Of course, as always, the competition refused to remain idle. But the confidence of the German cement industry in the reliability of HAVER packing machines prevailed – even with this considerable technical progress. In 1977, the first ROTO-PACKER with automatic applicators was installed at the Karlstadt plant of the Schwenk cement works group in Ulm. They met the expectations placed on them to everyone’s utmost satisfaction. Haver & Boecker benefited from the fact that the paper bag factory in Karlstadt, neighboring the cement plant, was immediately able to supply the bag reel preferred by Haver & Boecker as an empty bag magazine.
European bag manufacturers were initially reluctant to follow this new development. But it didn’t take long for them to recognize the advantage of this arrangement, combined with their own sales opportunities. While the bag reel was long regarded as the best magazine form, the bag bundle later proved its worth in practice as an empty bag magazine. But the first automatic applicator with “hinged arms” for each filling spout was not the end of the story. The new applicator soon became established under the name RADIMAT – which meant a simpler and more cost-effective solution compared to the first system and also had the great advantage of being able to be used with all competitor packing machines.
