Barry Callebaut reduces down time
and conveyor belt system has significantly improved efficiency and
reduced downtime on one of its busiest production lines.
Global chocolate manufacturer, Barry Callebaut, claims that the installation of a Lock Inspection Systems metal detector and conveyor belt system has significantly improved efficiency and reduced downtime on one of its busiest production lines.
As a supplier of bulk chocolate to some of the world's prominent confectionery retailers, Barry Callebaut strives to achieve consistently high quality standards and production efficiency. When slow belt change times were resulting in downtime periods of up to three hours on the company's busiest line, Barry Callebaut approached Lock Inspection Systems to install its MET 30+ detector and System 2000 conveyor .
Quick release rollers incorporated into the System 2000 enable conveyor belts to be cleaned or changed in minutes, so downtime has been all but eliminated, the company claims. The MET 30+ metal detector is mounted on the conveyor system and screens chocolates prior to packaging, at the end of the line - the final point in the production process at which they could become contaminated.
"Although our main objective was to reduce costly downtime on an extremely busy line, we were also looking for a reliable and sensitive metal detector," explained Barry Humphries, project manager at Barry Callebaut. "We chose Lock because they were able to satisfy both requirements. Although at the time this meant considerable investment in production machinery, the equipment has more than paid for itself in record levels of uptime."
Lock Inspection Systems is established as the technical leader in supplying compact metal detectors to confectionery and snack food manufacturers. Headquartered in the UK, with offices in France, the Netherlands and the US, Lock has a global network of distributors and maintenance and research teams.
