Testing – Multipond Case Study: Weighing Sausage and Pasta

Multipond Wägetechnik GmbH (Germany) – It takes cutting edge, hygienic processes to make quality food products. No wonder, then, that the producer has just installed another MULTIPOND multihead weigher, an MP-10-1000-400-J.

Requirements:

This system is a 10-head hygienic weigher designed for weighing sliced curried sausages. All product-carrying parts are precisely adapted to the production requirements and to the characteristics of the product. Another must came to light during the startup procedure. In addition to the curried sausages initially envisioned, linguine, spaghetti and similar pasta products also needed to be weighed by the same multihead weigher. The challenge: Highly dissimilar product characteristics in terms of flow behavior. Knowing that the pasta was to be weighed only once a week, the idea was to keep the costs for modifying the machine as low as possible.

Solutions:

Once the service department had a clear idea of the company’s circumstances, all the relevant departments at MULTIPOND worked together to devise a solution. A success and risk assessment conducted together with the customer suggested a modification to the existing line. This is where MULTIPOND makes use of the flexibly adaptable machine concept. The new feed trays with patented stepped profile and a distribution cone designed specifically for pasta can be quickly and easily exchanged when toggling between products to ensure better conveying behavior on the multihead weigher.

The use of existing equipment and a modification costing around 13,000 euros now means the company can weigh pasta products, as well as the originally envisioned curried sausages, using the existing multihead weigher. There is no need for any further investment as in an additional line for pasta for example. The hygienic design of the MULTIPOND weigher makes it easy to toggle between the curried sausages and the pasta products. Both fast and tool-free removal of the product-carrying parts and simple, rapid cleaning reduce the system’s downtimes to an absolute minimum.

About Allgäu Fresh Foods:

Allgäu Fresh Foods is an association of four companies with a tradition based on regional ties and a passion for creating high-quality meat and sausage products. The products the company makes in-house have been sold under its own Feneberg supermarket chain in the Allgäu region for over 70 years. The family business is now managed by the third generation and has around 3200 employees. The company openly represents the notion of “transparency ensures safety” to the outside world. We can only trust a product’s quality if we know where it comes from. Which is why Feneberg maintains close relationships with its producers and suppliers.

“As our partner, MULTIPOND has done an outstanding job supporting us in this project, from the initial idea through to implementation”, Emanuel Schratt, Production Technology Project Manager.