TIPPER TIE KDCR provides NOTHWANG with an efficient, cost-effective clipping solution

Top quality homemade products – this statement has been connected to the NOTHWANG family for seven generations. This traditional butcher business, located in Bad Friedrichshall, Germany was founded in 1818 and has dedicated itself to IFS-certified production of high quality sausage, meat and ham specialties.

For 35 years Nothwang sausage specialties have been tested by the German Agricultural Society. Their 1,500 awards are a clear statement from these independent experts, recognizing the company’s traditional butchery pedigree, always producing the highest product quality with the best taste.

Today around 150 staff members work at the headquarters and in the eight branches in the Heilbronn area to ensure that every product brings real enjoyment. Daily production runs to around 12 tons of sausage and meat products.

Many of their high quality products are not only produced for direct sale, but are also supplied to supermarkets, major care providers and catering businesses.

Less give-away, more efficiency

Any company like NOTHWANG who produces for the commercial food trade must take into account a few additional regulations and requirements. For example, the accuracy of portion sizes. “If it says 200 grams, there must be at least 200 grams in it”, says Rainer Höhn, Factory Manager at NOTHWANG. The more precisely a machine can be set to the fill quantity, the better.  “It is important for us to manufacture correctly within all regulations”, stresses Höhn. “On the other side, we are also a company which has a responsibility for many employees. So we need to work cost-effectively and efficiently.” For this reason the traditional butcher was looking for a simple and finely adjustable clip machine, which produces with the utmost care but also with a high number of cycles.

The KDCR, an automatic double-clip machine, specially developed for the production of ring-shaped products in natural casings, proved to be the perfect solution.  The machine is easy to operate, sealing pork and beef rounds up to 46mm. It is also ideal for ring-shaped or straight products in collagen, cellulose or plastic casings  up to 50 mm. It is especially quiet and fast. Up to 130 cycles per minute can be achieved, depending on the portion size. And the spool clip magazine is sufficient for 3,500 sausages, guaranteeing efficiency and high productivity.  Another important consideration was filling precision. 

How accurate would the equipment be?

NOTHWANG wanted to be sure and tested the machine, at no risk, in practical operation. This meant the TIPPER TIE leasing offer with purchase option, was the right solution.

Adjusted to all requirements

Production worker Sandro Fritz soon saw that the KDCR did its job well. No matter what he produced – the production ran smoothly and the casings remained intact. The result: instead of three to four percent over the nominal value, the average give away is now only one to two percent.  “Few defective products, little scrap and precisely to weight – that’s an investment which will pay for itself”, says Factory Manager Höhn. And this is why the decision was made, after just a few months of leasing: the KDCR was to become part of the NOTHWANG fixed inventory.

TIPPER TIE SV4800 and Kotivara: A Shared Vision for Quality

Oulu lies on the Baltic coast and is Finland’s fifth most populous city. Family-owned sausage maker Kotivara has made its home in Oulu since opening its doors during the war time in 1943. The name Kotivara roughly translates to home storage. “It refers to keeping important food stuffs with you in case of emergencies,” explains Tomi Tanayama, Kotivara production and quality manager.

Tanayama sees the essence for Kotivara summed up in one word – quality. “We are a small company, so we have to produce tasty and high quality products.” What they do produce is a superb line of meaty, well-spiced salami products, particularly so-called “Russian” salami. They offer many varieties like pepper, garlic, and chili from a genuine St. Petersburg recipe, according to the company website. “We have a long curing time: an average of five weeks. So it’s very dry and premium quality,” relates Tanayama. “They’re also very tasty. My co-workers and I eat a lot of it here – our own quality testing!”

Shoppers all over Finland and Sweden find Kotivara products in their local supermarkets. They recognize the savory salamis by their distinctive orange package. For decades, orange has been Kotivara’s traditional salami code.

Performance and Dependability Stand Apart

Successful meat producers eventually reach a point where throughput capacity threatens to constrain growth. They have two choices: increase capacity or lose momentum. In 2013, Kotivara realized that its clipping capacity needed a serious boost and began searching for a new clipper system. “When we invest in a new machine, we look at many angles,” recalls Tomi Tanayama. “Quality is essential because our product’s appearance is important to the customer.” After considering several suppliers, Kotivara followed the path of familiarity. “We chose the TIPPER TIE SV4800 clipper because of the good opinions from other users,” says Tanayama. “Also, it was very close to the design of our old SV4600, which we still use today. We tested other brands before buying, and the SV4800 turned out to be the best alternative for us.”

Tomi Tanayama also appreciates that the SV4800 is easy to use. As for improving capacity, he estimates a 10 – 20 percent increase in speed.

