While zip/press, roll-down and other types of closures have emerged in recent years, many tried and true — or make that tied and true — closures are still in frequent and effective use in the bakery sector. Meanwhile, clips provide a solution with simplicity.

“People know how to use the tie, and it’s also very economical,” pointed out Beth Radloff, marketing specialist, Bedford Industries. That said, Bedford has continued to seek innovations in twist ties for bakery products; for instance, as sustainability has become more of an issue in packaging, the company’s biodegradable tie material attracts microorganisms that enable it to more quickly degrade in a landfill environment but not on a store shelf.

At Burford Corp., Mitch Lindsey, technical sales, said that improvements continue to be made in systems for twist ties, citing the company’s new EL54C Entry Level Twist Tyer System designed for small to mid-size bakeries looking to cut cost on labor, and speed up the packaging process. “We have also made upgrades to both our 2000 and 2200M series Servo Tyers by improving the brush design.  The new ‘tapered’ brush design help improve poor bag presentation,” he added.

On the clip front, Kwik Lok is using network connectivity to keep reliability high on its closure systems. The 893 Ultra has an Ethernet connection that enables remote monitoring and enables service technicians view error messages.

“The 893 is capable to match any conveyor speed,” said Hal Miller, vice-president of sales. “It will close bags faster than bread baggers can deliver the bagged product. It has a proven reliability history with improve safety features.”