Ease of changeover was a key machine characteristic sought by contract packager Brecon Pharmaceuticals, Brecon, Wales, for its new tablet blister packing and cartoning line.

A Noack 623 blister packer and Promatic 4200 cartoner were supplied by Romaco (interpack Hall 16, Stands D37/D45). Changeover from Product A to Product B takes about two hours rather than six or seven on more conventional lines.

According to Romaco’s David Dixon, servo controls from ELAU (interpack Hall 5, Stand D19) play a key role. The downstream cartoner, he adds, also relies on ELAU servo controls.

The blister machine has an extra long product feeding area over which Brecon can mount up to five automatic feeders. That means a single blister pack can hold five different products. Brecon operations manager Andrew Billington explains why such variety is required.

“Sometimes with a hormone replacement or a birth control product, for example, more than one formula is needed as the monthly cycle progresses. Also, with some of the more sophisticated drugs coming out, there may be an introductory dose as well as a ‘regular’ dose—titration packs, if you will, which allow for escalating doses in a single convenient pack.

Downstream, the Romaco cartoner also has a central feature that contributes to fast changeover: balcony-style design. According to Brecon business manager Steve Kemp, this is a huge help where Good Manufacturing Practices are concerned. “On the older blister-pack machines, when it dropped it would lodge in the machinery. It’s such an improvement from a GMP standpoint, and in turn that leads to much quicker changeovers.”

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