Smart ways to avoid the crunch

10 August 2010



Checkweigher and metal detector sales have been unaffected by the credit crunch because most demand comes from the food industry – but there are some very discerning customers out there, Liz Wells discovers.


Increasing pressure from new technologies and the effects of the economic crisis seem not to be worrying the traditional metal detection and checkweighing sector, which is retaining customers and sales in the packaged goods sector and continuing to launch new kit.

Unsurprisingly, most demand for checkweighers and metal detectors is coming from the food industry, from processed and packaged meat and fish, dairy products and prepared salads. The demand from end consumers for such products has been undeterred, and maybe spurred, by the credit crunch, as Eriez Manufacturing Manager – Product Marketing Jeff Kaveney explains: “We are not sure what is driving the demand, but we believe it may be attributed to the recession. “In tough times, people still need to eat, and aggressive retail competition drives manufacturers to constantly improve efficiencies and automation.”

However, Torsten Giese, Ishida Europe Marketing Manager, believes that the reason for the continued demand is more clear cut. “Hygiene and quality control requirements imposed by supermarkets on food packers increase the need to reduce manual handling and to provide traceability of all packs that go to the retailers,” he says.

“Reduced margins from supermarkets increase pressure on food packers to minimise labour cost and product giveaway, and cost of recalls,” says Mr Giese. “Checkweighers with metal detectors can help in all three aspects, as all the packs are weight checked and inspected for metal contaminants and not just samples.”

In part, the continued popularity of traditional packaging line equipment is due to the export of food to continental Europe, where checkweighers are compulsory. In the near future, the European Directive for Measuring Instruments will make the use of checkweighers generally compulsory, including in the UK.

Mr Kaveney,of Eriez says customers are looking for reliability and accuracy. “For the metal detectors, they want assurance that they can achieve the best possible sensitivities for the products that they are inspecting. They require a unit that can store multiple product settings, has the ability to change product settings, or product selection can be made remotely,” he says. “With regard to rejecting the contaminated material, most customers are still electing to stop the belt upon detection of metal, with strong reliance on their operators to remove it.

“Customers want checkweighers accurate in some cases to plus or minus one gramme, and are specifying automatic reject devices for under and overweight packages,” he adds.

Ishida’s Mr Giese believes that ease of use is also an important driver of machinery sales. “Customers are demanding easy operation via one remote controlled unit (RCU); a choice of touchscreen operation for easy environments and machine operation in harsh environments; a small footprint to save space in the factory as space is often the limiting factor; and easy electrical and mechanical integration with upstream and downstream equipment.

“In the wet environment - such as meat, poultry, fish, ready meals – customers are seeking both a metal detector, checkweigher and reject conveyors on a single rounded frame to avoid bacteria traps, all cables inside the frame, and metal detectors for detecting metal in metal-foil packs.

“Customers have become more price sensitive, looking for lower cost models, fewer fancy features and simple, but powerful data capture which allow companies to identify cost saving opportunities.”

In the experience of Eriez, notes Mr Kaveney, prices for checkweighers have remained stable, while there have been some price increases for metal detectors.

Speaking for Anritsu Industrial Solutions, Sales Manager Glen Oxborough says: “Demand remains strong for our ‘traditional’ metal detection, checkweigh and combination units. However, manufacturers are constantly being pushed by their customers to improve upon the detection methods they employ.”

He says that consequently manufacturers are turning to the KD74 series X-ray systems to improve metal detection results and detect additional foreign bodies such as glass, bone, and dense plastics and rubber. Mr Kaveney says Eriez checkweighers have evolved significantly over the past few years to allow for direct interface with other production line components by Ethernet IP and Profibus.

He adds: “Mechanical and programming improvements now give us the ability to weigh both long packages and short, high production rate packages on the same line without a need for changing speeds or reconfiguring parameters.” And in the Eriez E-Z Tec DSP metal detector, an auto set-up feature will determine what the product settings need to be for the environment in which it is installed.

Anritsu Industrial Solutions confirms that its Safety Validation (SV) checkweighers, which are suitable for washdown areas and grading systems, offer high speed and high accuracy. Metal detection can be added to produce a combination system with a small footprint featuring single touchscreen control.

