As sustainable manufacturing continues to take priority for businesses striving to meet their net zero goals, industrial solutions suppliers like CRC Industries – an internationally recognised supplier of aerosol and bulk lubricants, anti-corrosion, and maintenance products – have experienced an uptick in the demand for greener products. Read more
Lubrication is the lifeblood of industrial manufacturing environments. Without high-grade, reliable lubricant products, components like chains and bearings have significantly reduced wear resistance, and end up costing businesses far more in the long run. According to John Knight, Lubrication Systems product manager at Alemlube, premature component failure can almost always be put down to poor lubrication practices. Read more
When operating on agricultural land, it is important to prioritise services and supply designed for our unique and often unpredictable landscapes. So often, Australian farmers are left disappointed with the quality of imported consumables such as tractor lubricants. This was the case for Peter Vicary in the 1980s, when he and his sons, Ben and Andrew, founded Gulf Western Oil. Read more
When it comes to an industry as broad as food manufacturing, it is hard to be one of a kind. Primarily supplying to the foodservice market, Phoenix Frozen Foods is Australia’s only vertically integrated potato product manufacturer, overseeing the lifecycle of the product from farm to plate. Read more
When it comes to food handling and production, time is a valuable resource. If managed poorly, it can lead to both output delays and product loss due to non-compliance with health regulations.
Tickets for the postponed 2021 Endeavour Awards, Australia’s premier manufacturing industry awards, are on sale now – celebrating the best in Australian innovation, products and services on 24 March 2022 in Melbourne. The 2022 Endeavour Awards will run as planned later in the year. Read more
The Australian Meat Industry Council (AMIC) has welcomed the federal and state government’s response to protect food supply chains across Australia, actively addressing meat processing, manufacturing and distribution issues as part of the wider food supply chain easing isolation rules. Read more
Critical workers in the manufacturing and food logistics sectors in NSW furloughed as close contacts will be permitted to leave self-isolation to attend work if they have no symptoms of COVID-19, to ensure the state has continued access to essential goods. Read more
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced a further $33 million will support Australian made food and beverage companies in the latest round of Modern Manufacturing Initiative (MMI) funding. Read more
Finding the right compressor for the job is easier said than done. That is why Motion Industrial Centre Technical Experts like Jamie Robertson are there — to relieve that pressure. Read more
Steven Sischy, from APS Industrial, speaks with Food and Beverage Industry News about the benefits of digitisation and digital twins in manufacturing. Read more
For a lot of Australians, Arnott’s biscuits are associated with sweet memories. From growing up with a vintage Arnott’s biscuit tin, to introducing the delights of a ‘Tim Tam Slam’, Arnott’s products have lodged themselves in the hearts and homes of Australians throughout the iconic brand’s 155-year history. In fact, an estimated 95% of Australian households stock Arnott’s biscuits.
Making tasty treats for the nation comes with responsibilities. The maintenance teams at Arnott’s factories work hard to ensure the plants run as efficiently as possible to keep up with the large orders Arnott’s receives.
For Paul Nitschke, who works as Maintenance Services Team Leader at Arnott’s Marleston plant in Adelaide, working with the iconic biscuit manufacturer is a source of pride. Read more
Victorian Minister for Agriculture Mary-Anne Thomas has announced $11.7 million will be invested to modernise agriculture traceability systems, supporting jobs in the sector and demand for quality food and fibre. Read more
Released as the fourth out of six key areas under the Australian Governments ‘Modern Manufacturing Strategy’ (MMS), the food and beverage roadmap looks to double the value of Australia’s food and beverage manufacturing by 2030 while increasing the sectors agility, scalability and resilience.
Project funding applications are now open for Australian food and beverage manufacturers as part of the Australian Governments $1.3 billion Modern Manufacturing Initiative (MMI).
Safety was top of mind for a top Australian manufacturer of bakery products when they approached their long-term product suppliers at BSC seeking recommendation for a suitable chain lubricant. Nick Gunn, the BSC account manager at the time, recommended the ROCOL FOODLUBE Hi Temp Chain Lubricant from ITW Polymers and Fluids, which resulted in a long-term supply program, covering not just the ISO-certified oven chain lubricants, but also a wide range of other oils and greases in the FOODLUBE family.
According to Nick, the ROCOL FOODLUBE portfolio adds an invaluable safety dimension that not only ensures food industry requirements are met, but additionally works to optimise the production in food plants and simplify the overall cleaning process.
“FOODLUBE’s reputation as a globally recognised lubricant for food and beverage manufacturing means that our customer could use the products with complete peace of mind, with no concerns regarding contamination or machinery performance,” he says. “Due to the wide operating temperatures, FOODLUBE Hi-Temp Chain Oil can operate at temperatures ranging from minus 25 degrees to 280 degrees Celsius, they use the same product in their ovens, as well as in their freezers.”
