DanRoots and Newtec: A collaboration for accurate and efficient weighing and packing of a new organic snack carrot variant

DanRoots selected Newtec's weighing and packing solution to optimize production in a sustainable way.

Newtec’s innovative weighing solutions offer reliability and efficiency of production for customers in the food industry. With its focus on establishing long-lasting trust with customers globally, the company helps manufacturers optimise production through easy-to-use and durable weighing, sorting and packing equipment that offers product sustainability, minimises giveaway, and converts produce into highly competitive high-end products.

An interesting case study is Newtec’ cooperation with DanRoots, a family-run company with a domestic and international vegetable production presence whose products include carrots, beetroot, parsnips and parsley roots. The company, which is one of Denmark’s largest root vegetable growers, supplies their products in a variety of leading Danish supermarkets, as well as in Europe. To optimise production in a sustainable way, DanRoots selected Newtec’s weighing and packing solution for their snack carrots in 500g and 200g bags - a new organic variant on the market with a 100% recyclable packaging.

Newtec’s weighing machine for sustainable production

DanRoots’ new weighing/packing line consists of Newtec’s weighing machine, model 4015B2, which is ideal for accurate weighing of smaller portions and two efficient RedPack packing machines for packing the snack carrots in recyclable bags of 200g according to DanRoots’s request.

The complete line delivers a total capacity of 80 bags/min. With 40 bags/min on each Redpack packing machine, speed in packing is achieved while gently sustaining the stand-out qualities of DanRoots’ carrots, especially since the company has been focusing on green practices and ecology.

Three years ago, DanRoots got the IFS (International Food Standard) Certification, which focuses on food safety and quality and attests to the meticulous attention the company gives to the whole production process and its end products as far as sustainability and food quality is concerned. Criteria for the certification include governance and commitment, food safety and management practices, operational and resource management success, analysis improvements, as well as food defence planning, all of which place DanRoots ahead in its sustainability and high-quality standards initiative.

Lone Kondrup, Project Director, said: Today all our cultivation is conducted with careful consideration for the environment, paying close attention to food safety, control and traceability. As a result, all our products have been awarded the international certification for food, IFS.

To obtain a more sustainable packaging, the foil consumption on the RedPack packing machines has been adjusted so that only the amount of foil that exactly covers the carrots is used. There is no waste in the form of a "snip" or too large a bag. Furthermore, a 200 gram pack ensures less food waste. Excess carrots, e.g. sorted due to length or shape, are used in the "STOP FOOD WASTE" bag.

By minimising waste, offering precision of portion size while reducing energy consumption without compromising product quality, the Newtec weighing/packing solution upholds Danroots’ green initiatives.

When asked about attaining sustainability in the vegetable business, DanRoots replied: ‘We use less energy consumption with Newtec’s new weighing/packing line’ while better food quality is ensured by not damaging the product. With an accurate weight, you avoid overweight and underweight. Reducing overweight provides better utilisation of our production volumes. Reducing underweight signals good quality and a consistent product.

As speed and weighing processes are tailored to the portion requirements and the kind of produce the company focuses on, waste and cost are reduced while the quality of the end-result is improved.

Automation and reduction of labour for high-quality food weighing and packing

A key factor in optimising production levels in a sustainable manner is the level of automation and manufacturing specifications of Newtec’s machines. These solutions are designed using stainless steel constructions and are renowned for their durability and accuracy through their automated and user-friendly technology that reduces reliance on human labour.

According to DanRoots: The biggest optimisation we have experienced when installing the weighing/packing solution, is reduction of labour. It is at times difficult to acquire the right skills / employees and a weighing/packing line, with great automation, will require fewer employees. Our new investment in Newtec’s weighing/packing solution for our snack carrots is a strategic decision. We expect a quick return on investment and to be repaid in goodwill and optimisation. A packing line, with many people having to carry out manual packing and sorting, is far too space-consuming and "vulnerable". Partly the quality varies and partly there is too much dependence on attendance etc.

Lone Kondrup added: By reducing the possibility of human error and the reliance on manual labour, our new weighing/packing line from Newtec helps preserve the quality of the product and ensure production is at the highest level with minimum giveaway rates. This means less waste in terms of product, energy, and cost.

Automated optical sorting for sustainable packing

The advantages of automation are also evident with regards to Newtec’s optical sorting machines. DanRoots has previously been supplied with four Newtec optical sorting machines, called Celox-C-UHD, which are innovative in their ability to grade products according to size, shape and quality, thereby customising production and optimising product selection.

As DanRoots says: Precision in weight and sorting is important to deliver the right product. At the same time, it is an optimisation opportunity. The optical sorting is better and much faster compared to the performance of an employee (manual labour). Without optical sorting, the quality would fluctuate too much. This will affect the food quality and customers will question DanRoots as a supplier.

As freshness of produce and sustainability of the sorting process are increasingly important in the food industry, the Newtec optical sorting machines bring forward the value of the carrots through fast, accurate and gentle sorting that retains the freshness of the product by helping customers such as DanRoots stay in control of performance. The easy-to-use machine interface adds the advantage of easily navigating everyday tasks through remote control.

Newtec’s new weighing and packing machine model 4015B2 for snack carrots serves this need for easiness and effectiveness of operations through retaining high speed for smaller products, thus maximising production and adapting to the specific packing needs for carrots and other vegetables.

DanRoots comments: We already have good experience with Newtec’s machinery. The good collaboration with Newtec on our new snack carrot production has made the process efficient and constructive and we have received good advice along the way.

With the help of the new weighing and packing solution for snack carrots, as well as the company’s support and advice with regards to production, DanRoots can further expand its sustainability initiative through accurate portion weighing, reduced giveaway and snack carrots whose quality is enhanced by the efficiency of the weighing and packing process.