Product category:
Food and drink manufacturing: packaging and bottling equipment
News Release from: Marco | Subject: LineMaster 'takeaway' scales, Trac-IT software
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 19 January 2004
Advanced weighing system solves salads
problem
19 specialist 'takeaway' scales, all connected via RF links to a central Editor PC running IT management software have solved the problem of accurately packaging salad ingredients.
Specialist weighing equipment, installed by Marco Weighing Systems, is playing a vital role in the production of salads at Yorkshire Fresh Salads near Selby Yorkshire Fresh Salads, owned by the well-known Geest Company plc, is one of 30 Geest businesses involved in the preparation and marketing of freshly prepared foods
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 22 Dec 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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Ask people what they associate with the name Geest and probably most will say bananas.
In fact the first Geest company was founded in the UK in 1935 to develop the sale of flowering bulbs.
It became involved with fresh foods in the 1940s and established a world wide reputation as a major importer of bananas from the Windward Islands - building a thriving domestic and export business which it eventually sold in1996.
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Marco has been endorsed by the success of its packing and handling solution for leading soft fruit experts Winterwood Farms.
Weighing portion control system
A second six station LineMaster portion control system supplied by Marco Weighing Systems is bringing cost savings and improved productivity to leading prepared vegetable supplier Exotic Farm Produce.
Diversification into the production of convenience salads in 1972 was a major milestone in the company's history and since its flotation in 1986; Geest's fresh prepared foods and produce business has grown significantly through a mixture of acquisitions and organic growth.
The company's strategy is based around building strong partnerships with major retailers to understand not only their needs but also, more importantly, the needs of their consumers.
This sound approach has seen the company turnover grow to almost GBP 800 million.
Established in 1999, Yorkshire Fresh Salads now employs over 100 people and is one of nine Geest plants involved with the production of salads.
The site at Selby specialises in the preparation and packing of salads and produces several million packs per annum for the Asda supermarket chain.
Finished weights of the different salad varieties vary from 140 to 290g.
Pre-packed foods are usually sold by fixed weight portions and given the throughput, ensuring consistent target weights in these manual operations is a challenging task.
Not only must packs meet the average weight legislation but also the component consistency must pass the strict scrutiny of the supermarkets and food retailers.
Although modern manufacturing techniques and automation are bringing sweeping changes to many industries, the diverse shapes, sizes and textures of salad products dictate that their assembly is still a predominantly manual operation.
To ensure portions meet strict weight tolerances, it is common practice to go over target weight.
However, the cost of this additional product or 'give-away' has a direct effect on manufacturers' profitability and any system that can minimise this is of significant importance.
Yorkshire Salads already had good experience with Marco products and had been producing salads using the weigh up principle.
However rapidly expanding requirements for Yorkshire's products saw them turn to Marco for an upgraded system.
Marco have developed their 'ProRange' unique family of weighing products, against the backdrop of looking at the bigger picture.
They realised at an early stage in their development that weighing is only one key element of any process.
Use of data, ease of operator use, system integration and traceability are all fundamental parts of any successful manufacturing operation.
As Marco's technical director, Murray Hilborne explains:" We find that our clients are used to a more traditional approach to weighing.
Our systems allow customers to integrate their production with their management system and keep a watchful eye on the trends within the process.
By providing useful real time data our products are a simple, yet effective, blend of functionality and connectivity." At the heart of Marco's solution at Selby are 19 of their LineMaster 'takeaway' scales, all connected via RF links to a central Editor PC running Marco's inspirational Trac-IT management software.
Takeaway weighing technology is well established in such manufacturing operations.
Rather than achieve target weights by adding product to the tray placed on a scale, product is weighed out from larger containers and the loss in weight recorded.
This gives a much faster process and provides greater control on the consistency and final weight.
The LineMasters have been developed specifically for portion control in the food industry Based around standard modules, each solution is customised to meet specific customer requirements.
The frames supplied to Selby incorporate a high precision 20kg capacity scale, support cradle for the tray of produce being weighed and storage racks for two more trays.
The LineMaster has unique features that set it apart from competitive products.
The data from each and every weighment is automatically recorded and sent to the central PC via the wireless link.
Each scale has a unique identity and supervisors can easily monitor the efficiency of each operator.
The RF link provides a secure connection between the scales and the PC, removing the problems of fragile cables and connectors, which are easily damaged in harsh working environments.
LineMaster incorporates the latest generation electronics offering unrivalled speed in data capture of the chosen portion weights.
The units are made entirely from polished stainless and are designed to cope with the rigours of stringent wash down routines.
The supervisor can select the particular salad to be produced via the 'Editor' PC together with the correct tolerances applied to the works order codes and then transmit these to the individual workstations.
The LineMaster displays give the operators clear information relating to the particular run and high contrast, coloured, multi-section, bar graphs changing from red through amber to a green acceptance zone indicate whether the correct amount of product has been accepted.
The salads are made up with a mixture of weighed and counted produce components.
Products such as the salad leaves, cheese and bacon are added by weight but tomatoes and cucumber are added in discreet quantities.
If these products vary in weight then the overall portion weights will vary.
The Marco system has a unique way of monitoring the overall pack weights and then automatically adjusting the target weights of the weighed produce within acceptable tolerances to maintain a consistent weight.
Yorkshire Salads' production manager, Steve Wood, is delighted with the new system.
"We had already built up a good relationship with Marco and the new system gives us a number of important benefits.
We have an increased level of confidence in our production and we can now keep track on the efficiency of the lines, together with having traceability of raw material usage.
The scales have been designed to meet our specific requirements from both ergonomic and production standpoints, Marco's attention to detail has been remarkable.
For me one of the key benefits, apart from the operational improvements, is the ease with which we can clean the scales.
We hose down the scales at least four times a day and the design ensures this can be done quickly and without any problems.".
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