Emilio Seballos, Channel Manager for Heavy Industry at ITW Polymers and Fluids, explains what makes the FOODLUBE proposition attractive for food manufacturers.
“ROCOL FOODLUBE has NSF accreditation, which is globally recognised, and it is also HACCP certified. On top of that, many ROCOL products provide an additional level of safety assurance through their ISO 21469:2006 certification. Like NSF H1, this certification is globally recognised and important for British Retail Consortium audits as it provides credible, independent assurance that products are formulated, manufactured, stored and supplied hygienically and safely.”
Another area where food manufacturers can benefit from the use of ROCOL FOODLUBE products, Emilio explains, is to rationalise and simplify their lubricant inventories.
“The technology behind food grade lubricant products has improved drastically over the last 10 to 15 years. Whereas many food manufacturers still prefer to keep separate inventories for food grade and non-food grade lubricant in their plants, they are increasingly coming to realise the simplifications they can achieve by switching to food-safe products through more of their applications, thus eliminating the risk of cross-contamination in their plants,” he says.
“In the case of the FOODLUBE product range, all the oils and greases are made with a synthetic base oil, which means they don’t break down and carbonise when exposed to high temperatures. This in turn leads to prolonged maintenance intervals as the lubricant does not evaporate from the chain, nor does it cause the chain to drag. The FOODLUBE Hi Temp Chain Spray also has great resistance to water washdowns, so you don’t need to lubricate your chain as frequently in a high water washdown environment. All of this leads to reduced maintenance expenses for the plants and enhances their total reliability and efficiency,” he adds.
As a routine practice, Emilio says the ITW and BSC personnel often perform joint assessments for BSC clients to help them rationalise their inventories.
“The beauty of the ROCOL FOODLUBE portfolio is that many of the products serve multiple purposes. For example, your gearbox oil in one application can be used as chain lubricant in another application. Similarly, your hydraulic lubricant might double up as a chain lubricant, depending on the situation,” he says.
“Where ITW P&F and BSC come into play is to help our customers rationalise their inventories to simplify their management. In one audit we did in conjunction with BSC some years ago, the customer was using 25 different lubricants from 13 different brands. We were able to simplify this down to 12 lubricants from the FOODLUBE range.”
Within this portfolio, Emilio says the FOODLUBE Premier 1 grease has been a “game-changer” in the food industry.
“The FOODLUBE Premier 1 grease is a food grade grease designed for bearings operating at high speeds and high temperatures. Because this grease has a consistency grade of 1, in addition to a wide temperature range of minus 30 to 180 degree Celsius, it can effectively replace multiple types of greases in one application line.
“The FOODLUBE Premier 1 grease is resistant to water washdowns and ISO21469 certified, so you can safely use it where stringent quality control measures are in place.”
The FOODLUBE WD spray is another popular product within the range, Emilio says.
“The FOODLUBE Water Displacement (WD) spray is ideal for use as a general lubricant to protect small components such as linkages, pivots and pins. Having high temperature resistance (up to 120 degree Celsius) and being synthetic based make this a multi-purpose spray that you can use for many applications. The WD Spray is also fortified with PTFE for increased lubricity and like all FOODLUBE products, it is free from colour and odour – which is very important in the food industry.”
As an additional safety measure, all plastic components including the lids and actuators in the ROCOL FOODLUBE products are metal detectable and capable of detection by most metal detection equipment.
Read more articles like this at: www.lets-roll.com.au
In response to growth, Australian fresh food producer and fresh produce logistics company, Montague, is developing a $64 million greenfield, automated packaging and export processing centre in Narre Warren North, Victoria. Due to the complexity of the project, Montague turned to supply chain consultants, ThreeSixty Supply Chain Group, for support. The company helped in the system design and development of the 18,000m2 facility. This facility will have the capacity to process 42 million kilograms of fresh fruit product, annually.
ThreeSixty has now delivered on its initial engagement, which was the initiation and design phases, including:
Materials handling software and equipment planned for the automated packaging and processing centre include Montague’s new LinkFresh ERP and its existing Paperless WMS and fruit tracking system. These were integrated with a Compac PCS and Dematic high-bay AS/RS for Montague’s horticulture arm.
Read More: Krispy Kreme opens hot light factory in Mount Gambier
Derek Tan, director of project services at ThreeSixty, said Montague turned to the consultancy to help mitigate risk from resourcing challenges. They did this by working through the complex requirements and developing viable solutions for the fruit processor.
“It was great to support Montague in delivering its highly-automated processing centre solution. [It is] an exciting transformation project for Montague’s manufacturing and supply chain. Our team brings a wealth of experience in reviewing, designing and executing initiatives that lead to improved service levels and efficiency, and future-readiness,” he said.
Due to the successful delivery of the first phase, Rowan Little, Montague’s chief innovation officer, has re-engaged ThreeSixty to implement the IT systems and automation solution.
