< PreviousQuick change cassette conveyorsWestern Mechanical Handling (WMH) has recently developed a novel drivearrangement for its collation system cassette conveyors which will reduce down-time andworkloads for maintenance teams.With ever increasing demand for continuous running, WMH has created a system thatenables maintenance teams to swap-out cassette conveyors for maintenance without theneed for tools The innovative design incorporates the conveyor drive system into the frame of theconveyor allowing the cassette units with belt and rollers to be removed quickly andeasily for off-line maintenance.“The new design means complete spare cassettes can be held on the shelf in case ofbreak-down and can be swapped out quickly and easily by maintenance crews for off-linerepair whilst maintaining the integrity of the line,” a spokesman for WMH said.The new format of collator, cassette conveyor will be integrated into all future pressure less collation systems developed by WMH.For more information, visit www.wmh-uk-ltd.com.20 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.netCONVEYINGlimited the chemical substances thatare allowed to be used in theirproduction, and also in what quantitythese substances are used.The importance of avoidingcontamination goes hand in hand withthe fact that many conveyors are nowused for a huge array of products inquick succession – which means theynow frequently have to be able toundergo extensive cleaning to ensureingredients don’t become mixed up andproducts remain unsullied.This in itself can prove challengingand many conveyors are now producedin a rather simpler form than before.Certainly, the more individual parts thatare contained within, the more chancethere is of one of them coming loose orgetting product embedded within it –and hence a drop in the number ofhealth and safety breaches that affectworkers dealing with the systems.This has meant that the conventionalstainless steel conveyors are now beingjoined by food-grade conveyor systemsmade from plastic and stainless steel© Shutterstock/Vereshchagin Dmitry18-21_Layout 1 18/12/2017 09:11 Page 3Food & Drink International 21www.fdiforum.netCONVEYINGGently does it with Spiroflow’sCableFlow Tubular Cable DragConveyorsSpiroflow’sCableflow TubularCable DragConveyors are afurther development of thebest-in-class Aeroflow aero mechanicalconveyors operating with reducedclearances and at reduced running speeds. Being highly energy efficient, especiallywhen compared to pneumatic conveyingsystems, Cableflow conveyors aredesigned for gentle material handling andfor conveying in multiple planes - perfectfor fragile snack foods and cereals. Conveying in a totally sealed tubular system to ensure the dust-free transferof material, they can provide complete material batch transfer of bulk productsfrom single or multiple in-feed points to single or multiple discharge points withlittle or no damage. And with the option to include Spiroflow’s patented DART(Dynamic Automatic Rope Tensioner) rope tensioning system, users can beassured of extended cable life and minimum maintenance. Spiroflow has recently launched a new website. A key feature includes aresource hub, which provides additional content such as case studies, videolibrary, news and FAQs. For more information, visit www.spiroflow.com.materials. These meet all the various standardsand requirements, can withstand extensivecleaning and won’t retain harmful bacteriafrom the products that run along themOne notable aspect when hygiene is beingconsidered comes from the traditional stainlesssteel chains typically used on conveyors in thefood processing and pharmaceuticalmanufacturing industries are ripe forpremature wear, especially when the chains arefrequently required to operate dry. Thesechains can be a drain on resources, as theyoften have a short service life and highreplacement costs.It’s clear that exceptional reliability and theability to transport a far wider range of itemsthan ever before means the options for thoselooking for conveyors have been expanded toa huge extent – regardless of the challengesthat producers may have. Specialists inautomation can now offer conveyors thatemphasise speed and safety in equalmeasures.18-21_Layout 1 18/12/2017 09:11 Page 4T. Freemantle Ltd is the UK Market Leading manufacturer of Cartoning and Sleeving equipment. The equipment is simple, robust and reliable and proven to be easy to operate, simple to maintain with a fast unskilled size change. From simple manually operated machinery through to fully automac high speed systems, we have a machine to suit almost every cartoning and sleeving applicaon. We have the full range