Billy and friends
team up with junior
Come on, own up, were you a difficult child – especially
when it came to eating?
Bet your Mum tried all sorts of things to get you to eat your food, from
bribes to threats to imitations of trains going through tunnels or cars
driving into garages. If you’re a parent you know what we’re
talking about, and if you’re in the know you will have discovered
Billy Bear and friends – a range of delicious and nutritious meat
products with smiling bears, clowns, whales, lions or dogs in every slice.
Smiles make kids happy and that’s why Feldhues, based in Clones,
Southern Ireland, are flat out trying to keep up with the demand for
their superb children’s novelty products. The Clones plant was
set up in 1986 to directly supply the German market as well as all the
top multiples and independents in Ireland and the UK. Now, the UK and
Irish markets account for more than 60% of sales – and the figure
is still growing – so another plant, based in Metelen, Germany,
has taken on the task of making and distributing Billy products for Europe.
Slice quality and presentation.
Coping with this success story keeps everyone at Clones very busy. Slice
quality and presentation are absolutely vital, because this is a product
that totally depends on visual appearance (kids are very fussy!) so only
the very best slicing and production equipment will do – right
across the whole product range. Versatility and flexibility is also important
because
of the varying shapes and sizes
of product and packs that are
shipped out of Clones each day. Slices are placed into various sized
vacuum pouches for use at Deli counters and pre-packed at 100g for supermarket
display cabinets.
An AEW.THURNE Junior Slicer works 2 shifts a day, 6 days a week to ensure
that Billy and co. get onto the plates of the nation’s children
with good, smiling food!
Feldhues’ managing director, Joe O’Connell, says the Junior
Slicer does everything it should, “When we decided to invest in
this type of slicer, we looked at 3 makes, all of which were good, but
the Junior won on performance, ease of hygiene and flexibility of application.
The all important slice quality is there too – just as we had been
told by other Junior users, like John Carroll of Carroll Meats.” (see
back page of Advantage issue 8)
The Junior’s automatic gripper handles two logs at a time. These
are sliced into stacks of 4, 5 and 8 slices (it also slices shaved product
like ham, turkey and chicken when required) that pass through a linked
checkweigher to ensure optimum portion weight accuracy and high yields.
The portions are then conveyed automatically via an MC2B conveyor to
the packing station.
The system is reliable and extremely productive, and, in addition to
the critically important feature of easy hygiene, Joe O’Connell
places great value on AEW.THURNE’s excellent after sales service
that is so essential to continuity of production. “The Junior Slicer
is a key member of a team that’s dedicated to the ongoing success
of Billy and his friends.The product will never grow old as long as there
are parents who need help in getting their kids to eat properly,” he
said.
www.feldhues-online.de
