"Our recent growth hasn't been slight; it's been explosive," begins Eduard de Haan of JASA Packaging Solutions. Customers and business partners can see that firsthand at the demo week, this Dutch company will organize in week 46. The event also marks founder Piet Pannekeet's official farewell. He began the business in 1985 under the name Pannekeet Machine Techniek (PMT). That later gave way to JASA, derived from Piet's children's names, Jarno and Sandra.
'A tour of Jasa' in the supermarket
"In the early years, JASA was mainly active in dry fruit and vegetable products like potatoes, carrots, and onions. In 2017, we made a much bigger move into processed products, such as sliced fruits and vegetables.
"Visit the largest supermarket chains in the Netherlands now, and you'll see a tremendously vast range of products packaged by our machines and lines. From different types of lettuce to wok vegetables, fresh pizzas, meal salads, fresh packs, sliced fruits and vegetables, tapas, snack tomatoes, standard potatoes, carrots, onions, and meat (replacements)," says Eduard.
"We've also internationalized significantly in recent years. With branches in America, Canada, and Germany, we have a local presence in our key markets. We're preparing a branch for the Middle East, too. Plus, we have a global dealer network. Thousands of JASA machines and packaging lines are used for more than 25,000 different types of packaging. We've also recently deliberately entered high-tech horticulture and vertical farming."
NXXT platform
With the launch of the NXXT platform, JASA is entering its next phase. "It's a new platform for a new generation of vertical packaging machines. The NXXT Generation project arose from a modular idea to build with autonomous modules. But above all, building with no restrictions, always considering what can be done. That's where the name NXXT came from. We're looking ahead and thinking about how to make it as easy as possible for clients, now and in the future," Eduard explains.
"We used to use nine different models, which were often customer-specific, too. In NXXT, we've reduced that to two in a single modular platform. With NXXT, we place 52 modules and options chronologically and in the correct process order. From unwinding the roll to making a pouch and from perforating to co-sealing a zip closure."
"We looked for logical positions for all the autonomous modules that would, above all, be easily accessible for the operator. The thought process was: 'Everything the operator could set, we wanted to make automatically adjustable.' In short, from 200 grams of iceberg lettuce to 600 grams of spinach at the push of a button," says De Haan.
Own pitstop
"In Formula 1, 19 people stand ready in the pitstop for a quick tire change. NXXT is our pit stop. Not with 18 people, but one operator who can change a film. Time-consuming, manual settings are thus a thing of the past at JASA. NXXT sets everything to the millimeter, like edge control or labels and THT codes in the right place."
"Also, the spotmark sensors move automatically to the correct position on the film. This NXXT one-person-pitstop means we've gone down to four to five minutes per film change. That produces hundreds of additional packs per hour," states Eduard enthusiastically.
According to the JASA director, NXXT is distinguished by its six Unique Selling Points: cleanability, flexible and rapid changeovers, improved (operator) safety, reliability, faster processing speed, and ease of maintenance and service. "The big advantage for the client is that everything's standardized."
"We think it's the ultimate relief for operators and our customers. The entire platform is equipped with sensors, which will monitor the whole process and ensure things like preventive maintenance. Next year, integrated with NXXT, we'll also launch real-time seal detection," Eduard continues.
38 m packaging line
"It's all about innovation, innovation, innovation. That's in our DNA and what we've always done. If we hear, 'That's entirely impossible,' we start thinking about it even more carefully. NXXT, as part of a complete packaging line, is the icing on the cake for us. For the demo week, with our team on standby for individual appointments, we've set up, among other things, a 38-meter packaging line for leafy vegetables, including end-of-line case packing. I invite you to allow yourself to be surprised," concludes Eduard.
Do you want to attend the event? Please register with Denise Baths at d.baths@jasa.nl.
For more information:
Jasa Packaging Solutions
14-16 Hazenkoog
1822 BS, Alkmaar, NL
Tel.: +31 (0) 725 612 700
d.baths@jasa.nl
www.jasa.nl