< Previous20 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.netSUPPLY CHAINand dangerous jobs, that automatedprocesses typically replace. It is actuallysomewhat of a misconception that anautomated line removes workers, thoughit can certainly do so. In many cases staffare still kept on board, but assigned toother areas – improving efficiency acrossthe whole board. Retailers who operate their own supplychain facilities are also looking to improveefficiency, and many are seeking toincorporate aspects of the supply chaininto the retail environment. Go back tenyears and it would have been anathema tosee a pallet on the supermarket floor, butnowadays it’s not unusual to see producestacked on a pallet itself. That said, theseshould never be wooden due to the risk ofsplinters or injuries. Typically they areplastic pallets, such as Go Plastic Pallet’snew SF 800H Retail Pallet, which isdesigned for retailers to be able to transfergoods easily from stock to shop floor. Plastic pallets come with a raft ofbenefits over their conventionalcounterparts, from health and safety – tolesser clean-up costs should something gowrong. There has never been anythingmore frustrating than attempting to cleanup a shattered wooden pallet, which tendto explode with incredible force whencrushed. On top of this, plastic pallets arefar more lightweight and like the SF800H, can be easily stacked and moved bya worker, without the aid of materialshandling equipment. On the issue of materials handling, newdevelopments in the industry are alsoworking to drive innovation in the supplychain. Forklifts, for instance, are a stapleof the materials handling industry, withalmost every warehouse or distributioncentre in the country operating a few atleast. What can cause confusion howeveris the wide array of forklifts available onthe market, and what roles they mightbest be suitable towards. A specialist canhelp to advise in that regard, but it’sKite’s acrylic tape now sold in retail packs of 6Kite Packaging now offer their Kite Branded Polypropylene Acrylic Tape (48mm x 66mm)in rolls of 6 ideal for those ordering in smaller quantities. The focus for Kite is to offer small and large users competitive prices for high-qualityproducts. The result is Kite’s top-selling tape available in packs of 6, perfect for smallorders and businesses that do not need a full box of 36. Kite’s own-branded standard tape is made from polypropylene, available in clear andbrown and uses an acrylic adhesive. The tape is ideal for general purpose use and canaccommodate a variety of sealing requirements including boxes, bags, cartons andpackages. As well as their range of Polypropylene Acrylic Tape, Kite supply a range of other high-quality market leading tape products including, a large range of packaging tapes, customprinted tape, standard warning printed tape, gummed paper tapes, machine tapes andtape dispenser guns. For more information, visit www.kitepackaging.co.uk.The Co-op extends telematicspartnership with new fleet tech upgrade The Co-operative, UK’s leadingcommunity food retailer, has deployeda new telematics and transportmanagement solution from Microlise tosupport its store development plan toopen 120 new shops in 2016. The new deployment covers 1,344heavy goods vehicles and extends thelong-term nine year partnershipbetween the two companies. The new implementation includesMicrolise Fleet Performance, whichencourages drivers to adopt a fuelefficient driving style. MicroliseJourney Management, also deployed,features a Schedule Execution Boardto give the insight and visibility to debrief drivers by exception against route and scheduleadherence and facilitates proactive customer service. The Co-operative is also rolling out MicroliseElectronic Proof of Delivery (EPOD) to manage delivery and collection processes electronically. Trials of Microlise’s Fleet Performance product were carried out at selected depots to establish ifimprovements in driving style could deliver tangible business benefits. After realising improvedsafety and significant savings in fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and a reduction of accidents thedecision was made to undertake a full-scale rollout across its entire fleet.18-21_Layout 1 01/03/2016 11:33 Page 3Food & Drink International 21www.fdiforum.netSUPPLY CHAINPallet Wrap Kite Packaging is one of the UK’s leading suppliers of pallet wrap.It’s not just us that say so, visit our website to see what our customers say about us on Trustpilot.Call today to speak to one of our friendly and experienced team on 02476 420065We have the UK’s leading B2B ecommerce website, offering 2,500 stock products.Our commitment to our customers :Service levels that are second to none.Next day delivery available.Lowest prices.High quality products.Credit facilities.One-to-one account management.www.kitepackaging.co.ukBest Range in