WEPA, a leading tissue product manufacturer in Europe, recently purchased seven machines from Infinity Italia for their facilities in Troyes, France, Swalmen, Netherlands and Piechowice, Poland.
Infinity is supplying two Eclipse T4 Wrappers and two i18 Bundlers for WEPA’s Troyes facility, one Eclipse T4 Wrapper, and one i18 Bundler for WEPA’s facility in Swalmen and in Piechowice, WEPA selected an Infinity C-15 Casepacker for their folded products division.
WEPA was drawn to Infinity’s equipment due to its unique combination of American ruggedness and Italian design refinement. The i18 Bundler is a perfect fit for WEPA’s facilities as it was designed specifically with European markets in mind. The poly bundler features an integrated diverter and flight bar system for easy product collation, as well as an automatic poly reel splice and poly pull-out cart for safe and quick poly loading. In addition to this, an active vacuum comes standard on the i18 Bundler. Excess air is sucked from the bundles’ pre-discharge resulting in a tight, crisp poly wrap.
Another advantage of the i18 Bundler is its compatibility with Infinity’s Infusion modular system. By utilizing the fixed infeed section, the i18 can be coupled with modules, such as an Infinity Casepacker or Bagger. The modules are moved in and out of the docking station which gives WEPA ultimate secondary packaging flexibility without taking up any additional floor space. The “industry original” Infusion modular system was designed by Infinity engineers to overcome the limitations of fixed linear machines while reducing capital investment. As trends in packaging are continuously evolving, Infinity’s innovation allows WEPA to quickly adapt to market changes.
As for primary packaging, WEPA ordered Infinity’s Eclipse T4, which is known as one of the most durable wrappers on the market. Infinity’s commitment to efficiency is on full display in the Eclipse’s overhead system. The Eclipse T4 utilizes a durable AT20 belt and only 24 trolley sections, this decreases the changeover time between different package configurations. Additionally, Infinity’s Eclipse T4 is designed to accept four lanes of infeed and can run an optional fifth. The infeed lanes also have wide diameter capabilities, ensuring the Eclipse will keep pace with new product developments in the Troyes and Swalmen facilities.
Infinity’s reach in Europe was further increased by WEPA’s purchase of the C15 Casepacker for their Piechowice facility. Infinity’s C15 boasts an extremely straightforward design which allows for a 20-minute changeover between case sizes and configurations. Although the machine’s design is simple, its build is robust as the frame and guarding are both constructed using steel. The C15 is also capable of speeds up to 300ppm per index arm, providing maximum efficiency at the infeed of the machine.
A defining feature of the C15 is the machine’s fully positive case erection. Vacuums are utilized on both sides of the case providing a consistent case opening. The positive case erection is perfect for large and small cases, cases with bad score marks as well as cases that are glued together. This design feature will allow WEPA to run at optimal efficiency.
Echoing WEPA’s industry 4.0 efforts, the transaction with Infinity didn’t end with the machine purchase. Emulation engineers from Infinity offices traveled to Swalmen and will be traveling to Troyes to provide Virtual reality training to WEPA employees. This included a fully interactive VR machine changeover, which allowed WEPA employees to become familiar with their machines weeks before they arrived at their facilities.
Infinity also equipped the machines with a data collecting and remotely accessible eWON device. This enables WEPA to track production times, faults, and speed. This information will be accessible remotely through email notifications or web browsers. The Troyes facility will also have light annunciation on their i18 Bundlers to provide changeover assistance. The light annunciation illuminates change-over points on the adjustment scales.
WEPA’s recent investment reflects Infinity’s growing reach in the European market and is further proof Infinity is the global leader in automated tissue paper packaging machinery.