of equipment on show at our UK demonstraon facility and invite you to try the machines out for yourself. The UK Market LeaderSpecialists in Sleeving Experts in Cartoning Call us on 01724 276908 Email the sales team at sales@tfreemantle.com 22-26_Layout 1 18/12/2017 09:13 Page 1Food & Drink International 23www.fdiforum.netCARTONING AND SLEEVINGInnovations in production in recentyears has created hundreds of new ideasthat are being incorporated intopackaging – yet that’s not to say thatcompanies can simply over-indulge inincorporating every new trick in thebook as consumers and retailers alikeare now on their guard for packagingthat appears to be excessive. Withsecurity concerns taking on everincreased importance, it’s a constantjuggling act for packaging specialists.Consumer demands and expectationshave led to an increased level ofinteraction, first with labels and caloriecounts, then with ever more specificinformation on RDA’s and information onwhere the product was sourced from. Ontop of that, conscientious consumers aredemanding that packaging have as smallan environmental impact as possibleSome specialists think that the sectorcould well become unrecognisable in thenear future thanks to the huge changesthat are being introduced. But the needfor packaging itself will likely never fade. © Shutterstock/Artem ShadrinIn one packageThe cartoning and sleeving industry is growing stronger due to shifts in consumer demand, but that doesn’t mean the same challenges aren’t still around. 24 Á22-26_Layout 1 18/12/2017 09:13 Page 224 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.netCARTONING AND SLEEVINGMost of the changes are beingbrought in by shifts in consumerdemand, and the cartoning andsleeving industry has benefitted greatlyfrom recent consumer interest in pre-cooked and ready-meal foods. As thelifestyle of the average consumerbecomes more mobile, and free timebecomes less available, food that canbe heated quickly and consumer growsin demand. While cartoning andsleeving hardly has the monopoly inthis industry, many readymeals aremaking use packaging that can bequickly and easily removed – likesleeves. These have become fairlycommon on ready meals andmicrowaveable meals, particularlyChinese, Indian and Japanese variants.In many cases this mind of packagingwill contain all the necessaryinformation, along with cooking details– before being slipped off to reveal atypical film and plastic container readyfor cooking.Legislature is also, for possibly thefirst time ever, working to help thecartoning industry. As an ever-increasing amount of information isrequired on products, cartons becomean attractive method of displayingthem, without compromising theaesthetic design of the individualproduct. As with many sectors, muchinnovation has been driven thanks toconsumer demand for sustainableproducts. In the carton sector, manycompanies now aim for their cartons tobe labelled as meeting the criteria ofthe Forest Stewardship Council Chain ofCustody. FSC is an internationalorganisation that promotes responsiblemanagement of the world’s forests andits CoC certification allows wood fibresto be traced at every step through thesupply chain, providing assurance thatany products bearing the logo support© Shutterstock/BulatnikovIn the cartonsector, manycompanies nowaim for theircartons to belabelled asmeeting thecriteria of theForest StewardshipCouncil Chain ofCustody22-26_Layout 1 18/12/2017 09:13 Page 3Food & Drink International 25www.fdiforum.netCARTONING AND SLEEVINGKliklokInternationalBosch PackagingTechnologyWestern Drive, Bristol, BS14 0AYTel: +44 (0)1275 836131Email: Sales.PAGS@uk.bosch.comWeb: www.kliklok-int.comUK snack producers Graze wereinnovators in the onlinesubscription and delivery ofhealthy snacks to consumers andbusinesses. At the start of theirventure, Graze called on KliklokInternational to keep the artisanaesthetic and to uphold thebrand’s identity of an eco-friendlyproducer of healthy snacks. Kliklok and Graze collaboratedto design a carton style that couldbe formed on Kliklok’s JR cartonformer. This machine forms theGraze cartons from a flat blankwith customised tooling to createa ‘turn over end’ style carton. Thismeans its side walls are automatically folded over to provide adouble thickness for rigidity and strength. To date, Kliklok has installed 14 JR machines in the UK for Grazeplus a bigger version when the company branched out into the USmarket.For an alternative pack format, Kliklok recently supplied their Elitewraparound cartoner to Graze to pack individual shelf ready snackportions.Rotech coding solutions boost packing operations at EnglishCheesecake CompanyAn offline