Ishida weighers support Picola’s quality reputation
Speed, accuracy, reliability and excellent service support are the major benefits of two Ishida CHW-214 entry-level multihead weighers installed at South African quality snacks specialist Picola Foods.
Facts and Figures
Flexible
Picola Foods has invested in two Ishida entry-level multihead weighers to reduce giveaway and increase speed and reliability for its popcorn range
Efficient
The accuracy of the CHW’s has reduced product giveaway by 50% compared with the previously installed weighers
Hygenic
Ishida supplied the weighers with a ring gate to help control the product flow to the hoppers, thus allowing the customer to maximise speeds without compromising on accuracy
Efficient
According to Picola Foods, the CHW weighers have performed excellently from the outset and the level of support offered by Ishida has been exemplary
Challenge
Prior to choosing the CHW, we were using another entry-level weigher, but this was not very accurate or reliable and the aftersales service was poor,” explained Cobus Landman, the company’s General Manager. “By contrast, the Ishida weighers have performed excellently from the outset and the level of support offered by Ishida South Africa has been exemplary.
Solution
A particular benefit of the Ishida weigher is that the ring gate above the radial feeders, which helps to control the product flow, is supplied as standard, whereby on many other entry-level models it is supplied as an optional extra. The ring gate is especially important for the handling of popcorn, as Production Manager Riaan Brits explains.“The shape of our popcorn means it can roll about quite quickly. This can lead to overfill in the weigh hoppers, which slows down the weighing process and produces inaccurate, overweight packs. So, thanks to the ring gate, we can maximise packing speeds without compromising on accuracy.”The accuracy of the Ishida CHW produces bag weights within 2g of the target weight, which has halved the amount of product giveaway compared with the previous weighers
The two 14-head weighers with 2 litre size hoppers are handling Picola Foods’ range of Homestyle savoury
and sweet popcorn, including Cheese & Chives, White Chedder, Salt & Vinegar and Sweet & Salty, in packs
of 45g at around 60 packs per minute, well within the weighers’ top speed of 90ppm.The CHW multihead weigher range has been specifically designed to enable companies to harness the benefits of automation, increasing efficiency and throughput in the packing of a wide range of dry products such as snacks, confectionery, cereals, biscuits and pasta. It therefore proved a welcome addition to Picola
Foods’ packing lines.
“We take pride in the quality of our products and the packaging is an important part of this,” concluded Cobus Landman. “Thanks to the Ishida weighers, we are able to deliver a better consumer experience."
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