Packaging technology evolves to manage high-speed bottling and lightweight containers

The beverage and pharmaceutical packaging industries are adopting advanced automation to manage increasing production speeds and more complex container designs.

HEUFT is implementing intelligent in-line inspection systems designed to maintain continuity and reliability. Rather than acting solely as a final quality check, these modular systems for full and empty containers aim to prevent anomalies and reduce waste by providing stability to the production line. Pierpaolo Bossi, General Manager of HEUFT Italia, noted that modern bottling requires reliable controls that do not slow down the process, allowing producers to intervene before an anomaly causes machine downtime.

Simultaneously, Sidel has introduced the Cermex RoboSELEX, a robotic grouping system designed to handle lightweight and geometrically complex bottles. As manufacturers move toward lighter packaging and a higher number of Stock Keeping Units (SKUs), traditional accumulation methods become less effective. The RoboSELEX system uses Delta robots to achieve speeds of up to 320 products per minute, facilitating continuous flow and rapid format changes without the need for accumulation.