Packaging Machinery to Prepare Honey for the Shelf
Bees provide our population with honey, a sweet liquid high in antioxidants that, in addition to being used in a variety of foods and recipes, has been shown to be effective in treating burns, soothing sore throats and calming some digestive issues. Given the numerous uses for this golden liquid, it is no surprise that honey is a popular product prepared by packagers large and small around the world.
Whether preparing large or small batches of honey, Liquid Packaging Solutions has a solution to make the process efficient and reliable from filling right down to putting a label on the container. To begin, some packagers of honey may rinse their containers prior to introducing the liquid in to the bottle. Rinsing machines are popular items on packaging lines for foods, beverages and other items where contamination can affect the quality of the product. Both automatic and semi-automatic rinsing machines are available to loosen and remove debris from the inside of the container before being filled with honey.
Once the bottles are ready for the product, both automatic and semi-automatic filling machines can also be manufactured for honey. In most cases, a piston filler will be used for honey, given the products thicker nature. Piston fillers are ideal for high viscosity products as they allow a cylinder to fill with product and assist with flow by pushing the piston in to the cylinder to release product in to waiting bottles. Design of the piston fillers can be as simple as a single head tabletop machine for lower production facilities or they can be manufactured to run with an automatic line with multiple heads for larger packagers of honey.
After the fill, the honey needs to be capped to keep it secure and fresh. Though different bottles may be used for honey, including some unique shapes like bears, most honey will be sealed with a screw-on variety of closure. So the most popular capping machines in the honey industry will be spindle and chuck capping equipment. Capping machines for honey can range from simple hand held cappers that require manual labor for each bottle or container to automatic spindle capping equipment that will provide continuous tightening of caps as bottles move down a power conveyor.
Finally, a labeling machine can be used to present the product to consumers. While some bottles are fairly common among honey producers, such as the bear bottle, there are a number of different types of bottles that can be found in the industry. For this reason, the labeling machine will be matched to the bottle, or more specifically, to the label type. Both automatic and semi-automatic labelers are available to apply wrap labels, front and back labels, top labels and more.
Other machinery may be used on a packaging line for honey, and the machines found on each line will depend on the specific needs and desires of the individual packager, along with the bottles used, speeds desired, production demands and other factors. To discuss your honey project with a Packaging Specialist at LPS, pick up the phone and give us a call today.