Novus VFFS is a Fast Sell at McEntire Produce for Fresh Cut Lettuce
Sep 10, 2014
McEntire Produce, headquartered in Columbia, SC, is a fresh produce processor, repacker and wholesaler serving the Southeast for over 70 years. McEntire Produce is always looking for ways to improve efficiency and increase speeds in their produce packaging lines to meet customer demand.
After initially agreeing to be a beta testing production site for BW Flexible Systems’ Novus Produce vertical form fill seal machine, McEntire Produce has purchased the continuous motion machine for its exceptional performance. McEntire Produce has been impressed with the Novus Produce Machine since shortly after receiving the machine. Tom Ribken, BW Flexible Systems Sales Executive, represents the southeast U.S. and worked closely with McEntire Produce from install of beta machine to purchase. Ribken comments on McEntire Produce’s decision to go with the Novus, “The wow factor happened when this bagger consistently met speeds of 55 bpm for a compressed 5lb package of shredded lettuce. The existing baggers in the plant are not capable of attaining the Novus bpm’s while consistently maintaining package integrity.”
McEntire’s Maintenance Manager comments, “We were looking for ways to increase speeds while maintaining clean end seals and low leaker rates. The Novus has delivered on all counts. Our business is continuing to grow and we are looking to add a second Novus combined with an Ishida scale in the near future.”
Along with impressive speeds, the Novus Produce machine also features an independently timed stager which prevents product from contaminating end seals resulting in package leaks. Other features include independently timed bag squeezer to compress bag size, orbital style knife and Quali-seal jaws. BW Flexible Systems has worked with national produce companies for many years and helped to pioneer pre-washed, packaged bags of salads/lettuce. The new Novus Produce machine joins the Ultima family of machines to further extend HayssenSandiacre’s product line which are well-suited for fresh cut produce applications.