Within any business, finding a like-minded supplier can be a recipe for success and in the case of Ridgeview Wines, the UK-based family-run wine producers, investing in an Endoline system solution has achieved exactly this. By automating a previously labour intensive operation Endoline has increased the efficiency and productivity on a production line which has an annual volume output of a quarter of a million bottles, while reducing the need for manual labour.

Stockists to several leading British and international retailers, including Waitrose and M&S, Ridgeview Wines produce their award winning English Sparkling Wine at their 100 acre Sussex vineyard. However, manually forming packing and sealing cases was an inefficient process.

“We needed to increase our production and utilising skilled winemaking staff to perform this task is not only a waste of resource but it adds no value to the product so we decided to automate this process,” explains Tamara Roberts, General Manager of Ridgeview Wines.

Endoline’s Solution

Previously operators would form the wine case manually, staple the bottom, and load the wine bottles into it – a laborious task which required numerous members of staff being drafted in if a large order needed to be packed. Endoline’s solution to this challenge was to install a bespoke case former, engineered on an incline specifically to enable efficient packing of bottles.

The case former folds the lower flaps and securely holds the open case to allow packing to take place with both hands. The filled boxes are then pushed by the operator onto an Endoline conveyor system which has been integrated with a labeller and sealed by an Endoline case sealer which simultaneously tapes both the bottom and the top of the box before being pushed through to a second feed table ready for palletising.

More Efficient Production

“Endoline’s machinery has simplified a previously complex and labour intensive task. Our team have found the line extremely easy to use and fewer people are needed to operate the line resulting in a more efficient production,” comments Tamara Roberts. “We have made significant savings in productivity, giving us more time to focus on the areas which add value and ensure the quality of our products.”

Line output has increased enabling Ridgeview to prepare orders more effectively and be more responsive to customer requirements. However it was not only Endoline’s ability to create an automated system which attracted Ridgeview to their solution – but also for the like-minded nature of Endoline’s family business.

Family Businesses

“There are six members of our family running Ridgeview and Endoline has a similar set up with five members of the Yates’ family working in the company. We also share a similar ethos in the fact that we pride ourselves on manufacturing UK produce – from within the UK. Couple this with the solution they provided to automate our line and Endoline were the clear favourite,” she says.

For further information on any of Endoline’s extensive range of machines, contact Endoline on Tel + 44 (0) 1767 316422, Fax 01767 318033, email sales@endoline.co.uk or visit www.endoline.co.uk.

Companies in the food processing and production industry thatstruggle with tough and re-occurring problems can increase productivity, and save time and money, by utilising root cause analysis (RCA) techniques taught by training company Sologic in collaboration with The Red Cat Partnership.

RCA is a modern method of problem solving which enables users to methodically and systematically identify root causes of faults and problems, rather than justhow to fix them.   By learning the proven technique, productivity can be increased, and time and money saved.

Jonathan Batchelor from Sologic comments, “The Sologic state-of-the-art RCA method has been delivered to thousands of delegates and is proven to achieve real results.  We are delighted to have teamed up with the premier health and safety consultancy, The Red Cat Partnership, to help spread the word that course is now available to the food processing and production industry throughout theUK.

“Managers who have been trained to use RCA go on to save their organisation an average of £25,000.  While this is very impressive, learning how to report problems and obtain solutions is justas important.”

Sarah Daniels from The Red Cat Partnership based inNorwichsaid, “I am very passionate about the programme and am pleased that all companies now have the chance to be educated in this advanced problem-solving technique.

“By looking at how an incident occurred, and investigating root causes, you canstop it happening again.  Once learned, your mind will look at things differently.”

RCA has been used in a multitude of industries including oil and gas; food processing and production; manufacturing, road haulage and aviation.

Sologic are offering bespoke courses for individual companies’ own personnel delivered in their offices, as well as two day RCA AnalystLevel 1 courses throughout theUK.

For more details, go to: www.rootcauseanalysistraining.co.uk email europe@sologic.com or call 01252 723816.

Robotic packaging line manufacturer, TekPak, has recently launched an innovative pick and place case packer which is described as a flexible high speed system for vertical case packing quad bags, pouches and doy packs.

The all stainless steel robot, which uses a Elau/Schneider control system, represents the latest development from the company and has widespread applications, particularly for manufacturers of snack packs and bags, confectionery and coffee.

Key features of the system include a unique product transfer system that collates the products beneath the gripper, so that the pick and place can handle a complete case formation, i.e. groups of 10 products at a time, increasing throughput on the line. The gripper head and unique case opening system has been specially designed for vertical case packing in to display cases and other shelf ready formats.

The robot can pack bags straight from the bagger to maintain a continuous packing process.

Tekpak’s Business Development Director, Imelda Kehoe says: “Automating the off-line/WIP (work in progress) operation is a major benefit for our customers because it reduces product lead time and can have a big impact on line efficiency.”

See Tekpak’s case packing system in action at http://bit.ly/XJ3Yup.

An automated packing line, installed by Endoline Machinery, which erects and seals cases containing up to 26,000 bottles of wine per day, has enabled Europa Worldwide Logistics to meet its growing next-day delivery targets for its customer, a leading dot.com wine supplier. Plus it has improved pack presentation, significantly increased the throughput of boxes and enhanced the overall efficiency of the production line.

For one of the fastest growing online wine retailers, Europa Worldwide Logistics (based in Northampton) packs and delivers cases of wine within a tight 24 hour delivery timeframe to consumers across the UK. The original packing operation was a labour intensive process with manual workers erecting, filling and sealing the boxes themselves as Graham Dezelsky, Logistics Manager at Europa House, explains: “With the increase in demand coming from our customer’s website for wine deliveries, we required a packing operation which would be efficient in both speed to meet the increase in growth and also consistency to achieve quality pack presentation. Our original manual packing operation was labour intensive which often resulted in inconsistent pack quality due to human error.”

As a leading provider of end of line equipment Endoline was contacted by Europa to explore automation options. Endoline’s solution was to install a 221 case erector, which had the ability to erect up to 16 cases per minute – a conveyor system was installed to feed the formed boxes through to the manual picking line – at the end of the conveyor system Endoline has integrated an FPT case sealer which automatically closes the top case flaps and seals the filled wine boxes ready for delivery.

The new semi-automated production line installed by Endoline has the added capability of erecting a range of case sizes, from 6 bottles to 12 and 15 bottle cases, dependant on the customer demand. A simple changeover process allows Europa to easily change the size setting, enabling them to run a different line of boxes through the production line.

“Endoline’s solution has enabled us to achieve all of our original objectives. We have made considerable savings in labour costs during our peak seasons as the process of erecting the boxes has been automated. Presentation to the end user has been greatly improved now that cases are consistently sealed with standard lengths of tape and finally the increase in output has enabled us to keep up with the demand from our customer,” concludes Graham Dezelsky.

