This is the result of a survey carried out by PMMI Pharmaceutical/Nutraceutical Packaging Machinery (USA), through telephone interviews to  71 representatives of the U.S. pharmaceutical industry, selected among people operating for  pharmaceutical/nutraceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, contract, manufacturers/packagers, OEM companies and industry experts.

Well,  the participants to this survey believe that the most important choice criteria, after the machine cost, is the Aftermarket Support ensured by the supplier, followed by  Company reputation e Service location & parts availability.

‘First of all it is important to project and realize  simple- to-use machines: as a matter of fact, not always skilled machine operators are available at the plant’– clarifies Gianmario Ronchi, owner of Ronchi Mario spa, company that in the filling of pharmaceutical specialties has matured significant experiences within a U.S. context.

‘In lack of skilled machine operators, more and more frequently the end-user tends to apply to the supplier for resolving whichever sort of  problem. Within those contexts whereas we have  important business shares, we have established our own  branches: in the United States,  England,  Asia, Mexico and Australia. In order to ensure the best aftermarket support and commercial assistance, and with the aim of making the interaction with the customer easier, our personnel is always local.  The branch also ensures the supply of spare parts available from the local warehouse. In this way, aftermarket support is always guaranteed,  in good time opportunely and quickly.

EXACTA RM is an interesting application of RONCHI Filler machineries with Mass Flow Meters, used in this case for a hot filling application of a product which is solid at room temperature.
In cooperation with the customer, Ronchi installed a line with a filler characterized by the Product Temperature Control from the feeding pipeline to the dosing valves.
The machine, a RONCHI EXACTA RM with 24 stations, fills the Vaseline^TM product at 45°C in order to obtain that the product remains liquid, flows with ideal filling times, and then solidifies in plastic jars with a flat, horizontal and regular surface.
All the aspects connected with:

• Product Temperature Control through feeding pipe, manifold, nozzles pipes, flow-meters and dosing valves;
• Temperature control;
• Heat tracing
• Re-starts after short, medium, and long stoppages with product in the machine

have been fronted and managed with a very simple and efficient system able to give heat in a totally controlled way: the RONCHI EXACTA, indeed, already particularly indicated for its architecture and highly reduced quantity of product contained (about 10 litres) has been equipped externally with the heat tracing with electrical resistances and electrical inducers. The thermostatic control can be integrated and performed by the same PLC of the filler.

The incomparable experience in the application of the filling technology by means of flow-meters introduced by Ronchi in the early nineties has enhanced the reputation of the filling lines manufactured by the Italian company to be the main reference in the forefront of  the weight and volumetric filling lines available on the worldwide marketplace. 

More than 330 flow-meter fillers installed all over the world are the evidence of Ronchi’s constant commitment and investment in research and development, which translates into  the engineering of such products and processes to meet the most severe specifications and satisfy the most peculiar applications, thus responding to whichever requirement of the chemical, cosmetic, food and pharmaceutical industries. (more…)