Articles from Harpak-ULMA

Harpak-ULMA today announced the North American release of the ULMA TFX thermoformer, a next‑generation smart platform engineered to help food, medical and consumer packaged goods producers achieve higher throughput, enhanced package quality, and stronger sustainability performance. The TFX boasts multiple performance-enhancing innovations designed to reduce cycle time, stabilize process variation, and support the use of recyclable packaging materials.

Harpak-ULMA, a leading provider of smart, connected packaging solutions, introduces the ARTIC SS Chevron, an advanced horizontal flow wrap machine designed specifically for medical and pharmaceutical packaging applications. This innovative system minimizes film usage without compromising sterility or easy-open features to redefine packaging efficiency. By dramatically reducing material waste, the ARTIC SS Chevron helps producers achieve sustainability goals while lowering operational costs.

Harpak-ULMA, a leader in smart, connected packaging solutions, proudly introduces the FM400 horizontal flow wrap packaging machine. Designed to address the rigorous demands of high-speed Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) for fresh food applications, the FM400 sets a new benchmark in speed, sanitation, and versatility, capable of producing up to 150 packs per minute. Its MAP technology extends product freshness and shelf life by ensuring airtight packaging integrity.

Harpak-ULMA, a leading provider of smart, connected packaging solutions, has announced a strategic U.S and Canadian distribution agreement with Cabinplant to partner for its sales, services and support for the company’s renowned multihead fixed-weight packaging solutions. Cabinplant provides innovative, efficient, and tailored food processing solutions capable of managing the entire pre-packaging process; from initial bulk product distribution to product feeding and highly accurate portioning and weighing for fresh, frozen or processed meat, poultry, dairy, seafood, fruits, vegetables, convenience foods – and even pet food – packaging processes. Combining Cabinplant’s capabilities with Harpak-ULMA’s existing slate of smart, connected packaging platforms, automation, package design, accredited training, and national support network results in one of the most comprehensive, modular portfolios of integrated, automated food packaging solutions available from a single vendor today in this region.

With profound respect and gratitude, Harpak-ULMA announces the retirement of Charlie Harlfinger, long-time Chairman of the Board. Charlie's exceptional leadership and visionary contributions have been pivotal in shaping the packaging industry over the past six decades. Charlie served as President of Harpak-ULMA from 1998 to 2013 and as Chairman of the Board since the company’s founding. His leadership, wisdom, and relationship-building skills have been instrumental in forging enduring partnerships with customers and suppliers alike. Many key customers who are now part of the Harpak-ULMA family were brought in through Charlie’s efforts. His reputation for formulating transformative, customer-centric packaging solutions and high standards for customer collaboration helped to solidify his status as an industry icon.

Harpak-ULMA is pleased to announce the appointment of Kevin Roach to Chairman of the Board, effective immediately. Kevin, who has served as CEO since 2018, brings a wealth of experience and a forward-thinking vision to his new additional role, ensuring a seamless transition following the retirement of industry-icon Charlie Harlfinger. Kevin joined Harpak-ULMA to lead the company into the future of smart manufacturing. Under his leadership as CEO, Harpak-ULMA has seen significant growth and technological advancements, solidifying its position as a leader in the packaging industry.

Harpak-ULMA, the industry leader in smart, connected packaging solutions, has introduced a nationwide 3D printing service tailored specifically for tray package prototyping. Customers also have the option of in-person collaboration at Harpak-ULMA’s Customer Experience Center in Taunton, Massachusetts. Merchandisers can now utilize this service at the Centers to easily, quickly, and cost-effectively customize their tray designs to meet specific marketing needs and preferences.

Harpak-ULMA®, the industry leader in smart, connected packaging solutions, announces the North American launch of ULMA-Vision — its new, smart, high-performance integrated inspection system now available with its thermoform packaging platforms.

Harpak-ULMA®, the industry leader in smart, connected packaging solutions, announces the North American launch of ULMA's groundbreaking FR 400 TWIN Flow Wrapper— promising to revolutionize high-volume automated packaging operations with its exceptional throughput and compact footprint.

Harpak-ULMA®, the industry leader in smart, connected packaging solutions, was named a PMMI 2023 Technology Excellence Award winner for its “AI Enabled Augmented Reality for Transforming Packaging Operations” at PACK EXPO International 2023.

