Boxing off spuds

A fully automated case erecting and sealing line installed by Endoline Automation, which can form and seal up to 850 twin walled boxes of potatoes per hour, has enabled Lincolnshire, UK based Bennett Potatoes to not only fulfil its need for improved pack presentation, but also increase throughput by 35 per cent per hour on a line which achieves an annual output of 35,000 tonnes of potatoes.

“The filled cartons each weigh 15 kilos, so we required durable boxes to sustain this weight. However, manually forming, filling and sealing these boxes was a laborious and time consuming task as we have an annual output of 600,000 cartons per year,” explains Ian Bennett, owner of Bennett’s Potatoes.

To endure the weight of the filled boxes, Bennett’s required twin walled boxes which can be difficult to form on an automatic case erecting system as there is a high risk of failure due to the heavy board that needs to be opened and folded. Consequently, Endoline installed its fully automatic 221 case erector which has an integrated dual opposing vacuum technology using two vacuum systems for consistent, positive opening of the case.