“Sustainable Growth” is the motto for the Anuga FoodTec 2024, which will be taking place in Cologne between 19 and 22 March. Gerhard Schubert GmbH will have its own stand at the leading trade fair for suppliers to the food and beverage industry. This year’s theme is a perfect match for the packaging specialist’s philosophy and Schubert is looking forward to showcasing its innovative, sustainable food packaging solutions at Stand C-071 in Hall 7.1.

A main highlight at the stand is the TLM Comfort Feeder – a new, efficient, resource-saving solution for feeding carton blanks directly from the pallet. The Schubert experts from Packaging Perspectives will also be introducing two ingenious, fully recyclable packaging concepts: Dotlock, a carton packaging without glue, and a carton-monofilm hybrid solution, also without glue. As always, Schubert will be providing advice on its extensive portfolio for the automated and environmentally friendly packaging of food and beverages.

The Anuga FoodTec show is an extremely important information platform for the international food and beverage industry. As the world’s only supplier exhibition, it covers all aspects of production, including filling and packaging technology and packaging. This year’s event will be focusing on the issue of how food production can be geared towards bringing about sustainable change in the future. For the Gerhard Schubert company, which is dedicated to the achievement of sustainable goals with its Mission Blue Initiative, Anuga is a perfect opportunity to present its high-performance, resource-saving packaging solutions to a wide range of visitors.

The TLM Comfort Feeder will be showcased live and in action at the Schubert stand. The background to the development of the highly innovative packaging solution was the observation that delays can occur in the process if the blanks magazine on the packaging system runs empty – which result in machine operators having to react quickly to prevent unnecessary stops. With Schubert’s new TLM Comfort Feeder, this roadblock has been eliminated, as can be experienced live at the fair. All that is needed is to place the entire pallet with the blanks still in the cutting sheet into the machine.

An F4 robot then pulls the blanks directly from the sheet one by one and feeds them to the erecting process in the A6 erector – at an impressive speed of 60 cycles per minute. This groundbreaking approach also offers another key advantage: The cut sheet can be optimised to ensure the greatest possible utilisation of the packaging material. This saves on material and has a positive impact on the ecological footprint. The combination of innovative sheet feeding, outstanding erecting performance along with loading and sealing offers Schubert customers an exceptionally advantageous machine concept. The bar packer is part of Schubert’s TLM Power Compact machine category, which describes TLM machines that deliver a high output density in a small space.

In addition to the live demonstration of the TLM Comfort Feeder, Schubert experts will be providing information about the wide range of packaging machines at various thematic islands. From pick & place robots in the Pickerline to Flowpackers and Casepackers, all the way through to complete packaging lines, Schubert is ideally positioned to provide all the technologies that food manufacturers need to achieve high-quality packaging. Furthermore, Schubert’s flexible, modular and easily convertible packaging machines process both conventional and fully recyclable packaging.

Martin Sauter, Head of Sales at Schubert, explains: “As a packaging machine manufacturer, sustainability is extremely important to us. This is why we are continuously developing our innovative packaging machines towards achieving this overarching goal. Last year, for example, we also equipped our Flowpacker with Box Motion sealing technology, which enables cross-sealing using ultrasound. The seal is also perfectly suited for recyclable flowpacks made from monofilms or paper-based films.”

Also on the topic of sustainability, Schubert has two further highlights in store for visitors to the fair: Dotlock, a technology that makes cardboard packaging entirely glue-free, and its cardboard-monofilm hybrid solution – also without glue – that significantly minimises the use of plastic. Dotlock is based on so-called “clinching” technology used to join metals. The cardboard layers are pierced from one side with a needle, forming a collar on the other side. This is then pressed onto the cardboard, creating a very stable force & form fit. As a 100 per cent glue-free packaging solution, Dotlock is fully recyclable via the paper cycle. The new hybrid packaging consists only of cardboard and very thin monofilm, both of which are very easy to separate and therefore fully recyclable. Martin Sauter explains: “Our focus is on modular, digital, robot-based packaging machines and lines. But we are also involved in the development of sustainable packaging processes on a selective basis. Samples of both Dotlock and the new hybrid packaging can be viewed at our stand.”

In addition to its extensive technology portfolio, Schubert offers its customers comprehensive consulting as well as many other services. With its Packaging Perspectives services, Schubert assists customers in their search for the most sustainable packaging possible. Schubert Consulting supports customers with advice on complete packaging processes and optimisation potential. And with Schubert’s digital 4YOU services, customers can record and evaluate their system data, better understand processes and significantly increase their efficiency. Trade fair visitors are more than welcome to approach the Schubert experts at the Anuga stand with their specific topics and questions.