Back then, like today, the ROTO-PACKER® was unique in its future-oriented design and in its ability to meet the market demands with precision. As The Original, the ROTO-PACKER® has actively shaped the cement industry and supported growth in the building materials sector. It has further growth potential in meeting the constantly growing demands for performance, cleanliness and hygiene in the chemical, food and animal feed industries as well.
The ROTO-PACKER® accompanies all four industries, individually adapted to serve as the pacemaker of entire packing lines. HAVER & BOECKER is celebrating The Original by holding a variety of activities for customers and employees.
This article at a glance:
- Its development as a reaction to market demands
- Seven large development steps
- The ROTO-PACKER® as the heart of a packing line
- ROTO-LOCK® and SEAL as profit-making modules
- ROTO-PACKER® ADAMS® edition – huge impact for PE bags
- RADIMAT® for fully automatic bag application
- QUAT²RO-System-Monitoring
- Exciting jubilee specials
A question of the market
Many additional developments of the ROTO-PACKER® have been shaped by increasing customer demands. Rudolf Haver and designer Paul Schwake reacted to a suggestion made by the Phoenix cement plant in Beckum, Germany, which needed a more powerful system than the previous inline packers.
Schwake combined the rotating system of a round packer with the unique HAVER & BOECKER filling technology which was able to efficiently fill the paper bags that at the time were emerging on the market. He implemented it into a machine that could meet the changes of the future and could be expanded by adding further spouts. This is how the cornerstone was laid for a success story that would last decades.
From a mechanical packing machine to a digital environmental protector
Many things have changed in mechanical engineering over the past 60 years. While the first ROTO-PACKER® was purely mechanical, except for the drive motors, today it is a detailed and well-balanced combination of mechanics, electronics and pneumatics. The filling of paper bags instead of jute bags was a major milestone.
Today another milestone is being experienced in the filling of PE bags. As is the case today, back then the further developments of the ROTO-PACKER® fulfilled the requirements of tomorrow’s market. The ROTO-PACKER® was continuously expanded in seven major development steps. It has brought customers important new advantages in the cement, building materials, chemical, food and feed industries:
- The first ROTO-PACKER® impresses with new filling technology and expandability. It fills more bags than comparable systems, and does so with the newly developed paper bags.
- Additional correction weighers improve weight accuracy.
- The automatic bag applicator in the form of a swivel arm increases speed, cleanliness and employee safety.
- Further machine optimization using the latest technology leads to a doubling of speed.
- The overall height of the ROTO-PACKER® is reduced, depending on the model. The smaller size allows subsequent installation in existing, normal height production halls and also for manufacturers of building materials, chemicals, food and feed.
- The patented and low-maintenance ROTO-LOCK® dosing unit and the SEAL technology for sealing valve bags increase cleanliness immensely and thus lead to greater employee safety and environmental protection. The ADAMS® technology for filling in PE bags expands the range of products to include sustainable and environmentally friendly packing technology.
- Digitization takes hold. The ROTO-PACKER® becomes the central control of an entire packing line and can be monitored by the QUAT²RO System Monitoring at any time and from anywhere in the world.
The ROTO-PACKER® sets the pace
In the six decades of its development, the ROTO-PACKER® has not only become the heart of the family business in Oelde, which today employs 2,950 people, it has also become the heart of countless packing lines worldwide. In combination with other units such as the RADIMAT® automatic bag applicator, a palletizer or a truck loader, the ROTO-PACKER® ensures the perfect flow of filled products and continuous output.
Today there are four expandable standard versions of the ROTO-PACKER® with different filling systems: the ADAMS® Edition for filling powdery bulk materials into environmentally friendly PE bags, the SEAL Edition for packing mixed products into sealable paper or PP valve bags, and the Advanced and Basic versions. With the expandability of the ROTO-PACKER® and other modular solutions for the entire process from storage, to filling and to loading, HAVER & BOECKER is able to meet all market requirements.
ROTO-LOCK® & SEAL – the dream team for cleanliness and environmental protection
In 2016 HAVER & BOECKER introduced the patented low-maintenance ROTO-LOCK® dosing device. It replaces the sliding plates connecting the filling chamber and the filling spout, thus removing a primary source of product loss in rotating systems. The rotating rising chamber completely eliminates product spillage during the dosing process and requires almost no maintenance.
