UK fresh produce packaging solutions specialist wins FoodTech Equipment of the Year award for its Case De-Stacker
UK packaging technology company Proseal has scooped the AgTech Breakthrough Awards’ FoodTech Equipment of the Year Award for its Case De-Stacker (CDS), the Cheshire-based manufacturer announced this week (21 August).
Launched in early 2024, CDS is a fully automated system designed to reduce handling demands while ensuring operational speed and safety, Proseal said in a statement.
“We’re incredibly proud to see CDS be recognised as FoodTech Equipment of the Year,” said Paul Watkin, lead product line manager at Proseal. “From top to bottom, the entire Proseal team is dedicated and continues to seek ways to improve our technology to further benefit the fresh produce industry by maximising efficiency and cost-effectiveness.”
The CDS is compatible with Proseal’s CP2, CP3, and CP4 case-packing machinery, and is capable of delivering up to 35 cases per minute, making it suitable for high-demand applications, he added.
It can be used to deliver single or multiple stacked cases to both manual packing lines and existing automated packaging equipment, Watkin said.
For safety, the CDS is equipped with a muting light curtain, which ensures compliance with relevant safety standards. The muting sensors can differentiate between a stack of cases and a person entering the area, thereby protecting operators during use.
Additionally, the CDS shares spare parts with the entire tray sealing and case packing range, which promotes efficient stock management. This design choice helps to maintain production speeds, minimise downtime, reduce interruptions, and lower operational costs.
CDS’s gong is the third consecutive AgTech Breakthrough Award for JBT Corporation, which owns Proseal.
Commenting on this year’s accolade, Jon Garner, president packaging group at JBT Corporation, said: “At JBT, our goal is creating a more resilient, sustainable, and equitable food system through innovative solutions. Proseal’s Case DeStacker is just the latest example of the effort our teams all around the world make every day to make that goal a reality in the food tech industry.
“It’s an honour to have earned an award with the AgTech Breakthrough Awards for three consecutive years. As we set our sights on what is next, we look forward to growing and connecting with new and existing customers throughout the region and beyond while pushing the limits of what we can do.”
Chicago, US-headquartered JBT is a leading global technology solutions provider to high-value segments of the food and drink industry.
Based in Adlington, Proseal designs and manufactures tray sealing machines, conveyor systems and sealing tools to package foods such as ready meals, ready-to-cook dishes, meat, poultry, fish, fruit, vegetables, salads and sandwiches.
The AgTech Breakthrough Awards are an annual program that recognises the “breakthrough” leaders in the most competitive categories of technology products and services around the globe. This year marked the fifth annual awards where leading innovators around the world entered across 19 categories and 117 subcategories. A full list of winners can be found here.
