Mecmesin solutions for the food and drink sector.

We live in a world where the majority of food and drink products are supplied pre-packed in packaging that protects, but that is designed to be opened easily.

The sheer amount of single-use packaging and the growth in environmental regulations creates pressure to produce it with minimal waste and expense, whilst still making sure that it is fit for purpose. That is where physical testing of food & drink packaging becomes essential to ensure the customer experience is positive:

  • Consumer food packaging needs to be peeled open so must be designed and checked for 'maximum seal and minimum peel'.
  • Retort pouches require the consumer to overcome a pre-tear perforation whilst withstanding puncture forces to protect the contents.
  • Plastic drinks bottles need to use a minimal amount of raw material yet still be able to withstand the forces applied during filling and stacking, so they need to be tested for top-load strength.
  • Twisting opening a drinks cap or closure can itself be a challenge particularly for the elderly. Torque testing during the design and production cycle becomes critical to ensure usability and that the brand image is not harmed by poor packaging.
  • Spray cans require the correct finger pressure to activate the aerosol. Ring-pulls must provide a secure seal but not require excessive opening force which breaks nails or cut fingers.

The list of applications is almost endless and the more packaging becomes aesthetic in itself, the more difficult it can be to grip and test.

At Mecmesin we design force and torque measurement systems and fixtures for testing packaging products of all kinds, so that you can apply industry standard test methods in both designs and on the production floor for quality-control.

Our Emperor control and analysis software is powerful and flexible for reliable, accurate, repeatable testing at the push of a button.

Test to your own company standards as well as to ASTM, BS EN, ISO, DIN, CEN, Afera, FEFCO, FINAT, PSTC, TAPPI and TLMI

Interested in texture analysis?
Mecmesin has over 40 years' experience in the design and manufacture of texture analyzers, texture presses and tenderometers. There's more to discover in texture analysis on our dedicated Texture Analyzers site (www.textureanalyzers.com).

Some of our customers

Featured case studies

Top-load crush test of plastic bottles

Silgan Plastics has utilised the Mecmesin tester in several of our plants over the last two years to monitor top-load. It brings a wealth of features at a very competitive price. We pride ourselves on being the forefront of container performance and capability and the 5-x top-load tester is a valued piece of our strategy.

Randy Blankenship, Quality Engineer
Silgan Plastics

Case study
Top-load plastic bottle test in factory by semi-automated process

Screw-cap torque test on PET bottles

"Mecmesin, through their Portuguese supplier Egitron, presented us with a good solution: reliable equipment and user-friendliness that was adequate for our needs. All our operators are capable of using this equipment because it is very simple to operate. I enjoy dealing with Egitron because they offer excellent technical support."

Miguel Carvalho, Quality Assurance Manager
Água de Luso

Case study
Mineral water PET bottle closure production line check

Standards

Featured or equivalent test standards for Mecmesin solutions in this section

Top-load crush test of plastic bottles

Case study
Silgan Plastics has utilised the Mecmesin tester in several of our plants over the last two years to monitor top-load. It brings a wealth of features at a very competitive price. We pride ourselves on being the forefront of container performance and capability and the 5-x top-load tester is a valued piece of our strategy.

Randy Blankenship, Quality Engineer
Silgan Plastics

ASTM D2659
Top-load plastic bottle test in factory by semi-automated process

Screw-cap torque test on PET bottles

Case study
"Mecmesin, through their Portuguese supplier Egitron, presented us with a good solution: reliable equipment and user-friendliness that was adequate for our needs. All our operators are capable of using this equipment because it is very simple to operate. I enjoy dealing with Egitron because they offer excellent technical support."

Miguel Carvalho, Quality Assurance Manager
Água de Luso

ISBT/CETIE Guide 5
Mineral water PET bottle closure production line check

Torque to twist out a champagne cork

Case study
As a responsible supplier, we are committed to ensuring safety within our products. The solution provided by Mecmesin means we can monitor the extraction force of our corks to guarantee our customers receive a consistent end product.

