Premier Foods, Knighton, wanted to move towards fully recyclable packaging as well as end of line testing to reduce wastage; both of which they have achieved with one product.
Project goal and implementation
Premier Foods, Knighton wanted to transition to packaging that was fully recyclable by replacing a metal lower end with paper. During this process, they also decided to move to end of line testing to try and reduce wastage they were getting from using a Bulk Metal Detector further up the line. The Dymond S has enabled them to achieve both of these objectives and in-turn they’re now making huge annual savings.
By using x-ray they now lose just one container when a reject is detected and can use existing containers with product in to do their routine hourly tests. In addition to metal, other foreign bodies such as glass and stone can also be detected. Lee Millward, Engineering Manager for Premier Foods, Knighton commented “The Dymond S detection range is much better than what we had before, it gives us greater scope to test for smaller foreign bodies.”
The other huge benefit to Premier Foods, Knighton is that it’s saved them time and costs in cleaning, the old reject system had lots of pipework that required cleaning, (especially as it was testing loose powder) whereas because they’re now checking completed product in containers; there’s no mess and no cleaning.
Lee continued “There’s no waste which is a cost saving of £80k per year which means the machine has paid for itself in just over a year – that’s a phenomenal ROI considering the life expectancy of this machine.”
Premier Foods, Knighton have also opted for the Premium Plus Service which guarantees response times of up to 4 hours. Minebea Intec Service Experts are available 14 hours per day to give exclusive technical support in resolving existing problems and assisting the staff. Lee concluded “I give Minebea Intec 10/10 and I’ve already recommended the X-ray machine to our other manufacturing sites at managers meetings. The product, the staff and the overall experience has been excellent.”
