Yannick Le Denmat, area sales manager, told FoodProductionDaily.com the cutting units should be available next year and it would be another opportunity to propose the machine in different applications.
The R 085 entry-level model for thermoforming packaging will run flexible and rigid films.
The machine can be ordered with four standard format layouts and is suitable for packing sliced products and individual items.
It can be used to produce packs with inert gas and vacuum packs, so that users can meet the requirement for extended shelf life for their products.
Entry-level machine
Le Denmat said targets would be small medium sized customers processing meats and / or cheese.
“This machine is the smallest machine in our thermoforming range, the goal for us was to have a wider range, especially for small customers or people starting with packaging who want to get the benefits with a reasonable budget,” he said during Emballage 2014.
“The goal for us was to use the same components that we use in the bigger machines but to design it as simply as possible to get the best possible price and to allow people with small budgets to use this type of packaging.
“For example, the lifting units for forming and cutting, we have only one lifting unit doing both so we can reduce the manufacturing cost.”
The machine, launched during Interpack 2014, has a thermoforming depth of up to 80 millimetres.
The HMI is integrated in the control cabinet and the machine has a quick change system for forming and sealing dies with slide-in technology, which makes it easier to convert it to other formats.
Potential scale-up
Le Denmat said the design of the machine makes it simple for the small processors.
“They only have to design their packs based on this information and for them it is probably much easier to store rolls of film than having to store trays because most of the time their warehouses are not that big.”
The aim is to start with the small machine and then scale-up, he said.
“For us the goal is to penetrate further the market and then hope that our new customers will grow and then of course will buy bigger machine. Because what they can do with this machine is exactly the same as what they can do with other machines.
“We have the chance to have a good technical team and technicians all over the country [in France] so we intend to build a relationship with new customers based on the relations with our technical team so that the people feel really confident in the equipment.”