RF2 feeding system fitted with an iJet thermal inkjetcoding system from Rotech has helped The English CheesecakeCompany boost the speed and efficiency of its packing operations,allowing the company to date code a pallet’s worth of cheesecakes inless than 2 minutes.Based in West London, The English Cheesecake Company makes awide range of luxury cakes for variety of customers, including Ocadoand Makro. The products range from individual mini-cheesecakes togiant cheesecakes that serve 60 people. Most of the products aresupplied blast frozen, with an outer sleeve and best before dateapplied before they enter the freezer. Rather than printing best beforedates onto the filled cheesecake boxes, the new RF2 system printsthem onto the flattened sleeves before they are erected. Commercial Director Josh Laurier says: “Many of our products are sold to the wholesale market. These cakes tend to be bigger than retailversions, so it’s much more convenient to carry out the printing on the flat sleeves, rather than printing onto the completed packages, whichare quite bulky to handle.”The RF2 feeding system takes a stack of flat sleeves and separates and feeds them rapidly through a compact, mess-free i-Jet thermal inkjet coder before re-stacking them on the other side. This enables the system to position the date codes precisely and virtually eliminatessmudges and errors to deliver a high-quality result. The company has recently won a contract to supply chilled cheesecakes to Waitrose. This called for an in-line coding solution to add datesto the erect boxes containing the chilled cakes on the same day they’re produced and dispatched. The company opted for a second Rotech i-Jet thermal inkjet printer. The two systems use the same print cartridges, simplifying stockholding.For more information, visit www.rotech.co.uk.forest management that adopts environmentallyappropriate, socially beneficial and economically viablemanagement practices.This has led to major overhauls of the packagingprocess in many companies – and some find this achallenge. Investment costs for regulation andlegislation will always be a difficult factor, especiallywith varying standards across the EU. These arenecessities that cannot be avoided however, and aslabelling is one of the fastest-changing sectors when itcomes to changes in legislation, it is something thatmany are forced to quickly adapt to.This is important for the aforementioned boomingready meals market, particularly with pre-cookedmeals. Mainly due to the misconception that readymeals are somehow less wholesome or lower qualitythan freshly cooked food, the perception of a premiumor somehow artisan product is necessary to alleviatethis. Typically this is achieved through aestheticallypleasing packaging – but there is almost universally apicture of the finished product in its cooked state,which would not be possible to print with any realdefinition on the film itself. Sleeves allow an effectivealternative, and will as such continue to do so as theready meals sector continues its growth.Digital technology has certainly provided moreflexibility for packaging design, especially as legalrequirements have required much more information ison packaging that was previously the case. Many26 Á22-26_Layout 1 18/12/2017 09:13 Page 426 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.netCARTONING AND SLEEVING28 February – 1 March 2018 . NEC, Birmingham28 February – 1 March 2018 NEC, BirminghPackaging Innovations provides a great cross-section of packaging types provided by suppliers from across the globe.Quorn FoodsCo-located withREGISTER FREE TODAYA good range of products under one roof. Cotywww.easyfairs.com/PIUKwww.easyfairs.com/Label&PrintUKwww.easyfairs.com/EmpackUK companies have introduced QR codeson their products to allow customers toreceive promotional material and muchelse, while it also has value when itcomes to traceability.The packaging of many of theproducts on retailers’ shelves remain inthe iconic and distinctive designs theyhave kept for many years – but whiletheir look hasn’t changed, the materialsused often have to create moreeffective, efficient and securepackaging. To achieve higher shelfspacing is the challenge facing allproducers. This is particularly so inconvenience stores where space is evenmore limited.Cartoning and sleeving has providedmany answers for those in the industry,taking over certain sectors – but that’snot to say the packaging industry canslow down and let things lay. Newinnovation will always be on theforefront of people’s minds.