“ThreeSixty’s partnership approach working through our complex requirements. It gave them a deep understanding of what our business was seeking in a highly-automated production centre solution. In addition, their coordination of crucial technical design workshops ensured all the different software vendors were aligned. We’ve now engaged ThreeSixty to support the second phase implementation of all the IT systems and automation for our new manufacturing and distribution operation,” said Little.
The second phase of Montague’s transformation project is due to commence in October 2020, with completion by December.
With the National Packaging Targets set for 2025 it is not long before the government standards are put in place and food and beverage manufacturers will have to comply. If you supply packaging & processing solutions to the industry then our readers want to talk to you. They are on the lookout for the latest technologies that can not only help them meet the 2025 targets but also make their job easier.
This is an feature to explain to our readers the important role that packaging has in the food and beverage sector – how recycling, composting and the biodegradable aspects of packaging are becoming important. It is also a great feature to introduce new technologies and innovations to the food and beverage processing and manufacturing sectors.
If you are a company that specialises in food and beverage packaging, the September Issue of Food & Beverage Industry News is an excellent platform to get your message across.
Contact Luke Ronca on: luke.ronca@primecreative.com.au
M: 0402 718 081
One of the many learnings over the past few months is that of self-sufficiency. In the past, Australia and New Zealand, like many other countries, gradually outsourced a large part of its supply chain internationally to reduce costs.
Covid-19 saw the best and worst of supply chain management – some companies came to a grinding halt while others couldn’t keep up with manufacturing demand. SMC itself has managed to deliver consistently throughout the pandemic because of their local stocking policy and commitment to local manufacturing.
Manufacturing in Australia has fallen over the last two decades from 13 per cent of gross domestic product to 6 per cent with jobs within the sector falling a staggering 24 per cent between 2011 and 2016; the impact of which certainly came to light during the coronavirus crisis. William Lebihan, head of field sales for SMC Corporation Australia and New Zealand says the past few months have helped strengthen the belief in local manufacturing; to create more jobs, increase local revenues and to safeguard the economy. “Businesses that relied on importing where caught in a supply chain drought and I sincerely hope that as we all emerge from C-19 that these examples are still front of mind in order to help drive a change in attitude towards Australian manufacturing. Unfortunately, it’s not a simple matter of just switching it all back on again and hoping for the best, government has massive role to play here to help support a ‘reshoring’ of Australian manufacturing; and time is of the essence – I think.”
Committed to local manufacturing
As an established player in the market, Lebihan notes that SMC Corporation has noticed a trend towards more flexible manufacturing and a big drive among local companies to look at how they can improve their local manufacturing facilities; the company remains ever committed to its local customers.
“SMC has resources, people, skills and products to support our customers across both Australia and New Zealand. Whether you’re investing in IOT technologies to enable more flexible manufacturing or whether you are ramping up your automation to cope with demand, or diversifying your current product lines, SMC is a partner in the automation process. We offer a practical approach and want to assist our customers by making the resources we have at our disposal available to customers in our effort to support local manufacturing.”
Founded in Japan in 1959, SMC Corporation opened its first subsidiary company in Australia 1967 with New Zealand opening in 1984. “While we have access to a wealth of global resources from our head office, we have invested heavily in the local market with offices and manufacturing facilities across Australia and New Zealand. I am pleased to say that, as it stands, we have $25 million worth of local stock on-hand; in fact, our logistics and production teams never missed a beat during the worst of C-19, working a split shift to accommodate for social distancing requirements and to help support our customers.”
Virtual support – every step of the way
In a new move, the company has moved towards offering hands-on remote support to customers. The company’s wide range of available products are backed by its virtual support strategy. “We are helping customers futureproof their businesses remotely. For the first time our customers have access directly to our applications engineering team and can set up and conduct remote meetings, consultations, assessment of current systems and technical advice with no strings!”
This translates into hands-on assistance should the customer need it at the conceptual, installation or programming phase. “The team, comprising of 88 sales people and 12 application engineers, is on standby to assist with product selections, quotes, placing orders, enabling remote access to set up components, delivering product training, technical advice and more,” said Lebihan.
In terms of lead times, Lebihan notes that popular products are available locally within a day or two while special products on request from its head office in Japan can be imported in as little as five days. The local engineering team is also able to design and engineer solutions which may not yet be a standard product. “Nothing has changed in terms of our delivery and customer offering – we still offer high quality products at low cost with rapid delivery. This is part of our commitment to reaccelerating and invigorating the local manufacturing sector. We want customers to feel safe knowing that no matter where they are in their journey, we are there every step of the way”.
Steps to Smart Flexibility
Lebihan notes that keeping costs down remains critical. “Rather than upgrading entire systems, there are smart and affordable decisions that can be made. We offer a practical approach for new and existing customers to sharpen up their digitalisation, without the hefty upfront investment costs – even if the project is a basic concept only – drop us a line, we have application engineers and specialists happy to assist
