LONDON - Shemesh Automation has upgraded its flagship monoblock round packing technology for wet wipes with, the company says, a keen focus on sustainability issues.

Described as a robust, fully automatic, servo-driven vertical index machine, the Xpander, is specifically designed as a single block for the downstream packaging of round, nonwoven wet wipes in cans. It encompasses all aspects of round wipes downstream packaging from cans and wipes loading, dosing, and sealing through to capping, labeling, built-in QC and smart-weight checking. The Xpander has a throughput of up to 35ppm and, according to Shemesh, is the only machine of its kind available on the market today.

Its sister unit, the Xpander+ includes fully automatic feeding, so long as the lid and canister hoppers are kept filled and can be operated completely ‘hands-free’ - delivering even greater operating efficiencies.

All Shemesh machines are designed and built with sustainability in mind. For example, the Xpander’s filling system has been engineered from the ground up to minimise waste. With every cycle the filling nozzles are positioned inside the can, exactly above the roll but below the can’s opening – eliminating spillage. The Xpander has a portioning tolerance of just +/- 3gr of filling volume – dramatically reducing waste.

The Xpander’s canister sealing system also has a low tolerance margin of 3-4mm, foil waste is reduced to just 15-20mm per batch.

With the company experiencing rapidly increasing demand during the Covid-19 pandemic, Shemesh CEO Shai Shemesh said its customers required machines that were as efficient and eco-friendly as possible. "When manufacturers buy a Shemesh packaging machine, they know we are with them for the long-haul," Shemesh said. "A major part of that is pushing all boundaries necessary to ensure their line is as efficient and eco-friendly as it can possibly be. We’re proud of our record of continuous improvement in terms of sustainability. For example, we can now offer nonwovens packaging machines so accurate that they liquid fill within +/- 3gr of filling volume and seal within a tolerance margin of just 3-4mm – keeping any waste to an absolute minimum. We also continue to push for a lower footprint in all the incredible machines we manufacture and I’m proud to know that we are leaders in this area.”

The Xpander machines also support both round, conic, rectangular and oval shaped cans, screw and push lids, and wrap around or front and back labeling.

Both the Xpander and Xpander+ have further been enhanced with a suite of improvements to quality control, production consistency, a revamped operating system and new Industry 4.0 features.