Haver & Boecker’s growth in the Australian food packing space through its Behn + Bates brand will see its filling systems for valve bags on full display at APPEX 2024.
Haver & Boecker’s has had a global presence in the development and supply of food packing technology since it acquired the Behn + Bates brand in 1994. Since establishing a dedicated local presence in the Australian market 10 year ago, the company has enjoyed a steady expansion into the local food packing space, specialising in dry, bulk foods.
With decades of experience and an unwavering focus on innovation, Haver & Boecker has a strong reputation for quality, high performance products.
Alexandre Santi, sales engineer at Haver & Boecker, said the company was always looking to expand its capabilities and took pride in offering a ‘one stop shop’ for customers.
“For our packaging business we have four focus areas. Cement, chemical, building materials and minerals, and food,” he said.
“In terms of food packaging, our expertise lies in powdery and granular-type foods; things like flour, starch, gluten, sugar, oats, cocoa powder”.
Santi said the valve bagging technology was what the company hoped to showcase to the Australian market, along with its much wider packaging expertise.
“Haver & Boecker believe that valve bagging technology is the future of dry, bulk food packing,” he said.
“This transition from open-mouth bags has already happened in different parts of the world and now it’s being introduced to the Australian market.”
Some of the benefits of the valve bagging technology include cleaner filling, lower product losses, hygienic focus, and flexibility to apply different packing technologies according to product characteristics.
“Due to the perfect brick-shape form of the full bags, customers can produce more stable full pallets, which increases safety during transportation
“The sealed valve bags also perform better in terms of durability, proving to be more reliable on drop tests and manual handling by end customers. Furthermore, the modular rotating system from Haver & Boecker, the Roto-packer, can deliver high capacity while maintaining cleanness and weight accuracy,” added Santi.
“All our packers for the food industry are equipped with the SEAL-kit, which comprises an inflatable sleeve on each spout, to avoid spillage during filling, and an ultrasonic sealing unit, to seal the bags immediately after the filling cycle.
“Our high-automated machines can also be equipped with functions to assist the rest-emptying and cleaning cycles, increasing reliability for our customer’s processes, and reducing chances of cross-contamination after product changes.
“For all our solutions, we focus on delivering a clean filling system, with high weight accuracy.”
Haver & Boecker also utilise The Haver Institute to ensure customers get the best possible solution available.
Located at Haver & Boecker’s headquarters in Olede, Germany, and led by packing specialist Thomas Hilling, it is the biggest and most comprehensive packing institute in the world.
“The Haver Institute is there to assist the sales teams and customers to find the best packaging technology solutions for every application, by performing packing trials, product and bag analysis,” said Santi.
On top of this, Santi said Haver & Boecker’s large portfolio of packaging machinery was another key selling point for the business.
“We have solutions and expertise from the smallest manual packaging units to the largest solutions a customer may need. But from a new project perspective, we can provide a full packing line.
“The message we want to emphasise is we can work from the very minimum and manual process right up to the fully automated and biggest throughput you need.
Santi said being able to provide a ‘one stop shop’ for a customer was beneficial to all parties involved, and something the company remains proud of.
“It is important we can offer a turnkey solution, so customers can be sure that we are not only focusing on delivering a high-quality machine but also working on the integration of
all equipment,” he said.
“For auxiliary equipment, such as check weighers, metal detectors and pallet protection, we partner with top players on the market. For palletisers, we have our sister company, Newtec Bag Palletiser.
“That is not to say we only work on full projects.
“Whenever I discuss with the customer, we try to emphasise the reliability of our machines around things like lifespan and output. We have machines installed in Australia and New Zealand that are over 40 years old and are still in full operation.”
By having a local subsidiary in Australia, Haver and Boecker can offer quicker turnaround times and a more hands-on approach.
“We are proud not only to offer high-quality machinery but also a strong and reliable after-sales support, that ranges from spare parts to service and modernisation packages,” said Santi.
“Our after-sales team is led by our operations manager Robert Sukumaran. We have our spare parts team located in our office in Perth, and four well-trained service technicians exclusively working for Australian and New Zealand customers.
“Our technicians are able to supervise the installation of new machines, provide general servicing and customer training.”
The customer support, Santi said, is a great example of Haver & Boecker’s emphasis on building long-term relationships with customers.
Santi said Haver & Boecker’s focus on the Australian and New Zealand food packaging industry will certainly see a rise in the use of valve bagging technology, especially due to the market demand.
“Once the end customers start receiving full pallets with sealed valve bags, they realise all the benefits and that becomes the new benchmark,” said Santi.
To learn more, Haver & Boecker will be exhibiting at APPEX 2024, where you will be able to see some of the company’s premium packaging technology and solutions on full display.