In the fruit and vegetable sector, top seal packaging is mostly used for soft fruit. However, lately, it's becoming increasingly common to package other types of fruit and vegetables in this way too. Think of tomatoes, mushrooms, grapes, and asparagus. Sustainability, better visibility in the shop, and chain efficiency are a few reasons for using this sealing method. That's according to Jasper Slaghekke of Sismatec. This company is a Proseal top seal machines dealer. It operates in the Benelux and German-speaking countries.
Top sealing has been used for soft fruit for a long time.
The trend of top sealing fruit and vegetable products made its way from the United Kingdom to the Netherlands. "Lately, especially consumers have been demanding such top seal packaging," says Jasper. "After all, it's easier to use than a lid that doesn't always close properly. This type of sealing also fits in with the sustainability trend. You can save up to 42% plastic when using top sealing instead of a lid. Not to mention, the trays are made from alternative materials, such as cardboard, pulp, sugar cane, and recyclable plastic."
"Sometimes, top-sealing also considerably extends the products' shelf lives. That's for those products that require a particularly high degree of air circulation. Using the right material (packaging and foil) means residual moisture can escape more easily from the packaging. That not only benefits the taste and presentation. But because of the extended shelf life, you also waste less food and money. Lids are often used for tomatoes, as are flow packs. A top seal packaging, however, offers more protection, and you, therefore, sell more of them."
Products like grapes and snack tomatoes need this kind of innovation. "It must be easy for people to reseal these products' packaging. That's why we've also developed a resealable top seal film. Top sealing also makes in-store marketing possible. This kind of packaging simply looks much nicer on the shelf. And you have more room for product information and marketing," explains Slaghekke.
You can top seal a package without a top seal machine: Sismatec markets the British Proseal, a specialist in these kinds of machines.
But, you'll need more than only the top seal film and packaging. You need a tray sealer to complete this combination. So, Sismatec now markets several kinds of Proseal Traysealers. "These machines combine high throughput with short changeover times. Also, they're compact, so don't take up a lot of space. For example, it takes only two minutes to do a tool change."
"These easy-to-clean machines are mounted on castors, so they're easy to move too. We have good contacts at Proseal in England. We can, therefore, always adjust machines to meet clients' wishes. We recently delivered four complete production lines - 'picking', check weighing, packing, and labeling - for a large project. We can manage these projects in a way that optimizes the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)," concludes Jasper.
For more information:
Jasper Slaghekke
Sismatec B.V. / Proseal
P.O.Box 441, 7600 AK, Almelo, NL
8 Twentepoort Oost, 7609 RG, Almelo, NL
Tel: +31 (0) 546 874 113
Email: j.slaghekke@sismatec.nl