For further information contact Endoline on Tel + 44 (0)1767 316422 or visit www.endoline.co.uk.

CAPTION:

The FPT case sealer which automatically closes the top case flaps and seals the filled wine boxes ready for delivery.

Continuing increases in demand, along with the obvious need to remain competitive, led Birtwistle Catering Butchers, a fourth generation family business that was purchased 12 months ago by Steve Woollands, to make the monumental decision in early 2012 to switch from cutting by hand to automatic portioning of their quality meat products. 

An extensive search for the right machine led Operations Director, Glenn Eastwood to Marel UK, whose I-Cut 36 Portioner seemed to comprehensively fulfill Birtwistle’s requirements and specification. 

Extensive trials took place prior to purchase. These soon revealed the machine’s impressive ability to operate with minimal supervision and at a rate that greatly increased production output. The machine has more than met expectations. It operates day and night and has substantially increased production and, of course, better deployed and greatly reduced the cost of labour.

“Before the I-Cut arrived on the scene we had seven employees cutting the meat by hand, but now just two operate the machine. And not only has the installation of the machine meant a release of manpower to be used elsewhere, we have also been able to increase the volume of processed products”, Glenn Eastwood explains.

“The machine’s ability and flexibility makes it perfect for our operation. Our orders can quickly change and the I-Cut makes it is easy for us to quickly modify production plans thanks to its easy programming. Furthermore the I-Cut is capable of cutting not just beef steaks, but most of our products like pork belly, pork neck or gammon”, Glenn Eastwood continues.

“A true portion cutter”

The I-Cut 36 is a true portion cutter, with a capacity that enables high throughput for virtually any size of business especially those who may believe that automation is too large an investment.

But as Glenn Eastwood points out, “This is not just a “steak machine” and you don’t need a large pub contract to have the volume to run with this portion cutter. We benefit greatly from the machine’s flexibility, which is a great advantage when responding to changes in orders as often as we do. It significantly enhances our ability to fulfill the company strategy of being completely flexible and capable of reacting immediately to customer’s daily needs as part of our total service vision. Operating it is not something that requires weeks and weeks of training. Our first operator was quickly trained by Marel to handle the machine, and even when we had to switch operators we were up and running after just one day of training. This is thanks to both the easy handling of the machine and the great service we have received from Marel. The overall experience we have had with Marel has been phenomenal”.

Idhammar Systems, leading provider of lean manufacturing and maintenance software including CMMS and OEE systems announced the launch of their lean manufacturing and maintenance blog today [5^h November 2012, UK] which aims to  provide relevant and engaging content that explores the benefits of adopting lean practices and software to uncover areas of waste and inefficiency.

Drawn from their vast industry experience and expertise in manufacturing effectiveness software, the blog will use real–life examples of how their software has helped manufacturers to harness complete control and visibility of their operations as well as highlighting the many uses and benefits of lean tools that drive continuous improvement.

The blog will also serve as a useful communication tool to continually update and inform existing and potential customers of the benefits of lean manufacturing and maintenance operations, and as a means to address and discuss developments and news within the industry as they occur.

Idhammars’ Managing Director of Operations, John Roberts comments:

 “We want the blog to be a place where those in the manufacturing and lean environment can share their opinions, ideas and experience as well as a complete resource for those looking to buy manufacturing efficiency software. We welcome and encourage outside bloggers to contribute to the conversation”

If you would like to write a guest blog post for us please email us at: info@idhammarsystems.com

Be sure to include the following information: Your first and last name, a link to your work or attach some samples, a link to your website or blog (if you have one) and your contact information. After reviewing your work you will be notified as to whether or not we will be using you as a guest blogger.

Idhammar stands at the forefront of efficiency systems, enhancing productivity with fewer resources and less waste through its OEE and CMMS software, delivering operational excellence in all manufacturing processes.

Visit the Idhammar blog:

http://blog.idhammarsystems.com/

When Gerhard Schubert presented his first hot-melt box erecting and gluing machine to the public 46 years ago, his sons Gerald and Ralf were only two and five years old, respectively. It was the beginning of a success story in many ways.

That box erecting and gluing machine was followed by a series of technical highlights including the world’s first packaging robot, Schubert’s own packaging machine control unit, the first F44 picker line and the TLM – the world’s first top-loading packaging machine installed on an assembly line. This trend has continued up to the TLM transmodule, the world’s first transport robot.

Even today, Gerhard Schubert remains a tireless and imperturbably independent pioneer. These characteristics of its founder have made Gerhard Schubert GmbH the recognised global market leader in its field. Those humble beginnings have resulted in a group of companies with more than 900 employees worldwide.

But Gerhard Schubert can be particularly proud of another achievement. His sons have been active within the company for more than 20 years. Gerhard Schubert has now appointed them Chief Executive Officers.

Gerald Schubert (48) is a father of two children with a degree in mechanical engineering. He headed up the Schubert subsidiary IPS (International Packaging Systems) before assuming the role of Schubert Sales Division Manager. Ralf Schubert (51), a father of three children, graduated in computer sciences and leads the Technical Office and Assembly Division.

This proven management team is completed by Peter Gabriel (Dipl. oec. univ.) as Commercial Director and Peter Schneider (Dipl.-Ing./FH) as the head of the Materials Management Division. Gerhard Schubert will retain his overall management role and continue to devote himself to the Marketing Department.

CAPTION:

Gerhard Schubert with his two sons, Ralf Schubert (left) and Gerald Schubert (right).

16 Marel OCM9500 Box Labellers deliver consistent weighing accuracy at higher speeds than manual labelling and reduce manning levels on the line.

Adams Foods, founded in 1922, is the UK’s leading supplier of retail pre-packed cheese and butter famously branded as Kerrygold, Pilgrims Choice, Horlicks Farms and MU. Their two highly efficient processing plants stock the shelves of every major UK food retailer and keep the wholesale, convenience and food service sector supplied with first class product.

The company also produces custom made and ready for market products in branded and private label sectors and exports its British speciality cheeses to more than 50 countries.

In 2008 Adams Foods invested £30 million in state-of-the-art processing plant at their Leek, Staffordshire, cheese packing facility. In 2010 Kerrygold and N. Downs Dairy merged to form Adams Foods who, as a subsidiary of the Irish Dairy Board, employ more than 730 people.

 David Shepherd, Engineering Projects Manager of some 21 years at Adams, has seen many changes in production, the most notable being increases in line speeds combined with ever higher efficiencies and the switch from random to fixed weight packaging.

Obviously, automation plays a vital role in achieving and maintaining all that – all the way to the end of the line – where product has to be accurately and reliably boxed, weighed and labelled ready for despatch.

Consistent weighing accuracy – higher speeds

David was well aware of Delford’s sound reputation in end of line labelling and, as a result of extensive research Adams decided to invest in Marel’s OCM9500 fully automatic box/crate labeller. The OCM9500 delivers consistent weighing accuracy at higher speeds than manual labelling and reduces manning levels on the line.