© Shutterstock/Enculescu Marian Vladut22-26_Layout 1 18/12/2017 09:13 Page 528 ÁFood & Drink International 27www.fdiforum.netHEALTH, SAFETY AND HYGIENEIt’s often the case that manymanufacturers see health and safetyprinciples as, at best, an inconvenience,assuming that a common senseapproach is best and certainly notrequiring anything more formal thanthat. While it’s true to say managers andemployees alike usually have the wit todeal with potential problems, there areclear advantages from having a formalpolicy in place.Most obviously, companies that aren’table to point to clear health and safetyregulations will usually find themselvesunable to win contracts from majorcustomers. The importance of securityand speed across the supply chainmeans retailers demand manufacturersand distributors reach the higheststandards and must be able to illustratetheir commitment to quality – and aformal health and safety policy, with fullinformation on potential flashpoints andthe measures in place to deal with them,is usually required.With the increasing use of automationand robot systems, the demands onplant and machinery have risenconsiderably in the last few years. Newlegal requirements for the maintenanceand operation of machinery also play anincreasingly important role. It’s acompany’s duty to ensure that its staffcan cope with the increasing demandsso the international CMSE qualificationhas been designed to meet thisrequirement.Gaining certification enables peopleto develop a greater understanding ofthe requirements of the relevantregulations and standards, discover howthese may be applied to the design,build, maintenance and operation ofmachinery, and manage projects fromrisk assessment to safety upgrade andNot worththe riskIt’s easy to consider a common sense approach to health,safety and hygiene, but the potential fallout from anincident means that manufacturers instead need toconsider every angle. © Shutterstock/Alexander Raths27-31_Layout 1 18/12/2017 09:16 Page 128 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.netHEALTH, SAFETY AND HYGIENEimplementation.Much of this also applies to hygiene, amajor concern within the food and drinkindustry and for good reason. Expensiveproduct recalls, not to mention thereputational risks associated with ahygiene scare, can outright destroybrands in some cases. When it comes tohygiene within the manufacturingprocess there is also no `one size fitsall` approach, and each individualaspect of the process must beconsidered. Due to the differing nature of hygienerisks and how they can occur, it is oftena requirement to bring in outside help tojudge and identify potential flashpoints.These can come from any number ofaspects, be it the ingredientsthemselves, the way employees work orsimply the atmosphere of a givenfacility. The latter is one such aspectthat many companies might overlook.Clean air is of paramount concern forthe food and drink industry, not onlydue to the stringent requirementsinvolved in the manufacture of foodproduce, but also to avoid thereputational crisis of any incidentsoccurring. With a variety of harmfulmicrobes and particles able to travel viaair, there is great potential for harmfulmicrobes to interact with the process ata crucial stage, possibly leading tocontaminated products.In many cases the establishment of acleanroom is common, which despitethe name can be as large as amanufacturing facility or process line, oras small as a single storage room. Thesecan be designed to protect bothproducts and personnel. Cleanroomscan help to preserve freshness inproducts as well as preventcontamination. When it comes to operating acleanroom, it’s important to rememberthat staff themselves are one of thelargest factors of contamination. Thisnot only includes particles they mightbring into the facility themselves, butalso how they operate machinery andinteract with surfaces. Workers shoulduse cleanroom garments, and should bewell trained and motivated. In somecases, facilities might also use cleaningbooths to ensure staff aredecontaminated before they actuallyenter the facility. Cleanrooms, and in fact investing inclean air solutions in general, can have apositive impact on more than justhygiene however. As dust and particlesare kept away from the process line, thehealth of employees is also improved –leading to less absenteeism, and higherlevels of job satisfaction. This isparticularly important in the food anddrink industry, due to the careful natureof quality control, and the stringentdemands placed upon staff to meetthem.Water treatment is another suchaspect that has played an increasingrole in the industry, particularly as fearsof contaminants re-entering theecosystem are brought to the forefrontof media attention. water accounts for asignificant