The best place to start, is at the beginning: assume nothing, look at the facts and respond to real-life problems with practical solutions. That’s what we did with PowerPak PLUS: we asked customers where we could make improvements – and they told us. They listed 20 key areas that we needed to address, so we picked them off, one by one.

For Volker Sassmannshausen, the evolution of the GEA PowerPak PLUS thermoforming machine has been an object lesson in marketing principles: rather than build a machine and sell it to the market, GEA took a more purist approach by asking customers what they wanted, then building it for them. The project was focused solely on market needs. 

“We asked users of thermoforming technology how they would like to see their equipment improved,” said Volker. “They gave us a list of 20 key points including better film handling, faster changeover, easier access and more secure packing. We put our engineers to work to look at each point in turn and make improvements. We have signed them all off.” 

Volker explained that his overriding aim was to make the new machine easier, better, faster and cheaper than any previous version or anything else on the market today. “The changes we have made combine to make the machine simpler to operate with improved package quality, reduced film consumption, and better flexibility so different packs can be handled on the same machine,” he said. “It was a real pleasure to work on this project because we knew we were doing exactly what our customers wanted.” 

From a sales point of view, the new PowerPak PLUS thermoformer has been a dream for Thomas Mitterfellner. Since its launch in May 2019 he said he’d been delighted by its success just as much as his customers have been with its performance. 

Thomas said that the first thing had been to research the market to find out exactly what improvements customers wanted in their thermoforming equipment. Having done that, GEA set about converting those ‘pinch points’ into ‘plus points’ for the new machine. “That’s why it’s called the PowerPak PLUS,” he said. 

Previous equipment had to be continuously monitored by staff as continual adjustments were necessary to maintain package quality. “But with the PowerPak PLUS the machine keeps the tension on the film at an optimal level and makes the necessary adjustments automatically to ensure a high-quality seal even when using poor quality or thinner film, helping to save money on material costs,” said Thomas. “It’s really easy to use so the operator has more free time to perform additional duties.”

Another key benefit is the lower force applied to the upper film during sealing. “It’s over 50% less than our competitors,” said Thomas. “This helps to avoid open packs which can cause very expensive product recalls.” 

For Thomas, as a Product Sales Manager, it’s a great pleasure to have a product that he believes in 100% and has had such extraordinary customer feedback since its launch in May 2019. Already over 80% of his orders are for PowerPak PLUS with customers coming back time and again for new machines. “We’ve even seen customers returning to us that we haven’t seen in ten years or more,” he said. “They are our biggest advertisers.” 

Frank Sabato was the main developer of the GEA PowerPak PLUS functions. He’s been working on the project since 2013 until 2018. 

He said that during the redesign GEA had made countless small changes all intended to make the machine more process stable and easier to operate. That said, there are some new design features that he feels are particularly significant for customers.

“On all thermoformers the film runs through a series of rollers,” he explained. “With the new PowerPak PLUS we have reduced the number of rollers so that the film is much easier and quicker to feed. It means that the operators do not need special training and reduces the chances of mistakes.” GEA has also standardized the design of the rollers so they are all identical and, therefore, interchangeable. “It makes maintenance much easier.” 

“We have reduced the stress on the film as it passes through the machine,” said Frank. “This means it’s possible to use thinner, more cost-effective films and still have a first-class quality pack. The lower stress also means there’s no need to use multi-layer films as the machine works perfectly with mono films that are preferred by supermarkets as they are easy to recycle.” 

Film alignment is also a critical part of the process. As film passes through a standard thermoformer it can run out of the transport chain. This must be corrected manually which requires the operator to be on constant guard. “But we designed the PowerPak PLUS with a motorized axial web positioning system that constantly measures the position of the film and makes appropriate corrections automatically,” explained Frank. “This requires less labor, is more reliable and avoids wasting film. And by supporting the rollers at both ends we prevent the film from going out of alignment.” 

Daniela Kramer was the responsible for the design of part of the sealing station housing as well as for the technical drawing for the top and bottom film design of the GEA PowerPak PLUS thermoformer. She said that it was her challenge to make sure the design of the sealing station was clear and tidy, so the overall footprint of the machine was as small as possible while allowing sufficient space to give easy access for maintenance and cleaning. 

“We know that customers needed a compact machine that is easy to maintain and easy to clean,” she said. “To do that I had to make sure that everything was positioned in the right place for easy access to components by service personnel.” 

Daniella said that for her, simplicity was the key. “We knew that if we gave the machine a tidy design including all functional advantages, the machine would be easier to operate, film changes and service would be easier, and the machine would be more efficient. That’s what they wanted and, I believe, we have achieved it.” 

Frank Runte was responsible for designing the housing around the sealing station on the PowerPak PLUS. On many thermoformers customers had reported this as being potential area of contamination that needed to be addressed. 

Traditional thermoformers use safety covers which must be removed before an operator can inspect the process or change the film. This was a problem for customers because the covers were slow and difficult to handle, could easily become damaged which would prevent the machine from running, and because the covers were usually placed on the factory floor potentially picking up contamination and causing a hygiene risk to the entire process. 

“But we looked at the area differently,” said Frank. “Instead of safety covers we have used transparent sliding doors on the PowerPak PLUS.” The doors make it easy to see the process running and, should access be needed, can be easily opened and housed within the machine itself. This provides easy access and helps to prevent contamination. “It might seem like an obvious evolution, but it makes a big difference to our customers,” said Frank. 

Jürgen Niesar is the development engineer responsible for providing the resources necessary for the redesigning of the PowerPak PLUS. As with any large company GEA has to manage its resources, in terms of finance and manpower, carefully to ensure that it is reflecting its customers wishes and bringing new products and services on stream in a commercially viable way. 

“It’s always a challenge to prioritize resources for a project such as this,” he explained. “But the evolution of the PowerPak PLUS was based on customer feedback which is very compelling. When our customers tell us what they want, we need to do all we can to give it to them.” 

One area of the development that has proved to be a major advance for GEA is the new motorized axial web positioning system that GEA has patented. “This has addressed a number of the concerns voiced by our customers providing them with more reliable packing with reduced labor and material costs,” said Jürgen.

He added: “It has been a privilege to work with such an experienced and dedicated team of professionals on this project. Between us I think we have made a huge step forward in thermoformer technology, improving efficiency and quality for our customers, allowing the use of more easily recyclable materials and creating a commercial advantage for us over our competitors.” 

Jochen Rehn is the software engineer responsible for designing the control system for the new PowerPak PLUS thermoformer from GEA. He said that his starting point was to look at the previous machine and to work out what could be done better to meet customer needs. 

“Film tension was critical,” he said. “In the past film tension had been monitored largely by the experience of the operators and then adjusted manually if necessary. We wanted to make this an automatic process to increase accuracy and reduce the operator supervision required.” 

Controlling the film tension was important to allow users to use thinner films that are less expensive and more easily recyclable. “But these thin films can be easily stretched too far if you don’t get the tension right,” explained Jochen. “This can cause distortion and pull the labels out of shape making them hard to read.” 

This was a new concept for GEA. “Nobody had done this before, so we were breaking new ground in terms of machine development,” said Jochen. “Our software had to control the operation and adjustment of a series of valves and cylinders within fine tolerances. It also allows us to track the film, left to right, to ensure perfect alignment, less waste and better quality packs with less labor involved. It really is a unique system.”