Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/716988
48 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 4, 2016 (August/September) By Dan Shryock A GIMA 590 and 595 capsule filling and sealing machines are compatible with a variety of capsule formats popular in Europe and the Americas IMA area manager Simone Capponcelli said that every part used to build the filling machines at GIMA's Bologna facility is made in Italy. s consumer demand for single-serve coffee products continues to grow, smaller roasters are looking for a way to enter the market. One Italian pack- aging machine manufacturer believes it has the solution. IMA (Industria Macchine Automatiche S.p.A.), an Italian packaging solutions pro- vider, has introduced the GIMA 590 rotary capsule filling and sealing machine. "We started seeing all the small producers wanted to have their own technology and machinery and produce capsules themselves. They wanted to control their own product and keep the coffee fresh," said GIMA area manager Simone Capponcelli dur- ing a recent visit to the company's manufacturing facility in Bologna, Italy. "We took our big (595) machine and made a smaller version of it. That's how the 590 was born with features that would be interesting for a small producer." The 590 machine allows a roaster to fill as few as 100 capsules per minute. As pro- duction increases, the machine easily can shift to 200 capsules per minute. It's easy to use and easy to clean. The GIMA 590 machine looks small inside the spacious assembly area. It's de- signed that way to accommodate roasters' smaller production areas, Capponcelli said. The machine's small 2-by-2-meter footprint occupies very little of the production floor. Italian leadership "These are high quality machines, top level," Capponcelli said. "Our machine must be able to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It must be made with the best ma- terials available. When customers buy an expensive machine, they expect it to be made in Italy. It's like cars and motorbikes. The car must be made in Italy. Even the parts. It must be fully designed and built in Italy." IMA: Speeding Single-Serve Production