In 2011 and early 2012 Adams Foods installed no fewer than 16 Marel OCM9500s, all of which run on multiple shifts and, according to David, operate reliably while achieving the paybacks he expected.

The OCM9500s are linked to Marel’s Innova production software which produces a variety of operational reports such as throughputs and giveaway. Another major benefit is that labels are configured remotely in the offices and then downloaded to the OCM9500s on the factory floor.

Thanks to an ergonomically designed touch screen and drag and drop facility, the operators find the OCM9500 a very easy machine to work with.

OCM9500 Box/Crate Labeller

Marel’s OCM9500 automatic box/crate labeller will handle 600mm x 400mm eurocrates and boxes at speeds up to 35 pieces per minute.

It is also capable of weighing and labelling heavy and irregularly shaped retail products.

OIML approval for up to 40kg for accuracy classes X III (1) and Y (a) means that OCM9500 can be used as a weigh price labeller and/or as a checkweigher.

 About Marel

Marel is the leading global provider of advanced equipment, systems and services to the fish, meat and poultry industries. With offices and subsidiaries in more than 30 countries and a global network of more than 100 agents and distributors, we work side-by-side with our customers to extend the boundaries of food processing performance.

Advance with Marel for all your processing needs.

Ishida Europe has developed a versatile mix-weighing solution for Benelux frozen snacks market leader Ad van Geloven for the introduction of a new product range in the important savoury snacks market.

In many European countries, frozen snacks that can be heated in minutes in an oven, frying pan or air-fryer are very popular as appetisers and for meeting unexpected demand from family or guests. Ad van Geloven has now introduced ‘Funmix’ under its well-known Mora brand, a range of mixed snacks that offer consumers the added value of variety within a single pack.

The product is packed in an attractive stand-up bag to create maximum impact in glass-fronted freezer cabinets. For consumer convenience, the bag is also resealable. In order to ensure that every pack contains the same number of each variety – the 426g bag, for example, features six pieces of four different products – the company selected an Ishida multihead weigher in a four mix version.

At the same time, as well as delivering the new Mora mixture range into two different types of bag, the weigher also needed to be able to handle single products at high speed and have the facility to weigh mixtures of the company’s other brands into windowed boxes.

The Ishida solution adopted at Ad van Geloven’s Tilburg factory is based around the company’s 20-head advanced R Series weigher. In addition to the weigher, the work carried out or supervised by Ishida included gantry construction, conveyors and a feed system to deliver product from the existing flow freezer.

In its mix-weighing set up, each section of the machine acts as an individual weigher, allowing the different items in the mix to be given a specific target weight to ensure that the final product contains exactly the right proportion.

The new line also meets every demand in terms of versatility. In order to change pack formats, for example, operators roll the bagmaker forward about a metre, enabling the weigher to fill the windowed boxes instead of bags.

Fast cleaning of the feeding and weighing equipment requires washdown with water. The installation was therefore designed so that the junctions between the upper levels and the bagmaker can be sealed off with watertight covers.

Ishida collaborated closely with the bagmaker manufacturer and other suppliers in order to ensure that the entire line was up and running within two weeks.

“All parties worked during the summer holiday period in order to ensure that our production was not disrupted,” explains Albert van der Vliet, head of technical services.

“We saw a market opportunity and both the equipment and the service from Ishida helped us to exploit it,” he concludes.

Sensing solutions specialist SICK UK is hitting the road with a series of its popular Technology Days to bring expert advice in Machine Vision, Auto Ident and Measurement to the production doorstep

The free ‘drop-in’ workshops are specially-designed to enable quality and production engineers to take a short time out of a busy day to gain valuable insights that could help them optimise their processes, improve quality and save costs.

Delegates are invited to bring along sample parts and discuss their specific applications with Sick UK’s product specialists at any time between 7am and 3pm and enjoy a breakfast or light lunch.

Centrally located at venues in Gateshead, Wrexham and Slough during September, the workshops will also showcase the latest technologies for vision inspection, barcode readers and scanners and non-contact distance measurement devices.

Sick UK’s machine vision specialists will focus on when to use 2D and 3D Vision Sensors and when it is advisable to source an integrated vision solution. The team will also give regular demonstrations of Sick vision sensors and solutions.

Sick’s Auto Ident specialists will be on hand to demonstrate 1D and 2D Code Readers and to help delegates optimise their read rates. Advice will be given on when Code Readers or Machine Vision are the most appropriate solution.

Meanwhile, the Sick measurement team will advise on using non-contact devices for quality control applications in a range of production applications. They will demonstrate the latest Sick sensing solutions for reliable object detection regardless of colour and advise on when to use lasers or barcodes for anti-collision or position applications.

The UK’s leading people management standard, Investors in People specialises in transforming business performance through people. The Gold standard is awarded to truly cutting-edge organisations, operating at the highest level of people management practice.

A rigorous four day assessment was undertaken which included interviews with many of SolutionsPT’s employees. Performance was reviewed against 196 evidence requirements and SolutionsPT met all of them, achieving, the best possible outcome.

SolutionsPT joins an elite group of 156 organisations who have been awarded the Gold standard in the North West of England and less than 600 nationally. Within the report, Joanne Hamilton, Investor in People Assessor noted, “People at all levels are effectively engaged in decision making and identifying ways in which the organisation can continuously improve what it does in order to meet customer needs, deliver excellent levels of customer service and therefore continue to grow the business”.

“We are absolutely delighted to have achieved this,” said Louise Potts, People and Culture Manager at SolutionsPT “Our people are at the heart of our business and we strive to create an environment where everyone feels integral to the success of the organisation and encouraged to reach their full potential.  This acknowledgement of our hard work is a real achievement and one we will endeavour to maintain.”

“The fact that the Gold standard is awarded to less than three per cent of Investors in People’s member organisations nationally shows it isn’t given out lightly,” explained Phil Gillard, SolutionsPT’s General Manager. “We will continue to uphold and improve our standards and our commitment to our 70 staff,” he noted.

The report also noted that, “The senior team as well as a number of other managers are considered by other employees to be inspiring in terms of their approach to leading, managing and developing the workforce. High levels of respect and trust are in place”. The Investor in People accolade adds to the company’s other prestigious award received this year; a listing in the Sunday Times “Best 100 Small Companies to Work”.

SolutionsPT has over 27 years’ experience in providing the UK and Irish manufacturing and industrial sectors with software, hardware and project delivery services working with customers including PepsiCo, BP and Thames Water.

Egemin has signed a contract with La Costena, a Mexican producer of canned foods. Egemin is to install a new AGV system in the La Costena warehouse close to Mexico City. Seven laser-guided AGVs will transport pallets of chillies between the packing lines and the distribution area.

The new system will be installed without interrupting production on the existing system and will increase supply and dispatch capacity by up to 15%. The contract is valued at approximately Eur1 million. The installation is scheduled to start in March 2013 and will take approximately two weeks.