the UKMachine FilmsHigh Performance FilmsHand FilmsRange of ColoursRange of Cast and BlownPrinted Stretch Film What We Offer:WTo book your Stretch Film auditplease call 02476 420065STI Freight Managementexpands fish logistics service STI Freight Management is expanding its food logistics business and isbringing fresh fish from the North Atlantic to destinations in Europe andoverseas. Five times a week, STI trucks transport fresh salmon from theaquaculture farms on the coast of Scotland’s Shetland Islands for theircustomer Ocean Quality – a subsidiary of the Norwegian fish group GriegSeafoods. “Transporting fish is a great challenge in food logistics. Here,speed, flexibility and security are absolute prerequisites,” said PierreHenry, managing director of STI UK. Ocean Quality’s dealers can only organise the sale of the goods afterthe salmon has been prepared. As the fish is delivered to differentmarkets depending on weight and size, transport routes can sometimeschange very quickly. STI’s partitioned trailers take the sensitive freight atan average temperature of around 2 degrees celsius from Glasgowacross Europe, and from Heathrow airport the salmon is flow to the USA,China and the Middle East. worth also paying attention to the peoplewho are going to be operating it.While many may scoff at the idea thatergonomic design should warrant a moreexpensive forklift system, one shouldremember that in an average day anoperator might move their arm over athousand times an hour, and their headtwice that number. While this may lead toinjury in time, even in the short term it isgoing to lead to people’s muscles becomingstiff – increasing the amount of downtimethey take, or how often they are distracted. Improving efficiency in distributioncentres can be a daunting task for anycompany, but those who are able to keepahead of the competition may findthemselves reaping benefits. One thing isfor sure, the demands of retailers are not –and will not decrease in the coming years.Those who can’t cater to them, will likelyfind their work going to competitors whocan! PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/WELLPHOTO18-21_Layout 1 01/03/2016 11:33 Page 422 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.netLABELLING, CODING & MARKINGThermal ink jet (TIJ) is rapidlyemerging as an affordable and practicalcoding option for food and other fastmoving consumer goods manufacturers(FMCG), driven by game-changing inktechnology advancements and fallingmachine prices. Over a decade has passedsince it made its foray as an industrialcoding technology, with the ultimate aimof usurping Continuous Ink Jet (CIJ) inmany applications. Early TIJ systems were essentiallyindustrial versions of Hewlett Packard(HP) office printers that used standardwater-based ink cartridges. With a pricetag somewhere in the region of £6,000,they were expensive, and they also hadconsiderable limitations, in that theycouldn’t accommodate the solvent inksneeded to print onto non-porous surfaces. The food industry has not been as readyto adopt TIJ, and CIJ has traditionallybeen the technology of choice, mainly dueto ‘ink on substrate’ limitations. Unlikethe pharmaceutical industry, foodmanufacturers have nolegal requirement forprinting high definition 2D codes, and thequality of the latter codes was sufficientfor the purposes of best before dates andbatch codes. Now, this long-held view is beingchallenged, as the barriers that haveprevented wider adoption of TIJ - chieflyink performance and equipment cost -have been addressed.TIJ is now ostensibly cheaper than CIJ,when considered on a cost of ownershipbasis. As the technology has become moreestablished, economies of scale havekicked in, and the units themselves aremuch cheaper to buy. Pricing is nowcomparable with Continuous Ink Jetunits, although there are suppliers whowill virtually give away a CIJ printer,knowing that it will be paid for indirectlyin the form of ongoing consumable costsand service contracts. Regardless of theinitial equipment cost - which is only thetip of the iceberg with coding solutions -TIJ will cost less than its competitor overits lifetime. As a rule of thumb, it willwork out at less than two thirds of thecost of CIJ when measured in terms ofcost per 1,000 prints. The reason the cost of ownership is somuch lower is that it is a maintenance-and service-free technology. TIJ printersuse a simple and robust cartridge systemwhich combines both a printhead and inksupply system. Replacing the printcartridge effectively replaces the entire inkdelivery systems, and this can be donewithin a few seconds, minimisingdowntime, eliminating the need forrepairs and service contracts anddramatically increasing efficiency. Cartridge operation makes it a veryclean method of coding, particularly incomparison to CIJ printers, which arerenowned for the mess they make aroundthem and require