On any high-volume equipment where speed and efficiency are concerns the splicing equipment becomes a real asset."Īs for return on investment Zimmer concludes: "Material and labor savings for payback on the equipment varies from line to line depending on crew size line speed and product. The splicer has improved our capacity reduced our scrap and downtime. "And as we focused on the big picture of bringing together machine efficiency within our own contract packaging and for customers who buy our machinery we wanted to increase that efficiency and minimize yield loss. "We have people who work for us that came from backgrounds where they used high-speed splicing equipment" says Zimmer. Since installing its first KTI unit Cloud has expanded its use to six of the machines it uses internally as well as on about 25 of the machines it's manufactured for sale. Zimmer says about 90% of the plant's volume is sold at retail including grocery and club stores 10% goes to foodservice customers. One of three Cloud plants Des Plaines packages powders granulars and piece products like Graduates. The line occupies one of 15 packaging rooms in a 150 sq' portion of Cloud's 400 sq' Des Plaines contract packaging/machine manufacturing facility. The "U"-shaped line runs two or three shifts/day five days/week. The Gerber Graduates product represents "the single-largest use of the capacity on this line" explains Cloud's Zimmer. We could get to do this at less than 100 packs a minute but no one else could tackle it in excess of 500 a minute." The product is soft and must be handled gently as it's a one-ounce fill. Not just any contract packager could operate at these speeds. "They run this in excess of 500 pouches per minute. We could not launch the product at a competitive price point without their high-speed equipment" he insists. "We selected Cloud to run this project for us because their high-speed equipment allowed us to introduce the Fruit Juice Snacks to the market. "But it's a downtime issue for Cloud in changing film so anything that speeds up their packaging process is a benefit for us." "I'm familiar with the KTI splicing equipment and am aware that it's functioning on the Cloud equipment but I don't know the details of how it helps us" he admits. "They produce packages for us approximately every other month" explains George Zuwerink Gerber's manager of contract manufacturing/food. During that time the product has "graduated" from manual to automated web splicing. of Summit NJ-based Novartis.Ĭloud has packed Gerber's Graduates(TM) Fruit Juice Snacks since the product's launch in 1996. the venerable Fremont MI company that is now part of the Consumer Health Div. One of Cloud's first customers to benefit from the KTI splicing equipment is Gerber Products Co. Now we still prep the next roll but we only lose three to six pouches in this continuous process." Cloud adds "we'd typically lose 50 to 60 pouches for a roll change. "During the process we would stop the machine splice the tape and not run product for the duration of the roll change" notes Zimmer.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |