Handtmann waste-saving software could save thousands in cash
The meat processing equipment supplier showcased the equipment for the first time at this year’s IPA trade show in Paris, winning an award from the show’s organisers for it.
The Control Unit monitoring software is installed on the production computer system between the scales and the filling machine.
The system much more precisely measures and controls portion weight and the weight leeway allowed per portion to conform to product specs.
Significant material savings
Extensively tested in cooked meat production, the system provides significant material savings of up to 5g per sausage by activating the sausage filler close mechanism exactly when the required weight is achieved.
A spokesman for the company told FoodProductionDaily: “We have reduced the target weight by three to five grammes.”
Assuming waste-saving of three grammes per sausage, a two-shift run of 13 hours daily for five days a week and a machine running 80% of the time, he claimed it could save more than €100,000 annually.
Return on investment
On that basis, companies would receive return on investment for the system within one to two years, he said.
In addition to its waste-saving properties, it had further benefits, the spokesman added. “This software is able to tell you what [in-line] machine is running, what programme is running, whether a machine has stopped and the reason.
“It can also adjust weight more efficiently than manual systems. The more you use it, the more accurate is the adjustment, because the system uses its memory to give a correction in weight.”
The system won an innovation award from the IPA organisers in the ‘monitoring equipment’ category.
