In a bid to improve efficiency more and more food and beverage companies are demanding machines that are more automated and that run at higher speeds than previously possible.
Tetra Pak claims its A3/Speed is the world's fastest carton aseptic filling machine in the world for family-sized packages.
"The Tetra Pak A3/Speed packaging line meets large-volume customers' demands for faster, better and cheaper production solutions, key to achieving higher profitability in today's increasingly competitive market," stated Ivano Selmi, a vice president with Tetra Pak's ambient carton division.
The machine produces the Tetra Brik Aseptic 1000 Baseline, the company's best selling aseptic carton, and two additional family-sized packages with different closures.
The A3/Speed has a capacity of 12,000 packages per hour, increasing the output per square metre of production space compared with existing solutions while keeping operational costs down, Tetra Pak claims.
The machine can be operated by one controller as all key functions are located on the ground floor level and several key parameters are automatically controlled.
Tetra Pak's standard line concept ensures that the other equipment on the packaging lines matches the performance of the filling machine, the company stated. Tetra Pak can provide the entire carton ambient packaging line.
The company's Tetra Brik Aseptic package is used for juice and dairy products. About 84.5 billion Tetra Brik Aseptic packages were sold last year.
The company forecasts that the amount sold will increase by 7.6 per cent this year. Aseptic material and processes allow beverages to be packaged without the need for preservatives and can result in a longer shelf life.