Norseland Best Practice
Cheese Manufacturer Norseland transform their labelling procedures using the WPL-A from Minebea Intec
Norseland was looking for new ways to automate parts of their manufacturing and reduce the demands on their existing workforce . The WPL-A offered the perfect solution for their labelling processes and has increased the efficiency and accuracy of their labelling .
KEY FACTS Norseland wanted to automate some of their processes in order to increase efficiency and output . The labelling solutions from Minebea Intec not only fullfilled this task , but also helped to increase workplace safety and prepare for future automation .
APPLICATION Norseland Ltd have over 30 Minebea Intec products in use within their manufacturing plant ; the most recent additions are the WPL-A and WPL-S . Norseland Ltd are using the weigh price labelling machines to accurately label their products and automate parts of their production .
PRODUCTS
1 WPL-A ( Weigh Price Labeller – Automatic )
1 WPL-S ( Weight Price Labeller – Static )
CUSTOMER BENEFITS The WPL-A and WPL-S have
• improved the accuracy and efficiency of the labelling processes
• helped to reduce overall production costs
• improved workplace safety
CUSTOMER Specialist cheese supplier Norseland Ltd employs over 150 people and has a turnover approaching £ 50m . Its primary markets are all the leading UK supermarket retailers , food to go and
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WPL-A applying a label to the Norseland Applewood Cheese block ready for despatch to a UK supermarket .
convenience retail stores , as well as independent retailers .
Norseland Ltd has its ’ manufacturing base in Ilchester , Somerset where they have a diverse and versatile offering . They can provide cheese for every occasion from slices to large blocks and snacking portions . Their No . 1 brands include :
Jarlsberg ® UK ’ s No . 1 Deli Cheese with Holes Applewood ® UK ’ s No . 1 Smoky Cheese Mexicana ® UK ’ s No . 1 Spicy Cheese
PROJECT GOAL AND IMPLEMENTATION Norseland has a diverse and versatile offering ; providing cheese for every occasion from slices to large blocks and snacking portions . The breadth of their product range relies on a varied range of equipment to manufacture and produce products ready for their customers .
Minebea Intec has been supplying Norseland since 2007 during which time the relationship has gone from strength to strength . They currently have almost 30 Minebea Intec products for various applications in their production , the latest additions being the WPL-A and WPL-S for their labelling requirements .
The requirement for new labelling machinery was driven by the need to automate the process , increase the efficiency and accuracy and also due to a lack of labour in the vicinity of their manufacturing plant . Minebea Intec was chosen as their preferred supplier for a number of reasons ; the durability of Minebea Intec products , the hygienic standards of the products , the aftersales service and the ability to adapt products to their exact requirements .
In response to these requirements ,
the WPL-A was manufactured to accommodate the label sizes required by Norseland and the WPL-S was adapted to fit into their existing line . The WPL-A has also proven to drastically reduce the Health and Safety risks of Repetitive Strain Injury ( RSI ) of operatives who were previously lifting and handling 1.5kg portions of cheese .
This new machinery is in addition to their existing 16 check weighers ; Synus and CoSynus used for end of line legal weight checks and metal detection . They also have EWK portion weighers which control the size of the cheese portions and Flexus ’ which are used to control the cutting of the smaller portions of cheese and take a smaller footprint within the factory .
They also have 6 Vistus metal detectors , 2 Combics scales used for sampling for legal records and 1 SPC Enterprise software package which provides realtime reporting on the factory processing .
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