Mespack's new vertical form-fill-seal machine for pharmaceutical products is integrated with Famartec's cartoning machine to produce, insert stick packs into cartons offering turnkey solutions

Mespack’s new vertical form-fill-seal machine, exclusively developed for pharmaceutical products, is integrated with Famartec’s cartoning machine, in order to produce and insert stick packs into cartons offering turnkey solutions

Mespack, a leading manufacturer of innovative and sustainable flexible packaging solutions, and Famartec, leader packaging machines supplier for products in blisters and cartons, present the development of a complete solution for the pharmaceutical industry.

In February of 2023, Mespack and Famartec began a partnership to jointly develop and introduce this turnkey project. This alliance responds to the needs of the pharmaceutical sector, which is increasingly demanding integrated solutions that consolidate primary and secondary packaging. This collaborative equipment debuted at Interpack, and before long at Mespack’s Pack Expo booth in Las Vegas. This joint project incorporates a new vertical form-fill-seal machine for the production of stick-pack sachets. The MSPH series is integrated with a cartoning module that groups the sachets before inserting them into the carton box.

This equipment is prepared to produce sticks with recyclable-ready material such as the one developed with Bobst and Dow, based on the concept of oneBarrier monomaterial laminated in a metallized MDOPE, film with a high-performance sealant web. This vertical form-fill-seal machine, the MSPH series, is able to produce up to 840 sticks per minute and the primary features are:

•             Full Servo and Stainless-Steel Machine: It is made of stainless steel in order to operate with pharmaceutical products. This machine is integrated with the full servo motorized system which gives the customer more coordinated control of the equipment movements.

•          Artificial Vision Cameras: The new Mespack transfer is specially designed in order to increase production speed by up to 30%.

•             Individual Exit Chute: This vertical machine has an individual exit chute with a rejection possibility. As a result, there is less material waste for the client.

•             Athena: The digital platform aimed to give the clients the power to maximize the value of the production data, due to its ability to perform a variety of tasks from machine control to data analytics.

The machine, specially designed for the pharmaceutical industry, complies with specific regulations, such as GMP, GAMP5, FDA, and 21 CFR Part 11. In reference to documentation focused on pharmaceutics, this solution not only offers the execution of DQ, IQ, OQ, RA, but also the preparation of PQ and EN1020 standard 2.1 as well as 3.1 material certificates. Upon request, other forms of documentation can be prepared.

Regarding the horizontal cartoning machine series A1, it is specially designed for the automatic packaging of Pharmaceutical and cosmetic products in pre-glued cartons with tuck-in or hot-melt closure. The three different available models (A1, A1/S and A1/SP) enable to handle a very wide range of formats (up to 170x95x220 mm). The cartoning cycle, by means of servo motors, is completely automatic. Thanks to cross-checks on the product, carton, presence of leaflet, labels and/or booklet, the packaging operation is highly reliable. The tailor-made software and hardware solutions, allow easy integration with tamper-evident and serialization systems.

With an output up to 100 cartons per minute, the main features of this equipment are:

• Three servo motors for the following main units: Cartons transport toothed belt and products transport buckets belt, product pusher and movable blade

• Balcony design

• Mechanical transmission with belts.

• Pusher unlock in case of clash

• Leaflets or booklets insertion into the carton

• Variable data printing (embossing, ink-jet or laser systems)

• 2D or 3D code reader

• Presence control of products and materials

• Remote support

This turnkey solution will be showcased at Pack Expo Las Vegas, one of the most respected and relevant trade fairs of the packaging industry. At Mespack’s Pack Expo booth, C4034, visitors will be able to view this special project.

Mespack has the largest product portfolio of the industry, which offers horizontal (including roll-stock, pre-made, and hybrid), vertical, as well as water-soluble pods equipment to produce sachets, stick packs, stand-up pouches, film-based packaging, and end-of-line solutions. With regard to Famartec, a leader in mechanical manufacturing, the company has extensive knowledge in designing and manufacturing automatic packaging machines for blisters, trays, cartons, and cases for pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and cosmetic applications.