Solving the challenge of weighing sticky dates with minimal giveaway at fast production speeds, Ishida Europe has installed a 14 head multihead weigher from its R series at Emirates Dates, one of the leading producers in the Middle East.
Featuring an integrated product depositing system and thermoformer, the new system has replaced a manual operation and led to “a near 200% increase in daily output”, from seven tons to 20 tons, while product giveaway has been reduced from 3% to 1%, according to the company.
The Ishida Europe solution includes a bucket elevator and cross head feeder to bring product to the weigher, and a special distribution system that deposits the product into thermoformed trays in either 2x2 or 3x2 layouts.
Because they are sticky, dates have a tendency to clump together in any weighing system, leading to excessive giveaway.
A key feature of the Ishida weigher is its Teflon coated surfaces, which enable the dates to flow freely, the company says, maintaining accuracy at speeds of 40 packs/min on 500g and 1kg packs.
“We carried out extensive tests prior to purchasing the weigher, which proved that it provided the best solution for handling dates and it has continued to perform accurately and reliably,” says Udaysingh Sawant of Emirates Dates.