Harpak-ULMA, the industry leader in smart, connected packaging solutions, announces a breakthrough in tray sealing technology – the Mondini Trave Sinfonia® offers unparalleled productivity and cost savings. This solution enables snack and meal producers to dramatically increase packaging throughput in a smaller more flexible footprint with greatly reduced labor requirements. Producers can now fully automate tray packaging processes, while enjoying unparalleled control of the product loading (positional accuracy within 10 microns), sealing, and unloading process. This highly simplified process is combined with Mondini’s new, next generation sealer: its largest sealer to date, a 1500mm long tooling footprint that delivers 33,000 pounds of sealing pressure. The new Mondini sealer is seamlessly integrated with the electronically controlled magnetic track system – creating a unique tray selaer configuration that is the first of its kind. It allows the Trave Sinfonia to achieve unprecedented tray throughput and efficiency in a compact form factor that requires significantly less manual interaction.

Harpak-ULMA, the industry leader in smart, connected packaging solutions, announced the opening of its new state-of-the-art Customer Experience Center (CXC) in Costa Mesa, California. The new technology center expands Harpak-ULMA's national support coverage by replicating its popular CXC based in Taunton, Massachusetts. The expansion represents a significant investment designed to bolster Harpak-ULMA's reputation for top-notch customer service and support, regardless of location.

Harpak-ULMA, the industry leader in smart, connected packaging solutions, announced the addition of an online orders capability for replacement parts as another step in its ongoing digital transformation initiative. The addition of an e-commerce-based parts order system streamlines the customer order process by eliminating the need to produce a quote in advance of order placement manually.

Harpak-ULMA, the industry leader in smart, connected packaging solutions, announced that its Harpak-ULMA Packaging Academy is now accredited by the International Accreditors of Continuing Education and Training (IACET). As a result, participants completing Academy coursework are eligible to receive professional Continuing Education Units (CEUs).

Harpak-ULMA, the industry leader in smart, connected packaging solutions, has announced the North American availability of ULMA’s Tight-Bag™ machines for poultry products. Tight-Bag technology combines vertical bagging with a revolutionary, patented air extraction process to automate vacuum bagging for many food products.

Harpak-ULMA, the industry leader in smart, connected packaging solutions, announced the North American availability of its Gravity Case Packer, an end-of-line automation solution. The Gravity Case Packer may be used with a variety of products and is easily tailored to the needs of vertical bagging operations from meat and cheese to bakery operations. Its simplified, mechanical design allows Producers to easily switch between traditional tote loading of fresh goods or the corrugated cases typically used for frozen products. Two models are currently available: the GCP100 produces up to 60 products per minute, and the GCP200 is capable of 90 products per minute.

Harpak-ULMA, the industry leader in smart, connected packaging solutions, announced the North American availability of ULMA's FR500 — a complete end-to-end automated solution designed to package food bars into a three-sided sealed package at up to 1000 PPM. The FR500 integrates row distribution, flow wrapping, case packing and palletizing.

Harpak-ULMA, the industry leader in smart, connected packaging solutions, announced the 2023 North American availability of a new and innovative thermoforming solution that offers more sustainable packaging for fresh food products. The TFS 216 takes ULMA’s pursuit of sustainable packaging solutions a step further by offering a new model of thermoforming machine designed to package fresh products in vacuum skin packs on a flat cardboard base. The TFS 216 uses cardboard roll stock to produce the flat, non-thermoformed base of the packaging – eliminating the need for a plastic tray while generating zero cardboard waste. The cardboard base material can be printed on both sides with product or marketing information and is registered. The use of transport chains, a design common in most conventional thermoformers, requires that part of the original reel width be discarded as scrap. In contrast, the TFS 216 is equipped with an innovative bottom film traction system without chain, so the LeafSkin™ packaging produced retains all of the base material, regardless of its width. LeafSkin™ is one of ULMA’s most unique and sustainable packaging solutions, incorporating both an "easy open" corner to remove the lid, and a "recycling" corner to separate the different materials and make the recycling process easier.

Harpak-ULMA, the industry leader in smart, connected packaging solutions, has announced the commercial availability of Cigno (pronounced Cheenyo), a fully automatic, easy-to-use compact tray sealer that increases productivity in small-to-medium-sized food operations.

Harpak-ULMA, the industry leader in smart, connected packaging solutions, has been selected by a major medical device producer to provide automated flow wrap packaging lines for pipette tip production. The move will ensure reliable, US-based production of a vital tool utilized to dispense precise amounts of liquid in disease research and diagnostic labs.

