Processing Equipment

Cryovac Food Packaging, Sealed Air Corp.

Contact: Scott Bossong, marketing director, cheese and dairy, Cryovac, Sealed Air Corp., 100 Rogers Bridge Road, Duncan, SC, 29334, 864-433-2000, FAX: 864-433-2134, e-mail: Scott.Bossong@sealedair.com
Website: www.cryovac.com

Cryovac Food Packaging, Sealed Air Corp. has added to its processing equipment line with the BLX-F1 Automatic Taped Bag Loader.

The new high-speed bag loader is designed to provide quick change-over time and provides processors with the versatility to package a variety of small- to medium-sized products and weights.

In addition, the loader has received 3-A approval for dairy equipment and automatically loads all cheese types in Cryovac taped bags. The system also can be used to package smoked and processed applications as well as ready-to-eat products.

The speed of the BLX-F1 bag loader depends on the length of the product, varying from 35 to 45 cycles per minute. The PLC-controlled system is able to save up to 99 different product settings on a touch panel control operator interface and is equipped with sensors and controls to ensure the product is correctly staged for gentle and efficient loading, company representatives say. Multiple infeed configurations are available to help users better utilize plant floor space.

The BLX-F1 autoloader handles bag widths of 5 inches to 15 inches and bag lengths up to 20 inches. The maximum product weight for the system is 5 pounds.

Marchant Schmidt Inc.

Contact: Marchant Schmidt Inc., MSI Sales Department, 24 West Larsen Drive, Fond du Lac, WI 54937, 920-921-4760, FAX 920-921-9640, e-mail: sales@marchantschmidt.com, website: www.marchantschmidt.com.

Marchant Schmidt introduced several new cheese cutting systems this past year.

The Northwood Series is designed as an economical and efficient line of cutting equipment. The two-stage cutter is a fully pneumatic controlled machine that offers entry-level portioning of 40-pound blocks. The first cutting stage is vertical, followed by a horizontal cut to divide the whole cheese block into the final portion size. The cut block exits the machine on a gravity roller conveyor. The cheese packer can opt to take the trim from the block to cut fixed-dimension portions. Marchant Schmidt says the machine features a simple operation that requires low maintenance and allows for easy-to-remove cutting harps for variable weight portions and cutting other patterns.

Marchant Schmidt’s Auto 640 Block Cutting System is designed to reduce 640-pound blocks into a variety of sizes. In addition to the typical 40-pound block, with alternate harps and pushers, the cutter also can produce loaves for slice lines or smaller blocks for pre-blending prior to shredding. The infeed conveyor is a heavy duty belt-on-roller design that can vary in length to stage multiple blocks. It also can be mounted on load cells to validate the incoming block weight. The cutter utilizes a self-contained hydraulic system in two speeds for cutting soft or hard cheeses. The finished cut blocks are pushed directly onto a cart for easy transport to the production area. Alternate cut sizes are offered in a quick-change harp design along with an optional broken wire detection system.

The VCS640 is a complete fixed weight size reduction system designed to cut up to 200 pieces per minute. The incoming 640-pound blocks are evenly cut into slabs and then cut into precise bars, which are weighed and visually scanned to construct a 3-D profile of the bar. The 3-D profile then calculates an optimized cut solution for the bar, which is slit into two sticks and then into exact-weight portions. The individual portions are weighed and the sticks proceed to the in-line accumulator, which provides product accumulation between the cutter and the flow wrapper. A complete line control system using Allen Bradley components, including Servo Drives and PLCs, are provided to integrate with cutting systems.

The company’s new Auto 640 Loaf Cutter automatically reduces 640-pound blocks of soft cheeses into equal-height slabs designed to integrate with the High Speed Slice Line and Inline Fixed Weight Cutters. The slabs are measured with laser sensors, and Servo-driven belts position the slab under ultrasonic knives to cut it into equal-width loaves ready for a slicer or cutter. The entire cutter is enclosed for operator safety. The HMI (human-machine interface) allows the operator to quickly change from one size product to another via the recipe menu. The cutter is capable of complete wash down. Various infeed and outfeed configurations are available to meet existing line requirements.

Nelson-Jameson Inc.

Contact: Emily Echola, Nelson-Jamson Inc., 2400 East 5th Street, Marshfield, WI, 54449, 800-826-8302 ext. 1042, e-mail: e.echola@nelsonjameson.com
Website: www.nelsonjameson.com

Nelson-Jameson Inc. now is stocking more replacement parts at each of its branches to help keep all processing equipment running smoothly. Parts include pumps, valves, driers, homogenizers, pasteurizers and filters, among others.

The company also is stocking more stainless steel fittings and tubing instrumentation.