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US company uses Syntegon for pizza packaging

Frozen pizzas are one of the most popular fast food dishes: However, their delicate ingredients make processing and packaging anything but easy. To overcome these challenges, a large frozen food manufacturer in the USA relies on Syntegon Technology's system expertise, from product distribution to case packers.

Frozen pizzas are one of the most popular fast food dishes: However, their delicate ingredients make processing and packaging anything but easy. To overcome these challenges, a large frozen food manufacturer in the USA relies on Syntegon Technology's system expertise, from product distribution to case packers.

According to Statista, sales of frozen pizza in the USA totalled around 5.47 billion dollars in 2020: a profitable business for manufacturers, albeit under tough competitive conditions. High-quality products and efficient production are essential in order to survive economically in this demanding market. In order to reduce costs and increase productivity, a large US frozen food manufacturer commissioned Syntegon with the planning and installation of a highly efficient distribution and packaging line including numerous automated processes. "With the expert support of four international Syntegon sites, we have designed a system that is perfectly tailored to the current and future needs of our customer", reports Tobias Bruetsch, Senior Account Manager at the machine expert.

Automated distribution

Syntegon took over the planning of a new distribution and packaging system with a capacity of more than 400,000 pizzas per day. The frozen pizzas are fed from a spiral freezer and transported to Syntegon's product distribution system (PDS). On their way, the pizzas pass through the so-called "dump gate": if downstream processes have to be stopped, an integrated retractable nose (pull nose) automatically retracts the conveyor belt and unloads the products onto a separate conveyor belt for disposal. The dump gate can also be opened manually if contaminated ingredients or other quality problems are detected in the upstream frozen food area.

The conveyor belts of the product distribution system are controlled individually. A sensor-based control system recognises missing products or incorrect arrangements. (Image: Syntegon Technology)

The products arrive at the PDS in random order. There they are arranged in even lines and rows before being packed on one of the four packaging lines. The PDS from the Syntegon plant in Beringen, Switzerland, has individually controlled conveyor belts and a sensor-based control system that recognises missing products or incorrect arrangements on the conveyor belts. "The automated distribution system stops individual lanes if a product is missing to form a complete row. This refills the other distribution lanes and arranges the products correctly to create even rows without gaps," explains Hans-Peter Kientz, Technical Sales Manager at Syntegon in Beringen.

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Efficiency times four

The fully aligned pizzas are transported in complete product rows via a cross conveyor belt into a packaging branch for shrink film. To minimise downtime and production losses, the pizza manufacturer decided to integrate a back-up solution. The result: a distribution system that automatically distributes the frozen products to three packaging lines and recognises any faults in the production process. If a fault occurs on one of the three lines, the system redirects the products to a fourth line that is available at all times in order to avoid production downtime. In the event that two lines break down, the system is equipped with an additional conveyor belt at the end, on which the products are temporarily stored. As soon as the lines are ready for use again, the system automatically feeds the products to the fourth line.

In the next step, a Pack 301 SK flow-wrapping machine from the Syntegon plant in New Richmond (Wisconsin, USA) packs the frozen pizzas in shrink film. Wrapping protects the products from contamination and at the same time ensures that the pizza topping remains optimally distributed. The machine also has an integrated metal detector that checks the products for foreign objects. Before the pizzas leave the machine, a precise weight check is carried out. It fulfils all wash-down requirements for optimum hygienic conditions for processing sensitive ingredients such as cheese or meat.

Second and third packaging on one line

The shrink-wrapped pizzas are then transported to the packaging area of the extensive system: The individual pizzas are first packed into standard pizza boxes by the Kliklok Enterprise Endload cartoner at the Syntegon site in Decatur (Georgia, USA). The Kliklok-Enterprise is equipped with one of the fastest rotating carton feeders in the industry and can process up to 340 cartons per minute.

The filled pizza boxes are transferred to the Elematic, where 14 or 16 are stacked in a transport package. (Image: Syntegon Technology)

In the final packaging step, either 14 or 16 packaged pizzas are placed in a transport pack together with the Elematic 3001 from the Syntegon site in Remshalden (Germany). This wrap-around case packer is characterised by its high packing style flexibility: The pizzas can be packed either in trays, trays with an inner sleeve or wrap-around wrappers.

Thanks to the highly automated packaging line, the frozen food manufacturer was able to significantly increase the efficiency of its production. With a production capacity of 340 pizzas per minute, the new Syntegon system significantly outperforms the existing packaging line, according to the company. To make this possible, Syntegon brought together experts and machines from four international locations.

Teamwork makes dreams come true

"We coordinated technologies and team members from three countries, and all the experts contributed their individual expertise," explains Brad Baker, Sales Manager North America. "Together, we have demonstrated our system expertise and developed a complex, integrated solution for our customer."

Thanks to good teamwork, Syntegon was able to offer the solution from a single source. The customer had a contact person who coordinated communication between the four Syntegon branches and the customer. This proved to be a decisive advantage: Syntegon not only supplied an efficient complete package from product distribution to the finished transport packaging, but also maintained close contact with the customer throughout the entire project and provided comprehensive support during its realisation.

http://www.syntegon.com

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