Morrisons
As part of its business model, Morrisons is a food manufacturer as well as a retailer. It sources and processes most of the fresh produce it sells through its own farms and manufacturing facilities. The reason Morrisons does this is to ensure it retains close control over the provenance and quality of what it retails. As a result, Morrisons is currently the UK’s second largest food manufacturer.
The Challenge
This duality of purpose – manufacture and retail – has sometimes confused the industry. Is Morrisons a retailer or a producer? The answer is, it’s both. Being in control of its own production has meant that Morrisons has been able to react quickly to the industry disruptors – the likes of discounters like Aldi and Lidl – and remain strong in the sector.
Facilities owned and run by Morrisons include bakeries, fresh produce factories, potato packing operations, meat and fish processing facilities. These manufacturing facilities require process equipment including weighing and packing equipment and to ensure continuity of process, speed, accuracy and productivity, Morrisons requires best in class performance.
The Solution
Yamato supplied TSDWs for two of Morrisons’ processing facilities, one on Deeside and one at Cutler Heights, Bradford.
The 175,000 sq. ft factory on Deeside, formerly the Farmers Boy fresh meat plant, produces 1.5 million packs of sliced ham and poultry. The site was originally acquired by Morrisons and Cranswick in 2010, but Morrisons is now sole owner of the site and purchased two TSDWs as part of its state-of-the-art process and packing facilities.
Meat products come in all shapes and sizes. The TSDW for meat operates superbly at low temperatures and can handle product variability without compromising on quality. It complies with IP67 (IP69optional) standard and HACCP, making it suitable for checkweighing in any food applications. The robust design structure, tough tubular frame and new digital filter system minimises the effects of floor vibration.
TSDW load cells are designed for high speeds and high accuracy, optimising performance levels and increasing productivity. Tool-free removal of the conveyor belt makes maintenance and cleaning easy, whilst the reject bins are made of stainless steel for enhanced hygiene.
The Result
Morrisons found the equipment to be reliable, robust and has had an excellent level of service and support. Taking the opportunity to trial the machine and support packages was a no-brainer for Morrisons and one it had to explore.