Happy birthday tna

This year, the Australian packaging company tna is celebrating its 30th birthday. Starting from scratch in 1982, the company has now installed more than 6000 production lines in 120 countries and has an annual turnover in excess of $45 million.

Its iconic product, the tna robag vertical form, fill and seal bagger was conceived as two circles and a dot on the back of a serviette in 1983. The bagger used continuous rotary motion, all servo controls and rotary continuous motion jaws with a stripping action to achieve snack food pack rates only previously dreamed of. Following the first installation in 1986 at the Smiths Snack Foods plant in Sydney, continuous improvement has meant that by 2004 the robag 3 VFFS was packing an astonishing 220 bags/min.

International interest in robag Interpack at 1991 resulted in tna’s expansion all around the world and currently it generates 95% of its annual revenue from overseas.

At Cirque du tna, the company’s 30th birthday party, tna’s founder Alf Taylor paid tribute to his wife Nadia, his family, his employees, suppliers and clients. He also announced an anniversary competition where winners will join tna at PackExpo in Chicago and potentially take home a $5000 diamond (visit http://www.tnasolutions.com).

While tna also supplies the roflo product conveying and distribution system, seasoning systems, multihead scales, checkweighers, date coders, metal detectors, case packers, palletisers, fully automated multipacking and complete processing equipment, the robag must have a special place in the hearts of Alf and Nadia because the family dog’s name is robag!