“Trio Motion Technology India is well poised with technology, expertise, products, and solutions to meet the ever-increasing needs of the Indian market,” says Upendra Vanarase, managing director, Trio Motion Technology India.
As soon as we hear the word pouch, we envision a supermarket aisle consisting of chips, cereals, condiments, spices, ketchup sachets, mouth fresheners, ready-to-eat mixes, shampoos, liquid soaps, edible oils and hair oils, medicinal powders or even automobile lubricants and many more. However, these are just a few of an exhaustive list of items packed in pouches one can buy in supermarkets, convenience stores, medical stores, or automotive shops.
Over the years, India has moved from a cost-focused to a technology-focused market, and purchasing decisions are not made purely on product costs. There is an exponential rise in innovative packaging, and it is anticipated that flexible packaging technologies will make significant inroads in India. “Trio Motion Technology India is well poised with technology, expertise, products, and solutions to meet the ever-increasing needs of the Indian market,” says Upendra Vanarase, managing director, Trio Motion Technology India.
Trio Motion Technology is well-known in the packaging market for offering advanced and modular solutions for various vertical form-fill and seal (VFFS) machine manufacturers in India. VFFS machines are used for packaging commodities such as food products and pharmaceutical products.
Needs of the factory / OEM
Machines are built using automation technology to cater to the needs of a factory. These machines are needed by the factory to offer quality products to their consumers. India has many OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) offering VFFS machines to their customers. Factories are spoilt for choice when selecting an OEM for their needs. The success of VFFS machines lies in three basic factors – economy, reliability, and rapid product launch as the consumer demand is volatile.
A factory selects a machine builder based on these primary factors – technology used in the machine, time to market offered by the OEM, and return of investment (ROI) of the machine. All these factors are essential for choosing the right machine. Moreover, the OEM needs to choose the right automation solution and partners, which enable them to meet their customer’s needs. An excellent technology, but at a high cost or a large time to market, will not benefit the OEM. An ideal situation would be to have a good economy, best-in-class technology, and the shortest market time. Together, these factors enable VFFS OEMs to succeed in the Indian market.
“I often saw Indian OEMs manufacturing VFFS machines demand out-of-the-box solutions from automation partners,” says Vanarase. “I used to see a lot of time being spent by engineers to get a VFFS machine started, functionally tested, and commissioned,” he adds. This led to OEMs either delaying their machine shipment to the factory or executing the testing on the factory floor while the lines were still operational.
Addressing OEM challenges
“We always believe in supporting our customers to the fullest and the primary needs of factories – technology, economy, reliability, production efficiency, and time to market. At Trio Motion Technology, we evaluated the needs and built innovative solutions for the VFFS machine builders. As it is only about configuration and minimal programming. The machine is ready and tested within two days,” Vanarase says.
Even though the solutions are out-of-the-box and plug-and-play, OEMs still can customize them based on their needs using a simple configurator on the HMI (human-machine interface). This gives OEMs complete independence to build their machines. This capability avoids design changes for the OEMs, which considerably reduces the time to market and costs. With these solutions, application engineers do not spend too much time commissioning the machine on the factory floor. Trio’s technologically advanced solutions help their customers gain a competitive advantage and reduce their time-to-market to a minimum.
“Our solutions are extremely economical. We offer the best mix of technology, economic, and the shortest time-to-market for machines. This has led numerous OEMs across India to place their trust in Trio’s solutions. Our distinguished clientele includes a multitude of satisfied OEMs not only in the packaging industry but across various sectors – solidifying our position as the preferred strategic automation partner,” says Vanarase.
Using Trio’s solutions, OEMs are able to reach empty pouching speeds of around 220 cycles a minute (empty and nicely sealed pouch) and filling and pouching speeds of around 180 cycles/minute.
Integrated solutions for reduced time to market
A VFFS machine consists of various elements that are controlled by motion components, which are then controlled by a motion controller. Depending on the factory’s needs for accuracy and costs, the OEM designs the machines using a combination of axes. A VFFS machine can typically range from 1 axis to 16 axes and is controlled by a single controller.
If an OEM makes multiple machines, then the OEM needs to keep a backup of all the machines that are being shipped. This eventually leads to immense confusion and huge data and backups of programs.
“We created a single project that acts as a template. If the needs of the factory are met using the plug-and-start solution, then the OEM simply downloads the program, configures it, and the machine is ready. In case the factory or OEM needs some features to be implemented around the standard features, these customizations are easily possible around the base template. This is the capability, scalability, and flexibility of TRIO solutions,” mentions Vanarase.
This approach has reduced the number of backups that are needed to be handled, offering better support and after-sales experience to the OEM and eventually to the factory.
A complete package for success
“With Trio Motion technology solutions, our vertical form-fill and seal OEMs get a complete package – best-in-class technology, robust products, customized and technologically advanced solutions, and the shortest time to market. This is everything an OEM manufacturing VFFS machines desires,” Vanarase says. VFFS machines are complex to program as they need to be fast, precise, reliable, and accurate. As most VFFS machines perform the same task, there is immense competition among the OEMs. The OEMs can only differentiate themselves by reducing the time to market, being reliable, and efficient, and offering quick after-sales service. “I am happy that our OEMs have placed their trust in us, enabling them to differentiate themselves from their competition,” Upendra Vanarase concludes.
Trio Motion Technology enables VFFS machine manufacturers to build fast machines, helping them achieve higher precision and accuracy.
