Company’s Hamba Flexline stands out for its clean, even filling and peroxide sterilization capabilities proven to extend product shelf-life.
IMA Food North America – a food & beverage equipment leader whose solutions comprise long-established brands like Gasti, Hamba, Hassia, Fillshape, Corazza, Erca, AlphaMAC and Intecma – offers the Hamba Flexline, a high-performance, fully servo-controlled fill-seal machine with industry-leading sterilization technology. Rated for high-speed operation and featuring a sturdy, hygienic stainless-steel construction, the system stands out for its clean, even filling and peroxide sterilization capabilities proven to extend product shelf-life.
Despite its ample set of attributes, the Hamba Flexline’s distinguishing feature is its industry-leading aseptic production. Following an ionization station that removes potential static loads, the insides of all cups are treated with hydrogen peroxide and subsequently dried with sterile air. During this process, the cups are elevated to achieve satisfactory decontamination of slats and cups underneath the cup rim. For applications not requiring hydrogen peroxide, the system can also be designed to utilize UV and pulsed light technology.
Further downstream, the machine also can incorporate lid sterilization elements, including an optional light decontamination system with 90-degree pick and place movement. Between runs, filling nozzles can be cleaned via clean-in-place (CIP) or sterilize-in-place (SIP) options.
The Hamba Flexline is marketed to food companies who place an emphasis on freshness optimization and presentation. Product applications include yogurts, spreadable cheeses, puddings, baby foods, and a variety of other foodstuffs housed in cups. A nod to increasingly eco-conscious packaging materials selection, the machine’s disinfection stations can be designed to accommodate a wide range of cup and lid substrates, including PET, PP and paper.
The Hamba Flexline is as versatile as it is robust: the machine can run from 4-12 cups per cycle in either single- or double-lane setups. This allows the system to fill and seal as many as 57,600 cups per hour, while remaining flexible enough to handle cups up to 180mm in diameter and 150mm in height. Automatic format changes, simple push-button recipe control, and the ability to change lids without line stoppage further enhance production efficiency.
“The Hamba Flexline is the flagship solution that solidifies IMA Food as a true leader in enhanced, sterilizable fill-seal cup technology,” said Patrick Carroll, President of IMA Food North America. “In a food category where brand differentiation can be difficult to achieve on busy supermarket shelves, the shelf-life extension and sophisticated clean-fill presentation made possible by the Hamba Flexline helps our customers build trust and brand loyalty.”
About IMA Food North America
IMA Food North America serves the dairy and food industries with several brands of the IMA group (Corazza, Erca, Fillshape, Gasti, Hamba, Hassia and Intecma) and offers a portfolio covering nearly all areas of packaging machine application, including:
• Filling and sealing machines (FS) for preformed cups and bottles
• Forming, filling and sealing machines (FFS) for packaging products in the food, dairy, and beverage segments (filled up to the aseptic level)
• Filling systems for flexible stand-up pouches with and without spout for dairy, food, beverage and personal care sectors
• Wrapping machines for packaging butter, fresh cheese, soup cubes, yeast, margarine, etc.
• Aseptic vertical and horizontal form, fill and seal machines for stick packs / pouches (with corresponding dosing systems)
• FFS machines for packaging single portions of coffee, honey, jam, etc.
