Packaging
AIRTIGHT COMBINATION OF TECHNOLOGY AND A FORWARD-THINKING MINDSET
Thursday 11. November 2010 - Elivia, the new industrial group formed from Soviba, Scabev and Terrena Viande, has integrated the equipment, materials and expertise of Sealed Air into its brand new automated packaging line. Sealed Air adopted a holistic approach to meet the challenge posed by Frances second largest beef processor, to modernise deboning activity at its Lion dAngers plant, switching from a manual to an automated process.
A 20% reduction in the amount of goods failing the companys stringent quality controls, a smoother workflow, improved hygienic conditions and a motivated workforce number among the benefits achieved. The project is part of a major investment programme by Elivia, corresponding to a spend of several million Euros over five years.
More than the sum of its parts
The comprehensive, integrated solution implemented for the Elivia automation initiative stretches far beyond equipment and raw materials. In addition to supplying a fully automatic BLR1 packaging line, a three chamber VSA vacuum machine and an End-Of-Line sorting system to handle Cryovac OSB 3050 and OSB 95TBG bags, Sealed Air contributed concrete know-how on implementation, processing, operations and after-sales service. A dedicated Sealed Air team, containing equipment, application and systems integration experts, managed the ambitious project from A to Z. The result was the smooth launch of a line able to process up to 30 bags per minute, double the maximum capacity of the equivalent manual line.
New way of thinking
For Elivia, the introduction of the automated line constitutes part of a major plant modernisation and product differentiation strategy. The programmes objective, according to the companys president Philippe Martineau, is for Elivia to become “the benchmark for high value meat products in terms of safety and nutritional quality”. Securing the automation projects success on the customer side was a totally new mindset on the part of management and operators. The switch from a manual to an automatic line had to be fully understood and accepted by the relatively large number of employees it impacted. To achieve this, the Sealed Air project team ensured a regular information flow to and from management and delivered a comprehensive training programme to operators. The training had the dual objective of teaching the new skills required to work with the new system and fostering a committed pro-technology mentality. All of these measures are indicative of the fact that Elivia has allocated Sealed Air the responsible role of long-term partner as opposed to individual supplier.
Broad benefit spectrum
The benefits achieved by the successful integration of the automated line have been far-reaching, bringing advantages to both Elivia and its customers. For Elivia employees it has meant more interesting work, most notably in terms of production control. This has even had a positive impact on operators health in the form of a reduction of exposure to Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI), the most widespread work-induced medical condition in the developed world. From a business perspective, the new line has led to improved hygiene thanks to less handling of the meat by line operators, as well as superior overall process performance with less line interruptions and down-time. “Like all other food products, beef has to be handled as little as possible and with the maximum of care,” confirms Arnauld Grosset, general manager of the Elivia Lion dAngers plant. “The 20% reduction in the amount of products being rejected by our rigorous quality control system also speaks volumes about the progress we are making in achieving our ambitious quality goal – essentially to become number one in food safety,” he adds. Customers enjoy the benefits of excellent final products due to minimal exudate in the bags and better fitting bags selected by a robot. Elivia clients visiting the factory have also given positive feedback on the overall impression of high-tech production afforded by the new system. A second automation collaboration between Sealed Air and Elivia is currently in progress.