The speed and efficiency of Ishida multihead weighers at specialist crisp manufacturer Pipers Crisps have played a key role in the company’s continuing success, which over the past five years has seen annual growth of between 38% and 45%.
The latest model to be installed at the company’s factory in Brigg, Lincolnshire, is a 14-head CCW-R series model in a special ‘crisp’ specification designed to handle product quickly and gently throughout the weighing process. This new packing line also includes an advanced Ishida DACS-G checkweigher for a final quality control check.
The R series multihead weigher incorporates Ishida’s proven R Series technology comprising its unique combination calculation software, five-stage digital filter, anti-floor vibration and Ishida-made load cells that enable it to maintain excellent accuracy at high speeds. At Pipers, the weigher is achieving excellent accuracy to within 1% of target at speeds of 80 packs per minute for 40g bags and 28 packs per minute for the 150g size, well within the machine’s capabilities of a maximum 120 bags per minute.
The Ishida DACS-G checkweigher features an Ishida designed, exceptionally fast and accurate digital loadcell that is able to operate with great reliability in the harshest of environments. A unique feature of the loadcell is its ability to switch between two weighing capacities and graduations.
Established in 2004, Pipers Crisps produces a range of premium potato crisps. The company cooks locally sourced potatoes and uses the finest seasonings to flavour them, with individual takes on popular varieties such as Cider Vinegar and Sea Salt and Lye Cross Cheddar and Onion, and innovative flavours including Spicy Tomato, Chilli and the newly-launched Chorizo. The company produces 288 kilos of fried potatoes every hour to fill 1.5 million bags of crisps per month.
Quality is the overriding focus throughout the business and this extends to the equipment the company uses, as production and operations manager Shaun Watson explains: "We use the best potatoes and seasonings to ensure an intense flavour for the consumer, and this quality of product is reflected in the packaging we use. As part of this, it is essential that our packs are presented with an accurate and consistent weight – and this is what the Ishida weighers deliver.
"Equally important is customer service and again Ishida continues to demonstrate excellent commitment in this area. The equipment is very reliable but if there is ever a problem, the company always deals with it quickly and efficiently to ensure that our production is unaffected."
