Manager.

<<We brought a 12-head seamer and a 40-telescopic filling machine to the fair – continues Marco -which represent Zacmi’s dedication and continuous research for precision, quality and production efficiency in primary packaging>>.

<<We have renewed the design of these machines to make washing and cleaning operations even easier and more effective, raising hygiene standards with solutions that have been appreciated by potential customers>>.

<<In addition, the re-engineering of the telescopic filling machine was positively evaluated, allowing us to further reduce product waste >>.

<<Among the features of the seamer that have attracted the attention of many  visitors, is the in-line seaming control sensor, which is able to reject incorrectly seamed cans, directly during production >>.

<<This proprietary system, which measures the cam torque value of each crimping machine head, not only identifies the cans to be discarded, but also makes a statistical record of the data collected during production, providing useful indications, both for preventive machine maintenance and for tracking any batches of cans or lids with dimensions out of tolerance for the correct crimping operation >>.

Marco Motta concludes: << Among the hygienic design solutions applied both on the filler and the seamer exhibited at the fair, the possibility of washing the machine bed with water to expel any product residues, without stopping production, was highly appreciated by visitors.  It is a practical and effective system to increase the level of hygiene without penalising productivity >>.