Page 46 - FoodFocusThailand No.181 April 2021

SMART PRODUCTI
SMART PRODUCTIONON

Ensuring Product Quality

By Making Every Gram Count

For one international family-run business based in Austria, precision product inspection ensures the quality
of its wafer and chocolate specialities. Loacker, which prides itself on the home-made taste of its products,
trusts the automatic feedback control of its checkweighers to guarantee product size, weight and even taste.

Cooperation and Integration using a signature metal detector . This metal detector is capable of
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The cream-to-wafer ratio is integral to the flavour of Loacker’s products. securely detecting even the smallest foreign metallic particles of
Integrated within the production systems from customized wafer chromium steel, iron, and brass.
production line and smart checkweighers monitor the weight of wafer
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blocks and adjust the proportion of cream using automatic feedback Right for the Job
control. “The precision of the checkweigher means that we can guarantee Loacker employs a number of checkweighers to ensure quality across
the wafer block has passed through the production line correctly”, products. The smart checkweighers designed specifically for small,
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explains Frank-Jürgen Hess, CEO at Loacker. “Thanks to excellent lightweight products and optimized to facilitate higher weighing
cooperation between both manufacturer , it was possible to develop precision at increased speeds, was easily integrated into production
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a reliable weighing solution that meets our strict requirements.” lines. At Loacker, it is used for reliably weighing around 400 individual
pieces per minute. Any packages outside the nominal weight are
Making Every Gram Count securely ejected using an air jet. Another smart checkweighers is
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Precise weighing is not only the basis for economic production; it also employed to ensure that every pack of Quadratini bite-sized wafer
has a key influence on product quality by ensuring that the correct blocks, ranging from 110g to 454g, contains the right number of pieces.
volume of cream is used. The checkweigher’s feedback control function With its adjustable belt speed, running direction and transport height,
reliably performs any volume corrections necessary. the smart checkweighers fit seamlessly into Loacker’s production
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Based on an adjustable number of wafer blocks, lines.
feedback control calculates the mean weight from
individual weight values. Any deviation between the Best Overview
mean weight and the nominal weight triggers a The checkweighers and metal detectors send
correction of the cream volume. Wafer blocks whose production data to Loacker’s network using individual
weight is above or below nominal are ejected reliably software . It covers the entire scope of finished
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from the production line using a drop chute. packaging and filling process checking and allows
Loacker to implement optimal monitoring of the
Contaminant Free production procedures. Since information relating
Post-production the wafer blocks are gently cooled to item and batch changes is saved, the production
and are then checked for any metallic foreign particles process can be traced and recorded accurately.

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