Tag: hauni

  • The Virtuous Loop

    The Virtuous Loop

    Illustration: Hauni

    Reducing waste and saving energy in manufacturing boosts revenues, improves customer satisfaction and reduces environmental damage.

    By George Gay

    Filter cigarettes and the hinge-lid packs in which, on many markets, most cigarettes are sold have been available in similar forms for 60 years to 70 years, and, during that time, their manufacture has been guided by increasingly specialized materials suppliers, brand owners and machinery builders that have become environmentally aware, commercially astute and technically advanced. So, on being asked to write a story looking at what tobacco machinery suppliers are doing to reduce the usage of energy and the creation of waste during the operation of their machines by tobacco manufacturers, my first thought was that perhaps, after so many years of development, there wasn’t much more that could be achieved.

    I needn’t have been concerned. While the central objects of the exercise, the cigarette and pack, remain, to the uninitiated at least, much the same, the focus and interests of machinery suppliers have broadened to take in everything from how their employees get from home to work through production materials to the new industrial revolution. There is even a focus by one company on the efficiencies of factories that might or might not use its machinery.

    Aiger recently installed a 350 MW solar power system on the roof of a new manufacturing bay. (Photo: Aiger)

    Nurturing a Mindset

    But what about the bit concerning how your employees get from home to work? How does that fit into the grand scheme of things? I hear you ask. Well, according to Courtland Macduff, Aiger’s sales director for Asia, this has to do with the idea that if you are going to improve the operational efficiencies of the equipment you offer in respect of such things as energy usage and waste, you need to build such thinking into the ethos of the company. Aiger had set up, for instance, a carpool system that allows its employees to get to work using less gasoline and creating fewer carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions than they would if they all traveled alone. Four years ago, the company introduced efficient waste management systems to deal with everything from machining waste to general consumables. And, on a larger scale, it recently installed a 350 MW solar power system on the roof of a new manufacturing bay, allowing it to function as a smart factory in which heating and lighting are based on zone scheduling, a system that has provided for a 20 percent saving in energy costs.

    As Macduff said during an email exchange, saving energy and reducing waste worked by example, so now, every design engineer was focused on smart solutions aimed at providing better machine performance because the faster a manufacturer was able to operate with the highest uptime, the less waste was generated. But this had to involve a joint effort. Machinery manufacturers could have only a limited impact on operational waste if factories didn’t maintain high efficiencies by optimizing their procedures and materials.

    But no operation could be perfect, so, at the same time, Aiger machinery “digested” rejects as far as possible by recycling tobacco shorts and reclaiming the tobacco. End-of-bobbin machine production wastage had been reduced as had glue application.

    In reducing energy usage, designers were, for instance, working on the optimization of drive selections and had already minimized the power consumption of heating elements by using a higher level of temperature control and new insulation materials to protect the areas heated to high temperatures, which was one of the major power drains. At the same time, designers were constantly looking to incorporate new technologies.

    In this regard, Macduff made the interesting comment that while new technologies were welcome, they came at a price, so they had to be introduced at the right time and for the right reasons. Tobacco companies would not pay more simply to have a machine that used less energy. Output mattered at the end of the day, and high efficiency was not negotiable.

    There was something of a trade-off to be made here. While modern machinery was generally faster and more reliable and consistently produced better quality products than was the case in the past, such improvements did not necessarily lend themselves to energy savings because the newer machinery used more controls, more automation and more drives.

    But there are other areas where savings of one type or another can be made, often working in conjunction with materials suppliers and tobacco manufacturers. Factory floor layouts could be optimized, said Macduff; optical fibers could replace cables; new, harder-wearing materials could ensure that parts had longer lives; and the 3D printing of parts at customer sites could cut the impact of transporting such materials. Coreless bobbins could be introduced, filters and packaging materials that are more environmentally friendly could be brought in and the use of plastics could be reduced in respect of packaging materials for tobacco products and even machinery exports.

    Finally, Macduff said Aiger was one of the leaders in machinery manufacturing flexibility, and the modular concepts engineered into its machinery helped to keep efficiencies high in the face of brand changes, which always created a degree of startup waste.

