Combined with an oven or fryer as a pre- or post-cooking module, the Heat and Control/AMTek microwave oven will increase product yields up to 15 percent and boost production capacity up to 50 percent. The oven’s design features rotating antennas which evenly distribute microwaves for completely uniform pre- or post-heating, cooking and tempering without hot spots or the need to add steam.

The Risco RS915 Ground Meat System includes the RS71 in-line grinder, the RS503 vacuum stuffer and the RS915 portioner. The system is designed for high-speed operation of up to 128 one-pound portions per minute. It can be adjusted for accurate portion control ranging from 0.2 ounces to 66 pounds with a maximum filling capacity of 24,000 pounds per hour. Gentle product handling results in excellent particle definition and virtually eliminates smear.

Mettler-Toledo Safeline has introduced a full line of metal detector performance verification samples and kits. The test samples and kits allow plant personnel to easily test the performance of any manufacturer’s metal detectors to absolutely ensure that product quality standards are being met. Samples are assembled under laboratory conditions with precision test spheres in chrome (ferrous), brass (non-ferrous) and stainless steel 304, 316 and 440.

Poly-Clip System Corp. offers the TSCA-N automatic sealing/clipping machine. It processes flat film from a roll into a ready-to-fill casing, which is securely closed by the integral clipper. All commonly used films, as well as laminates up to 65mm caliber can be processed as up to 130 cycles per minute. The automatic looper allows loops to be clipped on so that single sausages and chains can be hung up.

NuTEC offers an all-hydraulic, microprocessor-controlled, multi-outlet forming machine that is easy to maneuver plant-wide. The NuTEC 745 combines accurate weight control, minimum leakage and quick changeovers with mobility. A unique vane pump feed system uses a rotating spiral to gently move product to the rotor, eliminating overworking, bridging and backflow. It feeds directly to the mold plate cavity and can portion up to 5,000 pounds of certain products per hour.

Nijal USA’s MasterForm System gives operators total control over the pressure, texture and shape of burgers. It is a unique approach to forming uniform-weight burgers with a homemade look and mouthfeel. The system is versatile enough that it can be used to add fillings or for production of tray-loaded bulk ground meat, at high speeds.

Dow Building and Construction offers insulation products designed to meet the challenges of agricultural buildings. Thermax™ White Finish insulation/finish board, Froth-Pak™ and Styrofoam™ Ag Board can control the indoor environment of buildings, helping to protect livestock, reduce animal stress and minimize damage to the building itself. Once installed, the insulation offers thermal and moisture protection, provides comfort and requires little maintenance. They can be used with other Dow products or individually to provide application-specific solutions.

Risco USA offers a complete range of continuous vacuum fillers that feature traditionally proven values of durability, reliability and quality. Every filler includes the unique RISCO Long-Life pump, a rotary vane transport system that uses stainless-steel components with exclusive high-technology resin parts. It eliminates metal-to-metal wear, reducing parts replacement and downtime. The fillers virtually eliminate smearing and are ideal for coarse ground products.

The AccuFill™ table bagging system from Gainco delivers labor savings, cost-saving performance and space efficiency, along with a hygienic design. The system is suitable for the full range of weigh/bagging applications for breaded, fresh and frozen products, including chicken tenders, breaded filets, seafood and many other items. AccuFill’s design combines all the functions of weighing, filling, bagging and quality control into one compact workstation.

Computerway Food Systems has developed the Label Engine application, which greatly simplified the process of designing and deploying labels for poultry processors. The application offers users the ability to create a label image in JPEG format for easy viewing in Computerway’s R5Z Production and Inventory Control System. Users can update, change and move individual fields of the label, and text and database fields are easily added.

Wire Belt Co. of America has introduced the Compact Grid™ conveyor belt. It is designed specifically to handle smaller, more delicate products, while providing a lighter weight, lower mass, open-mesh belt design that is ideal for high-speed cooling and drying operations. Engineered with a 70 percent open surface area, it provides optimal performance for processes where product coating, drainage or liquid or air circulation are factors.

 PIAB offers its C-Series of vacuum conveyors. Powered by the company’s pneumatically driven vacuum pumps, the systems safety and quietly transport up to 10 or 15 tons an hour of powders and granules in virtually any manufacturing or processing environment. The vacuum conveyors are made of stainless steel, and the filter can trap particles down to 0.3 microns. It can also be equipped with a high-efficiency particle arrestment (HEPA) filter.

