An industry leading supplier of food ingredients and spices has seen a substantial improvement in production line efficiencies, following the implementation of a Matcon IBC System.
The spice mix manufacturer has been able to transform their original offering as just a supplier of raw materials to the ready meals, additive and marinated meat products sector, to now positioning themselves as a genuine partner whose expertise can be utilised by their global customer base to deliver bespoke recipes, individually packaged in variable volume sizes, with fast order processing.
The challenges with producing spice mixes
To enable the manufacturer to maintain their industry leading position, they identified the need to invest in a more flexible and intuitive food processing system. Their original system consisted of eight conical mixers which were coupled directly to Auger fillers. This inefficient static production process resulted in extensive manufacturing downtime between recipe changes, and a large inventory of finished goods due to them having to run ‘campaign’ production as batch volumes were inflexible.
This coupled production line was creating a costly manufacturing process, that was unable to meet ingredient diversity or consumer demands. To rectify this issue, the company identified the need to invest in a more agile and flexible system. The spice manufacturer approached Matcon to design and install an IBC powder handling system, that would provide them with an efficient and lean manufacturing process, that was able to meet ever-changing market demands.
Selecting the right food manufacturing system
Matcon worked closely with the customer to design the ideal food processing system that would give them flexibility and achieve their production objectives. The final design uses the Matcon IBC system, with unique Cone Valve technology, providing the spice manufacturer with full traceability and batch integrity throughout their production process.
In tailoring the design of the system, it was decided to incorporate three of the existing conical mixers, to accommodate the need for the high-running, large volume recipes that has less of a need for recipe switch-over. IBCs are still used in taking away the blended material from the mixers and feeding it into Auger filler packing lines, which facilitates a quicker turnaround of the conical mixers as they aren’t now waiting for the packing lines to call off product directly from the mixer. In addition, recipes are pre-formulated into IBC and then quickly tipped into the conical mixer when it is ready to receive.
For all other products in the portfolio, the Matcon IBC Blender is being used, creating a separate production line suited to diverse and smaller batch sizes, that require a faster turnaround. In-bin blending removes mixer cleaning time, the IBC itself is the mixing vessel, so there is no need to clean between batch changes. The ability to fill IBCs to different volumes, or have IBCs in a range of sizes, allows for smaller batches to be processed on the same blender. This has resulted in the spice company being able to turn around orders within days instead of weeks.
The unique Cone Valve technology within each IBC provides the company with a manufacturing solution that is able to effectively control the flow of powder as it feeds to packing, removing the risk of particle separation and de-mixing of the blend, ensuring a quality final product, and reducing the volume of waste and manual handling.
The agile and flexible manufacturing process provides the manufacturer with an efficient system that is capable of meeting the demand for regular recipe changeover and consistently producing optimal product to a high quality, with minimal overheads and downtime. All of which contributes to reducing the cost/kg of the product and improving business profitability.
A senior team member of the spice manufacturing company said...
“The Matcon IBC Blending system is far more versatile than our previous mixers. We have had superb support dealing with initial teething problems and now have an ideal factory for our flexible manufacturing needs.”
Food manufacturing equipment developed by the powder handling experts
Matcon are at the forefront of resolving the issues faced by flavouring and spice manufacturers when working with powder-based recipes. Their unique IBC systems are designed with lean manufacturing in mind, providing operators with optimal control over their product at all stages.
Matcon’s cutting-edge Cone Valve technology, is trusted by industry leaders to consistently produce quality product, whilst maintaining a flexible approach to manufacturing. The Cone Valve has been proven to give full control of the flow of a wide and diverse range of powders, from pharmaceutical to food grade powders, providing users with future-proofed manufacturing capabilities.
With over 40 years of experience in resolving manufacturers’ powder handling issues, Matcon have seen even the most complex of powder handling problems, and solved them. Their unique, customer-led approach, guarantees that implementing a Matcon IBC is as simple as possible, ensuring that all systems are tailored to a customer’s specific needs.
To find out exactly how the Matcon IBC system helped this industry-leading manufacturer to improve their efficiencies and meet consumer demand, download the case study below. If you require any further information on how such a transformation could be performed in your business, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Posted by
Matt Baumber