    Montrade now offers technology to help tobacco companies to manufacture plastic-free filters. (Photo: Montrade)

    Win, Win, Win

    Meanwhile, Montrade’s senior sales manager, Emanuele Massari, said his company’s machines were designed so as to map product flow because the focus was on maximizing product quality while minimizing material consumption and waste. The company had a division dedicated to the research and development of sensor and process control systems that, once integrated into its machines or even those of other companies, enhanced productivity optimally. “It is an essential step of the migration toward industry 4.0,” he said- in what I took to be a reference to the sorts of new processes that focus on interconnectivity, automation and machine learning.

    Artificial intelligence provided all Montrade’s sensors with auto-learning skills, so systems improved themselves autonomously, he said. And such autonomous maintenance initiatives helped provide for an increase in machinery MTBFs (mean time between failures), which, in turn, led to “a righteous path of real sustainability.” “This synergy allows us to optimize and reduce the material and energy consumption and the waste of spare parts,” said Massari.

    Sustainability was said to be one of the main drivers at Montrade because working to reduce waste and save energy created what Massari described as a “win-win-win virtuous loop.” The first win was that customers could use Montrade’s equipment to manufacture more high-quality products while spending less, thus increasing their revenues and consumer satisfaction. The second win saw Montrade’s business boosted because its customers were satisfied. And the third win meant that the environment and, consequently, the global community profited from the reduced impact of the tobacco industry.

    Massari said that his company’s machines were designed to constantly monitor the consumption of utilities with an eye on reducing usage. The levels of electrical consumption and compressed airflow rates, etc., were always available to view on human-machine interfaces, which was a standard feature not an optional one.

    Another issue on which Montrade had been focusing its sustainability efforts concerned the materials used on its machines. The company collaborated closely with its customers and with materials suppliers to rethink the product as more eco-friendly and more fit for the final consumer. Recent examples of this approach could be seen in the company’s machines for producing biodegradable cigarette filters and paper tubes. A unique crimping technology allowed conventional acetate filters to be replaced with paper ones while reducing by about 20 percent the paper consumption typical of other machines available on the market.

    As well as offering new filter-making equipment, Montrade also revamps older equipment to produce eco-friendly products. “For instance, we offer our paper crimper in a free-standing configuration to retrofit existing filter makers to convert them to make plastic-free filters,” said Massari. “In the same way, we have also recently developed a wide range of conversion kits for existing packing machines to reduce the wrapping materials and/or replace them with plastic-free ones.”

    The Holistic View

    Another way of looking at reducing waste is to examine just tobacco waste but over complete operations. Marco Castro, global head of Hauni Advanced Services (formerly Hauni Consulting), said that while the whole tobacco industry was currently working on reducing waste, his division had, in July 2020, set itself the ambitious challenge of approaching this objective in a different way. And, in doing so, it had pioneered a completely original approach, tobacco waste prevention (TWP), by developing an integrated methodology for preventing waste at critical points in green leaf threshing plants (GLTs) and during primary processing and secondary manufacture.

    Interestingly, TWP can be applied to all production facilities regardless of the machine base. “Our approach is strictly based on the existing conditions of our customers’ brands,” said Castro in announcing the initiative. “This enables them to prevent waste quickly and successfully, maintaining these gains over the long term.”

    TWP is said to offer immediate, measurable improvements, and figures said to have been achieved already in customer projects are impressive: The reduction of waste generation in GLT processes is up to 50 percent, in the primary it’s up to 70 percent and in the secondary up to 60 percent.

    “The first step is to quantify the potential for waste prevention at the customer’s site,” said Castro. “This is the basis on which we implement our TWP methodology, which aims to achieve the physical limits for waste prevention for the respective combination of blends, brands and equipment as quickly as possible.”

    The approaches adopted as part of TWP are said not only to prevent waste but also to reduce production complexity and technical costs by standardizing blend/brand and equipment combinations where they are relevant to waste.

    The starting point for every TWP project is the manufacturer’s own production facility. “This means that we not only strictly consider their specific blends and brands but also implement the TWP specifically for their existing production equipment,” said Castro. “No investments in equipment are necessary to achieve this new, optimized level of waste and costs—at least initially. Of course, on request, we can advise our customers on the potential of machine upgrades or other changes to their equipment while focusing on waste prevention.”

