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Cucina Fresca Reduces Downtime With Easy Washdown Thermoformer

Gourmet foods manufacturer installs Ossid machine to improve production efficiency and meet order timelines.

The ReeForm T45 features a stainless steel frame and sheeting for easy sanitation in washdown environments as well as a user-friendly control panel.
The ReeForm T45 features a stainless steel frame and sheeting for easy sanitation in washdown environments as well as a user-friendly control panel.

Excessive downtime due to maintenance is an issue that can significantly set back a company’s packaging and shipping time. Cucina Fresca, a Seattle-based gourmet foods manufacturer, serving Italian dishes to the Pacific Northwest and beyond, dealt with this challenge for a number of years.

From humble beginnings as a mom-and-pop shop 30 years ago, the company steadily grew as its popularity took hold. Cucina Fresca soon expanded into the foodservice side of the business while maintaining a mom-and-pop philosophy in recipe creation. The company’s retail products began as fresh pastas, raviolis, tortellini, and sauces that emphasize freshness.

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Cucina Fresca products are available in more than 1,500 grocery stores, specialty shops and foodservice channels throughout North America. The company’s foodservice line has also grown to offer more than 130 items, many of which are seasonally produced.

For several years, production was hampered by an unreliable form fill and seal thermoforming machine. About seven years ago, the company upgraded its tray sealing capabilities with a larger machine that could perform modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), however the return on investment (ROI) was never realized.

From left to right: Brad Glaberson, executive chef and owner of Cucina Fresca; Brian Guillaume, regional sales manager, Ossid; and Pat Clingman, president of Cucina Fresca.From left to right: Brad Glaberson, executive chef and owner of Cucina Fresca; Brian Guillaume, regional sales manager, Ossid; and Pat Clingman, president of Cucina Fresca.

“We got to the point years ago where I stopped calculating the additional cost of downtime because there wasn’t anything we could do about it, and honestly, I didn’t want to know how much it was costing us,” said Brad Glaberson, executive chef and owner of Cucina Fresca. “It was seven years of hell for us dealing with this machine that never worked, was very expensive, and could never get decent service for it.”

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