Susage packaging with a hygiene adv

Susage packaging with a hygiene advantage
Hans Kupfer และ Sohn GmbH is one of leading European sausage specialists. After a major fire nearly destroyed the entire production facility, the company installed a state – of – the –art machine park with the dedicated goal to become Europe’s most modern sausage specialist.
Kupfer has been producing quality meat products since 1906. The company with 40,000 tonnes of sausage products in three locations. Recently the production facility at their headquarters in Bavaria, Germany, was damaged by a major fire, and Kupfer entirely rebuilt the sausage production factory within a short amount of time on an area of more than 130,000 m2
Hygiene is the decisive factor
Kupfer’s packaging machines were also destroyed in the fire. Among others, the company had operated a series of thermoforming machines, which have now been replaced with eight high – performance models from Multivac’s new machine generation. “we were persuaded by the concept of the new generation,” says Holger Dorr, managing director of production at Kupfer.
Hygiene is a core focus of the new machine generation. “the consumer has a right to expect that our products be first – class when it comes to hygiene aspects as well, “Dorr says. “our high standards for quality and hygiene are an permission to the US and Japan, for example. The completely new hygiene design of the new models supports us in this claim.”
This new design simplifies and accelerates the cleaning process on the outside and the inside of the machines. With an open design of the chain and chain guide as well as cables and hoses, stains and contaminants can be removed even in these areas quickly and without disassembly. This is a major advantage for a manufacturer of protein – containing products such as Kupfer, and one that has paid off in the short – term.

Complete line integration
Multivac provided service that was not limited strictly to its own machinery. Kupfer assigned the manufacturer with the project planning and installation of seven complete packaging lines, which were also intended to include the components for inspection and product control. This was in close cooperation with the Weber company in the slicer area.
“At the Kupfer company, the assurance of a consistently high quality standard has a central significance,” Dorr explains. “The automated quality control of the packages is an important part of this. For us it was a decisive advantage that Multivac took over the project planning and integration in this area.”
Kupfer uses the new machine generation line for the packaging of cold cuts, designed for up to 160 packages per minute, while a slicer takes care of the cutting, portioning and insertion of the slices. After the sealing, the packages are labeled on both sides. To handle this, the machine is equipped with labelers, namely two each for the top track and bottom track. In this configuration the rolls of labels can be changed without stopping the machine; if one role is empty, the second unit takes over automatically. Furthermore, a positioning unit for two inkjet printers was installed. During the out, an automated quality control protocol is carried out with a metal detector, scale and separating device. Contaminated products or those with low weight are automatically ejected.