Universal Pack: shaping the future of single-dose packaging

At Interpack - Hall 16, Stand B42 - solutions spanning process management and sustainability

Universal Pack comes to the show with a technology proposition that clearly reflects the direction in which single-dose packaging is evolving: greater material sustainability, enhanced process control, high production flexibility and ever-increasing performance. Yet what sets the company apart goes beyond the solutions on display.

A History with an eye on the future

Founded in 1965 and today led by Pietro Donati, the company’s sole owner, Universal Pack has built its growth on a solid industrial vision and strong entrepreneurial continuity. Working around this vision is a team of more than 200 people, combining technical expertise, design capability and a genuine attentiveness to customer needs. It is also thanks to this human capital that the company has reached the milestone of over 8,000 systems installed across 160 countries, consolidating an international presence in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, food, cosmetics and chemical sectors.

Performance and sustainability in the spotlight

In Düsseldorf, at Hall 16, Stand B42, Universal Pack is showcasing a selection of solutions designed to combine performance, packaging quality and application flexibility, reaffirming an approach that looks beyond productivity alone to encompass the overall management of the process.

Sustainability will be one of the key themes of the company’s presence at the show. Universal Pack’s solutions are designed to run with compostable, recyclable and recycled laminates, without compromising reliability or seal quality. At the same time, the company is pursuing development activities with international film manufacturers, major industrial groups and university partners, with the aim of validating next-generation structures and making them genuinely usable in real production environments.
A key role in this regard is played by Universal Lab, the in-house laboratory that for over thirty years has been analysing materials and products to assess their behaviour on the machine and optimise the interaction between laminate, content and packaging technology.

The complete stick-packs line

Among the most representative solutions on show is a complete stick-pack line with cartoning from flat blanks, offering a very practical response to the industry’s current needs.
The configuration on display comprises an 8-lane stick-pack machine set up for dual dosing, an integrated conveying and counting system, 100% in-line weight control with automatic rejection of out-of-spec items, robotic pick-and-place loading, a new flat-blank carton former with leaflet insertion, and a dedicated closing station. A line conceived, therefore, to concentrate automation, precision and flexibility within a compact layout.

Dual dosing allows two products to be handled in parallel, expanding formulation options, while water-cooled nozzles also make the line suitable for heat-sensitive products. The machine supports 8 carton formats and configurations ranging from 10 to 100 stick-packs, with an output of 50 cartons per minute. On the control side, the line integrates full batch traceability, production data export, efficiency monitoring and stick-by-stick weight control with automatic feedback to the dosing unit.
This is complemented by features that facilitate maintenance and operational management, such as full front access, a motorised dosing unit that can be lowered to floor level, and an independent electrical cabinet that can be installed in a separate technical room.

Theta: a four-side seal sachet machine ideal for heat-sensitive powders

Alongside the complete line, Universal Pack will present Theta, the high-end four-side seal sachet machine in its range. It is the fastest solution in the family, having been tested at speeds of up to 150 cycles per minute, but speed alone does not fully account for the appeal of this machine.
Theta has in fact been developed to address an increasingly common requirement: maintaining high sealing standards even with more complex materials and more sensitive products. Its innovative horizontal sealing system enables work with thicker films and with recyclable and compostable laminates, extending the sealing time while keeping temperatures lower in the sealing area. This translates into greater control over sustainable materials, as well as better management of process thermal conditions.
It is in this context that the machine’s suitability for packaging highly heat-sensitive pharmaceutical powders – such as Macrogol, which tends to soften above 30°C – should also be understood. Dedicated cooling solutions protect the product throughout the process, combining high productivity with enhanced application safety. All of this comes in a compact, ergonomic and fully accessible machine, designed to reduce format changeover times through a modular logic that favours rapid adaptation.

Alfa Flexi: a high-variability solution for multi-formulation stick packs

Completing the picture is Alfa Flexi, likely the most versatile solution in Universal Pack’s stick-pack range. Designed for dynamic, multi-formulation and high-variability production environments, Alfa Flexi is aimed in particular at contract manufacturers and companies that frequently alternate between different products, recipes and formats. Its distinguishing feature is the ability to run both powders and liquids on the same machine, switching immediately from one product type to the other: a characteristic that drastically reduces unproductive downtime and allows production to remain agile and responsive.

Here too, flexibility is not a marketing claim but a concrete set of features: design highlights include rapid stick-width adjustment, genuine multi-format capability, modular format options, simplified tool-free changeovers, and a compact, ergonomic layout that optimises available space and improves operability.
In production environments where the ability to adapt quickly to new products and new SKUs has become a competitive advantage, Alfa Flexi represents a particularly effective answer.

Overall, Universal Pack’s presence at Interpack 2026 conveys the image of a manufacturer that approaches the new challenges of single-dose packaging with a broad vision: not merely speed and output, but material sustainability, product protection, in-line quality control, traceability, ease of management and true flexibility. A vision rooted in long industrial experience in both the pharmaceutical and food sectors, but also in a company culture built on people, expertise and entrepreneurial continuity, as indeed expressed in the company’s own claim: “Exactly what you need. Powered by science. Designed by humans”.