P A C K A G I N G P R O C E S S
FACTORY
AUTOMATION
PARTNERSHIP
AutoCoding Systems has entered a strategic
partnership with Inspection Systems to consolidate
their association and ensure that customers have
access to advanced packaging line solutions using
worldclass hardware and software.
GROWTH
FOR QUORN
Quorn Foods has announced a new meat-free
product development centre at its UK headquarters,
set to break ground shortly and costing around
NZ$20 million. The two companies have
Hundreds of jobs will be created
over the next five years in
North Yorkshire where the
brand looks to open its new
global innovation centre that will create
a ‘high-tech British powerhouse’ in the
meat-free industry. Quorn Foods says
a developed market like the UK has
a meat-free category of around 15%,
with other countries around the world
ranging from 10-20%. The company has
capitalised on the growing popularity
of vegetarian, vegan and flexitarian
diets, with consumers often looking
for healthy alternatives. Chief executive
Kevin Brennan says with the renewed
investment in R&D, the company expects
to lead the way for decades to come.
The new site will enhance capabilities
in protein fermentation, which is at the
centre of the business’ success, along
with providing the innovation for a range
of new products. This news comes
after the company announced its first
half 2018 results, with sales totalling
around $4 million from January to June,
an increase of 12% on last year. The
company expects to become a billiondollar
business by 2027. “We are seeing
lots of Silicon Valley investment and
hypes in this space but we have already
built up 30 years of experience in the
meat-free category,” Brennan says. “We
hope to demonstrate that there are great
British businesses in the north that can
win on a global stage. We are already
seeing amazing growth internationally:
Australian sales are up 50% and US sales
are up 23%. In the US supermarket giant
Kroger, we now have the fastest-selling
product in the category. With continued
investment we believe we can continue
this level of performance.” The company
has already created more than 100 jobs
in the past year, focusing within the
science, technology, engineering and
maths areas.
already enjoyed a close
working relationship in the
past, with Inspection Systems
providing high performance inspection
equipment and comprehensive
support to the food, beverage and
pharmaceutical industry in Australia
and New Zealand for more than 20
years. AutoCoding Systems has been
delivering factory automation solutions
to food and beverage manufacturers
worldwide in the past 12 years, with
particular expertise in coding and
packaging verification and data integrity
on the packaging line, reducing the need
for operator intervention and minimising
the risk of coding and packaging errors.
AutoCoding’s software integrates
with all major coding, labelling and
inspection equipment, including
the full range of Loma equipment
distributed by Inspection Systems.
Inspection Systems director Rob
Weir says the recently developed
AutoCoding Inspection Reporting tool
enables manufacturers to monitor the
performance of multiple checkweighers,
metal detectors and X-ray equipment.
It provides access to real-time statistics
allowing efficiencies to be identified
and addressed proactively. Information
relating to contaminant detection rates,
weight and overfill can be collated
quickly and corrective action taken,
where necessary. “The partnership
with AutoCoding Systems will extend
our capability in the area of data
capture and reporting. The AutoCoding
software can automatically set-up and
control our inspection equipment,
reducing downtime during set-up
and changeover, and by integrating
our equipment with the AutoCoding
Reporting tool, existing and new
customers will have access to real-time
statistics to identify inefficiencies and
proactively respond," Weir says. "We
will also be able to extend our solution
portfolio, offering our customers a wider
scope within the area of packaging line
automation.” The two companies are
already working on joint projects to
provide customers with a seamless
system of monitoring and reporting
across packaging lines.
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