New filling platform offers flexibility for nutraceuticals

Rotzinger PharmaPack has introduced VarioFill, a new filling and capping platform designed to address the complex production needs of the nutraceutical industry.

This modular system consolidates the capabilities of multiple, larger machines into a single, compact platform, offering a solution for both liquid and solid products.

Nutraceutical manufacturers and contract fillers face a significant challenge: the need to process a wide variety of products — from liquid supplements and syrups to solid tablets and capsules — using different container materials, shapes, and closure types. Historically, this has required separate, dedicated machinery for each product type, leading to higher costs, a larger operational footprint, and more complex changeovers.

VarioFill aims to solve this by allowing companies to handle everything from vitamins and herbal supplements to powders and functional beverages on a single, reconfigurable platform.

VarioFill’s design offers several strategic advantages:

• Significant space savings: The modular design can reduce a plant’s footprint by more than 50%. This is particularly beneficial for contract fillers who must accommodate a diverse portfolio of clients and products within a limited space.
• Maximum flexibility: The platform can be easily reconfigured with new modules, allowing for quick and low-cost adaptation to new products and packaging requirements. This implements a “configure instead of construct” approach, providing a future-proof solution for a rapidly evolving market.
• Gentle and precise handling: The system uses magnetic-driven universal grippers to handle various container shapes without the need for pucks, ensuring products are transported gently and efficiently. The platform also includes 100% in-process control (IPC), which weighs containers both before and after filling to ensure accuracy.
• Automated cleaning: a cleaning-in-place (CIP) system allows for the fully automatic cleaning of product contact parts, simplifying sanitation and ensuring compliance with hygiene standards.

According to Michael Gensheimer, product manager at Rotzinger PharmaPack, the positive response from the nutraceutical industry has been “overwhelming,” with two VarioFill lines already sold before the official market launch.

The platform’s ability to handle diverse product forms and offer flexible expansion options is proving to be a compelling solution for a market defined by its pace of innovation.