Flexible packaging line handles diverse portfolio for snack manufacturer

Located in Florida, USA, ARA Food Corporation manufactures snacks and chips, including plantain, yuca root, cassava and white sweet potato chips, pork rinds and pork cracklings.

Because of the diversity of its product range, ARA looks for solutions to minimise overheads wherever possible. The company needed a flexible packaging solution capable of handling different bag sizes quickly and efficiently, with minimum machine downtime.

The answer was a new packaging line featuring tna’s robag FX 3ci vertical form, fill and seal (VFFS) system, complete with a tna intelli-weigh 0314 omega multihead weigher, tna metal detector, tna intelli-date date coder and labeller. Used to pack ARA’s range of snack chips, the system is designed with flexibility in mind, in order to handle different bag sizes - ranging from 60 to 450 g net weight - as well as work with the various polypropylene BOPP bag film finishes required for each product brand.

“Reducing waste, cutting downtime and preventing overweighing were key requirements from the new packaging system. With two tna robag systems already installed and performing consistently well in our plant, we knew another tna machine was our best option for the additional line,” explained Oscar Tanaka, manufacturing coordinator at ARA Food Corporation.

“ARA’s new system is fully integrated, customised and built to maximise uptime as well as bring waste down to a minimum. This system sets new standards in OEE (overall equipment effectiveness) including groundbreaking output speeds. We were also able to meet ARA’s request to simplify operations with our integrated design - making changeovers and running the system quick, easy and standardised. The net result is what everyone strives for - greater output with less waste,” said Jack Newman, tna project manager and regional sales manager.