But because consumer behavior and preferences change, HAK decided to expand the range with a stand-up pouch: the ‘Zak van HAK’.
After a successful market introduction, HAK decided to produce the stand-up pouches entirely in-house. The challenge was to design an efficient and fully automated handling system for various packaging sizes on a limited floor space (only 350 m2!).
| Location | The Netherlands, Giessen |
| Product | Stand-up pouch |
| Retort supplier | Steritech, ⌀ 1600 |
| USP | Robot loader/unloader combination |
The robot cycle has been programmed by Lan in such a way that there can never be any contamination between sterilised and non-sterilised products, so food safety is 100% guaranteed.
We have designed an extremely flexible handling system for the HAK pouch. This is reflected in user-friendly exchange systems for, among other things, the stoppers on the conveyor belt that aligns the pouches before they are placed on the formation belt. And easy-to-handle exchange parts for the robot tool with an adjusted positioning of the suction cups.
Due to the diversity of pouches, Lan has developed a special tray in collaboration with the retort supplier, in which a robot can load both large and small stand-up pouches.
“Until a few years ago, HAK’s expertise lay in producing vegetables in glass jars. Producing stand-up pouches ourselves was completely new to us. From the start of the project we therefore had good consultation with the suppliers involved. It was important to bring in the necessary knowledge and skills. Lan Handling Technologies has responded very well to this.
The project leader and engineers from Lan took us step by step into the how and why of certain choices in the field of pouch handling. Important for us, because the actions before and after the retort are crucial in the production process. We also benefited from the good cooperation between Lan and the supplier of the retorts in the design of the trays (the stainless steel plate on which the stand-up pouches are located during sterilization).”
“At HAK we are constantly optimizing and further developing (new) products. We now look, for example, at the material from which the stand-up pouch is made; can this be even more sustainable? And what impact does this have on the production process and handling systems? Small changes can have major consequences. We will also start with the implementation of preventive maintenance. We are happy to take the data from the Lan pouch handling systems into account.“
“Until a few years ago, HAK’s expertise lay in producing vegetables in glass jars. Producing stand-up pouches ourselves was completely new to us. From the start of the project we therefore had good consultation with the suppliers involved. It was important to bring in the necessary knowledge and skills. Lan Handling Technologies has responded very well to this.
The project leader and engineers from Lan took us step by step into the how and why of certain choices in the field of pouch handling. Important for us, because the actions before and after the retort are crucial in the production process. We also benefited from the good cooperation between Lan and the supplier of the retorts in the design of the trays (the stainless steel plate on which the stand-up pouches are located during sterilization).”
“At HAK we are constantly optimizing and further developing (new) products. We now look, for example, at the material from which the stand-up pouch is made; can this be even more sustainable? And what impact does this have on the production process and handling systems? Small changes can have major consequences. We will also start with the implementation of preventive maintenance. We are happy to take the data from the Lan pouch handling systems into account.“
Technical Sales Manager
Nieuwe Atelierstraat 9, Berkel-Enschot, The Netherlands