Meat processor Banham Poultry has installed a machine designed to pack chickens in a leak-proof tray. ULMA UK director Derek Paterson, together with Banham director Dennis Foreman and their teams of product experts, worked jointly to develop the non water shrink solution on the Ulma Pacific SSF. The inclusion of a stretch/shrink film unit and a vacuum system in the new Pacific SSF is said to improve on-shelf pack appearance, as well as providing a leak-proof tray and seal integrity, something demanded by supermarket buyers.
Foreman, whose company packs 600,000 fresh chicken each week for major supermarkets and wholesalers said: "We looked at a variety of machines for doing the job we wanted - supermarkets were putting the pressure on for us to come up with something which would stop the leaks which can occur with traditional wrapping systems. I had spent a lot of time on this before we got together with Ulma and came up with a tighter package using a modified flow-wrap system which both stretches and seals."
Derek Paterson and his team took Banham executives to Ulma's headquarters in the Basque region of northern Spain so exhaustive trials of the Pacific SSF could be conducted.
"After the Spanish trip they put the machine into our site for further trials, they listened to what we had to say and what we wanted. And now we are moving on together, working on a modified atmosphere packaging system, to increase the shelf life of our chickens.
''We have always been a company which is not afraid to invest in good products. We have a well earned reputation for quality and are continually looking for ways to improve and progress - at the moment we are even working on setting up our own power plant on site which will use waste products."
Commenting on the venture Derek Paterson said: "The Pacific SSF uses a particular type of film which allows stretch before shrinking so, as well as being leak-proof, it enhances the appearance of the pack."
Ulma Packaging group has subsidiaries in 14 countries throughout the world. It now has 40 years of experience and a team of over 400 people that contribute to its leading position in the production of packaging equipment and services in more than 40 countries.