IMA Ilapak was honoured in the Sustainability category for the 2022 IBIE Best in Baking Program

• From the 18th to the 22nd of September, in Las Vegas, the IBIE exhibition will take place and visitors can take the chance to visit IMA’s solutions in the bakery industry at Stand 3253.
• IMA Ilapak’s Delta VacMap™ flow wrapper qualified for the BEST in Baking Program in the Sustainability category: the machine allows the reduction of plastic material use compared to a thermoforming application, falling under IMA ZERO’s No-Plastic program (NOP).

From the 18th to the 22nd of September, in Las Vegas, the IBIE exhibition will take place and visitors will have the chance to discover more about IMA’s solutions in the bakery industry at Stand 3253.

Together with Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery, the International Baking Industry Exhibition (IBIE) honors suppliers and bakeries committed to excellence in the industry through the BEST in Baking Program, considering various categories, from sustainability to innovation.

IMA Ilapak’s Delta VacMap™ flow wrapper qualified for the BEST in Baking Program in the Sustainability category, which awards solutions that improve efficiency, reduce energy use and environmental impact, or bring a notable level of sustainability to the baking industry.

Delta VacMap™ is a truly innovative flow wrapping machine that produces attractive traditional looking packs with a shelf life that, until now, was only available by using thermoforming. Particularly suitable for the spongy products that are typically found in the bakery industry, an in line vacuum system allows the machine to extract the oxygen that is trapped inside the product itself.

Designed as a cost-effective alternative to expensive skin and thermoforming packaging, the Delta VacMap™ combines vacuum and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) in one machine. The vacuum system allows the machine to extract trapped pockets of oxygen found inside the product itself. The result is a packaging line that produces attractive traditional looking packs with the same shelf-life characteristics of thermoforming, at a greatly reduced cost. Unlike with thermoforming, whole package printing is as easy as on a traditional horizontal flow wrapper.

Cost savings are realized across the board, from lower film costs, increased throughput and reduced labor expenses as the Delta VacMap™ machine requires very little operator involvement.

If the food application needs a hygienic packing environment, the Delta VacMap™’s fully automatic product feeding, and handling system will meet the most stringent requirements. The easy-clean design will keep clean-up downtime to a minimum whilst maintaining the highest standards of hygiene.

The Delta VacMap™ line also boasts a great deal of flexibility, as it easily handles multiple sizes and can be used a normal gas flushing wrapper by turning off the vacuum system, thus increasing wrapping speed as a result.

This solution allows the reduction of wrapping material use compared to a thermoforming application and, moreover, is capable of handling recyclable and sustainable packaging materials.

Thanks to its sustainable features, the Delta VacMap™ is part of the IMA ZERO project, in particular it is involved into the No-Plastic Program (NOP), which aims at promoting eco-friendly plastic substitutes for the packages manufactured on IMA machines.

About IMA Ilapak

For over 50 years, IMA Ilapak, with its wide range of flexible packaging solutions, has satisfied every form, fill and seal packaging requirement of the food, pharma, medical devices and wet wipes industries.

Besides flow wrap machines HFFS (Horizontal Form Fill and Seal) and vertical baggers VFFS (Vertical Form Fill and seal), the Company’s portfolio includes packaging machinery for modified atmosphere applications (MAP – Modified Atmosphere Packaging), product handling solutions, counting and weighing machines and complete, fully automated packaging lines.

Represented in more than 50 countries in the world by its own network of sales and service subsidiaries and a number of qualified agents, IMA Ilapak is the point of reference in the packaging market.

About IMA ZERO

The Delta VacMap™ flow wrapper falls under the Group’s IMA ZERO project, in particular under the NOP (No-Plastic Program) that is one of the four categories in which IMA ZERO is declined, together with LOW (Low-Impact Program), E-MOB (Sustainable Mobility) and YOU (Human-Centric Program).

IMA ZERO is the evolution of IMA’s commitment to Sustainable Development: its ultimate goal is to minimise environmental impact in industrial manufacturing, while promoting and creating a working and living habitat that always puts people and biodiversity at the centre.