    What might well appeal to tobacco manufacturers is that the price of implementing TWP is performance-based, something that Hauni says underlines its belief in its new service. “We are certain that we can deliver the savings we promise our customers after quantifying the waste situation,” said Castro. “That is why payment for this service is performance-based. If we achieve less than we promise, the price is reduced. If the improvement falls below a set level, our clients pay nothing.”

    George Gay is Tobacco Reporter’s European editor, but his territory spans the globe. Based in London, George has covered the tobacco industry since 1982, initially for a U.K.-based publication and since 2004 for Tobacco Reporter. George’s understanding of industry issues, combined with his keen sense of observation and dry wit, have earned him a loyal following among Tobacco Reporter’s readers.
  • The Next Level

    The Next Level

    Photos: Hauni

    Hauni has entered the hemp cigarette market with three machines for cylindrical pre-roll manufacture.

    By Stefanie Rossel

    In the past years, cannabis has rapidly transited out of its dirty corner, turning into one of the world’s fastest growing industries. Business intelligence companies outbid each other with forecasts for the category. According to a 2019 report by Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics, for example, global licensed store sales are expected to reach $40.6 billion by 2024, and that estimate does not even take into account general retailers selling cannabidiol (CBD) products and cannabinoid-based drug developers selling marijuana-derived pharmaceuticals.

    The U.S. is projected to remain the world’s largest market with a forecast $30.1 billion in marijuana spending by 2024, the report says. Canada, which legalized recreational cannabis in October 2018, is expected to experience similar growth rates. Despite slower growth, the total cannabis market, including medical use, is forecast to generate up to $7 billion in sales in 2020 with $2 billion to $4 billion in the legal recreational market, according to cannabisbusinessplans.com.

    While recreational cannabis remains prohibited at the U.S. federal level, 11 states have legalized the substance since 2012. Medicinal use is legal in 33 states. According to New Frontier Data, 223 million Americans, or 68 percent of the population, now live in a state that has expanded access to CBD, medical cannabis or full adult use. The organization lists related investments of $13.8 billion and $11 billion in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

    The 2018 Farm Bill has turbocharged the boom: Among other things, it removed hemp’s low amounts of THC from the Controlled Substances Act. Furthermore, the bill allows hemp production in all 50 states for any use, including flower production and CBD or other cannabinoid extraction, as well as interstate commerce. The U.S. defines hemp as cannabis that contains 0.3 percent or less tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive substance in cannabis that produces the “high” people experience when they smoke marijuana or eat foods containing it. Legally, “marijuana” refers to cannabis that has more than 0.3 percent THC by dry weight. For an intoxicating effect, a THC content of 5 percent to 10 percent is required. The nonpsychoactive component in cannabis, CBD, is believed to provide health and wellness benefits.

    While Research and Markets expects the overall U.S. market for cannabis derivatives to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 23 percent by 2027, Nielsen has singled out smokable hemp as one of the fastest growing and most lucrative segments in the CBD and hemp industry. For 2020, the firm projects U.S. sales of smokable hemp to reach up to $80 million. By 2025, it is expected to stand at $300 million to $400 million, representing about 5 percent of the hemp-derived CBD consumer products category in the U.S., which Nielsen expects to increase from $1.7 billion to $2 billion in 2020 to $6 billion to $7 billion in the next five years.

    Opportunity for technological progress

    The considerable potential of the legal smokable hemp category suggests opportunity for suppliers of machinery designed for tobacco products. Almost two years ago, a U.S. provider of tobacco processing equipment already ventured into this field with dedicated cannabis drying and processing machinery. Now German tobacco machinery manufacturer Hauni Maschinenbau is entering the market. At the open house event of its Hauni Richmond subsidiary in October, the company launched three machines for cylindrical pre-roll making as well as a range of accompanying equipment.

    Thomas Gruss

    To efficiently increase production levels in the smokable hemp industry, technological advances are the next logical step, according to Thomas Gruss, head of business development for hemp/cannabis projects at Hauni. “Typically, the hemp cigarette industry consists of small-scale manufacturers that produce pre-rolls manually or semi-automatically,” he says. “To produce THC-containing pre-rolls made from processed cannabis flowers, the cones or tubes are stacked vertically into a tray. A so-called ‘knock box’ containing the ground cannabis flowers is put on top. By shaking the knock box, the blossom material is fed into the cones or tubes. Even some larger companies mainly work with knock boxes, which involves a lot of manual labor and is rather inefficient, resulting in an output of approximately 2,000 pre-rolls per day per operator.

