Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1112785
Tablets & Capsules May 2019 13 "Despite the innovative custom items Thomas Packaging had made for us in the past, we were concerned that this product was not designed to go into this bottle." The supplier expedited the proj- ect, ran some initial tests, and quickly arrived at an effective design that included precise channel angles and pitches to ensure that the tablets entered the bottles in a vertical ori- entation without slowing down the filling process. "The manifold chan- nels act like coin slots to position the tablets vertically as they enter the bottles, but they also allow the tab- lets to flow freely to avoid decreased filling speeds," said Denis Adam, senior sales engineer at Thomas Packaging, "While we were confident in our design, and our testing indi- cated that throughput rates shouldn't be affected, the true operating speeds wouldn't be definitive until GSK ran the manifold on their slat filler." With the manifold design com- pleted, GSK rushed to perform their first test. "We installed the manifold, started up the machine and crossed our fingers," said Amelung. "To our joy, the manifold was a success, and the bottles were filling accurately, without any issues." According to Amelung, immediately achieving a successful bottling run meant that the site could continue with the com- pany's aggressive timeframe for the bottle launch. "We went to Thomas Packaging looking for yet another custom solution, and they came through," he said. "We were literally walking around the plant high-fiving each other." Thomas Packaging Rolling Meadows, IL 847 392 1652 www.thomaspackaging.com June Solid Dosage Sourcebook July Excipients & Formulation Plus Nutra Outsourcing September Tableting October Quality, Validation, & Regulatory Compliance Plus Nutra Capsule Filling November Annual Buyer's Guide UPCOMING ISSUES2019 www.tabletscapsules.com