“It was our guarantee that the move from the old to the new system would not disrupt normal operation that won us the contract,” says Yves Gazin, global strategic solutions manager at Egemin. “Our plans ensure that everything can be done at once while production continues on the old system.”

The new system consists of seven laser-guided Load Transfer Vehicles (LTVs), each equipped with two roller conveyors at top and bottom. The top roller conveyors transport full pallets containing packed cans to the distribution area. The bottom roller conveyors carry empty pallets from the distribution area to the packing lines. This gives La Costena up to 15% more transport capacity using the same equipment. The existing routes can be optimised at any time and La Costena can also add new routes, allowing the AGVs to be used more flexibly.

One of Egemin’s specialisms is supplying the food sector. La Costena is the biggest producer of red peppers and tomato puree in Mexico. For further information visit www.egemin.com.

New to the Marel range, the WPL9010 Manual Weigh Price Labeller is ideal for low volume labelling of individual packs, product development or products unsuited to automatic labelling.

With automatic stability sensing, overload protection, easy label editing and choice of operational modes, the WPL9010  brings the technical benefits of an automatic system to manual labelling. It uses the same operator friendly HMI as automatic WPL9000 Series models and requires no additional training for existing users.

Short production runs can be handled with ease, thanks to quick label changeover and various operational modes enable catchweight or average weight labelling.

In the inclusive/exclusive mode, maximum and minimum weight limits are set to give the user the choice of either labelling only packs that fall within these limits or labelling only packs that fall outside the limits.

In tte combined catchweight/average weight mode, packs falling within the preset limit can be labelled as average weight with those outside the limits being labelled as catchweight.

The WPL9010 machine is available in three platform sizes and weighing ranges up to 30kg in increments as small as 1g.

 Key Features and Benefits

• User friendly on-screen programming (WYSIWYG) for fast set-up

• Various operational modes for increased flexibility

• Easy to use label design programme (Comformat editor)

• Automatic zeroing when the weigh platform is empty gives increased accuracy

• Automatic stability sensing for accurate weighing

• Ethernet networking capability and compatibility with Innova

• Also available without a printer for use as a Checkweigher

• Throughput speeds up to 20/min (operator dependant)

• Robust stainless steel construction

 About Marel
Marel is the leading global provider of advanced standalone equipment, integrated processing systems and software solutions to the fish, meat and poultry industries.

With a heritage stretching back over eight decades to the early 1930s, our brands – Marel, Stork Poultry Processing and Townsend Further Processing – are among the most respected in the industry, and together we offer the convenience of a single source to meet our customers’ every need.

With offices and subsidiaries in over 30 countries on six continents, manufacturing facilities in 17 locations worldwide, a global network of over 100 agents and distributors, and an annual investment of 5-7% of income in research and development – a figure far above the industry average – Marel works side-by-side with its customers to continually challenge, extend and re-define the boundaries of food processing performance.

From the outset, Marel has aimed to enable processors to maximise product yields, quality and throughput, while cutting processing time significantly, and has achieved this by bringing increased automation and efficiency to global food processing through the application of cutting-edge electronic, engineering and software technology.

Marel is headquartered in Iceland, and has a total workforce of some 3,500 employees worldwide. Drawn from a wide range of professions and disciplines, the company’s employees include over 400 highly qualified scientists and technicians in the fields of engineering and technology. Marel currently holds a portfolio of some 200 granted patents, a figure that continues to grow each year.

For more information about Marel WPL9010, please contact:

Tony Ambrose or Terry Starkey

Marel UK

Pinetrees Road

Norwich,

Norfolk NR7 9BB

Tel:  01603 700755, Fax: 01603 700844

e-mails:

tony.ambrose@marel.com

terry.starkey@marel.com

London – That automation can protect, rather than destroy, jobs by improving the productivity, competitiveness and skills base of UK manufacturing, was the recurring theme of Gambica’s recent Automated Britain conference in London.

The point was well illustrated by Bob Spooner of Premier Foods, who described how the company had taken a strategic decision about three years ago to invest in its UK operations, rather than import food from eastern Europe and Asia.

Around 95% of what Premier Foods sells is made in the UK, from where it also sources 75% of its raw materials. Instead of switching to imports, the company spent over £100-million refurbishing its UK manufacturing base to make it fit-for-purpose and to reduce labour costs, which were as high as 35% on some brands.

The most labour-intensive items included its ‘Mr Kipling’ cakes, which had required a lot of hand finishing and manual interventions. This led to a £9-million investment to install robotics from Schubert at three plants, with the lion’s share going to its facility in Stoke.

Spooner went on to highlight the training effort in advance of the robotics installation, including sending a team of about 18 people from Stoke out to Schubert’s factory in Germany to prepare for the commissioning of the plant.

“We did that weeks and weeks before that automation equipment came anywhere near our factory,” he said. “By doing that when it did arrive they had relationships with the engineers and understood the plant and what was expected of them.”

Since start-up, the automation has helped Premier to grow the market-share of Mr Kipling, particularly by enabling it to move from large individual cakes to single-portion products.

The higher sales, alongside a 30% drop in labour cost and a significant rise in OEE – up to 87% within six weeks of start-up – had clearly justified the investment, concluded Spooner.

The world’s first commercial robotic milking rotary has been unveiled by Swedish dairy equipment company DeLaval at a pilot farm at Quamby Brook, Tasmania, Australia.

DeLaval manufactured the robotic rotary dairy, called the Automatic Milking Rotary (AMR), and has installed the system at the farm, owned and operated by the Dornauf family.

The technology has been developed by the FutureDairy project in Australia, a collaboration between DeLaval, Dairy Australia, NSW Department of Primary Industries and the University of Sydney.

Featuring five robots, the rotary has a capacity to milk up to 90 cows per hour, and is based on 24-unit internal, herringbone rotary that enables the robots to reach the cow from the side.

With the use of laser technology, the robots focus red light to determine the location of the cow’s teats, clean them and attach the cups.

The first two robots clean and prepare the teats for milking, the second two attach the cups to the teats, and the last robot sprays the teats to disinfect them before the cows leave the platform.

Design of the dairy yard plays an important role in the AMR’s operation – the yards have a series of smaller yards, divided by automatic gates known as smart selection gates (SSGs), which can guide cows in two or three different paths after the milking.

The cows wear automatic identification collars or transponders, and when the cows approach the SSG, the system reads the transponder and guides the cow in the direction set in the DELPRO herd management software.

The AMR’s integration with the DELPRO software enables users to manage the cows individually and record the milk production data.

Autotech Controls Ltd has purchased Igranic Control Systems Ltd and PSJ Fabrications Ltd to form Automated Technology Group (ATG) Ltd, the largest automation control company in the country.

The acquisition brings together expertise and experience in diverse market sectors to form a group with a combined turnover of around £30 million. Commented Andy Robinson, Managing Director of Autotech and CEO of the new group, “This deal opens new markets for each of the three group companies, offering the potential for greater success through co-operation to increase market share and secure economies of scale.”