Frédéric Junge, Quality manager
Sibel (Oeneo)

Hand-held cork extraction tester and usage
The Mecmesin CombiCork is a Quality tool that allows Korbel to test cork materials, ensuring they match with Korbel’s stringent quality standards. Testing removes subjectivity from the uncorking of champagne corks, troubleshooting our process or material variation, so our customers are able to have a consistent experience every time they open a bottle of the finest Korbel California Champagne.

Rick Marson, Technical Director
Korbel California Champagne

Case study
Champagne cork shown in pneumatic grip with torque sensor
The Combi Cork Extraction Tester helped us to simplify measurements because it is easy to set up. This system provides consistent reproducible and safe measurements, without any risk of injury to the operator. Therefore, we can establish valuable opening torque specifications, which are currently used for quality control measurements and development of new products.

Dominique Rabiot, R&D manager
Oeneo Bouchage

Case study

Top-load crush test of plastic bottles

Silgan Plastics has utilised the Mecmesin tester in several of our plants over the last two years to monitor top-load. It brings a wealth of features at a very competitive price. We pride ourselves on being the forefront of container performance and capability and the 5-x top-load tester is a valued piece of our strategy.

Randy Blankenship, Quality Engineer
Silgan Plastics

Case study
Top-load plastic bottle test in factory by semi-automated process

Screw-cap torque test on PET bottles

"Mecmesin, through their Portuguese supplier Egitron, presented us with a good solution: reliable equipment and user-friendliness that was adequate for our needs. All our operators are capable of using this equipment because it is very simple to operate. I enjoy dealing with Egitron because they offer excellent technical support."

Miguel Carvalho, Quality Assurance Manager
Água de Luso

Case study
Mineral water PET bottle closure production line check
The MultiTest 0.5-i is a very good and reliable machine and the Emperor™ Software brings great advantages. It’s a very useful tool for these kinds of tests. It’s fully programmable and offers an in-depth analysis of results. It’s a precious tool for everybody involved, especially those who work with plastics and their mechanical performance.

Nikos Michopoulos, Quality Control
Eurofilm Mantzaris S.A.

Case study
Polythene packaging material specimen under test and specific film grips

After an Internet search, I happened upon Mecmesin, a British company who were able to provide several cost-effective solutions. We finally settled on the Tornado model, which we felt would provide us with consistency and ease of use, as well as being compact and portable.

We have been using it now for a few months and are very pleased with it and the level of service provided by the helpful Mecmesin staff.

Jane Green, Quality Assurance Manager
Brothers Drinks Co Ltd

Case study
Second torque peak reading indicates tamper bridge event
"Mecmesin were able to offer us a texture analyser test system, which met with our testing needs. The range of probes supplied have been extremely useful, as it enables more variations of test to be performed with just the one system. This has been very useful as our product has 3 different component ingredients, which can be individually analysed using their dedicated test cells provided."

Liberty Horner, Food Technologist
Vale of Mowbray

Case study
Pork pie texture testing by penetration with probe accessories
The Mecmesin MultiTest 1-x enables us to ensure the consistently high manufacturing quality of our PET bottles. The system conveniently allows us to perform top-load testing and confirm free height and integrates easily with our data collection system, increasing our analytical efficiency. I would have no hesitation in recommending this first rate instrument.

John Gilroy, Quality Manager
Esterform Packaging Ltd

Case study
MultiTest-dV compression tester and close-up of top-load crush test with a vented plate fixture
Mecmesin were extremely helpful when we were looking to purchase new test equipment, this included demonstrations. Our equipment is calibrated annually by Mecmesin and I find their after-sales service to be exceptional.

Darren Pell,
Par-pak Europe Ltd

Case study
Serrated 2-way plane grips firmly grasp tray and lid elements

Torque to twist out a champagne cork

As a responsible supplier, we are committed to ensuring safety within our products. The solution provided by Mecmesin means we can monitor the extraction force of our corks to guarantee our customers receive a consistent end product.

Frédéric Junge, Quality manager
Sibel (Oeneo)

Case study
Hand-held cork extraction tester and usage
 

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