Marchesini Group presents the latest innovations developed to meet the pharmaceutical industry’s needs: in May, open door events at its plants to coincide with the Pharmintech powered by Ipack-Ima show.

Marchesini Group is opening the doors of its plants to show customers the latest technologies developed in the field of pharmaceutical product processing and packaging. At its Open Door Pharma event from 2 to 6 May, the Pianoro headquarters will display a large section of machines and lines able to package various types of products, and will exhibit major innovations in the use of sustainable materials.

A total of one hundred machines will be available for customers to view during the event, which will also extend beyond Pianoro itself: on request, visitors will also be welcomed to the Group’s other divisions within Italy.

The Open Door event dedicated to pharmaceutical solutions will coincide with a major show for the industry: Pharmintech powered by Ipack-Ima, to be held in Milan from 3 to 6 May. Here, Marchesini Group will be exhibiting important innovations in the area of sustainability: stand A34-A44-B35-B45, in hall 2, will display an MA 80 cartoner equipped to place products in paper trays and an FB220 thermoforming machine with ECO-friendly materials. Also on show will be an INTEGRA 720 V, an integrated robotised line for packaging blisters in cartons, and the machines of Dott. Bonapace, a brand which has recently joined the Group, which specialises in the pharmaceutical sector and produces capsules, tables and suppositories.

Pharma Open Door: a vast range of machines and services for the pharmaceutical industry on display

On its Pharma Open Door days, the Marchesini Group team will be at visitors’ service to show them not only the latest solutions, but also future projects and the progress made in robotics. In fact, the event will also be attended by the partner Eyecan, a start-up originating from a University of Bologna spin-off, with which the Group has recently developed a solution using Artificial Intelligence. A demonstration will be provided of how AI can be involved in robot picking applications to facilitate the identification and picking of any product within the packaging cycle.

In terms of the development of new machines and lines, a large number of innovations will be featured. One of these is the COMPACT 24, a monobloc machine for filling and capping bottles for tablets, capsules or pills, which has been further renewed in the last few months in view of the market’s strong interest in this solution.

The machine, constructed by the Tonazzi-Vasquali division, has a distinctive innovative magnetic transport system enabling totally independent handling of every single bottle, thanks both to new rotary twin flaps which facilitate the product’s passage into the bottle, and, above all, the new VALIDA technology, developed in close cooperation with the partner Sea Vision.  This system of extremely high quality cameras collects the individual product, totally inspects it (weight, shape, size and colour) and rejects products on a one-by-one basis, thanks to extremely close interaction with the machine’s PC system.

Other innovations will include a line for packaging products in stickpacks, comprising a Schmucker MT1300 12-lane stick packaging machine, a stacking and counting system and an MA80 cartoner. Specifically, this line is designed to process PP-based packaging materials (with and without PE) such as 100% recyclable plastic monomaterials like OPP or BOPP with a metallised intermediate layer.

As well as this solution, visitors will be able to view another line consisting of a CMP Phar.ma machine able to inspect up to 400 vials per minute, an RL-F800 extremely high-speed labelling machine with a rotary star wheel infeed system and rotary roller conveyor – designed by the Neri division – and, to conclude, a TM3 machine for bundling vials in trays, with counter function and SEA Vision camera for optical inspection of tray contents.

The Open Door even will also feature liquid filling solutions, including an ML636 monobloc comprising a vial cleaning station and a filling and capping machine for drinkable products (multivitamins, lactic acid bacteria, etc.), with extremely high speed production and an electronic dosage system with mass flow measuring. Visitors will also be able to view an extremely versatile ML642 alternating motion filling and capping machine suitable for various types of products, including syrups, spray solutions, injectables (e.g. for veterinary use) or diagnostic products, as well as an OPTO150 monobloc for packaging all the main types of ophthalmic products on the market, able to combine various functions including a vial cleaning unit, dosing, 100% weight checking, nitrogen injection and capping.

The innovations also include three solutions from the Dott. Bonapace brand: an automatic capsule filler able to produce up to 3000 capsules/hour, designed to dose different products into the same capsule, a rotary tablet press for R&D laboratories and small production lots and, last but not least, a turbo-emulsifier for pharmaceutical products.

To conclude, there will be no lack of secondary packaging and end-of-line solutions: the Group will be exhibiting two high-speed continuous motion horizontal cartoning machines, the first – MA 260 – featuring simple, basic size change, as well as two hoppers for easier, more precise insertion of the product and leaflet inside the carton, and the second – MA 200 – designed to package products in very large cartons. Also on show will be two automatic labelling machines produced by the Neri division, one of them – BL-A525CW – with integral checkweigher, for dynamic weighing and checking of cartons. The BL-A415S, a more compact labeller enabling multiple functions to be combined in the same machine (T&T and tamper evident seal) will also be displayed in operation. Both these solutions are designed to accommodate Track and Trace applications and are able to apply an optical vignette label and self-adhesive tamper evident seals to cartons at high production speed.

The final innovation is a cartoner and palletiser monobloc equipped with a state-of-the-art robot with parallel architecture, reflecting the Group’s commitment to the research and development of unconventional robotic solutions.