The ROTO-LOCK® can be retrofitted to all original HAVER & BOECKER ROTO-PACKERS® built from 2000 onwards. The SEAL technology can also be retrofitted to these, where at the beginning of the filling process, a sleeve inflates in the specially designed filling spout and seals the valve bag so that no product can escape. After dust-free filling, the bag valve is ultrasonically welded shut. The compact and completely closed bag provides for a clean working environment for improved health standards for all plant employees as well as clean handling during the entire logistics chain and at the end customer.
Clean filling by ROTO-LOCK® and SEAL increases process reliability and reduces wear & tear and production downtime due to cleaning, maintenance and repairs. The clean and attractive appearance also creates a positive effect on the company and product image, allows the product to stand out at the point of sale and protects the environment. Loss-free and clean filling means no product is wasted and resources are conserved.
ADAMS® technology for PE bags
With the ADAMS® technology, HAVER & BOECKER has made it possible to fill powdery, bulk products into tight FFS film bags made of PE. The RST ADAMS® Edition is a stand-alone system with 2, 4 or 6-12 filling spouts. It combines the rotating process with the unique ADAMS® technology for compact filling PE bags. Powdery products are compacted by special internal and bottom vibrators to such an extent that almost no air remains inside the bag.
The customer benefits from high weight accuracy, perfectly stackable bags, environmentally friendly packing and tight packages. The ROTO-PACKER® ADAMS® edition is also suitable for filling micro-granulates in package sizes of 5 to 50 kg. This means it can be used efficiently in the cement and building materials industry as well as in the chemical, food and feed industries.
RADIMAT® – the fully automatic bag applicator for the perfect flow
As an optional module, the RADIMAT® automatic bag applicator automates the packing of products into valve bags on rotating packing lines. All common rotating packing machines on the market – including those of other manufacturers – can be retrofitted to operate with the RADIMAT®, thus optimizing the entire packing process. With a shot rate of up to 99.7%, the RADIMAT® shoots the bags in the packing machine’s work cycle. The empty valve bags are automatically drawn from a magazine or from a roll. This makes the entire packing process independent of the work quality of the machine operator, who is now free to perform more important and safer tasks.
The RADIMAT® is suitable for systems for packing a wide range of loose materials in bulk and the required bag types and dimensions. It can be installed in existing plants or also for scaling down new plants. Components such as rotary tables, elevating systems and different magazine arrangements allow installation variants to be adapted to the available space.
HAVER & BOECKER QUAT²RO system monitoring: increasing efficiency while lowering
The optional intelligent LED diagnostic lighting allows the operator to view the system’s status from a distance at a glance (blue = in operation, red = malfunction, white = open doors) and thus react without delay.
Moreover, the entire packing process can be observed and analyzed with the HAVER & BOECKER QUAT²RO System Monitoring. It can be retrofitted to all systems. With the help of the QUAT²RO System Monitoring, companies can take effective precautions against long downtimes and high maintenance costs. Real-time production and maintenance information can be called up while on the go at any time on the computer, tablet or smartphone.
The responsible personnel are thus able to access the plants’ visualized performance data and their progress at any time and worldwide via an encrypted connection. This enables the causes of possible deviations to be identified more quickly and allows maintenance to be planned at an early stage.
HAVER & BOECKER invites you to join in
The 60-year history of the ROTO-PACKER® is characterized by the ideas and close cooperation between a wide variety of people. On its LinkedIn page, HAVER & BOECKER will be presenting people and stories behind the ROTO-PACKER® in the coming months. The company is also looking forward to receiving reports and photos from customers and is calling for photo collection campaigns around the ROTO-PACKER® (marketing@haverboecker.com ). In addition, companies have the opportunity to win a POP audit – i.e. a high-quality on-site analysis of their entire packing line – in the big ROTO-PACKER® anniversary quiz at https://www.diemaschinenfabrik.com/en/roto-packerr/.
For every SEAL spout ordered in April, 2020, HAVER & BOECKER will give the customer a starter kit of 1,500 perfectly designed bags – regardless of whether an existing ROTO-PACKER® is retrofitted or a new machine is purchased. In 2020, HAVER & BOECKER is celebrating the 60th birthday of The Original with these and many other activities.
