The new Ixia DUAL machine is designed for the New World but it offers the same benefits to the Old World too.It can be used in 3 modes – as a twin machine, as two individual machines or as a single machine on either side.

The economy forces all companies to maximise the potential benefit of all capital investment. This new version of the Ixia denester allows greater flexibility on production requirements on tight twin line conveyors.

It can be run as one machine using a linked or aligned signal so fast depositing of liquid and semi-liquids is easy. Output synchronization would allow fast runs of short orders for the end of the day deliveries or short stock builds to use all the available time in any shift system.

Rising labour costs mean that non-productive time needs to be continuously reduced to stay competitive in all unit based costing systems. A small increase of 5% in labour time use could save the average increase in this year’s hourly rate.

The DUAL  can also be run in split mode as it has completely independent control systems.

Both sides can be run with either side running a choice of product irrespective of speeds on either line. Tooling can be changed without stopping both sides and product can be loaded without a delay to allow continuous output.

Down time for a stoppage on the line or a breakdown allows the facility to swap lines to prevent food wastage or to maximise shift overlaps. It can take full size products without limitations and difficult materials like large polypropylene trays can be combined with lightweight trays without any effect.

It can be completely removed for cleaning and like all Ixia denesters is suitable for full wash down in any environment.

This is a custom machine designed for a leading English producer. The twin lane system allows a higher speed of output even with a slow load to avoid damaging the fruit. Short English summers aggravate the need for fast packaging and the labour requirement can be used more effectively than picking a tray.

This system is part of a major line investment but can be used just as easily on its own so the flexibility may be advantageous for potential customers with multi-use requirements that vary by season or by location.

There is a growing interest in larger machines as the labour saving is greater and the design can accommodate different packaging at the same time which makes it as fast as a rotary but allows more options of use.

As some customers receive updated orders during the working day flexibility and fast tool change can be imperative to meeting customer requirements and taking advantage of production time. This system can be changed over in less than two minutes without the need for an engineer.

IXIA UK SOLVES A DENESTING DILEMMA FOR FINDUS

Frozen food giant calls in the experts in denesting to provide a unique solution to the  problem of coppice board trays

After an extensive European wide search for a denesting system for difficult to handle coppice board trays as well as aluminium foil packs, Findus Sweden found that IXIA UK Limited (01825 766800 ) had the only proven solution. The leading supplier of quality frozen foods in Sweden has recently installed a high performance IXIA IPP390 three-lane pick & place denesting machine, running at speeds up to 120 packs per minute for a frozen fish product line.

Findus needed a new denester to help boost capacity as its existing system was proving both unreliable and incapable of handling coppice board trays, which have no denest features, are less rigid than foil and plastics trays and can vary in size from + or – 10mm to 15mm.

The pneumatic IXIA IPP390 with its innovative Snapdragon® tooling proved to be the only denester available on the market that was capable of accurately and efficiently handling coppice board trays and other pack types in various sizes. Other key benefits include robust, fully washdown construction, simple design and consistent placement positioning.

Roland Berggren, Project Manager at Findus Sweden, comments: “We are delighted with the IXIA denester. Our previous machine needed constant operator supervision, while the new one is very user friendly and reliable. It was exceptionally easy to install and operatives only needed 15 minutes of training on it.

“The machine has decreased downtime and improved efficiency thanks to its special Snapdragon tooling system, which allows us to change over tray sizes completely tool free in minutes. The service from IXIA was equally excellent and I would definitely recommend them to other manufacturers. Indeed, we already have plans to purchase further machines from them.”

With its headquarters in Bjuv in Sweden, Findus is recognised as the eighth largest brand in Sweden by Veckans Affarer and is the country’s leading supplier of quality frozen food to both retailers and foodservice outlets.