IFFA 2019: Maximizing quality and minimizing costs with fully automated production lines

The chicken nugget line includes the GEA MaxiFormer at its heart, which provides very high production capacity, better consistency and significantly lower operating costs. The step-filling system minimizes the pressure used to fill each cavity carefully and progressively. This, combined with its rigid drum design, reduces wastage, improves filling accuracy, creates a higher quality formed product with excellent shape retention and minimizes down time for cleaning. Its knock-out system uses dry air at high pressure applied only to the relevant cavities, instead of the entire drum. 'This significantly reduces air usage and, therefore, energy costs,' says Luuc van Lankveld, GEA Product Expert. 'That's an important innovation for achieving economy in production.'

High capacity, with less labor, is the way to develop new products in countries with high labor costs. However, the quest to minimize labor costs and increase production could not be pursued at the expense of product quality. Providing the quality is often achieved by taking practical measures around the plant. 'When designing the line for our customer Danpo we looked for example at different aspects that were important to the customer - not only space and functionality, but also the environmental aspect, food safety, cleanliness, ease of maintaining an overview and working conditions. I must say, we are proud of the result,' says Jos van Dommelen, GEA Group Leader Product & Project Sales Support.