The U.S. subsidiary of Osaka-based Maruho Co. Ltd., Maruho Hatsujyo Innovations (mhi-innovations.com), a leading Japanese dermatology pharmaceutical company with subsidiaries in Europe and the U.S., will showcase its Eagle blister thermoformer at Pack Expo booth #N-630, September 25-27 in Las Vegas, NV. 

Introduced in November 2016, the Eagle is an “Americanized” version of Maruho’s widely successful PF-D1S Blister Machine sold in Japan and Asia by its subsidiary, Maruho Hatsujyo Kogyo (MHK). MHK has been building these machines since 1987 and is one of the leading suppliers of pharmaceutical and medical packaging machinery in Japan. Over 400 MHK machines have been installed in Japan and Asia. Its customers include leading Japanese and multinational medical and pharmaceutical companies.

The compact, servo-driven, high performance Eagle comprises the company’s first foray into the North American marketplace and will soon be followed by other complementary offerings.  Though entering the U.S. market less than a year ago, the Eagle has already piqued the interest of several prominent pharmaceutical and nutraceutical manufacturers and contract packagers.

The Eagle blister machine was designed for maximum versatility and process reliability. It is ideally suited for varying batch sizes, with quick, recipe-driven changeover that requires no tools. Its servo technology ensures repeatability and minimizes mechanical adjustments. Eagle’s balcony design achieves a small footprint. It runs all common forming films and lidding materials (including push-thru, peelable, and peel/push).

The competitively priced Eagle can produce up to 100 blisters per minute at a maximum index length of 90mm and maximum index width of 130mm. The machine is compatible with third-party feeders, cameras, printers and cartoning.

Featuring both platen forming and rotary sealing, the Eagle promises to stand up well in the U.S. market. The machine’s attractive attributes include ease of operation, user-friendly HMI, and easy expansion of feeder area when required. MHI also stresses its responsiveness and commitment to product support, providing U.S.-based installation, maintenance, spare parts and 24/7 technical support.

“As blister packaging emerges as a preferred packaging format, the Eagle continues to attract interest as a reliable, flexible and cost-effective option for pharma and nutraceutical manufacturers and contract packagers,” says Gregory Zaic, president & CEO of MHI.  “We look forward to building on this momentum at Pack Expo by demonstrating the unit’s uniqueness among competing solutions.”