The London-based company said increasing demand for its range of low-fat snacks had led to it selecting the Ishida iTPS weighing and packing line.
The system weighs both cheese puffs and tortilla chips into 18g with “minimal giveaway”, said the company. It is able to handle throughput from the operation, with top speeds of 160 bags per minute (bpm) for the cheese snacks and slightly less for the weightier tortilla chips. The system performs “reliably" as part of a 24/5 production schedule – delivering an output of about 70,000 packs per shift.
“The Ishida was able to deliver the very fast speeds we needed and, just as significant, could achieve these without compromising on weighing accuracy,” said Peter Dolton, operations director at Snack Unlimited.
Integrated system
The snack company highlighted the integrated nature of the system as a major advantage. The R Series multihead weigher, Atlas bag maker, as well as the throat metal detector and thermal transfer codes, that were operated via proprietary software, provided “an efficient and seamless operation”. Dolton said the system was user-friendly as all functions can be controlled by a single remote control unit (RCU).
The bag maker features a double rotary jaw motion and superior control technology, to combine fast speeds with accurate film registration and tight bag seals. The saving of raw materials, minimising film loss and reductions in downtime for film changes are all benefits claimed for the equipment. It also offers effective product charge control which reliably strips any remaining product from the seal area and prevents product from being blown upward. An optional auto film splicing unit, which Ishida said is “unique”, reduces product changeover times by up to 10 per cent.
Tight seals without wrinkles – even during high-speed packing are made possible by the iTPS sealing unit. Pressure, temperature and sealing time can be easily set on the RCU to match the production speed and film characteristics, creating optimum seals for any film, said Ishida.
Dolton said the system was able to meet the snack maker’s fundamental requirements of speed and accuracy, and he also praised the high levels of service and support provided by the packaging company both before and after the purchase.