From elderberry to apples: SMI solutions for Holderhof Produkte

Holderhof Produkte AG, a Swiss leading food company in the production of fruit juices, continuously invests in cutting-edge technologies and, three years after the launch of the aseptic juice line in Henau, it has renewed its partnership with SMI by purchasing an LWP 30 ERGON case packer, an APS 620 ERGON palletizer for the new fruit processing center in Sulgen and an APS 620 ERGON palletizer for Henau plant.

A modern fruit processing center has been established in Sulgen.

The fruit processing centre located in Sulgen is a state-of-the-art facility that ensures that Holderhof Produkte has efficient operation of the entire apple juice production line. Inside the new plant, the Swiss company transforms up to 15,000 tons of cider apples into juice each year, sourced directly from its own plantation and from regional fruit companies. 

From elderberry to apples: business success comes from continual investments

Over twenty years ago, Christof Schenk planted the first elderberry trees on his parents' farm in Ufhofen, thus giving rise to the company Holderhof Produkte. Today the company employs around 100 people and produces syrups, beverages, and fruit juices at its three locations in Henau, Ufhofen, and Sulgen. It remains true to the founder's initial vision of transforming its own high-quality, natural raw materials into special beverages without preservatives. Every year, the company markets more than 70 million bottles of over a hundred varieties of beverages and continues to launch innovative products. Today, Holderhof beverages can be found on shelves all over Switzerland and abroad. Furthermore, a growing number of customers (including the Coop and REWE supermarkets) rely on the professionalism and expertise of this brand, to have their products produced and bottled benefiting from the continual investments made by the company within their bottling and packaging plants.

SMI solutions for Holderhof Produkte

At the new fruit processing centre in Sulgen, fresh apple sauce is packaged in jars and glass bottles on a newly installed line that can fill up to 2000 jars per hour, depending on the size of the product. The increase in demand has led Holderhof to equip its production plant with extremely flexible and eco-friendly, high-tech secondary and tertiary packaging facilities which are able to quickly switch from one bottle format to another and from one type of packaging to another. 
Thanks to the LWP 30 ERGON wrap-around case packer supplied by SMI, the 0.36 L / 0.72 L / 0.75 L and 1 L glass bottles are packed in wrap-around trays in a 2x3 format, the 0.25 L and 1 L glass bottles are packed in wrap-around cases in a 2x3 format and the 0.37 L jars are packed in wrap-around trays in a 3x4 format. Downstream of the packer, the APS 620 ERGON palletiszer creates 800x1200 mm europallets.

LWP ERGON case packer

Flexible packaging for every requirement
SMI case packer quickly adapts to the new package formats required by Holderhof Produkte and offers original and innovative packaging solutions, tailored to the logistical and marketing needs of the Swiss company. With just one machine, it is possible to create various pack configurations both in wrap-around boxes and in tray-only.

Compactness and cost-effectiveness
This wrap-around packaging system, forms the cardboard box and encloses the glass juice bottles inside; a compact solution with an excellent quality / price ratio for any end-of-line logistics configuration.

Stable and resistant packaging
The wrap-around boxes made of corrugated cardboard are very resistant to shocks and are therefore, the ideal solution for preserving the integrity and quality of the products contained within them. The cardboard blank is folded and wrapped around the products simultaneously as they are grouped into the desired format, without stopping the machine, thus ensuring stability for the packages themselves.

Appealing-looking packages
The wrap-around box is a great marketing tool because you can customize the graphics on the packages that grab shoppers' attention at retail locations.

APS 620 ERGON Palletizer

Compact and flexible end of line
The palletizing system installed at the production facilities in Sulgen and Henau is a versatile solution that simplifies package handling, reduces changeover times, increases performance, and reduces the footprint within the production line.

Safe operations
All activities related to installation, management, and maintenance of the system are easily and safely carried out by the operator.

Functional infeed
The product to be palletized arrives on an infeed conveyor and is 'phased' by a rubber conveyor; subsequently, it is brought to the picking position by means of a spacing conveyor, where the picking head picks up the single package or the set of grouped packages and deposits it onto the pallet on the ground. The cyclic repetition of this operation allows various layers of palletization to be formed.

For more information on the latest innovations in the circular packaging and sustainable-development offered by SMI, please contact our sales department or visit our website.
 

Best regards,
 

Marketing Department
SMI S.p.A.
E-mail: info@smigroup.it