    “There are other manufacturers that use machinery, but this allows only for a typical manufacturing speed of 30 to 40 pre-rolls a minute,” Gruss continues. “A third group manufactures ‘king-size’ hemp cigarettes that are made from biomass and resemble regular tobacco cigarettes. Those companies produce on old cigarette-making equipment. Overall, there is a clear trend within the industry toward machine-made production, and it is toward cylindrical tubes as hemp cigarettes become more of a mainstream product. With our machine models, we want to address all three manufacturer groups.”

    For tobacco cigarette manufacturing, the Hauni group of companies offers a range with a variety of production speeds. However, a one-to-one transfer of its tobacco manufacturing technology to the new category proved impossible. Cannabis is a more complex raw material than tobacco. The latter is consumed primarily for its main active substance, nicotine. The lion’s share of the world’s tobacco harvest ends up in combustible cigarettes, the dominant nicotine-delivery device. Farmers cure tobacco leaves—as opposed to blossoms—and manufacturers thresh it into a relatively dry, string-line mass that is comparatively easy to process.

    By contrast, cannabis contains more than 100 different chemicals, called cannabinoids, each of which has a different effect on the body. The various plant parts fetch greatly differing prices on the market. The dried blossoms, which contain THC in the shape of small resinous beads, are the most valuable, selling for about $2,000 per pound. This means they cannot be damaged during the pre-roll manufacturing process. Processing the blossoms is also challenging because they are sticky, thus requiring frequent machinery cleanings. The finished joints sell for $12 to $20 per piece; unlike tobacco cigarettes, THC-containing pre-rolls are sold in batches of seven units at most.

    To produce more affordable CBD-containing hemp cigarettes, which usually retail at $13 for a pack of 20, manufacturers use cannabis biomass, which consists of leaves, stems and blossom parts. This shredded hemp makes a crumbly filling, requiring the tube or cone to be twisted or closed at the end.

    In addition to the mechanical challenges of manufacturing cannabis products, most players lack the financial resources of their tobacco counterparts. “The cannabis market is quite sensitive when it comes to large investments,” says Gruss. “Players in the U.S. are not willing to invest millions of dollars in a higher speed maker as tobacco companies would, as most of them have to finance their equipment from their own resources. Besides, the market is still small compared to the cigarette market. Our objective, hence, was to offer machinery that costs well below the million-dollar figure benchmark.”

    For varying requirements

    To cater to the cannabis sector’s varying needs, Hauni has developed three different solutions. The company’s tube-filling TFM is an entry-level model with an output of 85 pre-rolls per minute. The machine automatically fills cylindrical, standard pre-manufactured hemp filter tubes and closes their ends with a folding motion rather than a twisting motion.

    Hemp or biomass is fed horizontally into the open tube, thereby avoiding any human contact with the raw material. The maker creates a homogeneous filling, which is compressed to make the material less likely to trickle out of the finished cigarette. Its careful handling of the filling material also makes the TFM suitable for larger companies manufacturing pre-rolls containing expensive flowers, according to Gruss. The machine layout has been kept simple, avoiding the need for a skilled operator. The TFM runs on household power, is easy to handle and to clean and allows for easy weight change.

    Cantos is a semi-automatic maker that can process hemp biomass as well as pure flower material. The machine is based on the company’s tobacco cigarette rod maker technology and coupled with a flexible filter assembler. The maker allows for cylindrical rod formation with or without a filter, running at speeds of up to 150 pre-rolls a minute. The plug-and-play machine enables flexible format settings with only a small amount of format parts required for diameter changes and no parts required for length changes. It can handle small batch sizes, has an online weight control system and allows for the attachment of different filter types.

    “For the TFM and Cantos, the stipulation was to design machines that require as little external infrastructure as possible,” says Gruss. “Unlike in the tobacco industry, there are few trained operators in the cannabis sector. The larger a machine, the more complicated and time-consuming the operating and cleaning process. We developed the Cantos in such a way that it is mostly cleaning resistant. The parts that need to be cleaned can be reached easily.”