Serving major brands
The client base of the newly formed ATG is impressive. Designing and implementing controls for automated production and logistics systems, Autotech’s customers include major brands such as ABB, BAE Systems, BAA, Bentley, Cadbury, Coca-Cola, Ford, Jaguar Land Rover, Kimberly-Clark, Pirelli, Procter & Gamble, Toyota and Walkers Snack Foods. The market profiles and product ranges of Igranic and PSJ form a neat fit with Autotech. Synonymous for many years with medium- and high-voltage control systems, Igranic also serves many blue-chip brands including British Sugar, Corus, Hanson Cement, Scottish Power, Tata Steel and Thames Water. PSJ, meanwhile, specialises in the manufacture of high-quality cabinets and other fabrications in sheet metal, listing the USAF, the Ministry of Defence and the Science Museum among its clients.

Growth target
Said Andy Robinson, “Although ATG’s solutions are largely invisible to the general public, they are key to the operational success of many of the world’s best-known brands. Using our combined strength, we are determined to grow our market share across the wide range of industries in which we are now active – including automotive, logistics, airports, food & beverage, metals, utilities, oil & gas, mining & aggregates and power generation.” Automated Technology Group employs over 200 people across its four sites in Silsoe, Bedford and Birmingham but will need to recruit more engineers in order to achieve its objective of growing turnover to £50 million within five years. “We need many more personnel,” admitted Andy Robinson, “so we are keen to hear from highly skilled and motivated people and we’re also planning to launch our own apprenticeship scheme – the Autotech Academy – with the aim of taking on some 20 apprentices before the end of the year.”

Virtual manufacturing
A key area of growth for ATG will be virtual manufacturing services, whereby clients planning new or modified automated production systems can have their proposals comprehensively proven before the new systems are built and installed. Having invested over £1 million in dedicated software, hardware and simulation expertise, ATG is the UK’s leading supplier of virtual manufacturing services.

“The ability to prove, say, a robotic work-cell before it is delivered to the factory floor of a leading car maker,” explained Andy Robinson, “is absolutely invaluable because it reduces risk, improves production quality, eradicates costly design errors and accelerates time-to-market for new models. Using our experience in the automotive industry, we will be looking to apply our virtual manufacturing expertise across our diverse client base.”

32,000 blinis! That’s how many of those delicious little pancakes are packed every hour by the Marel IPL Robot system at the Blini factory which is located just outside the historic city of Caen, Normandy, France.

With demand growing steadily at around 3% p.a., the successful Blini company – a member of the Labeyrie Fine Foods co-operative – recognised some time ago that increased automation was essential for continuing sales growth and market share.

Julien Heillaut is the Industrial manager responsible for the plant and its performance and, having known Marel from the fish industry, was confident that the IPL Robot he’d seen at the 2010 CFIA exhibition would provide the much needed boost to the increased production volumes and packing efficiencies he was seeking.

Julien’s objective was to load cocktail sized blinis, each weighing 9g, into a thermoformer with each pack containing 12, 16 or 20 pieces, arranged as 4 stacks in each pack.

After cooking and cooling, the blinis are conveyed to the 3 head IPL Robot. The position of each one is detected by the vision system at the infeed, then each robot head individually picks 4 blinis and loads them into the thermoformer. When each pack contains the required number of blinis, the thermoformer is automatically given the signal to index.

Caption: Marel IPL Robot system at the Blini factory.

Julien says, “the IPL Robot was delivered on time and was in production by day two of the installation.” The IPL has met his expectations, packing 32,000blinis/ hour and saving 5 operators per shift. In peak periods this represents a saving of 15 operators/day. The company employs 135 people which increases to 300 during peak periods such as Christmas.

This outstanding performance contributes in no small part to the success of the parent Labeyrie organisation whose 11 factories based in France, Italy and the UK manufacture fine foods including caviar, foie gras, salmon, shrimp, cod, herring, frozen cakes and, of course, our little friends, the blinis.

Payback for the line will, to quote Julien, ‘be as budgeted’ and it should come as no surprise to learn that Marel now has a developing relationship with the company with potential for further applications.

About Marel
Marel is the leading global provider of advanced standalone equipment, integrated processing systems and software solutions to the fish, meat and poultry industries.

With a heritage stretching back over eight decades to the early 1930s, our brands – Marel, Stork Poultry Processing and Townsend Further Processing – are among the most respected in the industry, and together we offer the convenience of a single source to meet our customers’ every need.

With offices and subsidiaries in over 30 countries on six continents, manufacturing facilities in 17 locations worldwide, a global network of over 100 agents and distributors, and an annual investment of 5-7% of income in research and development – a figure far above the industry average – Marel works side-by-side with its customers to continually challenge, extend and re-define the boundaries of food processing performance.

From the outset, Marel has aimed to enable processors to maximise product yields, quality and throughput, while cutting processing time significantly, and has achieved this by bringing increased automation and efficiency to global food processing through the application of cutting-edge electronic, engineering and software technology.

Marel is headquartered in Iceland, and has a total workforce of some 3,500 employees worldwide. Drawn from a wide range of professions and disciplines, the company’s employees include over 400 highly qualified scientists and technicians in the fields of engineering and technology. Marel currently holds a portfolio of some 200 granted patents, a figure that continues to grow each year.

For more information about Marel’s IPL Robot system, please contact:

Tony Ambrose or Terry Starkey

Marel UK

Pinetrees Road

Norwich,

Norfolk NR7 9BB

Tel:  01603 700755, Fax: 01603 700844

e-mails:

tony.ambrose@marel.com

terry.starkey@marel.com

The new MEATUP exhibition at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire has been a resounding success, as the £24 billion UK meat industry showcased and networked together, obtaining new business and fresh ideas.

Over 2,000 visitors were greeted by top names throughout the meat trade, in addition to specialist workshops and competitions. With a move to the NEC Birmingham, announced at the show, planned for July 2013, a number of exhibitors and sponsors have already confirmed their attendance in two years’ time.

Exhibitors already signed up for MEATUP 2013 include VC999, Autoflo Handwash Systems, Blythburgh Free Range Pork Products, Innovative Food Ingredients, Tasty Trotter and Shareteq.

Feedback from the exhibition floor was positive. Mary Irving of Creative Retail Solutions said: “The response from the visitors has been excellent, really warm and the butchers are a lovely crowd, and so easy to talk to.”

Likewise, Ian Mackway from RAPS UK was enthusiastic with how things had gone: “The show has been a tremendous success for RAPS and on the first day there was not one minute of the day when we weren’t entertaining customers on our stand and doing business. Our congratulations go to the organisers for a superb event.”

