Whitelink Seafoods, Fraserburgh, Scotland, is taking its packaging to the next level with the specification of a new ULMA Sienna Flow Pack Wrapper from Harpak-ULMA Packaging, Taunton, Mass., for shrink wrapping trays of frozen langoustine destined for a customer base throughout Europe.

Following 13 years of trouble-free service with an ULMA Atlanta Horizontal Flow Wrapper, Whitelink Seafoods decided to replace its long-standing machine with the Sienna Flow Pack Wrapper.

Precision, speed and hygiene

Packaging plays an important role in getting product from sea to fork while still at its fresh, healthy and delicious best. Reliable, robust and well-maintained machinery running at optimum capacity every day helps toward an efficient supply chain process, especially during peak catch periods.

The Sienna Flow Pack Wrapper boasts a cross-sealing jaw station, which offers precision and speed. The sealing head design can achieve up to 75 packs per minute, which meant an increase in productivity of between 20-25% for Whitelink when compared to the output of its previous Atlanta model. To ensure maximum cleanliness, the Sienna’s stainless-steel frame in a cantilever style minimizes dirt and dust accumulation. The design also allows easy access for deep cleaning to help food manufacturers meet and even surpass the most exacting regulatory standards demanded by today’s seafood industry.

Exceptional performance

Fish and seafood sectors demand flexible packaging solutions that extend shelf life and guarantee high-quality presentation in attractive and leak-proof packages. ULMA Packaging delivers those attributes for whole turbot to monkfish cheeks as well as frozen squid and graded fresh shellfish.

“We have used ULMA’s equipment trouble-free for years, but the time inevitably came when we needed to commit to the next generation of flow wrapping machinery,” says Graeme Sutherland, director at Whitelink. “The Sienna ticked all the boxes to ensure the fastest route to market for our products, so they’re as good when they reach the consumer as when they were landed. It’s really easy to operate, has the ability to change tray sizes at the touch of a button and provides an automatic tray spacing function. Everything we need in one reliable machine.”

“ULMA Packaging UK is a vastly experienced machinery packaging provider supplying the widest range of fish and seafood packaging solutions on the market, including thermoforming, tray sealing, horizontal flow pack (HFFS), vertical flow pack (VFFS) and shrink wrap,” adds Chris Pickles, managing director at ULMA Packaging UK. “We were able to work with Whitelink to reach the best machine replacement solution for their needs and install it with negligible disruption to the production line. As a long-standing customer, we are pleased to have maintained such a strong working relationship and will continue to support Whitelink in the many years to come.”