Heat sealing equipment meets ready meal targets
processing equipment which is helping a Hull-based food
manufacturer meet a large order for ready meals with the Safeway
supermarket chain.
UK packaging equipment provider Packaging Automation has provided processing equipment which is helping a Hull-based food manufacturer, part of Cavaghan and Gray, meet a large order for ready meals with the Safeway supermarket chain.
Packaging Automation has now installed ten PA182 semi-automatic heat sealing machines about the floor of a factory which turns out a staggering 55 different varieties of ready meals, shortly going up to 85 for the Safeway supermarket chain. All have to be packed in CPET trays and this is where the PA's come in.
And Cavaghan and Gray's operations manager Greg Harrison is said to be satisfied with them all, and with the upwards of 30 sets of tools which Packaging Automation supplied with them.
The Hull-based company forms a division of Carlisle-headquartered Cavaghan and Gray, which in turn is part of Northern Foods. "We set up the ready meals food factory nearly a year ago now," said Harrison. "It is exclusively dedicated to producing Safeway ready meals due to the volume the supermarket requires. So we needed all 10 machines for the launch of this contract and we intend to buy more of PA's equipment."
One reason cited for the decision to buy PA was connected with production runs. A great deal of the Safeway runs are very short so there is a need for a quick change - sometimes a series of quick changes - between batches and the 182 and its tooling provides this.
"Ease of operation for our workforce - there are 200 on the factory floor with a total staff of 275 - was another consideration," said Harrison. "The 182 is simple and easy to operate and there is only very little training needed before someone is capable of handling one. On top of that we have found the machines robust and reliable."
Next on the purchase list for Cavaghan and Gray will be PA's Vision182, the fully automatic version which combines the best design features of the 182 with the latest in heat sealing technology. This, is expected to be installed in mid-November. "And as business volumes grow we will look to PA for more machines," said Harrison. "Northern Foods have used them for a long time and they have almost become a brand name to us."
Packaging Automation's sales manager Neil Ashton said: "It is always pleasing to receive compliments from our customers and it is nice of Cavaghan and Gray to put us on a par with a leading manufacturer. Our customers are always important to us and we like to deliver exactly what they require. With Cavaghan and Gray we must have got it right because they are coming back for more."
