Fish Feed - Big Bag & 25kg Bag Filling

Client

Ewos Innovation is the research and development arm of aquaculture giant Ewos/Cargill, a marine feed supplier. https://www.cargill.com/animal-nutrition/brands/ewos

Challenge

Ewos Innovation were looking for an integrated system capable of handling large single loop bags of different sizes and weights for their commercial fish feed and smaller 20-25kg bags to be processed by a separate form fill seal machine.

• High throughput targets of  20 – 25 x 1000kg and 30 – 35 x 500kg bags.
• Stable full big bags in which feed must be compacted and consolidated.
• Compacted small form fill seal bags suitable for palletising.
• Flexible – The big bag filling machine must cater to single loop bags of three different sizes whilst the form fill seal machine has to alter between 20 and 25kg bags.
• Compact system – constructive factory floor space
• Easy & Simple operation with low maintenance and labour input
• Short delivery required – Ewos Innovation needed a rapid system installation for immediate results.

Solution

Having reviewed Ewos Innovation requirements, Webster Griffin proposed a integrated IBC-PF4 big bag filling system and a Compacta Easy tubular form fill seal bagging machine.

• IBC-PF4 including conveyor system with self-adjusting weigh fill station, automatically adjusting for three different bag sizes. Minimising product wastage.
• Compacta Easy Tubular Form Fill bagging system in which bags are forms from a reel of plastic - capable of a throughput up to 1400 bags an hour.
• Ticket printer – printed “passport” ticket placed into pocket of bag, following bag discharge by downstream conveyors.
• ‘Bag inflation technology’ – reduces risk of inner bag rupturing during filling.
• Vibrating platform - during filling cycle, a grid on a vibrating platform positioned underneath bag at filling station is raised up, lifting bag off the weighing system, and consolidates product in the bag.
• Touch screen PLC control system – Microprocessor PLC technology ensures perfect function.
• Pallet magazine conveyor - Lifting and lowering assembly incorporating a geared electric brake motor.

Result

The installation of the integrated system presented a number of key benefits to Ewos Innovation.

• Big Bag Filling at a throughput of 35 x 500kg and 25 x 1000kg bulk bags an hour.
• Tubular Form Fill Seal bagging at rates of 1400 bags an hour.
• Flexibility – the system catering to various bagging requirements allows Ewos to respond to customer demands immediately.
• Labour Productivity Boost – employees now enjoy more time to accomplish other production tasks.
• Increased batch traceability - identification ticket or ‘passport’ is automatically placed into pocket of each bag.
• Reduced product wastage – flexible weigh station automatically adjusts for varying bag sizes and weights, meaning ‘manual change over’ is no longer necessary.

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