Natures Way Foods in West Sussex is reaping the rewards of a Marco yield control system, installed to streamline the high-speed manual packaging of its fresh prepared fruit range, the software provider reports.
Initial consultative site trials carried out by Marco showed that operators on the prepared fruit packing lines were consistently overpacking by four to six per cent, which was having a direct negative impact on bottom-line profitability.
Marco has considerable experience in fruit and vegetable packing efficency and its TRAC-IT system has been specifically developed to reduce pack giveaway to almost zero, while improving productivity. Its packing line system at Natures Way is based around custom-built mobile stainless steel Linemaster III portion control workstations. Weight data from these user-friendly scales is transmitted via a robust wireless network to the central Datamaster terminal, running Marco’s Software Editor Suite. When order requirements are sent to this terminal from the main ERP system, the required target weights are automatically transmitted to the Linemaster stations.
A spokesperson for Natures Way Foods said: “We recognised our levels of pack giveaway were unacceptable, but prior to talking with Marco we couldn’t find a company who could guarantee a sustainable yield control solution. Marco listened to our concerns and within hours of their system going live, giveaway had been reduced to below 0.1g per pack.
“This level continues to be maintained without affecting the ingredient balance and savings go directly to our bottom line. In parallel, our productivity has increased and we now have full traceability from the packing line. The operators find the system very easy to use and the mobility of the LineMaster stations allows us to change line layout with minimum disruption. All this is good news for us and good news for our customers and consumers.”
No comments yet