FIBRE KING FOCUS ON 'CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT' FOR MEAT EQUIPMENT

Fibre King’s new Lid Replenishment Package (LRP) drives efficiencies and minimises downtime.

Robust, efficient and reliable, a Fibre King Lidder forms and applies a lid to a full Meat Tray and runs multiple lid types through a single machine. So at any one time, a Meat Facility can pack product into a number of different trays which are then sent randomly through to the Fibre King Lidder for lid application before storage.

Always looking for ways to drive productivity for our end users, Fibre King's engineers have improved the design of the existing Lidder to allow the operator to change lids or reload a magazine whilst the Lidder continues to run. Prior to this the operator would need to stop the machine, which in turn impacted on all upstream processes and labour productivity.

We talk to Fibre King's resident Meat Industry experts Greg Constantinidis and Peter Nutter, to find out more about Fibre King's latest innovation.

Peter, what are the benefits of the LRP?

The LRP was designed following customer feedback - we asked "What would make life easier for the operators?". We received a number of suggestions, but the ability to replenish the magazine or change a lid batch without stopping the machine was mentioned a number of times. The benefits of the LRP system are around 'uptime' and maximum machine availability. Being able to load blanks whilst the machine is still running prevents any chance of full trays backing up and line stoppages, whether it be the boning room or freezer exit. With the average reload time being around the 10 minute mark, and depending on the operation, up to 6 reloads a day, this increases 'uptime' by one hour a day – or another way of looking at it - an hour less down time!"

And who should be implementing the LRP?

Anyone who has one a Fibre King Lidder should consider the option as it can save a great deal of time over the day, week, month which means the return on investment is fast.

Greg, what other innovations have Fibre King developed recently in the Meat space?

We have recently been working on two other projects specifically for the meat space. First is a system that ties in with a managed refrigeration solution that advises the operator which lids will next be required – this is our Lid Scheduling Software. Via the HMI, we graphically display:

• What lids are in the machine • What lids will be needed for the next 1000 trays • What lids will be needed at some point during the day for future production • Which lids will not be run at all that day

This allows the operator to minimise rejected trays through the lidders and overall reduces stress for the line.

A second development has been the refining of our variable sizing system for running different base sizes through a single Tray Former. This enables a Tray Former to run both chilled and frozen bases through a single machine and we can also switch automatically between the two.

Fibre King is always listening to their customers and working with them to improve – this collaboration is the key to their success. An exciting and dynamic company, Fibre King is worth keeping an eye on.

If you would like more information on a Fibre King Lidder or LRP System please contact Greg or Peter on +61 7 3293 8800 or sales@fibreking.com