commissary INSIDER - November 2017 - 14

Equipment

"There are still a lot of producers making sandwiches by hand. It's
labor intensive and expensive. They may not be aware of all the
equipment options available."
Andy Sigrist, Uniﬁller Systems Inc.

THE 1000 I FEATURES A ONE-TOUCH POWER LIFT.
PHOTO: UNIFILLER

Wraps...and robots

WITH GRAB-AND-GO TRENDING, DEMAND FOR SANDWICH PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT IS UP.
PHOTO: THE VINE STUDIOS/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

into existing or new sandwich production systems and integrate well with
flow wrapping systems.

be aware of all the equipment options
available, or their volume and variety
requires a lot of changeover, and they're
not sure of how to eliminate that."

"Ultimately, our customers keep coming
back to us because our equipment is easy
to use, our after-sales service is spot-on
and they trust the sales experience," Sigrist says. "We focus on building a longterm relationship by really pinpointing
their needs and ensuring the consultation process is focused on them."

Sigrist is confident, though, that more
and more sandwich producers will be
convinced of the advantages of switching from hand- to machine-made. "The
grab-and-go market is growing, and companies will see advantages in integrating
some automation."

With grab-and-go convenience foods on
the rise, demand for sandwich production equipment like the 1000i series is
growing, Sigrist says. Sandwiches, burgers and handheld items accounted for
more than $205 billion in sales in 2016,
according to data from Chicago-based
Technomic. And there are a lot of future customers out there waiting to be
converted to automation, Sigrist says.
"There are still a lot of producers making
sandwiches by hand," he says. "It's labor
intensive and expensive. They may not

Looking ahead, Unifiller is gearing up
to meet new industry challenges - like
growing demand for ethnic flavors and
non-conventional formats that could redefine the sandwich category. "We're always innovating - it's one of our core
values," Sigrist says. "And we're planning to evolve with our customers and
the emerging trends within the industry.
We believe our equipment can offer producers the same advantages, regardless
of whether they're depositing mayo or a
Thai chili sauce."

14 * NOVEMBER 2017

commissary INSIDER

Trends Grote Company is keeping its
eye on, Hissrich says, include increased
demand for wrap assembly equipment,
whose uses include halving wraps for
retail packs in c-stores or pinwheel and
roll-up cutting for appetizer trays in grocery store delis.
Also on the horizon is greater use of robotic assembly and vision-based quality
control systems, which Hissrich says are
becoming cost-effective for sandwich assembly automation. "Robotics has great
potential for automatic placing of some
sandwich toppings that to this point have
been difficult to automate, and vision
systems will allow for automated quality
control measures, such as ensuring an
accurate deposit count."
But even before the robot age dawns,
Hissrich says Grote Company is helping
its customers in the here and now with
automated processes that reduce the
number of touches demanded by manual
handling, and thereby reducing the probability of introducing pathogens into
product. And that's not the only benefit.
"Our equipment is being purchased not
just by manufacturers looking to reduce
labor costs, but also by manufacturers
that simply cannot find the labor needed
to meet production requirements," he
says.

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