Harpak-ULMA Debuts New Horizontal Flow Wrap Machine for Medical Packaging

Harpak-ULMA has introduced the ARTIC SS Chevron, an advanced horizontal flow wrap machine designed specifically for medical and pharmaceutical packaging applications that minimizes film usage without compromising sterility or easy-open features. By dramatically reducing material waste, the ARTIC SS Chevron can help manufacturers achieve sustainability goals while lowering operational costs.

Unlike traditional thermoforming solutions that require two films, the ARTIC SS Chevron uses a single roll of film, folded to create a secure, aseptic seal. This design eliminates the need for premade bags, reducing costs and giving producers greater control over their packaging process. The solution is well-suited for low-height medical devices such as bandages, gel pads, or wound care products.

The ARTIC SS Chevron eliminates the need for dual films, simplifying the overall packaging process while enabling quick and easy format or appearance changes to enhance operational versatility. The machine’s quick changeover capability, achieved with a simple wheel adjustment, drastically reduces downtime and boosts productivity to offer a distinct advantage over similar solutions. Its single-film design reduces required materials inventory and associated costs. More importantly, in medical applications, where material validation is costly and time-consuming, the ARTIC SS Chevron eliminates the need to validate a second film.

Seal options include Chevron, Sine Wave, and Straight-pack styles. The ARTIC SS Chevron employs integrated Tyvek webbing instead of an entire sheet, providing a cost-effective, environmentally friendly sterilization solution. Tyvek allows for common sterilization methods such as EtO (ethylene oxide) or gamma radiation, while maintaining barrier properties. The package’s offset edge design ensures easy separation for quick, aseptic access—a critical requirement in medical environments.

“Right-sized packaging” is a key focus in today’s medical packaging market, ULMA Packaging Product Manager Nick Kirichkow said. “When people think of sustainability, they usually focus on ‘recycling’ but that’s just part of the story. Reducing waste throughout the production process by using as little material as possible—including essentially right-sizing the package design—can dramatically impact a producer’s ability to achieve sustainability goals.”

Harpak-ULMA considers the ARTIC SS Chevron a standout in a market historically reliant on preformed packages and high-changeover machines. By forming packs in-house with less material and lower cost, producers can improve control of their processes while reducing validation hurdles.

Harpak-ULMA is the North American arm of ULMA, a $1 billion industry leader in complete packaging line solutions for food, medical, bakery, and industrial products. Harpak-ULMA provides smart, connected packaging systems utilizing Rockwell Automation’s controls and information platforms to deliver greater efficiency, uptime, and throughput, as well as better package quality and reduced waste. Well-designed, reliable solutions reduce customers’ total cost of ownership, help them overcome the challenges of an aging and evolving workforce, and improve control of maintenance expenses with competitive parts sourcing. In addition to offering ULMA primary packaging systems and comprehensive automation solutions, Harpak-ULMA represents G. Mondini tray sealers and Cabinplant’s Multihead weighing and associated processing solutions in the United Sates and Canada. Harpak-ULMA joined the Rockwell Automation Partner Network in 2018 as part of its initiative to build and deploy smart, connected packaging solutions.