Indoor AgTech Innovation Summit Harpak-ULMA, the industry leader in smart, connected packaging solutions, announced its collaboration with indoor aquaponic vertical farming company Upward Farms to launch fully automated, scalable packaging operations in support of the company’s rapid growth and expansion plans. Brooklyn-based Upward Farms’ state-of-the-art 250,000-square-foot facility in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania is expected to commence operations in 2023. Upwards Farms’ fresh, locally grown microgreens and sustainably raised hybrid striped bass are available to consumers throughout New York City, Westchester, and New Jersey, with plans to expand distribution throughout the Northeast and beyond. The company’s commitment to innovative and sustainable farming techniques is made possible through the use of advanced automation and digital technologies designed to transform farming techniques into next-gen, information-centric, production capabilities.

Harpak-ULMA announced it received 3-A Certification for three of its smart, connected thermoforming packaging platforms, the TFS500, 600, and 700 series. Food safety is a number one priority for producers and consumers alike. Safety is predicated on the sanitary design of both equipment and facilities. While procedural controls are a key aspect of food safety practices, sanitary machine design is a fundamental building block to ensure foods are produced and packaged free of biological contaminants.

Harpak-ULMA and Rockwell Automation (RA) joined with PTC to reveal the newest product of their continuing collaboration. The automated, AR-enabled packaging line demonstration, now a centerpiece exhibit at PTC’s Corporate Experience Center (CXC), is designed to show the impact of augmented reality on frontline worker productivity, downtime avoidance, and mean-time-to-repair (MTTR) of packaging assets.

Harpak-ULMA announced the expansion of its North American initiative to help medical device manufacturers improve their flexibility and operational packaging performance in response to skilled labor disruptions and related potential quality concerns.

Harpak-ULMA today announced that President and CEO Kevin Roach has been elected to the Board of Directors of PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies. PMMI is an influential and respected packaging and processing industry resource that promotes innovative manufacturing solutions to address evolving consumer demands.

Harpak-ULMA today announced the North American availability of G. Mondini’s innovative PaperSeal Former, which produces sustainable paperboard-formed trays that employ 85% less plastic and operates at high speed in a compact footprint.

Harpak-ULMA today announced its new Artic Side Seal packaging system featuring new multi-side-seal capabilities for medical, bakery, meat, and dairy applications. The company also introduced the availability of Rockwell Automation controls for its Vertical VTC 800 series hygienic design vertical packaging machines. Both announcements represent an expansion of Harpak-ULMA's North American flow wrap and vertical solutions portfolio as driven by customer requests.

PACK EXPO-- A new report commissioned by the industry association, Food and Beverage Ontario, details an exciting and innovative partnership between Harpak-ULMA and Maple Leaf Foods, the largest producer of prepared poultry and meats in Canada. Titled, "Technology Implementation Guide for the Ontario Food and Beverage Sector," the case study explores the initiative — which builds on Harpak-ULMA’s existing partnerships with Rockwell Automation and PTC to pilot innovative packaging solutions that utilize Augmented Reality and remote performance monitoring technologies. The pilot, which was started in May 2021, is expected to be in full production in October. The objective is to evaluate the impact of the solutions on endemic industry challenges, such as labor retention, employee training, technical skills scarcity, and the health and safety risks associated with COVID-19. One of the central success metrics is the achievement of consistent, world-class OEE (80%+). Improving OEE in high-volume production environments typically drive substantial revenue and profit gains.

Harpak-ULMA today announced it will partner with North America’s premier robotic technology provider, FANUC America, in two key initiatives: Harpak will join FANUC’s Authorized System Integrator program, and Harpak will showcase FANUC products in two new Customer Experience Centers (CXEs).

Harpak-ULMA today announced the relocation of its global headquarters to a new, significantly expanded facility that will feature an advanced state-of-the-art customer experience center. The need for the new facility is driven by Harpak-ULMA’s dramatic growth over the last several years, primarily attributed to its innovative multi-year, four-phase strategy to deliver on the promise of digital transformation in packaging operations. COVID-19 accelerated producer interest and adoption of digital and automation technologies, as evidenced by the company’s record-setting year that produced double-digit year-over-year revenue gains.

Harpak-ULMA announced the launch of the “Harpak-ULMA Packaging Academy,” a customer-focused educational curriculum. The Packaging Academy helps producers more quickly onboard and enable packaging staff with modular, guided learning and skills assessment, complete from beginner through advanced curriculum. The formalized educational program establishes a much-needed alternative to traditional producer reliance on tribal knowledge, single-instance training, or vendor professional services.