Huhtamaki sets benchmarks in South Africa for efficiency and quality in flexible packaging manufacturing
With its joint venture, the focus for efficiency and product quality in the South African facility increased and the company is also increasing output to meet customer requirements. It therefore quickly became clear that new state-of-the-art line technology was needed in South Africa to expand capacities and combine high productivity with outstanding product quality.
Reifenhäuser EVO 5-layer blown film line with high-end equipment meets all requirements
When selecting the new technology, Huhtamaki Flexible Packaging had more in mind than just blown film production right from the start. After all, the company in Verulam has the entire value stream chain under one roof - from the production of high-quality lamination films and printing to the converting of pouches and bags.
"When selecting the new blown film technology, we considered our entire production chain. We were looking for a system that would allow us to increase efficiency and improve quality in both film production and finishing," says Peyush Vaid, General Manager of Huhtamaki Flexible Packaging.
The company finds the right solution in a Reifenhäuser 5-layer EVO blown film line equipped with the EVO Ultra Cool 2.0 cooling ring technology and the EVO Ultra Flat unit. "The decision was not difficult for us. We have already had good experience with Reifenhäuser technology in the past," says Peyush. After a 3-layer line and a 5-layer line, the latest generation EVO blown film line is the fourth Reifenhäuser line in total in production - a line Huhtamaki is setting new benchmarks with in the South African market.
Requirements for the new blown film line
Record output and high efficiency thanks to EVO Ultra Cool technology
Because high productivity is at the top of Huhtamaki's list of requirements, the Reifenhäuser line is equipped with the EVO Ultra Cool high-performance cooling ring. The counter cool airring cools the blown film particularly quickly. Huhtamaki thus achieves an output of around 900 kg/h. This is a new benchmark in South Africa. "We are more productive than ever before with the new Reifenhäuser line. However, the decisive factor is that we achieve outstanding film quality despite the high throughputs. Not every line technology manages this combination.". The Ultra Cool technology achieves the high film quality - even at maximum throughputs - by homogeneously cooling the film from the inside and outside. For this purpose, the cooling air is precisely controlled via individual stepper motors, ensuring highest energy efficiency. In this way, profile tolerances are also reduced to a minimum: For a 40µm film, Huhtamaki achieves a sigma profile of less than three percent - at a throughput of 900kg/h. This makes film production particularly material-efficient. Huhtamaki also benefits from the high-performance cooling ring in terms of energy efficiency. Unlike conventional cooling systems, Ultra Cool works without heat inducing and is thus 70 times more energy-efficient than the market standard.
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EVO Ultra Cool 2.0
The EVO Ultra Cool 2.0 high-performance cooling system enables an increase in productivity while maintaining excellent film properties.
Benefits at a glance
Fast converting thanks to flat film
Huhtamaki is the first manufacturer in South Africa to use Ultra Flat technology, which allows the production of up to 40 percent smoother film. The efficiency of the technology results from the special position of the unit: While other flatness systems on the market are positioned upstream of the winder, Ultra Flat is positioned directly behind the haul-off. Only this unique and patented position permits stretching using initial heat - for optimum flatness results and energy efficiency that saves costs.
Energy efficiency is the order of the day
Consuming as little energy as possible - that is probably the current goal of all manufacturing companies in South Africa. There have already been major problems with the energy supply for years. Because the state-owned energy supplier is overloaded, electricity is constantly being regulated - and this also affects industry. In the past twelve months, the situation has become even more acute. Energy efficiency is therefore the order of the day - also for Huhtamaki South Africa. "It is important to us to produce as energy-efficiently as possible. On the one hand, because energy is scarce. On the other hand, because we strive to continuously improve our carbon footprint. Reifenhäuser has supported us with energy-efficient technologies, Peyush said. Huhtamaki operates its EVO 5-layer line with a specific energy requirement of 0.31 kilowatt hours per kilogram. This is exceptionally efficient – values above 0.35 kilowatt hours per kilogram are common in the market.
Huhtamaki Group
- Countries: 37
- Locations: 114
- Head office: Espoo, Finland
- Employees: 19.600
- Year of foundation: 1920
- Markets: Paperboard and molded fiber packaging solutions for fresh food and drinks | Packaging catering for foodservice, consumer goods and single-use tableware | Flexible packaging for food, beverages, pet care and more
Huhtamaki Flexible Packaging South Africa PTY Ltd.
- Location:Verulam, Durban
- Products: Laminates, flexible packaging
- Markets: Flexible packaging for food, beverages, pet care and more
With digital solutions to more transparency and better OEE
However, Huhtamaki is not only striving for improvement in terms of energy efficiency. The company also wants to get the best out of production in terms of quality, productivity and material efficiency and uses digital solutions from Reifenhäuser for this purpose. The entire production at the Verulam site is connected to the middleware c.Hub, which connects all lines and peripheral devices and thus creates a "single point of truth" for all data. With the help of ExtrusionOS applications, Huhtamaki can access this data, identify optimization potential and derive appropriate actions. "c.Hub and ExtrusionOS make our production more transparent. We can measure our OEE and are now in a position to make specific improvements," says Peyush.
Since the new EVO 5-layer blown film line has been in operation it has been producing high-quality laminating film for flexible packaging very efficiently. In doing so, Huhtamaki can rely on reliable and fast support directly on site: Reifenhäuser established a new subsidiary in the Southern African region on July 1, 2023, to ensure more intensive support for the local markets. "South Africa is an emerging market where we want to and will continue to grow as part of the Huhtamaki Group. This requires excellent technology as well as good support. At Reifenhäuser, we have found both," says Peyush.
Please get in touch if you want to learn more about the project and the technical solutions!
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