Customer requirements

Solutech Ltd of Winsford, Cheshire is a small company operating as a specialist food grade liquid blending contractor, currently despatching around 12,000 tonnes of blended liquids a year to the food and beverage industry.

Customer requirements

The management team at confectionery manufacturer Joseph Dobson embarked upon a programme of measures to improve and automate selected elements of their operation. The areas for improvement were chosen on the premise that they must not compromise the heart of their traditional boiled sweet making process. All of their improvement measures were targeted towards three key objectives: better hygiene, improved health and safety and labour saving.

The proof of the pudding is in the handling as Matthew Walker discovers

Spiroflow bulk bag dischargers are playing a vital role in the production of Christmas puddings

Four Spiroflow T6 bulk bag dischargers installed at the Heanor, Derbyshire plant ofMatthew Walker, help the company to make its quality Christmas puddings to 60 different recipes for its many customers.

Customer requirements

The ingredients handling system at fish food manufacturer Skretting of Longridge, Lancashire, UK was installed over 8 years ago by a specialist contractor who had included a simple bulk bag unloading arrangement which feed ingredients into a ‘Spiroflow’ Aero-Mechanical Conveyor. The Aero-Mechanical Conveyor lifts ingredients up to a horizontal screw conveyor feeding storage bunkers on the floor above.

Customer requirements

The product in question is Premier Foods’ SMASH Instant Mashed Potato. SMASH ranks among the UK’s best known consumer brands confirmed by the fact that its ‘Martians’ advertisement has been voted the best TV ad of all time.

Installation of Spiroflow’s Pneuvac process feeding equipment at Sandra Tea & Coffee has significantly cut both labour costs and downtime as well as improving production by reducing dust.

Customer requirements

Dublin, Ireland based Gem Pack Foods Ltd are both a Contract Packer and provider of an extensive range of own brand ‘Gem’ and ‘Gem Gourmet’ products - several of which are simply repacked from bulk supplies but many of which are proprietary mixes. Their key ingredients are sugar, in various forms from granulated to fine icing grades, rice and corn flour.

Customer requirements

Thomas Tunnock Ltd is renowned for their famous Camamel Wafers, Snowballs, Camamel Logs, and Tea Cakes

A major part of the success of these products is Tunnock's own brand of chocolate made to a secret recipe from a blend of cocoa liquor, two famous brands of proprietory chocolate, sugar and lethicin.

Customer requirements

Theakstons brew a range of quality beers of which their ‘Old Peculier’ is legendary! Although committed to upholding their traditional brewing methods, in a brewery building which is 136 years old: to meet ever increasing demand, Theaksons recognised that operational improvements would have to be made to those areas, such as materials handling, which would have no effect whatsoever on the quality of their beers.

Customer requirements

Manufacturers of bakery goods are mainly concerned with hygiene, prevention of dust and low levels of maintenance.

Two ingredients, (potato flake and crumpet mix) needed to be conveyed from bulk bags through an existing wall and into two mixers in the room beyond. The mixers were situated 10m apart and needed to be fed at precise rates in order to ensure compliance with batch recipes.