    Nano-H is the company’s premium model—a fully automatic maker for industrial production that can manufacture up to 5,000 pre-rolls a minute and has been optimized for shredded hemp blends and processed paper. Heavy particles such as stems and seeds are separated, and a microwave system with closed-loop weight control allows for highly accurate rod formation for a homogeneous hemp rod with minimized waste. Manufacture is batch compliant. Hauni provides full operator training and technical support.

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    Full-service

    To handle the sticky raw material, Hauni deployed technology it had developed for other tricky products, such as kreteks. The cannabis machines are also capable of processing thin papers because cannabis consumers tend to prefer papers with gauges between 16 grams per square meter and 18 grams per square meter, which is thinner than papers typically used for commercial tobacco cigarettes. The construction of the filter in hemp cigarettes is equally important. Like the other components, it is supposed to be “natural” with low draw resistance and minimal taste adulteration. For many cannabis consumers, the primary purpose of a filter is not smoke filtration but to prevent particles from falling out of their cigarette.

    In response to such preferences, Hauni has developed a “crutch-type” filter maker that manufactures biodegradable filters typically made from natural fleece or paper bobbins

    To further support customers in their development of pre-roll products, Hauni also offers a hemp flavor collection and is testing a reconstituted hemp paper at its new pilot recon plant in Hamburg, Germany. “There is a lot of interest in the market to manufacture tobacco-heated products that contain hemp. Once the raw material has been processed into a reconstituted sheet, it can be used much more conveniently in a blend,” notes Gruss.

    For the time being, cannabis cigarette products remain largely unregulated. Gruss expects this to change soon. “Tar and carbon monoxide limits will become relevant as well as hemp-specific alkaloids,” he says. Anticipating such developments, Hauni has adapted its quality control, emission testing and smoke analysis equipment for cannabis smoking products. Completing its offerings, the company has added a hemp recovery unit. Increased automation, he insists, will contribute to both the quality of hemp cigarettes and the growth of the sector.

    Stefanie Rossel is Tobacco Reporter’s editorial contributor. An experienced trade journalist, she combines sharp reporting skills with in-depth knowledge of the tobacco and vapor industries. Prior to joining Tobacco Reporter, Stefanie was editor-in-chief at Tobacco Journal International, where she worked for a decade. Fluent in English, German and French, Stefanie covers tobacco news around the world. She is based in Germany.
  • Smooth Move

    Smooth Move

    Photos: Hauni

    Hauni, ITM and Focke join forces to offer a new equipment relocation service.

    By Stefanie Rossel

    Claus Peters

    Moving to a new house can be an exhausting experience, but what if you must migrate a tobacco processing line in a factory or even an entire production area?

    With LinkUp Relocation, German original equipment manufacturer (OEM) Hauni, together with its business partners Focke & Co. and International Tobacco Machinery (ITM, which is part of Tembo Group), has introduced a comprehensive service program that takes care of all technical and logistic tasks during the relocation process.

    Customers can choose between several relocation packages ranging from a module that offers inspection of the production floors of the donating and the receiving factories, through dismantling, packaging and installation, to an all-inclusive solution that also includes a complete condition check of the equipment, transport to the new location and an inspection-based maintenance package inclusive of service. All modules can be booked for a single machine as well as for entire production lines.

    While relocation services have long been part of Hauni’s portfolio, the LinkUp program provides a new element: Relocation services now also cover machinery from ITM and Focke. Working with only one relocation partner, customers are hence spared complex procedures with multiple OEMs while the full service is carried out by all three OEMs, reducing project management costs and ensuring productivity at the target site, Hauni says.

    “As the tobacco industry has been experiencing a profound change recently and an increasing number of nicotine products with reduced health risk [have] entered the market, production requirements of our customers have changed accordingly,” explains Claus Peters, group manager of key accounts at Hauni. “A large part of the next-generation products (NGPs) are being manufactured on new, dedicated machinery. In order to make room for sufficient production area in a plant, large-scale equipment relocations are required. Usually, this does not mean single machines but complete production lines, which are called ‘link-ups’ or ‘complexes.’”

    Working with a single relocation partner reduces complexity and saves cost.

    Complementary expertise

    Typically, a link-up is a production unit consisting of several machine brands, which means that in case of a relocation, coordination efforts increase in proportion to the number of OEMs involved. To facilitate matters for customers and offer them an end-to-end solution, Hauni, Focke and ITM therefore teamed up. In this cooperation, Hauni has taken on the role of general contractor, according to Peters.

