Food Marketing & Technology - India June 2019 | Page 46

Packaging
SUCCESSFUL AUTOMATED SORTING
AT SWIZZLES CONFECTIONERY
Swizzels Matlow, a family business that produces sugar confectionery in the United Kingdom, has chosen TOMRA’s Nimbus
optical sorter to automate the sorting process of its ‘Drumstick Squashies’ in order to meet fast-growing demand while
ensuring the consistently excellent quality of the product.
S
wizzels is one of the longest-
running sugar confectionery
factories in the world, having
celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2018.
They produce much-loved heritage
brands, such as the iconic ‘Love
Hearts’, as well as new innovations.
The factory, based in Derbyshire,
employs more than 500 people and
covers over 20,000 square metres. In
2018, it produced 20,000 tonnes of
Love Hearts, Refreshers, Drumstick
Lollies, Double Lollies, Parma Violets,
Rainbow Drops and Drumstick
Squashies.
Only the best confectionery
for the customer
Swizzels have chosen TOMRA’s
Nimbus optical sorter to handle the
delicate sorting operation of their
‘Drumstick Squashies’, whose growing
popularity has led to a fast increase in
demand: “We used manual labor to
remove any imperfect sweets that may
have been created during the process.
Our desire to provide only product of
the highest quality to our consumers
drove us to seek an alternative solution
to manual sorting in order to improve
the effectiveness whilst also delivering
cost benefits to the business,” explains
Matt Whatcott, Business Unit Manager
(Jellies) at Swizzels Matlow.
The proof is in the confectionery
Nicolas Stein, Director of Stein
Solutions, TOMRA’s agent in the
UK, knew that the Nimbus optical
sorter would be the perfect solution
for Swizzels: “We invited them to the
TOMRA Demonstration Center in
Belgium, so they could try the Nimbus
on their product and see first-hand
how effective and easy to use it is.
The Nimbus is used for a variety of
products, but Swizzels were one of the
first to test the machine in this specific
application.”
The events proved him right: “The
visit to the demo facility was highly
beneficial and allowed us to see the
Food Marketing & Technology
46
June 2019
equipment running with our product
and to witness the results firsthand.
We were able to make observations,
ask questions and build a rapport with
the team in Belgium. Having invested
substantial effort in researching
various alternative solutions, the
demonstration provided us with
confidence that this was the best and
most appropriate solution for our
process and allowed us to make an
informed decision on progressing to
purchase.”
The machine was delivered very
quickly and has been operating at the
Swizzels’ facility for a year to their
great satisfaction.
State-of-the-art technology
for reliable detection
The Nimbus represents a new
generation of sorting solutions that