Romaco: product offensive in new corporate industrial design

At the upcoming interpack 2017 Romaco will show several product innovations in a new corporate industrial design. For the first time, the line compatibility of the Kilian, Siebler, Noack and Promatic brands will also be visually emphasised – an impressive demonstration of the Group’s innovative vitality.

With four new machines in a corporate industrial design, Romaco will take advantage of interpack 2017 to draw attention to the functional unity of its technologies and underline its status as a single-source supplier to the pharmaceutical industry. For the first time, Kilian, Noack, Siebler and Promatic brand innovations will also visually communicate Romaco’s application focused solution strategy. The exhibit will comprise the Noack NBP 950 blister packaging machine, the Promatic PCI 915 cartoner and the Kilian KTP 590X tablet press in line with the Siebler STF 120 tube filler.

The joint launch of these four machines in a corporate industrial design lends further emphasis to Romaco’s specialisation in the manufacture and packaging of pharmaceutical solids. The company has led the field in the effervescents sector for several years now, notably with its Kilian and Siebler brands. At this year’s interpack, Romaco will unveil a system concept for tableting and packing effervescent tablets in tubes which is both technologically and visually integrated.

Horizontal lines are the dominant theme of Romaco’s new corporate industrial design, which aims to stress the “line” character of the manufacturer’s system solutions for the pharmaceutical industry. Optimizing the OEE (overall equipment effectiveness) is a key priority in all Romaco development projects.

Availability plays a crucial role in this context. The faster a machine can be changed over and cleaned, the more effectively its capacity can be utilised. Higher productivity is especially decisive for contract pharma players against the background of global cost pressures. The new design mirrors Romaco’s claim of first-class quality and reliable processes. The dark-tinted branding zone of the new Noack, Siebler, Promatic and Kilian machines adds visual impact to this product promise.

Noack NBP 950 blister packaging machine
The Romaco Noack NBP 950 blister packer has acquired more than just a new design; increased ease of use was likewise a development objective. This rotary sealing machine is very easy to change over and clean.

Format changes can be completed in next to no time. The fully interchangeable QuickFeed unit speeds up product changes by making a second unit available while QuickAdjust - the automatic station control system - adjusts the sealing, coding and perforation processes.

This saves time and materials during the run-in following a job change. With a maximum output of 500 blisters per minute, the Noack NBP 950 is the ideal solution for small to medium sized batches. The blisters can be arranged either lengthwise or crosswise to the running direction, enabling numerous blister layouts with different cavity geometries. This extraordinary flexibility as regards the format design opens up countless possibilities for manufacturers of blister packaging.

Siebler STF 120 rigid tube filler
Romaco’s new product line for filling effervescent tablets into tubes will be on show to industry professionals for the very first time. The launch of the Siebler STF 120 rigid tube filling machine will expand the company’s packaging portfolio for effervescent products.

This redesigned system meets all requirements for quick and easy cleaning of the tube filler. The tablet conveyor belt in the feeding area, for instance, can be replaced in a matter of minutes. The fact that only a small number of compact format parts are necessary typically simplifies retooling. Many settings are completely independent of specific formats, like the adjustment of filling volumes or the ability to adapt to different tube lengths. The pick & place system for transferring tubes enables controlled feeding, filling and discharge processes.

Even very short tubes no more than 50 mm in length can be processed reliably in this way and safe handling of sensitive aluminium tubes is easily possible. The Romaco Siebler STF 120 achieves a maximum output of 120 tubes per minute because the tubes are transferred to the filling station in clusters. Fragile effervescent tablets are filled extremely gently according to the rotation principle, which is suitable for all tablets with a hardness down to 40 Newtons.

Promatic PCI 915 intermittent motion cartoner
The Promatic PCI 915 intermittent motion cartoner strengthens Romaco’s position in the secondary packaging sector. With its small footprint and maximum output of 150 cartons a minute, this machine represents the low-to-medium performance class. Flexibility is particularly important here: frequent product and format changes call for an ergonomic design as well as optimal access to all components.

For the first time, the containers for rejected leaflets and cartons are freely accessible on the Promatic PCI 915 and can be removed and emptied without interrupting operation. Furthermore, the compact cartoner’s cGMP compliant balcony architecture greatly simplifies line clearances. Formats are designed according to the poka-yoke principle to prevent parts from being incorrectly assembled.

As a result of this, the Promatic PCI 915 reduces downtime very efficiently and permits significantly better OEE values. The use of servo technology rather than mechanical drives protects the components, brings down the noise level and cuts the costs for maintenance. All in all, the highly automated Promatic PCI 915 provides reproducible parameters and high quality end products.

Kilian KTP 590X rotary press for bi-layer and effervescent tablets
The Kilian KTP 590X rotary press is the newest model in Romaco Kilian’s successful KTP series. The iF award-winning KTP design inspired Romaco to develop a corporate industrial design to be applied to further machines. The Kilian KTP 590X, Romaco’s first single-sided rotary press specifically for compressing bi-layer and effervescent tablets, will be launched at interpack.

Two large, standard fill shoe modules allow efficient filling of the die with different powders. Tableting takes place in three steps, namely tamping, pre-compression and main compression. The use of 28/41 tooling moreover extends the dwell time, which means less risk of capping and improved tablet hardness.

The new fill shoe generation has an optimized paddle design which ensures homogeneous compression of tablets with a maximum diameter of 33 mm. The Kilian KTP 590X boasts an output of up to 511,200 tablets per hour. The new rotary press is absolutely consistent with the Kilian philosophy: cool, fast and clean. Process temperatures of less than 30°C, fast product changes and very high hygienic standards are also the hallmarks of the new Kilian KTP 590X.