Product category:
Weighing systems, Strain gauges
News Release from: Marco | Subject: ProRange LineMaster
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial
Team on 25 September 2006
Accurate fruit packing and handling
system proven
The impressive Marco growth in the supply of MES factory efficiency systems for packing soft fruit is endorsed by the success of their latest solution for leading soft fruit experts Winterwood Farms
The impressive growth of Marco Weighing in the supply of MES factory floor efficiency systems for packing soft fruit has been further endorsed by the success of their prestigious packing and handling solution for leading soft fruit experts Winterwood Farms At the heart of the complete weighing and material handling system at the Winterwood new packhouse near Maidstone are 28 of the Marco bespoke twin operator ProRange LineMaster portion control workstations
This article was originally published on Processingtalk on 1 Jul 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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Winterwood Farm has been growing soft fruit in the 'Garden of England' since 1978, and now specialises not only in the growing, but also in the procurement and supply of soft fruits to UK supermarkets.
Their MD and owner Stephen Taylor is only all too aware that accurate and fast portion control is vital in these fast moving, yet predominantly manual, packing environments, and as he outlines: "Although speed is of the essence, individual fruits have a significant value.
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Leading fruit packer benefits from Marco Packhouse
A comprehensive Trac-IT MES Packhouse Solution is bringing significant benefits to a dedicated packhouse in the Richard Hochfeld fruit packing, grading and storage facility in Faversham, Kent
We need to achieve the balance between packing quickly on the one hand, and giving the least amount of fruit away on the other.
We also need, at all times, to consistently meet the packers' code for 'e' weighing, whilst minimising giveaway.
Minimum handling of the fruit is also critical".
Although Winterwood supplies all types of soft fruits, their all year round supply of Blueberries accounts for a major part of the business and makes the company the UK's largest independent supplier of this humble and nutritious berry.
Various soft fruits are sourced from 13 UK growers stretching from the South of England to Scotland, and 16 more growers world-wide in ten different countries to provide the continuity of supply required for an AYR business.
The company is run as a "family business" which values the integrity and loyalty of not only its suppliers and customers, but also its staff.
Central to the efficiency of the packhouse and farm is the development of an integrated business, which enables seamless inter-changeability of staff between packhouse and field.
This enables the packhouse to quickly respond to changed or late orders, and the farm to respond to sudden changes in either the weather or different levels of orders for the different fruits being harvested.
Marco MD Murray Hilborne is proud of his company's achievements in soft fruit packing and as he explains: "We take great pride in our installations and can draw a parallel from the phrase - 'That will do', won't do.
For me it's the best or nothing! - coined by automobile entrepreneur Gottlieb Daimler.
Unlike most of our competitors, who try to work around and adapt their standard products, our solutions are designed and built to meet the specific requirements of each and every customer.
Attention to detail is focused on ensuring optimum ease of use, operator comfort, durability and 'cleanability' in line with the latest IFPA (International Fresh-cut Produce Association) recommendations for hygiene in modern food processing plants.
We appreciate and understand that standing at a packing bench can be both tiring and, at times, monotonous.
To address these issues, our stainless steel workstations are designed to minimise any bending, stretching, lifting or twisting.
The packing stations have adjustable bench heights and the scales are flush with the packing table work surfaces.
Flexibility and mobility for the equipment is also vital, allowing our customers to meet changing production needs." The LineMaster stations, which communicate with the central PC via a secure RF wireless interface, are fully mobile and the frames have lockable castors.
This removes problems associated with external cabling and allows for rapid line changes if required.
The LineMaster scales feature the innovative Marco Automatic Optimisation (AO) software as part of the Trac-IT MES operating suite and have been specifically developed for high speed manual packing and portion control.
As they pass down the conveyors, the pre-packed punnets are placed one by one on the scales.
The simple, yet highly effective, LineMaster 16 segment coloured bar graph immediately gives a clear indication of whether the pack is over, under or within weight tolerance.
The operators now add or remove fruits to achieve the correct target weight.
To facilitate operation, the packing stations are equipped with two separate bar graphs, one at eye level on the LineMaster control terminal, the other working in parallel, but built into the work surface next to the scale.
The operators soon 'tune in' to such systems and simply pack to the 'green light' without having to think about the actual weights.
To maximise the use of real time data capture, Marco have pioneered their Automatic Optimisation (AO) Process within the food industry.
Pack weight trends are continually monitored by the system and tolerance settings at individual workstations are automatically adjusted on an on-going basis.
These continual subtle changes are transparent to the operators: the end result is minimal giveaway and compliance with average weight legislation.
Stephen Taylor is very pleased with the installation and as he concludes: "We operate in a very competitive market that still relies on a high level of manual packing and the Marco system is already bringing important cost and quality benefits to our operation.
Marco engineers have worked closely with our personnel throughout the project to ensure a fully integrated system.
They have listened to our input and designed the system around our specific requirements - without compromise.
We have seen an increase in our packing speed and thanks to the software control, the overall giveaway has dropped to next to zero.
Each and every weighing is recorded by the Trac-IT LM system, and our supervisors can see a number of key performance indicators (KPIs) at a glance, including individual operator performance, which helps to drive training needs.".
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