Hot on the heels of an investment in its oven capacity to increase output of its Animals Biscuits and Mini Fingers cookies, Moreton, England-based Burton Foods, part of the Premier Brands group of companies, installed the latest ROBAG® 3fx 180 Rotary Triple Jaw (RTJ) high-speed packaging system from TNA Europe Ltd. (www.tnarobag.com). Having run three ROBAG 2Ci rotary, double-jaw systems to produce 25-g bags of cookies at 140/min for the previous three years, Burton was pleased with the technology, but hoped to find a solution for its increased capacity that could produce a "significantly higher quantity of bags, while maintaining reject levels less than one percent," relates TNA.

Last summer, Burton installed the new vf/f/s system, along with a TNA Delta 1 multihead weigher to pack the 25-g Animals Biscuits and Mini Fingers at a minimum speed of 200 bags/min, at the required reject rate of less than 1 percent. According to TNA, the system's stripper tube-closer system, open tube former and system integration guarantee high performance, low rejects and high efficiency for the fragile cookie products.

The ROBAG 3fx RTJ is designed specifically for small bags and is capable of packing bags up to 180-mm wide. Burton's existing double-jaw systems provide the flexibility to produce bags in virtually any length and in widths up to 320 mm. All primary baggers feed bags to the ROBAG Rotary Flat Jaw multibagger.

TNA North America, Inc., 972/462-6500. www.tnarobag.com