Visitor John Howard of the Danish Agriculture & Food Council was glad he made the trip to Stoneleigh: “The quality and organisation of this event is superb, and it is a tribute to the organisers that they are prepared to make a sizeable investment into the meat industry with this dedicated show. I have certainly enjoyed my visit and found it extremely worthwhile, including the pigmeat workshop.”

Day two of the MEATUP show followed a very successful networking barbecue on the previous evening, where prizes were given to the participants of the International Young Butchers Competition, which took place on the first day. Overall winner, Dutch contestant Sjouke Jan Bouma, was delighted with his win: “I feel outstanding that The Netherlands have won so much in the competition. It was very tough, but things went well. I’ve enjoyed every day of being here.” The Q Guild Meat Display Competition, which took place on the second day of the exhibition also created a great deal of interest. MEATUP will be moving to the NEC in 2013, taking place in Hall 11
on 2nd & 3rd July.

If you are interested in exhibiting at the 2013 show at the NEC Birmingham, now’s the time to get the position you want. Call Angela Coffil on 01908-613323 or e-mail angela.c@yandellmedia.com
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The meeting place for everyone interested in nutraceuticals, functional foods and the functional drinks industries.

Vitafoods Europe 2011 was a record breaking success! With over 10,350 attendees meeting 500 of the industry’s leading suppliers, updating their industry knowledge through the many attractions and making serious business deals.

Geneva, Switzerland

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Crailsheim. The Kepak Group from Ireland now benefits from a new assembly and packaging line for hamburgers in which every individual unit responds flexibly to the product flow in the upstream and downstream sections of the line. Compared to a conventional
rigid system, this concept makes a huge difference to the average output performance. Temporary delays in one section of the line are automatically compensated without the need to use buffering systems. Instead of assembling and packaging the stipulated 80 meals per minute, on average the new line achieves an impressive 84 cycles.

In the past, six employees were busy every shift placing burgers in the buns and inserting them together with a sachet of sauce and a slice of prepacked cheese each into the blister packs of the running Multivac thermoforming machine.

These processes were automated from the turnkey supplier IPS International Packaging System. The product brief stipulated 80 products per minute. To achieve this output, it is not enough for the individual line components to be working at the specified speed. The whole concept hinges on perfect inter-coordination of the different processes.

There were two particular hurdles to be overcome. The manufacturing of the thermoformed blisters in the Multivac is done using an intermittent operating mode, while in the rest of the line product transport is continuous. Both motion principals had to be synchronised.

The provision of the three ingredients meat, cheese and sauce in loose form presents a further challenge. The customary standard procedure used for separation entails a high degree of mechanical component. The inevitable fluctuations in product flow which result from this type of machine-based solution tend to suppress overall output, making the stipulated 80 meals per minute impossible to achieve.

The main components of the solution: the TLM technology from Schubert and, to ensure a continuously high loose product separation output, feeding systems from Intellifeed (USA). Intellifeed precisely regulates product spacing using step motors in the roller transport system.

The line is supplied by three single-track feed systems: One for the frozen burgers in the first section of the line, and one each for the sauce sachets and cheese slices. The ingredients are tipped manually into the hopper, after which separation takes place: The path leading to the transfer point into the line is divided into sections, each with its own addressable drive unit. There are 30 stepper motors in operation at Kepak. The distance between the products is gradually stabilized. How the individual belt speeds have to be regulated is signalled by the optical sensor system (photocells).

This procedure guarantees separation on a continuously high output level without the need for buffering. The speed is important in two ways: Firstly to provide a high output, and secondly to ensure that the burgers are processed quickly enough to prevent thawing. The cheese slices are also easier to process when cold. An increase in temperature can cause the slices to begin sticking to each other. Incident light scanners integrated upstream from the transfer point to the assembly and packaging line provide the necessary quality assurance. These scanners are able to precisely identify buns, burgers, sauce sachets and cheese slices.

The first line section comprises two TLM machine sections with four TLM-F4 robot units. The buns enter the line on a wide product conveyor after being cut open by an upstream bun saw. The four-axis robots each take responsibility for a different task in sequence: One lifts the lid of the bun and places it alongside its base on the conveyor, the next picks up the burgers and places them on the bases, the lid is then replaced on the base and the assembled hamburger is transferred to the formation conveyor.

The assembled hamburgers then pass by the line section in which the blister packs are thermoformed. The next two machine sections are placed above the film web. Robots first insert the sauce sachets and then the cheese slices and finally position the hamburgers into the film cavities. The thermoforming machine closes the packs with the upper film, punches them out of the web and places them ready for the downstream processes.

All the units involved in the process, from the bun saw through to the thermoforming machine, are linked to the TLM line by means of signal exchange and a speed target value. Data exchange is organized on the level of the VMS control system supplied by Schubert.

The units react through the VMS control system to any product flow disruptions taking place in other parts of the line. If, for instance, the supply of burgers stops due to rejection of several products by the vision system, then the VMS control system slows down the dependent processes briefly until the quality target values are restored. The overall sequence is maintained and no rejects are produced. Compared to a conventional rigid system without regulation capability, the inability to react would result first in quality problems (hamburgers with no burger) and finally in a machine stop.

This optimized process management concept has permitted the thermoforming machine cycle to be increased to 88 products per minute. A change of format between the five different types processed takes in no more than five minutes: Three minutes to exchange the five tools at the TLM F4 robot arms and select the program at the TLM display, and depending on the packaging, another two minutes to change the film in the thermosetting machine. The overall line is configured in a wash down design, permitting high water pressure cleaning using detergents.

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Pace Mechanical Handling, the family owned Lincolnshire business that specialises in robotic palletising, packing and handling systems in the food and aggregates industry, has selected MOTOMAN robots from Yaskawa as the preferred robot for its robotic automation projects. “The main reasons for a move towards MOTOMAN robots were ease of programming, speed performance and the choices of communication protocol that are available for the series of MOTOMAN robots,” according to Nick Cesare, managing director of Pace Mechanical Handling. In addition, a key consideration for robotic palletising is the combination of available working envelope and stacking height and here the dedicated series of MOTOMAN MPL palletising robots meets the exact needs for Pace Mechanical Handling.

Yaskawa UK and Pace Mechanical Handling have developed a standard programming structure for robotic palletising that can be used across different cell configurations and palletising patterns, which means that programming time and installation times can be dramatically reduced thereby reducing the investment level for the end user.

Pace Mechanical Handling will be exhibiting at The British Potato Show 2011, Hall 2, Stand 403, held at the Yorkshire Event Centre in Harrogate on 24 and 25 November 2011. This is an important event for the potato industry in the UK and concentrates on many aspects of potato handling and automation. On display will be a demonstration of Pace’s specific market offer for the potato handling industry, which includes a MOTOMAN MPL100 palletising robot. For further information visit www.yaskawamotoman.co.uk.

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HardwarePT, the hardware and availability business unit of Cheadle based SolutionsPT, has appointed Rob Dinsmore as product manager.

