Wenneman Meat Co. overcame a devastating plant fire in 2011 that forced them to completely rebuild their facility. The “failure is not an option” attitude of third-generation owners Brad Schmitz and Paul Otten practically ordained that Wenneman would come back better and stronger.
Wenneman — which is located in St. Libory, Ill., southeast of St. Louis, Mo. — sells a wide array of premium-quality meats and seafood to hundreds of restaurants and supermarkets in surrounding states. In addition, the company serves hometown customers through its classic, 85-year-old butcher shop. The goal for equipping the new plant was optimal efficiency in every aspect, to support not only the thriving regional business, but new growth foreseen by the aggressive management team.
Fundamental to Wenneman’s extensive product line are popular processed meats such as bologna, hot dogs and coarse-ground Polish emulsions. So the choice of the new emulsifying system had to be spot-on.
Wenneman turned to a trusted business partner, TIPPER TIE, for a solution. After an initial testing period, the company chose the TTCut125H, with its non metal-to-metal cutting system. Its cutting versatility and high efficiency has made the TTCut125H an integral piece in the development of new products, including liver sausage and lightly smoked Braunschweiger.
Unlike a grinder, the 125H precisely cuts all emulsions, delivering defined particle sizes from coarse to fine cuts as small as 0.2mm. This heightened level of consistency routinely creates uniform product quality for Wenneman’s deli products.
“The cut has been very consistent and the temperature of the product exiting the machine has been really good,” said Otten. “I would recommend this machine for processors like us. It’s compact, and we get the extra throughput but at a reasonable price compared to big emulsifiers.”
Fast and easy cleanup, and relatively low sound levels were additional advantages to the TTCut125H.
To form the plant’s processing backbone, Wenneman linked the 125H with a TIPPER TIE KDCMA400 automated double clipper to maintain throughput at its maximum. The KCDMA400 delivers consistent, quality packages for Wenneman’s ground-beef chubs, several types of summer sausage, Krakow chubs, cooked sausage chubs, deer salami and five-pound chubs of taco filler. When asked what he likes most about the KDCMA, Otten pointed out the cost savings it affords the plant.
“It saves us so much labor,” he explains. “We used to stuff and clip our sausage by hand at only 700 lbs/hour. With the KDCMA, we can run 2,500 lbs/hour.”
Otten adds that, during deer season, the KDCMA400 can produce 100,000 pounds per week, and it operates at speeds that really surprised him.
“The KDCMA has been one of the best purchases we’ve ever made,” he concludes. “We’ve already recommended it to several of our peers, several of whom have come here to see it run.”
With its new emulsifier and clipper, Wenneman has made good on its pledge to optimize operational efficiency by automating cutting, emulsifying, stuffing and clipping. This enables Wenneman to continue delivering premium quality meats to its loyal customers.
To see the TTCut in action at Wenneman, watch the YouTube video at http://bitly.com/GU8D9T. For more information, please contact Shelly Ryder, marketing manager, TIPPER TIE, Inc., at +1 919 362 8811 x317 or sryder@tippertie.com.
