Nuts and dried fruit: X-ray and checkweigher at the end of the line
A nut and dried-fruit packer produces tens of thousands of tonnes a year. At the end of the line every bag is scanned by a Mekitec X-ray system and checked by a checkweigher, even at 220 packs a minute.
This case study is based on material from Mekitec. Utily Solution is Mekitec's exclusive sales and service partner in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Customer
A family business from Germany, founded in 1936, that packs nuts and dried fruit, mainly under retailers’ private labels. It produces around 35,000 tonnes a year in bags from 50 g to 1 kg, up to 230 tonnes a day. It also supplies confectionery makers.
Challenge
Nuts and dried fruit are natural products that may contain stones, shell fragments, glass or metal. In line with HACCP, the company wanted to inspect every pack at the end of the line. It was not an easy task: the packaging machines run fast, and mixes such as trail mix vary greatly in density.
Solution
At the end of its lines the company installed Mekitec MIDMEKI X-ray systems combined with a checkweigher. One machine:
- finds metal, stones and glass splinters in every bag,
- rejects packs that are underweight or overweight,
- keeps up with the fastest packaging machines at 220 packs per minute.
It started with one trail-mix line and has gradually equipped most of its 21 lines with X-ray.
Results
- Every bag inspected for contaminants and weight.
- One machine instead of two at the end of the line.
- Reliable inspection even for mixes of varying density.
MIDMEKI is also available for rent, so you can try it on your own line.