 Dinsmore will be championing the company’s availability portfolio, including products from Stratus Technologies and ACP ThinManager as well as SolutionsPT’s own managed care support services.

Availability of a system over its life-cycle is typically measured as a factor of its reliability. As a result, it should be amongst the most important goals of any industrial computing system manager. Good hardware choices, reliability engineering and specialist maintenance techniques provide the means to ensure that availability performance requirements are achieved.

Put simply, it is essential for industries such as oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, waste and petrochemicals to invest in robust industrial computing technology, to reduce costly downtime.

In a previous role as internal account manager for Wonderware UK, Dinsmore gained valuable insight into the needs of industrial computing customers. As a result, he understands that tailoring products and services to suit the needs of each industrial sector is one of the cornerstones of availability. His responsibilities at Wonderware UK included new business development in the North East and Yorkshire regions. Before joining Wonderware, Dinsmore worked for IRIS Business Software as well as GE Commercial. He graduated from Sheffield University with a BSc in Computer Science in 2003.

“I believe that HardwarePT has launched some great products and my job is to grow the business even further,” explained Dinsmore. “My ambition is to position the company as an expert in the field of availability solutions”, he concluded.

Control systems specialist, Autotech Controls Ltd, has expanded its robotic simulation and virtual manufacturing services with an investment of approximately £375,000 in new software and hardware.

With a total of seven Tecnomatix Robcad packages and one Process Simulate seat, Autotech now has greater production simulation capacity than any other Siemens Solution Partner in the UK.

Commented Andrew Robinson, Autotech’s Managing Director, “Since we first invested in Robcad, we have used this software intensively in projects for four of Jaguar Land Rover’s Tier 1 suppliers – FFT EDAG Produktionssysteme , ABB, Laepple and VDL Steelweld – involving the development and implementation of automated production lines at both Halewood and Castle Bromwich. The success of all these projects and the level of new business we are currently experiencing mean that we are convinced that this investment will pay off.”

The software has been purchased from Majenta PLM Ltd, one of Europe’s leading product development and manufacturing IT providers. Part of the Siemens PLM Software family, Robcad and Process Simulate are advanced software packages that enable the design, simulation, optimisation, analysis and off-line programming of multi-device robotic and automated production systems. Explained Simon Ordish, Sales Manager for Majenta, “ Whether clients require brand-new manufacturing systems or mid-cycle changes to existing production lines, these software tools ensure a seamless link between CAD design and the production environment, allowing automation concepts to be proven fully before investment. The result is lower manufacturing costs, improved production quality, the eradication of costly design errors and accelerated time-to-market.”

Added Andrew Robinson, Autotech MD, “We are delighted that, due to our expertise and experience, Autotech have been commended by Majenta PLM as experts in Robcad. ”

About Autotech
Established in 1996, Autotech Controls Ltd is a leading global supplier of automation control solutions. Headquartered in Luton, the company achieved turnover above £10 million in 2010 and employs over 100 highly skilled staff. Autotech designs, installs, maintains and upgrades control systems for companies in a diverse range of industries including the automotive, logistics, airports and food & beverage sectors. Blue-chip clients worldwide include BAE Systems, Bentley, Cadbury, Ford, Gate Gourmet, Jaguar Land Rover, Kellogg’s and Procter & Gamble. As an approved system integrator for Group Schneider, Rockwell and Siemens, many clients have specified Autotech as their preferred controls supplier.

About Majenta PLM Ltd
As a certified business partner of Siemens Industry Software, Majenta PLM Ltd is a leading global provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services. Majenta PLM specialises in the provision, implementation and on-going support of CAD/CAM/CAE and PLM software solutions for small-to-medium design engineering and manufacturing companies. Its solutions are based on Siemens software products, including Solid Edge, NX, Femap®, Tecnomatix and Teamcenter. The company returned to the top position in Siemens’ UK reseller community with the award of UK Business Partner of the Year in 2010 and has also become the first Siemens Industry Software Platinum Partner in the UK.

Picture captions – the images shown below are available in high resolution on request to heidi@bridgeland-copyright.co.uk

Andrew Robinson.jpg
Andrew Robinson, Managing Director of Autotech Controls Ltd

Robcad.jpg
Tecnomatix Robcad is used to simulate multi-device robotic and automated manufacturing systems

Company contact:
Mr Andrew Robinson, Managing Director
Autotech Controls Ltd
The Airport Executive Park, President Way
Luton, Bedfordshire LU2 9NL
Tel:  +44 (0)1582 400690

Media contact:
Heidi Scott
Bridgeland Copyright
Tel: +44 (0)1622 832598
E-mail: heidi@bridgeland-copyright.co.uk

Almarai, the largest dairy producer in the Gulf region has recently decided to invest a substantial amount

of 4 billion SAR (800 million Euro) in their poultry activities. This investment is part of Almarai’s long term

vision to take full advantage of the opportunities the poultry market will bring. One of the steps in this

investment plan is an order for Meyn-Ishida of a complete Wall to Wall processing facility in Hail, Saudi

Arabia. The output capacity of the facility will be 2 x 12,000 birds per hour and consists of 16 weighing

and packing lines.

Howard Davis, Almarai’s General Manager Poultry: ”Our new factory will manufacture under our poultry

brand name ‘Alyoum’. Alyoum means “today”, and the focus of our business is to offer our consumers

fresh poultry products of consistently superior quality. “Quality you can trust” is the foundation of all the

products in the Almarai range, whether poultry, dairy, bakery, or other categories. With Meyn-Ishida we

have selected a dedicated business partner who will deliver a fully integrated processing, packing, and

packaging solution. This will enable the product quality we, and our consumers, require, as well as

provide an attractive operating environment from both management and financial perspectives.”

Meyn-Ishida combines the poultry processing expertise of Meyn with the weighing, packing and end-ofline

knowhow of Ishida to offer a full range of integrated systems and equipment. Since January 2011, the

alliance has been awarded several high value international contracts, including fully integrated plants in

Russia (Valujki and Tambov), Wipasz (Poland) and Chile.

Meyn-Ishida offers competitive wall-to-wall solutions in the poultry processing marketplace, delivering the

highest yields, cutting giveaway to the absolute minimum, and realising optimal total cost of ownership for

its business partners.

For further information contact:

info@meyn-ishida.com.

Managed by seven generations of the same family, Norwegian meat processor Grilstad is investing in the latest Robotic Slicing technology from Marel.

Based in Trondheim, Grilstad is a private company managed by the seventh generation of the Jenssen family with the same pride and dedication to quality established by their ancestors in 1790.

Today, the company has eight factories in Norway – employing some 700 people operating 20 lines to produce salami, burgers, fresh meat and air dried ham. Cooked meat and ham production is also being planned for the future. Thanks to high quality and an enviable reputation, the company supplies around 50% of the salami consumed in Norway and their other products enjoy equal, if not greater, success in the home market.