fluids to be added,introducing the risk of spillage, mess andaccidents. Likewise, it’s is also on-demand, whereasCIJ is continuous - a distinction that has abearing on cost of ownership. Theseprinters take time to start-up andshut-down. It is usual to see apurging station consisting of a headbracket and funnel - used to get ahead running. Once up and running,they are often left on all day and in somecases, even 24 hours. This means fluids areevaporating off into the atmosphere evenwhen no coding is taking place.Furthermore, the ink that is drawn offContinuousefficiencyDevelopments in coding and labelling technology are proving to be not only practical but economically viable for food manufacturers looking to boost efficiency.PHOTO:ADVANCED DYNAMICS22-25_Layout 1 01/03/2016 11:42 Page 1Food & Drink International 23www.fdiforum.netLABELLING, CODING & MARKING“We can help you label every stepof the way, manually, semi andfully automatically”Norpak Ltd, 3 Mitre Court, Cutler Heights Lane, Bradford, W. Yorks, BD4 9JYTel: 01274 681022 Enquiries to info@norpakltd.comwww.norpakltd.com Proudly supplying British made packaging equipment and labelling machines for over 50 years 1964 - 2016Biltong companycustomises poucheswith offline codingsystem from PrintSafeCruga, part of the MeatSnacks Group, is Europe’slargest biltong producer. The company suppliesaround eight million bags of biltong each year to themajor supermarket retailers. It also packs Jerky for itspartner company, The Jerky Group.To reduce costs, Cruga uses a range of genericpouches that it overprints with a barcode and otherproduct-specific data. This gives it the flexibility torespond to changes in customer orders whileminimising wastage.The company is using a KBA-Metronic offlinefeeding system from PrintSafe, fitted with an ICEZodiac thermal transfer coder to print high qualitybarcodes on pouches before filling.Cruga owner, David Low says: “We can reliablyprint several thousand pouches in an hour. Alongsidethe feeding mechanism and build quality, there arecountless other benefits and our non-English-speaking operators have absolutely no problemrunning the machine.”www.printsafe.co.ukduring the purging process will need tobe disposed of as hazardous waste – afact that eats into efficiency and canpotentially disrupt health and safety. By contrast, TIJ printers can beswitched on and printing commencedstraight away. With cartridges ready toprint as soon as it has been wiped andloaded into the printhead, and shut-down is simply a case of removing thecartridge, replacing it in its clip andswitching-off. In this way, ink is onlyconsumed when codes are being printed. Recent breakthroughs in inktechnology have been the other game-changer. Early TIJ printers wereessentially descendants of HP desktopprinters, which were designed forprinting on paper substrates usingwater-based inks. Marking on any sortof glossy coating caused the ink to rubright off. In the FMCG world,however, users want to be able to printon glossy cartons, films and foils. Inorder to successfully print onto thesenon-porous substrates, the technologyneeds to use solvent-based inks. This ismore challenging than it sounds, asfilling a cartridge with MEK (the mainsolvent used in CIJ) would probablycause it to melt. Any commercial TIJalso has to fire correctly from the24 Á22-25_Layout 1 01/03/2016 11:42 Page 224 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.netLABELLING, CODING & MARKINGWhatever you produce,Our machines will label itwww.labeller.co.uk • T: +44 (0) 1444 239970 • E: sales@atwell-labellers.co.uk18 Bolney Grange Business Park • Hickstead • West Sussex • RH17 5PB •Whatever you produce,Our machines will label itwww.labeller.co.uk • T: +44 (0) 1444 239970 • E: sales@atwell-labellers.co.uk18 Bolney Grange Business Park • Hickstead • West Sussex • RH17 5PB •nozzle, have a workable shelf life, be fast-drying and be light- and rub-resistant. Research and development has yieldedgentler, lighter solvents which can be usedin a TIJ cartridge without destroying it,enabling printing on non-porous, coatedsurfaces. Ink performance has also beenimproved - another criticism that used tobe levelled at the technology was that itcould only print in grey, not black.Developments in this area have yieldedinks with high optical darkness, so this isno longer an issue. Other technological advancements aremaking TIJ more attractive to a broadercross-section of users too. Whilst the earlyunits took up large amounts of line space,equipment engineers have embraceddevelopments in circuit board technology.By using efficient circuit boards that don’toccupy much space, they have been ableto reduce the overall size of the printingunit. There have also been considerablestrides in de-cap time - that is, the lengthof time it takes for the ejectable liquid atthe nozzle to clog, causing the printer toproduce