DOUBLE VISION!
Every now and
then you’ll be sitting down with friends in a restaurant enjoying
a good meal and maybe reminiscing about other great meals you’ve
had. Bet you the subject of steaks comes up and, if so, chances are that
the best steak you ever had was in the USA – right? This writer
once enjoyed a steak in Washington DC that was so good it was unforgettable.
Little did I know that one day I would be writing about the very company
that supplied it – Ruprecht Company – the oldest operating
beef processor in the Chicago area.
Since its foundation in 1860, Ruprecht has established a name for quality
of the highest order and earned the custom of some of America’s
finest restaurants and first class retailers. To customers like these,
superb product presentation is just as important as the quality of the
beef and it was thought that cutting by hand was the only way to achieve
that perfect finish.
However, shortages of skilled labour, time consuming training and overtime
costs all created increased overheads and worse, longer response times
to orders – not an ideal situation when your product is in great
demand. The need to increase production and competitiveness had become
an urgent priority.
Work smarter, not harder.
Ruprecht’s COO, Walter Sommers, went searching for the best solution
to the problem. “We had to find ways of working more efficiently
as we had reached the point where it was impossible to work any harder
with the resources we had. I looked around for an automated solution
that would give us increased production and retain that all-important
hand cut finish,” he remarked.
AEW.THURNE’s SmartSlice Vision machine attracted his attention
and within days an in-plant demonstration was arranged. Everyone at Ruprecht
was surprised at how easy it was to use the machine and even more amazed
at the standard of product finish – let alone its output. The demonstration
was a complete success and an order was placed.
Things went so well that less than a month later Ruprecht bought a second
machine!
Walter Sommers is delighted with his investment, “There’s
no doubt about it, SmartSlice Vision is enabling us to work smarter,
not harder. And it’s unleashed our true potential,” he said.
SmartSliceVision has more than doubled production output at Ruprecht’s
modern Chicago based plant, slicing fresh boneless beef, strip steaks,
ribeye, top sirloin and other products – all day and every day – at
speed and with deadly accuracy. Response to customer’s orders has
never been so prompt and quality has improved because closer attention
can be paid to sub-primal preparation. The company is enjoying higher
yields too, with dramatically reduced wastage resulting in increased
profit margins.
The company is now looking at new markets with plans that should quickly
achieve another doubling of its fortunes.
So, next time you enjoy a really good steak in America, spare a thought
for Walter Sommers, AEW.THURNE and the team at Ruprecht Company who,
thanks to their ‘double vision,’ made it all possible.
