Consistently thought through to the end

The goods are safely protected from environmental influences such as sun, dirt and moisture during outdoor storage. Designed as an inliner, where the film hood is slipped into octabins or drums, it prevents the goods from coming into contact with the respective transport container if necessary. Within the Palletizing and Packaging Systems division, the Beumer Group can now provide customers with even more individual support and supply solutions from a single source.

If the Beumer Group were to develop a packaging line, it could look like this: Bulk goods such as technical plastics, salts, fertilizers, cement or building materials are transported from the silo via a conveyor line to the Beumer fillpac FFS form-fill-seal system or the Beumer fillpac R turbine packer. The respective bagging machine is equipped with integrated high-precision weighing technology. This ensures the reproducible weight accuracy of the bags at all times. High-performance layer palletizers from the Beumer paletpac product series then stack the bags quickly and accurately onto pallets. And to secure the load, customers rely on the high-performance packaging systems from the Beumer stretch hood series. "We integrate packaging and intralogistics solutions for industry-specific applications," explains Gregor Baumeister, who has been Head of the Palletizing and Packaging Systems division at the Beumer Group since October 2015.

"Customers want a complete solution from a single source and therefore only one - reliable and competent - contact for the entire task."

Gregor Baumeister, Head of the Palletizing and Packaging Systems Division at the Beumer Group

Packaging at the highest level

With the Beumer stretch hood A, the intralogistics provider has a very efficient stretch film packaging machine in its portfolio that is frequently used in various industries. "We have redesigned it from the ground up. During development, we analyzed various components and combined them optimally in terms of their function, arrangement and ergonomics," explains Baumeister. This includes intuitive menu navigation of the machine control system via a soft-touch panel - as well as material-friendly transport of the film into the system. The Beumer stretch hood A has a higher throughput capacity and requires over 40 percent less space than previous models in this machine series. The packaging system also offers an attractive price-performance ratio, high flexibility and a simple operating and maintenance concept. In order to meet the specific requirements of the various industries, the developers worked together with the sales department to analyze the various customer wishes and determine the requirements for the system: "To do this, we brought customers as well as manufacturers of packaging and pallets on board," reports Baumeister.

Industry-specific implementation

The stretch hood method secures pallet loads. This also includes watertight pallet packaging on at least five sides.

The efficient packaging of palletized goods is a decisive competitive factor for many companies. To ensure a high level of transport security and load stability, the stretch film adapts to every product stacked on a pallet. The film is very stretchable during the packaging process and holds the goods firmly together thanks to its restoring forces. Since, unlike shrink film packaging, no heat is used, the film cannot stick to the product during the packaging process. This also significantly reduces the risk of fire, increases operational safety and therefore reduces insurance premiums.

The pallet can be packaged for high-bay storage, with understretch, various base reinforcements or, for example, with banderoles. The high transparency of the film allows a clear view of the packaged goods. Barcodes on the goods can also be read perfectly. With an overlay film on the pallet, this packaging solution also protects the stacked goods against external influences from six sides. This enables clean and dry outdoor storage of the products: The goods are safely protected from the weather, moisture, insects and UV rays. "The stretch hood process also enables a very high throughput and packs 200 pallets or more per hour," adds Baumeister. The Beumer Group also develops very special solutions for very demanding tasks. In the chemical industry, for example, the contents must often not come into contact with the surface of the container so that the product does not react. This is the case with lubricants and adhesives, anti-freeze agents or resins, for example, but also with bulk goods such as granulates. The packaging system can then line the inside of the drum or other transport container with a film cover.

Easy Opening: Unpacking can also be optimized

With the easy-opening hood, the film is specifically weakened along a central tear line. This means it can be torn open quickly and easily without the need for tools.

Brand new: The Beumer stretch hood A can be equipped with the newly developed Easy Opening film. With this world first, employees in retail outlets or logistics centers can remove the film quickly and easily when unpacking or repacking goods - without any cutting tools. Until now, there has been no pallet packaging system on the market that did not require the operator to open the film with a cutting tool. With this conventional opening method, however, employees can injure themselves or colleagues - or even damage products, which can be expensive for companies. With the easy-opening hood, however, employees have a much easier time and save considerable time. They can tear open the film quickly and easily without the need for tools. This increases unpacking productivity enormously. In order to implement this, the Beumer Group has developed its idea to market maturity together with a well-known film supplier.

The solution providers

Gregor Baumeister sees a clear trend in his business area. "Customers want complete solutions from a single source and therefore only one - reliable and competent - contact for the entire task." This means that there is less and less demand for product suppliers and more for solution providers for complete systems. For the Beumer Group, however, this does not mean that the supplier no longer sells individual machines. "For users, we are the point of contact for their challenges, and that is how we want to be perceived by the industry," emphasizes Baumeister. "We supply extremely efficient and specific systems that master very individual challenges." The division also uses technologies from other industries for this purpose. "The components can essentially be transport technologies such as conveyor technology or vehicle-based systems," explains Baumeister. In addition, there are, for example, various handling solutions and manipulators such as robots, buffer and storage modules. Because the Beumer Group always has access to its modular system, the solutions can be expanded at any time and can grow with the customer's business. Good planning always provides for various growth scenarios. The specialists therefore plan for potential expansions as early as the design phase. And because the Beumer Group works across all industries, it can offer its customers very different perspectives.

For example, Gregor Baumeister and his team developed a highly redundant application for a customer in the rubber industry. In this application, the rubber bales were to be wrapped in film after cutting and packed in large containers. The special challenge here is that they must not stop on the conveyor system, otherwise the rubber bales would start to flow. Transport in this form would no longer be possible. "We developed a system for the company that ensures a continuous material flow in all operating states," reports Baumeister. "We implemented this with components from our proven portfolio.

On the way to the camp

However, once the goods have been packed with the stretch hood, Beumer is far from finished: "With our system solutions, we ensure that the products are forwarded to a connected warehouse - or directly to shipping," says Baumeister. The specialists use their systems to ensure end-to-end material and data tracking. The user receives a fully functional system with all mechanical and electrical components and the appropriate software program. Gregor Baumeister and his colleagues see the key to increasing performance or energy efficiency in software-based strategies: "Take the Sport and Eco transmission selector button in a car. Shifting is not done mechanically, but by the software. And it's the same with the various operating states in intralogistics systems," he compares.

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