sub-standard codes when it isnext started up. Additives can be used toincrease de-cap time and inks have beenformulated to offer decap times of up to 16hours. This allows for intermittentindustrial printing with immediate start-up. Of course, TIJ is not without itslimitations and is not perfect for everyapplication. The units cannot printupwards, which limits their usefulness inthe beverage industry. However, for thevast majority of food packaged productapplications, it offers huge advantagesover CIJ in terms of convenience,cleanliness, clarity and cost. Efficiency is of paramount importantwhen it comes to labelling, as high volumestock needs to be handled and processedto the same high degree and withconsistent information. AdvancedDynamics recently showcased rotarytables and its Pack Leader ELF desk-toplabelling equipment which can increaseproductivity and efficiency, allowingclients to reduce the number of operatorsrequired to run a line. Compact, efficient and flexible, theELF-50 and the ELF-20’s aluminium andstainless steel design makes it portable anddurable. It has a maximum labelling widthcapacity of 120mm, while the user friendlyoperating system and microprocessorcontrols have many added features thatcan boost production efficiency. Advanced Dynamics’ managingdirector, Malcolm Little, said: “Rotarytables are a perfect example of how wecan provide improved efficiencies forcustomers through a constant containerflow, removing the requirement foroperators to place containers individuallyon the conveyor. At the end of the line, acollecting table can be used to accumulatejars or bottles, again eliminating humanintervention.”Rotary tables and thermal ink jet are justtwo of the many options available that canhelp streamline operations to maximisemanufacturers’ productivity and profits toensure their future sustainability. Investingin efficient technology and solutions in thepresent can have a cumulative effect andmean that a food business can help tofuture proof its production. PHOTO: SUMITOMO DEMAGThinfilm and Constantia partner onpressure sensitive labels Thin Film Electronics ASA, a leader in printedelectronics and smart systems, has entered intoa partnership with Constantia Flexibles, amanufacturer of flexible packaging and labels, todeliver pressure sensitive labels utilizingThinfilm’s NFC OpenSense™ technology toleading brands within the beverages industriesfor consumer engagement and mobilemarketing applications.The partners are now working closely tocreate key manufacturing and applicationprocesses for incorporating NFC OpenSense technology into wine, spirit, and beverage labels aswell as flexible packaging for consumer packaged goods.NFC OpenSense tags are thin, flexible labels that can detect both a product’s “factory sealed”and “opened” states and wirelessly communicate contextual content to consumers with the tap ofan NFC-enabled smartphone. Each tag is uniquely identifiable and, when combined with a customapp and cloud-based software, enables item-level communication to a “market of one.” In addition,tags remain active even after a product’s factory seal has been broken, empowering brands toengage in consumer dialogue that extends beyond the point-of-sale.The label-focused initiatives are being managed by Constantia Flexibles’ Label Division. 22-25_Layout 1 01/03/2016 11:42 Page 322-25_Layout 1 01/03/2016 11:42 Page 426 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.netSIEVES & SEPARATORSCawston Press launches new vegetable juice Soft drinks brand Cawston Press has added Spiced Tomato to its range of originalfruit and vegetable juices. The drink will sit alongside other recent additions to its fruit and vegetable range,including Radiant Roots and Brilliant Beetroot. The blends are made with pressedjuice and do not contain any added sugar or artificial ingredients. Cawston purposefully pick and press the juiciest tomatoes and being 88 per centpressed tomatoes, the juice is idea for health conscious consumers looking for aquick fix for their five-a-day. The new flavour expands on the current range of successful fruit and vegetablejuices, which has grown by 63 per cent since 2014. Since launching the fruit andvegetable range, Cawston has seen a higher demand for more vegetables blendedwith fruit as consumers seek products that have lower fructose sugar levels. Spiced Tomato is available in 1 litre Tetra Pak cartons for purchase individually andstocked in Waitrose, Ocado, Whole Foods Market and Tesco. Consumer trends have shifted in recentyears, with increased demand for naturalingredients and greater transparency onwhat is included in food products. Thishas brought with it a number ofchallenges for the sector. Labellingregulations and fears of contaminationmeans that manufacturers need to betotally aware of what’s going into theproducts – and in some cases this hasmeant that