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For Silver Joe's, the slogan "taste the adventure" is more than a theme and there is no exception when it comes to its packaging. Silver Joe's was thinking "outside the bag" when it came to the unique, tear-shaped container.
Silver Joe's, the official coffee of DNR Airstream, has been selling its line of premium coffees in traditional gusseted bags, while traveling to Airstream events.
Once representatives held the cans, they realized that this package will travel far beyond the Internet, its current point of purchase. All of these people were just waiting for the first cases of trade packages to ship.
It took a team effort to make Silver Joe's vision become a reality. Enercon, Selig Sealing Products and M&S Automated Feeding worked together to provide Silver Joe's premium coffee with premium packaging results.
The custom sealing system features a unique sealing head that overcomes two challenges presented by the container.
Due to the nature of the steel container, the lip has small imperfections, making it impossible to get the proper seal from conduction sealing. Enercon’s unique capless induction sealing head is able to compensate for these imperfections successfully sealing containers through direct contact with the foil and container.
Double Duty Sealing Heads
The eccentric tear-dropped shape of the container opening presented another challenge. The eddy currents produced by an induction field travel in a circular motion. Enercon's engineers were able to use their experience on other non-round liner projects to develop a special sealing head.
The unique sealing head directs the sealing energy in a pattern that provides enough intensity throughout the shaped liner that hermetic sealing is possible.
The sealing heads perform double duty: they pick-up and transfer the foil onto the container; and then seal the container. M&S provides the bottle handling and liner feeding system that makes it all possible.
Selig produces a custom membrane for the application. It consists of polyethylene terephthalate, foil, paper and heat seal layers. The paper layer facilitates off gassing.
Hall of Fame Credentials
Silver Joe's application pushed the limits of technology and reminds us that challenging preconceived ideas will often lead to breakthroughs and dynamic new packages. The solution is ingenious enough for Enercon to include it in its Induction Sealing Hall of Fame.
View Packaging Digest Magazine for the complete story.
Originally appeared in: eNews: Induction Sealing Technology 2nd Quarter 2008
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