proportion of dailyoperations. With rising costs, changes inlegislation, and regulations governing27-31_Layout 1 18/12/2017 09:16 Page 2Food & Drink International 29www.fdiforum.netHEALTH, SAFETY AND HYGIENEBackward compatible foodmetal detectors Exceptional sensitivity andROI … guaranteedTel: +44 (0) 1295 256266www.fortresstechnology.co.uk Email: sales-uk@fortresstechnology.comexcesses, how waste water is dealt withis a key concern.In most companies water reclamationand reusability will be commonplaceand filtration is key. Unlike otherpurification methods, filtration isn’tlimited to the size of contaminates itcan remove, including chlorine andvolatile organic chemicals (VOCs). In manufacturing, companies aremaking use of new technology to helpachieve the water reduction targets theyhave often set themselves. For example,a number of manufacturers are aimingto reduce the amount of rinse watersent to drain. It used to be that aftercleaning had taken place, rinse waterwould always be disposed down thedrain, but in companies that use a lotthis can be hugely inefficient. Somemanufacturers are dealing with this byfitting the production lines with a tankand a submersible pump system. Thewater from each production line feedsinto a single common recapture waterline that fills a central storage tank,meaning the rinse water can be reusedthroughout the plant and hence waterwastage massively reduced.Other companies are making use ofhygienic pumps and dosing systems toensure water in all its forms – whetherused in the production process, forgeneral use or being removed as waste– is dispensed hygienically andeffectively. Other methods such asevaporation are also proving successful,separating water from the rest of theeffluent created, thereby reducing itsvolume.As well as being environmentallysound, the other important aspect ofwater treatment and management isthat of employee health. LegionellaBacterium lives in most natural watersources and, if allowed the rightenvironment, can grow rapidly. Thepresence of sediment scale, sludge, andother food sources together with bio-films, play an important role inharbouring and providing conditions toallow legionella bacteria to multiply andproliferate and infected water droplets,once inhaled, can cause Legionnaires’disease – which is potentially fatal.Cooling systems, cold water storagetanks and hot water storage vessels areprime examples of systems which areclassed as high risk for the growth ofLegionella – and as they generally feedoutlets such as taps, shower heads andcooling towers, they are particularlycommon in commercial buildings.Outbreaks of Legionnaires’ diseasereceive significant media attention,which can lead to a negative effect on acompany name, heavy company fines oreven imprisonment.Despite all of this, and whatevermethods are taken to reduce the risks ofcontamination, a stringent qualityassurance line will always be necessary.There is only so much that humaninspection can achieve in anyproduction environment. Given thatfood safety is absolutely essential fromboth a commercial and an ethicalstandpoint, it is vital that any potentialfor error is eliminated. The human eye isa powerful organ, but with the advent ofMachine Vision Systems we are enteringan entirely new – and potentiallyflawless – world. For the most part, foodand drinks manufacturers use MachineVision Systems to carry out tasks suchas counting large numbers units on theproduction line, reading product labelsto ensure they contain accuratenutritional and allergen information,portion control, and testing for faults inthe packaging of a product which couldresult in contamination or degradation. With traceability also a key concern,the advent of Optical CharacterVerification (OCV) has been a hugeboon for the industry. OCV is principallyused to ensure that products arelabelled correctly. Use-by- and best-before dates must match the actualproduct, and the information printed ona product’s packaging must be 100%legible in case of product recall andother worst-case scenarios. Most OCVdevices used in food manufacture arefont-based ID-readers that are pre-programmed to recognise particulardetails such as specific allergen adviceand nutritional information, whileensuring that these are labelledcorrectly. Hygiene remains a key concern andalways will, but as technology advances,the burden on the manufacturer isbecoming less stressful. This is greatnews for the industry and should help tooffset rising costs elsewhere withinmanufacturing, such as the advent ofthe National Living Wage (in the UK) orrising wage costs anywhere else.© Shutterstock/Roman Babakin27-31_Layout 1 18/12/2017 09:16 Page 3Next >