A large convenience food company in France was using a dosing unit for spreading butter on their ready to eat sandwiches. A mechanical knife was being used to spread the butter on the slices. Unfortunately this solution caused a variety of problems.
Firstly, it was very hard to control the amount of butter per slice. Between different sandwiches there was a variation in total butter volume that was being used and the way it was spread on the slices.
Secondly, lots of butter was falling from the knife on the conveyor belt, messing up the whole line, including the sandwiches. This resulted in unacceptable scrap rates and increased down time because of cleaning and maintenance.
To solve the inconsistent quality and conveyor contamination issues the sandwich producers decided to look for a solution.
AutoJet® AccuCoat® Modular Heated Food Contact Spray System with PulsaJet® Nozzles
Spraying Systems Co.’s solution uses an AutoJet® AccuCoat® Modular Heated Food Contact Spray System. It consists of:
• An AutoJet® 2250+ control panel
• A heated, closed box version manifold, with 2 PulsaJet® automatic nozzles for spraying 2 sandwiches independently
The heated system allows us to spray the butter with exactly the right amount and the right temperature on the slices. If the temperature of the butter is too low, the viscosity is too high. But when the temperature is too high, the fat and oil starts to separate.
Result
Using the AutoJet® AccuCoat® Modular Heated Spray System has dramatically improved the butter dosing process. Every slice can be sprayed evenly with exactly the same amount of butter. Waist is reduced significantly and the consumption of butter has been reduced by approximately 25%. The quality and appearance of the sandwiches improved a lot. Downtime for cleaning and maintenance has been reduced by approximately 20%. Overall these improvements have resulted in an estimated payback period of nine months.