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For 40 years Brita has been among the leading experts in the field of water optimization.  The family business, founded in 1966, has become a global company which employs around 700 members of staff worldwide.

The German company has subsidiaries and joint ventures in ten countries. Production takes place at the company’s headquarters in Taunusstein (Wiesbaden), Germany, and also in Great Britain and Switzerland. Key products in the range include household water filter systems and cartridges, water filter jugs, on-tap filters, filter kettles and water filter dispensers. For the professional environment, Brita provides water filter systems and cartridges for coffee machines, vending machines, combination ovens and dishwashers.

Brita asked Kern to look into providing a new sleeve wrapper, to replace old equipment within the company’s customisation area where products are configured for specific customer requirements. The new system was required to increase volume of products which could be wrapped in plastic for transit. Key goals within the product specification were build quality and reliability, and most important of all, Brita needed to be sure of rapid service response and quick spares provision, as production timescales are crucial.

Kern’s solution was to specify the SFE 800 Sleeve Wrapping system, from Kern partner LP. The SFE-SA range of semi automatic sleeve sealers offer a robust and high quality range of transit sealing machines designed specifically for the medium to high volume shrink sealing market. The semi automatic products are also ideal for the contract packing industry where quick change over from one job to another is desirable. The range is loaded manually with packs of product; the operator simply presses the manually operated dual cycle control buttons for the sealing process to take place.

Five models are available with specifications to meet most requirements. Sealing bar widths range from 560mm to 1470mm wide while the maximum pack height offered is between 320mm to 600mm, depending on model. A range of output gravity roller discharge conveyors can be specified to meet customer specific needs.

The relationship between Brita and Kern got off to a rapid start; the timescale from initial discussions to full installation was less than a week. The first site visit was on a Monday, the order for the machinery identified was placed on Tuesday, and the system was delivered, installed and in production on the same Thursday.

This quick response to the customer’s request for a site visit, combined with the ability to identify an appropriate solution quickly, the quality of build and reliability of machinery supplied, and the high level of service and spares support available were all factors which impressed Brita.

Brita and Kern are looking forward to working together again in the near future. Due to increasing volumes of wrapped product, Brita has now ordered a second system, and Kern is looking at further opportunities currently at project stage.