Fruit Logistica

Greetings from the stand crew in Berlin. Gerd, Torben, Sylvia and Kim thanks everyone for visiting our stand.

QR (Quick Response) codes will be introduced on Fruit Logistica

For some time, we have puzzled with the idea of sharing with our customers the product-specific data, which we use in production and stock control. The reason for this, in the long term, is to facilitate automation and optimisation of order control and, in the short term, to improve customer access to our production data.

The new barcode of our time – the QR code – possesses the security level and the options, which we have been looking for and, consequently, the Scanfresh® films will, in future, carry the QR code which will be printed on both the roll label and the pallet label. Learn more about QR codes here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_Code  

The QR codes and our new respirometer will be presented on the Fruit Logistica trade fair in Berlin which will take place during February 8-10. We do hope that you will drop by our stand in HALL 4.1 – Stand B09 to test our new initiatives or just to hear more about them.

New production machinery and laser systems

In the immediate future, all our production machinery and laser systems will be updated and extended.
To begin with, the operating systems for our lasers will be converted to the latest technology available on the market. By means of OTR control, we will be constantly monitoring the permeability (laser perforations) of the plastic film and, if necessary, automatically adjust hole size and/ or distance. At present, this adjustment is done manually. With the new OTR control system, we will subsequently be able to document the size and number of holes i.e. the film’s permeability / OTR = Oxygen Transmission Rate. The documentation is created by constantly saving pictures of the laser-perforated holes which, on request, can be sent to the customer with a certificate showing the technical data.
In late spring, we will be installing new production machinery and more laser systems which will increase our capacity significantly. At the same time, we will be installing a newly developed laser system, which will enable us to apply easy opening and re-sealing functions to the film. While the extension work is taking place, our production will come to a standstill for 1–2 days, but as we have planned for this well in advance, we do not expect that our delivery times will be affected.

PerfoTec film partner

Scanstore Packaging A/S has recently been selected as PerfoTec film partner for Scandinavia, which is very good news for us. With their innovative laser systems and peripheral equipment, PerfoTec has held a world leader position for the past 7–8 years within the field of laser perforation of plastic film used for packaging fruit and vegetables, salads, and convenience products.

We have used PerfoTec laser systems in our production since 2007 and we have had good working relations with them as a supplier. In future, there will be an increasingly integrated collaboration on product development, respiration measurement of products etc.

This integrated collaboration will clearly contribute to further developing the ScanFresh® concept.
For more information on PerfoTec, see www.perfotec.com  

Upgrading our lab with a PerfoTec respirometer

It is now widely known that the rate of respiration of fruit and vegetables will be reduced when:

1. The temperature is reduced
2. The oxygen level (O2) is reduced

All fruit and vegetable products have varying respiration rates despite being stored under similar conditions. The temperature is largely outside the control of ScanStore Packaging A/S, but in order to calculate the correct level of laser perforations needed for a specific product, it is necessary to measure its respiration rate.
ScanStore Packaging has been doing this for a long time, but it has been an elaborate and timeconsuming process. For this reason, we decided to upgrade our lab facilities with a PerfoTec Respirometer. This makes us one of very few – and the sole plastic film supplier in Scandinavia – using this advanced piece of measuring equipment.

With a Perfotec Respirometer, we can very accurately measure the respiration rate of any product in just four hours. When we know the respiration rate for a product, we can calculate, with minute precision, the number and size of laser perforations we need to make in the plastic film concerned.

The respirometer will be integrated into our lab early 2012 and will be presented at our stand at the Fruit Logistica trade fair.

Newsletters

December 2011