Packaging solutions provider Harpak-Ulma is announcing a new application of the Mondini Trave Sinfonia tray-sealing platform designed explicitly for high-volume ground-meat production. The solution delivers a higher-output, fully automated alternative to conventional tray-sealing methods.

Sinfonia can effectively double throughput compared to typical mechanical grind-line tray sealers, increasing output from roughly 120 packs per minute to as high as 200 packs per minute. Sinfonia's software-controlled magnetic-transport architecture delivers this dramatic performance advantage by moving trays on independent shuttles with micron-level accuracy. The design eliminates belts, pusher arms and other friction-based components that typically constrain sealing speed, especially in low-oxygen MAP applications.

Although the Sinfonia system was introduced in 2023, this marks its first application for grind-line environments, where tray control, contamination and mechanical indexing have long limited achievable speeds.

"The competitive ceiling for grind-line tray sealing is around 120 ppm. With Sinfonia, we can engineer a 200-ppm grind line—almost a 100% throughput increase," said Carlo Bergonzi, product manager, tray sealing at Harpak-ULMA. "Sinfonia fundamentally changes what's possible in ground-meat tray-sealed packaging. By controlling each tray independently, we remove the mechanical constraints that typically dictate line speed.

"The result is a faster, cleaner, and far more stable tray-sealing process that simply isn't achievable with conventional systems. Given the momentum behind meat-brick formats across major retailers, this application directly addresses the performance conversations we’re hearing from processors as they head into IPPE 2026.”

The new configuration integrates portioning, dual denesting, retractable conveyor loading, and a 14-up sealing array — enabling each processing station to run at its optimal rate without being limited by fixed-pitch conveyor mechanics. With the new Sinfonia application, producers gain a consistent, contamination-resistant tray path and simplified changeovers in a compact footprint. In contrast, competitive systems rely on mechanical indexing systems that cannot independently control tray motion. Comparable throughput levels are not currently achievable using traditional technologies.

Harpak-Ulma will be at the at the International Production & Processing Expo Jan. 27–29, 2026, in Atlanta at booths BC43109 and BC45111.

Source: Harpak-Ulma