Meat + Poultry - April 2009 - 113

not the metrics I need. I need metrics on
the line from the equipment and I need it
to be timely so that people on the line can
change their behaviors and supervisors
can know how much he's wasting."
The design of Cryovac's packaging
systems reﬂect a knowledge of their customers' business goals, one of which is
eliminating downtime, an omnipresent
goal of Miller's when he works with processors to improve operations.
Time wasted retooling machines, for example, to accommodate production shifts
from one size of packaging to another is
one area Miller says is common and not always necessary. Cryovac engineering delivers size variability that can be changed
over in seconds, not minutes. Stops and
starts tend to result in variability.
"If you go from 3 lbs. to 2 lbs. of a meat
product, for example, and you don't have
to change the apertures of the packaging
machine but just change out the depth of
the container being used, that's huge," he
says. "Downtime is enormous. Self-imposed downtime like on change-overs that
are especially difﬁcult not only halt production but also take maintenance people away
from what should be their core duty of preventing breakdowns in the ﬁrst place."
When it comes to other in-plant opportunities to eliminate waste and maximize
production time, Miller says technology
that allows for multiple steps to be accomplished using the smallest amount
of space is signiﬁcant.
"In plants, not only do more clean production lines and more open spaces provide a safer work environment, but there
seems to be a lot more rework when space
is an issue," he adds. "If you can eliminate
a conveyor or another piece of equipment,
clearly that is a jump in efﬁciency. More
importantly, if you can eliminate a step, by
deﬁnition you have really cut back from a
Lean Manufacturing perspective.
By doing so, they maximize throughput. "Anytime you eliminate equipment
you're gaining efﬁciency," Miller says.

Labor pains
For processors focused on uncovering
sources of wasted time and resources,
labor costs are often an operational albatross. To this end, demonstrating the
beneﬁts available from automation is the
focus of an entire business unit at Cryovac. "We have developed Automated

Systems and solutions for all the markets we serve, from fresh red meat to
dairy to poultry to smoked and processed
meats," says William Bartell, North American equipment marketing director with
Sealed Air's Cryovac brand.
Within those markets, a common thread
has been identiﬁed over the years. "The
theme that comes across over and over is
the high cost of labor," says Bartell, "and
reducing the cost for labor is paramount."
To that end, one recent offering Cryovac developed for processors is its in-line
BL101 autoloader, used to load individual
and multiple cuts of red-meat products
into open bags and used in conjunction
with rotary-vacuum equipment as part
of a single system. The 8800E-14E eliminates labor costs by offering automatic
bag-loading and moving the products
onto a rotary-chamber platen, where it is

When it comes
to new-product
development,
time is often and
unnecessarily the
enemy.
vacuum packaged, all as part of a single,
streamlined system.
"This machine allows the processor
to eliminate the labor that would normally
be used to load products and bags, ﬂattening bag tails on platans and monitoring the rotary chamber machine," says
Bartell. "Products are now automatically
loaded into a bag, vacuum sealed and
discharged on the other end, all in one
system," he adds. The Duncan, S.C.based packaging company is continuing
to expand this line of equipment, including
the development of systems capable of
providing straight seals and curved seals
for a wider variety of packaging formats.
"There's a lot of interest in labor savings
and enabling our processors to be more
productive," Bartell adds.
Fluid packaging and vertical-pouch
packaging are other areas where Cryovac is focusing on process optimization
and time savings. Its Onpack equipment line, including the Onpack 2052,
was designed to make time work for
their customers across all segments.
www.cryovac.com

"It is designed to provide high productivity in the small-package arena," says
Bartell. "In the past, processors had to
use more than one machine to achieve
high speeds. We can now achieve even
higher speeds using a single machine,"
which can be conﬁgured in two or four
lanes and process up to 220 pouches
per minute, depending on the viscosity of the product inside. By combining multiple steps into one machine, the
2052 takes up less space in processing
plants, which ultimately translates into
better use of time by optimizing space.
"We are delivering savings to processors
every day," says Bartell.
Cryovac realizes the value of seamless
production and throughput and it markets
an integrated-system layout to maximize
plant space and time with minimal labor
costs. The ﬁrm offers bag loaders and dispensers, vacuum-packaging machines,
shrink tunnels, vacuum pumps and material handling conveyors as part of the
integrated production line design.

Delivering timely solutions
Offering convenience to consumers
doesn't have to mean it comes at the
expense of a processor's or retail operator's time. Everyone agrees: Time is
money, but time also plays a role in food
safety, handling products safely and convenience, such as having the ability to
store, prepare and serve a meal from the
same container it was packed in at the
processing plant. Cryovac's Simple Steps
heat-and-serve package uses rigid, preformed trays made of crystallized polyester combined with a vacuum-skin ﬁlm
over the product. It's suitable for fresh or
pre-cooked meat and is designed to go
from freezer or refrigerator to the microwave or oven and can be served using
the same rigid tray.
Simple Steps offers beneﬁ ts to all
three of the customer segments Cryovac serves, including processing, retail/
foodservice and consumer. "Customers
aren't looking for just one beneﬁt," says
Sean Brady, marketing director of ready
meals for Sealed Air's Cryovac Food
Solutions. There are opportunities to
deliver time savings to each of the segments, he adds. For example, "Some
of these applications can be used with
steam tables or heat lamps for foodservice operators," Brady says.
I

April 2009

PACKAGING MATTERS

http://www.cryovac.com

Meat + Poultry - April 2009

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