''We were looking for a machine to help us get into the gas packaging market so we could service two new clients - Makro and Iceland," said Spurway's sales director Derek Ord. "We had just won business from them for the first time and we were also quite keen to expand our customer base for the 250 products we supply. So we needed something to cope with the high speeds and throughputs we had to achieve."
Spurway carried out an extensive research before choosing Packaging Automation's Vision 182MAP-V heat-sealing machines. "There were cheaper machines available, but the Vision was such a fine product we just had to have it,'' said Ord.
The speed at which Packaging Automation moved after the order was placedalso impressed Ord. "They were quickly on site, and installation was asimple process. They turned up on time on a Friday and we were inproduction the next morning."
Kerry Foods, a leading supplier of value-added foods to major supermarket chains, is another company that ha recently installed Packaging Automation technology at its food plant. The PA2016 heat-sealing machine, which is also equipped with modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) capabilities, points to the growing importance of MAP in food packaging applications.
"We were looking for a heat-sealing machine when we launched a new line of chicken pieces," said the plant's engineering manager John Crowley. "We had heard of Packaging Automation, of course, but my colleagues said we really should take a close look at what they had to offer. So I visited another of our sites to see their PA machine in operation, decided Packaging Automation could offer what we needed, and we soon had a PA2016 on order."
And after exhaustive trials, Crowley claims that the PA2016 is performing as expected. "It is going well, no problems at all," said Crowley. An initial rental period will now be replaced by outright purchase.
The PA2016 is a semi-automatic machine, which incorporates an automatic index rotary table. It is most often produced, as in this case, as a MAP machine, and a high oxygen model is also available.
Packaging Automation is a leading manufacturer of heat-sealing machinery for the food industry. The business employs 120 people and produces a wide range of equipment from simple manual units and semi-automatics through to in-line fullyautomated systems.