Its latest Dual Wave series metal detectors have enhanced sensitivity for both ferrous and non-ferrous metals, states Anritsu.

Meanwhile, Loma Systems has introduced a range of checkweighers that are capable of accuracy levels of between 0.06g and 1.4g standard deviation, can weigh products between 5g and 60kg, and can run at up to 120m/min.

The name of each machine in the range corresponds to the maximum weight of the products it handles. The CW3 400 UL weighs products up to 400g; and the CW3 60000 SH weighs product up to 60kg. In addition, Loma’s ‘space saving’ CW3 combination checkweigher and metal detector avoids the expense of a separate conveyor for the metal detector.

Though carrying out constant reviews and improvements, manufacturers of traditional systems are aware of the increasing pressure from X-ray technologies. Speaking for Eriez, Mr Kaveney says: “We expect that the demand for metal detectors will still exist; however, with larger food processors now installing or looking to install X-ray machines in their plants, we anticipate that there will be a decline in metal detector sales.

“As customers continue to look for ways to reduce manufacturing costs, especially those associated with shipping overweight packages, the necessity for checkweighers will remain.”

The Manufacturing Manager at Eriez believes that total integration and increased security will be the key themes for the future, and ‘one-touch’ change-over to a production line is the ‘ultimate goal’ for many production supervisors.

Anritsu’s Mr Oxborough agrees that X-ray technology will be a focus, but it will not sweep away the competition just yet. He says: “We expect to see continual improvements in speed, accuracy and detection levels. However, there will be some limitations by the nature of the technologies employed.”

Meanwhile, Anritsu’s X-ray technology is ‘constantly improving detection and opening new possibilities for other applications and inspections’. James Chrismas, Trade Marketing Manager at Loma Systems, adds: “Further advancements in combination machines will follow to complement food processors’ demand for cost effective and high levels of accuracy.”

Mr Giese at Ishida agrees that machines that integrate functions are the way forward. He believes that development will integrate checkweighers with metal detectors, and X-ray inspection systems with labellers, seal testers, vision and barcode, and pick & place systems – in a move towards a single quality control module.

X-ray technologies are indeed driving the traditional sector to step up their development of integrated systems. But machinery manufacturers expect existing quality control equipment to be around for some time, while customers take a ringside seat to see how the combatants perform under pressure

Pies protected from contamination by Fortress

When frozen food wholesaler Freshpack built a new production line at its Stoke-on-Trent, UK, factory, it incorporated a twin-headed combination metal detection system with a ferrous-in-foil inspection facility and checkweigher from UK designer and manufacturer, Fortress Technology. The twin-headed system was required because the new product line processes pies that are sealed in more than one type of packaging, with some in aluminium foil trays and others in plastics containers. The Phantom in-foil metal detector is able to differentiate between metal contaminants and ferrous metals such as iron and mild steel contained in foil packaging.

Other detectors would incorrectly pick up the metal tray as being a contaminant. Ann Horne, Technical Director at Freshpack, comments: “We have a long-standing relationship with Fortress and already have four other machines installed on our production lines.”

Using the latest digital signal processing technology, the Fortress Phantom in-foil metal detector is known for its accuracy, speed and reliability. On Freshpack’s pie production line, it is installed just after the packaging process and operates at 32 packs/min.

Established in the UK since 1999, Fortress Technology offers an extensive range of Phantom branded metal detection systems for a variety of industries including food, pharmaceutical, lumber, plastics and textiles. As well as supplying a series of standard metal detectors, the company can custom-build machines to suit non-typical applications.


Eriez combination E-Z Tec DSP Metal Detector Checkweigher System can determine what the product settings need to be for the environment in which it is installed. Eriez Anritsu Industrial Solutions’ KD74 X-ray system is designed to improve metal detection results and detect other foreign bodies. Anritsu Loma Systems’ CW3 400 UL weighs ultra-lightweight products up to 400g. Loma Fortress system at Freshpack. Fortress

Eriez Eriez
Loma Loma
Fortress Fortress
Anritsu Anritsu


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