Food packagers can incorporate the PBI-Dansensor Model TGC2 gas purging and monitoring system within high-speed automatic form/fill/seal flow-wrapping operations to eliminate improper gas mix and potential product recall. The system is designed to address the dynamics of maintaining cost-efficient flow-wrapping uptime performance and assuring individual package quality for meat, sausage and other oxygen-sensitive products.

Flavorseal™ Cooking Bags from CMS offer an angle-sealed handle, making lifting, toting and emptying bags easier, increasing production speed. The angle seal distributes contents evenly and takes pressure off the often-abused corners. The bags are excellent for cook-chill applications such as sauces, as well as bone-in meat products such as ribs, and for sauce-with-meat products like au jus, pulled pork and barbecue.

Vector Packaging’s Fresh Wrap™ barrier shrink lidding film combined all the critical characteristics required by the case-ready market. An excellent oxygen barrier keeps products looking fresh and maximizes shelf life. Clarity and anti-fog properties give more retail appeal to all types of meat products. Controlled shrink eliminates wrinkles and gives and tight, clean appearance. Fresh Wrap seals equally well to plastic or foam trays.

Goff Enterprises has introduced the Motorized Bug Blocking Curtain Door, an easy way to allow the flow of cool air and sunlight through exterior doors. The door protects the interior by keeping bugs, birds and intruders outside but still enables the flow of traffic on busy docks. The curtain glides easily along a custom vertical aluminum guide extrusion on low-friction rollers for smooth motion, minimal wear and ease of installation.

The APR Control from Rawal Devices Inc. provides full-capacity modulation for direct-expansion air-conditioning systems of all sizes. Responding quickly to changing conditions, the unit efficiently controls temperature and humidity to maximize comfort and eliminate excessive compressor cycling. Because an air-conditioning system equipped with the APR Control continuously monitors the heat content of return air, it is more economical than systems relying only on end-type controls such as thermostats and humidistats.

The Safety Knife Co. has developed a metal detectable polypropylene knife body specifically for the food industry. The material can be detected and rejected by typical detection machines. The Penguin 400M and Fish 600M safety knives are injection molded with completely enclosed surgical stainless-steel blades. They have a wide range of cutting applications, from netting and string around processed meats to vacuum packs in frozen foods.

 Bunting Magnetics Co. offers metal detectors and detector-separators for both magnetic steels and nonmagnetic metals, including stainless steel, aluminum, lead, copper and brass. The company’s products include models specifically designed to monitor free-flowing, gravity-fed products, pneumatically conveyed materials, materials on conveyor belts and even liquids, pastes and slurries in pipes. Detector-separators use electronic sensors and air-powered rejection systems engineered to remove contaminants fast and minimize loss of good product.

GEOCOMtms offers A.MAZE Monitor™, a GPS tracking solution for real-time performance monitoring. It provides visibility into vehicle location and route progress throughout the day. In addition to highly accurate GPS tracking, the system also improves daily routing by providing a feedback loop into route performance. It also captures and stores vehicle performance data, such as engine idling, speed and braking.

Computerway Food Systems offers the RHINO extreme-duty electronic weigh station as the newest element for the Wolff ISS and Chickway FOX overhead sizing systems. The scale uses dual washdown load cells and is adaptable to virtually any conveyor type. A RHINO retrofit kit is available as an intermediate step for existing Chikway systems.

Gainco Inc. introduces the 20-inch by 20-inch model of its rugged DuraWeigh® Heavy-Duty Floor Scales. Designed for meat, poultry and other harsh food-processing environments, DuraWeigh’s innovative scale design improves calibration accuracy, operating performance, and equipment durability, while at the same time reducing equipment downtime and operating costs as well as simplifying sanitation and maintenance operations. The stout, stainless-steel base prevents flexing, and the open-frame design allows for deep cleaning while preventing bacteria-prone water from pooling.

(725_white.jpg) NuTEC’s C-Frame Depositors use hydraulic technology to deposit fillings for stuffed sandwiches, multiple-layered products, appetizers and rolled or wrapped product. They provide good portion weight control and clean, accurate filling placement down the line. On certain models, 45,000 deposits per hour are attainable. NuTEC’s unique feed system uses a rotating spiral that gently moves the product to the rotary vane pump. Bridging and overworking are eliminated, because the product is neither rolled nor tumbled.