Frozen Lardons at 208 Twin Packs Per Minute
14 September 2006
An Ishida weighing and distribution system has enabled Dutch meat processor Compaxo to produce twin packs of frozen lardons at very high speeds.
At Compaxo's processing facility near Gouda, the lardons are packed into twin trays for supply to supermarkets throughout the Netherlands. The company previously used two separate lines, each with other brand multihead weighers, to achieve this, but discussion with Ishida Europe BV raised the possibility of achieving a similar or higher rate of output on a single line. The prospective savings in time, space, labour costs and product giveaway were highly attractive.
The diced bacon is conveyed at a temperature of -10° to -14°C to the top of the Ishida weigher, a 20-head model with a four section discharge system. The new Ishida weigher can deliver up to 200 discharges of 250g per minute with great accuracy.
A special distribution system, custom-designed and built by Ishida, accumulates 16 weighments of 250g in individual timing hoppers, via servo-driven chutes. These are then released into an array of 16 thermoformed double packs, each weighment being divided mechanically in two as it falls into the double pack, to give a total of thirty-two125g packs. These are sealed by the thermoformer before being conveyed to metal detection and casepacking stations.
The speed of the Ishida is more than enough to match the thermoforming machine, which is capable of sealing 208 twin packs per minute.
The high weighing accuracy of each 250g double pack is ensured by the sophisticated electronics of the Ishida weigher, while the distribution of the 250g between each 125g twin pack was less critical to the customer.
The new line operates at +5°C which, given the speed at which packing takes place, is ample to avoid any risk of product thawing during the weighing and filling process.
"One of our key reasons for choosing Ishida was their well-known expertise in the area between the weigher and the tray. It was essential to get this right so that the thermoforming machine and the line as a whole could operate to their full potential," says Jan van der Post, a Director of Compaxo.
The Ishida multihead is considerably more accurate than the previously used weighers, and giveaway is averaging less than 0.5%.
"Overall," says Mr van der Post, "moving to a single line has been an excellent solution in terms of speed, yield and labour costs. We value both the equipment and the expertise provided by Ishida very highly."
