Case Study: Agro Ouest Conditionnement

Ishida Provides Ideal Solution for Salad Weighing

Ishida technology is helping to ensure the fast and accurate weighing of Mâche, a traditional French salad product from the Nantes region, into thermoformed trays.

The 14 head weighers, incorporating five litre hoppers, are operating at speeds of 70ppm for 150g trays.
The weighers feature Ishida’s innovative C4 material on all contact parts. This prevents leaves from sticking to the contact parts, thus maintaining a consistent product flow.
The weighers’ vibrating dispersion table, significantly enhances the dispersion of the product to help maximise throughput.

Challenge

Leading co-operative AOC (Agro Ouest Conditionnement) has installed two of Ishida’s latest advanced CCW-RV multihead weighers at its plant in Saint-Julien de Concelles. The 14 head weighers, incorporating five litre hoppers, are operating at speeds of 70ppm for 150g trays.

Solution

The weighers feature Ishida’s innovative C4 material on all contact parts. This prevents leaves from sticking to the contact parts, thus maintaining a consistent product flow. In addition, the weighers’ vibrating dispersion table, as opposed to the more traditional rotating cone variety, significantly enhances the dispersion of the product to help maximise throughput.

Ease of operation is another key benefit of the weighers as Chantal Gourichon, AOC’s production manager explains: “The software is very user-friendly and allows me to easily save different programmes for fast set-up and changeovers.”

In accordance with AOC’s high hygiene standards, the weighers are cleaned daily with compressed air while parts are easily dismantled for a regular full wash.

We operated these alongside two existing weighers from other suppliers and I was really able to see the difference the Ishidas made in terms of precision, speed and quality. During CFIA in Rennes, therefore, I didn’t hesitate to trust again in Ishida by buying two brand new CCW-RVs.

Ishida weighers have been an essential part of AOC’s operation since 2010 when the company purchased its first two reconditioned models. “We operated these alongside two existing weighers from other suppliers and I was really able to see the difference the Ishidas made in terms of precision, speed and quality,” comments Alain Jussiaume, AOC’s co-managing director. “During CFIA in Rennes, therefore, I didn’t hesitate to trust again in Ishida by buying two brand new CCW-RVs.”

He adds that the new weighers’ speed and accuracy will enable to AOC to further increase production in the future.

AOC (Agro Ouest Conditionnement)

AOC (Agro Ouest Conditionnement) was established in 1993 to cultivate, wash and pack the mâche that is supplied from eight different producers who operate as a cooperative called OCEANE. OCEANE was also founded in 1993 and its members farm 70 fields of vegetables, producing 86 tonnes annually of products such as tomatoes, cucumbers, leeks and radishes, as well as mâche.

*Please note the above video is used for demonstration purposes and not the actual product within this case study.

The mâche arrives at AOC in pallet boxes of 70 kg on the same day it is picked. It is washed several times with 6-degree water. Stringent quality control removes any sub-standard leaves so that only the best mâche is left, to be placed into 5kg boxes.

The product is then packed into the trays and stored in a cold room, before being sent back to OCEANE or dispatched directly to customers. 60% of sales are in France and the rest is exported.

The software is very user-friendly and allows me to easily save different programmes for fast set-up and changeovers.

Enquire Now