Coffee and Tea Industry- Sachet Knife Success
1st January 1970
The brief:
Frictec was approached by a large blue chip company manufacturing sachets of coffee based products. At the time, this company was experiencing considerable down time issues and challenging cut quality problems.
The result:
Following a visit to the factory, where samples of the knife applications were provided, a clear understanding of the machine operation and challenges faced was achieved.
Frictec then reverse engineered the problematic knives, re-designing them to enable the use of the unique TMC45 material. Following this, quantities were manufactured for a controlled trial.
The result achieved with the new design and material was a great success. Knives that previously required constant adjustment and re-setting along with monthly replacement, now achieve between 9 and 12 months life, as well as very minimal and infrequent adjustment.
Measurable results were provided in many areas:
1- Reduction of annual spend on replacement knives
2- Reduction of machine down time, due to less time needed for re-setting and fewer knife exchanges
3- Improved cut quality, less dulling of the cutting edge providing better quality products
4- Savings on maintenance hours, and in turn maintenance costs