NOTE WRITTEN BY Fortress Technology
PHOTOGRAPHY BY Fortress Technology
Fortress Helps Nut Supplier
Crack Metal Contaminant
False Readings
Replacing its existing metal detectors with five Fortress Technology’s Stealth Vertex systems
has yielded a 40% improvement in sensitivity and eliminated the issue of false rejects for a
leading UK nut and dried fruit processing and packing company.
From its BRC (British Retail
“We were getting a lot of false
“It didn’t represent value for money to
Consortium) Grade A-accredited
rejects on the one machine, so we
replace the multihead weighers and
factory the company supplies
had to replace that, but it was also
packaging machines that continue to
processed nuts and fruit & seed mixes
a commercial imperative for us to
work well for us. What we needed was
to major blue chip manufacturers,
upgrade to a higher specification of
to get more productivity out of them
retailers and food service operators.
detection equipment,” explains an
by retrofitting them with reliable in-
These are marketed under their own
engineering manager at the company.
line metal detection units,” continues
brand as well as customers’ private
“We operate to the highest BRC
the engineering manager. “The small,
labels and include everything from
standard and wanted to further
compact Vertex head fitted beautifully
snack pots to individual and sharing
enhance our market position by
within the available envelope, and we
pouches and bagged peanuts popular
investing in the capability to reliably
liked the fact that Fortress offered full
with the pub trade.
detect the tiniest metallic particles.”
installation and integration with our
In 2015, the independently-owned
Having purchased metal detection
business decided to upgrade its
equipment from several different
The ultra-slim Vertex from Fortress
metal detectors on five packing lines.
suppliers over the years, the company
detects metal contaminants in
Weighing and filling bags of peanuts
saw this as an opportunity to
free-falling product prior to final
and treenuts ranging from between
rationalise its sourcing approach. It
packaging. The sensitive unit uses
50g and 1kg, one of the company’s
turned to Fortress, whose technology
digital signal processing technology
older detectors was generating
had previously proved reliable. The
to ensure detection of the smallest
false rejects, resulting in frequent
mini Vertex units could also be
ferrous, non-ferrous and stainless
downtime. Similarly, the other units
fully integrated with their existing
steel contaminants. Complying with
were not as efficient or as sensitive
multihead weighers and vertical
stringent HACCP regulations, the
as they needed to be to underpin
baggers.
built-in data collection software with
existing kit.”
the snack producer’s market-leading
USB data transfer establishes the
reputation for safety and quality.
Vertex as an effective critical control
point.
54 FDPP - www.fdpp.co.uk