production has had to becarried out by hand. Happily, the newbreed of sieves and separators areensuring that quality can still bemaintained without slowing downproduction to inappropriately slow levelsNot only does effective sieving ensurethat the product is free of foreign bodies,but it also aerates the product to ensuregreater volume and quality later in theprocess. Dealing with delicate ingredientsbrings about numerous potentialflashpoints as they can very easily getstuck in the production line. To this end,sieves are now usually incorporatedalongside a magnetic separator which canidentify and remove ferrous items thatwould lead to a product recall.Incorporating the sieves and separatorsinto the production line ensure thishappens without slowing down theproduction process. And with numerousproduct recalls in the public eye recently,including Mars and their plasticcontaminants, the emphasis on hygienicquality has never been higher.That said, although high poweredmagnetic separators may seem the obviouschoice for the production line, they arenot suitable for all products. Products thatIn with theGOODPrecise requirements, in terms of labelling and safety, make ever-evolving sieves and separators a priority. 26-29_Layout 1 01/03/2016 11:45 Page 1Food & Drink International 27www.fdiforum.netSIEVES & SEPARATORScontain flour can often cause separators tobecome confused as the harmless ferrousoxide in flour is slightly magnetic. In thisinstance, it’s now possible to separatematerials up to five fractions, whichwould mean the ferrous properties in thiscase could be ignored.Whatever form of separation isintroduced, however, the aim remains thesame – increased accuracy on theproduction line. Check screening ofbagged powders and ingredients are nowof prime importance. In addition to theaccuracy, working with fine ingredientsalso has an obvious safety obligation, withthe excessive dust that can sometimes begenerated creating obvious health risks forthose working on the production line andcausing numerous potential flashpoints ifit interferes with machinery, somethingthat is frowned upon thanks to the EU’s28 ÁFarleygreene celebrates 40 yearsof sieving technologyFrom modest beginnings in 1976,Farleygreene now provides one of the largestranges of UK manufactured sieving machineryavailable worldwide. Renowned for design andbuild quality, they pride themselves onsupplying to some of the most prestigiousnames in the food, pharmaceutical, chemicaland additive manufacture industries. Farleygreene have launched their new line ofinnovative high technology sieving equipment.Titled ‘SIEVGEN’, this new range represents thecompany’s next generation of sievingequipment, and commitment to drivingtechnologies forward for the future. The firstdesign, launched in late 2015, was theSIEVGEN SG400-US unit, aimed directly at theadditive manufacturing sector. Other models willbe launched during 2016.Since 2010, Farleygreene has grownsubstantially due to a move to a new largermanufacturing site in December 2014 andhaving experienced staff across all departments to provide their customers with acomprehensive service to support them during the life of the machine. For more information, visit www. farleygreene.comPHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/MARCO OSSINO26-29_Layout 1 01/03/2016 11:45 Page 228 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.netSIEVES & SEPARATORSATEX regulations. In addition to safety and security, theimportance of meeting exact quantitiescannot be overestimated. Because of thediverse manner in which spices and otheringredients are harvested, for example,there are obvious issues for suppliers ofthese imported products who need to becertain they are 100% free from unwantedmaterial or to the correct quality controlspecification required.Very basic sieving of the products hasalways been carried out in these instancesbut the slow hand methods used cancreate an enormous bottleneck andensures huge delays to production output– certainly not something that is useful inthe current climate. Hence theintroduction of bespoke sieving andvacuum transfer combination systems thatcan offer additional capacity. Differingproducts and differing final productrequirements can be dealt with viaadditional sieves to grade products intosize fractions.It’s of vital importance formanufacturers to ensure that productscan’t be contaminated and therefore thenew breed of sieves pay particularattention to removing potentialflashpoints. While this will never – andshould never – be enough to remove thenecessity of monitoring or scanningequipment, it still does work towardslowering the potential for disaster. As the basic requirements of sieves andseparators become more commonlyachieved, manufacturers are lookingtowards other methods of improvingefficiency. Cleaning and maintenance isone such problem area, especially