The trend toward healthier foods has led to explosive growth for companies that produce wholesome packaged goods. Along with universal agreement that life-threatening obesity is on the rise has come overwhelming demand for snacks and desserts that are low fat, low carb, and nutritious.
Among the high-quality product lines riding the crest of this wave is Joseph's Lite Cookies of Deming, NM, now marketing to 14 countries around the world and available on QVC. With the low-carb, sugar-free cookies growing in popularity and expanding in variety, Joseph's needed to maximize productivity at its 44,000 sq ft plant. A DynaCon modular conveyor system from Dynamic Conveyor Systems (Muskegon, MI) helped.
"The DynaCon system is flexible and highly portable," explains Javier Reyes, Joseph's plant manager. "Those unique attributes allow us to use the same conveyor system at two different locations in the plant, and to reconfigure the conveyor quickly and easily."
Its unique flexibility and a myriad of accessories make the DynaCon system highly adaptable to Joseph's growing needs.
"The conveyor system is used to convey products from a form-fill machine onto a tabletop conveyor belt, which leads into a metal detector that is actually a module of the DynaCon system," Reyes explains. "The system is light in weight, easily reconfigured, and can be wheeled from one location to another in just minutes."
The metal detection system, one of many capabilities available with this conveyor system, meets the FDA's HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) parameters. The conveyor system itself is composed of high-impact plastic and is free of metal, making metal detection a more insular function.
The conveyor's polycarbonate construction also facilitates cleaning. At Joseph's the conveyor is wiped down quickly and easily, using a sprayed-on alcohol-based solution, at least twice a day.
A truly modular system, the DynaCon can be configured in many shapes and sizes by simply snapping selected modules in place, much like Lego® building blocks. It is available with variable-speed drives which, in the case of Joseph's and many other food suppliers, enable critical control of production flow.
Modularity also enables companies to standardize on a system with modules, including accessories and replacement parts, that can be used interchangeably. Joseph's Lite Cookies plans to purchase a second DynaCon system to simplify inventory and maintenance requirements. A new, faster variable-speed drive will also be purchased to provide greater latitude of speed on the line.
Joseph's recently reconfigured its conveyor to run at an uphill angle and incorporated flights on the belt without any interruption in production. Modules such as S-turns, cooling tunnels, water baths, and programmable box filling are also available.
