Pork Farms on a roll with carton coder
UK meat products firm Pork Farms has speeded up production line changeovers through installing Allen…UK meat products firm Pork Farms has speeded up production line changeovers through installing Allen Coding Systems' carton coding technology at its factory in Shaftesbury, Dorset.
The manufacturer of scotch eggs, crispbakes and cooked cocktail sausages said it picked the 4ACC carton coding system to deal with the requirements of new packaging for products. These products include Snackpots for Tesco’s Southern Fried Chicken and Mini Eggs.
Simon Greenwood, chief engineer at Pork Farms, knew of Allen coders from his experience with other food manufacturers. He was previously an engineering manager at Yeo Valley Foods before moving to Pork Farms and was also an engineering team leader at Uniq Foods.
“The 4ACC has resolved the issue of code drift and wastage that we were experiencing with our previous labelling system, which had reached the end of its life span,” said Greenwood.
Quick changeovers
“The best features of this Allen machine are its ease of use and ability to facilitate quick changeovers, enabling it to deal with numerous product changes each day.”
The machine could handle between 40-50 cartons a minute, was easy to install and simple to clean and maintain, he added.
It uses a pusher plate system to pass cartons rapidly across a tabletop surface for coding before collating them for removal.
It is equipped with an alarm to alert production line staff when coding materials are running out.
Pre-set batch counter
It also has a pre-set batch counter, which may be set to count up or down for up to 10,000 items and will automatically shut off the machine after the desired batch has been coded.
A brushed metal easy-clean construction and mounted castor wheels meant the 4ACC was suited to food processing environments that required cleanliness and portability.
Pork Farms products include pork pies, savoury slices and sausage rolls.
