A specialist compact linear multihead weigher from Ishida Europe is providing a fast and efficient solution for the weighing of nuts into pots at one of Norway’s leading confectionery and snacks manufacturers. The Ishida CCW-R2-108PL at family-owned Brynild Gruppen’s factory in Fredrikstad is the ninth weigher to be installed, continuing a successful partnership between the two companies that dates back many years.

“Our Ishida weighers are fast, accurate and reliable and for these reasons offer a quick payback on our investment,” said Viggo Ersøybakk, the company’s Project Manager. “Equally important, the machines are well liked by our operators, thanks to their ease of set up and use.”

The compact design and excellent speed and accuracy of the CCW-R2-108 satisfied a number of key requirements for the launch of the new range of nuts in pots. In particular, Brynild wanted to minimise the height of the overall installation to make room for the filling system beneath the weigher.

The weigher’s linear design allows very precise product flow control with vibratory feeder troughs that carry product to the weighing heads. For the Brynild application, the weigher is divided into two halves, delivering speeds of around 50 pots per minute in two sizes, with pinpoint accuracy close to the target weights, which range from 15g up to 270g depending on the product being packed.

A special distribution system beneath the weigher transfers the two separate weighments into two pots simultaneously, which are then gas flushed and heat sealed to maximise shelf life. Although the 50 pots per minute are well within the CCW-R2’s top speed of 120 per minute, speeds are regulated by the pot filler as time is required to ensure the gas flushing is carried out correctly. “Every line has a particular bottleneck,” explained Viggo Ersøybakk, “but this is never caused by the Ishida weighers.”

Indeed, the speed and accuracy of the CCW-R2-108 has been particularly invaluable for these new products, which were launched just before the pandemic and saw demand surge as people spent more time at home. As a result, the weigher is handling around twice the amount of product as originally anticipated.

The CCW-R2-108 is weighing 13 different nut products, many of which are coated with salt or other spices. The ribbed surface of the contact parts keeps product moving smoothly throughout the weigher and the dust-proof cover ensures particulate levels are low. The machine can incorporate up to 200 presets for fast changeovers between products and all contact parts are removable without tools for quick and easy cleaning.

The new weigher joins two existing 14 head circular Ishida multihead weighers in the snacks factory, which is producing 72 different product lines. In the confectionery factory, Brynild handles 47 sugar confectionery and 34 chocolate lines. Pack sizes vary from 15g sample packs to 400g family bags. The speed and flexibility of all the Ishida weighers at Brynild are therefore a critical element in the company maintaining efficiencies and throughput throughout its packing operations.

In particular, the weighers have played a crucial role in Brynild’s ongoing optimisation programme, which over the years has seen the company continue to increase volumes while reducing its dependence on manual labour. Today, for example, just one operator is required for each of the packing lines.

Another important element of these efficiency improvements is the knowledge and understanding that the operators have of the weighers. “As part of the commissioning of the weighers, we received comprehensive training from Ishida,” said Viggo Ersøybakk. “This helps to ensure that set up and changeovers are carried out quickly and effectively. It also means that our operators can easily deal with any minor issues to keep the weighers running efficiently and, in the event of any problems they cannot quickly solve, we receive excellent service support from Ishida’s office in Sweden.”

Ongoing investment has been a key part of Brynild’s continued success and growth. “We invest in quality equipment because, although the initial purchase price can be high, we know the consistent performance and reliability of the machines will enable us to maintain operations,” concluded Viggo Ersøybakk. “This has certainly been the case with the Ishida weighers. Typically, we would expect a return on our investment within three years, although with our latest weigher, this has improved still further due to the high demand during the pandemic.”

Established in 1895, Brynild Gruppen AS is one of Norway’s largest family-owned confectionery manufacturers, employing around 220 people and with a turnover of approximately 895 million NOK. The company produces a wide range of chocolate, confectionery and snacks products for the home and Scandinavian markets. Brynild remains owned and managed by the Brynildsen family, now in its 4th and 5th generations.