The company, which claims to be the UK's only single source supplier, brought three new machines to Interpack 2005, which finishes today. Dominating the company's stand was a fully automated packaging line for confectionery bars, which featured two of the three new machines on display.
First was the high-speed LJ-TRT triple race track collator / loader with the latest ABB Flexpicker robotics. Bradman Lake claims to have been the largest integrator of ABB pick and place robots in 2003 and this addition to the group's top load machines will pack flow wrapped bar products into cartons at speeds of over 700 units per minute.
Another new machine on display was the AMI Erector, capable of supplying formed cartons ready for loading. The all-servo AMI Erector operates at speeds of up to 100 strokes per minute and can erect cartons and compartment trays in solid and corrugated board using lock forming, hot melt or hot air sealing.
Single, double and triple forming head models are available.
The third Bradman Lake innovation unveiled at Interpack was the new 225cpm automatic end loader, 40 per cent faster than its predecessor. The SL906 is fully automatic, driven by 14 independent servos synchronised by an industrial PC with operator-friendly touch screen controls.
Bradman Lake is tapping into a potentially lucrative market. The use of flexible packaging to transport, distribute and market products such as chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and foods has expanded rapidly over the past decade and this trend is set to continue to rise.
World demand for packaging machinery is projected to rise over 4 per cent a year through 2008 to over $31 billion according to analyst Freedonia, with most of this growth is expected to be seen in the developing world.
The packaging industry is also increasingly recognising the role of automation and effective system integration as the key to successful industrial bag filling and handling. Optimising speed without compromising accuracy and reliability is a multi-functional task, relying on critical sectors of the overall line to work in harmony.
Bradman Lake is a global group with some 3,000 machines installed in over 50 countries. It has manufacturing plants in Britain, the United States and Germany. The company designs, manufactures and markets advanced top and end load cartoning machinery, creating fully automated lines and control systems for high speed unit and multiple packaging.