TIPPER TIE describes the SV4800 as the fastest spreading voider for U clips. It closes plastic, fiber, and collagen casings in calibers up to 160 millimeters at up to 120 cycles per minute. The spreading voider system also enables the processing of ham products, which suits Kotivara well. In addition to all kinds of salami products, they also produce some cold-smoked hams.

Since 2000, Kotivara has relied on another TIPPER TIE system as an integral part of its production process. Fifteen years later, the TIPPER TIE/Alpina 550-liter bowl cutter is still delivering the consistently precise emulsions essential to making premium salami. “It’s high quality, reliable and easy to use. It works well after all these years,” says Tanayama. The Swopper550 bowl cutter is a tremendous contributor to Kotivara’s overall capacity – a maximum of 20,000 kilograms per day, according to Tanayama.

Quality and Support Drive Praise

After years of working together, when Tomi Tanayama considers TIPPER TIE as a supplier, his impressions are influenced by what he and his employees experience every day. In areas like product quality, problem solving, and technical support he gives consistently favorable scores. He would gladly recommend TIPPER TIE to his peers. “Kevin Alpina (TIPPER TIE distributor for Finland) has been our partner for 30 years. That’s a long and successful history for us.” 

About Kevin Alpina

Kevin Alpina Oy has served Finnish customers together with TIPPER TIE/Alpina for over 30 years. The family oriented company is very experienced in meat processing. Together with TIPPER TIE, Kevin Alpina is able to offer effective production lines with reasonable running costs. Kevin Alpina Oy has also invested heavily in after-sales services and stocking of parts and consumables.

TIPPER TIE KDCMA and Wenneman: Tragic Fire Opens Door for Growth-Oriented Processing Solutions

Wenneman Meat Company doesn’t miss a beat. They define resilience. The St. Libory, IL, based wholesale meat distributor overcame a devastating plant fire in 2011 that forced them to completely rebuild their facility. The “failure is not an option” attitude of third generation owners Brad Schmitz and Paul Otten practically ordained that Wenneman Meat would come back better and stronger. After losing everything to the flames of one cold winter’s night, Wenneman quickly retrenched and began creating its future. 

Wenneman sells a wide array of premium quality meats, deli, processed meats, and seafood to hundreds of restaurants and supermarkets in surrounding states. In addition, the company serves hometown customers through its classic, 85 year old butcher shop. But with the fire, the company lost its plant, not its business. Seizing the opportunity to weigh every option and examine the entire operation as a blank slate was empowering in some ways. The watchword for equipping the new plant was optimal efficiency in every aspect, to support not only the thriving regional business, but new growth foreseen by the aggressive management team. 

Fundamental to Wenneman’s extensive product line are popular processed meats like bologna, hot dogs, and coarse ground Polish emulsions. So the choice of the new emulsifying system had to be spot on. They turned to a trusted business partner, TIPPER TIE, for a solution. “We’ve dealt with TIPPER TIE for years and they have stood behind everything we’ve bought from them,” said Paul Otten. After an initial testing period, they chose the TTCut125H, with its non metal-to-metal cutting system that produces up to 2,600 pounds per hour of high quality product. The cutting versatility, high efficiency, and operator friendliness of the TTCut125H are such that it has become an integral piece in the development of new Wenneman’s products like liver sausage and lightly smoked Braunschweiger. Unlike a grinder, the 125H precisely cuts all emulsions, delivering defined particle sizes from coarse to fine cuts as small as .2mm. This heightened level of consistency routinely creates uniform product quality for Wenneman’s deli products. “The cut has been very consistent and the temperature of the product exiting the machine has been really good,” said Paul Otten. “I would recommend this machine for processors like us. It’s compact and we get the extra throughput, but at a reasonable price compared to big emulsifiers. It’s also a very sturdy machine, at a good working height to dump product into.” Fast and easy cleanup and relatively low sound levels were additional advantages to the TTCut125H.

As the plant’s processing backbone, Wenneman has linked the 125H with a TIPPER TIE KDCMA400 automated double clipper to maintain throughput at its maximum. The versatile KCDMA400 delivers consistent, quality packages for Wenneman’s ground beef chubs, several types of summer sausage, Krakow chubs, cooked sausage chubs, deer salami, and 5lb. chubs of taco filler. When asked what he likes most about the KDCMA, Paul said, “How much money it makes me. It saves us so much labor. We buy 2 x 18 summer sausage casings. We used to slide them onto a horn, stuff it, and clip the sausage by hand, one at a time. When you need to produce 200,000 lbs. of deer sausage in six weeks and can only run about 700 lbs/hour, that is a lot of work. We would have a large crew working until 11:00 every night of the week to get it done. Now we’re done in normal working hours, running 2500 lbs/hour. On an average, the KDCMA produces at least 8000 lbs. per week all year. During deer season, it can do 100,000 lbs. per week. The speed really surprised me. The KDCMA has been one of the best purchases we’ve ever made. We’ve already recommended it to several of our peers, several of whom have come here to see it run.”