To cope with increasing demand, the Trondheim plant has been extended no fewer than 24 times since 1957 and now operates 6 slicing lines that produce 65 tonnes every week. Grilstad has also recently invested in a Marel IBS2000 Vision bacon line in their Gjovik plant, the success of which inspired Head of Technical Development, Georg Mattingsdal, to look at how Marel could help reduce high labour costs and improve profitability at his Trondheim plant.

Robot Technology

Georg was attracted to the idea of applying robot technology to automate the slicing and packing operation and, safe in the knowledge that Marel are without doubt, market leaders in intelligent portion loading, he carefully researched and subsequently ordered, a PolyLine comprising PolySlicer 3000, G2300 Checkweigher, VBS Vertical Buffer, Pack Desynchroniser and a triple head IPL Robot.

The PolyLine installed at Grilstad’s Gjovik plant comprising PolySlicer 3000, G2300 Checkweigher, VBS Vertical Buffer, Pack Desynchroniser and a triple head IPL Robot.

The new line was installed with a Marel engineer appointed to oversee and optimise the performance of the system. The PolySlicer 3000 high speed slicer automatically loads and slices up to 4 logs of high quality salami at a time. The sliced groups are then dynamically weighed by the G2300 Checkweigher which is connected in closed loop feedback with the PolySlicer in order to maintain on-weights in excess of 98%. After the checkweigher a VBS Vertical Buffer System is programmed to buffer a certain percentage of the sliced groups so that they can be released into the product flow when the PolySlicer is being reloaded. This delivers a more consistent flow of product to the IPL Robot and thermoformer and, in turn, achieves higher throughput. Georg says the VBS plays a valuable role in the line with its compact footprint and substantial contribution to higher throughputs.

The IPL Robot is equipped with 3 heads which share the work of loading the sliced groups into the thermoformer at, typically,180 picks/min.

PolyLine

PolyLine produces both shingled packs and overlapped shingle packs which, Georg says, have been welcomed by customers who have commented on the improved presentation of the product. IPL Robot has a great deal to do with this because it can place the sliced groups in the pack more quickly, more gently and more precisely than any operator and the relatively few transfer points on the  PolyLine also contributes to maintaining good presentation and hygiene – a vital safety issue with ready to eat products.

Georg is delighted with the new PolyLine, commenting: “It has made a big difference to the output, quality and presentation of Grilstad’s products and Trondheim’s profitability. I am also pleased about being able to manage the system on line and, in partnership with Marel, he looks forward to even higher levels of efficiency and productivity in the future.”

For more information about the Marel’s Hish Speed Slicing range, contact:Tony Ambrose or Terry Starkey, Marel UK, on Tel 01603 700755, Fax 01603 700844, E-mails tony.ambrose@marel.com, terry.starkey@marel.com.

Drives and controls are fundamental to keeping the wheels of the food industry turning. Obsolete systems can have a negative impact on productivity levels and processing operations even at the most profitable of companies.

Optima Control Solutions Ltd (OCS) already has a global reputation for improving productivity and energy efficiency in a range of industries and is now seeing a significant growth in demand from the food industry for cost-effective, high-quality drive control systems that help maximise plant performance.

Upgrading machines is a complicated business and, not surprisingly, is seen to carry a high degree of risk. Taking a key production machine out of service, completely changing the control system for a new, bespoke set up with modern technology, often including mechanical modifications, then putting it back into production within a fixed downtime period is an extremely cost-sensitive process.

However, OCS managing director Michael Hill believes that by upgrading the outdated drives and controls of plant machinery food companies can expect a healthy payback against the cost of purchasing new equipment. New control systems can also slash power consumption, particularly important with looming energy price rises.

Optima, a Siemens Solution Partner, recently upgraded a Hamba 2 Spreads Line filling tubs of margarine for a leading food ingredients company (who cannot be named) using Siemens S7-315 Profibus, an Ethernet Processor and a new HMI touch screen for processing information, such as the positions of tub valves.

By replacing the outdated Siemens S5 PLC and upgrading to Siemens S7 the line is now operating more efficiently and the food company’s engineers no longer have to worry about the availability of parts for the machine. The refurbishment was so successful that Optima has been asked back to overhaul the manufacturer’s Hamba 3 line.

Mr Hill said: “The intelligent integration of modern drive and control technology has a significant impact on production efficiency in the food industry. The upgrade we successfully completed for this manufacturer has improved the machine’s effectiveness and also provides them with the ability to cater for any future system expansion.”

The food and drinks industry is the largest manufacturing sector in the UK economy. It turns over around £75 billion pa, but just like other industries it must embrace the cutting edge technologies now available to help boost productivity and reduce costs if it is to remain internationally competitive.

For the past two years, Cheshire-based family bakery Frank Roberts & Sons has been working with engineers at Lorien Engineering Solutions on a multi-million-pound automation project that will make its production more cost-efficient.

Compliance engineers at Lorien have been working with the bakery’s international equipment suppliers to extend its existing process and packaging plant.

Tony Reynolds, compliance manager at Lorien, worked with a bread slicing and bagging machinery supplier in Los Angeles, as well as an engineering company who deals in basket-conveying systems in Christchurch, New Zealand.

This involved assessing the machinery against European Harmonised Standards and then modifying the guarding and control systems, to ensure that the equipment would meet CE marking legislation.

Key benefits of service application

None of the suppliers had practical experience of the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, as required for CE marking, making Lorien’s service essential.

Lorien prepared the documentation for Frank Roberts & Sons’ CE technical file, to ensure the machinery met all relevant EU legislation and was safe to use.

The company claims to provide a ‘one-stop shop’ for ensuring safety and best practice during capital investment projects.

Lorien has been awarded five Order of Distinctions from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), recognising its commitment to workplace safety.

Kliklok International will be demonstrating their new Collating Robotic Loader (CRL) and Race Track system at the forthcoming PPMA exhibition. A brand new innovation from Kliklok, the CRL is a flexible machine ideally suited to handle the output from low to high speed wrappers and collate wrapped products into cartons or trays at up to 600 products per minute, with a maximum load of 3kg. The CRL incorporates advanced design electronic motion control technology using a combination of variable frequency control, servo motor drives and a robotic Flex Picker.

Three versions of the CRL are available depending on speed and tracking distance requirements, with optional modules such as a Carton Management System which allows cartons to be either indexed into place or to be continuously moving while being loaded.

Multiple CRL units can be positioned along a cartoner’s infeed conveyor to enable product from additional sources to be combined, enabling the full speed capacity of the cartoner to be utilised. Built-in ‘plug-and-play’ style communication between the CRL units creates easy production line expansion with the addition of further units.

User-friendly innovative recipe-driven menus are accessed from Kliklok’s Insight colour touch screen to ensure fast change over between product styles, sizes and collations. This also offers superior troubleshooting capability, advanced servo diagnostics and a complete digital manual.

See Kliklok’s latest innovation on Stand E71, NEC, 27-29th September, 2011.