Increased Efficiency and Capacity Result of New Delivery

This story begins in Salinas Valley, North California, just south of San Francisco, USA, some nine months prior to final installation.

The New Zealand Fresh Cuts Baby Carrot Team, led by Ken Yang spent many anxious and excited months awaiting the new arrival to their department.

Mid-January 2008, saw the wait over and the successful and smooth installation of the new Baby Carrot Peeling and Polishing equipment.

A quick flight of inspection to Salinas Valley, by New Zealand Fresh Cuts CEO, Stephen Dench and Mark Burmister, Head of Engineering, saw arrangements being commenced for purchase and transportation of a larger and faster Baby Carrot Peeler and Polisher to New Zealand than those already in operation at NZFC.

The equipment, spent three weeks in shipment, before arriving at NZFC where it was unloaded in the warehouse. It was here that Mark and his team spent in excess of 600 man hours undertaking a substantial, but partial rebuild of the machinery.

The drum drive mechanisms were stripped and rebuilt, using a combination of new and refurbished parts. The roll assemblies were rebuilt, motors originally built for US power supply were removed and with careful analysis and adaption of electronic controls, were adapted to run reliably on NZ power supply.

Replacement, refurbishment and retention were undertaken in order to maximise the reliability and performance, whilst minimising the expenses associated with the rebuild.  The process of the rebuild provided a unique opportunity for our ongoing support team to learn and master the technology and operation of the equipment

Completion of the rebuild in mid January 2008, and the new baby was ready for installation.
Two days were spent removing the old, faithful existing machinery, the Baby Carrot room was accommodated the larger equipment, and installation began. Good planning with our own staff and subcontractors saw the installation completed over a weekend and on Monday 21st January, ready for testing. Only minor modifications were needed to ensure full production could recommence.

The team in the Baby Carrot Department are delighted with their new arrival, as is Operations Manager, Malcolm Black, “We’re looking forward to the ongoing reliability gained from the new installation. The noise reduction is an expected benefit to the team working in the department.  Productivity and capacity gains are also a positive step forward, with the growing demand for Baby Peeled Carrots as a snack food”.

You can find out more about NZ Fresh Cuts Ltd by visiting: www.nzfreshcuts.co.nz.