In order to achieve clean and reliable energy supply, sports plastics expert igus developed the first towline that complies with the “Sanitation Design Guidelines”. The towline has an open design that is easy to clean; it has a threaded connection and dead corners, and a rounded corner to avoid bacterial growth. The new towline is therefore ideal for machines and systems in the food and packaging industry.

Machine components in the food industry must not only operate reliably, but also avoid product contamination through a lubrication-free solution, as well as simple and quick cleaning. The so-called "hygienic design" prevents structural defects on the machine, so this design is becoming more and more important. To this end, sports plastics expert igus developed the first towline that meets hygienic design guidelines and presented it to professional visitors on this year's Fachpack. Lars Braun, owner of igus packaging, said: “The new drag chain does not accumulate dead spots of bacteria or dust, so it is very easy to clean. Blue materials are commonly used in the food industry, comply with FDA standards, and have very good corrosive detergents and chemicals. Strong tolerance."

Co-developed according to customer requirements - meeting market demand

Like all new products developed over the years, sanitary towline has been developed to meet specific market and customer requirements. Walker's Multivac company is an expert in industrial packaging machines, and they let us have this idea. Multivac found igus when the market needed an appropriate solution. Multivac needed a hygienic design of the energy supply system, so we started to develop the product and then jointly tested it. The market requires that the product be easy to clean, open design, avoid corners and curves, and avoid contact between the upper and lower surfaces. The drag chain has two different inner heights and five different internal widths. Both types of towline sizes have up to five mixed internal fill sections that can be individually routed with cables and hoses, leaving plenty of room for cleaning. The new towline will be on display at the Multivac R 081 thermoformer this year and will be used in all types of thermoforming machines in the future. Health requirements in the food, medical, and medical sectors are increasing, and compliance with MULTIVAC's hygienic design guidelines can be met.