With its new emulsifier and clipper, Wenneman has made good on its pledge to optimize operational efficiency by automating cutting, emulsifying, stuffing, and clipping. This enables Wenneman to continue delivering premium quality meats to its loyal customers.

TIPPER TIE Rota-Matic and AgriBio: Consistent, High-Quality Poultry Packages at Twice the Speed

Founded in 1991, Canadian slaughterhouse and poultry processing company AgriBio is located outside of Quebec City. The company was acquired by Exceldor in 2013. Since 1945, the Exceldor cooperative has specialized exclusively in poultry, promoting mainly local, high-quality producers. They remain committed to producing poultry which their customers can serve with pride. Today, Exceldor processes 1.4 million chickens and turkeys per week. They are considered one of the leading companies for poultry processing in Canada.

A need for growth.

AgriBio processes specialty Cornish game hens, whole chicken and duck, Until 2009, these products were packaged with two TIPPER TIE CVW Clipper Vac machines. These semi-automatic bagging and clipping machines achieved a throughput of 600 packages per hour.

To meet growing demand, AgriBio needed a more powerful solution and reached out to Pemberton & Associates, TIPPER TIE’s Canadian agent. Together with AgriBio, Pemberton decided that a TIPPER TIE 16-station Rota-Matic would be the most suitable machine for their application. The production-oriented RotaMatic provides an automated vacuum packaging solution while reducing total packaging costs. 

With their new Rota-Matic, AgriBio’s capacity doubled to 1,200 – 1,300 products per hour with only two operators.

“It took some getting used to, but now it’s very good. The Rota-Matic is our baby”, says Nancy Boilard, Production Manager at AgriBio. “The increased capacity allows us to grow. And machine performance is more reliable than with the small CVW machines. The vacuum is consistent regardless of the hand movement during product placement. It’s also very easy to train people to operate the machine.”

About the Rota-Matic Vacuum Packaging System.

The automated Rota-Matic consists of 8 or 16 rotating vacuum nozzles, a rotating product table and a specially developed TIPPER TIE Clipper. The system accommodates a full range of bag types and sizes from 8” to 20” (203 – 508 mm).

Economical to operate and maintain, the Rota-Matic III produces a skin tight vacuum package without purge. It handles a variety of product sizes and shapes without adjustment and is perfect for all poultry products, sausages, hams and cheeses.

The Rota-Matic I is designed for poultry (specifically turkeys and large turkey parts) and can vacuum package 16 to 40 pieces per minute.

About Pemberton

Since 1930, “Pembertons” has been supplying Canadian food processors with cutting edge technology, equipment, parts and supplies as well as providing full technical service and support. As such, Pembertons was the first international distributor of TIPPER TIE products and is proud to continue to be their exclusive distributor and after-sales technical service provider throughout Canada.”

TIPPER TIE TT1815 and Blue Ridge Beef: “Raw” Demand Spurs Need for New Packaging Line

Founded in 1979, Blue Ridge Beef manufactures raw pet food from its two facilities in North Carolina and Georgia. Products include raw beef (with and without organ meats), chicken with bone, duck with bone and turkey. Owners Steve and Dean pride themselves on food safety, sourcing only US products from local suppliers. “We can monitor the quality of the products much more closely knowing where it comes from. We won’t put our name on it unless we know exactly what it is,” said Steve. Blue Ridge Beef differentiates itself from other raw food manufacturers with a strict adherence to grain-free food. Steve explains, “Some companies mix in kibble and other fillers. Our pet food is 100% pure and specific for each individual’s needs, with no preservatives or additives. This makes the educated consumer happy.” Additionally, all products are manufactured as fresh as possible, flash frozen overnight at -20° immediately after packaging. Blue Ridge Beef currently ships its products along the East Coast. However, as consumer demand for safe, all-natural pet food reaches new levels, Steve and Dean see opportunity for growth. With the goal of growing market share to cover the entire United States, they recognized the need for a faster packaging line.

Flexibility is Key

Blue Ridge Beef currently offers 13 recipes in 2 or 5 lb. chubs. Catering to premium-quality minded breeders and pet owners, they also respond to requests for new formulas. Therefore, the new line had to excel at handling many recipes. Flexibility in handling a variety of coarse and fine products was another consideration.

