ISHIDA Europe has revealed one of its compact linear multihead weighers is providing a ‘fast and efficient’ solution for the weighing of nuts into pots at a Norwegian confectionery and snack manufacturer.
The CCW-R2-108PL at Brynild Gruppen’s factory in Fredrikstad is the ninth weigher to be installed, continuing a partnership between the two companies that dates back many years.
“Our Ishida weighers are fast, accurate and reliable and for these reasons offer a quick payback on our investment,” said project manager Viggo Ersøybakk. “Equally important, the machines are well liked by our operators, thanks to their ease of set up and use.”
Ishida said the compact design and ‘excellent’ speed and accuracy of the CCW-R2-108 satisfied a number of key requirements for the launch of the new range of nuts in pots. In particular, Brynild wanted to minimise the height of the overall installation to make room for the filling system beneath the weigher.
The weigher’s linear design allows ‘very precise’ product flow control with vibratory feeder troughs that carry product to the weighing heads. For the Brynild application, the weigher is divided into two halves, delivering speeds of around 50 pots per minute in two sizes, with ‘pinpoint accuracy’ close to the target weights, which range from 15g to 270g depending on the product being packed.
A special distribution system beneath the weigher transfers the two separate weighments into two pots simultaneously, which are then gas flushed and heat sealed.
Although the 50 pots per minute are well within the CCW-R2’s top speed of 120 per minute, speeds are regulated by the pot filler as time is required to ensure the gas flushing is carried out correctly.
The new products were launched just before the pandemic and saw demand surge as people spent more time at home. As a result, the weigher is handling around twice the amount of product as originally anticipated.
The CCW-R2-108 is weighing 13 nut products, many of which are coated with salt or other spices. Ishida explained the ribbed surface of the contact parts keeps product moving ‘smoothly’ throughout the weigher and the dust-proof cover ensures particulate levels are low. The machine can incorporate up to 200 pre-sets and all contact parts are removable without tools.
The weigher joins two existing 14-head circular Ishida multihead weighers in the snacks factory, which is producing 72 different product lines. In the confectionery factory, Brynild handles 47 sugar confectionery and 34 chocolate lines. Pack sizes vary from 15g to 400g. The speed and flexibility of weighers are therefore a critical element in maintaining efficiencies and throughput.
In particular, the weighers have played a crucial role in Brynild’s optimisation programme, which has seen the company continue to increase volumes while reducing its dependence on manual labour. Today, just one operator is required for each of the packing lines.
“We invest in quality equipment because, although the initial purchase price can be high, we know the consistent performance and reliability of the machines will enable us to maintain operations,” Viggo Ersøybakk added. “This has certainly been the case with the Ishida weighers. Typically, we would expect a return on our investment within three years, although with our latest weigher, this has improved still further due to the high demand during the pandemic.”
