Dried fruit, nut and seed producer Petrow Food Group has invested close to £100,000 on a new powder fill machine for dry mixes at its production site in the UK.
The investment will allow the group to offer “improved packaging of dry mix and powdered products and more competitive prices for its customers”. Petrow said the new Auger with vertical form fill and seal packing machine (VFFS) volumetrically dispenses dry mixes such as flour and cake mixes. The machine enables bespoke programming for each customer’s order, providing controlled and precise dispensing of a verified and weighted quantity to meet the exact needs of clients every time.
The system is specifically designed to overcome waste in dry-fill packaging and beats conventional multi-head weighing machines, which make hard work of filling dry powders, as powder build-up on weigh pans can slow down processes and lead to downtime during cleaning.
The new line will lead to faster and more consistent packing of powders, while the horizontal sealing jaws will ensure a more reliable weigh and seal and less packaging material waste, Petrow Food Group said.
Petrow managing director Ian Tatchell said: “The equipment will address problems that often blight conventional multi-head weighing, where the build-up of powder on weigh pans can make consistent filling difficult. Unlike conventional powder fillers, the Auger increases pack integrity and improves costs due to reduced ullage at filling reducing powder plume.
“The new Auger line gives more certainty when a specific weighted quantity of powders is to be dispensed, and can operate faster and more consistently, with lower costs and packaging savings, compared to multi-head weighing options used for filling of dry granular mixes. The net result is Petrow Food Group will be able to offer more competitive prices and better, more flexible packing solutions for both powders and dry mixes.”
Petrow Food Group marketing and business development director Fatma Akalin-McGee added: “With the growing trend for free-from, customers are asking for more coconut flour, almond flour, walnut flours and other nut flours as alternative ingredients to meet the rising demands for high nutritional and gluten-free ingredients. With this new investment, we can now offer more flexibility in filling and packaging options alongside cost and operational efficiencies.”
The company supplies a range of dried fruits, nuts and seeds to food manufacturers, with product applications including chocolates, muesli, breakfast cereals, snack foods and bakery products.
The group operates from two sites in the UK in West London and in Haverhill, Suffolk, where the company opened a new £4 million, 80,000-square-foot factory and warehouse in 2015.
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