When the reporter visited the ply-pack packaging machine factory recently, a group of silver-gray equipment in the workshop was packaging dumplings at a speed of 40 packs per minute-in a simulated environment of minus 18¡æ, the robotic arm accurately grasped, filled, and vacuumed in one go. This is the factory's latest fourth-generation frozen food packaging machine, a "cold-resistant warrior" specially designed for quick-frozen production lines, which is rewriting the packaging logic of frozen food companies.
"Traditional packaging equipment often 'strikes' in low-temperature workshops, just like a mobile phone automatically shuts down in the snow." The head of the ply-pack R&D department pointed to the machine being tested and explained. This frozen food packaging machine is specially equipped with a low-temperature dedicated motor, which can still maintain a stable speed in an environment of -25¡æ. What is more noteworthy is its food-grade material conveyor belt, which is not only resistant to low-temperature embrittlement, but also can meet export-level hygiene standards through automatic ozone sterilization every day.
In the production workshop of Fengrun Food, a leading company in quick-frozen dumplings, reporters saw an assembly line consisting of 20 ply-pack frozen food packaging machines in operation. The workshop director made a calculation: "In the past, six workers were arranged to manually defrost each shift. Now the equipment has its own condensation water recovery system, and the workshop floor will never be frozen and slippery again." It is revealed that the intelligent temperature control module equipped with the equipment can automatically adjust the packaging rhythm according to the ambient temperature, and can start the "warming mode" when encountering extreme low temperatures to avoid the problem of broken packages caused by low-temperature shrinkage of the film.
For high-value products such as quick-frozen seafood, the "gentleness index" of the packaging machine is crucial. In the sample area being tested, the robot is gently placing salmon pieces into the tray, and pulse pressure regulation is deliberately used when vacuuming. "It's like giving seafood a 'breathing massage', which can exhaust air without crushing the fish meat." The engineer showed the flexible packaging mode switch on the equipment. This customized design for different frozen products allows the same frozen food packaging machine to handle both hard frozen dumplings and delicate mousse cakes.
In terms of raw material upgrades, ply-pack's breakthrough is more attentive. The new sealing strip material touched by the reporter remains elastic in a low-temperature environment, solving the problem of air leakage caused by the hardening of traditional silicone strips when exposed to cold. The technical director of a hot pot ingredient production company who is inspecting the equipment commented: "These detailed improvements seem small, but for a company like us with a daily production capacity of 20 tons, the annual reduction in raw material loss is worth the money for one device."
With the explosive growth of the pre-prepared food industry, frozen food packaging machines are changing from "behind-the-scenes equipment" to "protagonists of the production line." The head of the ply-pack marketing department revealed that among the inquiries received this year, 70% of customers explicitly required the equipment to have -30¡æ operating capabilities. To this end, the factory specially launched the "extreme cold version" frozen food packaging machine, whose bearings and gearboxes use aviation-grade lubricating grease, and has been running stably for three months in outdoor mobile food trucks at -40¡æ in the Northeast.
"Frozen food packaging is not a cold technical job, but also requires understanding the 'temper' of food." The chief engineer of ply-pack pointed to the ice cream test product being packaged and said. The soft contact filling head specially developed for the equipment ensures that the digging action can keep the shape intact and non-sticky. This concept of integrating food process thinking into mechanical design is helping more companies overcome the industry pain points of ice cream deformation and quick-frozen fruits and vegetables dehydration.
At a time when cold chain logistics is booming, a reliable frozen food packaging machine has become the "goalkeeper" of frozen food companies. Ply-pack revealed that they are developing a traceability system combined with blockchain technology. In the future, each package of frozen food will be attached with a "digital ID card" containing the packaging environment temperature. When the industry shifts from price competition to quality competition, these "black technologies" hidden in the packaging machine may be the key to breaking the game.
