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Canadian PackagingBlueWater Automation Inc. (BWA) has selected Beckhoff’s PC-based control package for their F-16 fully automatic case former.

Press Release - BlueWater Automation
Image courtesy of Beckhoff Automation GmbH.

Today, food safety initiatives are driving much of the innovation we are seeing in both processing and primary packaging equipment. As space utilization and cost reduction are determining factors in ROI calculations, there is also a trend to move secondary/end of line packaging equipment into production areas, exposing the equipment to wash down environments.

BlueWater Automation has responded to the market demand. BlueWater’s President, Jaime Alboim states that “With almost 100 years of collective design experience specific to this segment of packaging automation, we started with a white sheet to design and supply wash down protected secondary/end of line equipment.”

The F-16 has been carefully designed from the ground up and includes a fully Stainless Steel open form frame design suitable for sanitary environments. The F- 16’s small footprint (approx. 4′ x 6′) and throughput rate of up to 16ppm lends itself perfectly for food plants where space is a premium and washdown procedures are a requirement.

Kevin Keller of BWA states that “We evaluated so many control platforms for the F-16 but in the end, Beckhoff’s architecture, platform options and global presence for support were exactly what we were looking for at BlueWater.”

BWA utilizes stainless steel panel PCs from Beckhoff that are ideal for bringing high performance PC-based control to more packaging, food and beverage applications that have strict cleaning requirements.

Press Release - BlueWater Automation
The F-16 fully automatic case former from BlueWater Automation.

The F-16 will be manufactured in Elmira, Ontario alongside the C-16 fully automatic case sealer. The combination, available in both tape and glue versions, will be among the first of its kind, in the Case Forming and Sealing market, to utilize Beckhoff’s PC based controls.

Alboim continues “We are excited the opportunity exists to demonstrate to the market that no-one has to settle or compromise when it comes to features and benefits in this segment of the packaging landscape. Our out of the box thinking and a new business and design philosophy will go a long way in making an idea a reality.”

For more information about BlueWater Automation, visit www.bluewaterautomation.com.

For more information about Beckhoff, visit www.beckhoff.com.