HFFS & Flow Wrap Machine Suppliers & Manufacturers

HFFS and flow wrapping principle and product suitability

An HFFS (horizontal form fill seal) machine — commonly called a flow wrapper or flow pack machine — wraps a product in flexible film by feeding both the product and the film horizontally. The film is formed into a tube around the product as it moves along the machine; the top and side seals are made horizontally; the end seals (leading and trailing) are made transversely as the wrapped product exits the machine. The result is a hermetically sealed flexible pack — the classic 'flow-wrapped' or 'pillow pack' format seen on most packaged bread, biscuits, chocolate bars, and fresh produce. HFFS and flow wrapping are suitable for products that: cannot be dropped vertically (fragile, irregular, or filled items that would be damaged or spilled if loaded into a VFFS machine); need to maintain their orientation during packing; are solid, semi-solid, or in trays; have a consistent cross-section that allows them to be fed through the forming collar. Products commonly flow-wrapped: bakery products — sliced bread, rolls, baguettes, croissants, cakes, muffins; biscuits and cookies — individual or multi-packs of biscuits and crackers; confectionery — chocolate bars, cereal bars, chews, individual wrapped sweets; fresh produce — cucumbers, courgettes, leeks, corn-on-the-cob; soap bars — a very large flow-wrapping application globally; medical devices — syringes, wound dressings, test kits, in peel-pouches; ice cream and frozen products — individual portions; ready meals in trays — tray + overwrap flow-wrapping for ready-to-cook meals.