At Interpack 2023 (Hall 8B, Stand C27), HERMA will be demonstrating how to dramatically speed up the provision of labeling machines and make their operation even more intuitive. Thanks to the new modular Clean Design, many previous and frequently used special designs can now be presented as standard features. Thus the respective machines can be delivered weeks earlier than was previously the case – which means that they can reach the customer up to 50 percent faster. "Availability is and remains an important topic in our industry," says Christos Kaisoudis, Sales Manager of Labeling Machines at HERMA. "Based on our many years of experience with modular label applicators, we have now transferred this know-how to complete machines.” A digital configurator introduced in parallel with Clean Design also ensures that processing is between 50 and 80 percent faster, starting with the quotation phase. HERMA has now converted their entire portfolio of labeling machines to the Clean Design for Interpack. The new Clean Design Human Machine Interface (HMI) for the E and M series machines, i.e. for all machines that have their own control system, will also be presented for the first time. It picks up on the clear and intuitive user control and symbol language that users are already familiar with from the HERMA 500 applicator. The applicator and labeling machine are thus characterized by a uniform operation mode. "This ensures particularly rapid and secure access to all functions,” Kaisoudis says. "The HERMA 500’s proven menu structure and the realistic machine presentation allow for a reliable, targeted and unambiguous guidance of the operating personnel." The new HMI will be on display on the high-performance 362E for two-sided labeling in Düsseldorf. Another presentation of the Clean Design will be the 652C for combined top and bottom labeling and the 752C for closure labeling across several pages. There is also a machine study in the Clean Design that demonstrates, for the first time, an integrated redundancy function of the HERMA 500 applicator without an additional control system. At the Packaging Valley joint stand (Hall 16, Stand D72-5), HERMA will be presenting the 132M HC for wrap-around labeling, particularly of pharmaceutical products – also as a premiere in Clean Design and with the new HMI. In its high-speed version, it achieves up to 600 cycles per minute for the first time, including variable data printing with camera control and GMP-compliant rejection of sub-standard products.
Function modules suitable for universal use
There’s a completely new constructive approach behind the Clean Design with its striking rounded corners. In addition to the basic frame as the machine base, the functional modules such as the conveyor belt, labeling station and transfer belts can be used across different machines, i.e. universally. The modules are now independent of each other and thus more individually adaptable to customer needs. In larger quantities, they can be placed in stock in pre-assembled form. "This makes our customers less dependent on the kind of special parts that may be more difficult to obtain in the marketplace and sometimes only with longer delivery times," Kaisoudis explains. With respect to service, these function modules can be replaced more quickly or retrofitted later. This makes HERMA machines particularly future-proof as well as sustainable. The Clean Design also includes a number of functions as standard features that used to be optional extras, including side belts, re-roll rollers and printer integration.
Ready to order immediately thanks to the configurator
With the introduction of the Clean Design, HERMA has simultaneously put a digital configurator into operation that is used in talks with customers. "This means that, after a customer meeting, a machine is prepared that it’s ready to be ordered," says the Head of Sales. "Customers can see right away how their machine is configured. This has made the preparation of quotations, communications with the customer and internal processes extremely lean and fast. The standard version of the 152C for wrap-around labeling, which we introduced in the Clean Design last autumn, is now almost completely handled by it. Here, too, our customers benefit from the fact that we started digitizing the relevant processes for our applicators ten years ago and are now also using this expertise as a pioneer for machines."