    The collaboration of competitors in certain fields of expertise is well known from other sectors, such as the aviation industry, for instance. Lufthansa and Air France, for example, are tough competitors in their core business of flying passengers, but that doesn’t prevent them from cooperating in technical areas.

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    Peters calls ITM a “market companion” but admits that there are technology overlaps between the companies in the machinery sector. “However, we jointly wanted to offer our customers added service value along the lines of ‘complementing competences.’”

    As all three manufacturers continue to offer their own relocation services, the added value for customers lies in the area of link-up relocations, according to Peters. “Here, the respective OEMs can advise with their expertise regarding the condition of the equipment to be migrated. During disassembly of the machines, they can make recommendations to increase efficiency or tackle maintenance backlogs, which is essential in order to achieve the scheduled production volume to cater to market needs at the machine’s new location.”

    Preserving value

    Some years ago, many leading tobacco manufacturers shifted production from declining cigarette markets to more promising locations, thereby requiring increased relocation services. While these moves have long been completed, Peters says that relocations as such remain a viable business.

    “We’re talking about extremely valuable production lines, many of which provide the backbone of production over several decades,” he says. “If the present trend is to focus on NGPs and to invest there, our joint service may help to increase the efficiency of existing machines at their new destination, thus leaving our customers more time to concentrate on new installations. Because of the dismantling, a machinery move is the perfect time for maintenance, obsolescence or technology upgrades.”

    The new program has been live since the beginning of 2019 and received unanimously positive feedback from customers, according to Peters. “The complete project management, starting from the procurement of adequate tools and mounting material to transport coordination and monitoring to setup and commissioning from a single source, has been perceived as very comfortable.”

    To describe the advantages, Peters makes an analogy with the construction of a house. “You can do everything yourself and coordinate all subsections inclusive of material delivery and rescheduling under adverse weather conditions. Or you buy a house turnkey, ready from a recognized provider at an agreed and guaranteed move-in date,” he says.

    “Of course, the area of equipment relocation is highly competitive with other service providers who have no OEM background and have built their expertise on trial and error. These suppliers appear to be very cheap at first glance, but you better add something for the risk they/you take. And if you do that and calculate this honestly, your better choice will be the turnkey OEM solutions.”

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  • Hauni buys Garbuio Dickinson

    Hauni Maschinenbau has acquired the Garbuio Dickinson Group, a primary equipment specialist. The transaction was closed on June 30, 2014. Both companies will continue to act independently, using their existing brands. Mansueto Favaro, Garbuio Dickinson’s managing director, will continue to be responsible for the company’s operating business as member of the management board.

    According to Hauni, the acquisition will benefit the R&D and service capabilities of both companies. The deal complements the current product portfolios of both firms and will therefore create more options for integrated solutions for increased customer satisfaction.

    “Garbuio Dickinson and Hauni will jointly develop innovative products and solutions for the future,” says Hauni CEO Christopher Somm. “This will serve all our customers in a market that is heavily driven by new trends and challenged by increasing international regulation. We are pleased to welcome Mansueto Favaro and his team in our organization. Jointly we will strive to meet our customers’ high expectations by creating substantially more added value for our customers.”

    “In a market driven by consolidation, Garbuio Dickinson starts the new partnership from a solid position,” says Favaro. “In Hauni we see the ideal partner to open up new and long-term perspectives for our organization and to inspire our customers with outstanding innovations.”

    The Garbuio Dickinson Group employs more than 300 people in Italy, the United Kingdom, Indonesia and the United States. The group also maintains a joint venture in India to serve the local and neighboring markets.

     

  • Hauni opens office in South Africa

    Hauni Maschinenbau has opened an office in Cape Town, South Africa, to support customers throughout Africa. The office will be housed on the premises of Reitech, which provided support services for Hauni’s Sub-Saharan customers in the past. Reitech will continue to assist Hauni with its customer support.

    The new Hauni team will be led by Kenji Guenta, general manager for sales and services. A Brazilian national, Guenta is well-acquainted with the region’s challenges and opportunities, having supported Hauni’s customers in North Africa for many years.

