Radeberger Fleisch- und Wurstwaren GmbH Korch GmbH packages over 20 different types of sausages in 26 different product or format combinations – with only one fully automatic Multivac packaging line.
Since 1990, the Radeberger Fleisch- und Wurstwaren Korch GmbH, founded near Dresden, Germany by George Korch, has made high-quality sausages. The Saxon meat-processing company offers specialties under the brand name “Original Radeberger” in its own stores as well as in food retail businesses throughout Germany. “We attribute our success both to our high quality and to the savory taste of our products. But we also have a good feel for food trends,” commented company owner Michael Korch, talking about the company’s strategy. “When developing new recipes, we fulfill the desires of our customers.”
When the company was planning a new packaging solution for the Original Radeberger boiling and raw sausages, it thus wanted to integrate a more consumer-friendly type of package opening. “At first, we only wanted to equip our existing packaging line with a new automation solution,” remembers the company head. But the solution would have been based on the existing R 530 thermoforming machine, which had been doing its job for over ten years. This is why the company ultimately decided to purchase a completely new packaging machine. The new equipment should simultaneously be able to meet the desires of Radeburger customers for improved, easier-to-open packages.
Advice from packaging specialists
After his consistently positive experiences with Multivac, Michael Korch wanted to continue working with one of the packaging specialist’s solutions, and requested thorough consultation on more consumer-friendly packaging. “We rapidly found a new design for closure-openings for different types of packaging,” reports Harald Knoflicek, Multivac Sales Manager for the food industry in northern Germany. “The larger challenge was the automation process, because the vast diversity of Original Radeberger products required the implementation of numerous packaging forms and sizes.”
The new line needed to package “mini-knackers” as well as long beef sticks. For some sausages, packaging made from hard film is suitable; for others, soft film is the better choice. Moreover, the chambers of the “Duo-Packs” are filled with two different types of sausages. “Multivac developed a fully automatic sausage packaging line for us that fulfills all of the complex tasks required of it and provides an exceptionally wide range of performance,” emphasizes Michael Korch.
Flexible packaging solution
Since October 2015, the Radeberger Fleisch- und Wurstwaren Korch GmbH packages its specialties in both hard and soft packaging films with the automated solution. The suitable form is available for any sausage type. The packages are manufactured on an R 535. This high-performance thermoforming machine can be equipped with many options to adapt it to individual customer requirements and many applications. “During the automation process, simple handling of our diverse products was crucial to us,” explains Michael Korch. “Another focus was on the shelf-life of our boiling and raw sausages. Before sealing, the atmosphere is exchanged to keep the product fresh longer.” The tool changes necessary for the various packaging materials and forms is accelerated by an ergonomic compartment system.
Faster through automation
To ensure that the wide range of sausages can be packaged with only one solution, the line was consistently automated from start to finish. The packaging process begins with a feed system that transfers the pre-sorted sausages from a bunker at some distance to the feed system with the loading robots. For the “Duo-Packs”, both chambers of the bunker are populated with one type respectively. To separate the two product types, the complete product feed has two lanes.
To remove the sausages from the feed belt and place them in the hollows of the thermoforming package, the Multivac H 240 Multi-Robot handling module was integrated into the packaging line. Its modular design plus the exchangeable gripper systems of the three integrated HR 460 4-axis-robot allow it to handle various products. Each robot can carry up to 3,500 g total weight and position items precisely in the room via four-axis kinematics.
The 4-axis robots are controlled with the data from an MVS line camera that records the position and placement of the sausages at the beginning of the first belt segment and passes on this information to the robots. Any sausages that are not grabbed by the first two 4-axis robots and placed in their packaging go to the next belt segment. A gap closure function reduces the product spacing on the belt transitions and thus generates a continuous flow. A second MVS line camera then records the position and placement of sausages again to enable the third 4-axis robot to complete the loading.
After this, the only sausages that remain on the belt are those rejected by the inspection system as too long, too short or overlapping. Such sausages have thus not been communicated to the robotics and are ejected and manually returned. An integrated counter determines the ratio of good to bad products for internal evaluation.
The use of high-quality materials and the consistent Multivac Hygienic Design allow thorough wet cleaning of the packaging line. “As a food manufacturing company, we attach the greatest importance to hygiene,” explains Michael Korch. He adds, “In 1996, we were the first Saxon meat-processing company with a quality management system according to DIN EN ISO 9001, and since 2005, we have been working according to the highest quality standard in the food industry – the International Food Standard.”
“The new packaging line runs just as reliably as our previous Multivac line,” says the entrepreneur with great satisfaction. “Economically as well, the new solution is worth it because we achieve 20 to 30 percent higher performance than with our previous system.” For daily business this means that personnel who were previously occupied with manual activities during the packaging process are now available for other production tasks. “Our high expectations were clearly exceeded. And our customers enjoy being able to open our packaging much more easily than before – everything has been a great success,” says Michael Korch.