UNO with QI

The project for a totally Italian made coffee capsule chain.“Uno”, the first result of the alliance between Illy and Kimbo, is a new system with capsules available in different flavors, which will be produced by Mitaca and packaged by Qi ACMAVOLPAK. The project was presented at HOST 2013. 

“One”, but with many possibilities. The new “Uno system”, which involves the use of capsules produced by Mitaca (a company 50% owned by Illy), was created to fulfil a fundamental need of the coffee consumer: offer a wide choice of brands and flavors using the same dispenser.
“Uno” in fact offers seven different fragrances, but the real news is that the various tastes will be marketed by the two brands, these being Kimbo and Illy. This will enable anyone who owns an “Uno” type coffee dispenser, to choose the coffee pod that best suits their taste.
The Uno system capsule will be made by Mitaca with the new ACMAVOLPAK (Gruppo Coesia) Qi capsule filling machine. 

«In the ACMAVOLPAK project we found appropriate responses in terms of speed, compactness and ergonomics» commented Francesco Minerba, Mitaca marketing and product development head, which relies on traditional skills of the Bolognese company to develop a successful and fruitful collaboration.
Indeed, despite being the latest addition in the field of capsule filling, the ACMAVOLPAK’ Qi presents itself as the most advanced solutions available today. Its designer, Massimo Scrivani, explains the reasons in a brief interview.

Why is QI considered the most advanced capsule filling system?
«It is simply the most ergonomic, compact and “greenest” machine. Qi was in fact designed specifically to treat coffee as a food product, guaranteeing maximum safety and accuracy throughout the packaging process, in order to ensure the fragrance. At the same time, the machine is capable of speeds up to 500 strokes per minute, and vacuum fills the capsules, increasing the shelf life of the product».

And why is it sustainable and ergonomic?
Qi’s sustainability comes from its reduced environmental impact: it aboveall uses a low amount of nitrogen to ensure the vacuum in the machine (less than 9 cubic meters per minute), consumes 10% less energy than existing solutions and, aboveall, allows an enormous saving of the scrap material (around 48%) if compared with the best models on the market.
From the point of view of ergonomics, we have worked to allow the operator easy access to the various machine components.
It is also designed to separate the area where the capsule is filled, weighed and sealed from feed and handling as well as end-of- line, to guarantee the very highest hygienic standards.
These features, combined with the rounded shapes, enable a maximization of space enabling the machine to fit into in any production environment.