When a mutton processing plant in Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, had serious problems returning to the conveyor belt in the mutton processing facility, stakeholders turned to Flexco for a solution.
       The conveyors handle more than 20 kg of returnable goods per day, which means a lot of waste and a blow to the company’s bottom line.
        The mutton butchery is equipped with eight conveyor belts, two modular conveyor belts and six white nitrile conveyor belts. The two modular conveyor belts were subject to more returns, which created problems on the job site. Two conveyor belts are located in a cold-boned lamb processing facility that operates two eight-hour shifts a day.
        The meatpacking company originally had a cleaner that consisted of segmented blades mounted on a head. The sweeper is then mounted on the head pulley and the blades are tensioned using a counterweight system.
       “When we first launched this product in 2016, they visited our booth at the Foodtech Packtech show in Auckland, New Zealand where they mentioned that his plant had these issues and we were able to provide a solution immediately, interestingly, a food grade cleaner so our recycled food cleaner is the first of its kind on the market,” said Ellaine McKay, product and marketing manager at Flexco.
       “Before Flexco researched and developed this product, there was nothing on the market that could clean lightweight belts, so people used homemade solutions because that was the only thing on the market.”
       According to Peter Muller, senior director of the mutton butchery, before working with Flexco, the company had a limited choice of equipment.
       ”Meat processing companies initially used a cleaner that consisted of a segmented blade mounted on a front beam. This cleaner was then mounted on a front pulley and the blade tensioned with a counterweight system.”
       ”Meat can accumulate between the tip of the cleaner and the surface of the belt, and this buildup can cause such a strong tension between the cleaner and the belt that this tension can eventually cause the cleaner to tip over. This problem usually occurs when the counterweight system is locked in place during shifts that are firmly fixed in place.”
       The counterweight system didn’t work properly and the blades had to be cleaned every 15 to 20 minutes, resulting in three or four downtimes per hour.
       Müller explained that the main reason for the excessive production shutdowns was the counterweight system, which was extremely difficult to tighten.
        Too much return also means whole cuts of meat pass the cleaners, end up on the back of the conveyor belt, and fall to the floor, making them unfit for human consumption. The company was losing hundreds of dollars a week because of the lamb that fell on the floor because it could not be sold and make a profit for the company.
       “The first problem they faced was the loss of a lot of goods and money, and the loss of a lot of food, which created a cleaning problem,” McKay said.
        “The second problem is with the conveyor belt; because of it, the tape breaks because you apply this hard piece of plastic to the tape.
        “Our system has a tensioner built in, which means if there are any large chunks of material, the blade can move and allow something larger to pass easily, otherwise it stays flat on the conveyor belt and moves the food where it needs to go. be on the next conveyor belt.”
       A key part of the company’s sales process is the audit of the client’s enterprise, conducted by a team of experts with many years of experience in evaluating existing systems.
       ”We go out for free and visit their factories and then make suggestions for improvements that may or may not be our products. Our salespeople are experts and have been in the industry for decades, so we’re more than happy to lend a helping hand,” McKay said.
       Flexco will then provide a detailed report on the solution it believes is best for the client.
       In many cases, Flexco has also allowed customers and potential customers to try out solutions on site to see first hand what they offer, so Flexco is confident in its innovation and solutions.
       “We have found in the past that customers who try our products are often very satisfied, like this mutton processing plant in New Zealand,” McKay says.
        More important is the quality of our products and the innovation we provide. We are known in both light and heavy industries for the quality and durability of our products, and for the extensive support we provide such as free training, on-site installation, we provide great support. “
       This is the process a lamb processor goes through before finally selecting the Flexco Stainless Steel FGP Cleaner, which has FDA approved and USDA certified metal detection blades.
       After installing the purifiers, the company almost immediately saw an almost complete reduction in returns, saving 20kg of product per day on just one conveyor belt.
        The purifier was installed in 2016 and two years later the results are still relevant. By reducing returns, the company “processes up to 20kg a day, depending on the cut and throughput,” Muller says.
        The company was able to increase its stock levels instead of constantly throwing spoiled meat in the trash. This means an increase in the profitability of the company. By installing new purifiers, Flexco has also eliminated the need for constant cleaning and maintenance of the purifier system.
       Another key benefit of Flexco’s products is that all of its food cleaners are FDA approved and USDA certified to reduce the risk of cross-contamination of conveyor belts.
       By eliminating the need for ongoing maintenance, the company saves lamb processors over NZ$2,500 a year in labor costs.
       In addition to saving wages for excess labor, companies gain time and productivity gains because employees are now free to perform other productivity-enhancing tasks instead of having to constantly solve the same problem.
       Flexco FGP purifiers can increase productivity by reducing labor-intensive cleaning hours and keeping previously inefficient purifiers busy.
       Flexco has also been able to save the company significant amounts of money that can be used more efficiently, improve the company’s profitability, and use it to purchase additional resources to increase the company’s productivity.