Show Daily Exclusive - Riverside Natural Foods doubles packaging speeds with the installation of packaging systems from tna, parent company of tna North America (Booth S-3875). Based in Vaughan, Canada, Riverside manufactures certified-organic, highly nutritious snacks under the MadeGood® brand.
The company prides itself on the quality of its natural, allergen-free snacks and has seen a huge rise in demand since launching the brand in 2013. As a result of this growth, Riverside needed high-performance packaging equipment and technical expertise to boost production.
HEALTHY SNACKING
Growing health-consciousness is driving demand for small bags of healthy treats to new heights. According to the latest consumer surveys, more than 79% of global consumers confirm that health and nutrition are important to them when choosing a snack, making it the second most important factor—after taste—to influence their choice.
“The way we snack has definitely changed . . . and so have consumer expectations on the product itself,” comments Sekhar Chakkingal, sales manager at tna. A lot of consumers are leading extremely busy lives and are looking for healthy, on-the-go snacks that deliver everything—taste, convenience and nutrition. This is good news for companies like Riverside. Its range of granola minis, for example, is ideal for consumers who need a quick nutrient boost that not only tastes great, but also fulfills dietary needs.
To respond to the growing global demand for its 24g bags of granola minis, Riverside needed to increase production, simplify processes and reduce downtime. With previous packaging speeds ranging around 70-80 bags/min., high-speed bagging was at the top of the agenda. At the same time, the system needed to be hygienically designed and easy to clean to fulfill the snack maker’s high sanitation standards and protect the allergen-free positioning of its product portfolio.
HIGH-SPEED PACKAGING
The solution was the installation of two tna robag FX 3ci vertical/form/fill/seal (V/F/F/S) packaging systems. Renowned for high speed, the tna robag FX 3ci machines offer production flexibility and improved performance in a compact, easy-to-clean system. With its rotary double jaws, the new baggers quickly delivered the company’s target speed of 150 bags/min., doubling the performance of the previous equipment and transforming production line efficiencies.
Featuring a small footprint to maximize the limited space available, the tna robag units were delivered as a completely integrated setup with tna’s intelli-weigh® 0314 omega series of high-speed, multi-head scales. Capable of up to 200 weighs/min., the extremely accurate scales reduce product losses and improve the overall performance of the system.
Cross feeders with integrated sifter remove small particles such as seeds, flakes and grains before the granola minis reach the bag to ensure seal integrity. In addition, tna’s product-in-seal detection technology automatically triggers a reject mechanism if there is contamination in the seal area. This means that Riverside can quickly remove bags from the line for further inspection before secondary packaging processes.
A film path adjustment system overcomes rapid changes in film speed so printing occurs at a point when film velocity is within the date coder’s printing capability. As a result, date codes are printed clearly and accurately even at 150 bags/min., regulatory requirements are met and the number of rejected bags and associated waste are minimized.
Commenting on the installation, Justin Fluit, vice president of Operations at Riverside, says: “After reviewing all available options, we quickly realized that tna’s robag [machine] was the best solution for us to maximize our production capacities in the space available. No other vendor could deliver the speeds and offer options that also simplify operation and reduce downtime. The installation was smooth, and we started hitting the target speeds shortly after setup. In fact, we were so impressed with the performance of the two systems that we immediately ordered a third bagger.”
For more information, visit www.tnasolutions.com. SD