  • Hauni acquires Borgwaldt

    Hauni Maschinenbau is acquiring the Borgwaldt Group, a supplier of measurement/analysis equipment and flavors for cigarette and filter production. Based in Hamburg, Germany, the Borgwaldt Group has around 150 employees worldwide.

    “We are delighted to welcome a globally recognized technology specialist with Borgwaldt Group as the youngest member of the Hauni family,” said Christopher Somm, chairman of Hauni’s executive board.

    Borgwaldt’s “longstanding specialist expertise in the field of physical measurement equipment and smoking machines dovetails perfectly with our product portfolio,” he added. “Using the Borgwaldt brand we shall jointly continue to expand our analysis activities alongside our French subsidiary Sodim. Hauni will also benefit from having a new flavor business unit. This will boost our expertise in our capacity as an international tobacco industry supplier.”

    The Borgwaldt Group’s companies will become part of Hauni Maschinenbau with immediate effect. The companies will remain separate legal entities. Borgwaldt’s existing management team will continue to be responsible for the development of the business.

    The customer contacts at Borgwaldt will also remain in place. They will continue to be responsible for handling the business, including services.

    “With Hauni we have found a strong partner, which will open up new growth opportunities for us,” said Insa Briel, managing director of the Borgwaldt Group.

    Hauni is a global supplier, headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, of tobacco machinery and related services to the tobacco industry. A member of the Körber Group, the company employs about 4,000 people worldwide. In 2011, it generated sales of about €800 million ($1.04 billion).

     

     

     

     

     

  • Hauni sets up shop in Izmir

    DW_BARISULUS_ret
    Baris Ulus, managing director of Hauni’s Izmir office

    Hauni Maschinenbau has opened an office in Izmir, Turkey.

    Led by Managing Director Baris Ulus, the new office offers customers access to a team of sales, service and technical professionals.

    Before joining Hauni in July 2012, Ulus worked for ThyssenKrupp in Turkey, where he held positions in sales, purchasing and logistics.

    Hauni cited Turkey’s position as a leading producer and consumer of tobacco products, along with its rapidly expanding economy as reasons for its decision to establish an office in the country.

    The contact details are as follows:

    Hauni Teknik Hizmetler Ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi
    Çınarlı Mahallesi Islam Kerimov Caddesi no: 3
    Sunucu Plaza Kat 14 Daire: 8-9-10
    Lonak/Izmir
    Telephone: +90 232 4130510
    Fax: +90 232 4130016
    e-mail: sales.turkey@hauni.com

     

     

  • Hauni filter system improves efficiency

    Hauni filter system improves efficiency

    Hauni’s new high-bay storage system allows cigarette manufacturers to separate filter making from the cigarette production process.

    Hauni Maschinenbau is introducing a new all-automatic high-bay storage system that allows cigarette makers to separate filter making from the cigarette production process.

    Apart from maximizing machine utilization, the system’s space-saving storage unit keeps filters ready for use wherever and whenever required.

    “This storage system keeps the filter and cigarette manufacturing processes separate, allowing filter and cigarette makers to achieve optimum utilization figures,” says Patrick Fricke, head of customer project management engineering at Hauni. “A hitch on one machine won’t automatically bring the entire production process to a halt as it soon would with makers in a fixed link-up.”

    When connected to a high-bay storage system, filter makers can be kept running for as long as required. They can even manufacture filters for several shifts in advance, thereby omitting the need for night shifts. This not only improves machine utilization but also dispenses with the need to keep switching from one filter specification to another.

    Having a variety of rod types on hand gives manufacturers the flexibility to make smaller batch sizes. The variety in brands and cigarette formats has risen sharply in recent years, and this trend is likely to continue.

    Another benefit is that the filters stored in this system have time to cure adequately, ensuring smooth processing during cigarette making.

    Storage systems of this type can also help minimize errors in the manufacturing process, particularly when producing multifilters.

    Part of Hauni’s system-integration concept, the storage system is supplied by Dematic of Germany.

    The system is designed to work smoothly with Hauni’s tray fillers and dischargers. “Manufacturing companies can continue using their existing equipment without needing to buy extra machines,” says Fricke. “Also, existing trays can continue to be used.”

    According to Hauni, storage systems installed at two Chinese production facilities operate in perfect harmony with the machines linked to them. Another system is currently being set up in America.