A Solution That Works

When it came time to research equipment, Blue Ridge Beef contacted TIPPER TIE in North Carolina. “They are local, with a strong reputation and great service. We can’t afford to be down one day on production,” said Steve. Dean agreed: “Customer service is the biggest selling point for us. Anyone can put out a machine, but if it’s not backed with parts and service, the machine is no good. We love the support we get from TIPPER TIE.” Blue Ridge Beef invested in a TTFill60 portion filler and a TT1815 automated double clipper for both production facilities.

Product Quality

The TTFill60 is a vane style stuffer. Blue Ridge formerly had screw-type fillers. “At first, we weren’t sure how well portioning would work on a vane stuffer,” said Steve. “But we’ve had no issues; consistency has been very good.” More importantly, product quality has reached new levels according to Dean: “The appearance of our product is critical, so we use a clear plastic film. It’s important for customers to see the quality of the meat before they buy it. The TTFill has very clean cut portions, with no degradation of the product. We’re seeing much better particle definition, which results in an appealing package for the customer.” The company plans to add a new Complete Diet formula in 2014. The product quality from the TTFill will allow the new ingredient to be seen in the meat.

An additional benefit to the TTFill is a consolidated design with all electrical wiring enclosed. This water-tight design makes cleanup fast and easy.

Increased Capacity

The seamless interface between the filler and clipper, and the overall speed of the two machines, has been a pleasant surprise. “No matter how much we grow, I don’t think our continuous feed operation will outpace this duo. I have two people running it and they can hardly keep up,” said Steve. Indeed, production time has been cut in half at both locations, and overtime has been eliminated. The Georgia facility has gone from a maximum of 4,000 pounds/day to as much as 12,000 pounds/day. Dean commented, “There is a night and day difference going from a manual operation to fully automated. It’s been a tremendous change and we’re very excited.” And the faster the product is frozen, the better the shelf life – all good news for the customer.

Single Source Supplier

The owners of Blue Ridge Beef were also attracted to the idea of one supplier for two machines. “Now, we turn to one company for any issue, including consumables. It’s a wonderful thing!” said Steve. Dean adds: “Single source supply is the best way to update equipment. It’s the reason we waited for the filler from TIPPER TIE instead of going with another supplier. We can call one technician for both machines, with no blame passing between two suppliers.” Both Steve and Dean would recommend the TT line to their peers, both for the high performance of the machines as well as dependable support from one trusted business partner.

TIPPER TIE Automated Hanging Systems and Carniprod: Top Romanian Processor Relies on TIPPER TIE in Quality and Productivity Roles.

The town of Tulcea, near the Black Sea in eastern Romania, is home to one of that country’s leading meat products operations, Carniprod. Since its founding in 1993, the company has evolved into a vertically integrated organization with full control over its products from the genetic lines of its pigs and their feed to processing and delivery. Even the biogas from the company’s two pig farms is used to generate ecological electric energy which is unique in Romania.

The company’s sophisticated processing facilities are the most recent examples of an unwavering and long time dedication to creating the best possible products. In its high-tech product analysis laboratory, extensive safety and quality checks are conducted throughout the work day. Detailed physical and chemical analyses are performed to ensure products not only meet tough European standards, but measure up to Carniprod’s lofty expectations.

Despite a lingering soft economy where the costs of living and production seem only to rise; Carniprod has remained committed to delivering value to its customers. Some competitors have chosen instead to sacrifice quality to provide lower cost products, creating a marketing dilemma for top producers. Director General Nicolae Ciuleac does not blink, “In terms of quality, I do consider myself a leader because we produce only from meat without soya bean additives and without MDM’s (mechanically deboned meat). We don’t use these materials during processing, and for that I consider myself a bit special…compared to others.” Ciuleac does see the Romanian market beginning to shift and to call for more quality, “Yes, it demands quality so our development department is constantly adding new products to our portfolio. Demand is increasing. The demand for better quality is constantly increasing.”

“The taste that dares you,” is the tagline that defines the fruits of Carniprod’s labors. Its appetizing selection includes smoked sausages, ham, various salami styles, meat sausages, pork sausages, frankfurters, bologna, and bacon. These premium foods are distributed through twenty-one of its own retail stores in the Tulcea area and the number continues expanding, according to Ciuleac. There are also solid export markets in England, Spain, and Italy.

