Discover Engilico’s innovative seal inspection technologies for flexible & rigid packaging

Engilico delivers innovative seal inspection technologies to inspect, optimize, and monitor sealing processes. These technologies enable customers to realize better packaging quality, higher packaging productivity, and end-of-line automation. Elaborating on the company's technology, Renaat Van Cauter, marketing director, Engilico, says, "With hundreds of installations worldwide, Engilico's technology warrants package integrity and shelf life. It reduces customer complaints and therefore improves the brand image of leading international companies within the global food, pet care, and other industries where sealing integrity is of utmost importance."

Engilico has a worldwide presence, and the company became part of the PACRAFT packaging group, a subsidiary of Nabtesco (Tokyo, Japan), in 2021. It provides in-line seal inspection of two types - SealScope (for flexible packaging) and HyperScope (for rigid packaging).

SealScope - 100% in-line inspection for flexible packaging

Cauter describes the product, "SealScope is a non-destructive in-line seal inspection and process monitoring technology for flexible packages such as pouches, flow wraps, VFFS bags, and others via sensors that are mounted on the sealing jaws. It detects products in the seal, wrinkles, and tapered seals. Engilico's global partnerships with leading packaging system manufacturers guarantee an easy integration of SealScope to deliver optimized packaging lines for any business."

HyperScope - 100% Seal inspection of rigid trays, pots, and thermoforms

HyperScope is a new tray inspection solution offered by Engilico. According to Cauter, the inspection solution uses hyperspectral imaging (HSI) technology to detect contamination in the seal of plastic trays with much higher contrast than standard vision cameras. Applications include in-line inspection of trays or pots with meat, fish, cheese, and vegetables.

Innovation leads the way!

According to Cauter, Engilico has been focusing on innovation since its inception. He explains, "As every package is non-destructively inspected, it enables to eliminate manual inspection and to automate the further downstream packaging process." SealScope has been developed and marketed since 2011, aiming at end-of-line automation of food production lines by integrating in-line seal inspection directly into the flexible packaging machines.

For customers with rigid packaging needs, in 2021, Engilico launched a new in-line seal inspection solution that detects seal contamination where standard vision inspection cameras fall short.

Trends in the F&B industry are inevitable. How various companies deal with them to keep themselves relevant is an individual choice. Cauter's opinion on how the food industry will move forward is as follows-

Growing market - India is a fast-growing and emerging market with great potential. The Indian food industry has emerged as a high-growth and high-profit sector due to its immense potential for value addition.

Quality food packaging- Heat and high humidity are two problems that can reduce the shelf life of packaged goods in India. Therefore, focusing on the seals and maintaining their integrity is essential.

A shift towards packaged ready foods- Due to the rising standard of living and hectic work life, there is less time for fresh cooking and more people rely on ready food, which is often packaged in (retort) pouches and requires seal inspection.

Need for automation- Shortage of skilled labor and food safety concerns are the key challenges for the food processing industry, encouraging food processors to invest in automation where seal inspection plays an important role.

Investments by multinationals- Large food manufacturers often have high-quality standards and use the same high-class processing and packaging equipment as in other countries. These companies, therefore, often rely on renowned packaging machine brands such as Fuji, Omori, Pacraft, GEA, Leepack, Multivac, Syntegon, etc

Focus on reducing (plastic) waste- Food producers focus on reducing waste by exploring alternative materials (such as cardboard), thinner packaging, and recyclable materials. All these require detailed seal inspection to guarantee shelf life.

Innovation- Food manufacturers are looking to improve processes, quality, and productivity. Innovation must make the business more competitive and sustainable, keeping in mind the customer's needs and expectations.

At PackEx 2022

Eager to participate in the upcoming trade fair PackEx India 2022, Cauter says, "With the huge food processing and packaging market in India, many international companies, including packaging machine manufacturers, are present in the Indian market. As such, a trade fair organized by an international group such as Koelnmesse is highly valued by both visitors and exhibitors. If you want to develop your business, this is the place to be to meet all renowned food manufacturers."

At the event, you can catch Engilico presenting its solutions for in-line seal inspection, SealScope (for flexible packaging), and HyperScope (for rigid packaging).

Cauter expresses his expectations from the event, "For Engilico, it is important to meet many (large) food producers, machine manufacturers, and line integrators and to inform them about the possibilities of in-line seal inspection, process monitoring, and end-of-line automation. We expect a lot of interesting meetings that can lead to future projects for seal inspection."

Engilico focuses on innovation of food inspection and, more specifically, on in-line seal inspection. Letting out their vision and plans, he says, “Based on our customer successes, we are confident that many food manufacturers can benefit from seal inspection as this will also help them to improve outgoing product quality and production performance. We plan to explore the Indian market further to assess the best possibilities for growing our business.”

Engilico’s inspection technologies enable leading international companies within the food, pet care, and other applicable industries to warrant package integrity and shelf life, reduce customer complaints, and improve the brand image.

Meet the team and explore their products at Booth No L 111 at PackEx 2022 at BEC, Mumbai, from 14 to 16 September.

Visit Here to register for the trade show!