whentaking into account the amount of foodmaterial that is pushed through themachines. Many sieves and separatorsnow feature self-cleaning technology tolimit the effort needed to removeparticles. And those that don’t often comewith other features that make cleaning aneasier task – and mitigates the risk ofsomeone having to reach into themachine, even if it is turned off. As always, the needs of the specificcompany should be taken into accountwhen choosing what’s best for amanufacturing line. Certain products andingredients react in different ways, andwhat works for one line might not besuitable for another. Especially whentaking into account precise processes likebrewing or alcohol lines in general. It’salways best to speak directly to a supplier,to see what they can advise in regards toproducts, as they have specialistknowledge in the field. Cold pressed oil producer moves into high-care foodmanufacturing The contract packing and cold pressed oil producer Phoenix Group hasexpanded its food manufacturing operations with a new high-care food processingfacility in Nottingham, UK.Its new dedicated high-care packing site at allows Phoenix to provide a range ofnew outsourced services for its clients including batch heating and boiling,emulsification, dry and wet ingredient blending and high-shear blending.Production began at the state-of-the-art premises in January. The 2,600 squarefoot site adds to the company’s existing facilities already in operation.Ben Guy, managing director of Phoenix, said: “Having this additional space letsus offer a whole range of new services to our customers who are increasinglydemanding more specialised production techniques from their suppliers that onlyhigh-care sites can deliver.”Phoenix’s new site will be fully connected with its existing suite of bespoke apps- launched last year at a cost of £25,000 - which gives production staff and customers real-time access to cloud-based quality management and stockcontrol systems.The company has made a five-year commitment to the new premises through a lease arrangement supported and made possible by Invest inNottingham.PHOTO: FAIRFIELDS FARM CRISPS26-29_Layout 1 01/03/2016 11:45 Page 3Food & Drink International 29www.fdiforum.netSIEVES & SEPARATORSWe put technology in motion.™ www.sweco.com info@sweco.comSWECO invented the Vibro-Energy® Round Separator in 1939. Every year since we have strived to perfect our equipment by designing systems to fit our customers’ exact needs. Contact SWECO today and let us engineer an innovative solution for your application.SWECO Europe, UK Division+44 01782 333884uksales@sweco.comEngineering Separators For Decades.Customizing Solutions Daily.Round SeparatorTMThe new generation separator increasessafety and improves clean-up andmaintenance as it provides a standardglobal presence for the traditional roundseparator.The totally enclosed weight guardprevents “reach-in” injuries and complieswith European CE Standards. This MXdesign also complies with ATEXStandards by making use of theappropriate motor, conductive gaskets andanti-static spout connectors all applicablefor the Food industry as well. The open base construction allows forcleaning underneath the unit, thereforepreventing dirt and product build-up tooccur. Additionally, the MX base designeliminates all gussets and external creviceswhere product can become trapped whileallowing for total external polishing of themachine. These features allow for a moresanitary designed separator. The openconstruction scheme also allows for easierinspection and cleaning of the separator’sunderside.Angled support springs minimizeaggressive vibration that typically occursduring shutdown of the machine. Theextremely rugged construction of thismachine utilizes conical construction ratherthan flat plates which creates a more rigidgeometric structure. This concept has beensuccessfully tested and proven throughmillions of high G life cycles. The choice for special noise abatingmetals and self-cleaning screens with largersliders have a positive influence on the noiselevels of the separator. Noise reductions canbe measured as much as 16 dbA.Monitoring the elastomeric materialsused makes this new generation roundseparators also compliant with theEC1935/2004 Food Contact regulationsand GMP standards. On demand of the Food industry a lotof research has been done intomagnetically reactive and FDA acceptablecleaning balls and sliders for direct foodcontact. In case of screen breakagespecially woven magnetic screen cloth canbe retrieved in the downstream process bymagnets.All this makes the new generation MXRound Separator a safer, cleaner andstronger equipment that can be usedchemical, food, pharmaceutical, mineral,paper, and many other industries.New generation round separatoris compliant with all recentsafety and food standards26-29_Layout 1 01/03/2016 11:45 Page 4Next >