Quality Producer Demands Quality Partners

For some time Carniprod has looked to TIPPER TIE packaging and processing systems to help it optimize production. As its business has grown and as old machines have made way for newer technologies, Carniprod has repeatedly selected a variety of TIPPER TIE systems to bolster its processing lines. This includes bowl choppers, automatic clippers, and SwiStick suspension technology. As Nicolae Ciuleac notes, “We have almost all of the machines that you make.”

Reliance like this on a single source supplier is not by chance. Management clearly sees its business goals aligned with hallmarks of TIPPER TIE machines, such as productivity, simple operation, labor efficiency, low maintenance, and state-of-the-art design. Mr. Ciuleac, an astute business man who does not easily hand out unearned compliments, says, “I have no complaints. The cutter is good. The clipping machines are good. I’ve heard nothing bad about them from our operators” He goes on to compare TIPPER TIE performance to other machines he has had, “They are maintenance-friendly and the costs are…much lower. Other brand machines were both loud and tricky to operate. What we have from TIPPER TIE is better.”

When he is asked by others about TIPPER TIE, Nicolae Ciuleac remarks he is not be able to say anything bad, “I tell everyone ‘I have no problems. The machines work well. We’re satisfied.’”

TIPPER TIE TN 4200 Exceeds Expectations at Tulip Ltd.

The Wiltshire ham is celebrated throughout the United Kingdom for its moist and tender meat that delivers an abundance of rich flavors. It is commonly regarded as the UK’s finest ham. One of its most skilled purveyors, Tulip Ltd, resides in the small port town of Boston on the east coast of England. A leading food producer supplying the retail and foodservice markets, Tulip is owned by The Danish Crown group. The company turns out an impressive variety of food creations from fresh pork, bacon, and cooked meats to sausages and canned meats. 

“Nobody else in the UK does Wiltshire ham the way we do,” says factory manager Buster Peeling. “We’re a natural product with a unique process.” Tulip offers Wiltshire ham with honey and other flavorings, as well as a mini-Wiltshire in smaller diameter. 

From Hand Work to Automation

Tulip Boston had reached a crossroads of sorts. Because their Wiltshire ham production process does not use tumblers or phosphates to assist with binding, achieving consistent product compression is challenging. The system they were using to form their hams was antiquated, requiring multiple stages of physically demanding manual labour.

Clearly, it was time for a change. According to area leader Stuart Clarke, “We needed an automated solution to remove the manual work. Also, we wanted more consistency in the product.” 

Tulip found the answer in the TN 4200, featuring a servo-powered compression breech for packaging whole muscle meats. “A key reason we chose the TN 4200 is the size of the machine. It is small and compact. The competitor’s machines are far bigger, if you’re restricted by the size of the room like we are, you get a better machine in half the amount of space,” Buster Peeling explains.

A Solution that Works

The physically demanding manual handling has been eliminated. A single operator places the ham sections into the five inch diameter breech and the machine takes over from there, compressing the ham into consistent lengths and diameters in netting or plastic casing. Stuart Clarke most appreciates the product consistency from the TN 4200. “To be able to reproduce time and time again is fantastic.” Area leader Colin Graves adds, “It’s so easy to use. Just put the product in, close the door, and it comes out the same every time.”

Consistent product compression from the TN 4200 brings other efficiencies such as improved slicing yield. Paired with a pre-fixed diameter netting, the TN 4200 achieves consistent diameter across the entire length of the ham. As a result of this newfound uniformity, Tulip has also experienced an increase in slicing yield. 

Labour and efficiency savings have been significant. Although the factory is not a high production environment, he has also noticed considerable time savings: “The process time has been reduced by one-third compared to our previous operation.” 

Overall Impressions of TIPPER TIE and TN 4200

Stuart Clarke is also pleased with the versatility of the TN 4200. Although purchased specifically for Wiltshire hams, he sees potential for other products. “There is scope there and we’re looking forward to running new products in the future.” 

Factory manager Buster Peeling gives high marks to TIPPER TIE for innovation, product quality, problem solving, and technical support, “On the installation, you stayed with us for two weeks.” He also praises the after sale service from Bryant Ltd., “These boys are all over it.” When asked about recommending the TN 4200 to others he replied, “It’s a competitive edge for me! But, seriously, yes, I would recommend it.”

His satisfaction is evident as he sums up the TN 4200, “Reliable. Consistent. Easy to use!”

About BRYANT LTD.

Established in 1972, Bryant Ltd. is a leading supplier of processing and packaging equipment, predominantly to the meat and poultry industries. Based in Stokenchurch, Bucks, UK, the company specializes in clipping and bowl chopping machinery. Bryant Ltd. is the sole distributor in the UK and Ireland for TIPPER TIE.