VTB Verpackungmaschinen GmbH is a manufacturer and supplier of plants and machines in the branch of liquid and solids filling as well as packaging. The company, which was originally founded in 2004 as VTB Packaging Technology by Thomas Beierl, was based in Burgwindheim in Upper Franconia in 2009.

Since then, existing plants and machines have been improved and new technologies in the branch of filling have been developed. The filling lines already mentioned include, for example, screw feeders, drum scales or liquid filling machines. In addition, mixers are also produced in horizontal and vertical versions, for example belt coil, paddle or boiler mixers. In the meantime, technology and industry-specific solution concepts from Siemens are used in all these plants.

Siemens as an important and good business partner

For Mr. Beierl (Managing Director), the overall package of a business partner, such as Siemens, plays an important role. In the foreground is the technology, which must be suitable for the different applications. From the technical data to the approvals of the individual devices for the global market, everything must be right in order to be able to form a solid basis. In addition, there is support from selection to after-sales support, on which Mr. Beierl and his employees must and can rely.

The product portfolio, the service, the contact persons – the managing director appreciates all these points very much at Siemens and also praises the good relationship with the sales contacts, who deal specifically with the challenges and wishes of VTB. A visit by Siemens Sales to assess the completed plant at the trade fair is therefore not neglected (see Figure 1).

Dieses Bild hat ein leeres Alt-Attribut. Der Dateiname ist VTB_4-1024x863.jpg — Figure 1: Exhibition of the screw feeder at the Fackpack trade fair – from left to right: Walther Schuller, Stephan Simon, Thomas Beierl

Integrated weighing solution for the screw feeder

For example, SIMATIC S7 controllers, HMIs, and SINAMICS frequency converters are used in VTB’s filling and packaging machines.

In addition to the above-mentioned components, which are often used in automation projects, however, the calibrated weighing solution using the SIWAREX weighing module is a major advantage for VTB. The compact module is used together with an S7-1200, for example, for the screw feeder shown in Figure 2. It can thus be seamlessly integrated into TIA projects and meets the typical requirements of dosing and filling tasks. These are mainly aimed at accuracy and speed. The weighing and shaking of the bottled substances now takes place within the dosing process – exactly and quickly, as it should be.

Dieses Bild hat ein leeres Alt-Attribut. Der Dateiname ist VTB_2-768x1024.jpg — Figure 2: Screw feeder for volumetric or gravimetric filling with integrated weighing unit

The users of the screw feeders include well-known names from the pharmaceutical, chemical and food industries around the world. Nestlé, Mondelez or Eli Lilly are just a few examples of satisfied VTB customers. The integrated OPC UA interfaces of the SIMATIC controller allow easy connection to higher-level MES or ERP systems, an important requirement of plant operators who prefer SIMATIC controllers and TIA Portal.

TIA Portal offers a maximum of programming comfort
Thomas Beierl, Managing Director

The company has been relying on the solution concept described for two years. Looking back, Mr. Beierl is very satisfied with the Siemens solution. The uniformly combined programming in the TIA Portal simplifies realization greatly. All components “speak the same language”, so the managing director even compares the engineering tool “with a top-class vehicle in terms of programming comfort”.

VTB Verpackungsmaschinen is a very flexible engineering company in the branch of filling and packaging. For this reason, it is geared to the wishes and requirements of its customers and offers the possibility of manufacturing special machines. The uniform Siemens concept is not only used in screw feeders, but is also used for all applications in order to fulfill the common requirements in the industry.