Whitelink Seafoods Shrink Packaging Machine Installation, Fraserburgh, United Kingdom

In August 2005 Whitelink Seafoods, a fish processor, invested in Ulma's Atlanta Pack, a shrink packaging machine, to cope with the increasing demand for its trays of prawns. Whitelink, located in Fraserburgh, Scotland, is one of Europe's technically advanced and quality-conscious fish processors. The company makes thorough quality checks at every stage of the process.

As the demand for Whitelink's trays of prawns has been growing, the company needed to expand its packaging capacity to effectively manage it. After studying the various shrink-wrapping machinery available in the market, Whitelink decided to invest in Ulma's Atlanta Pack as it serves the food markets and is capable of dealing with the fish processors varied needs. Ulma Packaging is a Spanish company that specializes in design and production of packaging machinery and services.

Ulma's Atlanta Pack is a horizontal packing system that services a range of food-related markets. The shrink wrapping machinery operates at high-speeds, features a versatile format change and is reliable. Whitelink aims to achieve better product packaging, retain the fresh quality and realise a higher turnover with the Atlanta pack.

SHRINK-WRAPPING MACHINES

The shrink-wrapping machines, working with retractable films, obtain a high quality package without folds. This is achieved by passing the package through a shrinkage oven, which adapts film to the product shape and dimensions. Whitelink invested in the Ulma's Atlanta Pack, as it was found to be particularly suitable for food packaging.

Atlanta Pack is ergonomically designed, which allows for quick and easy cleaning and enables Whitelink to incorporate a range of feeders. Whitelink has also installed Ulma's HRX shrink tunnel, in which the film is shrunk by a stream of hot air.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION AND FEATURES

Whitelink realised the advantage of Atlanta's vertical plate construction, which makes it easier for machine cleaning apart from mechanical and electrical maintenance. The logical functioning - from left to right - reduces the learning curve for Whitelink's operators. The machine features cross-welding spinning clamps with effort limiter, three pairs of longitudinal film welding and dragging rollers and self-centering coil support with lever brake.

The 2m-long feeding unit, stretchable forming mould and elliptical cutting speed adjustment enhance efficiency and consistency of product. Whitelink can adjust the pack length from the LCD screen, which also performs machine parameter adjustment, diagnosis and information of machine state. The shrink packaging machine is capable of storing 25 product parameters.

The HRX-300 shrinking tunnel is electronically controlled, has strong construction with corrosion-resistant materials (INOX) and three heating modules with temperature-independent regulation. In each module the hot air flow direction and regulation can be manipulated depending on the need of the packaging solution. The shrink tunnel is an elaborate, easy-to-clean oven and has a cover that can be opened. The speed can be set for variations in the heating module engines and also for the transport belt.

The different types and lengths of feeding units and different automatic feeding systems make the machine more efficient.

As a seafood processor, Whitelink is particular about the cleanliness of the machinery and ease in maintenance so Atlanta's stainless machine tailored for wet environments is suitable for its needs.

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